] The $2.1 billion league that existed at the end of last
] season, when Auburn Hills mogul Bill Davidson's Tampa Bay
] Lightning won the Stanley Cup, could shrink to half that,
] NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told the head of the
] players' union when the season was canceled.
]
] Tom Wilson, president of the Davidson company that owns
] the Lightning, has said as much publicly, warning that
] the league could shrink to $800 million if a deal isn't
] done by the start of next season.

This is the most telling prognostication. No matter what happens, the market that the NHL will return to will be even smaller than the one it left behind under duress. With that as an almost indesputable fact, how can the NHLPA expect to get a better deal than what's already been proposed?

The likely scenario is that star players like Iginla, Lidstrom, Jagr, and Kovalev will be LUCKY to make 1/2 of their previous revenue under any situation when the league returns. And ultimately, that screws the little guys - the Tootoos and Heatleys and journeymen in the league that don't even make enough to find adequate agents.

So in the end, the PA (more specifically Goodenow) has done nothing to help the players cause and in fact, has pretty much destroyed their credibility altogether. Whatever deal ends up getting ratified will be the same deal that could've been ratified before the 04/05 season even started and all this damage could've been avoided. Instead, they'll get a shoddy deal which gives them a smaller piece of a much smaller pie. Thanks Bob!

Owners see 6 ways to save the NHL

] the domestic auto industry, the engine of the state's
] economy in the 20th century, is sputtering in the 21st.
] With 7 of Michigan's 10 largest employers either domestic
] automakers or parts suppliers, Michigan's unemployment
] hit 7.3 percent in December. That tied with Alaska's as
] worst in the nation, according to the most recent report
] from the Labor Department; numbers released by Michigan
] on Wednesday adjusted December's unemployment down to 7.5
] percent, but showed some improvement in January.

When I was a kid, I remember being at an UAW function where the men took turns beating a Honda with sledge hammers and finally lighting it on fire (a Detroit passtime if there ever was one). Even as an 8 year old, I could tell that this was a futile attempt to liberate the fear and frustration on the part of the workers. What will they do now?

The city of Detroit has spent BILLIONS of dollars to try and reinvigorate itself, but failed to actually change its economic structure and diversify its economy. Look at the second chart that ranks states jobless rates. Throughout the boom boom 90s, the state made headway, but with the recession in 2000, it plummeted like a rock and shows literally no sign of recovery whatsoever.

Having just been there back in January for the NAIAS, I can tell you that the city of Detroit looked worse than I remember it for a long long time. Probably as bad as it was when I was in high school. I fear the worst is coming and that no amount of federal aid or support will reverse the course. The state will slip into economic irrelevance once again and most of my friends and loved ones will suffer. Except unlike the 90s, there won't be a post manufacturing boom and retooling to save the state's economy. Those days are long gone.

Taking Down the 'No Foreign Cars' Signs in Michigan

] "My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a
] second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's
] a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of
] my short stories, (and) the short story they found was
] about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was
] about a high school over ran by zombies."
]
] Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a
] felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter
] involving a school or function it's a felony in the state
] of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven
] Caudill.

nice.

Student Arrested For Terroristic Threatening Says Incident A Misunderstanding

] ``It's almost to the point that it isn't the union. It's
] Bob Goodenow. We can't get a deal with Bob Goodenow.''

One piece of good news for hockey in Nashville is that Leipold is a key driver on the board of governors and is highly respected amongst the owners. I don't believe the league will contract (it can't afford to, since that will damage any TV deal, possibly making it unworkable) and I don't believe that the league will take away the linkage again. The PA should've taken that last deal and ran with it. It will be the best deal they could've gotten.

Preds owner: Hockey will be played this fall

] Citing sources, the Toronto Star said Bain Capital and
] GamePlan LLC, a Houston-based firm that specializes in
] sports franchises, pitched the plan to NHL commissioner
] Gary Bettman and other league and team representatives on
] Tuesday.

odd, but could solve many of the current problems.

Report: NHL Gets $3.5 Billion Buy Out Offer

] As the traditional model of health care continues to
] become unwieldy, with some patients enduring long waits
] to see a doctor for a few minutes, concierge practices
] are becoming more common. Some doctors are reducing the
] size of their practices in order to be available, on
] call, to concierge patients. With minor issues, much of
] the consulting can be done over the phone.

Like Health Advocate but more online.

Telemedicine on the Cheap

] Markus Naslund, the Vancouver Canucks forward and
] teammate of Todd Bertuzzi, criticized Colorado forward
] Steve Moore after Moore launched civil suits against
] Bertuzzi and various members of the Canucks.
]
] Moore was severely injured by Bertuzzi last Feb. 16 in an
] incident that continues to mar the NHL. Bertuzzi and the
] Canucks publicly said there would be retribution after
] Moore had injured Naslund a couple of weeks earlier.
]
] Naslund said Moore was "suing everyone so he can make
] money."

More proof that the idiocy of western Canadians has fully penetrated the psyche of the dirty Swedes.

Markus Naslund sucks

awesome!

Life of Jesus, in l33t

] The toy association has lost members whose business
] evaporated because their top-selling products were
] duplicated for Wal-Mart by lower-cost manufacturers in
] China, Mr. Conley said. He said he worried about the
] future of innovation, since smaller companies tended to
] be the ones with the smart new ideas. "If they can't
] survive and innovate," he said, "what's going to happen
] to the business?"

*THIS* is the real threat of global marketeers like WalMart and Microsoft. This same effect will happen to other industries in the near future, and it will ripple through large swaths of the economy as industries are disrupted by it. Full tilt growth has it's price.

More Gloom on the Island of Lost Toy Makers

damn. another fine soldier down.

Hunter Thompson commits suicide