By next Tuesday at the earliest and Saturday the 19th at the latest, the NHL will be back on the ice. I'm an early riser and was flipping through the channels yesterday morning when the news broke the lockout had ended after a marathon negotiating session. I won't bore you with the details but in the end they all settled for an eventual 50/50 revenue split. I seem to recall that suggestion was made early on in this dispute. But today players are returning to their respect cities to prepare for a 48 or a 50 game schedule. Won't it be interesting to see the fans' reaction. Like never before, hockey fans have been turned off by this bickering between millionaires and billionaires but I suspect with playoff-type hockey from the get go, it won't be too long before we're all cheering again for our respective teams.
Go Habs! (Notice my subdued reaction, just one exclamation point)
Sidney Crosby's hoping the fans will come back. He tells Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review he doesn't blame the fans for being frustrated but says he hopes "they can find it in themselves to come back and support us. Their support means an awful lot to us." It also means cash in the bank. Under the provisions of the new collective agreement, fan support also means it is less likely the players will end up paying money back to the owners. A poor fan turnout could end up costing the players millions.
If what I read from some of the parents of members of the Dalhousie women's hockey team, then clearly the university has over-reacted with its suspension of the team from the rest of this winter's AUS season. The university pointed to excessive drinking, intimidation and humiliation during a private house party in mid-September and says the gathering was a violation of its zero tolerance policy on hazing. A couple of parents of team members have stepped forward to admit there was drinking, but no one was forced to drink. Petroleum jelly was put in the hair of the team's rookies who also had their faces painted, but as one parent said, pretty innocuous stuff.
Dal president Tom Traves might want to reconsider his decision. Perhaps a one or two game suspension to the team's captains, but a season-ending suspension was too much.
I remember covering this case twenty-one year's ago this month. 18 year old Andrea King had landed at Halifax International January 1st, 1992 looking to find work. She called her mom back in British Columbia to say she had safety landed. That was the last anyone ever heard of her. It was just before Christmas that year her skeletal remains were found in a wooded area off Glendale Drive in Lower Sackville. Her murder however remains a mystery. Her killer perhaps still walks among us. RCMP are using this anniversary to urge anyone with any information to call them or Crime Stoppers. King's murder is included under the province's rewards program.
Have a great day. Get involved. And if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
Rick Howe
