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| Poor Stanley |
Poor Stanley C. Panther. He along was laid off today in a "Cost Cutting" move by the Florida Panthers hockey team.
In case you didn't know: The NHL is in a lockout. Again.
Yeah, we were surprised to hear that too.
So...if the NHL had a lockout and nobody knew it, did it really happen?
Unfortunately in this case, yes.
We use the Panthers as an example: The team is locked out, not able to use the Panthers facility. Unless they rent the ice.
Seriously. they are renting out a side locker room and ice time at their practice facility to their players so they can work out.
Confused?
We aren't taking sides here, but Gary Bettman and his owners should realize they are going to fade into obscurity this time. They know that...right?
The league, which has struggled to regain it's popularity had its best TV ratings in decades this past year. This was after not having a TV deal for years. They were buying time on NBC, and then NBC finally started paying them.
And they still went on strike.
Stanley Panther will survive. And so will the players. They'll go to Europe or the minor leagues and play. The owners will sit and wait for an agreement to happen. And maybe it will.
But if they don't play in 2012-13, they will lose their audience. All of it. Yeah, sure, the transplanted Canadians might watch, but most all of the U.S audience won't miss them. We won't miss them. Well, Brother Jon and Brother Wilkie might, but I won't. I didn't follow hockey last year because Atlanta lost the Thrashers. There are no other teams I'm interested in.
We think most U.S viewers will just slide over to the NFL or the NBA and that will be that. But we could be wrong.
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