Sports Then and Now

If Fans Accept It Now, It Will Be Easier To Cope.

The NHL continues their BULLYING tactics against the NHLPA. Their “take it or leave it” mentality has cost hockey fans everywhere the thing they LOVE. “The Grinch That Will Steal Another Season” AKA Gary Bettman announced that all games in November have been cancelled.

Can it get ANY WORSE?

Yup.

Rumors are swirling that Bettman The Bastard will cancel the NHL All-Star Game & the Winter Classic this coming Monday. The league is going to scrap one of the few things they have done right…..the spectacle and money making machine that is the Winter Classic. The game was to feature the Red Wings and Maple Leafs at the Big House at the University Of Michigan.

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Donald Fehr Is Not Going To Accept An Unfair Proposal Just To Do It.

The CAUTIOUS optimism with the NHL’s latest proposal has NOT been met with great enthusiasm. Bob McKenzie of TSN obtained Donald Fehr’s letter to players & agents:

 “Simply put, the owners’ new proposal, while not quite as Draconian as their previous proposals, still represents enormous reductions in player salaries and individual contracting rights. As you will see, at the 5 per cent industry growth rate the owners predict, the salary reduction over six years exceeds $1.6 billion. What do the owners offer in return?”

– “The proposal does represent movement from their last negotiating position, but still represents very large, immediate and continuing concessions by players to owners, in salary and benefits (the Players’ Share) and in individual player contracting rules.”

On some of the specific aspects of the NHL proposal:

– “They want to “clarify” HRR definition and rules. It is not immediately clear what this means, but so far all of their ideas in this regard have had the effect of reducing HRR, and thereby lowering salaries.”

– “The Players’ Share is reduced to 50 per cent from 57 per cent immediately — this season. This is a reduction in the share of 12.3 per cent. On last year’s revenue numbers, this would mean that players’ salaries would be cut by about $231 million.”

– “The proposal includes a “Make Whole” provision, to compensate players for the anticipated reduction in absolute dollars from last year (2011-12), to this year and next year. However, it would work like this. The Players Share in subsequent years would be reduced so that this “Make Whole” payment would be made. It is players paying players, not owners paying players. That is, players are “made whole” for reduced salaries in one year by reducing their salaries in later years.”

– “Finally, they also proposed that the players could appeal supplemental or commissioner discipline to a neutral arbitration, on a “clearly erroneous” standard, which, as a practical manner, makes it very unlikely that any decision would be overturned.”

The final two paragraphs of the letter sums up where Fehr believes the process is at and reinforces the players’ position on all issues:

– “We do not yet know whether this proposal is a serious attempt to negotiate an agreement, or just another step down the road. The next several days will be, in large part, an effort to discover the answer to that question.”

– “Bear in mind the approach that the Players have taken to these negotiations. It is:

– Given the enormous concessions players made in the last round, plus 7 years of record revenue reaching $3.3 billion last season, there is no reason for a reduction in the amount the players receive.

– Players are willing to take reduced share going forward so that the NHL can grow out of whatever problems some franchises face.

– The player contracting rights secured in the last negotiations should be, at minimum, maintained.

– Revenue sharing needs to be enhanced and structured so as to encourage revenue growth by the receiving teams.

– The overall agreement has to be fair and equitable for both parties. Bargaining is both give and take.”

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Gary Bettman Does Not Care About The Fans Or The Game.

The NHL Lockout is a month old and games have been cancelled through October 24th.

Hockey fans were praying for hockey by Thanksgiving or at the worst by the Winter Classic. Or some MOST were thinking another season would go up in flames due to GREED.

Today the NHL presented their latest deal which entails the following:

The NHL put a new offer on the bargaining table for the NHL Players’ Association on Tuesday morning, which includes a 50/50 split of hockey-related revenue and contingent on an 82-game season beginning Nov. 2.

“We hope we’ve given our best shot,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

Best shot really? How about your best shot back in 2004-5 so this mess NEVER happened?

This is a NO WIN SITUATION for the NHLPA.  If they take the deal they lose 7% of the revenue that the owners AGREED to back in the LAST lockout. Now The players have to play more games during a condensed schedule.

Which means….MORE INJURIES, so the NHL can re-coop their losses.

If the NHLPA turns down this offer, they now look like the “BAD GUYS” in this. The NHL would win the PR battle that they are losing right now by a LANDSLIDE.

The owners & “GREEDY GARY” have backed the NHLPA in the corner. The players will have to accept the offer or the fans will turn on them. Just what the NHL wants.

It’s A SHOTGUN WEDDING!

I want hockey more than anyone, but I also want this league to become stable and not the LAUGHING STOCK of organized sports.

If I was Donald Fehr, I would tell Gary Bettman to SHOVE IT!

Bettman does not care about you (the fans), the players or the game. He just wants to line the pockets of the owners…..as he twists his handlebar mustache and while he sports his EVIL grin.

More On This Developing Story:

CSNNE –NHL makes 50/50 offer to NHLPA in negotiations

NHL.com-Commissioner Bettman media availability transcript

NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman has had two previous lockouts under his tenure and while he is not solely responsible for these situations, it certainly raises the question as to his ability in properly managing this league.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has confirmed what many of us have either been dreading or expecting. The Board of Governors will be locking out the players indefinitely until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.

