LaFontaineToMogilny

I am not singling out you here, this comment applies to everyone, and most certainly myself. It's just that your reply here is the perfect vessel for bringing it up. People are not as objective as they think. We all have a (depressingly large) number of cognitive biases that form the way we observe and relate to things. This is precisely why you see discussions like these. Some people think Romney was funny and cool, others think he was mean and stale. This difference of opinion doesn't stem from half of people not being able to understand the video, it is an effect caused by selective perception and confirmation bias. Basically, people who want Obama to look cool, will tend to see things that makes Obama look cool, people who wants Obama to look bad will tend to see the things that make him look bad. Interestingly enough, people are pretty good at detecting bias in other peoples perception, and very bad at seeing the bias in their own view. That's why most people tend to think of themselves as objective and fair, and everyone else as hopelessly partisan.

This is a big black eye for the league. That they seem willing to sacrifice big chunks of the season to get out of honoring their own contracts, :blink:

Well, cost of doing business has gone up as the league has grown, but yeah. If you look at the actual economics of the NHL it's hard for me to see what the owners are doing that anything but a pretty substantial money grab.

I have very little sympathy for the owners stance. As far as I'm concerned they are by and large making money and they could easily find a way for everyone to stay profitable even under the current CBA. The hardline stance is off putting to me and I can't say I'm surprised the players are trying to protect the deal they have already negotiated. I get that owners wants to make more money, but I don't sympathize with that stance. I always regard owning a sports franchise as more than just owning a business. A sports franchise has meaning in communities that far outstrips what most businesses have. When you buy a sports team you also take on stewardship over an entity that many people tie a significant part of their lives and identity to. You take on part responsibility for the reputation and spirit of a whole city. To me that comes with added responsibility than just making a profit at all cost. If you can't accept that fact, I say stay out of the sports business. Part of this responsibility would be to make sure the community gets to watch hockey even if that means signing a CBA you might not feel all that thrilled about.

The idea favors the players, and they might just be ready to accept 51% for the added benefit of unloading on Bettman. The post negotiation press conference should be amusing as well.

Oh my goodness! That is shocking

I said nothing about anyone's intelligence, I did however classify your attempt to dismiss the inherent evil in the Apartheid system as stupid, and I'll stand by that. I don't have much personal experience with Apartheid, I've only discussed it in length with a few people who lived under it. Two rich white young women that I met when they were working as au-pairs in Amsterdam, and a black engineer I currently work with that I car pool with every now and then. All of them grew up under Apartheid rule. All I will say is that they have VERY different opinions on the merits of Apartheid, and that you probably fall more inline with the au-pairs I met than the engineer I work with. Predictably, the white girls put a lot more emphasis on the economic prosperity generated (for them) under Apartheid while the guy who was systematically treated as a second rate human is a lot more interested in the humiliation and frustration of being denied equal treatment.

Belgium certainly has a great chance to qualify. Croatia is the main stumbling block, and Serbia (which I will join with NS in wishing are held out of the world cup) as a dark horse. I hope Belgium goes through, it's been a long time since the classic Belgian sides of the 80's when Enzo Scifo ruled the world and Belgium would have gone to the world cup final if it wasn't for the fact that they ran into the best player ever to play the game at the very peak of his career in the semi finals. In even more exciting news, Norway are finding themselves in a decent position in their qualifiers after an atrocious loss to Iceland to open the qualifier. As exciting as World Cup soccer is, it really brings it to another level when Norway qualifies.

A reasonable and well articulated point of view. Just one comment, doesn't the right to life imply a certain right to healthcare? Or do you see the right to life as only the negative right that it's not legal to murder people in the USA?

Wow. Way to disqualify yourself from being taken seriously. You have reached a level of ridiculousness that has prompted me to break my 67 page long commitment to not comment on things I find to be utterly stupid.

That's of course where the images and statements came from, but all these things were undoubtedly approved by the league before being unleashed on a focus group.

I doubt the league purposely picked Boogard, they can't be that insensitive. I think they just picked a pic of a hockey fight and no one in the NHL offices knew or stopped to think who was in the picture. To me that speaks to the disconnect between the big wigs in the NHL and the game. It just adds one more drop to the argument that the NHL executives don't get or care for hockey.

Well, I suspect that teams in the KHL are not owned in the same way as a team in the NHL. Where a team in the NHL is typically structured like a company, most teams in the KHL probably operate as a sports organization rather than a company. CSKA for example have a team in the KHL, but CSKA also has basketball teams, soccer teams and other sports they operate in as well. The different sections of the sports organization will be financed through gate receipts and sponsorships. That's why the teams in the KHL have enormous amounts of ads on their jerseys. Sponsorships is where the KHL can really generate economic muscle. In Russia the government is still a majority owner of many companies and the right people can get their hands on and divert serious cash. For example, the president of the KHL is also Deputy Chairman of the Board of the gigantic state controlled gas company Gazprom. Gazprom is a 160 Billion a year company and already heavily sponsoring Avangard Omsk in the KHL. Since the entities are separate however, Gazprom can also sponsor other teams in the KHL, something they in fact are already doing. Of course, this is just one of the corporate/state backers that support teams in the KHL, there are many other companies pumping cash into the league. The KHL was formed in 2008, they are already expanding into central Europe, have established a TV presence in the core hockey markets in Europe and is promoting the game in less traditional hockey markets in Europe. It's no guarantee that the KHL will ever become the league they are aspiring to be, but to write it off as impossible is short sighted. To give the KHL free exposure in North America is probably not a good idea for the NHL. Also, not to take anything away from the Winter Classic, but it must be said that visuals like these from the KHL all star game are pretty bad ass:

By far the most rewarding thing I have taken from this thread is that it has prompted me to learn a little bit more about cognitive bias.

The KHL is not a Russian league, there are teams in non Russian speaking countries that use the Roman alphabet. They use the English spelling to make the game marketable outside Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics. The KHL is primarily trying to become the number one league for European fans, and to do so you need to be marketable in Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. That they now see a chance to jump on a little exposure boost in North America is pure gravy to the KHL but not part of their core growth strategy right now. That said, it is the spoken ambition of the KHL to be the best hockey league in the world. It would serve the NHL well to take that ambition seriously, but alas, I don't think they do.

This would be a fair point if it wasn't for the fact that the teams wore jerseys with the name in roman alphabet across the shoulders, and in Cyrillic on the bottom

I disagree with the ranking. It looks like hockey won't start until late December at the earliest, shaving off the part of the year when the Sabres are the worst in the league. Given their usual torrid play in January and February I think they should be ranked in the top 3.

Definitely awesome! It warms an emigrant heart to see the old country well remembered in my new homeland. It's also quite amusing to see how much 'Little Norway' does not resemble actual Norway.

82 games for each team, or 82 games total?

More like what's up with BATE?

Gjøran Treskjegg?!?

I would prefer to discuss this in the biathlon and herring toss threads respectively

That would be terrible!

I would love for this to happen, especially if Norway were able to put together a team that could compete. I doubt they could, but Finland and Sweden could put up several teams. A Norwegian team in the KHL would be HUGE for hockey in Norway. Also, some real competition would be exactly what is needed for the NHL to stop taking their position for granted and put a real effort into starting every season on time.

I don't think this is as far fetched as it might sound, and for the life of me I can't understand why the NHL doesn't take this threat seriously.