Baseball... A Strike unavoidable?

[Darth Xed]

Do you think MLB will strike?

Do you think this will affect the NHL's upcoming contract negotiations?

[originalsix]

I don't think a strike is good for the game, but where money is involved, everyone wants their share, so it may happen. Strikes are becoming more popular these days.

KC

[ken_valyi]

Aren't these people rich enough?

How many more Porches does Barry Bonds/Shaq/Jagr need?

Time to stop buying the products endorsed by these millionaires and spend our money soley on attending the games and perhaps buying jerseys.

This way these rich cry babies will spend more time playing the sports WE are paying them for and less time schilling their corrupt asses.

No I'm not bitter! :D

[Cane Says]

Here here ken, you are absolutely correct. If the little crybabies don't realize that they are getting paid millions of dollars for doing something that most people would do for free, then screw them. they are so out of touch with the rest of the world.
i hope baseball doesn't strike, because i do enjoy the game. couldn't care less if the nba strikes, hell i hate the nba, bunch of spoiled babies.

[Darth Xed]

It really is a vicious circle...

The fans b!tch if their team doesn't have good players...
The owners go and spend more money to get higher profile guys... (if they can)
This raises the bar as far as player value...
The next player in line for a new contract hold out for more money, because the last guy got more....
The fans b!tch because their team can't afford better players...

It's a horrible thing that is out of control, and this is why the NHL (and MLB) have to get some type of system in place before those sports are totally destroyed.

I still think the NFL has the best system so far, albeit far from perfect... I hope the NHL takes the NFL's plan as a base, but then throws in incentives/cap breaks for retaining veteran players that have been with their team for "X" amount of years...

This sohuld help the teams, because overall salary will be a bit reduced and controlled, and it should make the fans happy because teams would be able to retain the veterans more often. The players would liek the fact that they can make more by staying with the same team for long periods of time...

The players, though, would probably b!tch most about a system like this because they value Free Agency so much... I'm not saying eliminate Free Agency, just get more control over it...

[cASe SenSiTive]

You guys who sit there and blame the players are dead wrong!
Do you thing that an owner would give a player $25million a year, if that owner wasn't making WAAAAY more than that? Of course not.

The owners are making money hand over fist. The estimated value of the Yankees is well over $1billion! Yes, that's billion with a "B". Compared to that, I don't think that paying a guy like Jeter $20mill+ is all that out of line.

It'd be a shame to see baseball strike. I hope it doesn't happen, but the owners are stubborn a$$holes... And Bud Selig is almost as bad for baseball as Buttman is for hockey.

[ken_valyi]

Tom,

The Yankees are the richest team in all of Sports. I don't think they're the best benchmark for the state of the game.

You right that the players aren't solely to blame, but the union heads seem so unwilling to compromise on a deal that as a fan I find it frustrating. The NHLPA jerk-off should be negotiating with Butthead right now not just for his players, but for the game and the fans.

We have no voice and yet WE are the ones picking up the tab for these elitests... if we lose another World Series, I'll be forever through with baseball, and if we go through another lockout in hockey, I'll have bought my last jersey, although I'll always be a hockey fan... it's in my blood! ;)

You're on the ball with Selig, though I think that FSOB could teach Butthead a thing or too.

[cASe SenSiTive]

The Yankee$ are just one example. Half of the teams in the NFL are worth ~$1billion.

The Yankee$, Rangers, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Indians, are all worth over $700million last I checked. The money that these teams get for TV rights alone is astronomical. Add in packed ballparks, concessions, souveneirs, etc., and the owners are doing VERY well.

And forget abot football. Their TV contract is absolutely INSANE! We're talking hundreds of millions PER TEAM! Again, before even adding in attendance, etc..

The NHL doesn't have the luxury of a massive TV contract, but they do pretty damned good too. IIRC they said that the Wings were making $1.5million per playoff game! These playoffs paid for the teams salary for the entire year! That means the other 41 home games were pure profit for Illitch!


You have to remove the jealousy of the players salarys from your mind when you look at these negotiations. Yes, we'd all prolly play sports for our current wages, let alone for millions. But we also certainly wouldn't turn down money if we could get it.

[ken_valyi]

It's the arrogance that bothers me, from both sides.

TML has raised it's ticket prices 10% next season.. and the Leafs already have the highest addmission prices in the League. This means less families will be attending the games and more corporate suits will be filling the seats yapping on their cells trying to look important at the Air Canada Centre.

Oh well, it's not like we have much of a say anyway. I just hate seeing the Haves putting the screws to the Have-Nots.

:(

[Darth Xed]

Originally posted by ken_valyi
not just for his players, but for the game and the fans.

We have no voice and yet WE are the ones picking up the tab for these elitests...



Wouldn't it be FANtastic (sorry... couldn't resist) if the FANS were able to have an equal representative in these negotiations?!?!?