The NHL All-Star Weekend in Boston was a "wildly successful
three days," according to Len Hochberg of the WASHINGTON POST.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league came out of the '94
lockout "as strong as any sport could." Bettman: "I don't think
there's been any long-term damage from the lockout. In fact, it
didn't look like there was much short-term." Hochberg adds,
"Based on the huge corporate partnerships on display in Boston
this past weekend, a lot of very deep pockets seem to agree."
Hochberg does list attendance, the rise in player salaries and
franchise movement as "critical areas of concern" (WASHINGTON
POST, 1/22). The CANADIAN PRESS' Alan Adams notes competitive
balance between the two conferences, growing corporate backing
and the reduction of "troubled franchises" to two -- the Panthers
and Oilers. He writes, "The mood at the all-star break was that
the NHL has finally skated out of the Dark Ages" (Toronto GLOBE &
MAIL, 1/22). With Fox's experimental puck, IBM's redesign of the
league's Web presence and a new computer statistical tracking
system, Kevin Paul Dupont writes that the All-Star game "set a
technological standard" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/22).
STATE OF THE GAME: Commissioner Bettman was interviewed
during the All-Star Friday broadcast on ESPN. Bettman: "We had
a real tough year last year. We came back strong. ... What we
need to do is make sure the pockets of instability we have are
eliminated and that we have a strong, solid foundation to build
off of. ... There may be one or two more problems we have to deal
with, but the goal is to deal with our problems in a concrete way
-- no band aids, no quick fixes -- and then go forward" (ESPN,
1/19).
ICE SHAVINGS: The Board of Governors approved the sales of
the Jets and Stars. In Toronto, Al Strachan reports the Board
also heard there is "hope" for the Panthers in the form of a
report presented to Broward County officials recommending the
building of an arena in either Sunrise or Ft. Lauderdale. Also,
Bettman's contract was officially extended through 2003, with
"highly placed sources" saying his salary will be between $2.5M
and $3M (TORONTO SUN, 1/20). Bettman said the Jets will remain
in the Central Division at least for next year (DETROIT NEWS,
1/21)....In New York, Frank Brown notes the "surprising" opinion
of Bruins President & GM Harry Sinden on the idea of going to two
halves. Sinden: "If we're going to have to keep paying these
players, we've got to find a way to get more money out of
television. We've got to adapt the game to television" (N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, 1/20)....NHL Senior VP & COO Stephen Solomon said
this summer's World Cup has been sold to U.S. TV, although the
network or networks will not be revealed for another week or two
(N.Y. TIMES, 1/20).
