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?

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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