I’m not one to call out the media for inaccuracies (believe that if you will, oh constant reader ) but I had to stifle a little laugh while read Tom Jones’ column on the National Hockey League in today’s St. Petersburg Times….

Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux need to take a lead role for the owners. Gretzky is as respected in hockey as any person alive. When he speaks, players and owners listen. Lemieux, in the unique position of owner/player, can bring honest opinions that the owners and players both respect.

Meantime, where are the veteran NHL players? Where’s Joe Sakic? Where’s Brett Hull? Where’s Chris Chelios?

Um, Tom? You haven’t been paying much attention to TSN.ca, have you? You know, the one news source that consistantly publishes at least an article a week on Hockey (unlike the St. Petersburg Times right now).

For that matter, you haven’t been paying much attention to Boltsmag either….

Chris Chelios would be all too happy for the Lightning not to exist, along with plenty of other teams out there… So please, if you need to think of veterans who should be mouthing off — why not do us all a favor and use, how can I say this, credible veterans, instead of naming assclowns who would like nothing more than to see the franchise you write about pushing up daisy’s.

Once again, I make a plea — can someone point me to onlien photos of the St. Pete Times Forum / Ice Palace under construction?

Thanks.

It would seem that some of the marquee players for the Lightning are no longer going to sit back and play golf and do mundane tasks while they wait for the NHL to return.

Instead of voicing an opinion, Brad Richards is joining the 200+ NHL Players in Europe, agreeing to terms with AK Bars Kazan of the Russian Elite League. Tom Jones speculates Vincent Lecavalier and Nikolai khabibulin may soon be joining him.

It all started with a simple radio interview. Fan960 radio in Calgary interviewed Mike Commodore yesterday. They talked about Commodore’s time in Lowell of the AHL, and about Ville Niemenen’s injury. Then, the radio host asked him “Would you support a salary cap?” The answer has spurred a great deal of talk, even in the US.

“I’ll risk the slap on the wrist, I don’t want to spend however long my career lasts playing here in the American Hockey League (with Lowell), so I think whatever it takes.

“There’s different kinds of caps and it’s got to be a realistic one. You can’t cap it up at $30 million, we’re over that. It’s got to be realistic so both sides are making money.”

Commodore didnt just state he was willing to accept a cap, he took a shot at the union leadership:

“I don’t think it’s being handled well at all,” he said. “The thing is, you look at the PA and who’s in charge … it’s all the guys that have made $30 million playing this game. If there’s never another game of hockey … and they don’t make another cent playing in the NHL, they’re gonna be all right.

“There’s lots of guys in my shoes that if we miss a couple of years, that’s a huge deal.”

Mike Commodore came out and said what many fans have thought all along: The NHLPA isnt out to support the fringe players like Mike Commodore. They havent talked to him much, they just dont care about him.

What is most amazing about Commodore’s comments is that they even caused a Toronto based hockey writer to pen a quality column. Damien Cox used Commodore’s comments as a springboard for a columng for ESPN detailing the litany of contradictions between the union leadership, and union membership. Bob Mackenzie wrote an article for TSN.ca wondering if Commodore speaks for players at the lower end of the pay scale.

In case the NHLPA was hoping they could argue that Commodore was taken out of context despite it was a live interview, that plan was nixed when Commodore said the exact same words to the Calgary Herald later that day.

Maybe the union will tell him to state that, like Mike Ribiero, he didnt say what he said he did.

More likely, expect to see another $6 million + player, with $30 million in the bank to come out in support of the union within the next day or two.

Then consider who the union really supports.

I posted a couple of months ago that I was hoping to switch over to Wordpress from the current Movable Type version of Boltsmag….

I could use some input on this design….

Mind you, it’s still incomplete seeing I haven’t added my links (Lightning fan sites, hockey blogs, other blogs, etc) to the left hand navigation menu… but the overall gist of the site can be seen through the posted design.

os?ten?si?ble ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-stns-bl)
adj.
Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity.

I have no clue if that definition fits for the OSHL but the thing is — this boid is done. The OSHL has folded.

Absolutely no action to report with the NHL or NHLPA. Brodeur went off on both sides (moreso the owners of course) for not bargaining and there is that upcoming meeting of player reps.

Besides that. Nothing.

So, knowing this… What are you visitors doing while Hockey isn’t around? Come on, don’t be shy – just talk. We’re all friends here – or are we?? :smile j/k

The floor is open..

From TSN.ca

“The NHLPA has scheduled a meeting with all player representatives on Nov. 2 in Toronto as part of our ongoing information updates during the owners’ lockout,” senior director Ted Saskin said Thursday.

Players are given daily updates through a secure website but this will be a chance for the 30 reps to hear directly from executive director Bob Goodenow and then relay the latest to their teammates. The third of 13 paycheques goes by the wayside Nov. 1 so players may need to be reassured of the union’s plan of attack.

