jcookc6

If you think there will be hockey this season, you are dreaming. This article in today's NY Post. I don't think this is another Gephardt for VP gaff.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/27666.htm



NHL SHOWS NO DECENCY


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July 21, 2004 -- ANALYSIS

THIS isn't about a hard cap, small markets, competitive balance or players making too much money. It isn't about any of that, at all. This is about big business exercising naked power. This is about greed. This is about common decency, or the absence thereof.

This is about the NHL figuratively putting hundreds of its own loyal employees on the street eight weeks before the expiration of the current CBA even as the league sits on a reserve fund of well over $300 million to support its monumentally wealthy owners through a lockout that seems certain to claim at least the entire 2004-05 season.

As we reported Sunday, the NHL yesterday informed its Manhattan- and Toronto-based staffs of its lockout layoff plans. The news was worse than anticipated. Call it the Tuesday Afternoon Massacre. Up to 70 percent of the league's personnel — essentially all those from the Director's level down on the corporate depth chart in departments across the board — were told during late-afternoon meetings that they'd be laid off upon the Sept. 16 expiration of the CBA. And it gets worse than that.

The Post has been told that targeted employees were given the choice of, a) remaining on the job for the next eight weeks without future severance pay but with the likelihood of being rehired at the conclusion of the lockout; or, b) leaving immediately with eight weeks severance while forfeiting the opportunity to return to their respective positions. Some choice. Thus, Gary Bettman's June 25 pledge that the league would not begin layoffs until expiration of the CBA hardly seems to stand the credibility test, even if it's not outright public perjury.

The league, which called a press conference to trumpet the Arthur Levitt audit that found NHL losses of $273 million during 2002-03 and runs a CBA-dedicated Web site (bet the Web master isn't locked out) would not comment on yesterday's news, though its at-least-temporarily-employed VP of PR disputed the details of the choices presented targeted employees. The NHL would not allow our colleague, Pat Reichart, access to its office yesterday. Indeed, the league is believed to have dispatched an employee to monitor Reichart as he sought to interview NHL staffers in the lobby of its Sixth Avenue building.

Again. This has nothing to do with what side, if either, you've chosen in this labor dispute. It's not about that at all. It's about abuse of trust and power, about your friends and neighbors being thrown under the bus.

This morning, Bob Goodenow and the PA will meet here with Bettman and the NHL. It will be the first discussion between the parties since early June. The question isn't whether progress will be made, because it won't. The question is, how on earth did the NHL executives responsible for yesterday's Massacre sleep last night

silent_jay

I don't think I'll take the NY Posts word for it, and dreaming, well I don't think you can predict the future and I doubt this reporter can so no one really knows what's going to happen.

Sounds like they are just preparing them for a possible lockout, and of course some people are going to want to find work for during the lockout if it happens, and some people are going to want to come back to work after the lockout so they stay and hope it doesn't happen.

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Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Cowman

That's gotta be the worst, dumbest, most misinformed, terrible, crappy, whatever article I've ever read.

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You don't like my point of view..but im insane

Averett

That's the NY Post for you

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Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

Almo

IMO, there wont be a next season. I pray that I'm wrong, cause life with out hockey sucks!

stupid WHA.

Nikilidstrom

While there may very well be no NHL hokcey next season, this article does nothing in the way of providing evidence to that fact. It simply shows, in a very bias manner, what the NHL's plans are for its employees in case of the lockout. Better proof of the lockout being a certainty is the fact that the NHL and NHLPA waiting this long to restart their efforts in hammering out a new CBA, especially when they are completely dead set against each others proposals up to this point. I hope it doesn't come to that, because a significant portion of my life, from October to June (if im lucky), is devoted to watching hockey and running Fantasy leagues.

highthief

Shit - now I'm gonna have to watch basketball.

I hate basketball...

Billy Ocean

Brooks has made a career out of stories like that. It's amazing anybofy pays the guy to write.

My opinion... we'll see a short season starting in January.

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"To live outside the law you must be honest." - Bob Dylan

Baldrick

I think this will be like most other contract negotiations. At zero hour, both sides will comprimise to save the season. I see there being hockey this year - and as one of the three Canadians who hate hocky, I couldn't care less.

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You can be young only once, but you can be immature for the rest of your life...

Cowman

PS Just to clarify, I don't expect there to be a season next year either. Maybe something after january or something...but I don't think anyone really cares enough for the two sides to compromise and start up the season as usual.

Personally, with the Olympics from the 13th-30th and then the world cup of hockey, im not craving a NHL season any time soon.

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You don't like my point of view..but im insane

Nikilidstrom

Not to be a complete ass or anything, but that is 2 posts in a row that say they don't care if there is a next season. So my question is, if hockey, or at least NHL hockey, doesn't matter to ya, why bother to post to NHL hockey thread?

