“Good evening Predators fans …”
I was looking forward to oiling up the pipes, opening the mic and welcoming Smashville to another season of Predator hockey tonight at Bridgestone Arena. Alas, that will not happen as we enter day 10 of the NHL lockout. Ten days in and all we have gotten so far is limited negotiations, limited contact and both sides pointing the finger at the other.
What a pile of crap…
Neither side can say (without drawing guffaws) that they really care about the fans if they aren’t making efforts to negotiate and get a new deal done. Everyone… and I mean everyone knows that both sides are just posturing. The longer this goes on, the more aggravated NHL fans are getting.
So… in the immortal words of Beetlejuice… “Whadda we gotta do to make a deal here???
James Mirtle has an excellent piece in yesterday’s Globe and Mail. You can read it
here. It is a remarkably simple solution, that will not make either side happy… but when you think about it, isn’t that a perfect description of an effective compromise?
Ahhh, there is that nasty word, compromise. In our increasingly polarized world, that word has become synonymous with surrender or weakness, when in fact, compromise is how things get done. It’s how things get done in politics, in business, in life… and compromise will be how the NHL gets back on the ice.
The funny part of all of this is, while the players talk about how badly they got beat in the last negotiation, they seem to forget that the average NHL player’s salary went UP almost 70% in the eight years since then. If that is what it is to get beat … well… beat me… beat me daily… beat me as much as possible. What happened in the last CBA negotiations seems to me to be the very definition of losing a battle… but winning the war!
I don’t want this to come across as anti-player… it is not. The players will get paid and paid well no matter what deal gets done. After all, we know what will happen, owners will find all kinds of ways to circumvent the agreement and pay crazy money.
This is directed at the leadership… on both sides, this is not like 2004. The situation is different. It is different in attitude and different in the economics.
How is the attitude different? In 2004 the prospect of losing an entire season was beyond the comprehension of the fans… they simply would not, could not believe they would not have an NHL season. In 2012, they know differently. In 2004, the economy was not great, in 2012, it is worse. In 2004, fans believed that both sides were fighting for what they believed in, in 2012, they know it is all about ego and money and not much else. What NHL owners need to internalize is that there is no league without the players… and the NHLPA needs to understand that there is no league without the owners.
That, my friends, is simple reality.
What is understood by most fans is that both sides need to negotiate… both sides will not get everything they want… both sides will have to … wait for it … compromise! Until that gets through the heads of those running these negotiations, it will be a long time before the NHL resumes.
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Some very exciting news about SlapShot Radio… Pete Weber and I return for our fifth season on October 3rd at 7pm central time. We can be heard in Nashville on the flagship station of the Predators 102.5 the Game every Wednesday night. Lockout or not, we will talk hockey! Our season premier will feature the voices of the Nashville Predators… Now that is exciting enough news, however…
SlapShot Radio is growing its own radio network! We have two additional stations committed to carry the show with more to come! I can release the name of the first station to carry the show outside of Nashville… it’s Scottsboro’s Sports Leader 1050 WWIC in Scottsboro, Alabama. We are thrilled to add Greg Bell, Tim Jones and the entire WWIC team to the SlapShot Radio Network! Readers in Scottsboro… reach out to Greg or Tim to advertise on the show!
More stations are coming on line and we will be announcing them as they confirm. Preseason advertising deals are available, for local and regional advertising… contact us at
[email protected].
And don’t forget to tune in Wednesday October 3rd at 7pm on 120.5 the Game and the SlapShot Radio Network!
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Random Notes
- UPDATE - According to several sources... CBA negotiations will resume on Friday.
- The arrival of season tickets is normally a cause for celebrating… not so much this year.
- New ESPN.com NHL power rankings are out… The LA Kings start out in the #1 spot. Nashville comes in at #12. Detroit at #13. The bottom three… #28 Toronto, #29 Winnipeg and #30 Columbus
- I don’t often agree with Ken Campbell… but I do here… His latest from
the Hockey News.
- So, Seattle is building a new arena… cue the relocation talk in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
- Edmonton looks like they are using the building of that Seattle arena as leverage to get their own new barn built.
-Pekka Rinne is heading over the KHL, signing with Dinamo Minsk.
- Our good friends at C.A.P.E. are having a charity golf outing on October 3rd at Forest Crossing in Franklin… check it out on Facebook … here's the
link. It’s all to benefit a great cause…
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ROAD TRIP!!!! Update!
We are heading to the Lone Star State! SlapShot Radio will be road tripping to Dallas for the season finale on April 13th. We have made arrangements for tickets and are working on the other logistics, bus, hotel, etc... depending on the MLB Schedule, we may even try to catch a Rangers game!
Circle the date and join the SlapShot Radio crew for a road trip to Dallas... 4/13/13. More information to come!
We just ordered our tickets… to order yours please contact Group Sales Manager, Stormye Stevens at (214) 387-5635, mention you're with the SlapShot Radio Road Trip and she'll get you set up.
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for @PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates, but we are having a bit of fun by getting your input on Gnash introductions, weigh in on Twitter and who knows, we may use your introduction for the best mascot in the NHL at the next Preds game!
Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the
link.
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