Thursday, August 30, 2012

August 30, 2012, NHL-NHLPA CBA negotiating session news story for AP




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NHLPA's counteroffer for CBA could arrive Thursday

 


NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL and NHLPA remained at an impasse in the latest round of collective bargaining talks as the deadline for a lockout looms.

The players' association took issue Wednesday with the latest NHL proposal that commissioner Gary Bettman called ''meaningful'' and ''significant.''

Donald Fehr, the NHLPA's executive director, and his assistants have broken down Bettman's latest offering. Fehr is expected to make a counterproposal as early as Thursday.


The two sides are at odds over hockey-related revenue. The league wants to knock down the players' percentage to 46. The players' share of HRR was 57 percent last season. Fehr said changes in how HRR is calculated would see the amount of money players give up to escrow increase ''significantly.'' Under the NHL's proposal, the union said current contracts would not be paid in full.

''From a players' standpoint, you should understand, it doesn't make much of a difference,'' Fehr said Wednesday. ''Should the player not get the dollar value that is on his contract because there is a rollback, which is simply a name for crossing out one number and writing in another, or whether he doesn't get an amount because there is escrow, he still doesn't get it.''

The current CBA expires Sept. 15 and the league has said it will lock the players out if a new agreement isn't in place by then. Bettman says he's content to wait for that aforementioned response from the union, but declared that players shouldn't feel any ''entitlement'' to 57 percent of revenues.

Unlike the current CBA in which salaries are tied into revenues, the league's plan calls for the first three years to be separated from HRR. Also, HRR would be redefined in the final three years of the six-year CBA.


The cap ceiling would drop to $58 million for next season. It would rise to $60 million in 2013-14 and top out at a projected $71 million in 2017-18.

The league and players set the cap ceiling for the 2012-13 season at $70.2 million in a joint statement released in June.

That means 16 teams would be forced to shed varying amounts of salary under the league's proposal. A short list of those teams are the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers.

Owners Craig Leipold (Minnesota), Murray Edwards (Calgary), Jeremy Jacobs (Boston), and Ted Leonsis (Washington) are on the league's negotiating committee, along with Toronto general manager Brian Burke.


Limiting the personnel at the bargaining table in the hope of making progress, only Fehr and his top assistant, Steve Fehr, met with Bettman and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly when the second proposal was issued Tuesday. Traditionally, several players have joined in on the talks, though many returned on Wednesday.

In fact, the Fehrs were accompanied by NHLPA special consultant Mathieu Schneider, as well as Mike Komisarek (Toronto), Douglas Murray (San Jose), George Parros (Florida), Chris Phillips (Ottawa), Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis), Kevin Westgarth (Los Angeles), Craig Adams (Pittsburgh), Nick Bonino (Anaheim), B.J. Crombeen (Tampa Bay), Alex Goligoski (Dallas) and Ron Hainsey (Winnipeg).

Hockey-related revenue is the figure used to calculate the salary cap, with players receiving 57 percent, and the NHL has proposed changes that would lessen the total pot available.

''What we're trying to do with the definition of changes is better reflect the reality,'' Bettman said.

Fehr said the changes have served to complicate negotiations.

The proposal the league tabled Tuesday called for revenues to be split 50-50 for the final three years.

However, by the union's calculation, the actual number players would end up receiving is equivalent to 46 percent under the current system - a claim Bettman acknowledged to be ''in the ballpark.''

With the ambiguity created by the redefinition of HRR, not to mention a smaller pot of money to draw salaries from, the players are calling for the status quo.

''From our side, it's better to leave things the same because everyone understands what they mean and everyone understands what the effect is,'' Fehr said. ''It makes it much easier that way.''

Bettman said the time is right for a change.

He said the reduction in the players' share of HRR would be 11.5 percent next season, 8.5 percent in 2013-14 and 5.5 percent in 2014-15. He expects the players' share to rise beginning in the fourth year, stating that the league believes it ''would have caught up.

