I haven’t seen one thing this morning that says the players accepted the ultimatum from the owners. Atlanta players failed to show up for training this morning in protest
I read someplace that unless the players give the owners everything they want in terms of salary cuts that they would lose a lot less money this season by not playing at all. And since the baseball players union has never had a lick of sense, I'd bet that you're correct.
Maybe it's an urban legend I have taken as true ... But, I was under the impression that the Crew has never turned a profit in any year. (Not including the Owner/Operators getting SUM funds, expansion fees. etc.) Is that the case?
IMO .. the baseball players' counter-offer reeks of desperation. Just like week, union reps (including some star players) were tweeting ... "no use even talking any more if the owners' books can't be opened." Now ... players propose starting June 30, which barely leaves time for signed agreement and Spring Training. No chance to get third-party examination of all the owners' revenue streams.
This is true on a technicality: the soccer team (Crew Soccer, LLC - as it's been known) has never turned a profit. However, the stadium (Crew Stadium, LLC) is very profitable - mainly due to concerts and the rent that is charged to the Soccer Team.
I’m not disputing this at all, but where did you see the actual proof that this is true? I have seen it posted as opinion but never seen proof.
It will be really interesting to find out by noon tomorrow if either side bails from this game of chicken.
I remember back shortly after CCS was built, Garber was telling everyone who would listen that team controlled soccer specific stadia were necessary to the survival of the league. He contrasted the teams paying mega rents to play at Giants stadium or Arrowhead to the Crew and said we were slightly profitable.
I don't doubt that the Stadium is profitable and the Team is not, I just hadn't seen any verifiable proof. I don't consider anything Garber says to be proof of anything.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2018/11/14/mls-most-valuable-teams-2018/#31774ed12ee9 All figures are Forbes estimates; team values do not include stadiums or real estate. Revenue and operating income are for 2017 season, and operating income is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. I remember seeing this a while ago and found it again. Probably going to be as close to "proof " but still just an educated guess.
I don't know that I can provide written documentation as proof, and certainly not a financial statement, but I remember this being a subject of discussion between segments during the taping of a Massive Report Podcast with a former Crew Exec as the guest. I think the exact phrase used was something like "the team doesn't make any money, but the building is a cash cow." The rest is just extrapolation based on info that came out during The Saga.
Here's a story out of Chicago that says the Columbus Dispatch was able to verify with a source that the players responded to the owners lockout threat by staging a league wide refusal to participate in "voluntary" workouts today. I can't find this in the Dispatch anywhere. https://chicago.suntimes.com/platfo...eague-soccer-mls-threatens-player-lockout-cba Nevermind. Here it is https://www.dispatch.com/sports/202...er-lockout-over-collective-bargaining-dispute
Nevermind. Here it is https://www.dispatch.com/sports/202...er-lockout-over-collective-bargaining-dispute[/QUOTE] From the article: Update 2:26 p.m.: Major League Soccer is working on a revision to its proposal which will be submitted to the players’ union for review, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Dispatch.
Patrick Murphy tweeted around 11 that they didn’t show up. Trash the Dispatch all you want, but most of their resources are covering the protests downtown, which is slightly more important right now.
Who is trashing the Dispatch? I pointed out that they were being quoted as the first to break a national sports story.
That wasn’t aimed at you, more a general statement that for all the Dispatch has done wrong and screwed up recently they have their priorities straight and are doing a good job of covering the most important thing right now.
Right up until today I was certain that they would play again this season. But I'm beginning to fear that they will not. Maybe this is way out there but early on in World War II baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis sent FDR a hand written letter asking him if he thought they should shut down baseball until the war was over. Roosevelt replied with what is famously known as The Green Light Letter in which he said that in such dark, scary, perilous times baseball was essential to keeping the nation more or less sane, providing a desperately needed sense of normalcy. Times have changed and so has sport but his point remains valid. We need something to make us all feel like there's something about the world that hasn't gone haywire.
The President of the United States essentially declared war on the citizens of his country. I don’t think exhibition MLS matches in front of zero fans, watched by a few thousand people on tv is the medicine to convince people that the country isn’t ********ed.
Two completely different presidents with two completely different views on what "the people" need, let alone who they are. FDR gave bread and circus, Trump is only interested in the circus.
Owners pushed back their ultimatum until Wednesday at 12pm after ongoing discussions today with the MLSPA.
Jacob Myers is currently marching with protesters after curfew, we playfully give him a hard time but he’s doing some serious work. MLS is nothing compared to this stuff.