NHL to Lock Out Players on Thursday: Enuf Already The fans need to strike back!

Organized sports is really getting out of hand IMHO. Clearly no learning from the baseball strike fiasco, the NHL and thier players unable to come to any sort of agreement, are set to repeat mistakes of the past in other sports. The owners have stated that they will lockout the players Thursday and the season may be canceled. Both sides are making alot of money and now we have billionaire owners squabaling with millionaire players over billions of dollars. The payers are over payed in almost all pro sports, and the owners are always crying that they are loosing money but it seems more like vodoo accounting to me than anything else. I for one will miss hockey, but no longer will spend my money to see nor will I persue anything relating to professional level hockey. My dollars will be spent elsewere. I call on everybody to do the same. lets send them a message

NEW YORK - 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 (news - web sites).

"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."
Billionaires and Millionairs

I completely agree. The only Sport in the world that is anywhere under control is the NFL - and yet it still costs 250 bucks for 800 level, section ZZZ, seat 999

Perhaps worse then any American sport is soccer, where trades are largely ignored in favor of buying and selling players contracts. In some cases this can be in tens of millions of Euros - and that does not even take into account the players salary.

Personally, I refuse to buy baseball and hockey tickets. Boring games (though I do love my Flyers - especially when the thugs come out to play...lol) and spoiled players and owners.

Football on the otherhand, I will always pay to see...

Originally posted by FredT
I for one will miss hockey, but no longer will spend my money to see nor will I persue anything relating to professional level hockey. My dollars will be spent elsewere. I call on everybody to do the same. lets send them a message

Hey FredT...the Midget team I coach is ALWAYS looking for sponsors if you are looking for a place for that money!!!

It's ashame that people who really likes hockey have to be the ones who suffer (not being able to watch games being played), because the ones who play, play for the pay, and not for the love of it!

Been to a few live hockey games and they're exciting. Always been keen on watching a good fight!, though it's not my favorite sport for watching on television.

Hockey fans should do what the American baseball fans did when baseball striked 10 yrs. or so ago. When they did resume playing, not many fans showed up! Here you have a MLB game going on and only a few fans show up! They still had to play all 9 innings! I like watching baseball, but nowhere like I use to, even until today ( I will watch my sons in little league and do enjoy it!).

If NFL ever strikes, (which I seriously doubt they ever will, because they love to play the game), I'll throw my television in the river because, it won't be any good for nothing else! I'll just listen to college football on the radio!

Bottom line. The most successful sport in North America is the NFL They have a salary cap. This is the "biggie" for the union, they don't want it. Big mistake. It will only make the league better. But the union is only interested in making more millionaires. Let they union hang, The owners OWN the venues now, so you will see more concerts, the Blue Man Group, whatever. 41 dates to fill, lots of acts. BTW, Junior hockey is as exciting as the NHL, support it, you'll be amazed at the quallity.

Originally posted by intrepid
BTW, Junior hockey is as exciting as the NHL, support it, you'll be amazed at the quallity.

Actually Im hoping that that is exactly what happends. I have gone to maybe 20 baseball games since the strike, but I go see the San Jose Giants quite often and find the game more intersting than the pro games (except when Bonds jacks one). I hope the same happens in Hockey

Originally posted by Intelearthling
If NFL ever strikes, (which I seriously doubt they ever will, because they love to play the game), I'll throw my television in the river because, it won't be any good for nothing else! I'll just listen to college football on the radio!

They already had a strike. Thats how the current free agent/salary cap system came about. It's also why you don't see a dynasty like the 49ers or cowboys or bills of the 80s and 90's (though the Pats are getting close and my eagles would be up there too if they could just win a superbowl).

They got it right with a strict salary cap - now only the best players get the huge "mega" deals, and they are usually only for positions like QB, half back, defensive end and cornerback. Most other players are on short, non gauranteed contracts. That forces players to stay on the top of their game or they will lose there job, unlike in othersports where most money is upfront.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
They already had a strike. Thats how the current free agent/salary cap system came about. It's also why you don't see a dynasty like the 49ers or cowboys or bills of the 80s and 90's (though the Pats are getting close and my eagles would be up there too if they could just win a superbowl).

