Stop the Puck! NHL Locks out Players

[Norquist Nemesis]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBK8ZDC6ZD.html

NEW YORK (AP) - The National Hockey League is locking out its players starting Thursday, threatening to keep the sport off the ice for the entire 2004-05 season and perhaps beyond in an effort by management to gain massive change in the sport's economic structure.
After the long-expected decision was approved unanimously Wednesday by NHL owners, commissioner Gary Bettman repeatedly belittled the union's bargaining position, talked about the possibility the confrontation could extend into the 2005-06 season and said the conflict has jeopardized the NHL's participation in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

"If there's enough time to play some games, we'll do it," he said of this season, "and if there's not, we won't."

Bettman called it a "bleak day," claimed teams had combined to lose more than $1.8 billion over 10 years and cited bankruptcy filings by teams in Buffalo, Los Angeles, Ottawa and Pittsburgh. He said management will not agree to a labor deal that doesn't include a defined relationship between revenue and salaries.

<snip>

Maybe the Dems can get some NHL players to volunteer. :) Fact is, it's another case of union busting. And there are big dollars at stake... not just in terms of the team economics, but the cities they play in and peripheral businesses associated with the business. Not to mention the jobs.

I'm not a hockey fan as a sport, but any major sport such as this can have an impact. :(

[dennis4868]

1. will anyone notice....

that they are not playing hockey? They used to say there were 4 major sports leagues in the USA....i think we are down to 3....NFL, MLB, and NBA.....hockey is off the charts in my opinion.

[tridim]

3. Well, I watch 90% of our home games.

I'll miss it like I'm missing a thumb. :(

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. Big NFL fan here...

I'll watch the playoffs and championships for NBA, MLB, and NHL but don't care otherwise.

And it breaks my heart to see NFL athletes like John Elway giving Bush a boost. :cry:

Still, there will be an impact with each game of the season that is lost. For one thing, thing about the number of people that work during a game...concessions, ticket takers, security, catering (VIPS), hotels, printers (programs)...just to name a few.

[MirrorAshes]

18. lame. Lots of people LOVE hockey. Go to a game sometime.

if you have a pulse, you'll enjoy it.

[Shadder]

19. You clearly have no idea

Here's just one example from one city:
http://www.detnews.com/2004/wings/0409/16/a01-275404.htm

[4morewars]

2. We should start a new league !!!

Fuck the greedy millionaire owners !!! Let's start a league with our union dues ! We have the money, union dues built Las Vegas ! We can keep it fair for the players(workers) and the peripheral workers as well.

[Odd Little Man]

4. Just a thought...

If over a 10 year period teams lost over 1.8 billion dollars, maybe it's time for some new owners.
Or a new commissioner.
Or more enjoyable sport to watch; Bigger rink, less fighting.
I enjoy watching college and olympic hockey but the overpriced NHL sucks. Let the players go back to doing what they did before they became players, bar bouncers.

[Norquist Nemesis]

16. So you're saying just forget about the

economic impact in terms of jobs? Well, that's one man's opinion, I guess.

I don't know about the ticket price. If it's like MLB or NFL, you're right that it's not something the average person can afford on a whim. I don't follow the sport.

BTW, Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Renew Deal]

5. The NHL is full of dumb people.

They have seen this coming for a year. Why couldn't they fix this? Fucking assholes. I am really pissed. The NHL playoffs are one of the best competitions in all of sports and better than baseball and basketball.

[Norquist Nemesis]

10. Not being a hockey fan

I can't say whether they have been working on this or not. I would think that the players union has been trying but not getting anywhere.

One thing I always have a problem with is when owners (employers) lock out employees. It always seems to happen more often than the players (employees) striking. That just seems to be a ploy by the people in charge to 1) get a leg up on demonstrating their power and 2) try to gain public support. JMHO

[richmwill]

6. If this lockout...

...continues for any extended period of time, the league is DONE in the United States. Interest has waned tremendously in the past few years. A lockout will cause whatever casual fans remain to lose all interest, only the true hard-core fans will remain. There's no great mainstream star (such as Gretzky, Hull, Mario, etc.) for the casual fan to even care to see, to want to see back when this lockout ends.

