Coal or Tickets... What's in your stocking this Christmas?

Today marks day 58 of the NHL lockout. 326 Games have been canceled and the winter classic has been canceled (rescheduled to a regular game). Some of you may have heard some chatter last week as the NHL and NHLPA met 7 times in 9 days through Sunday (yesterday). I want to summarize what you've seen, what this past week was about, and what the future holds in these negotiations and if you're going to be asking for B's tickets by Christmas or not...

The NHL made an offer this week. An offer that should've been made last month before the Oct. 16th deadline(the deadline to play a full 82-game schedule). The offer they made this week was an offer that would've been accepted (or thought over very very much by the players) had it been made over a month ago...

NHL's New Deal: Based on the principles of a full 82 game schedule (keep in mind this is a 6-10 year CBA so terms must be expressed in the idea of a normal full season) that the revenue will be 50/50 split with a 2yr "Make-Whole" provision paid for by the owners. In year 1 the owners would pay the players 54.3% of HRR (Hockey Related Revenues which last year were at $3.303b), which totals around $149m and factors in a roughly 2% interest factor for the players since they are not getting their entire normal salary. Year 2 would be 51.7% of HRR, totaling $62m above the 50/50 this time, also factoring in 2% interest. By year 3 the split would be 50/50 of HRR.

Three things to take away here... First, if this deal was made in earnest 6 weeks ago, there would probably have been some tweaking here, but ultimately would've been worked out... Second, this deal wasn't made 6 weeks ago, and there is not a full season to negotiate these dollars with anymore, thus if a deal is to be struck with these general ideas, the players would be receiving approximately 20-25% less of the overall value of this year's money simply due to a shortened season... Third, this plan is all centered around the assumption of an annual 5% increase in HRR growth. Everyone is beginning to feel the heat that the league's growth may not carry over without hockey being played, the HBO series canceled (24/7), and the winter classic off the table... All of which will have to have some effect on the growth of the sport not only this year, but for the next 2-4yrs depending on how much hockey we lose here

This proposal also has non-HRR factors as well... The NHL's proposal also includes a limit to 2nd year deals... In short the NHL wants this following in regards to player contracts...

- 2yr Rookie deals (instead of 3)
- Delaying salary arbitration and UFA (Unrestricted Free Agency) by 1yr for each circumstance (whichever occurs), thus basically leaving the rookie stuck for 1yr (after year 2) without the possibility of becoming a free agent, his rights are owned by the team, and the team can chose to trade those rights, or negotiate a new deal (or force one). The problem here is it gives the team all of the control, limiting the money they need to pay, having that player under their control for basically 2-7yrs if they chose to (Jeremy Jacobs would've loved to do this to Segin basically)
- A limit to 5yr deals in the 2nd contract
- In this 2nd contract (or any contract), there is a max of 5% of fluctuation year-to-year in how much the player can be paid (prevents front/back loaded contracts, which the league DOES need, if anything, this is the most reasonable of all the league's concerns)

These non-HRR issues will be 1-2 weeks of negotiations once the HRR negotiations are agreed upon, but are still very important rules for the players (even more so than the 50/50 split). Think of it this way... Both sides know they are going to wind up at 50/50, if its 2yrs or 5yrs, its going to be 50/50. So the players then have to think of their rights beyond that. Players have made their most in the past CBA in their 2nd contract and now that is being removed as well too. Pretty much making a player wait til age 28 or his 3rd contract (6-7yrs into being in the league) to hit a big pay day.

The problem here is that in the war of Billionaires vs Millionaires, the Millionaires have received a lot of negotiating, a lot of give-and-take, and that all came to a stop Friday. (https://twitter.com/RenLavoieRDS/status/267098709597241344) Sides only met for 45mins on Sunday and the give-and-take is over. The owners have given a considerable amount of flex over the past 2-3 months, but does not seem to be moving more than this... The NHLPA will now have to decided whether a better deal is still out there to wait on and try to push for, or if this is the best deal they're going to get... If they're push for more, and they're wrong, the NHL can pull this deal back, both sides will dig in, and these offers based on full seasons will be based on a full-season... Next year...

The NHL will announce more cancellations in 2 weeks if significant strides are not made after Thanksgiving weekend. The 5% annual HRR growth is taking a hit every day, the players are not playing (at least not in the US), and the sport itself is on the decline after 6yrs of rebuilding... The argument is over <$70m when it comes to the HRR, which for Millionaires is a lot, but for Billionaires, well I think its as close to even as the players are going to get

World Series Preview

The World Series begins tonight in San Francisco, as the Giants host the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have had a week of rest in preparation for this series, after sweeping the Yankees. San Francisco took a very different route to the World Series, having to battle back from 3-1 down against the defending champs, the St Louis Cardinals. Due to the National League winning the All Star Game back in July, the Giants have homefield advantage. Ironically enough, it was the suspended Giants star Melky Cabrera that won the All Star Game  MVP, and Tigers ace Justin Verlander who took the loss.