''The fact of the matter is if the players have been getting 57 percent, we were getting 43 percent,'' he said, ''and we were paying all the expenses of running the game, running the league and running our clubs.

''(If there's) any sense that our initial offer didn't have any sense of fairness to it, then you need to consider what is fair looking at both sides.''

Bettman said the NHL still wants to make a deal on a ''timely basis.''

Talks are expected to resume Thursday afternoon, though there is a possibility they could be pushed to Friday.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-break-day-no-224800945--nhl.html

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

August 28, 2012, NHL-NHLPA CBA negotiation session news story for the AP




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Bettman, NHL issue another proposal to players

 


NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL issued a new proposal to the players' association Tuesday as a lockout looms next month.

And at least one side is happy about it.

''We believe,'' NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, ''that we made a significant, meaningful step.''
Time will tell, but at least NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr and his players have another proposal - the league's second this summer - to digest. The two sides will meet again on Wednesday at the NHL offices.

A less optimistic Fehr labeled the offering ''a proposal that we intend to respond to.'' Meanwhile, Bettman called it a ''counterproposal'' to the offer the players presented to the league earlier this month. In that proposal, the players had offered to take two-, four- and six-percent reductions in Hockey Related Revenue for the first three years of a new collective bargaining agreement.

''We felt in order to move the process along,'' Bettman said, ''we tried to address the fundamental issues.''
Neither the league nor the players would divulge specifics of the proposal, although Montreal forward Mathieu Darche said he was ''encouraged.''

''We had a lot of people at the office evaluating the proposal,'' said Darche, who estimated he received ''20, 25 texts'' from players asking for details of the different proposal. ''It didn't take them five minutes to write it and it won't take us five minutes to read it.''

The current CBA expires Sept. 15 and the NHL has said it will lock the players out if a new deal isn't reached.

Limiting the personnel at the bargaining table in the hope of making progress, only Fehr and his top assistant, Steve Fehr, met with Bettman and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on Tuesday morning when the proposal was issued. Traditionally, several players have joined in on the talks.

Tuesday's session was the second time in six days that the meeting was limited to just the four executives. They met for two hours last Wednesday in Toronto, exclusively. That meeting was to discuss the state of the negotiations.

''We don't know the answer to that,'' Fehr said when asked if the smaller meetings jumpstarted the negotiating process. ''If it doesn't (work), we'll find another way.''

After the sessions in Toronto, the return to New York was a strange one for both sides. Negotiations resumed in the morning, as planned, but then took a slight break while Fehr left the building. Upon exiting, he told reporters talks had paused just for a bit.

''I think the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances is go back (to our office). We've got constituents and so on,'' Fehr said at the time. ''And so we'll see you later on I'm sure.''

He eventually returned to confirm the proposal, and was joined by player representatives this time. Fehr was accompanied by Darche, San Jose defenseman Douglas Murray and Winnipeg defenseman Ron Hainsey.

Tuesday's session was billed as ''core economic,'' and if nothing else, the players now have more to work with.

''I'm trying to get us on to the same page,'' Bettman said. ''I'm trying to get us on to a common language.''

But, clearly, he knows what he's up against. In fact, following the session, Bettman said he wouldn't ''feel better about this process until it is successfully completed.'' He defined successful completion as having ''a collective bargaining agreement.''

Time's running out for that.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bettman-fehr-resume-nhl-talks-184220508--nhl.html

Thursday, August 23, 2012

August 23, 2012, UFC 151 canceled news story for MMA-Insider.com




 

News

23
UFC 151 Scrapped!

Next Saturday night’s UFC 151 card has been canceled due to what Dana White termed a “selfish, disgusting decision” by UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.  


White announced in a conference call Tuesday afternoon that the card was “scrapped” after Jones refused to fight Chael Sonnen for the Light-Heavyweight Championship after Dan Henderson had to pull out of the scheduled main event with “a partial tear in his MCL.”


