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I'm questioning the sport's popularity and its ranking of importance in American society and here's why...

1. The television coverage is a joke. Living in Kansas City, almost none of the games are available through local cable or even dish. I don't get the versus network, just like most Americans. If you don't live in a market that owns a team, the national television coverage is very limited. Even ESPN almost always puts the hockey headlines toward the back of their show.

2. Today is the day that the NHL Finals have been finally set (Black Hawks / Flyers) and there's nothing on the CNNSI website main page about the upcoming matchup. Some of the other "major" websites don't feature it either. CNNSI has a feature story about soccer world cup, but they don't mention the NHL.

I know that most of you don't like Betteman and its easy to see why. Even though he has made it a goal to expand his market in America, he has failed miserably. Get a better deal made with ESPN. Do more scheduling for things like the winter classic. I always wondered why the hockey season ends in the hot months of June? Its too long of a season. They should begin pre-season in October, end regular season in February and the playoffs in March. Schedule the playoffs opposite of the NCAA Basketball Tournament and really market it as the best month to watch sports (hockey and GOOD basketball at the same time. Its before the baseball regular season starts and doesn't have to compete directly with the NBA.

If they want to do it right... cut the number of teams by about 8. Build a deeper developmental league and become dedicated to marketing names like Ovechkin to American viewers (Its a hard name to say and remember verses Shaq or Kobe or someone like that). The NHL needs more marketing. I would like to see more features too about why hockey is so special in places like Montreal. They should do more behind the scenes type of things that explains the culture and toughness that goes into hockey.

I just get the feeling that the front office people and Canadien fans just expect Americans to just love it because its an awesome sport. It is a great sport, but the thing most people forget is that this isn't our sport, this is a Canadien sport. We didn't grow up with it like Canadiens do. Hockey is life there. We have football and baseball. If you want the American markets to better recognize hockey, the front office people should do a better job of making us feel apart of the sport. Make the sport more accessable on TV to the entire nation, help us understand some of the long standing traditions / culture, and let it be acceptable for Americans to have their own opinions on the games. Its just a weird cultural divide.