Yes the NHL lockout is over....
Oh no, it's not.
That's right, you read me right. Look, we're all happy (well some of us are anyway) that there is an agreement on the horizon. At least we want to be. But let me ask you this--how many times have we been given hope only to be left hanging like a teased and jilted lover? Yeah, you all know what I'm talking about.
It comes to this--it is NOT over. Not until all the I's are dotted and the T's crossed. Not until there's an officially signed agreement that's wet with the ink from the pens of BOTH Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr. Not until a majority of the 700+ members of the NHLPA have officially given their approval. Not until a damn schedule that works around the NBA, gazillions of concerts, and other such gatherings is meticulously worked out.
And most important of all, this thing damn sure isn't over until I see a man with a striped shirt and an orange armband drop a one inch thick, six ounce disk made of frozen vulcanized rubber at center ice in an official NHL game.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to be the one throwing ice water around in a whorehouse, but I will believe it when I finally see it and not one second before. Much like how Mr. Henry Kissinger once said--peace may be at hand, but it is still not in hand. But assuming we are coming in for a smooth landing, there is one gentleman we NHL fans ought to be thanking. And that's Federal Mediator Scot Beckenbaugh. The man definitely deserves our undying gratitude for his tireless work. Or at least a new pair of wingtips.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
What Matters Most
Much has been made of how we as hockey fans should feel as a result of the ongoing lockout. It's ridiculous, however to take our cue from a journalist or a message board when we should already know how to feel or what to think. To that end, I won't dare to presume to tell you how to feel about this or anything else that may hit close to home.
That's not to say when something happens that scares us all (or should anyway) that we shouldn't talk about how it makes all feel. I'm speaking of course about the horrible tragedy that took place last Friday in Newtown, Connecticut. Something like that throws into sharp relief what ought to be more important to us. As opposed to a potential lost season for a sport that is spinning down the drainpipe towards irrelevancy.
For the sake of clarity and sanity, I won't rehash the events as we all know by now what happened.
I noticed that a local journalist asked in a column today titled: "How Do You Respond to Heartbreak?" A worthwhile question to ponder, and unfortunately also one with no easy answer. Again, I won't assume to have any magic answers save one: find a way to go on. Easier said than done of course. And of course for those of us who would usually try to get some normality back by enjoying a NHL game or three, that option just isn't available. But as it turns out, there's a lesson to be learned and it's the fact that there are bigger things in this world we need to take the time to acknowledge.
As for me, I can say this much: I have a daughter as well as a stepson and stepdaughter. In their own way they've shared my love of hockey, or at least tolerated it. I have to admit however, I may not have always let them know how important they are. I plan on telling all three that they mean the world to me. More than most other things I come across, and certainly more than NHL hockey at this moment. That's the only piece of advice I feel fit to impart, being a parent. Do right by your children while you can and let them know how you feel.
And if you don't have children, take stock in your own life and figure out what matters most. You might be surprised what you discover. Life is a gift and not something to be tossed aside. Now if only we could just remember that. Because there's one "L" word that should mean more to us than "lockout." And that's love.
That's not to say when something happens that scares us all (or should anyway) that we shouldn't talk about how it makes all feel. I'm speaking of course about the horrible tragedy that took place last Friday in Newtown, Connecticut. Something like that throws into sharp relief what ought to be more important to us. As opposed to a potential lost season for a sport that is spinning down the drainpipe towards irrelevancy.
For the sake of clarity and sanity, I won't rehash the events as we all know by now what happened.
I noticed that a local journalist asked in a column today titled: "How Do You Respond to Heartbreak?" A worthwhile question to ponder, and unfortunately also one with no easy answer. Again, I won't assume to have any magic answers save one: find a way to go on. Easier said than done of course. And of course for those of us who would usually try to get some normality back by enjoying a NHL game or three, that option just isn't available. But as it turns out, there's a lesson to be learned and it's the fact that there are bigger things in this world we need to take the time to acknowledge.
As for me, I can say this much: I have a daughter as well as a stepson and stepdaughter. In their own way they've shared my love of hockey, or at least tolerated it. I have to admit however, I may not have always let them know how important they are. I plan on telling all three that they mean the world to me. More than most other things I come across, and certainly more than NHL hockey at this moment. That's the only piece of advice I feel fit to impart, being a parent. Do right by your children while you can and let them know how you feel.
And if you don't have children, take stock in your own life and figure out what matters most. You might be surprised what you discover. Life is a gift and not something to be tossed aside. Now if only we could just remember that. Because there's one "L" word that should mean more to us than "lockout." And that's love.
Friday, November 2, 2012
The Art of Fighting Without Fighting Sioux
Yes the lockout goes on. And on. And on. But there's no point discussing it for right now because nothing's going to change in the near future. That plus the fact that everybody who's anybody--pundits, media types, fans, and especially those outside observers who loving taking their uninformed potshots--has weighed in already makes a discussion of the lockout here all the more irrelevant. Suffice to say we all know it stinks.
But we're handling it, each in our own way. End of that discussion.
Something else I want to get out of the way. Some administrative type stuff: for those of you seeking the link to the On Frozen Blog site, there is a reason it is currently not listed under the Bluelinemates list. Recently there has been discovered some malware that has seemingly been traced back to a link from that site. The kind folks at Blogger.com have let me know this and thankfully enough no machine I've worked with has been affected. But until such time as the folks at OFB clear up this, ahem, personal issue of theirs, there will not be a link to that site from here. My apologies for the inconvenience, but it's the only way I can keep things going for the time being.
So now on to the real article......anyone following US College hockey knows at least something about what's going on over at the University of North Dakota. Good old UND. Maybe it should now stand for UnkNown Draftees? Or perhaps UNDaunted in their quest to reach another berth in the Frozen Four? They're certainly not a team that should be UNDerestimated. Why the weird acronyms? Because the storied hockey team, as are all the sports teams at the university are now the team Formerly Known as the Fighting Sioux. Or, more accurately, the Team That Currently has No Name. No thanks to that bastion of integrity, the NCAA.
Look, I get the whole argument of taking offense at an entire people or nation being made out to be a "mascot" of a team. Living where I live (the Washington DC/Baltimore area) I understand full well the whole conundrum of having a team that has a nickname that, for all intents and purposes is a racial slur. Of course I'm speaking of the Washington Redskins. But like with every discussion, there's at least one other side to the story.
That other side is, strangely enough, the Sioux themselves. You know, the ones who were actually depicted on the uniforms, buildings and such. As it happens, their voice has yet to be fully heard regarding the matter.
Read the entire article linked and scratch your head in wonder at what has resulted.
I recall a Redskins player from years past, Defensive lineman Charles Mann and his answer when he was asked his opinion on the subject. To paraphrase, his response was that his opinion on the whole discussion did not matter. Further, the opinion of those depicted in question, namely all Native Americans, was all that mattered. This I believe is the right way to think about it. So if being identified as part of an athletic team is offensive to a particular ethnic group to the point where it causes them grief, then by all means change the name. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.
I share the same point of view as the writer of the aforementioned article, Greg Wyshynski. I am yet another pudgy white guy whose opinion does not, nor should not count in this matter. But that certainly doesn't mean that I don't have one. And it is simply this: In the specific case of the Fighting Sioux, the name on its surface seeks to honor the Sioux Nation, not deprecate it in any way. Disagree with me if you wish, again all I am is a fat white hockey fan who sees the logo and the name Fighting Sioux as something of an homage of sorts to identify a proud people. As opposed to "Redskins" which as I said, is an ethnic slur, nothing more.
Something from a hockey history perspective (you had to know it was coming): yes there is a team in the NHL called the Blackhawks. The name was created to honor the U.S. Army's 86th Infantry division AKA the Black Hawk Division. The founder of the team, Major Frederic McLaughlin, had served in the division during World War I. The division, in turn, was named after the Chief of the Sauk Nation, Black Hawk. Black Hawk as it turns out is an important figure in the early history of Illinois. Is this hateful or more of an homage? The answer varies depending on your viewpoint.
