from Katie Strang of ESPN,

Judge Arthur Boylan may have led mediation between the National Football League and NFL Players’ Association during last year’s lockout, but the Minnesota-based chief federal magistrate finds the current NHL work stoppage hitting closer to home.

A Chicago Blackhawks fan from youth who has since converted to a supporter of his hometown Minnesota Wild -- he’s been a season-ticket holder since the team’s inception -- Boylan just received his refund for this weekend’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, among the several hundred matches cancelled in the wake of the NHL lockout. He’s going to watch the Wild’s farm team, the Houston Aeros, take on the Rockford IceHogs at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday instead.

Before the lockout began, he didn’t know how much time he devoted to watching the sport. Now, he’s wondering why he even has cable.

"I’d volunteer to do it for free," Boylan said in a telephone interview with ESPNNewYork.com. "I’d love to get this thing done."

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