Hockey - Deserving of More Fans?

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NHL All-Star captains named
National Post, Canada
Calgary Flames right wing Jarome Iginla and Tampa Bay center Vincent Lecavalier have been named captains for their respective teams in the NHL All-Star Game ...

Pelletier Is 342nd Player To Play In NHL After ECHL
ECHL.com, NJ
Pelletier becomes the third former Gwinnett player in the last three weeks to play his first NHL game joining Kevin Doell and Colin Stuart, who made their ...

'Hawks give Sharp 4-year extension
SI.com
Sharp, who broke into the NHL with Philadelphia in 2002-03, already has career highs with 22 goals and 36 points in his third season with the Blackhawks. ...

A couple of nights ago, my roommate and I were doing a little bit of late-night channel surfing....the real world? no....after-hours music videos? no....the cooking channel? definitely not....NHL hockey? Yeah, sure. Why not? But as I was thinking a little hockey was in order before bedtime, my roommate gave a resounding 'not a chance.' So, we watched something else, probably something on ESPN. But that got me to thinking - why does hockey get such a bad rap? How has hockey become a virtual non-existent in the minds of sports fans in this country? Remember the days during the hockey strike? No? Neither do most other Americans. But why? What is it about hockey that turns us off?

Americans are generally impatient people. We want what we want and we want it now!! That is the basic mentality here in the USA, is it not? So, one could argue that hockey may not be exciting enough for us; that it doesn't fulfill our incessant need for instant gratification. But, if you look at the typical scoring line for hockey games, you'll see that there is plenty of action. Most games have anywhere between 5 and 10 goals, sometimes more. And seeing as how the game is only 60 minutes long, goals are being scored every few minutes. Furthermore, if a game ends in a tie, they have a sudden death shootout to decide the winner. How much more action could you possibly want?

Or, could it be that we don't think hockey players are athletic enough to pull of the spectacular plays to which we have become accustomed watching basketball and football. Maybe. But if you watch hockey closely, you'll see that hockey is without a doubt one of the most action packed displays around. With 10 players flying around the rink in excess of 35-40 mph, the stick work and passing is exhilirating, while the hits are utterly bone shattering and sometimes near fatal. As a result, a fair assessment is that spectators definitely get their money's worth.

So, what is the deal? Why can't a sport that has the high-paced action of basketball and the hard hitting of football seem to gain a wide enough audience base? I really can't put my finger on it. I for one am a huge fan of hockey. Yes, most other fans sport outdated mullets, are missing some of their teeth and say things like 'hoser' and 'eh' all day long. But, the sport is exciting just the same. Maybe we Americans don't prefer hockey because of its foreign origins and the lack of a basic understanding of the rules. Whatever it may be, I think that hockey deserves more respect and credit than the sports gives it.

Young Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby may be the new face of the NHL, but when it came time to name captains for the January 27 All-Star game in Atlanta, Tampa's Vincent Lecavalier got the nod in the east, while Calgary's Jarome Iginla was picked to lead the west.

AVALANCHE
The injury woes keep mounting for Colorado, with Paul Stastny the latest to go down. The second-year forward had to undergo an emergency appendectomy on Thursday and will miss two to three weeks. He joins fellow offensive stars Joe Sakic (hernia) and Ryan Smyth (ankle) on the shelf

BLACKHAWKS
A week after signing defenseman Brent Sopel to a contract extension, Chicago has now inked Patrick Sharp to a new deal as well. The fifth-year forward will reportedly earn $15.6 million during the contract.

CANUCKS
Vancouver's Markus Naslund played his 1000th NHL game on Thursday, scoring a goal in the Canucks' 3-2 shootout loss to the Red Wings

FLAMES
Goaltender Curtis Joseph officially signed his $1.5 million contract with Calgary on Thursday, then took part in his first practice with his new team

SENATORS
Ottawa dispatched Carolina easily on Thursday, winning 5-1. The victory may have come with a big cost, however, as Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson injured his hip midway through the second period and did not return.

Information provided in NHL Roundup has been gathered from A.P. reports, ESPN.com, Sportsline.com, NHL.com and numerous other e-sources. Opinions expressed in NHL Roundup are solely the opinions of the author.