Back To Basics

The last post was just a small sample of some of the things I could talk about when in the mood, but I think tonight I want to get back to what I know best...sports.
What's really pissing me off is the NHLs inability to adapt the league as a fan-friendly entity.
Starting with the schedule which is an abomination.
For us Canadians it's important that every year we see every Canadian team, instead of the arrangement we have now where you see the other conference in your own building once every three years.
So when it comes time to vote on changing that rule, with a consistent voice of displeasure coming from most fans and most hockey writers, the league left it as is.
How do you expect to market a league when you have to see Minnesota 8 times, you play your division 32 times total, that's almost half the schedule.
Beyond that when my team, The Calgary Flames, are not playing I generally have to watch other division teams play each other and hope not for a winner or a loser but for the game to end in regulation not in overtime so they don't both get points.
It would be so much more fun if Montreal was in Edmonton and I could cheer for the Habs to beat the Oil. That's a hockey game that fans can get behind.
Instead the league can continue to stay on the Versus network.
A lot of people want to blame Gary Bettman but its the owners, each one only looks one foot in front of their own face, they never look at the big picture like the NFL or the NBA.
It is 30 separate entities still, after all the shit they have been through, instead of one tight unit looking for the best plan for the collective group, players included.
Notice how when the new Basketball didn't work out, David Stern swallowed his ego and admitted he made a bad call, or in the every least didn't get enough information before he made such a drastic decision.
So why can''t the owners of the league do the same thing. It's not like it's tough to spin, last year the schedule was done late because of the lockout, so there was reason to keep it more compact regionally, but with proper planning they could erect a schedule just like the NBA, like what they had pre-lockout.
The fact is they pretty much fixed the game on the ice by opening their minds too some new ideas, why can't they do that off the ice by marketing the best spectator sport on the planet.