I miss the NHL.

I know I am definetely in the minority on this one.

I miss the NHL.

Last night was supposed to be my beloved Detroit Red Wings home opener. It didn't happen.

You see, the owners have "locked out" the players because they want a new collective bargaining agreement that will let them pay the players less than they paid them before which bascially is the cause of the problem leading to the lockout.

Got that?

I doubt it.

No one seems to understand it.

Aside from the hockey crazies in Canada and those in a few "real" hockey cities in the U.S. like Detroit, no one seems to miss the #4 major sport in America. Oops, make that #5, NASCAR has zoomed past it.

No, no one will miss it. They will get comfy on the couch and watch the World Series and the NFL and even the NBA after the Super Bowl is finished. They will even watch Poker on TV. And you all know my thoughts on that.

Last night as I settled into my Laz-E-Boy with a cold one and some shelled peanuts to watch the end of the Houston-St. Louis game and the end of the Yankee hex over the Red Sox, I actually felt bummed out that my clicker finger couldn't tune to Fox Sport Net Detroit and put on the Red Wing's game. Honestly, I thought I wouldn't care. I guess I do.

I am going to miss driving dowtown and parking for free behind the Greyhound Bus terminal and walking through the wasteland that is downtown Detroit on my way to Joe Louis Arena. I am going to miss walking up the 77 steps to our last row seats. I am going to miss the $7.50 beers. I am going to miss the people in the seats around us.

I know its an owners vs. players labor issue, but at the crux of the problem is hockey's failure to gain an expanded audience. It is a sport that doesn't translate well to television. In my humble opinion, it is the BEST sport to watch live. The action is constant and continuously unfolding. Watching it live, you can see the plays develop, which you can't on TV. Another reason for the problem is TV timeouts. It cuts into the flow of the game, but as we all know, without advertising revenue, there is no TV.

What to do?

I don't know. This labor impasse, which is hindered by the lack of a good, national TV contract (for reasons I just stated), doesn't look to end anytime soon. Oh, it will end and hockey will return. And only the hardcore fans will watch.

You know what?

Only the hardcore fans were watching anyway.

Steve Yzerman, we miss you old friend.

Oh look, the fat guy on TV has a full house and knocked out the dude with a pair of 2's.

Maybe I should get another beer and give this poker thing another chance.