It was recently announced that the National Hockey League (NHL) will not be sending its players to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The last time NHL players weren't included in the Olympic hockey tournament was in 1998. After nearly two decades, that is expected to come to a close next year when the Winter Games are hosted in Seoul, South Korea.
John U. Bacon joined Stateside where he calls the move "dumb, dumb and dumber." Bacon said the NHL owners, led by commissioner Gary Bettman, are being short-sighted as they will miss out on an opportunity to help the game's popularity worldwide.
Another issue is the NHL players who want to play anyway. Chief among them is Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals who was quoted as saying, "Somebody gonna tell me don’t go, I don’t care. I just go.”
Listen to the full interview above to hear about the massive gap in the opinion poll between American and Canadian hockey fans. Bacon also talks college hockey as Red Berenson retires after more than three decades in charge of Michigan, and how Michigan State is looking for a new coach as they try to return to the national spotlight.
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