Post by Jari on Jan 4, 2005 18:43:45 GMT -5
old but good
"Bettman defended expansion and he added he wanted a new system that would keep teams in small-market cities. He was unhappy the Jets left Winnipeg and ``maybe some time in the future when all this is behind us we'll have the opportunity to go back there.''"
Bettman scores on town-hall session
Canadian Press
9/21/2004
TORONTO (CP) - The National went into overtime Tuesday night and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman emerged a winner.
Players' association boss Bob Goodenow has a tough act to follow when he gets his turn Wednesday night to conclude the two-part, town-hall like CBC news presentation on the breakdown in collective bargaining that will disrupt the start of the season.
There was nothing new in what Bettman said but the way he reiterated his main points during his 50-minute session, using quick retorts and occasional flashes of humour, deflected most of the tough questions from hockey fans across the country and from anchor Peter Mansbridge, whose needling interjections and quips failed to throw the diminutive commish off his game.
``If there's anything you want to leave for (Goodenow), just leave it on the chair,'' Mansbridge told Bettman at the outset, chuckling slightly in alluding to Goodenow's impending appearance.
Tim Cestnick of Burlington, Ont., was in the studio to ask Bettman how long the lockout would have to go on before the NHL considered reducing the number of teams from the existing 30.
``Personally, I don't believe in contraction,'' Bettman said. ``I think that's a terrible thing to do to your fans.
``I also believe that with $2.1 billion US in revenues we can have 30 healthy franchises . . . with affordable ticket prices.''
After Mansbridge interjected to get Bettman back to the point of the question, Bettman said teams would be lost unless the right economic system were adopted.
Penny West of Cochrane, Alta., suggested a mediator be brought in to break the deadlock, and Chris Hawley, from Burnaby, B.C., in another taped question, wanted representative of fans included in talks. Bettman rejected both, saying ``a third party really isn't in a position to tell us as an industry or the players' association what we need.''
``We'd wind up in a negotiation over the shape of the table,'' Bettman said to Hawley's point.
Mansbridge wanted to know why Bettman doesn't call Goodenow to restart talks, and Bettman suggested the players needed ``a period of sober reflection.''
``Somebody has to make the call,'' said Mansbridge. ``Are you saying it has to be him?''
``No,'' replied Bettman. ``At the appropriate time, after they've had time to reflect . . .''
``When would that be?'' asked Mansbridge.
``Collective bargaining is more of an art form,'' Bettman replied. ``It's not an exact science and you have to go with the ebb and flow of it.
``Let's not get caught up in the rhetoric here. The union has not offered us anything meaningful. Under the union's last offer, under the projections that they gave us, over half of our team's would continue to lose money. If that's how they figure we're going to solve the problems, it's clear why we haven't been able to make a deal.''
He later compared the players' association to an ostrich sticking its head in sand.
Cut to a taped segment with a nine-year-old boy in Montreal wearing a Canadiens sweater saying he'll miss watching NHL games on TV. Mansbridge wanted to know what Bettman would tell the boy.
``We're sorry,'' said Bettman.``We're sorry we have to go through this but we can't continue the way we're going and we promise, we promise, that we're going to fix it.''
Jeff Eyamie of Winnipeg, lamenting the loss of the Jets via a taped question, suggested placing teams in some non-traditional hockey markets had been bad for the league.
Bettman defended expansion and he added he wanted a new system that would keep teams in small-market cities. He was unhappy the Jets left Winnipeg and ``maybe some time in the future when all this is behind us we'll have the opportunity to go back there.''
Someday, when the system is fixed.
``The problem we're having is that 75 per cent of our revenues go to pay the players and no business, not just ours, can afford that,'' said Bettman. ``It's not about fault, it's about reality, and we need to fix that.''
Mansbridge interrupted a Bettman answer for a commercial break but offered him a chance to continue afterwards.
``Before you capped me off?'' said the sly Bettman.
Vito Czyz of Boston, N.Y., asked on tape if the league is considering using replacement players.
