First let me say this is completely unrelated to Poker.

The Hockey "Lock Out" is really beginning to annoy me. Gary Bettman use to bother me a lot before this whole thing started, but it is clear to me that he has to do what he is doing, in order for the NHL to survive.

My crosshairs are pointed at Bob Goodenow and the NHLPA. As the name suggests, this is a Players Association. Clearly something completely different than a Player's Union. If it were a Union, it would take every member's view into account. Clearly that is not the case here. This "Association" has levels to it. Levels which seem to revolve around seniority, and even more so around Star players. It is clear that the people who have the most say in this "Association" are the same people who have already made their money. They do not want to take a step back even if it means it will hurt players who need the money.

I for one am completely for replacement players. In fact, I think you would see a lot of players leave the "Association" to go and play as replacement players. Turner Stevenson was quoted as saying "I don't think people will pay $100 to watch minor-league players, when they can watch a minor-league game for $15." Clearly he misses the point. First of all, the tickets would not cost $100 since they would not be paying huge salaries, and second, many people cheer for a team or a sweater, not just for the players. In fact, under the last Collective Bargaining agreement, it is almost impossible to cheer for players on a team because they are traded to another team or signed by another team due to $$ reasons.

My rant has gone on too long and I am starting to sound incoherent so I will stop here.

Here's hoping there is hockey this season.

Cheers,
Brad