“Where we’re at right now, the [card] had to be canceled. We’re scrapped for time,” White said during the 42-minute long call. He noted that tickets will be refunded.


According to White, Sonnen accepted the fight Wednesday night after the determination was made to remove Henderson from the card but Jones turned it down after Greg Jackson said told his protégé it would be the biggest mistake of his career.


“Jon Jones said I’m not fighting Chael Sonnen with eight days’ notice. It’s in Jon Jones’ head he didn’t prepare for this guy,” White said. “We’ve never, ever, had a fighter refuse to fight another guy.”


White added he "can’t make someone fight. Either you’re a fighter or you’re not.”


White, who alternated between bewilderment and anger throughout the call, said he and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta “are disgusted” with Jones. The UFC President added that his relationship with the Light Heavyweight Champion has changed “a lot.”


 “I don’t know what to expect from Jon Jones,” White said before pointing out Jones’ lack of popularity with fans and fighters. White went on to say that Jones’ decision affected “16 other [fighters’] lives” and those of their families.


“I don’t think it’s great," said White, who acknowledged the fighters on the undercard needed this payday. "First champion to turn down a match. I don’t know why a guy who’s a World Champion and one of the pound-for-pound best in the world would not take a fight.”


According to White, Jones will fight Lyoto Machida in the main event of the Sept. 22 card in Toronto. It will be a rematch of their UFC 140 title fight in which Jones retained with a guillotine choke in the second round.


“I expect Machida to come out possessed,” White said.


Jones had expressed antipathy towards a rematch with Machida in an ESPN.com story last weekend, stating “no one wants to see me fight Lyoto Machida. No one wants to buy that fight.”  


White dismissed those comments.


“I laugh when I hear fighters say ‘I’m a businessman.’ No, you’re not. You’re a fighter,” White said.


White later issued an unequivocal warning when he was asked what his response would be if Jones refused to fight Machida.


“We’ll have another conference call,” White said. “It won’t be good.”


You can follow Denis Gorman on Twitter at @DenisGorman (http://twitter.com/#!/denisgorman)

Image Credit: Graphic courtesy of UFC
 


http://mma-insider.com/News/tabid/78/MMAi/406/UFC_151_Scrapped.aspx

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

August 22, 2012, UFC 151 conference call news story for MMA-Insider.com


 

News

21
Championships, Cash Are Jones' Priorities Heading Into UFC 151

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones channeled Michael Corleone in response to those critical of his decision to openly state his apathy towards a rematch with Lyoto Machida.


It’s not personal, it’s just business.


“We fight to make money, quite frankly. I refuse to be a broke athlete when I retire,” Jones said in a conference call Tuesday afternoon with reporters to promote next weekend’s UFC 151 event. Jones will meet Dan Henderson in the main event for the title.


Jones recently told ESPN.com that he does not want to fight Machida because their UFC 140 title fight was his “lowest pay-per-view draw of last year” and “no one wants to see me fight Lyoto Machida. No one wants to buy that fight. “  


During Tuesday’s call, Jones expounded upon his argument.


“The money I make today [will take care of Jones when he’s older and] pay for [his children’s] college. [I’m] thinking about the business aspect,” Jones said. “It’s a business. I don’t want to have to fight when I’m really old. My idea is to fight three [or] four times a year.” He added that he thought next Saturday night’s pay-per-view at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas will “do well. Dan has a strong and loyal fanbase.”


It is a viewpoint that did not and will not play well with romantics. However, as the sport of mixed martial arts continues to evolve as a revenue generating phenomenon, Jones’ bottom line-oriented principle will gain traction with other fighters.


“You always pay attention always hope the numbers stay up,” Henderson said regarding PPV buys. He and UFC President Dana White were on the call as well. “It’s been nice to have a solid job when people are losing their jobs because of the economy.


“The money is going to get better over time.”


It certainly will for Jones, 25, who signed an apparel sponsorship deal with Nike last week. He said that there will be “shoes, hats, t-shirts, jumpsuits,” as part of the agreement. “[It’s] going to be pretty nice, pretty professional.”


