Until his face melts off...Then that mutha-fucka goes crazy! |
"The night is darkest just before the dawn."
Pretty profound words from a man who's an hour and a half away from threatening to throw the son of the police commissioner off a roof. For our American friends keeping score that's roof as in "Roo-fi-ohhhhh!" not roof as in "man I'm having a rough time without hockey on this winter".
This statement on the course of daybreak has been echoed throughout theses last few months regarding all things hockey. Daryl Katz, on Oilers Now, used it to describe the ongoing (we hope anyway) arena negotiations and his frustrations over the fact that city council was unwilling to just go along with whatever he requested, whenever he requested it.
Yesterday Donald Fehr stood in front of half a dozen microphones,
looked a room full of scribes in the eye and painted a glowing, sunny portrait of where we are at in these negotiations. Yes, I still where WE are at, because no matter how much both sides try and spin this, we as fans and the media members have a stake in this process, albeit about $3 billion less than the league and PA. This is OUR game, not yours. WE own this game, you are merely the facilitators, and your increasing lack of respect towards those of us that enable your two sides to squabble over the nickels & dimes from our pocket only further prove that you are completely undeserving of this privilege we have bestowed upon you. For shame children. For shame.
Now this is intended to be a post in the name of hope. Hope that we are approaching the end of this dark and greedy tunnel, and are about to break on through to the other side (The Doors, not the Chilli Peppers). Still there are a few things I've taken away from these last few days of meetings:
1) Bill Daly and Steve Fehr seem to be the only two members of their respective teams that can get this thing moving forward, in a healthy and progressive manner. I'm not saying Gary and Don aren't smooth operators in the world of negotiations, it's just that they seem to have their heads so far up the ass of "get the other guy fired" that when they two are in the same room and at the same time everything, including progress, comes to a grinding halt. Even the fish stop swimming!
2) When Don Fehr was originally hired on as executive director of the PA there were many in the MSM that quietly predicted this immediate future we are living in. The PA bringing in the proverbial junkyard dog to fight the battle they wish they were in 7 years ago. Don, as early as last night, discussed how there are many players left over from the last CBA negotiations and is it out of the realm of possibility that these guys still have the bitter taste of blood in their mouth after taking it on the chin in 04/05? I've had a hunch for a while now that if this thing goes until Christmas, Gary is gone, Daly will finish the negotiations as interim commish, only to have the entire NHL brain-trust replaced in June will a new regime. I still feel like this is a definite possibility, and I'm becoming more and more suspicious that this is the PAs ultimate end game.
And finally...
3) It's working. Has anyone ever seen Gary Bettman in such rough shape as he was at that press conference on the 6th of December? Every time I see the guy he looks for and more like the Crypt Keeper, with less and less of that smug sense of self satisfaction that's seen him booed at every cup presentation since 95. He is scared folks. Not just mad, not just disappointed, not playing some game of rhetoric we've come to expect, the man is terrified for his own job security. Probably for the first time ever.
I know this has been about the bleakest post for hope one could imagine, but the night is darkest just before the dawn and folks, the rooster is just about ready to crow. Eventually one of these sides will decide that now is the time to cock-a-doodle-doo their damn jobs and iron out a feasible plan for the game, moving forward. Make no mistake jobs will be lost over this. This CBA negotiation may have more of a redefining affect on this game than the one that struck 04/05 from the history books. As much as I am beginning to despise the man for his tactics, Donald Fehr just may end this thing accomplishing everything he set out to do: Get the best possible deal for the union members & end the reign of Gary Bettman.
When the dust settles, he may prove to be the brightest Don of them all.
Faithfully Submitted
-The Dude-
"Fuck sympathy! I don't need your fuckin' sympathy, man! I need my fucking johnson!"
5 comments:
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Seasons over boys time to move on
-J
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