The old idea that the "big four" major professional sports leagues are the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL.... The NHL doesn't belong in this company and hasn't for quite some time. Dramatic evidence was provided this season when the average Nielsen rating of regular-season games... was a stunning 0.2. To come to grips with 0.2, consider that... It means an estimated audience of 117,000 in a nation of more than 290 million.
On a national basis, the NHL would seem to be less "major" than any of NASCAR's three series, the Indy Racing League, the golf and tennis tours for men and women, Major League Soccer, the WNBA, Arena Football, the Westminster Dog Show and televised card games on ESPN, NBC and the Travel Channel.
Apparently Americans don't give a fuck about hockey.