They got it right with a strict salary cap - now only the best players get the huge "mega" deals

So maybe this strike/lock out will be a good thing for hockey.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
[They already had a strike. Thats how the current free agent/salary cap system came about. It's also why you don't see a dynasty like the 49ers or cowboys or bills of the 80s and 90's

God I loved being in the Bay Area during the Dynasty years. Ill be honest with you, the parity thing kind of sucks. Look at the Yankees, they don't win all the time even they spend all that money. One thing I wish the NFL would do is lightne up a bit. The No Fun League is an apt name right now. Let the people celebrate.....

That may be but how can you argue with this?




Look at dem rings.

Originally posted by FredT

Originally posted by American Mad Man
[They already had a strike. Thats how the current free agent/salary cap system came about. It's also why you don't see a dynasty like the 49ers or cowboys or bills of the 80s and 90's

God I loved being in the Bay Area during the Dynasty years. Ill be honest with you, the parity thing kind of sucks. Look at the Yankees, they don't win all the time even they spend all that money. One thing I wish the NFL would do is lightne up a bit. The No Fun League is an apt name right now. Let the people celebrate.....

I agree - it takes all of the fun out of building up a team - once everyone gets good, half of them leave because you can't keep a probowler at every position now. Man I miss the days of Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Seth Joyner and Cunningham going against Art monk and the Hogs of DC and LT and Simms in NY not to mention Jimmy Johnson with Emmitt, Aikman, and Irvin.

God the NFC East used to be good. It was truely the NFC BEAST.

But now that the Eagles actually have the upper hand, of course we can't keep our team together! Damnit!

BTW - thanks for T.O. - hopefully he can put the Eagles over the hump.

Originally posted by intrepid
So maybe this strike/lock out will be a good thing for hockey.

Not likely. The difference between the two is that in the NFL, the owners had the upper hand. It was a hugely popular game, but one where there was no toher practical league to play in. In hockey, there are many leagues overseas for the star players to play in and get paid well. If the NHL doesn't have the best players then they will go belly up.

Football also is not dominated so much by individual players the way hockey is (as far as fan interest goes - the exception being Canada of course).

It remains to be seen. If the fans react properly the NHL will come out of this as a strong league. SUPPORT JUNIOR HOCKEY!

LOL - i just noticed your from Canada. Junior hockey is only big in the north east of the US. Even here in Philly it is a distant junior sport in terms of popularity (Soccer, baseball, football, basketball, and lacross are all more popular and cheaper).

The problem with hockey is that you need ice and skates to play it. I played a lot of street hockey growing up, but I could never find a rink that offered a league to join when I was young. Thus I never developed the skating skills needed to play at a competitive level, where as in football and baseball (especially) I was playing all the time growing up. Thus, when I hit highschool, and it came down to which 2 sports I was going to play, it was an easy choice.

Had it been cheaper to play, I might well have played it growing up - hell, instead of football scholarships maybe I would have been playing in the Frozen four

The fact remains though that hockey will never be "big" in the US unless there is an easy way to get into it.

Originally posted by FredT
NHL to Lock Out Players on Thursday: Enuf Already The fans need to strike back!

Hey, the NFL is doing just fine, football is an exciting game and the league actually cares about its fans. Jump the NHL ship and come join us football fans!

It's kind of tough for him to get excited about the NFL these days - he's a 9ers fan

I have so much to say on this subject:

#1. I blame Wayne Gretzky for these player issues. Before him and his "I'm so great, now pay me huge sums of money" the vast majority of players were out on the ice becuase they loved the sport. The NHL had the lowest average salary of any pro sport - prior to Gretzky.

#2. By no means is it just the players. The owners are at fault too. These people aren't at risk for standing in a bread line if they give the players more money.

#3. This situation reeks of set up. It really looks like a big publicity stunt that (I hope) will blow up in the NHL's face. Since they first started talking about the possibility of a lock out (before the 2003/2004 season) the League and the Players association have met less then 10 times to try and resolve the issues at hand.

#4. The fans should look to other options for their hockey. Most colleges have a hockey team. Also there are the minor leagues (whose players don't seem to have the primadonna issues of the NHL'rs) Ice Dogs, River Rats and Baby Pens play.

