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Morning Lineup – April 28

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Sunday Morning – Who's Playing Who?

The final day of the National Hockey League's shortened season was played out yesterday with 26 of the 30 teams competing.  I need to note that technically the season isn't quite finished because Boston's home game against Ottawa last week had to be postponed until today because of the terrorist incident in the city.  And the outcome of today's game will have a bearing on the final standings that I will talk about in a minute.

But as I had predicted a couple of weeks ago, the final standings weren't settled until after the last game has been played.  Over in the Western Conference there were 7 teams battling for the last 4 playoff slots of the 8 available.  And going into last night's contests there still 4 teams rasslin' for the 6, 7, and 8 slots.  When the dust settled, San Jose had grabbed the number 6 seed, Detroit clinched the 7th slot, and Minnesota barely made it in with a win that gave them a tie-breaker edge over Columbus who had made a good run for the playoffs by winning 8 of their last 10 games.  But it was just a tad short.  Personally, I feel sorry for the Blue Jackets players.  They had a good season considering what they had to work with.  Here's how the West finished up:

Over in the Eastern Conference Winnipeg, who had led the Southeastern Division through most of the season became a victim of the numbers in the last 4 games and ended up in 9th place out of the playoffs.  And while the "who" is settled on the top-8, we won't know for sure all of the "who vs. who's" until this afternoon's game in Boston.  Take a look at the Eastern standings and you will see how it has shaken out:

Montreal has led the Northeast Division for most of the season, but a win by Boston tonight will give them the title and move the B's up to the second seed while the Habs slip down to 4th but still with home-ice adavantage in the first round.  However if Ottawa wins, then they will finish in 7th and bounce the Islanders down to 8th.  The other six teams are firm since the Rangers won last night.  But the #3 Capitals vs. #6 Rangers is the only matchup in the East that is confirmed.  A lot is depending on tonight's outcome.  The NHL has posted all the possible scenario's:

If Boston wins in regulation:

Series 'A' – #1 Pittsburgh vs. #8 Ottawa
Series 'B' – #2 Boston vs. #7 NY Islanders
Series 'C' – #3 Washington vs. #6 NY Rangers
Series 'D' – #4 Montreal vs. #5 Toronto

If Boston wins in overtime or shootout:

Series 'A' – #1 Pittsburgh vs. #8 NY Islanders
Series 'B' – #2 Boston vs. #7 Ottawa
Series 'C' – #3 Washington vs. #6 NY Rangers
Series 'D' – #4 Montreal vs. #5 Toronto

If Ottawa wins in any fashion:

Series 'A' – #1 Pittsburgh vs. #8 NY Islanders
Series 'B' – #2 Montreal vs. #7 Ottawa
Series 'C' – #3 Washington vs. #6 NY Rangers
Series 'D' – #4 Boston vs. #5 Toronto

Ok, you got that?  What a finish… the season's over and there is still some matchups yet to be sorted out.  Let's hope that NBCSports and CBC or Canada's sports network decide to show the game tonight.  It will be an intense game, for sure.

And we have to get this equipment checked out for sure, so let's get started while cook gets the Sunday breakfast going.  I'm headed to the Bunn-O-Matic to make sure it's got some fresh java waiting for us when we meet back in the day room shortly.  See you there.

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Posted by on April 28, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – April 23

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Tuesday Morning – NHL Photo Finish

The abbreviated season for the National Hockey League comes to a close this weekend and most of the teams have just three games left to play.  As we had predicted a couple of weeks ago, the race to get into the playoffs is coming down to a photo-finish with several slots still remaining to be filled.

There are some real surprises in the Eastern Conference this year.  Within the past couple of days both Philadelphia and New Jersey have been eliminated from post-season play.  When is the last time that ever happened?  And to confirm the topsy-turvy finish, Montreal has been leading their division for most of the season.  Although today they are now tied with Boston and the B's have a game in hand.  But the Habs have clinched a playoff spot along with Toronto who haven't been in the playoffs for umpteen years.

