Obama, the NHL and a new target date
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Obama, the NHL and a new target date
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
President Barack Obama on Wednesday night pleaded with the NHL and the players' union to create labor peace because "the fans deserve it."
Appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Obama was asked if he could pull strings to end the NHL lockout. After the appaluse ended, Obama said, "You know, I do have a comment on this. Every time these things happen I just want to remind the owners and the players, you guys make money because you've got a whole bunch of fans out there who are working really hard, they buy tickets, they're watching on TV.
"Y'all should be able to figure this out. Get this done. The fans deserve it."
We have a feeling Mitt Romney (mindful NHL fans = votes) will express similar sentiments this week.
The NHL and the players' union have no meetings scheduled for Thursday, the day of the league's deadline to get a new CBA in place. That means an 82-game schedule is virtually out the window.
From here, starting the season on Black Friday _ yes, the name is appropriate for this league _ should be the next target date.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
- Put yourself in their position though. Your boss comes to you and says we made more money last year! But we want to cut your salary by 13% even though we both signed a contract. I'm not saying the players shouldn't give in some, but its not an easy thing to do when you feel your being screwed.
— Sidewinder7 - syddan26 wrote: "NHL players have won life's lottery."
No, actually they have worked at perfecting their skills from the age of 4 or 5. Nobody gave them anything. They worked hard to become the best hockey players on the planet.
The owners ARE turning profits. They just want BIGGER profits, at the expense of the players who actually ARE the show. I don't pay to see Hank Samueli in his luxury suite at the Honda Center (that is, when he bothers to show up), I pay to see Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan, and Corey Perry.
Most of these owners treat owning a hockey team as a hobby. You got a Ferrari 458 Italia? I got a hockey team.
— backhand - I hate this article. Keep your politics out of my hockey. Equally snippy comments could be made about Obama and the fairness of good teams beating bad teams, the war on women hockey players, etc. But, bottom line, odds are politicians don't care much about the NHL (or other leagues for that matter). Let them focus on fixing the country.— thawthor88
- Yes!!! Thank you. — Jabey
- @hankhammer2, way to get overly political on a sports blog. makes perfect sense. Either you're completely left (which is fine) or doing some undercover black ops for the Obama campaign. Whichever the case, I don't want to read it (same as I don't want to read anti-obama stuff). Keep that stuff on the political blogs and off sports blogs.— mundiff
Who cares what he thinks he's from Chicago...- Unfortunately this lockout is similar to what is wrong with politics. Neither side wants to do what is right for the fans\country, better product\better price ... they just want to disagree and sling mud.
why not start by agreeing that you actually do agree on some points and chip away towards the resolution.— FatBoy90 - The Tonner doesn't really like discussing politics. The Tonner's seen too many fights break out when Genny Cream Ale and politics intertwine.
- Sidewinder, if these guys lose the entire season, no contract is going to make up for the lost salaries. The players really need to understand that the owners are more than willing to cancel another season.— syddan26
- Geez...for a second there I almost forgot that we are 16 trillion in debt, have massive unemployment, trillion dollar deficeits, soldiers in Afghanistan, terrorist blowing up our embassies ...the way that Obama talked about the Hockey lockout...I know..he can redistribute the stanley cup to all the teams that haven't won in over 30 yrs...that means the Flyers get a little cup..LOL...— fbpdplt
- The United States, down 16 trillion with only two weeks in this game...pulls the President! He's heading for the bench!— dasher
- Most of that 16 trillion in debt was rung up by Bush when he decided to fight two wars and put the costs on a credit card. And giving tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% of the country didn't help either. — backhand
- He's never seen a hockey stick before! Must have been included in his budget portfolio that was assembled by his advisors the night after the debate. ROMNEY/RYAN for a real AMERICA!— Dogkilla
- Dogkilla wrote: "ROMNEY/RYAN for a real AMERICA!"
What you wanted to say was Romney/Ryan for a WHITE America but you didn't quite have the guts.— backhand - Thank goodness the resident is putting thought and time into the 6th rated sport in the land....after all there is nothing going on in this county or the world that needs his focus.....and the 19000 fight mongers in this city will surely swing the election......sad, that this is his way of trying to sway voters.....If he had any brains or courage he would tackle the NFL and gambling and make it available in all states.....and that would benefit all the degerate gamblers, the NFL ratings and the job situation in each casino.....but no that would take courage, brains and effort and he is lacking in all areas...— nuggett
