How that town Franklin? Brian and my sis are looking at a house there?

It's a very nice community. Quite a few of country stars make thier homes in Franklin.

Sweet. I'll probably make it down a couple times this season. Apparently a bunch of players stay there.

Yep, it's very nice but aslo very pricey.

It's 20 miles south of Nashville, sort of what Olathe is to KC.

Have the Blues done shit yet?

This is what I was going to say, very comparable to Olathe, a bit smaller though but growing. And it is pricey. Good schools both public and private if they settle there long term and have kids.

If he wants to prove his toughness off the ice, have him get an apartment in Antioch hahaha.

Dude I lived in Antioch the first year I moved down to Nashville. Moved out when one of the apartement buildings in the complex I was in burned to the ground because of a meth lab.

Love Nashville, its one of my favorite places to visit. I guess MLB would be the last major league sport that Tennessee needs and its the hardest to get. A MLB stadium on the Cumberland River by LP Field and downtown would be pretty sweet.

The thing is with Antioch is it used to be a pretty nice place to live, now its a rathole. It is bizzare, it almost happened overnight. The mall used to be nice, now there are like 3 stores left.

That is awesome to imagine, a baseball stadium downtown. They are wanting to put a minor league stadium there, it may be good to do what the Rangers did with Arlington stadium, make it a minor league stadium expandable to be a MLB stadium.

Wait until July to make an offer.
Make an offer that's completely ridiculous and doesn't even deserve a counteroffer.
Expect to get something done by September 15th.


Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Gary Bettman? :#

Well, at least Denver's getting a new CHL team this year. :sulk:

There's always DU and CC. The Ice Breaker Tournament is in KC this year... UNO, Notre Dame, Army, and Maine. I wouldn't be surprised if the NHL comes back on NYD, similar to the NBA last year... based on Bettman's actions up to this point, it's almost like he wants a lockout, knowing he'll get a better deal and the fans will come back (and he's probably right on both counts... but should still be fired for all of these lockouts).

Whoa...the Avs just named Gabriel Landeskog captain. Youngest player to ever wear the "C" in the NHL.

I'm not that surprised that they went young, but I'm floored that it it went all the way to Landy rather than to O'Reilly. Now they'd better get O'Reilly signed or I'm gonna start getting cranky.

David Canter ‏@davidcanter

Huge news. There will be HOCKEY this year. NHL & NHLPA reach agreement on a new CBA

Who is David Canter? This is awesome if true, but I'd like to see some other sources.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YES!

He's a sport agent and he's getting his info from Pierre McGuire.

Anyone else a Canucks fan here? Or am I the only one.

In before the ban.

I'm still gonna be skeptical for a bit. I still haven't seen a single source other than that guy.

Looking around also, and I don't see much of anything.

This is going to be a long week.... :banghead:

David Canter ‏@davidcanter

I was duped. Sorry folks



Look's like he got ****ed.

Duh duh duh. False alarm.

Hope they only lose some of the pre season. Everything sounds like it will last until late Nov/Early Dec.

NHL imposes lockout
Updated: September 16, 2012, 12:01 AM ET
By Katie Strang | ESPNNewYork.com

NEW YORK -- What has been written on the wall for months is now official. The NHL has imposed a league-wide lockout, the sport's second work stoppage in eight years.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman warned the players throughout this past year -- more aggressively during the labor negotiations during the past two months -- that the league intended to lock out the players if a new deal wasn't reached by midnight Saturday, when the collective bargaining agreement expired.

That deadline came and passed with little discussion and a lack of substantive talks in the waning 48-hour window to reach an agreement.

More from ESPN.com

Burnside Fans have a kind of connection with the NHL that allows players and owners to take them for granted -- and now they're throwing it all away, writes Scott Burnside. Story


The two sides remain far apart on the core economic issues of a new deal.

The NHL Players' Association said the union wanted to continue talks with the league Saturday, but was rebuffed.

