America loves it's sports, but not all sports. They have to meet certain criteria. First, there has to be the potential for high scores. Americans love scoring (yes, read into that however you like). Second, violence ALWAYS helps. If you don't believe me, look at the rise in popularity of MMA. And finally, we love speed. Again, look at NASCAR. When you take these three factors into account, it's no wonder football replaced baseball as this country's most popular sport.

But there is a sport out there that combines these three elements better than any other sport out there: hockey. Hockey was knocking on the door of the other major sports in the mid-90's, but a strike and missed season put the league in serious jeopardy. But with a potential NFL lock-out next year, we may be on the cusp of seeing hockey rise in popularity once again. Let's put hockey up against the three criteria I mentioned above.

Scoring - this was hockey's biggest problem for a long time. Tie games, low scores, and lots of action with very little payoff. But the NHL has changed drastically over the years. The players are faster, and they have opened up the rules to cater to higher scoring, faster games. Plus, they added the single greatest thing possible, the shoot-out! So now you go from the excitement of sudden death overtime, to a shoot-out. I've seen one live, and it is fantastic!

Violence - Two words: Hockey fights! Spend some time on YouTube, and you'll see most hockey fights are basically the best parts of a boxing match compacted into a two minute fight. ON SKATES!!!

Speed - Hockey is fast. Check out even a minor league game, and you'll see what I mean. Go to a NHL game, or a playoff game, and you will be amazed at how fast some very large people move around on the ice.

Plus, the wildcard! No sport benefits more from the rise of HDTV than hockey. Fox messed around with the "glow puck" to help viewers follow the puck around the ice, but the technology was cheesy, and players complained about the way the new puck handled. Now, HDTV allows you to follow all the action, and you can see everything happening without squinting or binoculars.

Hockey has been a victim of poor management from the top. Gary Bettman has made some great rule changes, but he has also reduced the overall visibility of the sport by signing deals with Versus, and moving away from ESPN. He somehow makes Bud Selig look competent. With the right leadership, and some broader exposure, hockey can be the sport that benefits most if the NFL does lock-out next year. But for now, it's just a sport on the fringe. It's time to give hockey another chance. You won't be disappointed.