Enough Already!

I can't wait for the NHL lockout* to be over. It's not because I want to see hockey or I want the NHL cities' economies to stop suffering - those are valid reasons.

I can't wait for the NHL lockout to be over because it is driving me crazy to turn on Sportsnet and anytime from 6:00am to 4:00pm one of the Sportsnet stations is showing Hockey Central. On TSN/TSN2, That's Hockey gets almost as much air time.

They talk about hockey every single day, when there is no hockey being played!

Hockey is not my favourite sport but that's not to say that I hate it. I have been to and loved Toronto Maple Leafs games. I travelled to Buffalo for the World Junior Championships a couple of years ago. If the Leafs ever make the playoffs (a girl can dream), I will 100% jump on the band wagon.  So when there is hockey being played, I have no issue with hockey being first on the highlight shows or talk shows dedicated to hockey, even if it's not my thing. Most Canadians love hockey.

I turned on the television a couple of weeks ago while preparing my lunch and started watching Sportsnet. It's a few minutes past twelve and they're talking about the New York City Marathon and whether it should get cancelled or not. I'm quite impressed to be watching a show that is talking about a timely event.  Less than five minutes later, the one host says "I'm so tired of talking about the NYC Marathon" so he ends the conversation. They move on to the next topic which is, you guessed it HOCKEY!

I almost yelled at the television set "aren't you 'so tired' of talking about hockey (when there's no hockey being played)?"

There is a hurricane that hit New York a week before a yearly event, 45000 athletes travel from around the world to compete/participate and there is a debate going on as to whether to hold the race or not. There is so much that could be discussed that is fresh and new, yet the host says "I'm so tired of talking about the NYC Marathon". The host can talk about hockey every day during an 80 game season, but he can't talk for more than five minutes on an event that happens once a year?

I so need a new sports channel that showcases more than the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB. It's not that I don't love those sports. I watch my fair share of games/highlights/playoffs but there's more to the sporting world than four sports. It's frustrating to see our Canadian athletes competing around the world every weekend with little or no mention on our multiple sports channels.

As the lockout continues, it drives me even more crazy to go to a sports channel and hear them continue to talk about hockey. What can they possibly be talking about? There's a lockout going on. There is no hockey being played. Some days the owners and the players aren't even talking.

So enough already!

Let me know when it's resolved and let's talk about something else until then.

*An earlier version of this blog post called the lockout a strike which has now been corrected. Thx to @EricMacKenzie for pointing it out.