But to conclude, I think it's foolish to completely discount the opinion of the very people that are the subject of this controversy. And that's exactly what's happened. That's certainly not to say there aren't those who are offended by the Fighting Sioux logo and name. But to not take our cue from the majority of the descendants of people who hold a lasting place in American History is in my opinion just as offensive. After all the Fighting Sioux means just as much to the community as it does to the people who created their memories. Ask yourself what you think of when you see the logos and read the name anywhere in Grand Forks, ND. Better make it fast, though, because identity seems to mean nothing to the NCAA, who this very moment are making sure all removable traces of the Fighting Sioux are being taken down from the Ralph Engelstad Arena. One of the great things about history is that you get to learn who you were, and therefore who you can be. Little wonder why it seems like we've lost our way since we don't take pride in our identity.
But we're handling it, each in our own way. End of that discussion.
Something else I want to get out of the way. Some administrative type stuff: for those of you seeking the link to the On Frozen Blog site, there is a reason it is currently not listed under the Bluelinemates list. Recently there has been discovered some malware that has seemingly been traced back to a link from that site. The kind folks at Blogger.com have let me know this and thankfully enough no machine I've worked with has been affected. But until such time as the folks at OFB clear up this, ahem, personal issue of theirs, there will not be a link to that site from here. My apologies for the inconvenience, but it's the only way I can keep things going for the time being.
So now on to the real article......anyone following US College hockey knows at least something about what's going on over at the University of North Dakota. Good old UND. Maybe it should now stand for UnkNown Draftees? Or perhaps UNDaunted in their quest to reach another berth in the Frozen Four? They're certainly not a team that should be UNDerestimated. Why the weird acronyms? Because the storied hockey team, as are all the sports teams at the university are now the team Formerly Known as the Fighting Sioux. Or, more accurately, the Team That Currently has No Name. No thanks to that bastion of integrity, the NCAA.
Look, I get the whole argument of taking offense at an entire people or nation being made out to be a "mascot" of a team. Living where I live (the Washington DC/Baltimore area) I understand full well the whole conundrum of having a team that has a nickname that, for all intents and purposes is a racial slur. Of course I'm speaking of the Washington Redskins. But like with every discussion, there's at least one other side to the story.
That other side is, strangely enough, the Sioux themselves. You know, the ones who were actually depicted on the uniforms, buildings and such. As it happens, their voice has yet to be fully heard regarding the matter.
Read the entire article linked and scratch your head in wonder at what has resulted.
I recall a Redskins player from years past, Defensive lineman Charles Mann and his answer when he was asked his opinion on the subject. To paraphrase, his response was that his opinion on the whole discussion did not matter. Further, the opinion of those depicted in question, namely all Native Americans, was all that mattered. This I believe is the right way to think about it. So if being identified as part of an athletic team is offensive to a particular ethnic group to the point where it causes them grief, then by all means change the name. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.
I share the same point of view as the writer of the aforementioned article, Greg Wyshynski. I am yet another pudgy white guy whose opinion does not, nor should not count in this matter. But that certainly doesn't mean that I don't have one. And it is simply this: In the specific case of the Fighting Sioux, the name on its surface seeks to honor the Sioux Nation, not deprecate it in any way. Disagree with me if you wish, again all I am is a fat white hockey fan who sees the logo and the name Fighting Sioux as something of an homage of sorts to identify a proud people. As opposed to "Redskins" which as I said, is an ethnic slur, nothing more.
Something from a hockey history perspective (you had to know it was coming): yes there is a team in the NHL called the Blackhawks. The name was created to honor the U.S. Army's 86th Infantry division AKA the Black Hawk Division. The founder of the team, Major Frederic McLaughlin, had served in the division during World War I. The division, in turn, was named after the Chief of the Sauk Nation, Black Hawk. Black Hawk as it turns out is an important figure in the early history of Illinois. Is this hateful or more of an homage? The answer varies depending on your viewpoint.
