Yes, there is still hockey to talk about.

TSN's Bob McKenzie checks in with a piece letting us few hockey fans left know that it's okay to start holding our breath waiting for the announcement of a new CBA. For the first time in this tortured process, we can now measure what's left of the lockout in days as opposed to weeks or months. Canadians can celebrate Canada Day on Friday and Americans, the small minority that actually like hockey that is, can have their Fourth of July celebration on Monday, reasonably secure in the knowledge that the long-awaited agreement is within sight. The sense is it should be finished sometime next week, with an outside chance it could carry over into the week of July 11th, but in any case, we're talking a small number of days. Either way, the countdown is now on, it's almost over. Meanwhile, Manny Legace -- who, once upon a time, was a goalie for the Detroit Red Wings -- sounds off on the NHL Players' Association Executive Committee for caving on the salary cap issue. ''We hurt businesses downtown, we hurt fans, we hurt everybody - for nothing. I feel bad for those people. I could understand if we were still sticking to a cause. What reason did we sit out for? It doesn't make sense.'' Finally, James Mirtle links to an article in the Toronto Sun about when an announcement might come, speculating that if the league were smart it would make the announcement on July 11 or 13 -- the days before and after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.