Sports viewpoint
NHL strike hovers over fans of game
by Kathy Daniel, Reporter

    With the National Hockey League collective bargaining agreement deadline approaching at the end of the 2003-2004 season, I have been wondering how this will affect the sport.
    I am a huge hockey fan and hope the NHL is able to reach an agreement. But I feel the players will strike.
   The summer deadline gives hockey fans one more season to enjoy the sport before the strike.
   Several players who have been looking toward retirement are considering next season as possibly their last, including fan favorite Chris Chelios of the Red Wings.
   The owners and players of any professional sport need to realize that without fan support, they would not have jobs. As we have seen with Major League baseball, a strike is not the way to keep fans.
   When professional athletes strike, for whatever reason, they let all their fans down.
   I realize that there are a lot of issues to work out between the owners and players in any sport, but the most prevalent is the money.
   How much do professional athletes make?
   I know that as a fan, I believe they make more than enough.
   Some make more in one season than I hope to make in a lifetime.
   As teams try to get the best players to win championships, should there be a limit to how much they can pay a player?
   In my opinion, if the owner of the team can afford the high salary, then it is his money to spend.
   So whatever has to be done, the owners and players owe it to their fans to do it. Get the issues resolved and learn to compromise before nobody has a job.
   Let the fans enjoy the sport without wondering if they will get to watch hockey next season. If professional sports keep letting fans down, fans might lose all interest.
   While I seriously doubt I would stop watching hockey because of one strike, I don't know if I could handle more than that.
   So let's just hope that professional athletes and owners realize that the fans are the most important aspect of the sport because without us, they would not have a team.