Happy October! This is my favorite month of the year. Classic autumn weather with Halloween around the corner. October baseball, football and NHL hockey.

It’s a great time to be a sports fan. College football Saturdays even if I’m never home for wild games such as West Virginia and Baylor, who combined for more offense than a local NFL team will have by Thanksgiving. I’ll leave that to our Jets fan. I actually took off yesterday and watched that debacle. Nothing like a lazy Sunday. Too bad the Giants didn’t win. But there were some wild finishes. The Falcons stunning the Panthers and the undefeated Cardinals pulling one out of their magic hat to beat the Dolphins. So far, the football has been great even if the real refs tried to hand the Saints their first win over the Packers in my favorite game yesterday. Two MVP quarterbacks playing the part in Drew Brees and Aaron Rogers.

The Yankees and Orioles remain deadlocked with three left for the AL East. Will Boston and Tampa play spoiler? Will their be a one-game playoff at Camden Yards? As a Yankee fan, I’m glad to see meaningful baseball back in Baltimore. That’s a great ballpark to see a game and it couldn’t happen to a better guy than Buck Showalter. Miguel Cabrera has carried the Tigers on the verge of another division crown and is chasing history. Can he hold off Joe Mauer and Josh Hamilton to become baseball’s first triple crown winner since Carl Yastremski (1967)? Mike Trout will miss the playoffs barring a miracle. This despite one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. Thirty homers and 48 stolen bases with over a .320 average and the kind of outfield most vets dream of. All this at 20. R.A. Dickey deserves the Cy Young regardless if he pitches for the Mets. I hope he gets it. NL MVP probably should go to Buster Posey. Though you can make cases for Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen and Yadier Molina. Even Adam LaRoche is in play.

Baseball has been exciting. Especially with the second wild card. Who would’ve thought Oakland would be where they are? I want no part of them in a one-game scenario. Better win the division. Nobody expected the Orioles to make it. It shows what a great skipper Showalter is. I wouldn’t mind that playoff even if it will make many Bronx Bomber fans nervous. I like excitement. I want them to earn it. It’s a pennant race. My favorite is Cincinnati who looks pretty tough with a balanced lineup, solid rotation and strong bullpen. Not to toot my own horn. I picked the Reds and Nats to win their divisions. However, I took the Mets to finish third in the NL East. That didn’t work out. I hope it does get better for Hasan and the Amazin fans who deserve better.

So, why am I talking about all this when it’s supposed to be a hockey blog? It could be because everytime I hear Gary Bettman, I cringe. Don Fehr is no better. Thanks for ruining a great baseball season. The one year the Expos had a chance to win it all and Don Mattingly his best shot at a World Series. If you know me, I’m a huge Mattingly guy dating back to the 80’s. It’s Donnie Baseball that still remains my favorite player even over Derek Jeter. I’d trade every other Series following ’96 for the Hitman to have won a championship. So, Fehr still irks me even if he’s on the players side in the latest CBA headache. Everyone knew when he took over, the doomsday scenario that’s playing out might happen. However, it will be the owners fault this time with Bettman taking some well deserved heat.

I know he has a tough job as the owners lackey but it’s ridiculous that he’s now responsible for three lockouts. A hat trick for the hated NHL commissioner, who was justified last time out in breaking the union and nemesis Bob Goodenow. The old system was broken. So, in came the salary cap that he and the owners desired, which was supposed to fix everything. Only someone forgot to tell him that no matter how hard he tries to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix, it’s not working. They don’t generate enough revenue. I’m no advocate of relocation. I hate seeing people lose jobs. Especially in this economy. Plus fans lose out. There are devoted Yotes fans who love their team. However, one of the sticking points aside from the outrageous demands of salary cuts and guaranteed revenue is the future of the Coyotes. After reading several articles on the situation, I fail to see how they can survive. It would be better to move them to a stronger market.

Seattle has been rumored for Edmonton which makes about as much sense as The Kardashians having their own reality show. You don’t move a club rich in history with an avid fanbase. However, Phoenix is different. As much as I’d like to see them stay in the Desert, it’s another Atlanta. The Thrashers lasted a decade in a city given a second chance. Atlanta is hardly a great sports town when it comes to pro outlets. Look at the Braves, who always make the playoffs and still can’t sell out. They just honored Chipper Jones, who gets one last go round for another Series. At least that drew. The Atlanta Hawks also aren’t supported enough despite finally turning it around since the days of my favorite player Dominique Wilkins. Even with Ilya Kovalchuk, hockey didn’t flourish in Atlanta. Maybe if Don Waddell knew how to run a franchise, it might’ve turned out different. He traded Marc Savard and Marian Hossa for nothing and couldn’t retain Kovalchuk, who wanted to play for a contender. He’s done well with the Devils, finally breaking the playoff label. Whenever the NHL returns, the Devils should still be in the mix despite Zach Parise returning home to play with butt buddy Ryan Suter. For now, Kovalchuk is back in Russia captaining SKA St. Petersburg. He had two assists in their 5-2 win over AK Bars. Old friend Petr Prucha also had a helper.

While Bettman continues to run roughshod during negotiations, more players are leaving North America. They can’t wait around when the commish is using the same bully tactics that cost an entire season. He continues to indicate that the owners are all in favor of this work stoppage. But anyone with a pulse knows otherwise. That it’s big shots like Jeremy Jacobs and Ed Snider running the asylum. No matter what Jim Dolan said about wanting hockey to return, he still is charging season ticket holders when they’re about to cancel the first batch of games this week. What a lying sack of you know what. All they care about is the bottom line. They’ll keep pushing until they get everything. Correct me if I’m wrong. Did ticket costs go down post-lockout? If we’re hurting without our favorite teams and players, what about all the employees who go that extra mile to make us happy at games? How do you think they feel? They’re the ones who are being screwed. As classic Jack Higgins character Sean Dillon said:

“Greed ruled the day.“

This is what you get from a cocky commissioner who knows fans are suckers. He said it. One of the biggest problems is hockey fans are diehard. If they return, how many of you will go right back? No matter what, I refuse to attend any Ranger games in 2012-13. I can stay home and catch games without contributing to the arrogance being displayed by the NHL. I have never set foot in the NHL store and don’t plan to anytime soon. The only way to send a message is to not go. Don’t purchase anything off nhl.com. They say they’re serious about wanting the season to start on time. But their actions speak louder. That collective laughter you hear is coming from fans of other sports. Like it or not, the No Hockey League is a laughingstock.

Regardless, enjoy the great weather. Take advantage while you can. Watch your favorite shows. Celebrate Halloween. Trick or treat. Don’t let them win.