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Your Lockout Update: The NHL Waited Until December to Be Reasonable, and A Possible Reason To Momentarily Not Hate Sidney Crosby

Ryan Gillon - December 5, 2012

NHL-lockout

(Photo: Sports Card Forum)

It "started" with a seemingly bogus report from CBS 4's Steve Burton in Boston:

 

Despite Bill Daly refuting the report rather quickly, here we sit two days later with assorted shreds of optimism that the NHL Lockout may be coming to an end.

Whether or not Burton truly has the inside track regarding the progression of talks is beyond me, but I'm not really here to delve into it either. The possibility exists that we may see NHL hockey before Christmas, and that's what matters.

Having said that, as you check your Twitter feed and watch the combined 44 seconds of ESPN SportsCenter coverage tomorrow during their six live hours of Tebow/RG III bullshit, remember that the lockout isn't over… yet.

Part of me is asking where the this effort was in September when the CBA was about to expire. I also wonder why Gary Bettman and the owners opened negotiations with such a lowball offer sending pessimism running through the veins of the hockey community. And then I read this piece from the Edmonton Journal's David Staples, pointing to a strategy reportedly executed by the NHL during negotiations:

“Apparently Gary is ready to get a deal done,” [Nick] Kypreos said. “He wants this thing done Friday. Friday!”

On Sportsnet’s Hockey Central show, Kypreos debated the issues withtwo other NHL insiders, former NHL GM Doug MacLean and sportscaster Daren Millard.

MacLean said that six weeks ago, he heard the NHL’s position, that “it is knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out until December 1st, and then at December 1st we’re getting a deal done.”

 

Fucking terrific. It was absolutely worth losing three months of hockey and thousands and thousands of fans. That's not even considering the cash cow that is the Winter Classic. All-Star Weekend in Columbus is also a goner, but hey, it's December 1st, the NHL is ready to negotiate!

Ironic is the fact that the most progress has been made without Bettman and the NHL Players Association's Donald Fehr. In addition to 18 current players and six of the league's owners, the aformentioned Daly sat in for the NHL while Donald's brother Steve represented the players. The move could prove to be a blessing considering the widespread resentment that the players have for Bettman.

What may be the most painfully odd factor for Flyers fans in all of this is the reported impact that Pittsburgh Penguins dickbag Sidney Crosby is having in all of this. He and Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle flew into New York City together, were present in yesterday's meetings that lasted more than eight hours, and are both participating in tonight's activities.

Rob Rossi of the Pittburgh Tribune-Review even went as far to write that "Burkle and Crosby were described by participants in the five-hour talks as voices of reason. 

Ugh.

So, where are we? Well…

The Players Association delivered an offer to the owners this afternoon, and the owners came back with a counter quickly. What's different about these proposals is that we actually know nothing about them. Nothing has leaked or been made public by either side. Although we're obviously curious, the lack of information available to us is probably a good thing and means that both sides are taking this latest round of negotiations seriously.

Meanwhile, Tim Panaccio is reporting the Board of Governors discussed a season that would feature anywhere from 50 to 60 games if the lockout ends. Ren Lavoie of RDS in Canada mentioned this:

 

So, if you've been paying attention, that would mean the NHL's next lockout will begin in September 2023.

As of this writing, the owners have just left the negotiating room, and there is no indication if talks have finished for the night or if they will continue. The NHL has set up a podium in the past hour, so we are expecting some sort of announcement, but there's no guarantee it's coming anytime soon.

Stay tuned…

You can follow Ryan Gillon on Twitter @RyanGillon47

Meet Steve Carlton Tomorrow at the King of Prussia Mall

Kyle Scott - August 10, 2012

Screen Shot 2012-08-10 at 1.16.40 PM

Unlike the three aces this year, who have struggled along with the Phillies, Steve Carlton won 27 games for a bad Phillies team in 1972, throwing 30 complete games. He’s a legend– this you know. And he’ll be at the Sports Vault, one of the sponsors of your favorite blog, in King of Prussia Mall tomorrow from 12-1:30 signing autographs. You can get details and tickets here.

Carlton is in town for Phillies Alumni Weekend, which will include the ridiculous honoring of Mike Liberthal. 

