Does NHL have something to Fehr?

Hockey Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The revolving door to the president's office at the National Hockey League Players' Association is once again in motion and the punditocracy is foaming with rumors that former baseball players' union boss Don Fehr will soon be shuttling into the wood-paneled inner sanctum.

Fehr has been acting as an unpaid adviser to the NHLPA for about a year after fighting baseball owners for 26 years - an often tumultuous tenure that included five collective bargaining agreements and one strike, in 1994 (for which Montreal Expos fans will never forgive the union).

Fehr can be as hard-line about not having a salary cap as Stephen Harper is on scrapping the long-form census. The New York Yankees 2010 payroll is $206.3 million. We're not sure what the Prime Minister's salary is since all stats are just a bunch of damn lies, anyway.

But back to pucks.

It seems the NHLPA, if it hires Fehr as its new president, is signaling that it is spoiling for a fight. I think the union should think twice before dropping the gloves with owners again.

First, players haven't exactly had to hold bake sales to pay their bills following the introduction of the salary cap before the 2005-06 season. In fact, the salary floor for this season is more than the salary cap of a few years ago, based on increased league revenues, but it may not be an ever- expanding pie.

After all, there was a worldwide financial meltdown between the last collective bargaining agreement, in July 2005, and its expiration date, in September 2012.

We're still recovering from one recession and, if U.S. housing foreclosure and unemployment stats are any indicator - patience, Mr. Harper! - we could be lurching toward another. It's the new normal and it's not pretty, especially if you're in a business that relies on consumers with discretionary spending money.

Sure, there are some Flyers fans who will forgo rent in order to buy tickets, but that's not the rule. With the exception of Toronto, where people eagerly surrender their wallets, credit cards and ATM PINs in exchange for an inferior product, those with less discretionary spending may cut back on luxuries like professional hockey.

With a salary cap already in place and the owners not about to surrender it, the hiring of Fehr, if it happens, will be an ideological move to fight over a few million here and a few million there, the pro sports equivalent of table scraps.

Sometimes, timing is everything and, if you support the NHLPA, the time to hire Fehr would have been in 2005, before the owners watched the players cave to the cap.

Bizarrely, whoever is the next president may find him/herself in the odd position of helping owners circumvent the CBA.

We're thinking here of the Ilya Kovalchuk case. The league rejected the 17- year, $102-million pact as a way of getting around the salary cap by amortizing the annual cap hit over a long period. The owners want the best labor for the cheapest price, so they did some creative math. The union wants job security for its members and didn't put up a whisper of protest against the Kovalchuk deal. If the Kovalchuk deal would have stood and thereby lowered average annual salaries in the process, shouldn't the NHLPA have come out against it, too?

Should a union stand by as management engineers contracts that lower the average salary of members when it comes time for them to negotiate?

If so, what's the point of having a union?

Wwwlotteryusa Hockey Betting News

<< NHL: Five burning Central Division questions
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With training camps opening Sept. 12, there is no better time than the present to begin asking the single-most important question for each of the 30 NHL teams. The first of six installments begins in

<< First-place Rangers, Royals square off in KC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Texas Rangers can get their road record to .500 and maintain a stranglehold on the American League's West Division tonight, when they visit the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series

<< Rays host Jays in series opener at the Trop
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Youngster Wade Davis makes his second start since returning from the disabled list tonight, when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game home series at Tropicana Field. A soon-to-be 25

<< Nats hand ball to Marquis in Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite pitching well over his last two starts, Nationals hurler Jason Marquis is still searching for his first victory in nearly a year. Unfortunately, tonight's opponent, the Marlins, have given him issues over th

<< Pettitte's health the key to the Yankees repeating
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the New York Yankees hope to win a second straight world championship they'll need a healthy and productive Andy Pettitte on the mound come October. Before the 38-year old lefty went down with a strained groin

Prosecutors charge Mizzou RB with assault >>
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -Prosecutors have charged suspended Missouri running back Derrick Washington with sexual assault.Assistant Boone County prosecutor Andrea Hayes says a single count of felony deviate sexual assault was filed Monday. She says she wi

Walcott putting World Cup snub behind him >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The biggest decisions most 16-year-old boys have to make involve a choice of which car to buy, which girl to ask to the dance, or what their Facebook status will be. But Theo Walcott was not your typic

Boston downs Philadelphia to edge closer to playoff berth >>
West Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Breakers closed the gap on the Philadelphia Independence in the race for second place in the Women's Professional Soccer table with a 2-1 comeback win at John A. Farrell Stadium on Sund

Arena to extend schedule to 18 games >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arena Football League will extend its regular-season schedule from 16 to 18 games next season. A 16-game schedule had been in effect since 2003. "There has never been a better time for the Aren

Van Persie suffers minor ankle injury >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal and Netherlands striker Robin van Persie is set to miss a few weeks because of an ankle injury, according to the Dutch football federation. Van Persie missed five months last season because of

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.