#5. The NFL is stable BECAUSE they continue to rape their fans at every opportunity, NOT because the players love the game. If those players salaries were cut oh say $250,000 a year do you think there'd be so many of them? Hell no. And let's think about that mates, $250,000 is a lot of money. More than most of those morons really deserve to be making for playing a game!!

#6. (And then I'm done) I think we should abolish pro sports all together. College sports are every bit as exciting. Let the colleges collect the ticket prices for fan attendance (you KNOW all those pro-sport fans won't take long to switch) then they can use the revenue to subsidise educations for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to get one. They could also be required to kick some of that money down to the public schools around them. Maybe we could even get our teachers to a pay level they can live on. (This idea is curteousy of my 11th grade government teacher, Mr. Karg. I loved it then and I love it now.)

Originally posted by Mr No One


#6. (And then I'm done) I think we should abolish pro sports all together. College sports are every bit as exciting. Let the colleges collect the ticket prices for fan attendance (you KNOW all those pro-sport fans won't take long to switch) then they can use the revenue to subsidise educations for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to get one. They could also be required to kick some of that money down to the public schools around them. Maybe we could even get our teachers to a pay level they can live on. (This idea is curteousy of my 11th grade government teacher, Mr. Karg. I loved it then and I love it now.)

Well I would hate to see PRo Sports gone all together, aint no way Im never gonna see another Manchester United match. Also it wouldn't work in Brittain because schools have virtually no say or influence on a persons sporting future.

But I think it's a great Idea for America, where you don't have a national "favourite sport" like we have football. It really is an excellent solution to school funding problems.....A REALLY great idea.

I think.

Originally posted by chebob
But I think it's a great Idea for America, where you don't have a national "favourite sport" like we have football.

You know, we have our own version of football

It's so popular that our pro football teams are worth more tehn any other pro sport franchise. Even your Red Devils can't hold a lick to the billion dollar plus Dallas Cowboys.

As far as school sports go, we already have them, and they are marked according to demand. The problem is that after these athletes are done playing, where do they turn if they wish to continue playing?

As a guy who recieved very minor interest from MLB teams in highschool and was recruited to play football for some very well known college programs, I can tell you that most guys that get to a div 1 level would LOVE to keep playing after they are done. To deny them that option is silly, especially considering that there is such a demand for it as entertainment. If I hadn't busted my knee, I can tell you without a doubt that given the opertunity to play pro ball I would do it every single time for free - much less get paid well for it.

Basically what it comes down to is this. Football (American) games have a very high demand with a very low suply of games and tickets (16 games a season plus playoffs for 12 teams out of 32). Thus, in a capitolist society, they can charge 250-1000 bucks a tic and people will pay for it (I am willing to pay up to 300 for bad seats to see the eagles play. This monday I will hopefully be seeing MNF Eagles vs Vikings).

Hockey on the other hand has 82 regular season games plus 7 game playoff series for 16 teams out of (i believe) 26. But it doesn't have nearly the intrest that football does, so when they charge 100 bucks a ticket there is a much larger suply with a much lower demand. Add to that the fact that the best hockey players make MUCH more then the best football players and you have a problem. It becomes even more comounded when you realise that the NFL has a multi BILLION dollar TV contract with FOX and NBC. Hockeys money comes from ESPN2 TV deals worth not nearly as much.

What hockey needs is a CBA like the NBA, with a max contract rule but they also need no garanteed money (unlike basket ball). This of course will never happen - the players won't allow it because the good ones who play for 10+ years stand to lose tens of millions of dollars. If the NHL had a massive TV deal they could go the NFL rout with all TV money (which makes up most of the profits) being distributed evenly throught the league to each team, and then set a min/max roster salary requirement based on a percentage of the league profits. This would force teams to pay the players a minumum amount without having the danger of overpaying them and going broke. It won't happen, but that is the best way to do it since no one could complane.

Originally posted by American Mad Man


It's so popular that our pro football teams are worth more tehn any other pro sport franchise. Even your Red Devils can't hold a lick to the billion dollar plus Dallas Cowboys.

Heh, just to point out - Manchester United actually DO hold the title as richest, most valued pro sport team. Check it out, its a fact

Just to back that up -

Mnachester United is not only a successful English soccer club - it's also the richest sporting franchise in the world

from -
worldsoccer.about.com...

[edit on 16-9-2004 by chebob]