The questions are whether the long layoff will affect Detroit, or perhaps whether having to play so many elimination games will eventually wear down the Giants. The Giants have had to win 6 elimination games in the playoffs this year, coming back from 0-2 down against the Cincinnati Reds, and 3-1 down against the Cardinals.

The Tigers are led by the best 3-4 combo in baseball, Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, as well as reigning Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander. The Giants have been led in the postseason by their 2 and 3 hitters, NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro and Pablo Sandoval, and by Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong on the mound.

The pitching matchup for game 1 is Verlander against former Cy Young winner Barry Zito, who saved the Giants season in game 5 against St Louis, going 7-2/3 shutout innings. The offense will have to carry the Tigers in this series, as I believe the Giants have the pitching advantage in games that Verlander does not pitch, and they also have the stronger bullpen. The Giants weakness is in their lineup. Other than Scutaro and Sandoval, the rest of the Giants lineup is hitting only .217 in the playoffs.

My prediction is that Detroit wins in 6 games, as the offense wakes up once they return home to Comerica Park, and the Giants wear down from all the elimination games they have been forced to play this postseason.

I will be back with a World Series and Postseason review following the conclusion of the World Series.

NYI first team to Relocate...

Today at 1pm the New York Islanders will announce their move at the end of the 2014-2015 season to begin the 2015-2016 season from the Nassau Colosseum to downtown Brookline, NY at the Barclay's Center (already the new home of the Nets - NBA).

This marks the first official movement of a much needed change for 1 of the 3 franchises that require relocation in the next 3-6yrs. The Edmonton Oilers are rumored to move to Seattle. The Phoenix Coyotes would be next on the table rumored to move to Hamilton, ON or placing a 2nd team in Toronto, ON The NYI's to the Barclay's Center makes sense for 3 major reason. First being that they were no longer wanted in that community on long island. The city voted the continued lease of the team down multiple times in the past 3yrs and ticket sales were down. Second being ticket sales, the Barclay's Center only holds about 14,000 capacity for hockey and will allow the Islanders to better price and maximize the capacity of a smaller venue (same model that the Atlanta Thrashers used when moving to Winnipeg). These smaller teams need to make these types of moves and as a fan of the game in general this is the right move (let's just hope that area can support 2 teams). Third reason this makes sense is because of the location. New Yorkers didn't want to travel across to Long Island or take the longer train commute. They will maintain their die-hard fans by staying within range for the true fans of the franchise, and will gain a new fan basis, which the league has continued to emphasize. They will get all the help they can get, and if it doesn't work here, then there are more problems than the Islanders can fix themselves...

50/50 Split Explaination

Hockey East Preview.... Wildcats #1

Most of us need a goal, a big hit, an overtime winner, anything!!! We need a fix... Turning to the AHL is like paying to watch AAA baseball... No one cares... Something we all can take some local pride in whether its where we went to college, or went to a few games for fun in the college game. New England is the nations top region for division I men's hockey with Hockey East... I've made a new page on the site and copied over my first post to give you all a fix... Because we need something, and routing for your school is the best thing we've got right now... Lego

Coates' Rankings... Wildcats grab the #1 spot out of the gates

UNH is off to a hot start outside the division, BC is close behind, and NU has a few early season wins. UML only had 1 hockey east game (1-1 Tie), and BU has a conference loss on the record placing them 5th in my rankings... UVM hasn't had a conference game to date, and we will have a better idea of who they are along with UMass after this upcoming weekend... PC, MC, and Maine have all given up some goals in their first few games, and look to be in rebuilding years as we begin the first few weeks of action

Something to Look Forward to if Nov. 2nd Doesn't Happen

While wasting my first hour of the work day looking at random shit on the internet this morning, I stumbled upon something that may need to be worked into the new CBA.  As we have mentioned in other posts, and I'm sure everyone knows anyway, many players have signed to play overseas during the lockout.  Coates put together a pretty comprehensive list of where everyone is playing. First on that list is Patty Bergeron, who is playing for HC Lugano of the Swiss League.  Today I found out that in the Swiss League, the leading scorer on each team has to wear the Post Finance FLAMING HELMET AND JERSEY.  I immediately tried to find a picture of Patrice wearing this slick getup.  Unfortunately, Bergy has only played in 3 games (that's 10 less than the rest of the team) yet he is already the 5th leading scorer with 8 points (4 goals and 4 assists) in just 3 games.  If you clicked on the stats page link you may have noticed that Glen Metropolit is currently wearing the flaming jersey (he's actually leading the entire league in scoring). Yup, the same Glen Metropolit.  With Metropolit being the leading scorer and Bergeron's performance so far you have to figure that it is only a matter of time before Bergeron becomes the man on fire.  Therefore, from now until either the lockout ends or Bergeron becomes the leading scorer for Lugano, I will be tracking Bergy's progress here as he heats up.  Right now he's 9 points back with his next game on Friday against second place ZSC Lions.

P.S. It just dawned on me as I am finishing up this post, that Tyler Seguin is also playing in the Swiss League for EHC Biel.  I'll keep track of his quest to be a flammer as well.  He currently has 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) through 7 games, which puts him 5 points away from leading his team, with his next match also on Friday against SC Bern. 