There are four teams competing for the last three playoff slots in the East, so it will be bruising.  Washington has a one-point lead over Winnipeg for their division title and the Caps have a game in hand.  They are playing each other tonight in a definitive matchup.  If the Capitals win, then they clinch the division championship.  This will be a good one and just might be switched onto one of the network telecasts for both U. S. and Canada.  Let's hope so.  NBC Sports is scheduled to show the Boston-Philly game, but with the Flyers now eliminated they would be wise to switch to the Caps-Jets game.

Over in theWestern Conference they have 7 teams still challenging for the last 4 playoff slots.  Talk about a close finish!  One of those teams is Columbus who are real strangers to the playoffs and will be sentimental favorites for that reason.  But they are just one point ahead of the 9th-place team – Detroit! – and it will be a grueling finish for them.  Stay tuned.

Last night the Anaheim Ducks clinched the Pacific Division title by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton 3-0.  Here are the highlights from that game:

 

In what could be deemed a mild upset, Vancouver owned the Chicago Blackhawks last night to clinch the Northwest Division title.  Chicago has already clinched their division plus the Western Conference championship.  Here are the highlights from their game:

 

Before we get the office pool organized for the big finish, let's get the equipment check organized.  And we'll need some coffee after this, so I'll get the Bunn-O-Matic back into the Lineup.  See you back in the day room in a few minutes.

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Posted by on April 23, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – March 16

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Saturday Morning – Who's Playing Who Next Year?

A little "inside hockey" to start the weekend off.  The National Hockey League formally approved a new realignment divisions and conferences this week.  After the proposal was fine-tuned and then approved by the players' union, it was given the ok by the league Board of Governors (the owners) on Thursday and will go into effect immediately following the close of this season.

As we were talking last week, the main accomplishment was the moving Winnipeg to the Western Conference and Detroit and Columbus to the Eastern Conference.  Another major change is reducing the number of divisions in each conference from three to two.  A bit of a hang-up is that with just 30 teams in the league, the two Eastern divisions will have 8 teams each, and the Western divisions will have 7 teams.  That causes a little bit of an imbalance when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs as well as the number of intra-divisional games played by each team.  But they have it sorted out.

Here is the new alignment for the still-unnamed divisions:

The map graphic readily exposes the one big pimple on the layout, the two Florida teams are lumped into the most-northern division.  They will spend the entire season flying over the arenas of their current rivals, logging in the heavy frequent-flyer miles.  If they had asked me first, I would have moved the Islanders and Columbus up to the C division to make room for the Florida teams to remain more geographically situated.

The scheduling of games is improved with this layout, I think.  Each team will play its divisional rivals at least 4 times, in some cases 5, during the season with a total of roughly 50 games withing their conference.  The other 32 games will be against the teams from the other conference and here is what I really like about it:  After 20 years they are returning to every team playing home-and-home with every other team in the league.  The fans will now, once again, be able to see every team in the league play in their home arenas.  That's great.

Qualifying for the playoffs is simply put, the top three teams in each division will go into the playoff round and the other two slots will be "wild cards" of the two remaining teams in the conference with the highest point totals.

Whew!  Got all that?  Thanks for your patience.  We need to get this equipment checked out now, so let's get started while I refill the coffee pots.  See you back in the day room in a little while.  Remember to watch out for those Saturday shoppers out there.

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Posted by on March 16, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 13

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Sunday Morning – Game On!

The National Hockey League and the players union signed the elusive Memorandum of  Understanding Saturday night around 10:30 pm and all systems are now "Go" in league operations.  Everybody knew that this was coming, so almost all of the players are already back in their teams' practice facilities where the training camps will begin at 9:30 am today.

Immediately after the MOU was initialed, the league released the schedule for the abbreviated 48-game season.  The first games will be played on Saturday, January 19 with 26 of the  30 teams matching up on the opening day.  Out of necessity, they will be playing an unbalanced schedule with some divisional opponents playing each other four times and others three times.  After a quick look at the schedule, I do not see any interconference play at all, which does not surprise me.  So those East and West twains will not meet this season.

Washington Post / Newton

The NHL released a statement last night that reads in part:

The wide-ranging Agreement includes an economic system under which Hockey Related Revenues (HRR) will be shared 50%-50% between Owners and the Players. The Agreement includes terms that limit the length of individual Player contracts to seven years (eight when a team is re-signing its own Player) and regulates the compensation structure, year-to-year variability and defining minimum value.

