The hockey world is fixated with the date Sept. 15, when the current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL players and owners expires. It is anticipated that the owners will lockout the players in an effort to impose a salary cap on the league.

For those who are holding their breath, praying that cooler heads will prevail and a work stoppage will be avoided, well, now would be a good time to breathe.

The truth is Sept. 15 is not the point of no return for both the players and owners. There is no urgency to get a deal done by this date because the season is not lost at this time. The real deadline is something like Jan. 15, when the players and owners will face the real possibility of a cancelled season. Eleventh hour negotiations will take place then, not now.

The precedent of a work stoppage has already been set in professional sports. And like the junkies they are, sports fans are always there when the games return, no matter how ticked off they may feel.

The exception to this took place in 1994 when MLB cancelled the World Series because of a player's strike. It had a negative effect on attendance the next few seasons. It took Cal Ripken's consecutive-games streak and Mark McGwire's and Sammy Sosa's assault on Roger Maris's single-season home run record to resurrect the game.

Brett Hull: Not a happy camper.

There is no telling what will happen to the NHL if an entire season gets wiped out. But that is something to worry about in January, not today.

Pass the cheese: Brett Hull dropped some f-bombs when he was scratched from Team U.S.A.'s lineup. The Sedin twins have complained about being nailed to Sweden's bench. (No word on whether this involves an IKEA instruction manual.) And Janne Niinimaa walked out on Team Finland after a dispute with head coach Raimo Summanen.

I'm confused. Is this the World Cup of Hockey, or whining?

Dollars and sense: NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow tells anyone who will listen, that it will be a cold day in hell before his players accept a salary cap.

Someone should remind Goodenow that both the NFL and NBA have salary caps, and players in these leagues seem to get rich.

What is Goodenow afraid of? That there will be no room in the NHL for an $11-million player like Jaromir Jagr? Or that Nik Antropov won't be able to take home a cool $1.3 million in the future? Just wondering.

Tabbies and Argos: Rivalry renewed.

Mathematics 101: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are averaging 27,598 per home game this season, a far cry from last year when they barely drew 15,000 per contest.

The Toronto Argonauts, similarly, have seen a jump in their attendance, averaging 24,619 at SkyDome.

So, if the Boatmen host the Tabbies in a playoff game (something that seems very likely with each passing week), can a crowd of 50,000 be expected to show up?

The Tiger-Cat fan base that fills Ivor Wynne Stadium should be willing to stomach a short trip to Hogtown to watch their beloved team in the post-season. The Argos, meanwhile, should maintain their average attendance for a playoff game.

The excitement of the Labour Day Classic in Steeltown should add some extra buzz to the game if there is indeed a re-match in the post-season.

Now a word from our sponsor: Tickets to the Labour Day Classic in Hamilton: 100 bucks. Number of on-field ejections: four. Number of penalty yards: 408. Number of record rushing yards by Troy Davis: 233. Number of overtimes: one. Final score: 30-30.

Revival of an age-old rivalry: priceless.

Tiger Woods: One fine looking fiancée.

Women weaken golfers knees: Some have blamed Tiger Woods' poor golf game (by Tiger's standards) on his bombshell fiancée, Elin Nordegren. They say ever since she began caddying for Tiger, his game has gone south.

It's funny, but you never hear the same about David Morland IV. His wife Michele is the reigning Mrs. Florida (that's right, they have a beauty pageant for married women).

Morland is currently 194th on the PGA Tour's money list and may have to go back to Q-School to retain his spot on the tour.

Where is the outrage? Obviously his American vixen is the reason behind Morland's poor play! He has been too busy practicing his putting in the bedroom and not the golf course!

If you hang around pro athletes long enough, you learn one thing: they are all surrounded by beautiful people. To blame an athlete's poor play on their woman is simply a poor argument.

Damn Yankees: The New York Yankees' request for a forfeit when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays failed to show up on time for the start of a doubleheader on Monday was plain bush league.

But the most surprising part of this controversy was that MLB commissioner Bud Selig didn't give in to the demand. It would have been a fitting encore for the man who reintroduced the tie to baseball.

Put his photo on a milk carton: Why isn't Kelvin Anderson still playing somewhere in the CFL? Is eight consecutive years of 1,000 rushing yards not enough production? Matt Dunigan, are you paying attention?