P.P.S. Here's what Joe Thornton looks like in his fire helmet.  That picture is from 2004 when he played for Davos, where he is already the leading scorer once again this year.

NHL's New CBA Offer Breakdown...

Here are the top items/highlights from the newest deal. If you did not know what the previous deal was, or how/why things are different now, take a few minutes to read up here and you will get the best spark-notes version I can give you

In my review I conclude that the proposal will be rejected by the players, and the counter-proposal will seek a 50/50 split over the course of the new agreement (Ex. Year 1 55%, Year 2 53%, etc etc). This deal also touches on backloaded/frontloaded contracts that would have to to count within 5% of a "level" contract...

Example Player A has $50m deal over 10yrs... With the expired CBA the contract could look like this... Years 1-7 $3m/yr Years 8-10 $9.67m, thus the cap hit would only be $3m/yr... Under the new agreement these deals and all like it would be "level" so a $50m 10yr deal would have to be within 5% of $5m/year to prevent frontloaded and backloaded deals... This issue could be a sticky one in the deal as so many clubs have these long-term deals that are front/back-loaded and will be a problem for these teams with such salaries

The other focus here is the NHL wants rookie deals at 2yrs (instead of 3) and no contract to be more than 5yrs (for anyone) thus making the "Big Contract" shift from a player's 2nd contract (years 3-7 in his career) to the 3rd contract in which would be that players 8th year + in the league, and shift clubs away from signing players to huge 2nd contracts to signing them to big 3rd contracts instead.

Here are the bullet points, enjoy....

• There were several contradicting reports out there Tuesday regarding the entry-level system, but multiple sources confirmed the new proposal would see ELS go from three years to two years in length. The one caveat is that if you’re a player for example that’s coming from college and joining your NHL team late in the season -- think Chris Kreider of the Rangers -- that doesn’t count against your two-year, entry-level commitment. You would still have to play two full seasons under an entry-level deal. What the offer Tuesday laid out is two full seasons of entry level.
• You may wonder why the heck the league would want to shorten the entry-level deal. Combined with the fact that the league also asked for a five-year limit on term for contracts and UFA eligibility to go to eight years or 28 years old, what the league is trying to do here is change the dynamics of the second contract -- limit the financial flexibility of the second contract -- and change the system so that players now make their big money in the third contract.
• Where as a 50-50 split of revenues would see the 2012-13 salary cap lowered to $59.9 million, the league’s offer calls for all 30 teams to be able to spend up to $70.2 million (this past summer’s cap) for the first year of the deal; essentially giving all 30 teams a 12-month transition period. By Year 2 they must comply with the cap. This is significant given the number of teams that would have been over the cap with not very much time to get under it before the puck drops.
• There are tighter restrictions on the year-to-year salary in player contracts. The salaries can only increase or decrease by no more than 5 percent. Again, this is an attempt to mitigate the "cheat deals" and front-loading that happened in the past CBA. The league’s initial offer in July called for flat salaries across all contracts, so this is a bit of a change, although not much.
• The NHL offer proposes to make the salaries of minor-league players on NHL contracts (above a threshold of $105,000) count against the salary cap. This is to prevent teams from stashing players in the minors (think Wade Redden).
• Embracing an idea first proposed by Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke years ago, the league’s offer included the ability to retain salary in trades. Under the expired CBA, teams could not trade or keep parts of a player’s salary in a trade. This new provision would obviously facilitate trades in a cap market that saw deals minimized, especially in the first half of the season.
• All existing NHL contracts which go longer than five years will be subject to new cap calculations, specifically those deals will count against a team's cap regardless of whether the player is still playing or not. My belief here is that this is the NHL's attempt at correcting the so-called "cheat deals" or back-diving deals -- like those of Marian Hossa or Roberto Luongo -- which carry bogus salaries at the end of deals to lower the cap hit.
• There were conflicting reports about the dynamics or definition of hockey-related revenue in this offer. To be clear: a league source says the NHL does NOT try to change the definition of HRR in this offer like it attempted to in the summer. These are the same old definitions of HRR used in this new offer. Having said that, my guess is that giving the back and forth on HRR language all summer long, the NHLPA will seek further clarification on this Wednesday in its phone call with the league.
• It is a six-year deal with a "mutual option" for a seventh year.
• As part of NHL’s new revenue sharing plan which calls for $200 million, at least 50 percent of the pool will be raised from the top 10 revenue grossing clubs; the distribution of the revenue sharing will be determined every year by a revenue sharing committee (which the NHLPA will be part of).
• In the end, the most important part of this offer and the one that players will have the most focus on is the league’s complicated mechanism in which it says players’ salaries will be kept whole in first few years via deferred payments, etc. My guess is that the NHLPA will try to poke holes in this and would prefer to keep it more simple and have a higher percentage of HRR in the opening few years -- some transition down to 50-50 instead of going to 50-50 right form the start.

NHL to Start Nov. 2nd in New Deal...