The new Agreement, the longest in League history, also features a new defined benefit pension plan for the Players; enhanced revenue sharing among the Clubs; creation of a Revenue Sharing Oversight Committee, on which the Union will participate; creation of an Industry Growth Fund, designed to make long-term improvements in the revenue-generating potential of low-grossing Clubs; the ability of Clubs to retain a certain amount of salary in Player trades; a Player playoff prize pool that doubles in size to $13 million in Year 1, rising to $17 million for 2020/21 and 2021/22, and the creation of an Owner-Player Relations Committee – one of several joint initiatives not present in the previous Agreement. The Owner-Player Relations Committee will meet at least twice a year to discuss matters of mutual interest and to consult regularly on how best to continue to grow the game for the mutual benefit of the parties and the fans.

You can read the full statement HERE.  Two items that were deliberately left out of the negotiations that will be taken up separately this Spring are the divisional realignments and the question of participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics.  So for this short season, at least, the Winnipeg Jets (recently relocated from Atlanta) will continue to rack up frequent flyer miles while they play in the Southeast Division again.

The league (and thus the owners) are very much against having their players participating in the Olympics.  For one thing, a relatively few players actually go to the Games and for that the league has to shut down for a couple of weeks which results in a compressed schedule for the entire season.  And when they come back, to teams' top players have not rested like the rest of the league has and they will be going into the playoffs at an increased level of exhaustion.  To say nothing of the injury potential.  But the players themselves and the fans pretty much demand the Olympics inclusion, so there will be some sort of compromise worked out on that.  Personally, I would prefer to see the Olympics Committee move the hockey program to the Summer Games where there would be a lot less conflict.

You can view the season schedule for your favorite team HERE.

Moving on to other news …….  There is no other news, so let's get the equipment checked out while I fire up the Bunn-O-Matic one more time before the Sunday breakfast hits the table.  See you back in the day room later where we can catch the wrapup of the Consumer Electronics Show that closed yesterday.

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Posted by on January 13, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – January 11

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Friday Morning – Safe Driving Practices

It's kind of nice to learn that we're not the only ones who do this.  Every now and then we hear about an FD that takes delivery of a new firetruck before they learn that it won't fit through the doorway into the apparatus bay.  I recall posting something like this from Pennsylvania  a couple of years ago, and I'm sure we've all heard similar stories once in a while.  Shucks, it even happened in my own department when a monster of a tower-ladder arrived back in the mid-1980's.  The fire chief himself rode with the mechanic around to almost every station looking for one they could park it in.  It turned out that the only station it would fit in was one where an aerial had been removed about a year before because every one of the company's surrounding stations had a truck already and it was considered redundant.

The firefighters in a volunteer department in Montcuq, France, had a similar gut-grab a few days ago when a the state sent them a new firetruck on Sunday that had apparently been ordered by a pencil pusher up in Paris.  It fits in the firehouse ok, but it is too wide for the unusually narrow streets of the medievel town.

They are currently using three smaller engines that carry more water than the new behemoth and can get around throughout the village, but the people-who-know-better have decided that all three of the older trucks will be taken away and retired.  The regional fire district ordered 15 of these super engines back in 2009 and this new truck is the 5th one to be delivered so far.  Good luck, guys!

The Montcuq FF's pose with their new pumper on Sunday

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We have a brief update on the NHL's gearing up for the shortened season.  They cannot make any official plans until the new CBA is approved and signed off by the league and the players' union.  As we mentioned earlier, the league's owners ratified the new agreement on Wednesday.  It takes a little longer to get the players on board because there are about 700 of them scattered all over and they have to vote on it.  The ballots started returning yesterday (Thursday) and it is expected that all of them will be returned by Saturday (presumably agreeing to the terms).

This will allow the training camps to open Sunday and create logjams at the medical offices while the players get their medical and physical tests and clearances so that hopefully they can get on the ice Monday to get their timing and playmaking skills back on track.  The season will probably kick off on the following Saturday, not much time to get all the necessary coaching and plans worked out.  Making it more difficult is the lack of any pre-season games that would normally allow them to work out the kinks.