But while Jones’ future seems destined to have multifaceted revenue streams running through it, next Saturday’s event may be one of the last big-money fights in Henderson’s storied career. The 41-year old has a career record of 29-8-0 and enters this fight on a four-fight win streak.


“Old guy fighting a younger guy who’s been tearing everyone [in the division] up,” Henderson said of Jones, who is 16-1-0.

“[I’m] planning on putting him on his back,” Henderson added. “I know what I’m capable of.”


Henderson is widely acknowledged as one of the great knockout artists in MMA history. Thirteen of Henderson’s 29 career wins have been via knockout. Also, he has never lost a fight by knockout. Among the few negative assessments of Jones as a fighter is despite three career knockout victories there is a perceived he is unable to knock out opponents, and that he has not yet been in a fight in which he has had to trade punches.


They are theories that Jones has long tired of.


“I think getting your chin tested slows down your career. My chin has been tested. I think the conversations should be over by now,” Jones said. “Don’t believe anyone’s invincible. If you take big shots, I think ability fades away.


“One thing I know is that I won’t gas out.”


Even as he cashes in.


You can follow Denis Gorman on Twitter at @DenisGorman (http://twitter.com/#!/denisgorman)
 
Image Credit: Graphic courtesy of UFC
 
 


http://mma-insider.com/News/tabid/78/MMAi/398/Championships_Cash_Are_Jones_Priorities_Heading_Into_UFC_151.aspx

Friday, August 17, 2012

August 17, 2012, NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr conference call news story for HockeyPrimeTime.com


Fehr meets with players following Tuesday's CBA proposal Print
Headlines
 Written by Denis Gorman   
Friday, August 17, 2012 18:00 

The National Hockey League Players' Association Executive Director Donald Fehr spent the last two days in Chicago updating the players on the status of the talks with the league, describes the two-day meeting as "successful."

Denis Gorman 
National Hockey League Players’ Association Executive Director Donald Fehr’s message has stayed on point throughout the course of the labor negotiations with the National Hockey League.
That did not change Friday afternoon.   

“No one from the players’ side is talking about stopping the season,” Fehr told reporters in a 38-minute conference call from Chicago, where he met with players for two days to update players on the status of the talks with the league.  

“I do not need to suggest that there are players who do not want to miss games,” Fehr said, while terming the two-day meeting as “successful.”

That is a direct contrast to the tenor of the financial discussions the league and its players are currently engaged in. While both have said independent of the other that they are finding common ground on sub-committee issues, it is core economic issues in which they have unable to begin to come to an accord.

The players presented an offer to the league Tuesday in Toronto. In it, the players proposed accepting a three-year reduction in hockey-related revenue for expanded revenue sharing in order to assist franchises in financial difficulty.

It was a proposal in response to the offers the NHL made in July in which players would receive 43 percent of hockey-related revenue, while expanding the service time prior to unrestricted free agency, amongst other components.  

“Their proposal is 43 percent and a whole host of [givebacks] that we’re not very much interested in,” Fehr said.

Fehr also noted that the players did not expand on any elements of the NHL’s proposed plans.

The NHLPA plan was not met with acceptance by the league.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters following Wednesday’s session in Toronto that “there is a wide gap” between the players and the league.

“It’s fair to say the sides are apart—far apart—and have different views of the world and the issues,” Bettman said.

“We value the proposal and what it means in terms of its economics differently than the Players' Association does. I think there still are a number of issues where we're looking at the world differently. I'm not sure that there has yet been a recognition of the economics in our world. “[The] greater world and the sports industry, taking into account what recently happened with the NFL and the NBA.”

Both the NFL and NBA negotiated new CBAs with their players in 2011.

The new NFL CBA states that the players will earn at least 47 percent share of all revenues, while the NBA players will max out a 51.5 percent of basketball-related income. NHL players earned 57 percent of hockey-related revenue in 2011-12

It should be noted that the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball generate far more revenue in their television contracts than the NHL. The NHL agreed to a 10-year contract worth $2 billion with NBC Universal in April 2011.