Baldrick

Because not liking something, doesn't mean we don't have opinions.

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You can be young only once, but you can be immature for the rest of your life...

metalgeek

Probably shortened season, but I wih for a full season, wish very hard actually.
If all else fails I can go watch the WHL (part of the CHL) and there is also always lacrosse.

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The truth is, wherever you choose to be, it's the wrong place.
Chuck Palahniuk , Diary

cdnjeepin

What ya all think? think there will be a season?

I know teams are signing players and stuff hoping there is..and I am hoping too..

Thorton has a deal to play in Europe if no NHL here..

I am hoping so..be a long winter with out hockey..and my hockey pool would really suck

canuckguy

i say around jan. when the players crack, and they agree to a soft cap- profit sharing. i hope so.

Sue

I hope we have some games. I moved to FL, and now that I'm here, I can see some hockey games in downtown Tampa.

GRR.

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Teg yw edrych tuag adref.

pan6467

Hockey???? Hockey..... isn't that the game like soccer but played with sticks?

Then they add in some boxing and wrestling to make it more interesting? So that it becomes a cross between WWE Superstars on Ice and Lacross?

Never followed it so won't miss it.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

TheShadow

It's in the best interest of both the players and the league for the season to occur later this year. Both sides will win, in monetary terms, if the season takes place. So, basically, because of this, I think that there will not be a lockout.

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You know that song that goes like...

jdubz

So the players are on strike?

Man I don't get that. Your job is playing a sport for a living and you make more money than the average joe, yet you want to whine about it.


Good god

cdnjeepin

basically thats it..I hope the players association and the NHL come to terms and the season starts normal..be along boring winter with out hockey

jdubz

Ya'll still got curling don't ya?

cdnjeepin

Yeah aint quite as exciting tho

jdubz

What you mean? They got the little brooms and they scrub back and forth furiously.................man thats ACTION!

silent_jay

Men With Brooms was a great flick, now that's curling excitement.

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Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Daval

I've merged two of the 'will there be hockey this season' threads.
Daval

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"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill

Quadraton

You have to remember that both sides are the asshole in this. Neither side could give a rat's ass about the fan. No matter what happens, ticket prices will still require a second mortgage, the fan will continue cheering a bunch of people who are paid way too much to do what they do, and the owners will continue to complain about losing money.

I love the game, I love the NHL, but when I think about reality, it makes my head hurt.

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"A witty saying proves nothing"
- Voltaire

pan6467

Unfortunately, that is the story in every sport, even college footbal players have gotten away from the fans and into a "how soon can I enter the draft" attitude.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

ForgottenKnight

I hope for a season, or at least a short season. But I don't know if it will happen. It just seems like a year without hockey will make both sides actually agree on something. Perhaps they'll fix all the bad refing that's going on. Perhaps they'll look at the fans instead of their own pocketbooks. I hope for both. I would certainly miss hockey if there wasn't a season this year, but when I look at how bad the refereeing has become over the past few seasons, as well as how much money so many teams are loosing, it just seems that a season break would be a good thing in the long run for the NHL. I mean that in the sense that they can fix the problems, and then make sich a huge deal of the NHL comming alive again when they return the next season, that more people might actually buy tickets to the games. But that's just my hopes for if there is the lockout. (Just trying to look at the bright side here...)

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"People say I'm strange, does that make me a stranger?"

the_marq

Well it looks like the lockout is a certainty at this point. The thing that is really pissing me off this morning is all the radio stations saying, "Hey way to go Canada on winning the World Cup.....too bad it's the last hockey we are gonna see for a while."

Bite me! We all know there is a lockout coming, but could we talk about it tomorrow? You're really killing my buzz.

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The Truth:

Johnny Cash could have kicked Bruce Lee's ass if he wanted to.

#3 in a series

pixelbend

Well, looks like the only hockey I'll be seeing on my TV this year is NHL2K5.

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But I don't want ANY Spam!

the_marq

Well it's official now. No NHL, players locked out.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/natio...our040914.html

Now my buzz really is gone.

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The Truth:

Johnny Cash could have kicked Bruce Lee's ass if he wanted to.

#3 in a series

perripken

It ain't lookin' good! Here is the email to the Sabres fans I got from Larry Quinn tonight!
Letter from Sabres' Managing Partner Lawrence Quinn
(September 15, 2004)



Buffalo Sabres
HSBC Arena
One Seymour H. Knox III Plaza
Buffalo, NY 14203


Today, the Board of Governors confirmed that NHL teams will not play until the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is replaced. As a result, the opening of training camp will be delayed and the start of the 2004-05 regular season is in jeopardy. The NHL has our full support as we take this difficult but necessary step toward creating a new economic system that will help the Buffalo Sabres in the future.

