Some CBA tidbits

Good afternoon, this is day 73 of the NHL lockout and we're no closer to getting an agreement than we were yesterday.

The NHL CBA talks have now decided to hire a federal mediator to help them in their squabble. Which for a short period of time gave NHL hockey fans a “sliver” of hope that there could be an end to this ridiculous work stoppage – the recommendation by the mediation team is non-binding.

This might be nothing more than window dressing. I am not giving up hope that just maybe, we finally can have a break through – we’re running out of time to have a meaningful season if this lockout drags on much longer.

Ed Tait; Winnipeg Free Press --- The U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced Monday a pair of mediators will now be involved in negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA in an effort to bridge the gap between the two sides.

"I think both sides are prepared to try a new approach," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Washington Times. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Added NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr in a statement: "We look forward to their involvement as we continue working to reach an equitable agreement for both the players and the owners."

Then one of the first official actions to come out of the federal mediators coming on board was to have one of the mediators removed from the team because of a twitter kerfuffle.

Kevin McGran; The Toronto Star --- In what could only be described as a bizarre twist, mediator Guy Serota was removed from the talks only an hour after being appointed due to the odd postings on his Twitter account (@GuySerota). Some of the tweets included references to masturbation and religious attacks on comic Sarah Silverman. He said it was hacked. It has since been deleted and replaced with nothing controversial on it.

He was replaced as a mediator by John (Jack) Sweeney, director of mediation services, once the hockey world got a look at Serota’s sometimes awkward musings on the social media site that has famously seen its share of hoaxes (recently during Hurricane Sandy), impersonators and the humbling of celebrities, like Alec Baldwin.

The ole my twitter account was hacked excuse. You really can’t make this stuff up – twitter references to self-gratification – some people should not post on twitter. When will people realize that you have to safeguard your twitter account but also; one tweet could ruin your whole life with one click of a mouse.

This is one of the best eye opening articles that I read today.

Barry Rozner; Daily Herald --- The reason there’s no agreement yet is that Gary Bettman has made promises he can’t keep. And if he doesn’t keep them and loses half an NHL season — or more — in the process, he will be out of a job that pays him $8 million a year.

That’s why there’s been little negotiation from the NHL. That’s why there’s no hockey. And that’s why there won’t be hockey until the owners order Bettman to sit down and negotiate, or a union decertification forces the league to bargain instead of bleed.

See, Bettman promised seven or eight owners that he could get another lopsided deal. If he doesn’t get it after losing a billion dollars in league revenue, he’s probably out of a job.

So Bettman is holding up the game to save himself, and one imagines he’s still convincing a small group of men that he can squeeze more from the players. That small group of owners, in turn, is keeping the arenas silent.

Doesn’t paint you a very good picture about the hopes of gaining a settlement for the CBA, unless certain owners want to have a new agreement.