I'm afraid this will be a very severe blow to a great game.

[Norquist Nemesis]

12. You could be right.

But will the fans blame the owners or the players? It's the owners that are performing the lockout.

[OneBlueSky]

7. on the list of things I care about, this ranks right below . . .

Paris Hilton's next career move . . . ho hum . . .

[Norquist Nemesis]

13. As far as the sport goes, I'm in the same boat. But as far as

the economic impact, it's not a good thing.

[AndyTiedye]

8. What if the Players Buy Out the Owners?

Has anything like that ever happened in professional sports?

Usually the only value the owner of a sports team adds is
the political connections to induce a city to build them a
multimillion dollar stadium or arena at no cost to the team.
Anyone who can't make money under those circumstances,
must have all the business acumen of, uh, George W. Bush.

Perhaps professional sports needs to free itself from
people like that.

[Norquist Nemesis]

14. Good question.

I don't know if anything has happened like that with the players buying out the owners. That might be an option to consider. Sort of like the airlines (American?) where the employees became stakeholders.

[Shadder]

21. Not very likely

There are any number of reasons why something like this would not work. First off, there are clearly established rules that prohibit current players from team ownership. Something that I seriously doubt that the league would exhibit any interest in modifying. But getting around that point somehow, would the players meet the qualifications of NHL ownership? If they did, would the league approve them as owners of a specific team. Again, assuming that they are approved what makes you think that the current team owner is going to be willing to sell? But lets say that they do. Lets then say that player x who is a part owner of Chicago is traded to Toronto. What happens to his ownership? Can't have the owner of a team playing for a rival. Are you going to make ownership like stock that is transfered each time a player moves? What about new players coming into the league? What about players that exit the league? What about the coach that had to ride heard on his now numerous bosses that could quickly decide to fire him just because he has some rule that they do not like?

these are just a few things that come to mind quickly as to probable issues that would prevent something like this from taking place. This is not the way to go.

[Sven77]

11. the sport needs a complete retooling

the difference of payroll on teams is absurd. i dont care how bad the rangers do with their high payroll. it is horrible to see canadian hockey franchises move to the south and the desert. Who appreciates hockey more than Canadians. I hope the owners can open the books a little(im sure their cooking them like enron). we need a salary cap like football to make the sport exciting again. the new jersey trap almost ruined the sport. as a bruins fan i still have just a little more hope than the red sox's. jeremy jacobs is the worst profitier in all sports. highest overall price for night out to a bruins game. they let all their good players go for nothing.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. You know much more about this than I do.

Beyond the name Wayne Gretzky as a hockey player, I'm clueless. You may very well be right about the owners cooking the books.

I can't fault the players for wanting a bigger piece of the pie. They are, after all, the ones that bring in the big bucks. Without them, the owners would be up shit creek! And the dollars associated with sponsorship and advertising is astronomical with any major sport.

I'm still concerned how this will impact the sport related jobs and the market's economic impact.

[Shadder]

20. Good article on the economic impact in Detroit

http://www.detnews.com/2004/wings/0409/16/a01-274365.htm

Just one small example that is not mentioned in the above article. The Superior Fish Company in Royal Oak, is anticipating a projected drop in octopus sales during the lockout. :)

[JaySherman]

17. Gary Bettman is the WORST commissioner in pro sports.

(With apologies to Bud Selig) How is it that this man still has a job? He has now presided over two lockouts. He blew it in '95 when he had a chance to really put his league in the spotlight after a great playoff season, highlighted by the great Rangers-Devils and Rangers-Vancouver series. I don't recall public interest in the sport ever being so high as it was then. So what did he do? He locked the players out the following season, losing half of it. Then managed to lose the big TV contracts to boot.

Now we get another lockout??? One that could very well result in the demise of several franchises, if not the league itself. And all the man can say is, "If there's enough time to play some games, we'll do it. And if there's not, we won't." As a hockey fan, I'm disgusted.

:grr:

/rant off

Oh, well. There's better things to mad at I suppose. Had to get that off my chest. Now back to being mad about *.

[noonwitch]

22. Bummer, my favorite sport to watch

I like b-ball, but hockey is my favorite. I guess I'll be watching the Pistons more this year than last year.