from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

Set a date. Take a vote.

I wish it were that simple. I really do. If you care about hockey – and no matter what you say, if you clicked on this, you still care – you want the NHL lockout to end. You wanted it to end yesterday, or last month, or two months ago. You never wanted it to start in the first place. I understand. Me, too.

We want certainty. We want closure. We want a deal. If your job is connected to the NHL directly or indirectly, your livelihood could depend on it. And if you're a fan – especially if you're still a fan now, despite all of this garbage – you have every right to demand it. Your emotional and financial investment is what fuels this business. Without it, they have nothing to fight over. They risk it as they fight over it.

But as infuriating and frustrating as it is, remember that this isn't about making a deal, any deal, for the NHL and the NHL Players' Association. This is about each side trying to cut the best deal for itself – the owners forcing concessions, the players mitigating losses. This is about franchise values and profit margins and career earnings and job security. And so they are going to keep staring at each other until they truly believe it doesn't make sense anymore.

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