November vanishes from NHL calendar
PITTSBURGH — The NHL has wiped November off the calendar.
Just like that, 14 more Pittsburgh Penguins games are gone, including seven that would have been played at Consol Energy Center. That’s seven dates that would have generated tax revenue and created business in the neighborhood, as well as work for the people who have game-night jobs.
If you go to the Penguins’ website, November doesn’t even exist. Click on the schedule and the first entry is a Dec. 1 Saturday matinee in Dallas.
Will that be played? It isn’t trending in the right direction. Not only can’t the two sides reach an agreement, they can’t even get together to talk.
The union has said it is willing to meet at any time. The NHL says there will be no meetings until the union agrees to use its proposal as framework for any talks.
In other words, the situation is bleak at the moment.
Last spring, people in the know were predicting the season wouldn’t start until January of 2013. There’s no reason to doubt that.
This has been manipulated from the owners’ side from the beginning. Remember, this is not a strike. It’s a lockout. The owners took the action to shut down hockey.
With the reluctance to even meet, it’s clear that the NHL is calling the shots as far as getting negotiations back on track. It seems both sides are pretty well entrenched at this point.
Will that change? Probably. The players are losing big paychecks every two weeks. Even though they’ve seen this coming and have been warned to put away money, the clock is ticking more loudly for the players than it is for the owners.
Careers are relatively short. There’s a window to play the game at the highest level. As players get older and injuries pile up, their time to make a big income is limited.
Some players are losing money they’ll never have a chance to regain. For some of them, it’s the second experience with a costly labor stoppage. Some are making up the loss of income by playing overseas and more will follow as the dispute drags on.
But there won’t be jobs in other leagues for everyone. Some players are going to sit at home and pay their bills with no money coming in.
The owners are better equipped to handle this. Most of them have revenue sources other than hockey. Their biggest expense – player payroll – has been eliminated for the moment.
But the owners are still paying front office personnel and supporting minor league operations.
It’s doubtful negotiations will take on an urgency until December. Neither side wants to appear overly anxious and surrender leverage. This is an ugly battle and innocent people are collateral damage.
If you’re a hockey fan, prepare for more frustration.
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Yes, that was former Pirate Ryan Vogelsong rescuing the postseason for the San Francisco Giants.
The Pirates cut him loose after the 2006 season. In five seasons with the Pirates, Vogelsong was 10-19 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.612 WHIP.
After Pittsburgh, he spent three seasons pitching in Japan, then failed trials with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels. The Giants gave him one last chance and he finally figured things out at age 33.
This isn’t one who got away. Vogelsong had every chance when he was with the Pirates. Every team in baseball passed on him.
It’s to his credit that he stayed with it and he finally found success. It wasn’t a mistake for the Pirates to let him go.
Give him credit — it took a long time, but he reinvented himself as a pitcher and deserves the success he’s now having with the Giants.