Welcome to Day 2 of the NHL lockout. Only 456 days to go.

There has already been enough sabre-rattling by the owners who want to keep salaries down, and the players who want to keep a free market system.

But as these groups posture, the real focus should be on competitive balance. A small market team has to have the ability to compete with the larger markets across the league.

The Calgary Flames may have been one goal from the Stanley Cup championship last season, but it took seven years of not making the playoffs to get to that point. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Carolina Hurricanes also had magical runs for Lord Stanley's mug in recent years, but it didn't make their franchises any stronger in the long term.

Do the owners need a system to save themselves? Absolutely. But I choose to look at it as small markets needing to keep the large market clubs in check.

The owners of the Edmonton Oilers are not the culprits in this situation. The owner of the Buffalo Sabres is not to blame. Fans should be pointing the finger at the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings (for starters) for driving up the salaries in the league.

Recently, small market clubs like the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals attempted to keep up with the larger markets with the astronomical contracts given to Pavel Bure and Jaromir Jagr, respectably. Both deals turned out to be colossal mistakes, as both teams ultimately traded these players to the Rangers, the only team that was willing to take the salary hit.

Jarome Iginla should be one of the highest paid players in the NHL. And no one should begrudge him from making millions of dollars. But if he wants to stay with the Flames, and the team wants to keep him, a system should be in place to allow this to happen.

The Tampa Bay Lightning could be the next dynasty in the NHL with their young core players like Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards. All three just recently won the World Cup of Hockey with Team Canada. How can the Lightning expect to keep all three players in the future under the current economic system?

A salary cap is a good place to start. The NHLPA may say that a luxury tax system works in baseball, but I'm not sure that the Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (and other teams) would agree. It doesn't stop the New York Yankees from putting out an all-star lineup every game.

Does anybody have flowers for this thing?

But if there is a salary cap, there should also be a salary minimum. If the small markets want to compete with the big boys, they have to be willing to shell out some dough.

There should also be some form of revenue sharing between the teams. If the Rangers and Maple Leafs are willing to hand out large sums of money on player salaries under the current system, there is no reason why they can't throw some cash towards the smaller market clubs.

The remedy to this lockout is a lot more complicated than what I just prescribed. But at the end of the day, if there is a system in place that will allow the Flames and Oilers to compete equally with the Rangers and Maple Leafs, I'm all for it.

What's in a trophy: I finally figured out what the new World Cup of Hockey trophy reminds me of. A giant vase.

I can just imagine it sitting on Mario Lemieux's coffee table right now with a dozen roses in it. Either that or somebody already put it out of its misery and smashed it to pieces.

En Francais s'il vous plait.

My Canada includes Quebec: Sass Jordan sang the Canadian national anthem at the World Cup of Hockey final on Tuesday, entirely in English.

Although the final was played in Toronto, the anthem should have been performed in both official languages, especially in a game that involved Team Canada. And when you consider the impact of francophone players on this team like captain Lemieux, Lecavalier, Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo, they deserve at least this much.

OSHL coming to an arena near you: Some NHL players will compete in the Original Stars Hockey League, beginning tonight in Barrie, Ontario.

I can understand why people in places like Guelph, London and Sudbury may show an interest in these games. It's not very often that NHL players perform in these markets.

But if you are a hockey fan in Toronto or Ottawa, wouldn't you rather spend the $35 to $60 per ticket on legitimate NHL action, instead of this weak facsimile?

Oh no Buffalo!

Choke artists: It never ceases to amaze me how the Buffalo Bills can find new ways to snatch defeat from the hands of victory.

Last Sunday's debacle against the Jacksonville Jaguars will not go down in history like Wide Right or the Music City Miracle, but it must be just as disturbing to Bills fans. Usually the team waits until the post-season to cough it up.

Cut from the same cloth: Mike Ditka has joined the cast of characters on Sunday NFL Countdown, but I could swear all they did was clone Don Cherry.

Ditka first ripped into the notion that some NFL coaches are already on the hot seat before Week 1 of the season. He then not only called Ricky Williams immature, he also questioned his heart when he was playing at the end of last season. You may recall that Ditka drafted Williams into the NFL when he was with the New Orleans Saints.

Ditka, however, did not bash European kickers, or rip players for wearing visors. But he was just as well dressed as Cherry, but without the flamboyant colours.

If you dance with Mary Jane, you get your toes stepped on: There was an interesting feature on Sunday NFL Countdown discussing marijuana use by NFL players, given the strange circumstances surrounding Williams' early retirement.

Former player Shawn King was suspended by the NFL for substance abuse, and talked openly about how he would fill Gatorade bottles with clean urine, and store them in his garage. He would go to his stockpile whenever he had to conduct a drug test.

King told of a time when he accidentally smashed a bottle, and badly needed a clean sample. He phoned a girlfriend, who willingly sent her urine to him by Fed Ex. He ultimately failed that test, however, since it showed that he was pregnant. (There was no word on whether it was a boy or girl.)

Whether the NFL should test players for marijuana can be debated. But if this is the extent to which one player attempted to beat the system, just imagine what other players do to hide similar or worse infractions.

Not an Olympic sport.

When players attack: I guess Frank Francisco missed the memo that players should never throw folding chairs into the stands.

The Texas Rangers' reliever threw the chair during a fracas between players and fans in Oakland earlier in the week.

But for whatever reason, MLB has taken its time to issue a suspension to Francisco. Perhaps it is because the police charged him with felony aggravated assault and the potential civil suit by the victim, who suffered a broken nose in the incident. MLB probably doesn't want to overreact in fear of having to shell out millions of dollars.

Mats Sundin was suspended by the NHL for one game after throwing a broken stick into the stands. And there was no intent to injure on Sundin's part -- it was just a reactionary toss caused merely by the frustration.

There was some outcry when Sundin was forced to sit, but the NHL was concerned with fan safety and felt it should send a message to its players. I guess the same can't be said for MLB.

Shaq the entrepreneur: Shaquille O'Neal raised from eyebrows with the lyrics of his latest rap song with DJ Vlad on the CD Hot in Here Part Five.

Shaq raps the following: "I heard your little interview and what Ben Wallace said. I ain't got no response for spider-web head . . . Even with wings you never as fly as me . . . You remind me of Kobe Bryant trying to be as high as me . . . but you can't . . . even if you get me traded . . . wherever I'm at, I'm Puffy; you Mase and you're still hated."

Nothing like a little controversy to drum up CD sales, hey Shaq? Lord knows you couldn't sell a CD on your own merit.

Just shut up already: Congratulations to Vince Carter and his representatives, who went approximately six weeks without making some sort of trade demand.

Thanks. We needed the break.