There is no debate.

The NHL has started their free agent spending season with a loud and thunderous bang. On the other hand, the NBA poofed a fart out of their loose spending hole and leaves plenty to be desired. Teams like the Flyers, Blues, Avalanche, and of course the Rangers have hit the jackpot early, while the NBA lying around sniffing its own nuts.

Some might suggest the NBA's salary cap is more complicated and it takes time to work out deal. However, that doesn't explain how Jalen Rose was earning $18 million dollars. Yes, $18 million dollars, people. Anyway, does anyone really know who Rashard Lewis is? Did anyone care that Grant Hill is still in the league? I'm sure it measures anyone's knowledge as to which Sheldon Souray played for. But anyway, here is a quick breakdown of how some of these teams have done:

St. Louis Blues - The Blues reacquired Keith Tkachuk and made a surprise splash by picking up Paul Kariya. Kariya played for a more defensive oriented team in Nashville and still picked up 76 points. He hasn't missed any games in the last two years and is only 3 years older than Daniel Briere. His leadership and marketing ability will be the cornerstone to help continue rebuilding the Blues.

New York Rangers - The Rangers have found a new Mark Messier. Or at least that is what everyone is going to say about Chris Drury coming to the NYC. Scott Gomez will not thrive in New York. He is a fine player with great speed, but has scored more than 19 goals once. Playing with Jagr will certainly help, but the Rangers love to overpay and these two signings are good, but not great moves.

Colorado Avalanche - Scott Hannah and Ryan Smyth do nothing, but make any team they are on better, especially in Colorado. Hannah is tough and will compliment John-Michael Liles and Jordan Leopold beautifully on the blue line. Ryan Smyth fills the leadership role that Peter Forsberg and Chris Drury left very nicely. And it won't hurt to be on a line with Joe Sakic either.

The state of Pennsylvania - The Penguins grabbed steady, but offensively gifted defenseman Darryl Sydor and even more scoring depth with Petr Sykora while also resigning two veterans in Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi and a young stud defenseman in Ryan Whitney. The Flyers have built a solid foundation by acquiring numerous big names, but trade and free agency. Daniel Briere was the biggest name available and they got him. In also comes Joffery Lupol, Jason Smith, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, and all of them are added to Simon Gagne to make a dangerous team for years to come. Kudos to both.

The NBA has announced Luke Walton got an extension. I just had an aneurysm from the excitement. I'd rather chew on my toenails than watch the last two minutes of an NBA game. How many timeouts does each team get? Fifty? Sixty? Hockey is nonstop action, not nonstop TV timeouts. I like what hockey did on their first day of free agency. It makes me look forward to the first day of the season. When it comes to which league is more exciting...

There is no debate.

You can email me your thoughts on anything sports related. jayson@sportscrack.com