Sports Radio Service


		NHL players, owners better decide soon By Amaury Pi Gonzalez November 11, 2004
	Team Sweden goaltender Cecilia Anderson, left, and player Frida Nevalainen watch the puck hit the goal post on a shot from Team Canada during first period Four Nations Tournament action on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2004 in Lake Placid, N.Y.. Canada beat Sweden 3-2. (AP Photo/Paul Chiasson)
	SAN JOSE - Yes, the National Hockey League is in worse shape than most people think. The players are starting to crack and the owners always hold the cards - unless it's in baseball. In baseball, the players have the upper hand and MLB is probably the only sport where the players union is the strongest. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman knows the owners have the frying pan by the handle, so to speak, and I think the players are going to crack. However, if there's no solution by Dec. 31, the players and management will cancel the season. There is no way the NHL will play in the middle of January and Febuary would be too late. The way things look right now, it's a 7-in-10 chance there will be no hockey this season. There are always surprises, but right now the players have shown signs of cracking under the pressure of the salary cap issue. If the NHL cancels the season they'll be in even worse shape, but it's hard to believe they're going to play this year. Both sides haven't talked since September. Hockey is the fourth league in the country - Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA and the NHL holds up the rear. If the NHL cancels the whole year, it will lose buckets of money and its going to be really, really bad. Baseball had to take a four-year recovery after the strike of 1994. The game didn't fully rebound until 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had that great home-run hitting derby, chasing Roger Maris. Every day, people were following baseball and during that home run derby, it helped bring fans back into the game. It won't be anything like that when the NHL returns. The league's television contract with ESPN and ABC expired after last season. NBC came through with a new deal, but it only shares in the ad revenue. In short, it's going to be a catastrophe. Amaury Pi Gonzalez writes sports features on this site on a weekly basis. Amaury can be heard on KVVN 1430 San Jose and KLIB 1110 Sacramento hosting Sportstalk.