Hockey is Dead

As a teenager in the glory years of '94 and '95, with Gretzky on the Kings and roller hockey in San Diego on ESPN, I thought my favorite team sport had a chance of breaking into the national consciousness. I mean, which sport is greater? Institutionalized fighting, skates, impossible to pronounce last names which once you learn you're in the club ... and it's not like the other big 3 in North America have been setting themselves apart, thugball is a circus, baseball has been plagued by roids and strikes, and the NFL might as well not run the games and just show commercials.

Yet as of today I officially declare that hockey is dead. The water hit its high mark years ago and it is receding. I tried three stores here in SoCal looking for hockey gear, and not so much as a single stick for sale - even Play It Again Sports - which has cricket gear! has cleared its shelf space of used hockey goods.

So sure I'll fire up an occasional game on TV or lace on the skates, but my visions of hockey glory are as dead now as stamp collecting.

Good thing I took up surfing.

It Doesn't Look Good for Roger

Poor Clemens, yesterday in a press conference he played an audio tape of a recorded phone conversation with his trainer McNamee. Listening to the men talk I'm left wondering why Clemens avoids asking him straight out why he lied, and avoids going into detail about the allegations. It's as if he wants to avoid the truth. The whole thing reeks of OJ syndrome - denial.

The 2000 bat incident with Piazza sure look the rage to me: