– Today is a big day for hockey. Owners and players met – directly – late last night in New York. No Flyers, nor Ed Snider, were present, but there is cautious optimism for a 50(or so)-game season, Tim Panaccio reports: [CSN Philly] 

“Very cautious,” one source said. “Still very early, but better dialogue today.”

It’s been quite a while since both sides considered they made significant progress in the talks, but that may have finally changed. 

Snider will be present today, however, at the league’s annual board of governors meeting. The assumption is that if there is going to be a season, this week’s meetings would be close to the last chance for a deal to be reached. With optimism coming out of yesterday’s meetings and owners getting together today (especially influential ones like Snider), you’d think that some issues could be decided. Maybe. Probably not.  

– Allen Iverson divorce proceedings are still ongoing and, as such, we’ve learned a bit about AI’s finances. According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Iverson brings in about $62k a month in income (assorted endorsements, residuals, I assume), but his expenses are around $360k per month. Now, I’m not real good at math, but something tells me he has a cash flow problem.  

So, where does the money go?

A large chunk — $125,749.33 to be exact — is spent paying off various creditors (like his jeweler) … and some goes to his mortgages (but not for long, since his ATL crib is about to be auctioned off). 

But Allen says he blows a lot on OTHER expenses too … like $10,000/month on clothes, $10,000/month on grocery/house items, $1,000/month on dry cleaning, $5,000/month on entertainment, $5,000/month on restaurants … and so on. 

All in all, Iverson — who reportedly made over $150 MILLION during his NBA career — says he ends up in the hole each month to tune of $295,876.66. Ouch. 

Despite the mounting debt though, he's still got his Maybach (which is fully paid off) … and reportedly worth between $340k – $400k.

Well, at least the Maybach is paid off. Maybe he should sell it. Everyone needs a Maybach. 

– Lenny Dykstra was sentenced to six and a half months in jail as part of his federal bankruptcy case. He hid (and sold) valuable sports memorabilia from his playing days and household items during his bankruptcy investigation, which is quite illegal. Dykstra was originally sentenced to 14 months in prison, but he had already served seven while awaiting sentencing. He will also have to do 500 hours of community service. 

The LA Times reports that Dykstra, while in jail, got into a fight with sheriff’s deputies back in April:

"Dykstra became agitated and assaulted a [medical technician] and a nurse," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. "Deputies then used force to restrain Dykstra."

Dykstra suffered a bloody nose, but Whitmore denied reports that Dykstra's teeth were damaged in the struggle. He said a use-of-force report was taken and an investigation was opened. The Sheriff's Department operates the county jail system. 

The Dude.

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