NHL season cancelled...

[fkl118]

For the past three months the headline story in all the newspapers, TV news etc in Canada has been about the NHL lockout and possible cancellation of the season. Even though the season is now officially cancelled, I'm sure that it will continue to be in the headlines and the "news" will be cluttered with interviews from just about every hockey player, executive, retired player, politician, hockey fan, and whoever has any sort of opinion on this. On the other hand, I see that there is virtually no coverage of this in the US. Does the NHL and its players really think that hockey is one of the four major sports in North America when nobody in the US seems to miss it? I just think it's hard to feel sorry for locked-out players who make millions a year in a sport that isn't terribly popular in the US and doesn't even have a major TV deal. Anybody agree or not?

 

[topcatny]

You mean they aren't playing hockey this year? I hadn't noticed. I was wondering why there have been less pages in the sports section I had to skip over.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

A salary cap in some form is inevitable.  The players should have realized that several months ago instead of caving last night.  The owners always have the upper hand in these labor disputes, as they are much wealthier and have alternative sources of income.

In any event, I don't care that hockey's gone.  Bring on March Madness.

 

[chorse123]

I'm not a hockey fan but I care. A lot of people won't have jobs this year, or will earn/work less, because of the strike, and I'm not talking about the players. It's a shame that they weren't able to iron out differences, and they sure aren't helping the popularity of the league.

Baseball was lucky to come back so easily from labor problems in the 90s. I would hardly bet on the NHL having any similar luck.

 

[shoreman1782]

Call me a stupid hockey fan, but I do care. I've been pretty pissed off about the whole thing all along, not least of all at the media's chorus that no one cares. It's true, the NHL has a miniscule TV share, and will likely never succeed in sun-drenched markets, but it's a great sport that doesn't deserve the crap image it's been handed. Alright, granted, this is the stupidest labor dispute ever. The NFL and NBA have caps, and MLB should. The NHL is poorer than any, why wouldn't they? The players kind of screwed themselves. Grr. I hope hockey comes back next year with no blue line, a little more room on the ice, and no neutral zone trap. I also hope the Devils suck.

 

[johnw86]

Not a hockey fan, but I find it interesting that the two sides are unable to come to an agreement about their respective livelihoods.

 

[drizzt3117]

I think the respective parties are stupid. Why would the NHL renew the CBA twice if they were losing money hand over fist? And why wouldn't the players association just realize that the party was over and they wouldn't have jobs if they didn't accept a cap? whatever...

 

[Dakota rube]

Hockey is a BIG deal up here, and I am a fan. I actually prefer college hockey over the pros, but I am disappointed in the NHL's cancellation.

I blame both sides, but place most on the shoulders of that puny little geek, Gary Bettman, the commissioner. He used to work for the NBA and thought he could bring what he learned there into the NHL. Several problems with that theory:

1. Hockey remains largely a regional sport. Outside the snowbelt I would wager most fans are transplants. When the Tampa Bay Lightning went to the Stanley Cup final a year ago they did so without selling out their home arena once all year. Hockey in Florida? That's like expecting haute fashion in North Dakota (oh....never mind.)

2. The owners put themselves in the position of losing money; they signed HUGE contracts with no possible way to raise revenues enough to cover the payroll. No big TV deal to bail themselves out.

3. Too damn many teams.

I think there is a real possibility that the NHL will not come back in its present form. I would not be surprised at all to see the players try to form their own league. I know they tried that last autumn, but I think there is a loyal audience (within a few hundred miles of the US/Canada border) that will support a small league staffed by big name players.

It is VERY sad that two different classes of people are being irreparably harmed here: the working stiffs employed by the teams (most of whom have been out of work since September) and at arenas; and the sort of so-so hockey players in the middle of the skill and pay continuum. These players won't be back if and when the NHL comes back because they have non-guranteed contracts, and will be replaced by young stars just out of college or juniors signed to lower contracts.

I hope Bettman gets run over by a NYC cab this afternoon on his way to the bar to gloat over his "accomplishment".

 

[Mike]

Being from Detroit, which has the self given nickname "Hockeytown," I guess I'm supposed to care. I really didn't start watching any hockey games until around this point in the season anyway, because they have such a long season. I hadn't actually missed hockey at all so far.

I read in the paper that an owner said {and don't quote me as I can't remember the exact quote} "I lose 12 million dollars a season when the team is playing and this season, when they're not playing I'm only losing 5 million." If this is the same for other owners the strike will probably just keep on going, until the league dissolves, or the players give in. Why didn't they try to use replacement players like the NFL did back in the day?

I'll stick to U of M hockey. The stadium is only a couple of blocks away, the tickets are cheap, and the players are playing because they love the game.

 

[nightowl6261a]

Darn, whats a poor redneck to do for fun now, all we have for a month and a half is the NBA, drats. Maybe I can watch NASCAR and Ice Skating till then.

 

[ken]

Darn, whats a poor redneck to do for fun now, all we have for  a month and a half is the NBA, drats. Maybe I can watch NASCAR and Ice Skating till then.

Why, golf, of course. It's more physically gruelling than hockey, has more rules than rugby, more strategy than baseball, and more individual isolation than wrestling: a redneck's dream.

At least, that's what I read somewhere in a sports thread on this forum...

 

[esquire.]

What the F??

Everybody here knows much more about clothes than I do, but they're wrong about hockey. The strike was instigated by that weasel, Bettman, to break up the player's union.

The players were willing to take a 24% pay cut across the board. And, they were also willing to accept a salary cap as well, albeit as a last, desperate move to avoid a strike. And, some teams will eventually get folded into the league. I don't know what more the players could have given up except their first born. I don't think the football union even crumbled as much as the hockey players did.

 

[Bradford]

Does anyone care - ummm - no?

Well my best friend is a Coyotes season ticket holders, so he's a little bummed, but other than that I haven't heard anyone even mention the NHL.

People here in Phoenix are talking about the Suns & the NBA All Star Game, U of A's chances in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Phil Mickelson's back to back victories (Phoenix and Pebble Beach) and baseball spring training.

Bradford

 

[Dakota rube]

Pretty good piece on Bozo Bettman, including this: Not being a "hockey guy," though, Bettman made a fatal miscalculation. He grew the game recklessly and watched his owners lavish profligate contracts on players, assuming that demand would eventually catch up with a suddenly bountiful supply. The opposite turned out to be true. Full column here: http://www.canoe.ca/NewsSta....un.html As I said, I hope he gets run over by a cab. In the meantime, here's an introduction to REAL hockey: http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7...ures/intro.htm (climbing off my soapbox now)

 

[nightowl6261a]

Does anyone care - ummm - no?

Well my best friend is a Coyotes season ticket holders...

Bradford

And my wifes best friend wanted to be a coyote when it opened in ATL, but I told her she did not need to work at Coyote Ugly to be one, she had that deal sealed.

And yes, Ken you are right, play golf, it is more grueling than any other sport. And definitely takes longer.