Not only did that picture fit with the title, but this is the level of intelligence I think the leaders that be are at.
Maybe it wasn’t the worst, but this was one of the worst weekends to go through as an NHL fan. Not only was the gaping hole where our Black Friday game impossible to ignore as I attempted to watch LSU-Arkansas or something just as non-sensical, but the amount of noise, bullshit, and downright stupidity ramped up even more in the past few days. Add to that the frustration we are feeling has piled up to the point where we are fighting with each other at a moment’s notice, and frankly I’m exasperated as to where to go from here.
It all started with the dueling tubas of lunacy that were Bill Daly and Steve Fehr giving radio interviews in Canada. Both used the pulpit to belch out more posturing and outright lies (we don’t have a negotiating partner!) which caused everyone to just get more lost than they already were.
Then of course, Dave Bolland landed himself on ESPN.com and Deadspin by retweeting someone who wanted Gary Bettman dead, and the events ended with our friend Scotty Hockey baiting uber-boob Bobby Ryan about his twitter feed. The fact that we’ve gotten to this point is just so moronic I’m not even sure vomit-with-rage covers it.
At the end of this, I think what we’re all angry with is the noise. I don’t care what anyone has to say, and I don’t want them to say anything until the words “We have a deal” start the sentence. Sure, I want to know from the reporters in tune what’s on the table and what’s being offered just so I have some gauge on what’s going on. But Daly or Fehr or Bettman or any of the players? Just shut the fuck up. You have nothing to add to this and only detract from it.
Is Bolland’s tweet going to change negotiations? Of course it isn’t? Can Bobby Ryan eat wherever he wants? Of course. But what I think angers some of us is that they’re under the impression we’re unconditionally on their side, and most of us are not. Most of us don’t want to hear from them at all when they’re not playing. We’re not here to simply scoop up whatever they deign to shovel us because we fawn over them so much. We woudn’t give a rat’s ass what they do if they didn’t play hockey, and it feels at times like they’ve forgotten us. You also can’t whine as a union about how unfair everything is and then act like this. Again, just shut up.
Then there’s this talk of decertification, as if it was some magical weapon. But the thing is, there’s a couple things wrong with the narrative of that tactic. A) though both the NBA and NFL players’ unions did go this route or threaten it, they still both got clocked in their CBAs anyway. B) you can’t use it simply as a tactic. The courts will throw it out. If you’re doing it, you have to do it for real and we’ll be here for two years. The PA simply doesn’t have the stones for that, and nor should they really.
At some point the players need to look at their NBA brethren, figure out they deserve nothing more than they got (and probably less), and starting figuring out how much they can tailor their deal to that one.
