Cornell v Hahvahd (sucks) in the NHL Labor Dispute

The new issue of the Cornell Alumni magazine showed up yesterday in the mail. It includes a pretty good article by former NHL player agent and Cornell alum Art Kaminsky about the current NHL labor dispute.

Of course everyone knows that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman ('74) is a Cornell ILR Alum, well news to me was that the head of the NHLPA is Bob Goodenow a former Hahvahd (sucks) hockey player. The article describes Goodenow as "stubborn" with a "willingness to mix it up with management."

For the sake of professional hockey I hope this labor dispute is not long and a solution can be found that helps the game, not the players, and not the owners exclusively. Perhaps a long work stoppage will focus more attention onto the college game, LGR!

Of course everyone knows that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman ('74) is a Cornell ILR Alum

I didn't know. Thanks for the tid-bit.

Welll, we have seen these two tangle before and it wasn't pretty back in '94-'95 either.

It's not "Love Story"...is all I can say.

I did see Goodenow play at Harvard in the early 70s though I can't recall if he's a '71 or '72. Pretty fair player on a couple of very strong Harvard teams.

We all know Bettman did not play hockey at cornell but my question is...can the guy even skate? Not that it's a prequesite for being the Prez of the NHL...Lord knows there are other reasons to be critical of the job he has done.

Sure looks bleak for the start of the season but the news isn't all bad for us diehard Ranger fans..at least we won't have as many poor performances to suffer through.

The article described how Bettman came over to the NHL from being the #2 guy behind Stern for the NBA, so perhaps he can't stake.

Glad to have provided yet another Cornell factoid.

One man's opinion...[sports.yahoo.com]

which I share.

It's not just one man's opinion. They had Al Morganti on "Daily News Live" the other night on Comcast Sports Net (Philly). He basically said the same thing: Much of the problem, especially when it comes to marketing and bad TV contracts, is on Bettman's shoulders.

He also noted, that when Bettman does step in and force a deal, the result will be a soft cap at around 40 million, with a "severe" luxury tax on any payrolls above the cap. Two players (Fedoruk, Therien) who were also on the show, acknowledged that was the general expectation among the Flyers players as well.

JH

[Q]Jeff Hopkins '82 Wrote:

It's not just one man's opinion. [/q]

Hear, hear. I've dispised the guy since his first year. Trying to NBA-ize the sport was one of the worst moves anyone could possibly make. When trying to grow a sport's popularity, you don't alienate your core, fertile fan base and throw the best and biggest seeds into barren areas without even plowing. (OK, I've taken that metaphor as far as it'll stretch)

IMO, I remember looking at the NHL between 1988 and 1992 as being the coolest, most interesting entity in pro sports. It was exciting, and I couldn't get enough. Now? I don't rearrange my schedule to sit down and watch any NHL; if a game is on and I have nothing else to do, I may catch a period or 2, and that's just because I like the sport in any form. I barely pay attention to the playoffs, and don't even get too excited for the Cup Finals. The product Bettman's regime has produced is a pale, sickly imitation of what I remember the NHL being. If it weren't for college hockey, I would barely call myself a hockey "fan." Alienated.

I'm actually rooting for a lengthy, ugly, 2-year long stoppage. Wouldn't bother me in the least, and hopefully Bettman gets what's coming to him.

Yeah, one man's opinion . I'd like to go back to when we had 6 teams, Canadien, northeast, and midwest. Those were real rivalries and every game was a battle. Afterall, I grew up watching "Hockey Night in Canada" on a poor broadcast from Kingston, Ontario.

But although that was great, it also was the problem. You can't have a regional program and have a national TV contract. It just isn't compatible. So for him to complain about trying to go national and no national TV is a joke. I repeat, you can't have a regional program and have a national TV contract.

So, yes it's a problem with hockey this year, but no one man will solve it. It requires all parties to solve a problem that all pro team sports, possible exception NFL, have. The only reason that the NFL is better is that they had a man with vision before everyone got money happy. Remember, those who are old enough, when the NFL players barely made enough to live on? That was also when players were tied to teams for "life". Remember why the Canadiens were so powerful for so long, e.g. the Rocket and the Pocket Rocket. If Rozelle did not do what he did, when he did it, the NFL would be in the same sorry shape that the NHL is in now. Yeah, I know, I am going overboard, but you get the point, I hope.