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And lastly, have you ever wondered about those highway signs that inform you that the speed limits are being enforced by aircraft?  How do they do that, you might ask?  Well, one curious fellow in Georgia was putting together a home video on just that subject when by coincidence he was able to observe first-hand how that works:

 

We'd better get this equipment checked out now.  I'll run the Bunn-O-Matic one more time and then see you back in the day room.

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Posted by on January 11, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 10

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Thursday Morning – Let's Get Packed

Lineup will be update time today, it looks like.  Yesterday we pointed you in the direction HERE of a lady in New Hampshire who will recycle your old turnout gear into a duffle bag, laptop case, backpack, etc.  That led Stephen R. to email us with the information on another home industry that does the same sort of work.  Niki Rasor constructs all sorts of carrying amenities out of old running gear, such as purses, side packs, and larger bags, too.

I have looked over her WEBSITE HERE and her Facebook Page HERE and I'm impressed with her samples,  Check out the testimonials, too.  Stephen purchased an item from her for a Christmas present and was pleased enough with it to pass this along to us.  Thanks, Stephen.

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The National Hockey League announced yesterday that the League's owners have ratified the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, thus officially ending the lockout and beginning the restoration of championship play which can begin after the players ratify the agreement this Saturday.  Quoting in part from their statement:

The National Hockey League's Board of Governors voted unanimously Wednesday to ratify the new 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement between the League and the National Hockey League Players' Association.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors, confirmed the unanimous ratification vote during a press conference held at the Westin Times Square.

"To the players, who were very clear they wanted to be on the ice and not negotiating labor contracts; to our partners, who support the League financially and personally; and, most importantly, to our fans, who love and have missed NHL hockey, I am sorry," Commissioner Bettman said. "I know that an explanation or an apology will not erase the hard feelings that have built up over the past few months, but I owe you an apology nevertheless.

"The National Hockey League has a responsibility to earn back your trust and support whether you watch one game or every game, and that effort begins today," Commissioner Bettman later added. "The players are ready to play their hearts out for you. The teams are preparing to welcome you back with open arms. The wait is just about over. Like all of you, we can't wait to drop the puck."

The new CBA will not be official until the NHLPA completes its ratification vote, which according to a Union spokesperson is expected to be Saturday. Commissioner Bettman said the 2012-13 regular-season schedule will be released "instantaneously" after the players' ratification vote is complete and the CBA is signed.

Unofficially, they are preparing to open training camps on Sunday and begin the abbreviated regular season play on Saturday, January 19.

Officially we are prepared to begin our morning equipment check now.  While you get started with that, I will head for the you-know-what and get another pot of coffee going for us.  See you back in the day room soon.  We'll be checking out some video updates from the Consumer Electronics Show going on in Las Vegas.

 

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Technology that uses your brain waves to control screen images

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Posted by on January 10, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 7

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Monday Morning – Where Did the Ambulance Go?

If you haven't scrolled down that far yet, one of my last postings yesterday was about still another stolen ambulance.  I am getting a little puzzled over why this sort of stuff is still happening when some low-cost prevention devices are readily available and easily installed.  A few years back it was understandable why the ambulance agencies were unaware of thievery because it just didn't happen.  You could park at the entrance bay of any hospital, big city or small town, and not be concerned about somebody vandalizing or burgling the unit while you were inside the hospital.  And the same went for on-scene activities.

But times have changed drastically in the past 8 or 10 years as a new generation has grown up untrained by their parents to know right from wrong, and without the decency to respect the sick and helpless.  Instead, some of them harbor an animosity toward other people instead of compassion, and along with everything else we have been witnessing the previously-unheard of acts of ambulance stealing.  It is happening so frequently now that I don't get to report on all of them, nor do I even learn about all of them.

(file photo)

Reasons, causes and excuses aside, I am especially mystified about why ambulance operators do not take the counter-measures to protect their property and patients by installing the anti-theft devices.  When I first started writing this blog nearly six years ago, it was understandable that many agencies were unaware of the growing trend of ambulance-stealing.  In fact, many small, privately-owned EMS companies had never even heard of such a thing happening.  That is mostly their fault for choosing to live in a cocoon and not participate in any trade orgaizations or EMS group activities where vital information is passed along among the members or attendees.  It's a shame to invest all the money and sweat equity into getting your little family-run business up and running, and then fail to interact with others to not only find out what pitfalls are opening up, but to be able to improve your service to your patients as well.

