At least he said it: the Mercury News's David Pollak asked San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle about the "millionaires vs. billionaires" aspect of the lockout, and he received a refreshingly honest response:

“The biggest thing I tell [fans] . . . but people compare their own salaries, their own 9-to-5 jobs. And it was the same last time,” Boyle said, referring to the lost season of 2004-05. “Greedy, rich millionaire hockey players – ‘I’d play for one tenth of that or it’d take me 30 years to make that much.’

“I just tell people you can’t compare apples and oranges. I don’t compare my salary to Tom Cruise when he makes $20 million per movie. It’s just kind of the way it works,” he continued.

“Is it fair for a doctor or surgeon who saves lives every day to be making less than a hockey player or a basketball player or a movie star?,” Boyle asked. “It’s not fair. But that’s the way it is.”

Then he added: “Most people have been supportive.”

Continued, and no, it's not fair, but yes, it is the way it is, and I cannot begrudge the players their desire to defend their collective and individual right to defend their disproportionate wage-earning rights.