I watched the World Cup finals last night between Canada and Finland, and between the first and second period they interviewed the head of the players union and the owners representative.
Millionaires arguing with millionaires over who gets a nickel extra before they collectively destroy the league. At least the owner's guy had the decency to acknowlege that this was going to hurt people like concessionaires and ushers, rink workers and back office personnel (the scalpers! who's thinking about the poor scalpers?!?!? ... sorry). When that was mentioned to the player's rep his response was basically "the owners are trying to screw the players". Self-centered bastards. Not that I'm sympathetic to the owners either. Both sides refuse to budge, and I'm so frustrated that I just want to knock heads and pound some perspective into their thick skulls.
Here's an idea: top salary = $4M a year, minimum salary = $1M a year. Teams have salary cap and salary floor (minimum required). Owners guaranteed a profit. Ticket prices are reduced and capped. Extra money; $1M a year to player pension fund (increase if it's already more), and increase advertising and youth hockey outreach programs. Hey, get the NASCAR people in there to pump some life back into hockey.
Silly? You bet. I'm no expert, I don't even play one on the internet. I'm just a pissed off fan.
Posted by Ted at September 15, 2004 05:05 AM | TrackBackPISSED! Yes, very.
Posted by: Derek at September 15, 2004 04:27 PM