cusimano_brothers

If ESPN didn't have Pierre LeBrun doing his usual excellent job covering hockey...they would be lost. Give him a raise!

M'o has mo' to do. I'm glad to hear about his plans.

Six years from now, Uncle Gary should announce the "postponement" of the Winter Classic in July. This will speed things up and he won't have to worry about his inability to negotiate an agreement the way normal businesses. That, of course, assumes that Uncle Gary will still have his current job then.

Mathieu Schneider has an interesting proposal: a cap on escrow.

So, the League has wheeled out the "trojan horse" for the players to look at? Be careful, lads.

From Toronto Star: The initial period will be pretty rough but I for one applaud this effort.

A "cornerstone", sponsored by Bridgestone.

I didn't know the ramifications were, regarding players getting injured in non-NHL games, until I read this.

I've never had that opinion of him. Having read his autobiography, my opinion of him was validated in his book: he's an very intelligent person who, when seeing an important cause that he believes in, will support it and do whatever it takes to help make it a success. The fact that he was asked to be "the big name" in this was great; the fact that he had to put up some of his own money is troubling. Perhaps you're thinking of Donald Brashear.

In no time at all, this has turned into quite the circus.

Remember, in Bettmanland , "cancelled" actually means "postponed".

Attendance at sporting events should not be "clothing optional". They still play Gary Glitter at games? Interesting. I guess some people haven't heard.

All membership, no matter if it's in professional sports or not, have to be proactive when it comes to any and all matters dealing with their career. If their not, they're only hurting themselves. Q: How much was Neil Sheehy's "cut" on this deal? A: A lot.

I hope this is a positive trend; from Toronto Star: The key word is "respects"; unions both respect and protect their membership. There is that whole Derek Clarke/Randy Gumbley thing going on. If it's true...

From TSN:

There is a fourth option being overlooked: I wouldn't play at all. I wouldn't feel right taking someone else's job, no matter how "temporary" it is.

There has been a hinting that something was coming; the first volley has now hit the fan. from Toronto Star:

From Ottawa Citizen:

Hey, it's stopped raining.

The Suter - Parise signing was the of the most efficiently choreographed soap operas in recent sports history, culminating with the date of the signing. Brilliant, just brilliant; they had the hockey world eating out of the palm of their hands. Maybe he's read the Wikipedia entry on "Cognitive Dissonance". Too bad, so sad.

Now it sounds like he back-pedals better than he back-checks. Translations can be very tricky.

I'm sure he keeps checking LGW to see if his name has shown up in "The Next Wings Captain is...?".

The owners made this mess by irresponsibly spending money on contracts leading up to this most recent CBA negotiations. Then, Uncle Gary says that operating costs are overdrawn and he has the unmitigated gall to suggest that reeling in of over-the-top contracts is the culprit. If that be the case, he needs to sit down with the owners and explain this to them. He wouldn't dare do that because they make sure that he keeps his job. Remember; 30-0. It's too bad that an email memo hasn't been found from Uncle Gary to the owners, suggesting that it is in their best interest to ease up on contract spending, as it would put him in a bad light regarding his long thought out plan to "negotiate'. IF that memo was made and was found, there may be a pretty good case for collusion.