It's an option, said Bettman, ``but it's something we haven't given any consideration to.
``It's not something that's on our agenda at all.''
Ryan Cartwright of Montreal had a zinger of a pre-taped question, telling Bettman he'd done more harm than good and he should step down.
``Thank you for that ringing endorsement,'' Bettman shot back. ``I'm not planning on going anywhere.
``We need to fix the system and I'm not planning on going anywhere until it's fixed.''
Emily Blinn asked from Ottawa what the NHL would do to lure fans back when the lockout ends.
``We are concerned about the damage a work stoppage will impose on the business but we are in constant communication with our fans,'' said Bettman. ``As I said before, we apologize for the fact we have to go through a work stoppage but at the end of the day it's not too far back in our history where we almost lost Ottawa and we don't want to lose Ottawa going forward.
``We don't want to lose any franchises so we're asking our fans to be patient with us with the assurance we'll make things right.''
Bettman said league executives are focusing on relaunching the league and ``we are envisioning a renaissance when we get through this.''
He didn't deny that team owners are under a gag rule prohibited from discussing league-wide CBA issues for fear of a $1-million US fine.
Near the end, Mansbridge asked Bettman if he likes Goodenow.
``Actually, it doesn't matter but I do like him,'' Bettman replied. ``We spend a lot of time together. We go to games. We go to dinner together. We play golf together.
``This is not personal. This is purely business.''
If there is a relationship between the two, said Mansbridge, it's hard to believe some people talk of two or three years without NHL games.
``Obviously, nobody wants that but we have a fundamental different vision for the future of this game,'' said Bettman. ``The union likes the status quo.
``I don't blame them. The players have done great. We can't live with the status quo and that's where the rub has been in terms of bridging the fundamental gap of what kind of system we are going to have.''
Mansbridge thanked Bettman and reminded viewers, tongue in cheek, that they could tune in Wednesday night for the session with Bettman's good friend, Goodenow.
The Bettman session, taped in the late afternoon, went to air unedited.
"Bettman defended expansion and he added he wanted a new system that would keep teams in small-market cities. He was unhappy the Jets left Winnipeg and ``maybe some time in the future when all this is behind us we'll have the opportunity to go back there.''"
Bettman scores on town-hall session
Canadian Press
9/21/2004
TORONTO (CP) - The National went into overtime Tuesday night and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman emerged a winner.
Players' association boss Bob Goodenow has a tough act to follow when he gets his turn Wednesday night to conclude the two-part, town-hall like CBC news presentation on the breakdown in collective bargaining that will disrupt the start of the season.
There was nothing new in what Bettman said but the way he reiterated his main points during his 50-minute session, using quick retorts and occasional flashes of humour, deflected most of the tough questions from hockey fans across the country and from anchor Peter Mansbridge, whose needling interjections and quips failed to throw the diminutive commish off his game.
``If there's anything you want to leave for (Goodenow), just leave it on the chair,'' Mansbridge told Bettman at the outset, chuckling slightly in alluding to Goodenow's impending appearance.
Tim Cestnick of Burlington, Ont., was in the studio to ask Bettman how long the lockout would have to go on before the NHL considered reducing the number of teams from the existing 30.
``Personally, I don't believe in contraction,'' Bettman said. ``I think that's a terrible thing to do to your fans.
``I also believe that with $2.1 billion US in revenues we can have 30 healthy franchises . . . with affordable ticket prices.''
After Mansbridge interjected to get Bettman back to the point of the question, Bettman said teams would be lost unless the right economic system were adopted.
Penny West of Cochrane, Alta., suggested a mediator be brought in to break the deadlock, and Chris Hawley, from Burnaby, B.C., in another taped question, wanted representative of fans included in talks. Bettman rejected both, saying ``a third party really isn't in a position to tell us as an industry or the players' association what we need.''
``We'd wind up in a negotiation over the shape of the table,'' Bettman said to Hawley's point.