The Penguins Called Up Ogie Ogilthorpe For Today’s Game

Kyle Scott - April 7, 2012

Screen Shot 2012-04-07 at 12.43.59 PM

Earlier this week, Peter Laviolette, Craig Berube, Mike Milbury and John Tortorella all called the Penguins out for being varying degrees of whiny cheap shots, who have no respect for the game and other players.

Seems the Penguins didn’t get that memo.

They’ve called up Ogie Ogilthorpe Steve MacIntyre for today’s game. MacIntyre, 31, is a career goon. By my count, he has played in eight different hockey leagues since 1998, including a few dozen games in the NHL for the Oilers, Panthers and Penguins. He has played in 11 games this season, and was quoted in September as saying, “My job is to make sure Sidney’s transition back to hockey goes smoothly.”

Today his job will be to kill Flyers.

There’s no doubt that the decision to bring up MacIntyre, assuming he plays, was to give the Penguins an advantage should the meaningless game turn ugly, which it probably will. 

Game time is 4 p.m. on NBC. After the jump, watch video of MacIntyre going completely nuts in a minor league game earlier this season. Includes the line "he needs a pair of handcuffs on him now."

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Steve Spagnuolo to the Saints

Kyle Scott - January 19, 2012

image from mobilwi.typepad.com

Steve Spagnuolo has been hired as the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. So… there goes that option for the Eagles.

Andy Reid, however, hasn't been seen since this flip-flopped photo, taken with Shady McCoy in California.

Report: Steve Spagnuolo Could Be With Eagles By End Of Week

Kyle Scott - January 10, 2012

What a Juanderful world this would be.

According to Jason La Canfora, Steve Spagnuolo will be back with the Eagles by the end of the week, either as defensive coordinator or assistant head coach.

From La Canfora: [NFL Network] 

Spagnuolo, let go by the St. Louis Rams last week, is expected to be back in Philadelphia by the end of the week. The Eagles released a secondary coach over the weekend, so they have flexibility to move around the staff and bring Spagnuolo back as an assistant head coach, if not defensive coordinator. If Andy Reid wants to retain embattled defensive coordinator Juan Castillo in some other capacity, that's a possibility as well, according to league sources. Spagnuolo is a disciple of former Eagles defensive guru Jim Johnson, and was much-liked during his eight-year stint on Andy Reid's staff. Spagnuolo wanted to take time off last week, according to a league source, but expect his phone to start ringing quickly. 

 

Prediction: Spags comes on board as defensive coordinator, Reid moves Castillo – “laterally,” he’ll say – to some other position that values people who come into work at 3 a.m…. and it's all for naught because the league has figured out the franchise quarterback, who will get injured in Week 5. But hey, I'm a glass-half-empty kind of guy. 

Lavs Tells Steve Ott To Go F%&k Himself

Kyle Scott - December 29, 2011

Screen Shot 2011-12-28 at 11.57.18 PM

Steve Ott did not make a strong debut on HBO.

First, the douchey Stars forward bragged to Claude Giroux about how he was fifth in the league in faceoffs on NHL.com (he’s not– he’s tenth now). He promptly lost the ensuing draw, and then was a split second late in getting to Wayne Simmonds as he put the Flyers up 2-1. 

Ott’s performance wasn’t over, though. No, no– the league's tenth best faceoff man would come back for more.

He decided to put on his crossing guard sash and scold Peter Laviolette for the hockey equivalent of blocking the box. We now know what was said during the encounter:

Ott: No, no no. Hey. Show some class, you’re going to let our team go. 

Lavs: Go fuck yourself.

Ott: Hey…

Lavs: Go fuck yourself. 

Ott: Show some fucking class.

 

Annnd scene. Go fuck yourself, Steve.

The video is after the jump.

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Report: Steve Spagnuolo to be Eagles’ Defensive Coordinator

Kyle Scott - December 27, 2011

Steve_spagnuolo

Good morning. What a Juanderful time of year this is. We’ll be working with a reduced schedule this week (translation: I’m eating leftovers, playing video games and drinking Limoncello for the next three days), but CB will still be on top of the most interesting stuff, the Winter Classic (rain?!) and our top ten Philly sports moments of the year list.