The NHL and NHLPA met on Tuesday in Toronto and commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that the league has made a proposal to the players with the hopes of starting a full 82-game season on Nov. 2

Bettman told reports in Toronto that the offer includes a 50/50 split of hockey related revenue in the first year, and will include no salary rollbacks.

Under the previous deal the players were receiving 57 percent of the hockey related revenue.
NHLPA leader Donald Fehr has yet to address the media following the talks.

WHAT'S NEXT: NHLPA has confirmed an announcement at 5pm today.

TRANSLATION: The owners are budging here, but this 50/50 is not a true 50/50 as the players 50% would be retro-active payments over the course of current contracts to eventually reach 50% over the length of each individual player's current contracts (but is still a good deal). In essence it would basically keep most of the current rules within the old CBA, and could produce a problem 5-8yrs from now if this deal is accepted and when this new deal would expire (we'd be right back here at square one basically), but hockey would begin again now and maybe knowing what the new revenues are going forward may help the NHL and NHLPA agree upon terms better when that time comes.

PROBLEMS: NHLPA is seeking more "protection" for entry level rookie contracts and terms. This deal is ONLY VALID if the deal is accepted and the season begins within the November 2nd starting point which would get in all 82 games (thus the deal is off the table if it cannot be agreed upon and starts Nov. 2nd because the calculations of the revenue are based on the NHL's profits of an 82 game schedule)

Week 7 Power Rankings

MLB Divisional Round Recap

Well, the Divisional Round ended last night, and there was no lack of excitement throughout. For the first time since the playoffs expanded to include a divisional round in 1995, all 4 series went the full 5 games, and of the 4 remaining teams, it is really anyone's guess as to who will win it all.

Cincinnati and San Francisco was the first series to finish up, on Thursday afternoon. After winning the first 2 on the road, Cincinnati went home and dropped the next 2, setting up the need for a game 5. In what started out as a pitchers duel, San Fran struck first, opening up a 6 run lead in the 5th inning, capped off by a grand slam by MVP candidate Buster Posey. Cincinnati was unable to catch up, and squandered numerous opportunities, before finally falling 6-4.

Thursday night also saw the conclusion of the series between Detroit and Oakland. The home team had won the first 4 games, with Oakland winning game 4 in stunning fashion, scoring 3 in the bottom of the 9th against closer Jose Valverde. Detroit turned to reigning Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander to close it out in game 5, and he did just that, going the distance in a 3-1 win.

On Friday, the series that had the most storylines throughout finished up. Baltimore and New York had a fantastic first 4 games. After splitting in Baltimore, the teams came to New York, where in game 3 Baltimore looked primed to take a 2-1 lead. Up 2-1 in the ninth, and against the closer that led the league in saves in the regular season, Jim Johnson, Raul Ibanez pinch hit for the struggling Alex Rodriguez, and promptly tied the game with 1 swing. In his next at bat in the 12th, Ibanez homered for the second time, to win the game and take control of the series. Game 4 also went to extra innings, and Baltimore was able to win it in 13, to force game 5. The ace for the Yankees, CC Sabathia, took control in game 5, pitching a complete game as the Yankees won 3-1 to move on to the ALCS.

Washington and St Louis was the final series to finish up. After winning in dramatic, walk-off fashion in game 4, Washington promptly took a 6-0 lead against Adam Wainwright in game 5. St Louis slowly chipped away, getting back to 6-5 in the 8th, when Washington scored an important insurance run, taking a 7-5 lead. With closer Drew Storen on the mound in the 9th, he allowed a leadoff double to Carlos Beltran. 2 outs later, with Beltran at third, Storen got to one strike away one two occasions, but walked both Alan Craig and David Freese to load the bases. Daniel Descalso came through for the Cardinals, delivering a 2 run single to tie the game. Pete Kozma followed with another 2 run single, giving the Cardinals a 9-7 lead. Washington could not recover, and St Louis closed out the improbable victory, moving on to the NLCS

The Divisional round did not go as I expected, with only one of the teams I predicted moving on. For the League Championship round I will pick Detroit and San Francisco to move on to the World Series. You will hear from me again when the World Series matchup is determined.

Columbus Blue Jackets + Gangnam Style... Wow

This is the only good thing that has come out of the NHL lockout... Enjoy

Game Review: 007 Legends

007 Legends, set for release on October 16^th, is meant to represent 50 years of James Bond, as the original film, Dr No, was released in October of 1962. The game will be divided into 6 missions, one from the era of each Bond actor, culminating in a mission based on the new film Skyfall, which will be released to theaters in the US on November 9^th, 2 weeks after the UK release.

The gameplay will be similar to that used in Goldeneye:Reloaded, the remake of the best selling Nintendo64 game from 1997. The 6 missions will be based on Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Moonraker, License To Kill, Die Another Day, and Skyfall, the last of which will be released as downloadable content once the film is released to theaters.

This is a good compilation of the 50 year history of Bond and a good purchase for any fan of the series.

