"D.C. SPORTS AND FANS SUFFER TRAGIC SETBACK!"

[Ordinary Citizen]

Yes, on Sunday, the Washington Redskins lost their stellar QB RGIII --
and the NFL playoff game -- to the Seattle Seahawks.

But, more disappointingly, news that the National Hockey League could
be near agreement to play a few regular season games during a schedule
shortened by lockout, astute people in the region reacted with
expected disgust and revulsion.

"Just when it looked like we wouldn't have to put up with yet another
inane NHL seasonal fight-fest, we get this bad news," said Silver
Spring, Md., philosophy consultant Nick Ohdemuss.

Jill Ought of Fairfax County responded with dismay upon learning that
what she calls "Goons On Ice" will get in a few licks before starting
what promises to be a three-month-long playoff season tacked onto two-
dozen regular games.

"The thought that some of my acquaintances actually enjoy a bunch of
uneducated, inarticulate, toothless stick-wielding buffoons belaboring
themselves bloody under guise of a sport actually sickens me," she
reportedly told a Post reporter. "We all know that without the fights
the NHL would fold for lack of ticket-buyers."

"My 10-year-old son will not attend another hockey beat-down as long
as he's under my roof," spat Alexandria resident Buck Guhtrend. "Kids
today see enough violence on TV news and play violent video games that
add nothing to their upbringing as responsible citizens."

And Tyrone Masher of D.C.'s Ward 8 summarized his experience with ice
hockey by noting, "I seen better sports in the arena's mens' rooms in
lines waitin' for the urinals than I ever done seen on the ice."

http://www.wapo.com