12/18/24
October 01, 2003
CBA negotiations underway.: Looks like Bettman and Goodenow are starting to develop some semblance of a clue. So what will be the opening salvos in this sure-to-be-ugly peepee contest? I predict something along the lines of: "We want a salary cap!" "No." "We want a salary cap!" "No." ad infinitum, while the WHA sneaks in and steals all the fans away.
The WHA? I think it will be a LONG WHILE before teams like the Orlando Seals, Jacksonville Barracudas, and the Miami Manatees take the NHL's fans. Sounds more like Sea World than a hockey league. Anyway, it's a start, but until things become a little more dire, I can't see them being productive.
posted by mkn at 03:34 PM on October 01, 2003
Will the AHL and ECHL operate during any labour stoppage? Will European elite leagues (with Mats, Peter Forsberg and others rumoured to be returning home) televise in Canada and the U.S.? If yes to either, then, IMO, the WHA will have trouble. >Sounds more like Sea World than a hockey league. LOL.
posted by Philfromhavelock at 03:46 PM on October 01, 2003
1. Copy NHL 2. Copy Seaworld 3. Sabotage NHL labor negotiations 4. ... 5. Profit$$$
posted by billsaysthis at 05:19 PM on October 01, 2003
If CBA negotiations cause a holdout next year, I'll be watching the WHA. If not, I'm hoping someone will put together a package like Center Ice where you can watch games from the Russian, Finnish and Czech leagues. I'm not sure how hard I can root for Saskatoon or some shit like that, but you gotta watch something.
posted by Samsonov14 at 06:16 PM on October 01, 2003
If CBA negotiations cause a holdout next year, I'll be watching the WHA. If not, I'm hoping someone will put together a package like Center Ice where you can watch games from the Russian, Finnish and Czech leagues. I'm not sure how hard I can root for Saskatoon or some shit like that, but you gotta watch something.
posted by Samsonov14 at 06:39 PM on October 01, 2003
Um... The second time was for emphasis.
posted by Samsonov14 at 06:40 PM on October 01, 2003
International Hockey should be available, irregardibly. How else can we know what 4th year Euro Pro 'rookies' can do.
posted by garfield at 08:05 PM on October 01, 2003
Sammy, aren't you in the Boston area?* Get thee to a college hockey game. Stat! Or something like that. If there's a lockout/strike, I'm on my own down here in Nawth Cackalacky. I suppose I could always visit my parents and catch a Michigan Tech yawner or two. Of course, there's always that strong option of ACC club hockey.** *- Assumption being made since your nom de plume is a Booins player. ** - Yankees that go to college down here that were good enough for high school hockey, but that is about it. Still, it's hockey. I suppose.
posted by NoMich at 10:12 PM on October 01, 2003
Red Deer, Terrace and a Medicine Hat, Sing another prairie tune Sing another prairie tune Moose Jaw saw a few, Moosomin too Runnin back to Saskatoon
posted by Philfromhavelock at 01:11 AM on October 02, 2003
Hey - I've been to Moosomin. Wow. That's all I can say. Nice folk. Personally I think that starting the negotiations now is just a good way to get free take out Chinese food for few months. As always, the deal will be done drunk and in a strip club at the 11th hour - hand written on cocktail napkins.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:45 AM on October 02, 2003
NoMich, I used to live in Boston, but moved to New Jersey. Don't ask.
posted by Samsonov14 at 08:55 AM on October 02, 2003
At best this gives us hope that the posturing on both sides is on the decline. A while ago Bud Selig and the MLB Players Association showed that a deal doesn't need to take years or even weeks...faced with a strike, they did much of it in one night. Could the NHL brass have made the same realization? I doubt it, but at least something is being done, whatever that something is.