Dominik Hasek Retires (Tribute Video)

At age 47, one of the all-time goalie greats, Hasek announced his retirement. Hasek played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings, while posting a 389-223-95 record with a .922 save percentage.

He was not only one of the best goalies to ever play in the NHL, winning six Vezina Trophies and two MVP awards, he was also one of the most entertaining due to his unorthodox style that produced countless highlight reel saves (as seen in the above video).

Even though he hadn't played in the NHL since 2008, he spent the 2010-11 season playing for Spartak Moscow in the KHL.

Dominik Hasek Top 10 Video

Your Hockey Fix... Day 23

Monday marks day 23 of the NHL lockout... This past week bought some light upon the long-term planning of the lockout... The NHL's new TV deal actually had intentionally written in language in which the NHL owners still get the money even if the games are not played (while the players are lockout unable to be paid) and it is plans like this that worries us that the NHL planned this lockout 2yrs ago in a way to ensure that the owners could outlast the players this time around in what is looking to be a full season lockout at this point... Fans... Players... Pink Hats... Prepare for a long one

Today we give you the fight that brought the name Adam McQuaid into your household name list...

Baseball Playoffs Weekend 1

The opening weekend of the MLB playoffs are in the book, and there was no shortage of drama. We had the two one-game wild card playoff games, one of which was full of controversy. We also had the first games off all 4 Divisional round series'.

The two wildcard games were Friday, with Atlanta hosting St Louis and Texas hosting Baltimore. The Atlanta-St Louis game had one of the worst judgement officiating calls I have ever seen in a game, as an infield fly rule was called on a ball at least 50 feet into the outfield, if not more. It cost Atlanta at least one run, and we will never know if it was more than that, as Atlanta fell to St Louis 6-3, in what is the final game of the storied career of Chipper Jones. In the other wildcard game, Joe Saunders and the vaunted Baltimore bullpen held the high-powered Ranger lineup to one run, and Baltimore got timely hitting from Nate McLouth and Manny Machado, as Baltimore defeated Texas 5-1. This set the matchups for the divisional rounds as Baltimore vs New York and Oakland vs Detroit in the AL, and Washington vs St Louis and Cincinnati vs San Francisco in the NL.

Saturday saw the beginning of the divisional round games, in which Justin Verlander won his first series-opening game of his career, going 7 strong and stifling the red hot Athletics in a 3-1 victory for Detroit. We also saw Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce carry Cincinnati to a 5-2 win in San Fran, in a game where Reds ace Johnny Cueto was forced to leave after 1 batter with back spasms. Mat Latos, the scheduled game 3 starter for the Reds, came in and shut down the Giants.

All 8 teams were in action Sunday. A 2 run error by Oakland CF Coco Crisp, and a walkoff sac fly by Don Kelly gave Detroit a commanding 2-0 lead in the best of 5 series, as the series shifts back to Oakland. A pitching duel between the Nats Gio Gonzalez and the Cardinals Adam Wainwright eventually ended up in a 3-2 Nats win, with Tyler Moore delivering the game winning 2-run single in the top of the 8th for Washington. 

The Yankees and Orioles also began their series Sunday in Baltimore, with CC Sabathia opposing Jason Hammel. Both pitchers were solid, keeping the game locked up at 2 going into the 9th. The Yankees would get to Orioles closer Jim Johnson in the 9th for 5 runs, the big blow coming from a Robinson Cano 2 run double, posting them to a 7-2 lead. Sabathia went 8 2/3, and the Yankees took the series opener in Baltimore 7-2. The Reds Bronson Arroyo was locked in Sunday night, not giving up a hit until the 5th inning, going 7 scoreless, and the Reds offense staking him to a 4 run lead against Madison Bumgarner. The Reds would further extend their lead in the 8th, with Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips and Ryan Hannigan continuing to be the big bats for the Reds. With their 9-0 victory in game 2, the Reds take a commanding 2-0 series lead back home to Cincinnati.

My picks remain the same through the opening weekend of the MLB playoffs, with Baltimore, Detroit, Cincinnati and Washington advancing. Once the first round concludes I will post a recap.

Day 20... Your Hockey Fix

Today marks day 20 of the NHL lockout and I have decided that we all need a little hockey in our lives... I am going to start this segment out so that you can all recap some of the great games in the past few years that will hopefully hold us over until our game comes back.... Enjoy

Today's Video: Jarome Iginla's 500th career goal (All w/Calgary)

NHL Cancels Regular Season Games...

The National Hockey League canceled two weeks of the regular season Thursday, the second time games have been lost because of a lockout in seven years.

The announcement was made in a two-paragraph statement from the NHL. It isn't clear if those games will be made up, allowing for a complete 82-game regular season, if a deal can be struck soon with the locked out players.

Unable to work out how to split up $3 billion in hockey-related revenues with the players' association, the NHL wiped out 82 games from Oct. 11 through Oct. 24 - beginning with four next Thursday, which would have been the league's opening night.

Although there have been negotiations between the league and players in recent days - unlike the 2004-05 lockout that forced the cancellation of the entire season - the two sides haven't gotten any closer to a deal on core economic issues. In the previous lockout, the NHL and the union didn't get together between early September and early December.