Not to seem overly cynical but I feel like I already know the minutes of this meeting….

Goodenow: All right, shut the hell up. Just.. just… Just get your teamates to shut the hell up ok? I mean seriously – shut them the hell up. I mean, if you have to RIP THEIR GOD DAMN THROATS OUT, SHUT THEM THE HELL UP!!! This is about MONEY people! Money is thicker than Ice and we god damned deserve the green stuff and these whiny shits who actually want to PLAY a god damned game are fucking up the works!

You hear me?!? Shut them the hell up! Because if we keep allowing the Madden’s, the Kolnik’s the Ference’s of the league to mouth off, we might actually have someone who means something to the game mouth off about it! There is NO fucking chance I am going to let an Ignila, or Lecavalier, or Tanguay say “I want to play in the NHL again and it’s time to get back to the bargaining table.”

Mighty strong message to give to the players, Bob… Mighty strong message indeed. :tongue

EDIT: It would seem a high-level player has already mouthed off and I missed the news… Off-Wing Opinion, however, didn’t…

Ont he heels of Kolnik’s comments come Andrew Ference’s own words:

From TSN.ca by way of the Calgary Sun

“It’s asinine and it’s both sides,” Ference told the Sun. “How are you going to solve a conflict without communication? I don’t understand the motivation behind sitting around.

“Even if you’re not going to talk to the other guy, why not put forward some ideas you have so the public can see them and can say, ‘These guys are putting forward an effort.’

“I understand there’s an art to negotiation but right now, they’re pretty shitty artists.”

Blah…. All that there is to report is that the bastards have canceled games through December 2nd now…

And of course Bobby Orr — former defensive great and now player-agent — is getting as sick and tired of the non-movement as we, the fans, are.

From WWW.TSN.CA

“The time has come for the owners and players to let their feelings be known to Gary and Bob,” Orr told TSN in a telephone interview. “Neither one of them wants to be the first one to call the other because they think it’s a sign of weakness. Well, I hate to think we are going to lose an NHL season because these two guys are afraid of looking weak.

“The owners have to make Gary sit down with Bob and the players have to make Bob sit down with Gary. If they don’t get in a room and start a dialogue, nothing is going to happen. If you talk to people on both sides, they will tell you there is a deal to be made. But in order for the deal to be made, they have to be in the same room. They have to start talking.”

“The rest of the girls know Bobby did you wrong,” Bettman’s girlfriends in ownership should tell him, “but you guys were so good together and people needed you guys together. It hurts seeing you fight like this!”

Meanwhile, across town in a bar somewhere…

“That Bettman is a stone cold bitch, Bobby, but you were so happy,” Goodenow’s guy pals tell him. “You’re bumming all of us out sitting here drunk every day… Drunk with power, drunk with ego, drunk with shoddy liquor — why the hell are you drinking Zima?”

As the puck turns will continue — sometime this decade :tongue.

Leave it to a Florida Panther to break ranks with the NHLPA…

No wait a second, I retract that statement after the NHLPA gave mea beating / bribed me…

Well, no Hockey… Anyone care to join me talking baseball?

Playoff baseball at that?

Specifically for you undecided Lightning fans out there….

Press Release from the Tampa Bay Lightning

ThunderBug, mascot of the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, announced his candidacy for the office of President of the United States. He will use the campaign slogan “I will not lie to you, because I cannot talk.”

The only discouraging thing about this is that he’s using the same slogan as 4 years ago

Tampa Bay Online offers this multimedia report on the Empty Times Palace.

I haven’t viewed it and I can’t because of security on my computer… maybe you can?

EDIT: Gary from Missing Monkey Head offers all who detest Real Media / can’t hear / can’t view the transcript of Ron’s interview:

Dude, full transcript posted over at the ‘Head for you and any of your viewers that can’t get to the RealAudio… buffering… stream from TBO.

Click here to view the warm nugat goodness and heep praise upon Gary Perez. :smile

OK, so we’re on the thing… Now can Goodenow and Bettman stop screwing the pooch and let us defend it?

From TSN.ca – NHL – Canada’s Sports Leader… Another mouth off from Chris “Assclown” Chelios…

Would Wayne Gretzky accept a job as Commissioner of the NHL?

‘You know, I doubt it. I don’t know. Being an owner, it’s tough now. He’s the one guy that everybody should listen to. He’s been the best ambassador for any sport and I think the guys should listen to him. I hope (Bettman) is getting together with Wayne one-on-one and talking to Wayne. Everyone respects what Wayne says. I think he’s got a great business sense, and, I think, because of his experience, his history with hockey, he outweighs Gary Bettman or Bob Goodenow by a long shot.”

