Just a quick note this morning to my fellow bloggers about a giveaway over at ProBlogger's Birthday Bash, which is one of my daily reads and a truly useful resource for those who either hope to eventually earn bus fare from their blog, or just improve their writing in general. Today's giveaway is for a 20-inch USB-based monitor, and all it takes to enter is a post like this which links the Birthday Bash.
Why is it that various media outlets continue trying to put their own spin on the "what's wrong with the NHL" story? Our latest example comes from The Hockey News , in a piece by Jay Greenburg entitled, "Excitement Level On The Decline." Take the opening sentence: Attendance is down and yet still up from before the lockout, leaving it arguable whether buildings in New Jersey and Florida are half-full or half empty. It's no surprise that attendance is down from last season, particularly if you compare the first half of 2005-06 to the first half of this year. Coming out of the lockout, there were legions of fans starved to see the on-ice product, particularly in light of the massive rule changes. This year is more indicative of business as usual, so the fact that the league is above pre-lockout levels is a positive. Toss in the projection that overall revenues are increasing despite a 1% decrease in attendance, and I'd say that paying fans have come back