Special DElivery: Discussing the “coverage” of the lockout

By Darren Eliot – 

As we all follow along as best we can to the finally on-going dialogue between the NHL and NHLPA, the entire process becomes annoying. First, we miss NHL hockey. Second, information is scant, but commentary is epic. Except for a couple of sources – Aaron Ward of TSN and John Shannon at Sportsnet in particular – the volume of people weighing in far outweighs the weight of the insight. That’s why here at MiHockey we’ve had little to say about the lockout… because there has been little to say.

That being said… which is what this is all about. If I hear one more analyst, sports talk mouthpiece, or political insider use this insipid phrase, I will need to scream. As in, primal, therapeutic release, all-out-banshee-wailing scream. I mean, we’ve become such a fence-sitting, politically correct society that even those in professions where espousing  opinions is the point – whether to entertain or inform — feel the need to couch their first take? Nothing mutes a provocative point of view quicker than a mealy-mouthed acknowledgement of the other side.

Have we lost touch with true conviction and instead everything has to be about convention and balance? It sure seems that way. Yes, I have read numerous pieces of fine reporting on the issues of this current CBA arm-wrestling contest. I’ve read blogs, followed on Twitter and enjoyed some of the back-and-forth banter, especially the vitriol between @DarrenDreger and @walsha and the gallows humor of @CraigCustance, @DamoSpin and @GlobeKPD. And I’ve spoken to countless people in the hockey world and got their perspectives. None of those folks see the need to soften by couching.

For the most part, though, bland has become the new edgy. Heck, Bleacher Report is now part of TBS, and the Fischler Report has more bite than much of Puck Daddy’s perspective. Whatever. The point is, where are the stance-takers today? Our stance here at MiHockey has been to live by the credo Hockey Never Stops. Do we yearn for the return of the NHL? Positively. But, we’re not going to wallow in the CBA process that yields little positive for the game as a whole. We’ve decided to focus – as we always do – on what is happening on the ice, rather than unearthing the secret location of the bargaining sessions. And then debate it – maybe claim it as “heard here first”.

But, when the Wings are back at the Joe, MiHockey will be there with you. Until then, GO SPARTANS! That being said, GO BLUE!

And I mean it.