[jaxmagicman]

Yeah I was surprised by how close they come in ratings. I think the NHL is doing better than I thought they were but still lag behind the NBA in a few things, one is revenue. The NHL is hurt in that area by not having a major network showing their games. The other is marketability. The NBA sells its jerseys and sponsorships. It makes a lot in a bunch of different area, the NHL does not have a huge boom for selling jerseys like the NBA does.

And the main problem I see with the NBA vs NHL is the NHL is a hell of a better sport to watch in person than the NBA is. Though I think the NHL has a fan friendlier TV presentation (less commercials, less downtime), I find watching the NHL on TV leaves something missing. That does not happen in the NBA.

So while I was quick to judge the NHL as not being fully back, it certainly has some way to go to get a foot hold again in the mainstream as being a major sport again. The lost season and lost TV deals are hurting it in the minds of most right now. While the NBA is about to run into that problem with a Lock-out looming.

The ironic part about it is, the NHL lock-out lasted so long because the players are good with their money. An NBA lock-out would last 2 months at most because the players are so bad with their money. A lot of NBA players live pay check to pay check.