Scoreless Duel -- Or Scoreless Dull?

Wow, let's just get to April and play some real baseball, because this isn't doing much for me, other than watching what the Florida wind can do to a baseball -- oh, and a nice pick by Nick Johnson. It'll be good to see him back at first base for the Yankees. Oh, wait, we already have a first baseman? I guess he'll DH. So much for leaving the DH role empty for our older position players such as Posada, et al. Needless to say, I'm not in love with the Yankees' off-season.

So let's talk hockey. Hockey? Yes, hockey. Specifically this: Will the buzz from the Olympics translate to an increase in interest in the NHL?

In a word, no. I don't know why Americans don't like hockey. I love hockey. I always have. It's not great on TV, but really, neither is baseball. And hockey in person is better than anything. It's beatiful. You think the sound of the crack of the bet is special when you're at a baseball game? It's nothing compared to the "clop" of a puck on a stick as a player receives a pass.

Hockey has given Americans plenty of opportunities to fall in love with it. The Miracle on Ice -- followed, you may remember, by the first of four straight Stanley Cups for the New York Islanders, won in sudden-death overtime. Gretzky's time in L.A., Lemieux's entire career in Pittsburgh, including back-to-back titles. The Rangers' breaking the Curse in 1994. Not to mention there was already a USA-Canada gold medal game in 2002, in this country!

It's not the lack of a good TV deal. The NHL was on ESPN for years. It helped, but hockey just never took hold. And let's put it this way: if football were on Versus, would the ratings suffer? Or would people complain for five minutes and then find out where Versus was? You bet they would.

Does interest in figure skating pick up after the Olympics? Seriously, does anyone watch the long program, or whatever it's called, and see some pixie win a gold medal, then make a commitment to go to more figure-skating performances? Or, for that matter, speed skating? Does anyone care about Apolo Ohno in a non-Olympic year?

I don't care about figure or speed skating even during the Olympics. For the 100 or so people who are interested in them all the time, I am missing out. That's how I feel about non-hockey fans. It's the best sport to watch, and I've been addicted to it since I was 8 years old. And it had nothing to do with the Miracle On Ice. It had to do with having a father who loved hockey and shared his passion for the sport with me.

So my kids will probably love hockey, too. Yours probably won't. It'll be their loss.