But to conclude, I think it's foolish to completely discount the opinion of the very people that are the subject of this controversy. And that's exactly what's happened. That's certainly not to say there aren't those who are offended by the Fighting Sioux logo and name. But to not take our cue from the majority of the descendants of people who hold a lasting place in American History is in my opinion just as offensive. After all the Fighting Sioux means just as much to the community as it does to the people who created their memories. Ask yourself what you think of when you see the logos and read the name anywhere in Grand Forks, ND. Better make it fast, though, because identity seems to mean nothing to the NCAA, who this very moment are making sure all removable traces of the Fighting Sioux are being taken down from the Ralph Engelstad Arena. One of the great things about history is that you get to learn who you were, and therefore who you can be. Little wonder why it seems like we've lost our way since we don't take pride in our identity.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Breaking My Silence....Part 1
Labor is usually helpless against capital.
---Andrew Carnegie
Yes it has been a while. No I haven't forgotten about the game I love, but I may yet. Not that it pleases me to say that. But I have never been as disgusted with the game as I am this very minute. This very minute, where labor talks have proven useless in stopping the NHL's fourth labor disruption in 20 years.
Think about that. That's something happening every five years in a sport that tries to be one of the four major sports in North America. And yes I say North America because it's just plain ignorant not to distinguish Canada as its own entity and to shrug off the fact that they enjoy their own sports as well. But every five years something happening to stop the schedule in its tracks? Ridiculous. Keep in mind this includes an entire season lost in 2004-05. Not even baseball which also lost a season in 1994, has such a horrible record.
Right now I'm coming from the perspective of someone who is in constant fear of losing their job because of business mismanagement. That fear has become reality in so many different ways. What I'm saying is that, to a certain extent, I side with the players on this one. Especially when you have to consider the fact that the players were the unquestioned losers that resulted in the lost season of 2005. And if anything this is all coming about as a result of business mismanagement.
I do have a background in teaching Social Studies and could easily take you on the other side of the monitor or mobile device through a quick lesson in macroeconomics. For those of you who are retching right now, don't worry. I'm not about to dignify the NHL's mistakes by trying to explain them as if it's even worthy of a history lesson. You only need to know this much--the system is broken and has been broken for some time in that it's hard for all 30 member clubs to financially compete year in and year out. It's painfully obvious that the NHL just can't get their act together and has pretty much destroyed any progress it made in the last seven years.
There will always be a top tier that can afford to spend like crazy, always the frontrunners for any high-profile players that are available. We all know who they are--the Flyers, Rangers, Maple Leafs (you wouldn't believe it, but yeah) and the Red Wings. Then there are the smaller market teams that try to keep up though the league will say they can't. They don't say they shouldn't, they just say they can't. Yet they do anyway. Like Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold giving out contracts to two players totaling $196 million in one day. This is the same man who pretty much refused to spend a dime in improving his previous team the Nashville Predators. What is this guy trying to do? Prove he has the world's first case of hockey schizophrenia? This is just one example of the mess the owners have created.
By the way, if the owners insist on imposing shackles on the players such as no unrestricted free agency for eight years or whatever, I think it's only fair that the door swings both ways. As in clowns like Leipold not being able to own another NHL franchise for a certain number of years (or better yet forever) after selling off another.
Not that the players don't have their own share of the blame. While they went out and won the PR war about HRR (Hockey Related Revenue), that only meant that they clearly were not all that serious about reaching a solution that ensured the season started on time. And it should be obvious to everyone that that was their strategy all along. Who made most of the proposals? And then who dragged out the responses to those proposals? Need I say more?
Do I claim to have a solution to all this? If I could insert a laugh track here I would. Of course I don't have a solution because there is no one right answer to all this and that's the pitfall. So what as fans are we left to do? Well as it happens, we do have options, a lot of which have nothing to do with hockey. For our friends north of the border, I envy you. Why? Because a lot of you will have a lot of minor hockey options within spitting distance. That's not to say we can't get our hockey fix no matter where you are. No, it won't be the same and it won't be what we've been waiting the longest of summers for. But there's lots of ways to enjoy this sport we've come to love. More on this in the podcast.
In the meantime, your influence, your voice still counts. My silence was for personal and other reasons, not to mention the fact that I didn't feel as if I should even dignify all this crap with a response. I felt this way because I figured my purpose was to put out my observations mainly on what was happening on the ice. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Take advantage of the times we live in, get out there and let both sides know how you feel. There have been calls to do an "Occupy" protest outside the NHL store. There has also been a plea for all fans to boycott officially licensed NHL merchandise for a year. Both of these are legitimate forms of protest and will hit owners and players where they deserve--in the wallet. But if all you do is get on the social media outlets and speak your minds, that is just as valid. What isn't valid, from my point of view anyway, is this self hating nonsense. In other words, for God's sake if you're going to speak, speak intelligently and don't just scream obscenities and nonsensical garbage. It might make you feel better but it'll make you look like the idiot you claim not to be.
Yes, when (or God forbid, if) this all blows over and the NHL takes the ice again, we as fans will come back. Was Gary Bettman an ass for assuming what we will do, even if there is a lockout? You bet he is.
Sadly, he is correct. We are hockey fans and there is nothing better in the hockey world than NHL action. Some of us will take our time coming back, and there will even be a fair few that turn their backs on the league for good. But the vast majority will be back and that's good enough for the owners, even the ones that like to cry poor.
And if the unthinkable should happen and (shudder) the season should be canceled...or worse? Well as sad as that will be, that is when things will get interesting. Just because the NHL is the only game in this part of town doesn't necessarily mean it owns hockey. And it cannot rule the game if it fails to function. Read up on your pro hockey history and see for yourself how there have been different leagues that have challenged the NHL, albeit unsuccessfully. If anyone gets the notion and the wherewithal, things could get very interesting indeed. At the very least it would be a topic worth discussing.
So get out there, loyal hockey fan. Let the world know you're not taking this quietly. Let players and owners know that they can sit on their collective assets and let the league simmer in its own incompetence.
Let them think hockey will cease to exist for the time being. But be sure to let them know how you feel about it. Because hockey is a part of us, it is for all of us, it is an unquenchable fire within us. And no one can own that.
---Andrew Carnegie
Yes it has been a while. No I haven't forgotten about the game I love, but I may yet. Not that it pleases me to say that. But I have never been as disgusted with the game as I am this very minute. This very minute, where labor talks have proven useless in stopping the NHL's fourth labor disruption in 20 years.
Think about that. That's something happening every five years in a sport that tries to be one of the four major sports in North America. And yes I say North America because it's just plain ignorant not to distinguish Canada as its own entity and to shrug off the fact that they enjoy their own sports as well. But every five years something happening to stop the schedule in its tracks? Ridiculous. Keep in mind this includes an entire season lost in 2004-05. Not even baseball which also lost a season in 1994, has such a horrible record.
Right now I'm coming from the perspective of someone who is in constant fear of losing their job because of business mismanagement. That fear has become reality in so many different ways. What I'm saying is that, to a certain extent, I side with the players on this one. Especially when you have to consider the fact that the players were the unquestioned losers that resulted in the lost season of 2005. And if anything this is all coming about as a result of business mismanagement.
I do have a background in teaching Social Studies and could easily take you on the other side of the monitor or mobile device through a quick lesson in macroeconomics. For those of you who are retching right now, don't worry. I'm not about to dignify the NHL's mistakes by trying to explain them as if it's even worthy of a history lesson. You only need to know this much--the system is broken and has been broken for some time in that it's hard for all 30 member clubs to financially compete year in and year out. It's painfully obvious that the NHL just can't get their act together and has pretty much destroyed any progress it made in the last seven years.