"Today, we suggested that the parties meet in advance of the owners' self-imposed deadline of midnight tonight. Don Fehr, myself and several players on the negotiating committee were in the city and prepared to meet. The NHL said that it saw no purpose in having a formal meeting," NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr said in a statement. "There have been and continue to be private, informal discussions between representatives of both sides."

Meanwhile, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who had lunch with Fehr on Saturday but no formal discussions, said the league saw any further talks as futile given the significant gulf that separates the two sides.

"We spoke today and determined that there was no point in convening a formal bargaining session in light of the fact that neither side is in a position to move off of its last proposal," Daly said via email.

"I'm sure we will keep in touch in the coming days and schedule meetings to the extent they might be useful or appropriate. We are sorry for where we are. Not what we hoped or expected."

A lockout, the third in Bettman's tenure as commissioner, appeared imminent in the days leading up to the league's deadline. Bettman received a unanimous vote in support of imposing a lockout from the owners gathered at Thursday's board of governors meeting in New York.

The players launched their own display of solidarity: Almost 300 gathered at a Midtown Manhattan hotel down the road for meetings with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr and the rest of the negotiating committee on Wednesday and Thursday.

League superstar Sidney Crosby spoke out on behalf of the players and expressed frustration in facing a work stoppage.

"We've shown we're willing to give, but they've got to be willing," Crosby said. "It seems like there's a pretty hard line there, and they're not willing to budge."

Crosby, like many other players, said he'd consider playing overseas in the event of a lockout. According to one agent, several of his players had already reached tentative agreements to play in Europe.

Whether the two sides keep an open line of communication or choose to go dark -- the league and union went months without talking in 2004 -- remains to be seen, but there is a stark philosophical divide on what a new deal should look like.

While the league wants to reduce the players' share of hockey-related revenue -- "We believe 57 percent of HRR is too much," Bettman said Thursday -- the union is not interested in any deal that would require the players to take any immediate, absolute further reduction in salary.

The sides last exchanged proposals Wednesday, but failed to forge common ground. The NHL offered the players a 47 percent of the share when fully implemented (their first two proposals offered 43 and 46 percent, respectively) while the players suggested a limited growth in share tied to revenue growth.

With time winding down and a large gap to bridge, both sides dug in and refused to budge.

The last lockout forced the NHL to forfeit the entire 2004-05 season.

Donald Fehr said Thursday that a lockout was not a necessity, but rather a choice the league made.

"If it comes to that, it's a choice," Fehr said. "It's not a requirement, it's not something anybody has to do. If that's the way it's going to be, then unfortunately, that's the way it's going to be."

Stupid.

yup, not what the NHL needed again...

****... Can't watch me Canucks.

Bettman has to go... I know how dumb it sounds to say he wanted a lockout, but how else did he think this would end? Hopefully they can get something done by the Winter Classic.

Well, college hockey starts in 4 weeks... *crickets*

It's astounding how ****ing idiotic the owners are. It's ****ing asinine that the owners are doing this after they put themselves in this situation. Now they are trying to fix what they messed up.

**** Bettman.

**** the NHL.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EWQs3O_IDas" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Only Gary Bettman can keep his job after three of these goddamn things.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S....26%2520AM.png

"Negotiating around the clock".
Piss off.

I'll still watch for sure, but I'll definitely not feel as bad for staying home to watch Avs games while he Pepsi Center is half empty this year. Screw 'em.

Not that anyone's surprised, but all preseason games are officially cancelled through the end of the month. I kind of want to go punch the owners in the nuts.

I can't stand to watch hockey on TV. Even with it being fast paced, it's still ****ing boring.

Going to live games though is a different story. I've been to many Blues games and I have lots of fun when I go. Same w/ NASCAR....going to the event live is can be fun as hell and a really good time, but I'd rather watch paint dry than to turn it on and watch it on TV.