So you get the superstar of hockey to oversee the league. Yes, Gretzky outweighs Goodenow and Bettman but at the same time? Gretzky is more in touch with spoiled rich kids such as Chelios.

That’s one thing that Chris, in his mouthing off from yesterday, decided to skip: Teams like Detroit and New York throwing obscene amounts of money at players has hurt the game. I wonder if Chris realizees his own contracts over the years are part of the problem – I wonder if he accepts any of the blame?

To quote Mr. Assclown — “You know, I doubt it.”

TSN.ca – NHL – Canada’s Sports Leader

“Gary Bettman has put the league in this situation,” Chelios stated. “A guy who doesn’t do his job shouldn’t be there …”

I was going along with Chris Chelios at this point becuase there are indicators that show Bettman has put Hockey where it doesn’t belong – popularity, TV ratings and such. Gary has not helped the league with over-expansion, marketing, etc…

But then Chris quickly reverted into the assclown that we all know him for…

He put hockey where it shouldn’t belong. You get rid of six or seven teams that don’t belong where they are … Some states just aren’t marketable, some cities. Hockey’s not a national sport in the U.S., and Gary Bettman doesn’t have a feel for that. That’s my opinion.”

And my opinion is you’re an asshole, Chris, and should have retired 5 years ago.

Look, there are so many factors with hockey and what’s gone wrong. Anyoen recall “Gary’s Game” articles from last year’s playoffs where the Trap (helped along by Gary Gettman’s overzealous expansion) ruled the roost? That was a perfect sign of what is wrong.

But you want to start blaming markets? That’s where I have a problem. I might not agree with Atlanta having an NHL team (I miss the Knights, that’s why), I might not agree with Anaheim or Miami having teams (the expansion of 1993 was too abrupt and was simply to get the dollars fo Disney and Wayne Hizuinga)… But I’m not going to treat their fans like numbers and just say that the markets don’t deserve hockey.

I’m not going to act like a pompous, spoiled, self riteous asshole and decry that these markets don’t deserve teams because Hockey is not the US national sport…

If you have such a closed mind, much like Chris Chelios, and think Hockey can’t catch on in the US with better leadership at the top and better guidance, along with better cooperation between the players and the owners, you should stick to minor league hockey. This is a business and it CAN work…

You want to say Gary Bettman has done a shit job in office? I’m with you there. If you want to talk contraction or want to say people don’t deserve teams, I got two words for you and they ain’t pretty…

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times has a great article today to sum up what tonight would be for the Lightning franhcise…

The NHL season would have started 3 days ago but tonight… Tonight was our night. Tonight was a final time for us to focus on the accomplishment of last night.

Tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning were supposed to raise their Stanley Cup Championship Banner to the rafters and start the next phase of their existence.

But now more than ever I feel robbed. Robbed by NHL owners who aren’t bargaining and have no plans to bargain. By the NHLPA who never attempted to bargain for that matter and have insisted their greed is the right way to be.

Which law enforcement division do I contact over this theft? :mad One of the biggest thrills of my life was stolen.

Taken from the St. Pete Times Forum’s weekly mailing….

Lightning goaltending prospect Jonathan Boutin was named Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has announced. Boutin went 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .969. So far this season, Boutin leads the QMJHL in wins (6), save percentage (.958), and goals against average (1.12) among goaltenders with more than one game played.

Boutin has led the PEI Rocket to a 6-1-1-0 record, the second best in the league. Stanislav Lascek of Chicoutimi took offensive honors after recording two goals and five assists in three games.

Hi folks —

I’ve been on the west coast the last couple of days. Seeign there hasn’t been a breakthrough with the NHL and the Players association, i haven’t missed much on reporting on the site. However I did miss a bit.

Lets go to the most relevant and pressing info that I can give you about the Tampa Bay Lightning…. It’s not about the Lightning at all. It’s about the Springfield Falcons. It would appear that the roster is set as the AHL season is about to commence.

The other bit of news I am aware of is that our friends at Sunshine Network have struck a deal with the CBC to air games from rounnnd’s 3 and 4 (Conference finals and Cup finals)!

Personally I’m still waiting for movement in this CBA bullshit… knowing games from round 3 and 4 will be aired is just bittersweet.

Well, it would seem that there is another web log out there devoted to the Tampa Bay Lightning — this is in addition to the Livejournal community listed at right.

Lightning Hockey by Patrick Murphy is on the air…

On the right hand menu bar, I’ve had a couple of links posted for Tampa Bay Lightning fan web pages… And there is a sore lack of them out there that I am aware of…

At the same time, I should make note to you that i am Editor of the Tampa Bay Lightning category on the Open Source Directory Project. Meaning I am in charge of posting links on a major search engine /d directory on the web.

Any Lightning fans with web pages should either submit their sites on ODP or ask me to link to their pages on here. i will most likely add their pages to the Open Source Directory project upon request. This does include player pages…