Per the AP, shootouts are going to be around for a while in the NHL. So you might as well learn to like them. Check that: You might as well stop complaining about them. Check that: You might as well turn off the TV before a skills competition potentially earns your team just as many points as 65 minutes of regulation and overtime did. But hey, research shows three out of every four people likes these things. We must just hang with the 1 in 4 crowd. From the story:
The shootout, though, has won over some of the initial doubters. With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire this summer, the opportunity exists to make another round of significant rule changes, but Commissioner Gary Bettman made it sound as if this tiebreaker is here to stay.
"All the research that we do on a regular basis tells us overwhelmingly our fans like the shootout," Bettman said glowingly during All-Star weekend in Ottawa. "We're looking at numbers in the 70 and 80 percent approval range, which on any question is an extraordinarily high number. Anecdotally, I try to go to a game at least once in every building, and when you see an overtime game that goes to the shootout, the reaction in the building is sensational. Everybody's on their feet."
Really? 70 to 80 percent approve? Suspend your disbelief in the comments, please.
In other news, we already know what the first topic of discussion will be on tomorrow's Judd 'n' Phunn show.
