On Painted Pond

Why doesn't the American public like hockey?

I mean, it's not like the sport is boring. Think about what hockey brings to the table: it has the brutal hits of the NFL, the life threatening element of NASCAR, the vision and agility of basketball, the incredible shot-making and saves of soccer, and speed unlike any of the others.

Now the NHL definitely lacks in the personality department. You don't really get to know these guys. They don't go at each other in the media (if they did, would anyone cover it). And the Commish-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named decided it would be a great idea to put them on channel BFE.

Well fellow puckheads, I have a three-fold solution:
A) Get the NHL back on ESPN. I have plenty of disdain for the WWL, but they would quadruple coverage in about six seconds. I mean these are the same guys that air about 20 hours a week of NFL coverage during the off-season. They would do a bit better than a 1 hour Hockey Night with the Mighty Mullet if they were pushing something that they broadcast.

2) Sell Ovechkin. This guy is gold. Between his awesome goals and romantic exploits, Alex the Great should be the face of hockey. I'm not trying to diminish Sid the Kid, but he seems very business when it comes to his sport. Ovechkin looks like the guy who wants to score, not act like he's been there before, go do Jagerbombs with you, then plow your sister like a corn field in Kansas. I'd watch that guy's sport if it consisted of seeing how far the puss would fly when he pops a zit (you're right, I'd watch that anyway).

and D) Drop the instigator penalty. This thing wasn't around in the 80's when The Great One was putting up 92(!) goal seasons. So don't tell me that removing it will drop the scoring. Let's get the fighting back. Besides, a small part of everybody wants to see how close Chris Simon is to pulling a Happy Gilmore.

Alexander Ovechkin Highlight Reel [YouTube]
Ovechkin In Love [AOL Fanhouse]