Sports Illustrated's Hockey Preview

Boy was I disappointed to see the NHL preview in the most recent issue of SI.
What the hell? Surely the NHL deserves more than a few spreads devoting a skinny column to each team. Why bother covering the sport if you're going to do the obligatory "Sidney Crosby Saves the NHL" but Detroit has the best team nonsense. it drives me crazy.

I love the National Hockey League. It's the coolest game going. Its players are world class athletes and among the toughest. Where else would you see a fourth-line center barely miss a shift after getting two teeth knocked out. Despite the hits, fights, and saves, hockey remains fourth among team sports and well behind that of NASCAR.

Sure the NHL has had its detractors. It's never been wildly popular. Don Imus used to say that there were only 17,000 hockey fans in the tri-state area and those fans went to every Devil, Islander and Ranger game. In fact, the I-Man forbade Mike Breen to even give the previous night's scores.

Who's to blame? Commissioner Gary Bettman. If only for the fact that I never forgot the way he mangled the Rangers Stanley Cup presentation in 1994. "Mark Messier, come get the Stanley Cup" ...and that goofy grin. Everytime I see the replay, I want to vomit. Sure Bettman gets a ton of credit for delivering "cost-certainty" to the game by strong-arming the players, but I'd sure risk a two-minute boarding penalty to get the dude in the corner. Perhaps Chris Chelios was right after all. The NHL needs a good PR team. Come to think of it...don't we all?