Sports Then and Now

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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