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NOTALENT
09-16-2004, 06:47 AM
Sports - AP
National Hockey League Locks Out Players
49 minutes ago
By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK - No shots, no saves, no goals. The National Hockey League locked out its players 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 economic change.
AP Photo
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).
"When we ultimately make the deal that has to be made, we will then see whether or not there is time for a season or some semblance of a season," he said. "If there is, great, and if there isn't, then we'll deal with the next season when it comes along."
Bettman claimed teams had combined to lose more than $1.8 billion over 10 years, and said management will not agree to a labor deal that doesn't include a defined relationship between revenue and salaries.
"Until he gets off the salary-cap issue, there's not a chance for us to get an agreement," union head Bob Goodenow said in Toronto, adding that players "are not prepared to entertain a salary cap in any way, shape, measure or form."
Far apart on both philosophy and finances, the sides haven't bargained since last Thursday and say they are entrenched for the long run, echoing words of baseball players and owners at the start of their disastrous 7 1/2-month labor war of 1994-95.
There is almost no chance the season will start as scheduled on Oct. 13, and Bettman told teams to release their arenas for other events for the next 30 days. Bettman said the season can't extend past June, and the lockout threatens to wipe out the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1919, when the series between Montreal and Seattle was stopped after five games due a Spanish influenza epidemic.
"The union is trying to win a fight, hoping that the owners will give up. That will turn out to be a terrible error in judgment," Bettman said. "They are apparently convinced that come some point in the season, the owners' resolve will waver, and I'm telling you that is wrong, wrong, wrong."
NHL management claims teams combined to lose $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season. Bettman said the union's proposals would do little for owners, and said the six offers rejected by the union would lower the average player salary from $1.8 million to $1.3 million.
Goodenow said players had offered more than $100 million in annual concessions.
"The notion that we don't have competitive balance is absurd," said Vancouver center Trevor Linden, the union's president.
Bettman made clear that declaring an impasse under U.S. labor law and imposing new work rules unilaterally was an option, but said it had not yet been considered.
"I think it's pretty fair to say that we're at an impasse right now, and my guess is that we've probably been at impasse for months, if not a year," he said. "At some point when we're at impasse, we could simply say, `We're going to open, and here are the terms and conditions. Let's go.' It's that simple."
Goodenow said attempting to impose terms would be a "very, very ill-advised strategy" and predicted "the results of it could be catastrophic." Bettman said the use of replacement players is not contemplated.
The 30 teams — 24 in the United States and six in Canada — had been set to start opening training camps on Thursday, the day after the expiration of the current labor contract. The deal was first agreed to in 1995 and extended two years later through Sept. 15, 2004. Bettman termed the extension "a mistake, in hindsight."
"It of kind stinks, packing up and moving out of here," Philadelphia right wing Tony Amonte said at his team's practice rink. "I can't say they weren't preparing us for it."
Some players are expected to sign with European leagues, and others could join a six-team, four-on-four circuit called the Original Stars Hockey League, which is set to start play Friday in Barrie, Ontario. Others could go to a revived World Hockey Association, which plans to open Oct. 29 with eight teams playing 76 games apiece.
Bettman said more than 100 employees from the NHL's central staff of about 225 will be terminated, most on Monday.
The stoppage is the first for a North American major league since the 1998-99 NBA lockout canceled 464 games, cutting each club's regular-season schedule from 82 games to 50.
It is the third stoppage for the NHL following a 10-day strike in 1992 that caused the postponement of 30 games and a 103-day lockout in 1994-95 that eliminated 468 games, cutting each team's regular-season schedule from 84 games to 48. That lockout ended on Jan. 11, five days before the deadline set by Bettman to scuttle the season.
THis IS bullshit!! I dont get iT!! You do your dream job..having fun!! already getting paid more than enough...and u bitch some more!!!!!!! I hate athletes..who bitch because they dont make enough!!! :mad:

Slib77
09-16-2004, 07:51 AM
I was dreading this.
That's why I watched as much of the World Cup as possible.

mirvin
09-16-2004, 08:34 AM
Man......the last "Real Sport" down the drain. Rediced to a bunch of whinning windbags.......
mirvin :confused:

PlyaPlya22
09-16-2004, 08:35 AM
They need to go ahead and put a cap on it and be done with it :notam:

Dr. Eagle
09-16-2004, 08:53 AM
I think the players are "pucking" up...

PlyaPlya22
09-16-2004, 08:59 AM
We go through this with every damn sport. They should just put a cap on all professional sports and then the fans won't have to suffer.

NOTALENT
09-16-2004, 09:00 AM
We go through this with every damn sport. They should just put a cap on all professional sports and then the fans won't have to suffer.
Exactly..It's Total BS...I really dont get it they get paid to do there dream job..and make alot of money..shit they could pay me 50g's a year and I would still do it

PlyaPlya22
09-16-2004, 09:05 AM
The fans are the one's that need to lock out the players. Let's see how that schit feels to them :hammer2:

Scream
09-16-2004, 09:09 AM
Doesn't this strategy sound a lot like the grocery clerk strike here in SoCal last year? Lockout the union and give them a taste of thier own medicine (company striking against the workers instead of workers striking against the companies). Seemed to work well for the grocery companies, they were able to dictate the negotiations in the end and get what they wanted ultimately.
How many years did it take for MLB to finally get it's fan base back up to pre strike levels? I think that in some venues they're not there yet, that's how imbittered and frustrated the fans became after the "whiny little rich boys" went out on strike and screwed up Americas pastime. The NFL too had it's issues with dollars and sence (not cents) and it took probably 5 seasons to get back to normal, now look at them, the average ticket price for the League is $75 per game...
IMO the union will cave. The players probably want to play and will begin to feel the effects of 0 income, and they'll cave. I'm not a big union supporter anyway, but I understand thier necessity and why they're needed, but I'm having truoble lately figuring out what place they hold currently.
Scream