There will always be a top tier that can afford to spend like crazy, always the frontrunners for any high-profile players that are available. We all know who they are--the Flyers, Rangers, Maple Leafs (you wouldn't believe it, but yeah) and the Red Wings. Then there are the smaller market teams that try to keep up though the league will say they can't. They don't say they shouldn't, they just say they can't. Yet they do anyway. Like Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold giving out contracts to two players totaling $196 million in one day. This is the same man who pretty much refused to spend a dime in improving his previous team the Nashville Predators. What is this guy trying to do? Prove he has the world's first case of hockey schizophrenia? This is just one example of the mess the owners have created.
By the way, if the owners insist on imposing shackles on the players such as no unrestricted free agency for eight years or whatever, I think it's only fair that the door swings both ways. As in clowns like Leipold not being able to own another NHL franchise for a certain number of years (or better yet forever) after selling off another.
Not that the players don't have their own share of the blame. While they went out and won the PR war about HRR (Hockey Related Revenue), that only meant that they clearly were not all that serious about reaching a solution that ensured the season started on time. And it should be obvious to everyone that that was their strategy all along. Who made most of the proposals? And then who dragged out the responses to those proposals? Need I say more?
Do I claim to have a solution to all this? If I could insert a laugh track here I would. Of course I don't have a solution because there is no one right answer to all this and that's the pitfall. So what as fans are we left to do? Well as it happens, we do have options, a lot of which have nothing to do with hockey. For our friends north of the border, I envy you. Why? Because a lot of you will have a lot of minor hockey options within spitting distance. That's not to say we can't get our hockey fix no matter where you are. No, it won't be the same and it won't be what we've been waiting the longest of summers for. But there's lots of ways to enjoy this sport we've come to love. More on this in the podcast.
In the meantime, your influence, your voice still counts. My silence was for personal and other reasons, not to mention the fact that I didn't feel as if I should even dignify all this crap with a response. I felt this way because I figured my purpose was to put out my observations mainly on what was happening on the ice. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Take advantage of the times we live in, get out there and let both sides know how you feel. There have been calls to do an "Occupy" protest outside the NHL store. There has also been a plea for all fans to boycott officially licensed NHL merchandise for a year. Both of these are legitimate forms of protest and will hit owners and players where they deserve--in the wallet. But if all you do is get on the social media outlets and speak your minds, that is just as valid. What isn't valid, from my point of view anyway, is this self hating nonsense. In other words, for God's sake if you're going to speak, speak intelligently and don't just scream obscenities and nonsensical garbage. It might make you feel better but it'll make you look like the idiot you claim not to be.
Yes, when (or God forbid, if) this all blows over and the NHL takes the ice again, we as fans will come back. Was Gary Bettman an ass for assuming what we will do, even if there is a lockout? You bet he is.
Sadly, he is correct. We are hockey fans and there is nothing better in the hockey world than NHL action. Some of us will take our time coming back, and there will even be a fair few that turn their backs on the league for good. But the vast majority will be back and that's good enough for the owners, even the ones that like to cry poor.
And if the unthinkable should happen and (shudder) the season should be canceled...or worse? Well as sad as that will be, that is when things will get interesting. Just because the NHL is the only game in this part of town doesn't necessarily mean it owns hockey. And it cannot rule the game if it fails to function. Read up on your pro hockey history and see for yourself how there have been different leagues that have challenged the NHL, albeit unsuccessfully. If anyone gets the notion and the wherewithal, things could get very interesting indeed. At the very least it would be a topic worth discussing.
So get out there, loyal hockey fan. Let the world know you're not taking this quietly. Let players and owners know that they can sit on their collective assets and let the league simmer in its own incompetence.
Let them think hockey will cease to exist for the time being. But be sure to let them know how you feel about it. Because hockey is a part of us, it is for all of us, it is an unquenchable fire within us. And no one can own that.
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