Latest NHL Lockout Rant

The circus act, dog and pony show, or just plain monstrosity continues.

The NHL lockout has reached day 110, and we are still no closer to a resolution than we were three weeks ago, when commissioner Gary Bettman stormed out of a negotation session in as juvenile a display of emotion as ever shown by a man of his age.

Sure, we've heard about "progress" this and progress that. The only real progress is when a new collective bargaining agreement is announced. Who knows when this will be?

In fact, why has it taken this long for real negotiations to begin?

Bettman has declared Friday, January 11 as the last possible date an agreement can be reached in order to salvage a 48 game season. The "drop dead date", if you will.

Which means the two sides now have exactly one week to salvage the season, and frankly, the sport of hockey.

This all makes you wonder, what exactly are Bettman and NHLPA head Donald Fehr's true intentions? Do they really care about the game? We already can tell they don't care about the fans.

According to reports, big market owners such as Jim Dolan of the Rangers pled with Bettman to resume negotiations, despite the NHL's declaration that the NHLPA come up with a fresh idea or two to jumpstart talks. Bettman's hardline approach to negotations not only cripples the game itself, but it also cripples league revenues. If Bettman truly cares this much about money, does he even realize how much his league is losing the longer this process is prolonged?

Well, as long as he is having fun bullying the players, it will continue.

Speaking of the players, they are far from innocent, too. They hired Donald Fehr to run the union because of his no-nonsense, tough approach to negotiations. They had to have known there would be a prolonged labor fight. They were bullied around by Bettman and the owners during the last two lockouts. They were not going to be bullied this time. They know Fehr is the man responsible for a canceled World Series. They know what kind of businessman he is. If the players really care about getting on the ice, they would find a way to work with Bettman, for better or for worse.

Well, guess what, players? You're being bullied around again. We know Bettman's intentions. What exactly are yours?

The other day, I was watching the movie "Wall Street." As the movie progressed, it's protagonist, Gordon Gekko, started to remind me more and more of Gary Bettman. Both are money-hungry, hard-nosed businessmen that don't care who they have to hurt or offend. As long as they get their money, all is right in their world. To them, greed is good.

Unfortunately, this creed has become, well, a creed for major sports commissioners. We've seen the NFL and NBA lock out under similar circumstances the last two years. It begs the question: are lockouts becoming the norm in sports? Will major league sports commissioners use the expiration of every collective bargaining agreement as an excuse to lock out their sports in an opportunity to cripple the players' unions? Hey, if it makes good business sense, why not?

And the other reason? They all take the fans for granted. They assume the fans will come back in drove because either, A. they miss their favorite sport so much they will run back to it like finding a long lost lover, B. people are desperate for entertainment, or C. they think the fans are dumb. All are plausible.

So fans, do you know how to end sports labor disputes once and for all? BOYCOTT THESE LEAGUES!

Do you wonder why Major League Baseball has had labor peace since the 1994 strike? Remember all the empty seats in nearly 90% of MLB parks during the 1995 season? It scared the pants off MLB. They know they cannot afford another repeat of '94 after seeing the fan backlash.

Whenever the NHL comes back, we fans need to send a message. Leave NHL arenas empty. Let the owners and Bettman lose more money. I will guarantee it will scare the pants off them. I guarantee they will no longer take the fans for granted. I guarantee they will no longer see that greed is good. It's the only way.

Hey, if Congress can solve the fiscal cliff, why can't the NHL resolve this lockout?

One week to go, folks. Start praying.