my letter to newsday

[rind]

Today I was very displeased with the article by Johnette Howard. In this article, she talks of her frustrations with the lockout and attempts rather pathetically to poke humor at the subject. As an avid Islander fan, I have toiled through the lockout with little support due to the popularity of hockey. However when I read this article, I was appalled with her uninformed statements. First off, relating the rule changes to "Popular Mechanics" is very off base. Any hockey fan will have little to no problem understanding the rule changes which also contradicts the statement of needing an instruction manual. Is it that hard to grasp the fact that a player has to cross a line if they are on one side before the puck crosses it? Hardly. Second, comparing the NHL to NASCAR is a disgrace. Showing only "3/4 of the action" is actually practiced now. I have never in my life watched a televised hockey game and been able to see the entire rink. That said, they are focusing on the action. Lastly and most importantly, Mrs Howard was in fact making rules herself when she said "I'm not making this up". NEVER have I read a suggestion to make PLAYERS jerseys smaller. I have heard suggestions to make GOALIE jerseys smaller to increase scoring. Of course, if one were to make a goalie jersey smaller (as is the case), they would not be "discouraging 'clutching and grabbing'". I feel as though this article did a disservice to the sport of hockey in that the 'average' fan would not see through this nonsensical banter written by a less then average hockey mind. With the lockout now over, I feel the articles should be given to people who know what they are talking about so that the 'average fan' who the NHL is so intent on attracting actually learns the facts. I can only imagine when Alan Hahn writes his article explaining the new rules and illustrates just how easily it will be to understand. Perhaps Mrs Howard should have a word with him and let him explain the intricate complexities of colored lines and being on one side or the other.

-Mike Krebs

i also submited a rant. i wonder if any of this will appear...

anyway, hockey is back and the islanders have defeated the rangers in the draft ;-)