Ron-Maryland

I know you'll probably get who knows how many emails tonight. But here's my take...and how I feel.

I think everyone that's a fan of the sport is dissappointed with the current situation. There's guys on my Men's adult team that say things like why are they going over seas and taking pay cuts....and they can't do that here???? Why do they have to make 70% + of the profits....even if they make 50% + that's still unheard of. You don't see the players in the NFL making that....Not even in baseball I don't think unless you're with the Yanks.....

How this has affected me....well....you miss it. I have my first kid on the way in May and I really wish she wouldn't be coming into a world without the sport I've played since I was three years old. That's 26 years I've played it and been around it. I thought the lockout after the Rangers/Canucks season was going to do me in. Of course that was the first season I got my Caps season seats. Now I'm actually considering letting my ticks go for the first time ever...yes I still have them. Anyhoo....to make a long story short, my wife and I make ends meet by making say.....$80,000 a year between the two of us and with her going part time that number with an additional mouth to feed will drop to 55,000 to 60,000 probably for the YEAR. I've got to watch a guy here in DC....formally like a Jaromir Jagr making 134,146.34 a freakin game....(11,000,000 / 82 games) and not producing to those numbers...heck he's wasn't even the best player in the league...and now that's totally tanked our entire team....At least the fire sale worked out and brought us a boat load of pics and Ovechkin....still Big Al O hasn't taken to MCI Center Ice yet...so who knows if it did indeed work out. We let go a guy like Ken Klee who was fantastic to Toronto....cause we didn't want to give him a small raise compared to Jagr's paycheck. Anyhoo...for the 11,000,000 that we paid for him...that probably would have been say 3 to 4 more talented guys...alright, sorry about the rant and raves.....

I'm hopeful that they get a clue....so that way my kid can see what NHL hockey is, hopefully with the touch up offsides back...but I won't get to picky right away. :-)

I wish I ran and was a part of a 2.1 billion dollar business and could sabatoge it down to a...maybe 1 billion dollar business if they're lucky.

At least there is baseball back in DC...Go NATS!
And I've actually watched a couple of Wizards games...they may even make the P-Word...don't say it....it doesn't happen often for them.......

David Stern may be behind this whole thing...cause now his guys have everyone's attention cause no one that doesn't follow hockey, your casual fan cares about this dispute probably....
I still do....but I'd like to read about a box score as well sooner or later.

Thanks for listening to my late night banter.

Ron