One of the things that the two suspensions caused this year was a lot of discussion on the call in radio shows.

Here is a sample of something from a show somewhere in the United States:

Jason in Portland

I have serious problems with the take one of your callers had on why people don't like hockey. True there are not many minorities playing the sport but that is not a product of racism or prejudice. I will bet Terrence’s stock in Marlboro that almost every single one of the players in the NHL have been playing the game since they were really young.

Go to a local playground or rec center and look at what America's youth is up to. They are not playing baseball, football, or hockey. They are playing basketball. Mainly explaining why basketball is one of the most popular sports. I haven't heard any stories of minority hockey players being locked out of the league. Take a look at a few of the minority NHL players past and present. Tony McKegney, Grant Fuhr, have you seen these two examples complain about the minority situation in hockey.

As to your caller comparing golf and Tiger Woods to hockey he really didn't solidify his point. Besides Tiger clones, name me another African American who is a PGA tour regular.I'll admit I can't. So if this is the case then how come this guy says that golf is ok but hockey is not.

I will admit that hockey is not a poor man's sport to play, just like golf. This is not the fault of the NHL or PGA though. Here is a fair comparison. A group of kids want to go play a game of basketball, all they need is one ball and a court to play on. Now a group of kids want to play hockey. These kids each need skates, sticks, pads, and an ice surface to play on.That costs bank. This is not the fault of the NHL. That’s just the way things are. If you want minorities to have an equal shot in hockey then build some rinks in the inner city, get these kids some equipment and let them play. Till then don't blame the NHL for the lack of diversity in hockey.

This is pretty typical of the stuff I heard in Toronto on the talk shows here. I think its author is well-meaning when he says he doesn't believe the lackof minority players in hockey is not because of any prejudice or racism, but I think he is wrong. Certainly no NHL team would turn down a skilled player simply because he is black, but let's face it, the racism starts a lot before training camp.

If Herb Carnegie had played in the NHL (let's not forget Conn Smythe's $10,000 offer for his disfigurement) perhaps more 'minority' players would have taken up the game or pursued it more seriously. But there were only six teams and they were all owned by individuals (many people feel the reason Branch Rickey was able to sign Jackie Robinson was because the Brooklyn Dodgers were owned by a bank, not by an individual, and his bosses were looking only at the bottom line. The Dodgers were losing, therefore the fans were staying away. The quickest way to bring in the fans was to win. The quickest way to win was to raid the Negro Leagues).

Now there's something. When baseball first integrated it had the well-established Negro Leagues to raid. Playing side by side with Major League Baseball, the Negro Leagues had many problems, but lack of talent wasn't among them.