Talk:2000s in sports

This part is horrible. The National Hockey League virtually disappears from the American sports landscape thanks to a year-long lockout that wiped out an entire season, as well as general apathy towards the sport and a television deal with OLN that prevented many fans from being able to see games (several NHL telecasts on OLN were outdrawn by WNBA games on ESPN2[1]).

This is complete opinion, not fact. The opinion of someone with an anti-hockey bias, or else one who has subscribed to the anti-hockey bias of ESPN. Complete with a cherry-picked citation designed only to re-inforce the writer's POV. Hockey is as strong in most American hockey cities as it ever has been. Here's a fact: the year following the lockout, the NHL posted record attendance, the only sports league to ever have an increase in attendance following a work stoppage. Here's another fact: NHL revenues continue to increase year-over-year, and the salary cap continues to rise, meaning that the league is growing, not shrinking. Here's another fact: there are more American kids enrolled in youth hockey leagues than at any point in history.

Hockey has not "virtually disappeared" from the American sports landscape. It is as popular, if not more popular, than it has ever been. However, the fact that ESPN and others in the mainstream sports media (sports talk radio) like to ignore or take shots at hockey, creates the illusion that the sport is less popular than it really is. 140.251.125.50 21:54, 14 August 2007 (UTC)Matt

Where's the bartman incident? User:Bryn Morgan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.119.7.156 (talk) 02:44, 2 July 2009 (UTC)