a href=”http://photos1.blogger.com/img/246/2242/1024/ESPN.jpg”img style=”border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;” src=”http://photos1.blogger.com/img/246/2242/200/ESPN.jpg” border=”0″ //abr /br /EPSN will decline its option for next season which would take the NHL off of ESPN amp; ABC. This would simply leave the occasional playoff game on FOX (if a new season ever begins) as far as I know. So cheers to you NHL commish Gary Bettman, cheers to you head of the NHLPA Bob Goodenow. I bet that offer from those Boston-based companies of $4 BILLION is looking a little better now, isn’t it, NHL owners?br /br /What was started as a skirmish is now destroying a legacy built by champions. When ESPN is dropping your sport in favor of running the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the National Spelling Bee and the PBA (Professional Bowler’s Association) even the optimists begin to realize that the game is closer to dying in America than it is to living.