T'aint funny McGee. (Who gets the reference?) The NHL's finances are seriously out of whack. As a Canes fan, I hope the players understand that. I'm a guy who usually takes the line that the owners are lying and trying to screw players, in whatever sport. But I don't see how one can rationally take that position wrt the NHL.
""We're a large corporation with a lot of different holdings," Leiweke says. "It is unfortunate that the one holding that is the most troubling within our entire organization is the L.A. Kings. There's not one other area that troubles me as much as the current system we currently operate in for the L.A. Kings and we need to fix that." That is saying a lot considering they were (reputedly) contemplating shutting down the Rapids around this time last year... Andy
Man, everybody who thinks the NHL will avoid a labor disruption next year, please move to the left side of the room (everybody should now be on the right side of the room)
Remember, that's exactly what the conventional wisdom was about baseball this time last year. Remember how many times the word "inevitable" was used? As if it was a fait accompli? I'm just sayin'. Of course it could happen, but it's a long way from now until then.
True. There's a big difference between the interest of the stars, who would rather let 'the market' play out, and the rank and file, who have to be a little worried about who will end up losing their jobs if the NHL cuts teams. If I was a backup making $500-750k, I think I might be willing to take a 10-20% pay cut if I could be convinced that the other option was that 10-20% of all NHL players would end up out of a job. And players like me would control most of the vote.
There's a difference. In baseball, those predictions were based more on the collective stupidity and arrogance of the negotiators. Wrt the NHL, it's based more on serious problems in the economics of the injury. Speaking for myself, I'm substantially more pessimistic about the NHL than I was about baseball. So maybe I'm projecting my bias, but I think you're wrong in saying it's exactly the same. Considering how far out we are from D-Day, I don't think the "buzz" is the same in hockey.
The buzz wouldn't be the same because it's simply not nearly as big a deal to the majority of American sports fans, and Americans in general, if there's a hockey work stoppage. I guess baseball didn't have "serious problems"? (The fact they didn't completely address them notwithstanding---the bottom line is there wasn't a work stoppage). All I'm saying is that it's obviously possible hockey will have a work stoppage. But you can't sit here on January 18 and say it's absolutely going to happen any more than the people who posted and the sportswriters who opined that a baseball strike was absolutely, positively, going to happen.
I heard it suggested by one of our local hockey pbp guys that he thinks there may not be a work stoppage because the union realizes that the financial problems some of these clubs are having are real. We'll see. Personally I think ESPN will be coming to MLS next spring to see if they want to put some more games on since there will be so many openings in their programming schedule.
This only works if MLS plays through December, January, and February on weeknights. ESPN shows almost no hockey on weekends until the playoffs with the exception of Sunday night games after the NFL season. An NHL work stoppage does not help MLS get more games on TV. There's no way the players and owners in the NHL kill a whole season, so the playoffs will happen. If anything, this bumps MLS off a few Saturday slots when the 2004-2005 NHL season runs a little long.
Nope. They'll run more "original programming" 1. Beg, Borrow, and Deal Some More. 2. The wacky One liner Hour with Kenny Mayne. 3. A reality show where 12 Mascots are forced to live in the same house and vote one another out. 4. More Strongman competetions. 5. The XTreme Gr8 Outdoors games, where they chop down wood on BMX bikes and skateboards.
Ha Ha Andy, I'll admit you got me there. As a biased hockey fan, I feel that the NHL is one of the better products in sports. But a big market team with a new arena reporting this, brings a slight bit of twitching to my stomach. In 2004, the economics of the NHL will change for certain. Whether it can be done relatively smoothly with no work stoppage, remains to be seen.. Keep in mind this time, that the Owners and NHLPA have a potentional mediator this time around, in owner-player Mario Lemieux.