“We gave the owners a complete and thorough update of everything that’s transpired to date, we have reviewed all proposals, and counter proposals, and discussions.” Said Bettman “The board had very little discussion, asked a couple of questions and there way a complete show of support; both for what we’ve been doing in bargaining, how the negotiations have been conducted, the positions we have taken and the fact that as we’ve been saying to the union as far back as November… we are not prepared to open a new season until we have a new collective bargaining agreement”

This isn’t necessarily breaking news to those following the situation closely but it is set in stone now. There is still obviously time to get a deal done but it is not promising in any way, shape or form. While it was reported over the last few days that progress had been made in the negotiations, you would be better off filing these reports under “too little, too late” as opposed to progress.

It is really difficult to find the source of the disagreements between the two sides but it appears to be the revenue sharing between the two. The owners have made offers which are significantly in their favor with one such offer removing next to %10 from the players previous agreement. When the sides are this far apart on a deal it is impossible to expect anything to gain any traction.

I have admittedly been positive throughout the entire negotiation process with thoughts such as “no way they would let this happen again” and “it would be like starting over again” often drifting into my consciousness. Perhaps I was being naive, call it denial if you have to; the point here is that my positive thoughts regarding the process are all but gone. I still have hope, probably a fool’s hope that a deal can get done but at this point I don’t see it happening.

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The Buffalo Sabres are still searching for their first Stanley Cup Championship.

It’s an interesting time to be in Buffalo. For so long, we’ve depended on our sports teams to give us some shred of validation, since we’ve been known to the world for blight, blizzards and chicken wings, whose hot sauce is curiously the same shade as the rust on the infamous Rust Belt, by which we have often been defined.

More recently there have been some signs of life in Buffalo. Some say a renaissance is beginning to break out.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently concluded their most successful and best attended convention, here in Buffalo. The draw was the fact that Buffalo has more turn of the century architecture preserved than any major city in North America. Further, other than Chicago, Buffalo is the only city to have signature buildings designed by all four of the first generation of great American architects: Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan and H. H. Richardson.

At least two major architectural landmarks downtown—Hotel Statler, and Hotel Lafayette–  have been saved from the wrecking ball by visionary developers, and are being restored to their original opulence.

Buffalo is beginning to garner great reviews in travel sections of such cosmopolitan papers as the New York Times and the Toronto Star. Suddenly the rest of the world is beginning to discover and appreciate Buffalo’s cultural environment which is, in size, scope, diversity and quality, comparable to places like Chicago or Boston. And by “cultural environment,” I mean more than 20 professional theater companies, a world renowned symphony, two world class art museums, a plethora of notable restaurants, extraordinary boutique shopping, distinctive galleries, as well as more than 20 colleges and universities.

Buffalo has been a relative refuge from the global economic downturn. Housing values have continued modest appreciation. Unemployment remains at least a point below the national average’ and private sector employment remains strong.

Unfortunately, the one thing Buffalonians have depended on for a sense of purpose and validation, the Buffalo Sabres and Bills—especially the Bills– have been in decline. And despite all the other signs of regeneration in Buffalo, that still hurts, because the true religion in Buffalo is its sports teams.

While there was little hope for the Bills in the near term, the community was abuzz about the advent of a new owner for the Sabres with deep pockets, a fan’s passion, and a blatant commitment to win the Stanley Cup. Read the rest of this entry →

The 4 Major Sports Teams In Philadelphia.

For years, the thought of Philadelphia as a sports city was unheard of and rare by national fanatics. Now, with the recent surge from the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, and possibly even the Sixers, Philadelphia is finally becoming known to the sports nation.

We’ll start with the Philadelphia Phillies, baseball’s best team. With only 2 championships in hand, the Phillies reputation is diminished and scarce. In 2008, doubters were quieted after a postseason field day was brought to the city of brotherly love, with the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the 2008 World Series. After a year of heartbreak, the Phillies are back for more. At 74-39, Philadelphia is completely destroying Major League Baseball, and a 9.5 division lead over the Braves is showing it. With a more than solid pitching rotation, including Hamels, Halladay, Oswalt, Lee and outstanding rookie Vance Worley, Philadelphia has a 3.06 team ERA. Recently acquiring OF Hunter Pence from Houston solidifies the lineup and brings more power and consistency for the postseason. For the Phillies, it can’t get better than this.

Now we turn to the Eagles, a team getting national attention for the big named players recently acquired by the organization. Philadelphia was keen on defense, bringing in CB Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie, CB Nnamdi Asomaugha, and DE Jason Babin along with shipping out unhappy QB Kevin Kolb in the process. Don’t forget the pickup of QB Vince Young, which is solid security for the injury plagued, mobile Quarterback Michael Vick. With Desean Jackson ending his holdout, and WR Jeremy Maclin getting healthy, Philadelphia has emerged as the team to beat. Granted, the season hasn’t even started yet, but the Birds new look is hard to argue against. I’m not sure with the “Dream Team” phrase that has rumored around the city of brotherly love, but a Playoff Caliber team is surely in store for the Eagles. Read the rest of this entry →