Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday Lockout... Stuff
Okay, so, once a week, I'll find some stuff concerning the lockout from actual sources (not B*R bullshit) and post it here.
All Headline News reminding us that football has ended, again, which is normally sad, but the fact that it might be going away for even longer is WAY MORE SADDER. Yeah. They interviewed a lineman from the Steelers reminding us that this all comes down to money, which segways nicely into...
Jerry Jones is taking home somewhere between a "shitton" and a "fuckton" of money from hosting the Super Bowl by virtue of owning several restaurants, hotels, and stadium concessions in the Dallas area, in addition to the stadium itself, which is bringing in $10 million alone through tickets and parking.
Again, I don't really care who gives in the end, I just want football. The problem, of course, is that the owners are going to plead poverty, and the NFLPA is going to be able to throw this whole thing in their faces.
And now, from the worldwide leader in sex scandals and Favrellating, the NFL stands to make $5 billion dollars through their television contracts, despite no football actually being played. The television companies have their stance clear (what with the refusal to air NFLPA commercials), and it's hard to fault them for it. Their dealings are with the NFL as a corporation, and not with the individual players, and breaking a deal with the NFL would be a horrible idea for these companies, because the airing of NFL games is a cash cow. Of course, when it comes time to renegotiate all of the NFL's TV contracts, the networks may have a $5 billion bone to pick with the NFL. They're also floating around the idea (the NFL, that is) of an 18% pay cut across the board for all players. Naturally, the Ginger Hammer rejects the idea as coming from his office, but that's what a trial balloon is for, right?
By the way, it might be important to define the conditions of a lockout. There WILL be a lockout, because the CBA will expire without a new one being made. There is almost no doubt about that. However, a lockout only means that NFL players cannot take part in official NFL activities until a new contract is signed. That's why the draft is still on. However, the NFL draft will only include the rights to sign players. Essentially, the teams cannot sign draft players to team contracts until the lockout is over, because there is no system of employment for NFL players. Lockouts are somewhat standard procedure for sports teams, but the question of length is the real issue. If the lockout is only a month long, the only thing that will be delayed is free agency and contract kickers (usually roster or incentive bonuses). If it's longer than that, well, that's when things start to get messy. The CBA can be signed at any time, though, so once it's done, things will proceed as normal. Unfortunately, that could take as long as October or November, if not longer.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Oh, look, I posted another thing here
If you have any content or ideas for the blog, drop me an e-mail at WhoaSnapItsGreg@gmail.com (I've had that e-mail for a long time), or if you can help in any way, I'd appreciate it. In particular, links about the labor dispute would be fantastic.
As fans, we're all in this together, unless we're not. Then we aren't in this together.
I hope I never have to post another thing here.
So, I'm writing this two days before the Super Bowl, because sportscasters have decided to fill me with dread over the impending NBA and NFL lockouts. The NBA might reach a labor agreement, but the NFL almost certainly won't.
So, out of class and with no homework, I began to think of what I would do with my off time during sports season. At that point, I realized how enormous the sports season is. Football season stretches from August (preseason) to February (Super Bowl) and then takes a break for a month before free agency (which typically is exciting for masochistic Redskins fans, March), and then we all huddle around the tiny, lukewarm stove until draft day(s) on April 28-30. Then the whole thing starts over in three months. For those of you who care only about football (and I don't blame you), you can stop here, stretch your legs, and just skim the next part.
Basketball is nearly year round. Preseason is in October, followed by playoffs in April, Finals in June, draft a week after that, and then Summer League in July (pre-preseason), followed by a two month lull before everything starts back up. (Football fans may now stop skimming.)
Combined, there is virtually no gap in my sports entertainment. It works out almost perfectly. When the NFL is dead (May, June), the NBA is heating up. When the NBA is getting off to a slow start (November, December), the NFL's playoff race is just starting to get underway. When the NBA hits the fatigued stretch of its run (March) and the NFL is kind of dead (March)... Well, there's the NCAA Tournament.
But anyways, all of that is going away. It'll be like permanent July. Contract holdouts abound, but, you know, with a whole league. I'm oversimplifying, of course. The NFL (and NBA) have difficult, complex labor issues that are far beyond my ability to explain.
That said, I have to do SOMETHING with the hours of my life that I would otherwise dedicate to sports. Instead of doing something crazy like taking up an interest in hockey or refocusing myself towards school, which could have permanent and harmful effects on my life, I've decided to create a strike blog. I'll generally be bullshitting to take my mind off of the lockout, collecting links about the lockout, linking to blogs that go over the lockout, and other sporadic material. I'll also be hosting weekly liveblogs starting... at some point.... to help create a safe haven for other locked-out fans.
I don't have any particular agenda towards promoting my views on labor vs. management. I don't really care one way or another. I wanted to create a blog that would allow for discussion of mostly football (and some basketball, if the strike goes on long enough) without devolving into flame wars about collective bargaining agreements.
Of course, I hope that neither lockout happens. I hope that everything is worked out and both the NFL and the NBA have seasons that start in 2011, on time. I doubt that will happen, but I really hope that it will.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)