Put Me In Coach

So the NHL lockout ended last Saturday when a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement was reached in the wee hours of the morning. Once the deal is officially in place, training camps will open across the league and hockey will start it's season next week. I read the news Sunday morning and have had mixed feelings about it ever since. I've always loved hockey more than other sports, but I've discovered my interest waning significantly during this lockout (the second lockout in eight years, btw). I've watched some college hockey games and watched my niece and nephews play pee wee hockey, and I do still enjoy the sport in general. But I'm just so sick of the greed that's infiltrating professional hockey. The last lockout was primarily the fault of the owners and the idiot commissioner who refused to compromise when it came to money and, in the end, got what they wanted. The players union decided to be the ones to compromise because they wanted to play hockey. This time around, greed infected everybody. The owners were the ones who were making concessions and trying to find middle ground, but the players union (led by a guy who is possibly a much bigger moron than the commissioner, which is saying something) refused to compromise. There were a handful of really good deals on the table that they could have agreed to and they would have made, maybe, $100,000 less a year, not a big amount when you make a million dollars or much more in a season. But that was too much apparently. They often rejected the offers without even going over all of the details. It was about standing their ground because they felt they got screwed the last time bargaining was taking place. They said they wouldn't agree to a deal until unless in included the commissioner being replaced. But he's still the commissioner and a deal has indeed been struck. Ooops. Guess they shouldn't have said that one out loud. I highly, highly doubt the players union was indeed speaking on behalf of ALL it's players. The waiting game was no big deal for the star players because they found work elsewhere and had enough cash coming in to be able to afford not working for months. But the majority of NHL players are scrappers, guys who make less than millions of dollars and may not even have very long careers because of the type of hockey they play. I don't believe for a second that the union was thinking of the best interests of all these players, it was all about greed and money and thinking they would stick it to the owners. And that's why I'm torn about returning to the NHL as a fan. One of the things that was so great about it was that these guys played because they loved the game and they were all very humble and fan focused. But now they seem to be going the way of every other major sport, where money rules over everything else. Every new CBA is just the beginning of a countdown til the next lockout. This CBA supposedly is in effect for the next ten years, but either side can opt out of it after eight, and you know one side or the other will. I'm not even really that excited that hockey is back, just...meh. We'll see how much of it I watch when the season finally begins.
Yesterday, the results of voting for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame were released and not a single soul was elected for enshrinement. The New York Times summed this up best by printing a blank sports page with the headline, "Welcome to Cooperstown". I'm glad nobody got in, no one deserved to. The players who are becoming eligible now are from the era of performance enhancing drugs and we will never be sure of exactly who used and who didn't. We can assume that some did (Barry Bonds, for example) because of the sudden muscle on their frame and spike in their stats. Others have gone out of their way to prove their innocence but all evidence that comes out points to their guilt (here's looking at you Roger Clemens). Some have been caught red-handed; Rafael Palmeiro swore before congress that he never used anything and never would and many people (including yours truly) believed him. He was incredibly convincing. Months after his testimony, he tested positive for steroids and retired shortly thereafter, his reputation completely ruined. Two of the three were eligible for enshrinement and neither came anywhere close to making it in. The writers, who are essentially the gatekeepers of the Hall of Fame, said that they would elect no one this year in order to make a statement that cheaters will not be tolerated and should not be allowed into such a prestigious club. I wasn't sure they'd have the balls to actually do it but they did, and props to them for it. In my opinion, no one who is even suspected of steroid use should be elected to the MLB Hall of Fame. It is highly unlikely that so many players can be "victims" of mischievous trainers or improper testing techniques. If you are a professional athlete, you know (and should know) EVERYTHING that goes into your body and you definitely shouldn't be able to claim ignorance as a defense. This was a good statement to make now but it's only going to get tougher from here as more steroid-era players become eligible. Andy Pettitte admitted his steroid use as soon as the question was brought up and even testified against Clemens, his one-time best friend, in front of a jury about the drugs they used together. Do we allow a cheater in because he was up front about having cheated? We shouldn't, but you never know how attitudes will change in a few years time. Even now, some people don't think steroids are a big deal in any sport and that they simply add to the athlete's talent and provide better entertainment. What they actually do is take away from the credibility and integrity of the sport and a no tolerance policy should be standard across the board.
And there's one more sports-themed story that caught my attention this week. It goes a little something like this; college quarterback dates hot model. College QB makes it to a championship game with his team and his hot model girlfriend, of course, is in the stands to cheer him on. ESPN cameraman spots hot model girlfriend in the stands and puts her on national television. ESPN commentators make comments about how "gorgeous" and "stunning" hot model girlfriend is. Hot model girlfriend becomes media sensation for...no reason other than her hotness, I guess, and makes the rounds on the morning news shows about...I don't know, something. College QB becomes jealous of the attention his hot model girlfriend is getting and asks that she refrain from anymore media interaction. Hot model girlfriend complies. Seriously? I am a heterosexual man and even I have to say, "Girl, don't let him run your life like that!". I guess this chick competed in the Miss Universe pageant and, being that she's a model, she clearly wants to be or has been in the spotlight at some point. I'm not sure if he thought she was done with that modeling silliness when they got together or what but no one should dictate what their significant other can and cannot do. It's one thing if he asks her to not do interviews for a legitimate reason (say, he wants to keep their relationship private), that's one thing but to say he doesn't want her to talk to anyone because she's overshadowing HIS achievements? Lame. But she seems to have complied almost immediately so maybe that's just how that relationship rolls. Either way, I find the whole thing to be ridiculous. There's no reason for ESPN to single her out, especially when it's creepy old man commentators who are calling her hot. There's no reason for it to become a big deal in the media, but it's not really surprising that they took to it the way they did since attractiveness will get you everywhere these days. The whole thing is comical. But I guess that's all it takes anymore to be "famous". We're all just one national TV appearance away from our own reality show. Who needs talent?