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Getting back on the ice may turn out to be the easy part for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The real battle: convincing sponsors it's a good move to reup while rekindling fans love for hockey.
The Ducks are ramping up to promote the coming season now that the National Hockey League and the players union finally put an end to the unprecedented 10-month lockout that wiped out its last season-and left it scrambling to fill holes.
The Ducks' staff was slashed in half. Bitter fans said they wouldn't come back to the game.
The team had about 8,000 season-ticket holders during the 2003-04 season-the last that was played. Some 1,800 had failed to renew by February when the season was canceled.
Now it's up to the Ducks to get people back into the game. The regular season is set to start Oct. 5.
Whether fans forget about the canceled season-a first for any major sport-remains to be seen. Local sports fans already have a lot of other distractions, such as basketball, baseball and the start of the football season.
Not to mention that the Ducks fell short of the playoffs the last time the NHL season was played.
Meanwhile, the league's national TV picture has dimmed after its five-year, $650 million deal with ESPN and ABC expired last year.
Comcast Corp. last week won a $100 million bid for a two-year contract to show two games a week on its Outdoor Life Network station. ESPN, a higher profile network for sports, has the right to match the offer. The NHL also has a minor deal with NBC that isn't expected to generate much revenue.
The team seems to be...