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No silver lining in NHL labor wars
By Amaury Pi Gonzalez December 29, 2004 |
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In Gary Bettman's recent meeting concerning the NHL lockout, he has not made any new friends. The NHLPA had made their 24 percent salary rollback, which was shot down. Bettman, NHL commissioner since 1993, is on the spot. I don't think Bettman is making any friends and hes taking the league down and everybody with him. Remember what happened with Major League Baseball in 1994. When the strike forced cancellation of the World Series, it wasn't until four years later the public warmed up to baseball again. It wasn't because they wanted to see baseball, but because two guys -Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa - brought baseball back with that great home run race in 1998. The same thing could happen in hockey, but it may be even worse because baseball is a real tradition in this country while hockey is not. The NHL is in very bad shape and they basically have a week to save the season. If the two sides can't come together in the next week or so, it is gone. It's bye, bye baby, and Bettman might lose his job, too. I see something happening here. The NHL might not be able to save next year. What might happen is the league will go belly-up and have to start all over again. The way it looks now, it looks like the National Hockey League might not even survive with four or five teams going under. Uou might not have a league in a couple of months if this continues. The San Jose Sharks have laid off a number of its front-office staff. The usual faces that appear at Sharks games showed up for a regular season game played by their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, when they faced Edmonton for a rare San Jose booking arranged by team President Greg Jamison. Some of the NHLers are playing in different leagues and some are in the AHL. Some are playing in Europe and Russia. Arturs Irbe, a former Shark now with the Carolina Hurricanes, said, "We are ready to deal and end this lockout now. Sitting down one time per month isn't enough." Commissioner Bettman added, "nobody wants to get back to the game more than I do. Nobody misses the game more than I do. However, the players' offer for a 24 percent rollback is not realistic in this economic environment." Although unofficial, everyone on both sides of this debate agrees if nothing is agreed upon by New Year's Eve, only a miracle could save the NHL from being the first league in the four major sports to cancel an entire season due to a work stoppage. No playoffs, no Stanley Cup, no slingshot T-Shirts into the crowds on the last day of the regular season by the players. Back in San Jose, the downtown community has been ravaged by the lockout with slow customer sales and some quiet nights. During Christmas week, it was silent nights for sure at Lombok Restaurant. Eka the owner told Sports Radio, "there is a very big difference being a few blocks away from the Arena and having no hockey. You see less foot traffic and the hockey crowd is just a bonus to our revenue base." Broadcasters and talk show hosts Tom Zulelski, Jeremy Harness, Ralph Gora, and Super Bowl Wayne have hosted shows at Lombok Restaurant and not having the Sharks or the NHL around is an impact in a city where hockey is the main show in town. Amaury Pi Gonzalez writes features for this site and hosts Sportstalk on KVVN 1430 San Jose and KLIB 1110 Sacramento. |
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