This one qualifies:

According to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune – while the Eagles beat writers are apparently asleep at the switch – Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who is mentioned because he may hire current Chargers GM A.J. Smith – is planning on cleaning house after the season and firing head coach Steve Spagnuolo, among others. Then this:

League sources have said for weeks that Kroenke plans to clean house after the season, firing both head coach Steve Spagnuolo and General Manager Billy Devaney. League sources also said this week that it is all but certain that Spagnuolo will join Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. Devaney, who was the Chargers Director of Player Personnel from 1990-2000, will not be a candidate in San Diego.

 

Now, with a game to go, you can probably count the seconds until the Eagles deny this report, but it is certainly interesting.  

There are several knee jerk reactions here: 1) Spagnuolo has that impossible misplaced o— a blogger’s nightmare. 2) It’s a report from San Diego that seems to know the Eagles thinking, something most Philly folks can’t get a handle on. 3) Despite our most venomous attacks, it’s worth noting that the Eagles have only given 36 points in three consecutive wins. It would appear, at least, that perhaps Juan is doing something right. Of course, on the flip side of the coin, the NFL isn’t a place for on-the-job training, and the defensive struggles early on are the lone reason why the Eagles aren’t going to be a dangerous team in the playoffs. 

Plus, there’s this report from earlier in the month which says that if Reid doesn't fire Castillo, he himself will be fired.

Double Lavs: Peter Laviolette Shoves Steve Ott (Gets Called “Arrogant”), Accuses Officials of Montreal Bias

Kyle Scott - December 22, 2011

Laviolette_shoves_ott

Godammit, Peter, why do you have to be so damn lovable twice in one night? I don’t have the stamina for this.

Just an hour before the start of 24/7, as I admittedly flipped away from the Flyers game to get Ms. CB caught up on the second half of last week’s episode, I got a call from my buddy. Exchange:

Buddy: Lavs just shoved Steve Ott.

Me: Fuck outta here.

Buddy: No, really. It was during intermission and Versus-NBC Sports-Comcast-whatever the fuck (OK, I made that part up) showed it at the start of the second period. Maybe your DVR got it.

Me: Christ, I love this man. I gotta go. – sprints to remote -  

Yep. Yep, he shoved Steve Ott:

So, what brought this on, you ask? Ott said the confrontation was because Lavs walked through the Stars’ entranceway before the entire Dallas team – the home team – could get by after the first period. Apparently, there’s an unwritten rule about that, or something, which this hockey player of eight years has never heard.

Ladies and gentlemen, some fuckface who I – another admission – had to Google to find out if he’s done anything of consequence in the NHL. He hasn’t.

“I don’t know. It’s disrespect of our building, obviously. Just let our team off, it’s not really that big of a deal. He obviously thought that he’s got  higher power than everybody else and a little bit more arrogance than most coaches in the whole NHL, and that’s probably the first time I’ve seen that. But I would never do that against Philadelphia if I was in their building and had to walk through the lineup. Just let us go and show a little respect, that’s all. I don’t know what drove it, obviously it was probably his own arrogance going to their dressing room.”

 

I was waiting for him to yell No frontsies, no frontsies!! Good God, man, get a grip.

What did Lavs have to say about it? Nothing. He avoided the topic.

In 24/7, however, he didn’t avoid one topic– Montreal bias.

Last Thursday in Montreal, when Jaromir Jagr was tripped and no penalty was called, the Flyers quickly got a penalty of their own and the Canadiens scored on the ensuing power play. Lavs was mad– real mad. Not only did he get into it with officials multiple times (though, surprisingly, he went with “frickin” instead of “fuck” when talking to at them), but he also called them out for having a Montreal bias, something I’m sure the league is going to love.

You can hear it in the video (after the jump), he brought it up multiple times. One was chopped off by whoever edited the clip for uploading, but the second instance, said to coaches in the locker room, was loud and clear:

“How the fuck is that not a penalty? What a disgrace. Typical Montreal.”

 

Earlier on the bench, you could hear one Flyers player very clearly say:

“I know we’re in Montreal, but wake up.”

 

Yeah, Gary Bettman isn’t going to like that.

Video of both Steve Ott and Lavs yelling, after the jump.

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