Back then, the key words in the negotiations were salary cap, linkage and cost certainty. Commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners were committed to getting a deal that linked team costs to revenues, so each club would know exactly how much it had to spend on payroll and what number it couldn't exceed.

Thus a salary cap was born for the first time in NHL history. The league produced record revenue during the seven years of that deal, which turned out much better for the players than expected.
There are no major philosophical issues this time as there were with the salary cap fight, but the sides are far apart in financial figures. Players received 57 percent of hockey-related revenue in the deal that expired Sept. 15, and the NHL wants to bring that number below 50 percent - perhaps as low as 47 percent.


The NHL claims the union hasn't done near enough to try to get closer to the league's proposal and appears willing to wait for the NHLPA to come around. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league had already lost $100 million in revenues from canceled preseason games. The players will begin feeling the real sting when they don't get their first paychecks of the season Oct. 15.

During the last lockout, Bettman followed through on his vow to cancel the season if a deal wasn't reached by a February deadline. A new collective bargaining agreement wasn't completed until July, long after major damage had been done. It marked the first time a North American professional sport lost an entire season to a labor dispute.

In 2004, Daly announced Sept. 29 that there wouldn't be any hockey in October. New proposals and negotiations in December and January did little to push the sides toward a settlement, and Bettman announced Feb. 16 that the season had been lost. It marked the first time since a flu epidemic in 1919 that the Stanley Cup wasn't awarded.

A Year to Rememer, A Season to Forget

I decided to take stats and facts of this 2012 Red Sox year and give a big picture of just how bad this really was, how far from grace this franchise is from their 2004/2007 championships years, and how the future looks now that the Sox off-loaded a bunch of player, staff, and payroll, including
Bobby V's firing earlier today... Pink Hat Nation... Even you can understand this...

• 793 - Fenway Park's Current Sell Out Streak dating back to May 15th 2003
• 470 - (4.70) The pitching staff's combined ERA (ranked 27th in mlb)
• 426 - The winning percentage of the 2012 season, and lowest in the last 25yrs
• 315 - The team's on base percentage (ranked 22nd in mlb) and the lowest it has been in 11yrs
• 275 - $275 Million dollars in contracts were dealt away when Boston sent Beckett, Gonzales, and Crawford in a blockbuster payroll-offloading deal to the Dodgers
• 93 - The total losses on the season, this club usually wins this amount of games
• 34 - The total of home game wins this season (lowest in 14yrs)
• 26 - 26 Games out of 1st place in the AL east for a last place finish in the division
• 20 - Kevin Youkilis' Red Sox number, one of the last characters of the championships years
• 18 - The amount of "off-days" that former players like Beckett had for golf outings
• 8 - The losing streak to end the season while going 16-43 (.271win %) from Aug 1st - Today
• 4 - The number of players that attended Johhny Pesky's funeral (Ortiz, Buchholz, Salty, Padilla)
• 3 - The number of solid free agents/signings they will need to make this off-season to compete
• 2 - The number of games I went to this year (in April/May) and refused to support them after
• 1 - 1 Player is left from the 2004 team... The idiots... When this team was fun... (Ortiz)
• 0 - The number of playoff wins since the losing game 7 in the ALCS vs Tampa Bay in 2008

A Look at the MLB Playoff Picture

So the MLB regular season ended today, and the playoffpicture is complete. Baseball this year had some amazing storylines throughout the year. I think one of the biggest things is when you look at the playoff teams, some unfamiliar teams are there, and some of the perennial playoff teams are nowhere to be found. Boston, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Anaheim are all on the outside looking in, and along with Los Angeles, represent 4 of the top 5 payrolls in baseball.

New York, Detroit and Oakland won the 3 American League division crowns, with New York and Oakland winning on the final day of the season. Oakland won the AL West in historic fashion, coming back from 13 games back on July 1 and 5 games back with 9 to go. Baltimore and Texas, the teams that lost out on the division titles, captured the two wild card slots.

In the National League, the races were a little less exciting. Washington and Cincinnati led their divisions pretty much wire to wire, and San Francisco led throughout the last 2 months of the year. Atlanta had a comfortable lead in the wild card and was never really in jeopardy of losing it, and St Louis is looking to defend their 2011 World Series crown.

The 1 game wildcard playoff games are Friday, with Texashosting Baltimore and Atlanta hosting St Louis. The winners of these games will play New York and Washington, the top seeds in their respective leagues. In the American League, Detroit and Oakland will face off in the other series, and it will be Cincinnati and San Francisco in the National League.

My predictions are as follows:

AL Wild Card                                     NL Wild Card

Baltimore over Texas                          Atlanta over St Louis

ALDS                                                NDLS

Baltimore over New York                  Washington over Atlanta

Detroit over Oakland                        Cincinnati over San Francisco

ALCS                                               NLCS

Detroit over Baltimore                       Cincinnati over Washington

World Series

Cincinnati over Detroit

On a side note, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers did something this season that has not been done in 45 years, and I don’t think enough people are talking about it: winning the Triple Crown. There have been over twice as many perfect games in ML history as Triple Crowns, and to say this has flown under the radar until the final days of the season is an understatement. So, congratulations to Miguel Cabrera, for doing something only 9 others have done in the history of baseball.

