Bruins President & GM Harry Sinden "laughed ruefully"
when asked if the NHL has learned anything from the NBA
lockout and said that teams are currently "operating on a
basis" of giving 72% of revenues to the players, according
to Nancy Marrapese of the BOSTON GLOBE. Sinden: "The NBA
has locked out their players in an attempt to get a 50
percent division of revenues. We're 72!" Sinden added,
"Right now we're paying 133% of our gate receipts to the
players. Take every single ticket that is sold across the
league and we've got to find 33 percent more than that to
pay them. Just them! Every single-ass ticket that is sold!
We've got problems." Sinden went on to say that the "only
relief in sight" to the current CBA is "our own resolve"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 12/11). Sinden said the onus fall on the
teams. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is "great. He holds us
all together and shows us that there are ways to fix it but
we need the resolve of everybody" (ESPN.com, 12/11).
PROTECTING THE WILD? In St. Paul, Charley Walters
writes that there are "rumblings" that the expansion Wild
would have to contribute "as much as" $10M in Bettman's plan
to secure $300M to protect against any potential labor
problems. Wild CEO Jac Sperling said that "funding hasn't
been determined," but he "isn't nervous about the financial
hit" to the team (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/11).
A PRIME DECISION: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that
NBC is unlikely to move hockey to primetime to ensure NHL
participation in the 2002 Olympics. NBC Sports Chair Dick
Ebersol: "Any decision relating to prime-time scheduling on
a network doing the Olympics has to first address serving
the greatest number of viewers" (USA TODAY, 12/11).