But what about the biggies in the business who know full well what's going on?  Yesterday's theft involved an AMR unit, probably the largest emergency ambulance operator in the country.  They not only know about this rash of criminal activity going on, but they have been victim to it untold numbers of times over the past few years.   And yet it happened again.  It is entirely possible that yesterday's target ambo. did have the special door locks or transmission lock installed that weren't activated by the crew.  It wasn't reported whether that was the case, but whichever occurred, there is some serious carelessness going on.  There are still a lot of EMS folks who need to be clued in and start taking this more seriously.  Sez Firegeezer.

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I have a brief update on the NHL labor contract completion that was announced yesterday (see Firegeezer HERE and HERE).  For the next couple of days or so, there won't be much to report on while the squads of lawyers write out the new agreement and the responsible parties initial the clauses and sign the papers.  The NHL did release another statement last night that says in part:

The League did not announce the start date of the season or the number of games each team will play. Various reports suggest teams will play either 50-game schedules or 48-game schedules, depending on the date on which the season starts. Those details will be announced soon, Commissioner Bettman said.

The deal, agreed to at approximately 4:40 a.m., was announced jointly by Commissioner Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr in the same hotel conference room where the negotiations were conducted with the assistance of Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director for Mediation Services for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"Don Fehr and I are here to tell you that we have reached an agreement on the framework of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the details of which need to be put to paper," Commissioner Bettman said. "We have to dot a lot of I's and cross a lot of T's. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the basic framework has been agreed upon.

"We have to go through a ratification process and the Board of Governors has to approve it from the League side and, obviously, the players have to approve it as well. We are not in a position to give you information right now about schedule, when we are starting. It's early in the morning and we have been at this all day and all night, obviously. But, we will be back to you very shortly, hopefully, later today with more information in that regard."

The Board of Governors (the owners) is expected to meet later this week to conduct its ratification process.

Now let's get our checksheet clipboards out and start crossing our own T's while we get the equipment ready.  It's Monday, remember, so the long checksheet is required today.   I will make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is up to it and then meet you back in the digital day room.

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Posted by on January 7, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 6

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Sunday Morning – Game On

The big news in Geezer Central this morning is the tentative agreement reached between the National Hockey League and the players' union that was announced at 6 am.  It was evident over the last couple of days that both sides were earnest in their attempts to find a solution to their differences before the "drop-dead" date of January 11 which would have forced a cancellation of the entire season.   It started looking promising yesterday when the Federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh was making a series of hikes back and forth between the NHL headquarters in Manhattan and the hotel suite where the union officials has set up shop.

USA Today reported as soon as the announcement was made three hours ago:

It took more than 16 hours of negotiations, with the big hurdles finally cleared when the players' new pension plan issue resolved, and the NHL accepted at $64.3 million salary cap for the second year and players accepted a seven-year cap on individual contracts. Teams can sign their own players for eight years.

The big win for owners is the share of hockey-related revenue is now a 50-50 split. The last CBA ended with players receiving 57% of revenue.

The new CBA also calls for a year-to-year variance limit of 35% on multi-year contracts, and the lowest season can not be less than 50% of the highest. Originally, owners wanted a 5% variance.

It is believed that NHL players will end up playing in the 2014 Olympic Games, but it is not part of this agreement.

Some more early details were outlined in our previous posting HERE (or scroll down).  I expect more items will be disclosed as they wrap things up and get them written down and signed.

By this time tomorrow Russia's premiere league, the Kontinental Hockey League will suddenly have about a 20% vacancy rate as most of their star players pack their bags and catch the early flights back to Newark.  Same for the top leagues in Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Czech Republic.

We need to check our own skates now and get the rest of the equipment checked out before the Sunday breakfast is ready.  There will be a couple more football playoff games on the tube today, so I'm sure you want to be able to grab some of them,  too.  More coffee will be ready soon, so I'll see you back in the day room.

