The low-down on the NHL lockout

By Kayla Steinman,
Contributor

idn’t we just go
through a lockout
less than 10 years

ago? What is there left to
argue about? All of this is
just a chance to get more
money for the owners
and more publicity for the
sport itself. If a lockout is
supposedly underway, then
why would a schedule be
released for the upcoming
season? It’s plain and
simple: the NHL owners
want more money and want
to cut back their players’
wages in order to do so.
Let's think about this
for a second. Who is really
getting the short end of
the stick, the players or the
owners? Neither. The real
losers in this battle are the
fans that enjoy watching the
game because they support

their home team. When are
these people going to realize
that their petty war about
money is causing them to
lose fans—the very fans that
come to their games and
ultimately pay their salaries,
team profits, and revenues.
There are a lot of
lockouts in sports, so there’s
no real way of getting
around it, but why must
the NHL be arguing about
pretty much the same thing
as they were seven years
ago? Didn’t they fix those
issues or did they just put
duct tape over a hole and
now it’s finally starting to
peel off? With the war chest
fund, a lot of the players
are planning to disappeat,
either back to their home
countries to play or even
back to the minor leagues.
So not only are the owners
and the NHL Players’
Association fighting over
money problems, but they

Paralympic shame

Blade Runner without a
leg to stand on

By Eric Wilkins,
Staff Writer

scar Pistorius,
the poster boy
for disabled

athletes, has really put
his foot in it this time. So
to speak. After finishing
second to a Brazilian, Alan
Oliveira, Pistorius almost
immediately lashed out
(minutes after the race) at
Oliveira and his blades.
“We're not running
in a fair race here,” said
Pistorius. “I’m not taking
anything away from Alan’s
performance, but I can’t

compete with Alan’s stride.
Absolutely ridiculous.”
Pistorius’ main gripe seems
to be the length of Oliveira’s
blades and the stride length
advantage they give him, so
let’s take a look at that, shall
we? Under IPC regulations,
Oliveira’s racing height
can be a maximum of
1.85 meters; for the race,
Oliveira was measured at
1.81 meters. Well within
the rules. In comparison,
Pistorius is allowed to be
up to 1.93 meters, but he
chose to race at 1.84 meters.
No controversy so fat, just a
hot-headed former top-dog
with sour grapes.

The stride length issue
turns out to be irrelevant
as well. During the race,

are going to let players go

home and get paid for not
even playing in the NHL.
With players going back
down to the minors to
play again, they’re taking
chances away from other
great athletes that want to
play in the NHL.

There may be an upside
to players moving down.
They are able to teach and
show minor league players
what the major league is

Pistorius took 92 steps while
Oliveira took 98. 98. Now,
while my math skills have
significantly deteriorated
since high school, I believe
Iam correct when I figure
that 98 is more than 92, and,
therefore, means Oliveira’s
stride is, in fact, shorter
than Pistorius’.

But further talk needn’t
be wasted on the baseless
accusations of a defeated
champion. The real talking
point here is the delicious
irony of Oscar Pistorius,
the man who fought tooth,
claw, and nail for years to
get into the Olympics on
the grounds that his blades
gave him no advantage
whatsoever, complaining
about an unfair advantage

Le hha he J]

all about. Sure, coaches can
tell you how different it’s
going to be but when you're
shown what it means to be
a hockey player in the NHL,
it’s different and it pushes
you to play better.

To a lot of people, this
lockout is just a way to
use propaganda to boost
the ratings and get people
interested in watching
hockey again. There’s so
much wrong with this

gained by another athlete
through his prostheses.
Pistorius has backed
himself into a corner
with his comments, and
has certainly created an
uncomfortable situation
for himself. I don’t have
enough space to write the
endless sarcastic questions I
would like to ask Pistorius,
but I’m sure you have more
than a few yourself.

As if it couldn’t get
any worse for “the Blade
Runner,” the timing of his
comments left much to be
desired. Criticizing the gold
medal winner right after his
crowning glory? This isn’t
just a (non) issue of blades,
but a disgusting display
of poor sportsmanship.

  

lockout that no one is going
to be able to wrap their
heads around it any time
soon. Within a few weeks,
there will be hockey again.
We might be losing part

of the season, but once the
NHL owners realize that
their reason for a lockout is
ridiculous, the players and
owners will shake hands
and get back on the ice
together.

Pistorius has reminded us
that, though Paralympic
athletes have been through
a great deal of hardship,
they are still people.

The fact that they’ ve all
struggled hard to get to the
level they are at, doesn’t
mean they can’t be just as
egotistical and thoughtless
as other athletes. Nowhere
does it say that living with
a disability automatically
places a halo over your
head, and Pistorius has
shown the world just that
with his outburst.

Pistorius has apologized
for the timing of his
comments, but stands by
his guns that Oliveira’s (and
others) blades are too long.
Just like a true athlete would.

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