Columnist
Back in June of 1994, Sports Illustrated ran a provocative cover story declaring “Why the NHL’s Hot and the NBA’s Not.”
The theory was that hockey, behind the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers, was surging in interest while the NBA, stuck with its greatest star (Michael Jordan) playing minor league baseball, was fading. Perhaps, the NHL could even surpass the popularity that the NBA had enjoyed since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird arrived in the early 1980s.