Week 4 Power Rankings

KHL to air on ESPN3 TONIGHT

Let there be hockey... The hockey gods have given us light... Yes you heard it first on Pink Hat Nation... The KHL is going to air 5 games on ESPN3 to start the season off in October for us North American hockey pucks to get our fix... You know ESPN hates the NHL when they strike a deal to air KHL games during the NHL's lockout... WOW

Here are some of the familiar names in these games...

Dynamo Moscow: Alex Ovechkin
SKA: Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Bobrobsky, Maxim Afinogeno, Vladimir Tarasenko
Lev Prague: Zdeno Chara, Jiri Hudler, 
CSKA: Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Brysgalov, Mikehail Grabovski
Slovan: Nobody of note from the NHL
Ak Bars: Nobody of note from the NHL

5 Game Schedule

• Wed 10/3: Dynamo Moscow vs. Ak Bars
• Saturday 10/6: Lev Prague vs SKA
• Sunday 10/7: Slovan vs Dynamo
• Monday 10/8: CSKA vs SKA
• Tuesday 10/9: Lev Prague vs Dynamo Moscow

It might not be crazy to think that some of us will be tuning into our laptops on ESPN3 at odd hours in the morning/day/night but you can't blame us... We will turn to D1 hockey (locally here) in November, but for now its the KHL, hockey pucks... Enjoy

I have also listed all of the signings of NHL talent to go overseas since Sept 15th's NHL Lockout

