AARON KEEL’s bio states:-

“A self-described “*#$%@& with a heart of gold”

I think he might have solidified his hold on the first part of his description.

Posted by Ted from Innisfil, Ontario on 12/06/07 at 10:24 AM ET

Ask any hockey fan and they’ll tell you, watching hockey on TV is not fun. Unless you have a vested interest in the game, it’s incredibly boring to watch just any game on TV unlike football or basketball.

Man, what am I doing wasting my time and money on NHL network and Center Ice…Whhaaat? Sure, hockey doesn’t get good ratings, and some people (non-hockey fans) don’t think the sport translates well to TV. But where the hell did this come from? Maybe this Keel guy should ASK A HOCKEY FAN…and they won’t tell you it’s boring on TV.

And what’s with the Klan comp? A little hyperbole, don’t ya think?

I don’t even know where this guy got the idea that people follow sports because their favorite artist is at the game or has it in a music video. Does it help give recognition? Yes. But I seriously doubt that a sport will gain loyal fans because they are associated with an artist. Maybe Aaron Keel blindly follows his favorite musical performers, most people I know could care less.

Should I be wasting my time responding this drivel? No, but this is unbelievable.

Posted by Steve-o on 12/06/07 at 11:02 AM ET

My favorite musical artist is Antonio Vivaldi.

Why am I following hockey?  I’ve never seen anything hockey-related in an orchestra pit!

(And forget the hyperbole about Klan rallies - the writer hasn’t seen very many corporate boardrooms.  Minorities are only permitted in some companies as long as they have the same socioeconomic background as the majority, and talk like them, dress like them, drive the same cars, and send their children to the same private schools as the majority so they will grow up with the same culture.)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 12/06/07 at 11:35 AM ET

(And if we’re talking live musicians, I’ve never seen Yo-yo Ma in a hockey jersey, either.)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 12/06/07 at 11:36 AM ET

writing like this is more pathetic than Eklund’s blogging-for-dollars.

on every single level its pathetic. economically speaking, etc.

its also a disgrace to any black/african-american’s getting interested in a sport and trying to say Media Created Stars and Heroes dictate their choices and desires. what an insult to peoples intelligence. thats absolutely more racist and stereotypical to me than a crappy Klan rally comparison to the NHL.

Posted by Freddy Krueger's Glove from Milwaukee on 12/06/07 at 11:37 AM ET

I find the poll on the right side the funniest of all:  “Do men want women who know sports?”.  There’s not one decent option in there.

Because you know, there’s no such thing as sports-loving men that have wives just as into it as them.  Just don’t tell me wife (who demanded we order Cenetr Ice for our cable this year and who’s in more hockey pools than I am) that.

As far as the “no African-Americans” thing… if NASCAR is so popular and rising, why is it its complete lack of diversity hasn’t hurt it?  The silly author can’t have it both ways.  Name me one single Nextel Cup driver that is not Caucasian?  Thanks for playing…

Truth is, the NHL is single most diverse league on the planet (outside of the EPL I guess, now that I think about it).  There’s a Brazilian-born guy in the NHL whose brother was then born in Indonesia, at least one (if not two) South Africans, there’s at least one Irishman… a Japanese goalie who’s not unfortunately no longer with the Kings… a Korean who grew up playing hockey in California (Richard Park), and another Korean with their name on the Stanley Cupo (Jim Paek, w/ the Pens)... a former-Yugoslav who’s tearing up the league (Anze Kopitar)...

Also… how many Native-Americans does MLB, the NFL, or the NBA boast?  None?  The NHL has a share I can think of off-hand, including one that’s a head coach at the highest level.

While I agree it’s expensive to learn and play, that’s not just a limiting factor only for black kids and families, but for anyone raised in blue-collar society nowadays.

At any rate, the author of that article would do well to have done even a second of research before launching their accusations.

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=290445

By the way… go attend a game at The Joe some time.  It ain’t just white folks coming out to the game, trust me (well, when ANYONE at all comes out to the game I guess)... you’ll see African-Americans, Hispanics, Middle-Easterners, etc, and every single one of them will be screaming at Hasek to “get back in the $^#*@& crease!”.

Posted by Primis on 12/06/07 at 12:20 PM ET

I have got to stop reading this article.  Every time I go back to it I just get more ticked off.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 12/06/07 at 12:33 PM ET

Isn’t Snoop Dogg a huge Anaheim Ducks fan? It don’t get much bigger than Snoop.

Posted by not snoop on 12/06/07 at 01:01 PM ET

What the %&&* is an AFRICAN-AMERICAN anyway? Is that a black person??
We call folks who live in Germany, “Germans”. We call folks who live in Australia, “Australians”. How about calling folks who live in America, “AMERICANS”.
I get so tired of you politically “correct” people.
If you really need to “pigeonhole people, try the following:
black, white, brown, yellow, or tall, short, fat, skinny,
get the picture??
Enjoy the game, it’s the best on the planet.

Posted by dan knight from nashville on 12/06/07 at 01:10 PM ET

I do think that getting higher black/minority involvement would help the league, particularly in the southern US where “minority” is sometimes the majority.

More thoughts <a >here</a> (had to make a whole post of my own).

Posted by Paul Nicholson from Nashville on 12/06/07 at 01:38 PM ET

(had to make a whole post of my own)

Mine is longer.  I win!

Sometimes a well-vented spleen feels so much better. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 12/07/07 at 09:53 AM ET