OT: Orwellianism and real-life mad science.

[atari_eric]

If all the hockey teams win and lose about the same amount of times, why play at all?

To see who wins, of course.

They win or lose approximately the same amount of times - not exactly. As opposed to a blowout, you'll never really know who will win until the very end. In a way, it gives it more suspense - at the expense of knowing, in the back of your mind, that it wasn't necessarily fully earned.