Start Earlier, End Earlier: It's Better for Everyone

The other day, I was lying in bed thinking about the incredible week in sports that just took place.

Manny Pacquiao knocks out Ricky Hatton.

Paul Pierce and the Celtics play to the wire and defeat Derrick Rose and the young and exciting Chicago Bulls.

The always-entertaining Kentucky Derby.

The Toronto Blue Jays continue their magnificent play to start the season.

Oh ya, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin play, what might be, their greatest hockey games yet—given the circumstances.

Then an idea came to my head, what if the NHL could start earlier, and end earlier?

What if rather then start at the beginning of October, they started the beginning of September—perhaps Labor Day weekend?

The NHL has become the younger brother that will never be able to surpass the NBA. They both have their die-hard fans that will never switch and they both have their soft core fans that will always watch both.

However, if the NHL was wrapping up the long battle that is the playoffs within the next two weeks, that rivalry would be gone!

You see, the NHL would be finalizing the conference finals right now if this idea were to ever go through, whereas the NBA would be just starting their second round.  Personally, I know what I’d be watching regardless of which sport I like most.

Another plus would be that the ice surfaces would only be better when the hockey mattered the most. Rather then going to Carolina, San Jose, Anaheim, Detroit or Pittsburgh during the hot and dry days that you get in June, you could play in those same arenas in the much more ice-friendly May (not a huge plus, but definitely not as much of a negative).

The overall effect of this would go through all the different leagues. Baseball teams would not have to deal with their cities' NHL teams going through playoff rounds and taking fans away. NBA teams would have the same luxury! At the same time, NHL teams wouldn’t have to deal with NBA series like the Boston-Chicago one that took many fans attention away from the Blackhawks.

Finally, for all of us Canadians who suffer through summers counting down the seconds until our teams hit the ice, we would be able to occupy are minds with golfing and summer activities and once September hits—as do the players.

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