Tampa Bay Fears the Mullet...Fires Melrose

THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kevork Djansezian

Barry Melrose was canned 16 games into his tenure as Lightning head coach. Today must be a day of sweet vindication for all the coaches Melrose criticized nightly during his 12 year tenure as head hockey analyst for ESPN.

It's easy to play arm chair quarterback from a cushy studio but it's another thing to get behind the bench and coach a team for real. Melrose, who led the LA Kings to a Stanley Cup appearance in the '90's, could only manage a 5-7-4 record with a roster that was re-vamped for him in the off-season.

Supposedly Melrose held a contentious meeting in which he called out individual players and accused them of not buying into his system. He then walked out on their subsequent practice. Management said the meeting didn't factor into their decision to fire Melrose.

Whatever you believe, Melrose's firing points to a troubling trend that seems to only exist in hockey - the UNBELIEVABLY premature firing of coaches. Think Melrose's 16 game dismissal was quick?? - how about Chicago's Denis Savard….he was let go this season after only FOUR games. How can that possibly be enough time to determine if a coach is right for the job?? But then again, it's the NHL; and the league hasn't been a laughing stock these last few years for no reason.

But there's more to this story. Get this, the Lightning are replacing Melrose with associate coach Rick Tocchet - who's been best known lately for his suspension from the NHL because of involvement in a gambling ring. Sweet choice, Tampa. Maybe you should take some team management cues from your baseball counterparts.

Now with all that said, the TRULY SAD PART OF THIS STORY is the loss of one of the finest mullets in all of sports. Few wear that awful, tragic hairstyle with as much confidence and gusto as Melrose. We here at WPIX hope for Melrose's rapid reinstatement at ESPN so that we can once again marvel at those fabulous follicles. The longer he remains out of the public eye, the longer we as a television audience continue to lose out. There are clearly no winners in this unfortunate situation.

So here's to a speedy return to TV for Melrose and his mullet!! Oh yeah, and that the Lightning win some more games, or something.