...there’s a reasonable limit to patience, and taking patience for granted in a day and age of entertainment-overload and rapidly decreasing attention-spans is a dangerous, dangerous game. To say nothing of it being a slap to the face to the very people pouring the money into the pie that’s being squabbled over.

It certainly wasn’t surprising to discover that the NHL had the stomach to take us all down this hole for a third time in 18 years. And, given the amount of money involved, it also wasn’t surprising to see the representatives of each camp digging and reinforcing trench-line for a potentially long and protracted fight.

But it’s been very surprising to see the degree to which fan interest has, yet again, been taken completely for granted.

How that fact plays outside of Canada, in less traditional hockey markets, will go a long way to determining the relative value and worth eventually extracted from this latest NHL lockout.

-Alan O;Sullivan of the Vancouver Observer where more can be read on this topic.