Soccer on the other hand is ****ing stupid anyway you look at it.

If anyone with espn3 needs a hockey fix...

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/i...oming-to-espn3

All of the games are around 10am-noon et, but they should have replays.

Here is a message I pulled from the Preds board, hope these folks can make some noise.

While I support this idea it really does not work for our Preds. Unlike every other NHL team, the season ticket split (individuals vs. corporate STH) is opposite in Nashville.

I don't recall the exact percentage but I think that STH in Nashville is 70% individuals and 30% corporate STH.

Am I stating that correctly?

You are right on with that, hoping the fans will ask for their money back though, that can help. Actually hope they get this damn thing resolved.

Bettman uses lockouts as a bargaining chip and I don't see it getting resolved by Thanksgiving... IMO, the push to cancel season tickets should already be happening, because the owners know they'll already lose half the season or more in ticket sales.

Between playing NHL13 way too much and college hockey starting this weekend (along with CFB, the NFL, MLB postseason...), I just don't care at the moment. The owners should know the players aren't going to fold for anything less than 50% and the players should know they owners aren't going to accept anything more than 50-52%.... but, let's spend a few months or an entire season talking about 43% or 55% or whatever... GFY.

In case you guys haven't heard, it looks like there's been sudden positive movement in negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA. There are way too many points to list here (just Google it), but the but the main thing from a fan perspective is that they could potentially salvage a full 82-game season if they get this done - starting in early November.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Great news! Heard about the proposed 50/50 split by the owners. Guess a big sticking point from the NHLPA is the contract rollover aspect. Players don't want their new contracts just signed torn up.

Maybe I'm just too grumpy about the whole thing, but this could have happened three freakin' months ago.... 3 months of posturing and ridiculous offers maybe saved the owners 2-3%, and now the players take all the heat if they don't jump on board. Well played by the owners, I guess. Let's do it again in 6 years.

:o)

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/85...-step-backward

Not surprising really, but disappointing. Idiots.

That's OK, I'm headed out tomorrow night for the inaugural Denver Cutthroats game. Here's hoping it's good entertainment if nothing else.

Looks like the counter offers are all 50/50 with conditions, which sounds reasonable for taking a 7% hit.

Not a big fan of the CHL as far as the quality of hockey, but the fights can be entertaining.

Yeah, I agree that the counter offers don't seem that bad given the salary decrease, but who knows anymore.

As for the CHL, my hope is that the atmosphere is fun more than anything. Tix start at like $12, so it's an easy thing to get into going frequently if it's fun. And at least they're now an Avs affiliate, so there's a remote chance I might eventually see one of the guys play in the big league.

Oh, and Kyle Quincy is playing for them during the lockout. That should be interesting to watch. Hope he doesn't get his head knocked off.

The affiliate thing is cool... the MO Mavs, who are also in the CHL, are affiliates with the Chicago Wolves, and they're affiliated with the Canucks. Boo.

When I went to a MO Mavs game a couple of years ago, the Mavs turned the opening faceoff win into a 2 on 0, and the pass across the crease went off the guy's stick and they didn't even get a shot on net. LMAO But, it's in a small arena that only fits like 5-6,000 people, so it was a good atmosphere. And like you said, it's cheap.

Greedy ****s

Yeah, that's all I'm hoping for. I went to a couple CHL games back when the Rocky Mountain Rage were around, so I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. But still, hockey is hockey.

Perhaps I'm naive, but would it be feasible for both the union and the league to agree to a "non-profit" season to get the players back on the ice while the lawyers keep working on a deal. Something like salaries are all even for every squad, very limited FA moves, and costs are covered for operations and any "profit" is locked away for divying up later.

This ****ing sucks.

How does the CHL compare to the old IHL? I really miss that league.

OK, do you mean the old old IHL that was AAA with teams directly affiliated with the NHL, or the old IHL that used to be the UHL that was a AA league? The AA IHL merged with the CHL a few years ago, but some of those teams have folded or moved to the ECHL, like Ft Wayne and Evansville. The only teams left in the CHL from that league are Quad City and Bloomington.

