The World Cup of Hockey is over and for all purposes so is the NHL season.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement deadline came and went, and instead of seeing your favorite players on the ice, they may be playing hockey in Europe or giving interviews on why they aren't playing any hockey at all.

The CBA ran out and neither side has toned down the nastiness that they had before this mess started.

What does this mean for hockey fans?

It means that the tour of all 30 NHL rinks you thought about doing last hockey season ... well, you can forget about.

You will have to seek your hockey fix elsewhere ... say like your local bookstore or the video store to buy those "Greatest Hockey Fights" video you wanted to buy for the longest time.

The last lockout was in 1994 and it lasted 105 days. This time, who knows?

Seeing that the Player's Union and the League are acting as though they're running for public office rather than trying to figure out what's best for the sport, there may not even be a season this year.

On top of that, it seems as though both sides really don't seem to care, as they have left the bargaining table and have set no date to return.

It also seems as though the talks have gotten nastier than a Hatfield and McCoy family reunion. No matter what side you favor, there is enough blame to go around.

True hockey fans could care less about luxury caps and revenue sharing. They just want to see some hits against the boards and lots of goal scoring.

What now for the fans that both sides claim to care about?

Both league commissioner Gary Bettman and Union boss Bob Goodenow have sent apologies on all 30 teams' web sites saying "how sorry they are for the fans that there

is no hockey."

I think the "Princess of Puck" speaks for all hockey fans when I say, "thanks for nothing guys. Why did it have to get to this point?"

Will the fans rightly get fed up with both sides and watch other leagues?

Personally, I will be watching college hockey games here in the Los Angeles area, and seeing some ECHL games in San Diego, Long Beach and Las Vegas.

However, what if you don't have any hockey in your area and maybe you just don't care about hockey anymore? What then?

Why don't both sides stop the madness, sit down and use some common sense and think about the fans for once?

Hockey fans are really losing patience with both sides -- the millionaire players and the millionaire owners who pay them.

Not to be melodramatic, but we aren't only talking about the fans here either. What about the people who work at the arenas, and I don't just mean for the teams.

Do both sides realize that, in the USA at least, their fan base is getting smaller and smaller?

Canadian fans have the option of seeing minor or midget hockey if there is a lockout, but how many times can you watch college or junior hockey?

And I'm sorry, but a new World Hockey League just doesn't cut it.

It worked once, that's enough.

Hockey fans are anxiously waiting to see what is going to happen.

Hopefully, both sides will get it together before it's way too late.

A lockout isn't going to help this sport, which has enough problems already.