Hockey Night in....North Dakota???

[jgr451]

Grand Forks to be exact.
Anyone want to bet the Canadian Junior Team beats the Russians for gold tonight?

6-1 ,3rd period.
:clap

[jgr451]

The Canadian Junior Hockey Team did indeed beat the Russians for the gold medal tonight.

I don't know what happened to the US team...3rd place or maybe 4th,behind the -vakians,I am not sure.

Is there no joy in Mudville for your neighbour to the North??

4 views,no replies in 3 hours...no hockey fans on board tonight?Or does jingoism spoil the fun?

:twirl :thumb :wave

I for one am extremely pleased for our young men.

[dancogan]

Maybe a lot of us were asleep while you were busy posting. Congratulations, and WAY TO GO! :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap

[gambrinus]

I'm more than ready to go to a game. We had half-season tickets to the LA Kings last year. Now we've moved back to Denver and NO NHL. That leaves the college game if you want some action. We're actually planning on going to the DU / Michigan Tech game Fri or Sat IF we can get tickets.

RW

[PGlaves]

As a native of Grand Forks, long since removed by about 38 years, I fondly remember the hockey games in the OLD, WWII vintage, metal quonset hut which served as UND arena. Stone cold in the arena, but toasty in the heated warming rooms where everybody fled between periods.

Glad to see the new facilities (2nd new ones since I left) now host serious international competition.

Go Sioux!

p.s. Congrats to the Canadian team!

[jgr451]

Maybe a lot of us were asleep while you were busy posting. Congratulations, and WAY TO GO! :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap

Early to bed and early to rise,makes a man a Michigander by 9.
-Bern Frunklin.

Our young men thank y'all!!!

Apparently everyone hated the Russians so much that the American team begged the Canadian team to whomp em.

Fine hockey.

[donkey doctor]

Hello; I was watching the game too. I suppose that is why no one replied promptly. Do you think that all this NHL stuff is because of Gary Bettman? I know we never had this problem before he came along. I don't think he has the right attitude about hockey or the way the "sports world" views hockey. I think a commisioner of hockey should remain in the background, greasing the gears, to make it run smoothly, noiselessly. He told us that the issue was money, the players agreed to take a 27% salary cut all around. Sounds to me like they just want to play Hockey, but Bettman won't let them.

Good for our world champions though, what a game!

[username]

Sounds to me like they just want to play Hockey, but Bettman won't let them.

unless their contract expressly forbids it, there is nothing stopping them from playing hockey.

[jgr451]

Username,The NHL owners have locked out the game and the NHL Commissioner,Gary Bettman,is the spokesman for the owners.

The players can and do play elsewhere,in Europe and in the American Hockey League, for example.But there is no NHL play to be had because of the decisions of the owners' group.The downside is that NHL players are taking spots away from others who may need them more.

I can't tell who is right or wrong,on the money end of things.Other pro sports have flirted with salary caps , which Bettman and the owners' group insists is the deal maker.I believe they have been unworkable as an unfair limit on the players' rights to sell their labour in an open marketplace,for whatever they can negotiate.Careers in the NHL usually last only 10-15 years,sometimes less.

[BradfordBenn]

My take is salary caps are both good and bad.

They put a ceiling on a free market economy.

However then one gets smaller market teams like the Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Blues, the first Ottawa Senators... who have trouble competing and making payroll. Then you add in the difference between the US and Canadian Dollar, not to mention the spelling of Defence... well it just gets ugly.

I think we can remember the Florida Panthers buying a Cup (same owner then bought a World Series Pennant with the Marlins) and then the money stopped....

[username]

jgr - oops, i wasnt drawing a distinction between playing hockey, and getting paid a ton of money to play hockey. ;)

[donkey doctor]

Hello; I heard on the radio this morning that Business world has voted Gary Bettman was voted the fifth worst manager for 2004. I don't usually read that magazine, but I guess that they are quite respected in the USA.

Must be something to it.

[username]

he was hammered in businessweek's recent issue 'best and worst managers.' one of the beefs they had was that the tv contract he negotiated was not very good.