I was only 11 when the Blades left and wasn't really into hockey, so I don't remember it well enough to compare. I've only been to one MO Mavs game, so I should probably give it another chance... I just wasn't all that impressed with the quality of hockey (and I really enjoy college hockey, so I'm not a complete hockey snob).

The old old IHL that was AAA. Seemed like they tried to challenge the NHL during the lockout in the 90s. It was a great league.

I think this sums up the absurdity nicely...

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/85...bickering-ways

The CHL is at least a level below that, its more of a AA- league, most of the teams have no NHL or AAA affiliation. The old old IHL was great.

Is it true the reason it folded was because it challenged the NHL during the 90's lockout?

Leipold needs to just excuse himself from the table altogether.

Just got back from the Cutthroats game against the Mavericks. Clearly not anywhere close to the NHL level of play, but it was still an entertaining evening. I'd almost forgotten how much I love hockey.

It was fun to watch Quincey playing out there. He never made any really flashy plays or anything, but no one else on the ice had a slapper that was anywhere CLOSE to as good as his. He also executed a couple of nice poke checks right in front of me, where the other guys basically just slap around at the other guys' feet until they lose control.

Anyway, given the lack of other options, I'm excited for it and will probably try to make it to quite a few games this season. Hell, it costs about the same as a movie on a Friday night these days, and there's no question what's the better entertainment.

That would be interesting... I wonder if there are any other notable NHL players in that league. Denver is here in January, so if the NHL isn't playing by then, I might check it out.

Blues fans, if you would like your hockey fix... in my NHL 13 franchise, the Blues ended up as the 4th seed. I was 1-3 against them in the regular season (2-4 3-4 6-4 1-4), but they didn't seem nearly as aggressive in the postseason and I swept them (4-1, 5-1, 6-5 OT, 4-3).... in game 3, I scored with an empty net to tie it, got a penalty at the end of regulation, and scored short handed in OT.

Quite realistic, eh? :evil:

There ya go!

So much for the Kansas City Inlanders...

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/stor...yn-sources-say

Ouch....the Sprint Center fails again....

Meh, I don't think there was ever serious talk about moving out of town, and the NHL would exhaust all options before moving a team.

KC's best chance right now is the Coyotes but I have a feeling the NHL is going back to Canada again before KC. I don't like KC's chances for a franchise period anymore. Guess I just need to appreciate the Mavs.

Yeah I don't think Kansas City is going to ever get an NHL or NBA team again. We were sold a bill of goods.

I feel sorry for the sports fans of KC. Every time a NHL or NBA team is seeking a new stadium deal the Sprint Center is used as leverage.

Looks like the Winter Classic will soon be canceled. The NHL has only a $100,000 buyout.

Yeah... after the Penguins, I don't get my hopes up. Not that I really thought the Pens would ever leave Pittsburgh, but once it got the point of Mario meeting in KC, it was hard not to think about it.

**** him. My father and I had money lined up to buy season tix.

Crosby with Malkin would have been so sick in KC. Honestly I might have forgotten about the Chiefs.

Wang is a New Yorker and doesn't want to leave New York at all. Also as an owner he would make Hunt and Glass look good.

Still Bettman hates this with a ****ing passion. If the Islanders are sold, then I would look for them to move somewhere else. Barclays Center is not designed for hockey at all, its like America West Arena in Phoenix and Conseco in Indy are.

It's the ugliest arena i've ever seen.

The trouble for a NBA or NHL team in Kansas City is an ownership group. Nobody has stepped up to the plate to get a team. More than likely you would have to find somebody out of state with money - I would look into Texas personally. I know everybody hates that idea but its the closest big money area to KC outside of maybe Chicago.

Meh Sprint Center has done really well even without an anchor tenant.