would affect the 2005 World Ice Hockey Championships. Normally, NHL players from teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs participate in this tournament. Since no playoffs were being held, theoretically all NHL players could participate. In reality, however, many NHL players declined to participate, and national teams were naturally reluctant to select players who lacked game conditioning. For all of the teams (including the North American ones), the bulk of the national teams' rosters consisted of players who were playing in Europe. Effects outside hockey Canadian sports fans also turned to the Canadian Football League, and the CFL recorded significant increases in attendance and television ratings during the final weeks of the 2004 CFL season compared to 2003, ultimately setting a new record for total playoff attendance. The league was able to hold onto at least some of these gains in 2005. The National Lacrosse League also saw a modest boost in attendance. Also in the United States, the National Basketball Association (NBA) also saw some big gains in attendance in markets which have both NHL and NBA teams; this is in part because the NHL and NBA season run in a similar time frame within the year and often play in the same venue. The National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) also saw some minor gains in attendance in 2004–05. Major League Soccer (MLS) began to become profitable in 2004, which many believed to have been caused by the NHL lockout. To date, the MLS has operated with profit since 2004. The Philips Arena requested the Southeastern Conference to move the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament out of their venue because of logistics, because the 55th NHL All-Star Game was scheduled for late January, while the SEC tournament was scheduled five weeks later. The resulting move led to the BI-LO Center, an ECHL arena 140 miles to the east in Greenville, South Carolina, hosting the tournament, drawing the ire of the NAACP, who wanted the SEC to ban the venue from hosting tournaments because of its location. Philips Arena was granted the NHL All-Star Game in 2008 as compensation. References Citations External links Official sites run by the parties involved NHLPA website News coverage CBC coverage of dispute lockout 2004 labor disputes and strikes 2005 labor disputes and strikes Labour disputes in Canada Sports labor disputes in the United States 2004-05 NHL lockout