Is there any place with more sports variety than the US? I don't think so. Usually those european or Southamerican countries where soccer is the #1 sport, EVERYTHING they talk about in TV is about soccer, they don't have time for anything else.

From Chicago and it's my favorite sport. I grew up playing roller hockey.

Pretty much what I think about American fotball and baseball...talk about nooze fests 99% of the time

I like hockey, but it could never compete with in certain respects with other sports I enjoy. I can kick a ball around on a patch of grass, but I cannot go skate on a frozen pond.

Still, I always watch the Olympics and Stanley Cup Playoffs as they are exciting to see. I do not get the argument of it being difficult to follow, maybe I just know where the puck likely goes.

To me any sport takes time to appreciate and understand, there is an investment. I never played NFL, and any time I've watched it I come away bored or confused. So I do get how people unfamiliar with a sport may not be impressed, understand what is transpiring or be emotionally invested int he outcome.

Probably since most of the players are either Canadian or European.

A few comments and reasons here. Hockey isnt a sport that is widely played because there is a sizable financial barrier upon entry. Just to play roller hockey you are looking at $100+ for skates and a stick(I would never suggest just these 2 but it is all you really need for entry). Ice hockey infinitely more expensive. Full set of USED gear will run at least $400. Ice time for me is anywhere between $10 and $20 for 1-2 hours of ice. Leagues can run $500 for 20ish games(covers jerseys, insurance, ice, refs). It is stupid expensive.

Its harder to pick up and play then any other sport out there. Anyone can shoot a basketball, swing a bat(at an easy pitch or tee), kick a soccer ball or run with a football. Skating is %90 of the difficulty of the game, its tough to be a competent skater much less a good skater. Shooting a puck, actually lifting it off the ground, is tough. Ive been working on a slapshot for the better part of a year and still have %0 accuracy. Its a tough game to play and expensive.

Depending on where you live you will not be able to play at all. Every town has a field for foot/base/futbol and basketball courts. Ice rinks are rare and expensive and roller rinks/surfaces are even more rare. The more people that play the larger your audience will be.

On the ESPN thing. ESPN has buried NHL coverage since they had a deal in place to show NHL, but it got swiped from them by NBC. They have been bitter since. Less overall coverage = less viewers.

CDiablo kind of hits the mark.

The reason you don't see NHL games on ESPN is because NBC have the exclusive rights to air hockey games.  ESPN is owned by rival Disney.  NBC is owned by Comcast.

You might see NCAA Hockey, as well as occassionally High school/travel team hockey on one of the other ESPN channels. 

They make money the same way most teams in other sports do by selling tickets to games and especially with playoff tickets. The season has a long 82 games schedule  partly to make sure most teams can make money with attendence. 

As to answering your other questions and slight errors in your post I might post later. 

Texas is not the best state to look at the popularity of hockey for sure. Hot climate and little tradition of a team besides in Dallas, but nowhere else. 

Well in the winter most of the US is not covered in snow. Here in Canada the entire country is covered in snow and ice and all you can do is play hockey in the winter. So it's become a tradition.

I don't know how anyone could not like hockey...

The game is fast, it requires tons of talent, it requires an athlete in exceptional great shape, has great physical play, and the only sport where fighting is a part of the game.

The biggest issue is that it is a very complex game to understand and play well, that hockey ice availability in the southern US is probably about the same as finding a palm tree in Canada, and before HD TVs hockey looked like crap over cable