More lockout humor?

I am not sure that there is anything humorous about this picture.

The No Hockey League is back

I haven’t been following the NHL Lockout news as closely lately because frankly it’s been depressing and there hasn’t been much in the way of news to come out. There also hasn’t been any serious meetings either. I am hoping that NHL Network and NBCSN decided to give us some AHL hockey this season because I don’t think we’re going to have an NHL Season. It could also be a very long NHL season = No Hockey League Season.

Larry Brooks; New York Post --- It Is time for the moderate and progressive wings of the NHL Board of Governors to reclaim their league from the extremists who have managed to set the collective bargaining agenda.

It is time for the Governors who have been cowed most notably by owners’ commissioner Gary Bettman and Boston’s Jeremy Jacobs to gain control before this runaway train of an insane lockout goes over the cliff, taking the 2012-13 season and the NHL’s credibility with it.

All of a sudden, it is getting late early. All of a sudden, what seemed unthinkable over the summer and even up to a week ago, appears not only possible, but probable: The season — another season — is going to be canceled.

What kind of league operates this way? What kind of industry routinely shuts its doors upon expiration of each labor agreement? What manner of leader rules by gag orders, veto power and ultimatum?

There is a deal to be had here. Everyone in the industry recognizes it, and essentially everyone in the industry, including those on both sides of the aisle, recognizes the deal starts with the league guaranteeing all existing contracts with a capped rate of escrow of approximately 5 percent.

Apparently, the Winter Classic is going to be used as leverage either - this is from Sporting New's Jesse Spector...

The Toronto Star reported on Friday that, according to a source, commissioner Gary Bettman plans to pull the plug on this season’s Winter Classic as early as November.

“Gary told (the owners) he was going to cancel the Winter Classic in November because he didn’t want the players to use the game as leverage,” the Star’s source said.

No one should be confused now – the NHL owners aren’t going to give an inch in this labor disagreement and the NHL owners are bound and determined to weaken the NHLPA and will kill the season to make their point.

Kind of makes a guy wonder why the Owners and Players don’t just send this labor disagreement to arbitration hearing now to save our season. It doesn’t take a great hockey mind to figure out that the owners don’t plan on moving and they have sent their lap dog Gary Bettman out to relay that message.

Moreover, the fact that Gary Bettman is out there already threatening to cancel the Winter Classic should send the players a message that the owners plan on doubling down and agree with Bettman’s tactics. There is going to be no give and take here and this is beginning to look a lot like 2004-05 all over again.

The people that are going to suffer the most in this labor disagreement is the fans –it appears at least right now that the neither side care too much about the fans.

That being said I do blame the owners for most of this mess – if you were so broke why the owners signing these ridiculous contracts during the offseason. I am pointing my finger at the Owner of the Wild and the Nashville Predators specifically right now. Seriously, that is like someone that is grossly overweight complaining about their weight problems after eating a huge helping of chocolate cake. The owners can’t have it both ways.

You have options during an NHL Lockout

Here is a good article that I found this morning that piqued my interest and this article kind of sums up the lockout in a nutshell – I would have to say that I agree with the author – I do believe that both sides could come to an agreement very quickly that would allow the season to start on time if both sides were equally committed to starting the season on time. I mean seriously, lock the NHL owners and the NHLPA in a room by themselves and tell them do not come out until you have an agreement.

I also agree with others that say the lockout is not our fault – we aren’t culpable.

Let’s not kid ourselves, both sides are banking on the assumption that no matter how long the work stoppage lasts that the fans are going to come back in droves when the work stoppage is over and watch the NHL play hockey.

The players want to play and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman seems bound and determined to lock the players out for a third time since 1994.

Robert Tychkowski, Edmonton Sun --- It seems rather odd that NHL owners are hurrying to sign as many players as possible under the current CBA before locking those same players out because the current CBA just isn't working.

But that actually sums up hockey's latest labour strife perfectly: it makes absolutely no sense, millionaires squabbling with billionaires over who gets the bigger slice of an obscenely big pie.

If the players were a little more understanding and the owners were a little less stupid, they could solve this thing in a week.

But they aren't, and they probably won't.

Why should owners worry about making smart business decisions, like not putting hockey teams in places where 12-year-olds knew they couldn't survive and not trying to cheat their way around their own salary cap, when all it takes to get about $350 million in taxpayer money for a new arena is stamping their feet and threatening to leave town?

And why should players settle for $4 million a season when they can get $4.5 million? Think it's easy scoring 12 goals a year?

While it appears that the NHLPA and the NHL owners are on a collision course to be locked out for an unprecedented third time since 1994 by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman – there’s no reason to fret – hockey fans have many viable otions. Unlike the professional ranks there are no lockouts in college and junior hockey. These are good options to fill the NHL.

With the aid of DirecTV you can watch oodles of College Hockey. The best comprehensive schedule for all of the college Division I hockey games can be found at the College Hockey News. While the television Schedule is not posted yet it will be closer to the start of the college hockey season.

While the prospects of not starting the NHL season on team – they NHL cynically released their 2012-13 television schedule this past week.