Or at least harass the worst commish in sports.
The NHL office's number is 212-789-2000, let it ring. Extension 2101 is Gary Bettman himself. Be Civil, no profanity, and tell him and his penny pinching owners to end the lockout.
This hangs in the balance.
EDIT: Title changed to help with reading comprehension
I thought the lockout ended,
Better?
?
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
Yes, much better. Your title
Yes, much better. Your title wasn't too bad. But like i said, we were all going to take it the way we wanted to take it.
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
Worst thread title EVER! I
Worst thread title EVER! I hate you!
I got my hopes up from the
I got my hopes up from the title, now I have a sad...
USING GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF CAPS LOCK SINCE APRIL 2011
And I don't think he is the
And I don't think he is the worst commish. Up until recently, the NHL is the only league that kept it humble and kept contacts under control.
The owners take the risk. Without the oweners, these guys make 30k a year playing in another country. Players are employees, and they already make damn good money.
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
The owners take the risk?
Sell your team. The players ARE the entertainment and the draw. Without the owners... some other billionaire owns the team. After losing a season where the players gave up tons the owners want more. this is ridiculous.
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
Another billionaire buying
Another billionaire buying the team would be the same case. And they would then be taking the financial responsibility. It's a business. Not to mention, players already get an absurd amount of money. And like all sports, their pay will steadily increase over time. As of late, it's been increasing rather rapidly for all star players.
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
It's not just a business
and despite what the owners say it's not about turning a profit. There are many, many more lucrative and safer business ventures. If these billionaires wanted a good return they'd invest elsewhere. It's all about being an owner. Owning a team is like owning/investing in artwork. You don't plan on selling it, you want to have it, it has a value.
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
Mike Ilitch, for example,
Mike Ilitch, for example, invested in the city of Detroit. And look at all the development that has come about it.
You're right about it being more complex. How much more do you think the players deserve?
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
this isnt about the players wanting more
It's about how much they have to give back to the owners. The players were perfectly satisfied with extending the existing CBA. The owners weren't and locked the players out because of it.
And Ilitch is a great owner
I doubt the lockout is his fault. But the players just gave up a ton 7 years ago. That was a major restructuring of the whole system. Now the owners just want a bigger piece of the pie.
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
I know a few owners who pushed a lockout
Wirtz didn't help, Jacobs in Boston, Charles Wang (NYI), Snider in Philly, to name a few. Teams like Detroit and New York opposed a lockout, but didn't have fair representation at the meetings.
I can semi-see the Owners
I can semi-see the Owners POV. With only the 43% of HRR, they're expected to keep up the stadium, pay the medical staff, buy equipment, pay the support staff etc. etc. So I can see why they want the players to come to a more even split. It's foolish to try and get it from 57% down to wherever they offered, but that's how they went about it.
And ultimately they're probably going to win
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
Without the players there is
Without the players there is no business. The players get paid so much because they risk there health and are paid what they would make at a blue collar job over their lifetimes, and that's just the regulars. The only risk the owners make is monetary. Players put the quality of their lives and more at risk when they step on the ice, and sometimes more. I understand the "common man" thinks that amount of money is absurd, but it is a condensed amount and is as much about what they won't make after their playing days are over. And just like in the working world, the best at their jobs get paid more, and just like in the working world, sometimes better players aren't paid enough and a complete hack has a short period of success and cashes out. The mostly already filthy rich owners get NO sympathy from me.
Hail to the Victors!
Double clutch
I wish we could simply delete posts after the dreaded "double-click" reflex.
"Without the players?"
The "without the players there is no business" logic can be used on anything from accounting firms to Mc Donald's, and I don't see them paying their employees 40-50% of revenues before profit.
Without the owners building or leasing the arenas and selling the games to the public, the players are working at Mc Donalds and playing hockey in front of friends and family on the weekend. The players want too much money, and a lot of the teams can't afford to compete.
The Lightning, for example, usually don't make it out of the red, even with a low-end payroll, unless they get to the playoffs. The players and the agents who run the NHLPA get their money every year, though.
I don't feel sorry for the owners, but I don't feel sorry for players who make millions of dollars a year, either. Let the players split profits, not revenue.
thank you. Said it better
thank you. Said it better than I could.
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
Anyone can flip a burger.