By comparison, the NBA agreed to an eight-year contract extension with television partners ESPN/ABC and TNT/TBS in June 2007 worth $930 million per season, according to an Associated Press story. It went on to say that the deal expires at the conclusion of the 2015-16 campaign.

The NFL and its television partners—CBS, FOX and NBC—announced nine-year contracts worth $1 billion per year in December 2011. Several months earlier, the league and ESPN, its other broadcast partner, came to terms on an eight-year extension worth $15.2 billion over the life of the contract.

The MLB averages $811 million per year from ESPN, Fox, TBS and DirecTV, and an additional $110 million in international broadcast rights, per a Forbes.com report in July. The Forbes story went on to suggest that the current contracts expire following the 2013 season and Major League Baseball could sign contracts totaling $10 billion.

“[To the owners] any number below 57 [percent] looks better,” Fehr said. “[But] economic system is different [in other leagues]. Every sport is different.” 

Fehr also noted that Major League Baseball is the only sport of the four major North American team sports that does not have a salary cap and is experiencing labor peace. Fehr said that he and Bettman have not spoken since Wednesday but expects the two will talk sometime this weekend.

The current CBA expires on Sept.15, and the season is scheduled to open on Oct. 11. Bettman has said that if a new CBA is not in place by Sept. 15, the owners would have no choice but to lockout the players.

Should that come to pass, it would be the third lockout under Bettman’s stewardship.  

You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman 
  Last Updated on Friday, August 17, 2012 18:14



http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/headlines/fehr-meets-with-players-following-tuesdays-cba-proposal

Monday, August 13, 2012

August 13, 2012, New York Mets are not ready to shut down Johan Santana news story for Metro Newspaper in NYC


x

 

Mets not shutting down Santana ... yet

 

 
DENIS GORMAN
NEW YORK
Published: August 12, 2012 8:36 p.m.
Last modified: August 12, 2012 11:43 p.m.
                  Text size
 
With six-and-a-half weeks remaining in the Mets’ 2012 season, the organizational focus has shifted towards player assessment for next year.

 
At the top of the list resides Johan Santana.

 
“He’s had one start after being out a month or three weeks,” manager Terry Collins said prior to the Mets’ 6-5 win over the Braves in the series finale Sunday night at Citi Field. “Any conversations we have about the future they’re down the road. They’re not going to be right now.

 
“We’ll take a look after a few more starts and decide how he’s feeling, if there’s any more fatigue setting in,” Collins said.

 
Santana was hammered for eight runs on eight hits in 1 1/3 innings in Saturday night’s 9-3 loss to Atlanta. It was his first start after being placed on the 15-day DL with a sprained right ankle on July 21.

 
“A couple balls came back over the middle of the plate,” catcher Josh Thole said. “He gave up a lot of singles. You start the game single, single, single, it’s going to be tough.

 
“I think for him it’s frustrating because he knows what he can do,” Thole said, who termed Santana’s stuff as “strong” and “really good” Saturday night.

 
After missing all of last year recuperating from anterior capsule surgery on his left shoulder, Santana is 6-8 with a 4.58 ERA in 112 innings this season. But that is tempered by the fact that he is 2-8 with a 6.50 ERA since throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history on June 1.

 
His record coupled with his health and the Mets’ 8-20 record following the All-Star break had led Santana and Terry Collins to broach the idea of the left-hander possibly being shut down for the season after the game Saturday night.

 
Collins moved away from that platform during his pre-game press conference late Sunday afternoon. Santana is scheduled to pitch the series opener against the National League East-leading Nationals Friday night in Washington.

 
“I haven’t talked to [general manager] Sandy [Alderson] about it. I haven’t talked to [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen] about it. I have no plans at the immediate time of shutting Johan Santana down,” Collins said.