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Posted by on January 6, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Hockey Deal Reached

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Marthon Negotiating Session Leads to Agreement

THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE AND THE NHLPA (Players' union) have reached a tentative agreement to end the 113-day lockout and begin the process of formally adopting the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  The deal was informally agreed to just before 5 am this morning (Sunday) and publicly disclosed at 6 am when the NHL  released a statement that says in part:

After a marathon 16-plus hour negotiating session at the Sofitel Hotel that began Saturday afternoon, the sides announced an agreement in principle shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday.

The deal, agreed to at approximately 4:40 a.m., was announced jointly by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr in the same hotel conference room where the negotiations were conducted with the assistance of Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director for Mediation Services for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"Don Fehr and I are here to tell you that we have reached an agreement on the framework of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the details of which need to be put to paper," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We have to dot a lot of I's and cross a lot of T's. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the basic framework has been agreed upon. We have to go through a ratification process and the Board of Governors has to approve it from the League side and, obviously, the players have to approve it as well. We are not in a position to give you information right now about schedule, when we are starting. It's early in the morning and we have been at this all day and all night, obviously. But, we will be back to you very shortly, hopefully, later today with more information in that regard."

Fehr, meanwhile expressed an eagerness for his constituency to get back to playing hockey after a negotiation that stretched across 113 days.

"Any process like this in the system we have is difficult; it can be long," Fehr said. "I've said repeatedly throughout this process, somebody would say, 'What do you see ahead?' And, the answer was, 'You get up tomorrow and you try to find a way to do it and you keep doing that until you find a way to succeed.

"As Gary just indicated, we have the framework of a deal. We have to do the legal work and we have to do the constituent-communication work. At least, from my [standpoint], and I'm sure Gary's too, we need to let them know the details before we tell all of you. Having said that, hopefully, we're at a place where all those things will proceed fairly rapidly and with some dispatch and we'll get back to what we used to call business as usual as fast as we can."

This initial statement did not say anything about the startup date or the number of games to be played, but it was widely known that they are planning on opening training camps this Saturday, January 5 and begin playing a 48-game abbreviated season on January 11.

This report was later updated with more information in our Morning Lineup HERE.

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Posted by on January 6, 2013 • Filed under: current events, News • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 2

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Wednesday Morning – Back to "Normal"?

All the partying, feasting, and praying are (or should be) over for now, and the school buses are rolling again.  So I guess we will have to return to our routines, too.  While we get back on track, I have a couple of news items to pass along to you.  The first comes from Beijing, China (formerly known as Peking), where an observant citizen blew the whistle on a group of hospital doctors and nurses who were using the hospital's emergency ambulance as a private taxi service.  Their convenient little operation was exposed this past Friday after the ambulance took a short cut back to the hospital with the latest load of diners by wrong-waying down a one-way street with its lights and siren on.  The Shanghaiist reported:

On Friday 28th December Weibo user @BG2RHY was walking along Haidian Dong San Jie when he saw an ambulance dispense a number of medical professionals into a restaurant. It was 6pm, very cold, and the ambulance was from Haidian hospital. The ambulance picked up more hospital staff, many wearing their white medical coats, and headed back to the hospital, taking the shortest route: against the traffic with its red emergency lights flashing.

The incident has understandably outraged people, many of whom will have witnessed recent debates about the importance of letting ambulances through busy traffic. 

When the Beijing News reported the incident yesterday they spoke to the Dong San Jie restaurant owners who said that hospital staff often ate there at around 6pm. They also spoke to officials from Haidian hospital who said that they would look into the matter.

Isn't that always the way?  Not just the medics, but on the fire side, too.  Just as soon as you get a good thing going, some idiot ruins it for everybody else.

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Meanwhile, in the National Hockey League headquarters, activity continued through the entire New Year's holiday as the practical deadline for solving the labor disagreement and saving at least part of the season gets closer.  It's generally agreed that something has to be sealed and delivered by next Friday or else all will be lost.  Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday:

The NHL and NHLPA met for three hours on Monday, the first time in more than two weeks that the two sides have had in-person meetings, in order to try to end the ongoing lockout, reports ESPN. The NHLPA submitted a counterproposal to the league Monday, and additional meetings (were) held on Tuesday.

