Found: Yahoo! Sports - NHL - A farewell to hockey
There are a few days till
the deadline as this ode is penned,
But no reason to think
the negotiating stalemate will end.
Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow
both swear they are right,
And so we’ll learn exactly how
long they can fight.
A salary cap is the main point
of contention:
The union is against it,
with no dissension.
The league has overexpanded
and owners overpaid,
All since the last collective
bargaining agreement was made.
So, at least at the start,
this season’s shut down,
And there will be sadness
in every Canadian town.
American hockey writers
will be quickly reassigned,
And for the casual fan —
out of sight, out of mind.
There’s no side to take,
because both sides are wrong
For pelting us with rhetoric
and the same old, sad song.
A summer of negotiations
was such only in name,
The inability to move forward
a disgrace to the game.
If hope runs out
before this is read,
The time has come
to watch football instead.
There will be none
of that on-ice magic,
For this fall will pass
without Jagr and Sakic.
Pack up the sticks,
sheathe the blades of the skates:
There was a time for hope,
but now it’s too late.