During this period of time, the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena are open for business and we are available to answer any question that may arise. Please contact Account Services at 888-GOSABRES. If you would like additional information on the NHL's labor situation, I encourage you to visit our website, sabres.com and click on the link to nhlcbanews.com.

The Buffalo Sabres organization apologizes for the inconvenience this necessary action will cause its loyal fans and business partners. We hope our team will be back in action soon.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Quinn
Managing Partner

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And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

tinfoil

That has got to be one of the most one sided articles I have read regarding the CBA.

Sure, it is about greed. It's also a big pissing match. Neither side wants to give in and both sides have made provisions for an extended lockout. However, neither side gives a sh*t about the ancillary support jobs they are putting at risk. The bar owners and staff, memorabilia vendors, taxi drivers etc etc. This is going to have very large rammifications immediatly, and more serious consequences in the future.

Look at how long it took for the MLBA to recover from their lockout. 10 years is the number I heard.

With a real, workable plan in place (I like Brian Burke's proposal during the first intermission during Tuesday's world cup game on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada as a middle ground, though I would prefer a hard cap), no team would have to fold. Every team would be on fairly equal footing and this translates into small market teams actually being able to present competitive lineups. Who in Nashville is going to go see them play if the club sucks? Since no one is watching, the club can't afford to hire more skilled players. With a hard cap in place, it would be competitive across the board. That would bring in more fans and would bolster the team's bottom line. As a result, the cap could be expanded.

To me, neither party did their homework. Yes, the owners came up with 6 different scenarios and the union only presented 1, but there has been PLENTY of time to hammer something out. They were both lazy and ignorant of everything other than their damned wallets.

Pricks.

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Get off your fuckin cross. We need the fuckin space to nail the next fool martyr.

billyeggs

Too bad. I'm a flames fan!

DaGus

this is good for us in Sweden, we will get many good players to play in our league

or listen to the names in this Team MODO "Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Niklas Sundström, Mattias Weinhandl och Pierre Hedin"

and my team Timra Red Eagles
Henrik Zetterberg, Fredrik Modin,and almost certain Miikka Kiprusoff,

and many ,many more

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"Question: If you could live forever, would you and why? Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever" - Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

DaGus

whee Timrå RedEagels are haveing the best GK in the world Miikka Kiprusoff beggining the next match on thursday

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"Question: If you could live forever, would you and why? Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever" - Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

Grondar

I think as the date by which they can no longer have a season (February 18th?) approaches, they will realize their situation, and they will work something out in time.

Ideally, they will realise the mistake it would be to not have a season before they actually experience it first hand. Hockey is barely alive in America, and if there is no season, I see it taking a VERY long time to recover.

It seems like there won't be a season now, but as the time passes and February nears, I think the two sides will get their shit together and have a shortened season. If they don't, hockey is doomed; though some may argue it has been doomed for years in the States.

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"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that." -Stewie

Quadraton

It's not hockey that will be doomed, just the NHL. Hockey will live on, and if the NHL dies, then only the true fans will continue loving hockey.

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"A witty saying proves nothing"
- Voltaire

DDDDave

Anybody else have season tickets for an NHL club? How are they handling your payments?

I have paid for my entire season already and am wondering just how they are going to work it out if the season is cancelled/delayed.

I'm not really worried about getting screwed cause the Lightning will have to be fair or they will get sued by everyone.

It will be a shame if they cancel all or part of the season because the town is still buzzing about the STANLEY CUP CHAMPION TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING.

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I am just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe...

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Thoreau

"Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm" - Emerson

DDDDave

Well, to revive an old thread....

Last night was supposed to be our first pre-season game. It was going to be a huge deal with the raising of the division, conference and Stanley Cup banners. And the game was going to be against the hated Flyers. Bt alas, the day came and went without hockey.

How is everyone taking it in Canada? Here in the states, there is still college and pro football, and of course the baseball playoffs and World Series to take up your time.

When, and if, do you think there will be serious negotiations? I've heard that both sides are ready to sit out a full year. Supposedly a lot of the players have 'work stoppage insurance' that pays them their salary for a year. But after that they will get serious. The owners say that every day they don't play they don't lose any money, so they are happy.

Will there ever be an NHL again? Will it resemble the current league? We all know the owners got fat on expansion and they say that contraction is inevitable, but how do you just tell teams that 'you can't play in our league anymore'? Would the league have to buy them out?

I think Gary Bettman and Bud Selig are actually the same person.

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I am just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe...

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Thoreau

"Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm" - Emerson