Date	Player	NHL Team	New Team	League
Oct. 02	Patrice Bergeron, C		HC Lugano	Swiss National A League
Oct. 02	Tommy Wingels, C		Kookoo	Mestis (Finland, Div II)
Oct. 02	Matt Duchene, C		Frolunda HC	Swedish Elite League
Oct. 02	Andrei Markov, D		HC Vityaz	KHL
Oct. 02	Zdeno Chara, D		HC Lev Praha	KHL
Oct. 02	Tom Wandell, C		Severstal Cherepovets	KHL
Oct. 02	Craig Smith, C		KalPa	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Oct. 02	Andreas Nodl, RW		HC TWK Innsbruck	EBEL (Austria)
Oct. 02	Jamie Benn, RW		Hamburg Freezers	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Oct. 02	Corey Potter, D		Vienna Capitals	EBEL (Austria)
Oct. 01	Thomas Vanek, LW		Graz 99ers	EBEL (Austria)
Oct. 01	Cody Franson, D		Brynas	Swedish Elite League
Sept. 30	Matt Read, RW		Sodertalje SK	HockeyAllsvenskan
Sept. 28	Carl Hagelin, LW		Sodertalje SK	HockeyAllsvenskan
Sept. 28	Evander Kane, LW		HC Dinamo Minsk	KHL
Sept. 28	John Tavares, C		SC Bern	Swiss National A League
Sept. 28	Brooks Laich, C		Kloten Flyers	Swiss National A League
Sept. 27	Dmitry Kulikov, D		HC Lokomotiv	KHL
Sept. 27	Semyon Varlamov, G		HC Lokomotiv	KHL
Sept. 27	Andrej Sekera, D		HC Slovan Bratislava	KHL
Sept. 27	Philip Larsen, D		Lukko	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 27	Mikkel Boedker, RW		Lukko	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 27	Frans Nielsen, C		Lukko	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 26	Erik Karlsson, D		Jokerit	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 26	Viktor Stalberg, LW		Frolunda HC	Swedish Elite League
Sept. 26	Patrick O'Sullivan, C		HIFK Helsinki	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 26	Kris Russell, D		TPS Turku	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 25	Michal Roszival, D		HC Plzen	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 25	Victor Hedman, D		HC Barys	KHL
Sept. 25	Alexander Steen, LW		Modo	Swedish Elite League
Sept. 25	Pekka Rinne, G		HC Dinamo Minsk	KHL
Sept. 25	Tuukka Rask, G		HC Plzen	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 25	Alexander Semin, RW		Sokol Krasnoyarsk	VHL (Russia)
Sept. 25	Sean Bergenheim, RW		HIFK Helsinki	SM-liiga (Finland)
Sept. 24	Anthony Stewart, RW		Nottingham Panthers	EIHL (UK)
Sept. 24	Chris Stewart, RW		Eispiraten Crimmitschau	ESBG (Germany)
Sept. 24	Wayne Simmonds, LW		Eispiraten Crimmitschau	ESBG (Germany)
Sept. 24	Mikhail Grabovski, C		CSKA	KHL
Sept. 24	Vladimir Tarasenko, RW		SKA St. Petersburg	KHL
Sept. 24	Rich Peverley, C		JYP	SM-Liiga (Finland)
Sept. 24	Max Pacioretty, LW		HC Ambri-Piotta	Swiss National A League
Sept. 24	Nikita Nikitin, D		Avangard Omsk Oblast	KHL
Sept. 22	Michael Frolik, RW		Pirati Chomutov	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 21	Marcel Goc, C		Adler Mannheim	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Sept. 21	Dennis Seidenberg, D		Adler Mannheim	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Sept. 21	Sergei Bobrovsky, G		SKA St. Petersburg	KHL
Sept. 21	Jared Spurgeon, D		SCL Tigers	Swiss National A League
Sept. 21	Tyler Ennis, LW		SCL Tigers	Swiss National A League
Sept. 21	Rostislav Klesla, D		HC Ocelari Trinec	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 21	Tomas Kaberle, D		HC Kladno	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 20	Anton Babchuk, D		HC Donbass	KHL
Sept. 20	Douglas Murray, D		Djurgardens IF	HockeyAllsvenskan
Sept. 20	Patric Hornqvist, C		Djurgardens IF	HockeyAllsvenskan
Sept. 20	Tomas Tatar, RW		SHK 37 Piestany	Slovak Extraliga
Sept. 20	Roman Polak, D		HC Vitkovice	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 20	Tyler Seguin, C		EHC Biel	Swiss National A League
Sept. 20	Ladislav Smid, D		HC Ocelari Trinec	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 20	Jakub Kindl, D		CSOB Pojistovna Pardubice	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 20	Artem Anisimov, C		HC Lokomotiv	KHL
Sept. 20	Roman Josi, D		HC Bern	Swiss National A League
Sept. 20	Nail Yakupov, RW		HC Neftekhimik	KHL
Sept. 19	Andrew Ference, D		Mountfield Ceske Budejovice	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 19	Valtteri Filppula, C		Jokerit	SM-liiga (Finland)
Sept. 19	Ilya Bryzgalov, G		CSKA	KHL
Sept. 19	Pavel Datsyuk, C		CSKA	KHL
Sept. 19	Nik Antropov, C		HC Barys	KHL
Sept. 19	Alex Ovechkin, LW		HC Dynamo Moscow	KHL
Sept. 19	Jason Spezza, C		Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	Swiss National A League
Sept. 19	Luca Sbisa, D		HC Lugano	Swiss National A League
Sept. 18	Radek Martinek, D		Mountfield Ceske Budejovice	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 18	Anze Kopitar, C		Mora IK	HockeyAllsvenskan
Sept. 18	Lennart Petrell, C		HIFK Helsinki	SM-liiga (Finland)
Sept. 18	Patrick Berglund, C		VIK Vasteras HK	HockeyAllsvenskan
Sept. 18	Niklas Backstrom, G***		HC Dinamo Minsk	KHL
Sept. 18	Marek Zidlicky, D		HC Kladno	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 18	Yannick Weber, D		HC Geneva	Swiss National A League
Sept. 18	Michal Neuvirth, G		Sparta Praha	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 17	Jakub Voracek, RW		HC Lev Praha	KHL
Sept. 17	Christian Ehrhoff, D		Krefeld Pinguine	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Sept. 17	Rick Nash, LW		HC Davos	Swiss National A League
Sept. 17	Joe Thornton, C		HC Davos	Swiss National A League
Sept. 17	Logan Couture, C		HC Geneva	Swiss National A League
Sept. 17	Rapheal Diaz, D		EV Zug	Swiss National A League
Sept. 17	Ales Hemsky, RW		CSOB Pojistovna Pardubice	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 17	Mark Streit, D		SC Bern	Swiss National A League
Sept. 17	Nikolai Kulemin, LW		Metallurg Magnitogorsk	KHL
Sept. 17	Jiri Tlusty, C		HC Kladno	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 17	Roman Cernenka, C		Slavia Praha	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 17	Vladimir Sobotka, LW		Slavia Praha	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 17	Lubomir Visnovsky, D		HC Slovan Bratislava	KHL
Sept. 16	Anton Khudobin, G		HC Atlant Moscow Oblast	KHL
Sept. 16	Jiri Hudler, RW		HC Lev Praha	KHL
Sept. 16	Jason Demers, D		Oulu Karpat	SM-liiga (Finland)
Sept. 16	Jussi Jokinen, C		Oulu Karpat	SM-liiga (Finland)
Sept. 16	Ondrej Pavelec, G		HC Ocelari Trinec	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 16	Kaspars Daugavins, LW		Dinamo Riga	KHL
Sept. 16	Pavel Kubina, D		HC Vitkovice Steel	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 16	Ruslan Fedotenko, LW		HC Donbass	KHL
Sept. 16	Ilya Kovalchuk, LW		SKA St. Petersburg	KHL
Sept. 16	Alexei Ponikarovsky, RW		HC Donbass	KHL
Sept. 16	Tomas Plekanec, C		HC Kladno	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 16	Jaromir Jagr, RW		HC Kladno	Czech Extraliga
Sept. 16	Sergei Gonchar, D		Metallurg Magnitogorsk	KHL
Sept. 16	Evgeni Malkin, C		Metallurg Magnitogorsk	KHL