04/25/24
February 20, 2004
"Bad NHLPA!': Says NBA commish.
why is another sport's commissioner even _bothering_ with this???
posted by owl at 02:09 PM on February 20, 2004
I'm guessing G.Betts had a hand in this, considering Stern is Bettman's role model. And of course, Stern doesn't address any actual debate, rather just reinforces the League's stance.
posted by garfield at 02:23 PM on February 20, 2004
Because the NBA and NHL compete for consumer entertainment dollars and corporate sponsorship dollars more directly (because they are in the same season) than they would with MLB and NFL for example. While Stern makes it appear that he is extending friendly advice in that direction, he is using the NHL situation as leverage for the NBA by sticking it to Bettman every chance he gets.
posted by smithers at 02:26 PM on February 20, 2004
Jesus H. Christ - for the head of a union to criticize Arthur Leavitt's bona fides is beyond ridiculous. The guy knows more about accounting than probably anybody on the planet. The players disregard his comments at their peril.
posted by vito90 at 03:37 PM on February 20, 2004
"I can't imagine a person of more reliability on economic matters," Stern tells the Rocky Mountain News of the Levitt report.
posted by garfield at 03:41 PM on February 20, 2004
vito, my apologies, I misread your post. But I still disagree. No one is challenging Levitt's credentials, just the report's merit. I'm sure numerous people could come to the same conclusions he has, but the problem isn't with his analysis, but with the data set, which continues to be undisclosed.
posted by garfield at 04:40 PM on February 20, 2004
Not sure this is worth a FPP (whoever deleted my late night poker post, many thanks), but Hockey Day in Canada this past Saturday was awesome, yet again. For not having a permanent residence north of the 49th in quite a few years, HDIC is a massive injection of cultural nostalgia, as my brand new Gordon Lightfoot collection attests. And for non-Canadians, well, I'll let them speak for themsevles.
posted by garfield at 10:02 AM on February 23, 2004
Former NHL president John Ziegler has said the owner's desire to field winning teams has led to the overspending. Ziegler says teams should not be spending more than 60 percent of their revenues on player salaries. Currently, they are spending more than 70 percent.