Anyone can flip a burger. Can you even skate in a proffesional hockey game? The reason companies get away with paying minimum wage is because it is common labor. It is easier to replace low to mid level workers. The higher the pay level, the more irreplaceable a worker becomes and the more responsibility and risk they take on. NHL players are more skilled and take on more risk than the common man. Part of the reason stars are making more is inflation and also, as I said earlier, they are being paid for a lifetime of work since the span of an NHL career is much less than that of a common job with low(er) risk. I'm not saying feel sorry for the players, but Bettman and the owners are in the midst of destroying the NHL. These guys can get paid elsewhere. I think a lot of people's frustration with athletes is linked to jealousy and their own sense of moral superiority (which we all have). Given the skill of their jobs, the risk they take in their jobs and the life span of those jobs/careers NHL players aren't overpaid on average. The common man can't relate because the common man isn't skilled enough to play NHL level hockey at even a poor level and also can't relate to the health risks taken every game. Don't feel sorry for them, but with plenty of other professional leagues out there it is the owners and Bettman's terrible management that will drive the best players away and ruin or destroy the NHL.
Hail to the Victors!
For a lot of these
For a lot of these billionaires, these sports teams are a hobby. Because, frankly, if the owners were actually running a business they would control their own spending. No one said you had to sign that guy for 15 years at $120Mill. Its just like Jerry Reinsdorf when MLB did the same thing. All the owners said they had to get spending under control, then he goes out and signs Frank Thomas to this ridiculous contract.
In the end the owners can't help themselves. In the end the small market teams will suffer as usual. In the end I can't say I really miss hockey all that much.
Trolling... Seriously.
Trolling... Seriously.
He's a good comish
Bettman is employed by the owners so he's is going to be a yesman, just like any other commissioner would be. What makes Bettman different is how he drives revenue, that's why the NHL has grown by almost 500% in gross profits since he took over.
Who is worse?
Seilig? The only major sport NOT to have a work stoppage during their last labor negotiation?
Stern? Who has so much control over his league that just raked in best ever profits that people think its fixed? And whose sport is now big enough globally thanks to his efforts that they're going to ditch the olympics and have their own world cup?
Goodell? Who runs a $9B money making machine that despite mounting evidence that head injuries are killing its alums can't stop driving the entirety of american society?
Or Bettman. Who gets boo'd every year at the trophy ceremony, who wants to keep NHL players out of the olympics despite it being the height of hockey's popularity over the last 6 years, who is in the SECOND lockout in the last 8 years with lost games, and whose main triumph was a 1 year deal with NBC to televise an occasional national game?
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
Spot on. Great post.
Spot on. Great post.
Give me a key, I'll end the
Give me a key, I'll end the lockout.
www.eatacheeseburger.blogspot.com Brian Cook has read this blog!
Worst Commish?
Yes. Anybody that takes their league from "The World Wide Leader" to something called Versus is horrible and likely insane.
I just destroyed that toilet with a huge Rosenberg.
Do you mean "visionary"?
Now that Versus is NBC Sports, it's almost like hockey is on a major network, right?
He didn't take it to Versus.
He didn't take it to Versus. He took it to OLN...
Good point
Versus was an upgrade!
-
Can you cut a $1,000,000,000 check? That is about the only thing a fan can do to help end the NHL lockout.
"I tried to but a pencil in the light socket but it was too wide and didn't fit so I used a paperclip."-Terrelle Pryor, Future Rhodes Scholar
No more streaming Red Wings
No more streaming Red Wings games in the dark, cold days of winter?
Abort, Retry, Fail?
Won't be the same without
Won't be the same without Journey rocking at the Joe. Those are some magical moments.
"Just a small town girl"
Call Illitch.
Call Illitch.
Probably the wrong thread to say it in
But would I be the only one to not be too sad if the Winter Classic got cancelled, because I want the Big Chill to be sure and continue the all time hockey attendance record?
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
I don't care as much about
I don't care as much about the record. I care that all of the most likely bowl destinations for this Michigan team will directly interfere with it. Between driving to Ann Arbor and pre-game festivities and whatnot, the whole bowl day is ruined. I like the Winter Classic when it makes the Sparties go watch the Citrus in the den, but if it's gonna be in town let it be on Christmas Eve or Jan 2.
(Blogger alias: "Misopogon") This team is under construction. We thank you for your patience.
I thought the lockout ended, you suck.
EDIT: I guess your title is a command, I still took it the way I wanted to take it.
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.