Come Out and Play: A Lockout Will Keep Em' Separated

Today, the NHL announced that it will cancel games through November 1st and as a fan of the NHL, I really wonder what the hell are they thinking?  The NHL last season had one of its best if not the best season based on revenue in its history.  Instead of building on this new found fame, Gary Bettman and the owners decided it would be best to lockout the players for the fourth time in Bettman's reign.  Now I have found myself pissed off at Gary Bettman, but as I continue to reflect on the situation, you have to realize that his sole movitation in this process is to please the owners.  He has no commitment to the fans, and he has no reason to tell the players to come out and play like Offspring did in the early 90's.

Gary Bettman said, that the last offer was the best that the NHL could give the players.  Really, Bettman, the problem with that statement is that the owners really are not giving up anything.  Basically, they made a silly decision in 2004, giving the players 57% of the revenue, and now they want to renig.  This is not euchre though and the NHLPA is not that stupid.  Bettman comes out with this 50-50 split and just assumes that the players will cave in, and now that the players don't, he can only sit there and pout.  It has become really childish at this point.

Its really hard to say how much longer this will go on, but the NHL and the NHLPA do not have anymore talks scheduled right now.  I would not be totally surprised if the season was cancelled.  Either way, the NHL will still get 200 million dollars from NBC as part of the TV contract.  I just wish that they would throw the fans a little bit of a bone, and apologize for whats going on.  Gary Bettman would never do that because for one he looks like Gargamel from the Smurfs and two he is the worst commission of the major sports in the USA.  He is banking on the fact that hockey fans will just come crawling back, no respect.

Because Alexander the Great looks better in a Russian jersey.

You know its too bad that the fans just cannot get rid of the commissioner, Gary Bettman.  Like I said before, he has been in charge for the 4 lockouts in the last 20 years.  He gets booed every single time he brings out the Stanley Cup.  He is worst then a dictator that you cannot get rid of, because the owners love him.  Maybe if he was a little more open to negotiating and not running away when he does not get what he wants, maybe we would be playing hockey right now.  Seasons in the Sun is not a fan of Bettman if you cannot tell, hahaha.

The other problem that needs to be explained is that the players in the NHL can go to Europe and be paid very well to play hockey.  You usually do not see this in other sports during a lockout, its not like NBA players going to Italy to play basketball, its Russian hockey players going back to Russia which is a hockey powerhouse to play their sport.  I think sometimes being in the US we forget how much Russia loves its hockey.  I assure you the Russians will pay Alex Ovechkin much more in a lockout then the Italians will pay Kobe Bryant in an NBA lockout.

Another problem, preventing a quick come and out play NHL hockey is the fact that the NHL has burned many bridges with ESPN and therefore ESPN is not really covering the lockout that much here in the states.  This all started when the NHL asked for too much from ESPN, so the NHL ended up on VS., and at the time no one had VS.  VS. has since been bought out and re-branded into the NBC Sports Network.  ESPN has even gone as far to spite the NHL by showing KHL games.  The KHL is the Russian professional hockey league.

If you remember when the NFL went into its lockout, there was 24/7 coverage on ESPN.  The coverage was so much that it created a public outcry for the lockout to end.  The lockout ended much faster then the NHL lockout this year has, and it keeps going.  You have to wonder maybe if the NHL did not burn the bridges with ESPN, that it might help the NHL get the players and the owners back to the table, talking.  The NFL was able to end their lockout quite quickly and get their seasons back on track, but that is not what is going on in the NHL.  Oh, the drama.

In conclusion, at some point cooler heads have to prevail, right?  How many more games have to be lost for both sides to realize, you know what, we might be in the wrong?  I just know it seems like Gary Bettman is shutting the door down on the talks before they really get started.  They are putting the players in a hard place because Bettman is acting like this is the best deal, when that is really questionable.  I hope they start playing soon because I really do not want to watch a Tigers vs. Cardinals World Series instead.  Detroit Sucks, Detroit Sucks, Detroit Sucks. hahahaha, what a closing lol.