 
Shutting down Santana in September could allow the Mets to observe prospects Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia. Collins was unequivocal about the importance of player development, which he believes includes teaching young players “how to win.” 

 
But a mass call-up would come at the cost of lowering Santana’s already-microscopic trade value. Santana will make $25.5 million in 2013, which makes him virtually untradeable unless the Mets are willing to eat a majority of the money owed.

 
It is more likely that Santana will start next year in the joint role of front-line starter and mentor to Wheeler, Familia, Mejia and Matt Harvey, all of whom the organization is basing its future on.

 
“He’s a big part of this. He really is,” Thole said. “Even this year, he’s a big part of this. He’s going to hold down the top of the rotation.

 
“This is a guy, this is a presence you need in your clubhouse, a presence you need on the mound.”

 
As for Sunday's win, the Mets entered the ninth inning with a 6-1 lead due to strong work from Jonathon Niese (9-6). He limited the Braves to one run on six hits in eight innings. His lone mistake was Freddie Freeman’s solo home run to lead off the second inning.

 
However, relievers Josh Edgin and Frank Francisco combined to surrender four runs on four hits and walked four before Jon Rauch struck out Jason Heyward to end the game.

 
“It never should have gotten to that point,” Collins said.

 
David Wright went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI. Ike Davis and Jordany Valdespin each drove in two runs.


Follow Mets beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.
 


http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1149800--mets-not-shutting-down-santana-yet

August 13, 2012, New York Mets notebook for Metro Newspaper in NYC



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Mets Notebook: Team struggles with strikeouts

 

 
DENIS GORMAN
NEW YORK
 
Published: August 12, 2012 8:53 p.m.
Last modified: August 12, 2012 9:00 p.m.
                  Text size
 
One of the themes of the Mets’ second-half collapse has been an increase in strikeouts.

 
Entering Sunday night’s series finale against the Braves, the Mets had struck out 237 times in 28 games. That works out to an average of 8.46 strikeouts per game. It is a stark rise from the Mets’  7.70 strikeout average (663 in 86 games) in the first half of the 2012 season.

 
And it has Terry Collins concerned.

 
“I’ve seen a rise in strikeouts. That’s what bothers me,” Collins said in his pre-game press conference.

 
“When you’re a team that does a good job of grinding out at-bats, strikeouts are something we just haven’t done a lot of. Lately, we’ve been striking out quite a bit,” Collins said. “We’re a team that doesn’t have a lot of power. It’s one thing if you go 1-for-4, hit a ball in the seats and strikeout three times. It’s another thing if you have to scratch out singles, doubles.”

 
The Mets’ 97 home runs ranks 26th overall. Only the Cubs (91), Padres (81), Giants (73) and Dodgers (69) have hit fewer home runs than the Mets.

 
“We have to do a better job with our two-strike approach,” Collins said. “In the first half, [with] two strikes we were dangerous. We were a good team with two strikes.”

 
Niese continues development

 
The development of Jonathon Niese continued Sunday night as the left-hander started the series finale against the Braves. He entered the game with an 8-6 record, 3.82 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings. 

 
Signed to a five-year, $25.2 million extension in the offseason, Niese has provided the Mets with a starter capable of going deep into games. For a team whose bullpen has the second worst ERA in the sport (4.89), it is a welcome development.

 
“Jon Niese has kept us in a lot of games,” Collins said. “He’s one of those guys that when you look up he gives up three and we don’t score much.

 
“I think Jon Niese has done exactly what we hoped for, which is keep us in games start after start.”

 
As the Mets begin to reflect on the successes and failures during the 2012 season, one area in which the franchise decision-makers want more stability is organizational depth.

 
“We knew going in our depth [wasn’t optimal],” Collins said. “We knew from the beginning of the year, we said from the first day of spring training, that we couldn’t get hurt. We thought our depth wasn’t what we’d like it to be, and when we did have injuries, it hurt us. Especially on the pitching front.”


Follow Mets beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.
 
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http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1149801--mets-notebook-team-struggles-with-strikeouts