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Its desperation time in hockeyland - last year about this time while the NBA players were locked out hockey fans had a ball, expressing their futile but fervent wish on every internet forum that this signaled the end of Basketball and the long awaited ascendancy of hockey. A frequent expression was "no one cares about the NBA", this from the more bigoted majority of hockey 'fans' (who it must be said are more bigots than fans - especially here in the USA - since their only interest in hockey is the lack of minorities playing).

What a difference a year makes OR karma is a byotch!

The differences are stark - the NBA ended with one of their most popular seasons last year - relegating hockey to a little noticed footnote at the end of the season for both sports. No amount of hype or desperate gimmicks could bring any noteworthy attention to the pathetic NHL ... while basketball and the NBA ruled and set the stage for an exciting period of NBA brilliance - with exciting young stars all over the place, established superstars like Lebron and Kobe (see you only need 1 simple name :) ), great potential team matchups, great international flavor with a massive global following (second only to Soccer).
Compare the fate of the NHL - last postseason they saw the competing finalists being ecclipsed within their home markets by the NBA games, more people watched the Heat/Thunder finals and NBA semifinals within the NY/LA markets than watched the Devil sand Kings confrontations. For the rest of the nation except maybe Buffalo nobody gave a flying rat's patootie about the Stanley Cup.

This year the NBA season has started with a bang and has immediately seized the sporting world's interest with intriguing trades and early results. Where's hockey - nobody knows OR CARES!!! outside their little fraternity. Its hardly mentioned in American media (unlike the feverish coverage, analysis and speculation that attended the NBA lockout). Unlike the delusional lie from hockey fans about the NBA lockout last year - people REALLY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE NHL AND HOCKEY in the USA. That's a hard truth but one you hockey fans have to embrace sooner or later - actually you don't have to embrace it, but we Americans will drive it down your throats nonetheless. :)

As to your much ballyhood (now cancelled) Winter Classic - your last defence against irrelevance - you do know that it garners about 3-4 million people - I know a huge number for you but against other american sports events a poor pittance of an audience for what is laughably called a major sport in this country. As usual it would have been swamped badly by bowl games; but I understand it was all you got and now its gone too.

Like I said ... these are desperate times in hockeyland; we are witnessing the last kicks of a failed experiment in american sports. Its downhill for hockey from here on out.