Mansbridge wanted to know why Bettman doesn't call Goodenow to restart talks, and Bettman suggested the players needed ``a period of sober reflection.''
``Somebody has to make the call,'' said Mansbridge. ``Are you saying it has to be him?''
``No,'' replied Bettman. ``At the appropriate time, after they've had time to reflect . . .''
``When would that be?'' asked Mansbridge.
``Collective bargaining is more of an art form,'' Bettman replied. ``It's not an exact science and you have to go with the ebb and flow of it.
``Let's not get caught up in the rhetoric here. The union has not offered us anything meaningful. Under the union's last offer, under the projections that they gave us, over half of our team's would continue to lose money. If that's how they figure we're going to solve the problems, it's clear why we haven't been able to make a deal.''
He later compared the players' association to an ostrich sticking its head in sand.
Cut to a taped segment with a nine-year-old boy in Montreal wearing a Canadiens sweater saying he'll miss watching NHL games on TV. Mansbridge wanted to know what Bettman would tell the boy.
``We're sorry,'' said Bettman.``We're sorry we have to go through this but we can't continue the way we're going and we promise, we promise, that we're going to fix it.''
Jeff Eyamie of Winnipeg, lamenting the loss of the Jets via a taped question, suggested placing teams in some non-traditional hockey markets had been bad for the league.
Bettman defended expansion and he added he wanted a new system that would keep teams in small-market cities. He was unhappy the Jets left Winnipeg and ``maybe some time in the future when all this is behind us we'll have the opportunity to go back there.''
Someday, when the system is fixed.
``The problem we're having is that 75 per cent of our revenues go to pay the players and no business, not just ours, can afford that,'' said Bettman. ``It's not about fault, it's about reality, and we need to fix that.''
Mansbridge interrupted a Bettman answer for a commercial break but offered him a chance to continue afterwards.
``Before you capped me off?'' said the sly Bettman.
Vito Czyz of Boston, N.Y., asked on tape if the league is considering using replacement players.
It's an option, said Bettman, ``but it's something we haven't given any consideration to.
``It's not something that's on our agenda at all.''
Ryan Cartwright of Montreal had a zinger of a pre-taped question, telling Bettman he'd done more harm than good and he should step down.
``Thank you for that ringing endorsement,'' Bettman shot back. ``I'm not planning on going anywhere.
``We need to fix the system and I'm not planning on going anywhere until it's fixed.''
Emily Blinn asked from Ottawa what the NHL would do to lure fans back when the lockout ends.
``We are concerned about the damage a work stoppage will impose on the business but we are in constant communication with our fans,'' said Bettman. ``As I said before, we apologize for the fact we have to go through a work stoppage but at the end of the day it's not too far back in our history where we almost lost Ottawa and we don't want to lose Ottawa going forward.
``We don't want to lose any franchises so we're asking our fans to be patient with us with the assurance we'll make things right.''
Bettman said league executives are focusing on relaunching the league and ``we are envisioning a renaissance when we get through this.''
He didn't deny that team owners are under a gag rule prohibited from discussing league-wide CBA issues for fear of a $1-million US fine.
Near the end, Mansbridge asked Bettman if he likes Goodenow.
``Actually, it doesn't matter but I do like him,'' Bettman replied. ``We spend a lot of time together. We go to games. We go to dinner together. We play golf together.
``This is not personal. This is purely business.''
If there is a relationship between the two, said Mansbridge, it's hard to believe some people talk of two or three years without NHL games.
``Obviously, nobody wants that but we have a fundamental different vision for the future of this game,'' said Bettman. ``The union likes the status quo.
``I don't blame them. The players have done great. We can't live with the status quo and that's where the rub has been in terms of bridging the fundamental gap of what kind of system we are going to have.''
Mansbridge thanked Bettman and reminded viewers, tongue in cheek, that they could tune in Wednesday night for the session with Bettman's good friend, Goodenow.
The Bettman session, taped in the late afternoon, went to air unedited.