"We spent a good part of [Monday] afternoon with the players’ association. They were responding to the proposal we made Thursday and their response was a comprehensive one, dealing with a full slate of issues that we raised and proposals that we put forth, and we’re in the process of reviewing their response,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday. “Our expectation is that we’ll contact them [Tuesday] morning and arrange to get back together, hopefully, certainly by midday. We’re going to try and turn this around overnight so we can continue the process."

Day #109

After their Tuesday meeting, the NHL released a statement that includes:

On Monday, the NHLPA (players' union) responded to a proposal it received from the NHL last week. The League took Monday night and most of Tuesday to go over the documents it received from the NHLPA in order to craft its response. The League delivered its response late Tuesday during a meeting at the League office that lasted a little less than an hour.

NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr said Tuesday evening that the Union's negotiating committee was going to immediately begin examining the documents it received. Fehr also said the Union plans to get back in touch with the League's negotiating committee Wednesday morning to plan the next step in the process.

The sides say they expect to reconvene for further bargaining at some point Wednesday.

So there you have it.  It appears that they are both determined to (finally) get an agreement hashed out.

Now we have to get our equipment check hashed out while I take command of the Bunn-O-Matic before we meet back in the day room.  See you there.

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Posted by on January 2, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – December 31

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Monday Morning – Dancing Into the New Year

Finally, the last day of what's been a pretty nasty year for so many people has arrived and we have a spark of hope to look for just ahead.  So with that thought in mind, I will pass along 2013's first bit of GOOD news.  I have just checked and HGTV will once again be broadcasting the Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena tomorrow.  Just about all of us (and all of America) tune in to see at least part of the most colorful parade held each year, so this is good news.  Why, you might ask?  Because HGTV (formerly Home and Garden Network) is the only network covering it that shows the entire parade without any commercials or other maddening interruptions.  We get to see the ENTIRE parade, every float, marching band, equestrian unit, etc.  HGTV is a cable channel and it will be simulcast on their HD channel, too.

If you watch the parade on one of the several major networks who cover it, you will go crazy with their continual interruptions for commecials and promotions for other shows coming up on their pathetic networks.  And when they're not doing that, then the camera is focused on the narcissistic anchors who babble on about other crap while the band in which your nephew is playing is going by in the background and you never get to see them.  HGTV has been doing this for several years now, and I'm always glad to give them a plug.  And tip you off, too.  Show starts at 8 am Pacific, 11 am Eastern.

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Now for a National Hockey League update:  For the third successive day they have dribbled out some positive news from the negotiations.  To recap, we told you that on Thursday the leagues sent over to the union a 300-page proposal and the players reps. spent Friday going over it and gathering questions.  Saturday was spent on telephone conference calls working out the details and yesterday talks continued.  The Associated Press brings us up to date via Spors Illustrated:

There were no formal negotiations Sunday, but all signs pointed to talks on Monday in an effort to end the lockout and save the season.

"There will be no further face-to-face meetings today," the union said in a statement Sunday. "The plan is for the sides to meet tomorrow." Those would be the first negotiations since the sides met with a federal mediator Dec. 13.

The league and the union had informational discussions – by conference call and in meetings – with staff members that lasted much of Saturday and concluded Sunday. Those talks were spurred by the nearly 300-page contract proposal the NHL presented to the union Thursday.

So the NHL is going into the New Year with a hint of progress.  If you need more background on what it is they are haggling about this weekend, read the full article in Sports Illustrated HERE.

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Now with this year's final morning lineup finishing up, let's join Nate and Austin who are happy to see the New Year, too.  They are taking equipment check joyfully today, and who can blame them?  Their unique check-list is posted on Firefighter Nation HERE.  So check in again later for more valuable operational tips.

 

Ok…I'm going to dance on over to the Bunn-O-Matic and get some more New Year's promise coffee started.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on December 31, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – December 21

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Friday Morning – 12/21/12 – First Day of Winter

That's right, the winter solstice arrived at 6:12 am Eastern time marking the shortest day of the year and the beginning of the coldest period of the cycle around the sun for the Northern Hemisphere.  Personally, I don't much care for that, having never been a cold-weather fan.  But that's the way it goes.

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The National Hockey League has kicked off winter in a big way by canceling even more of the season, all games through January 14.  This officially eliminates 50.8% of the 82-game season and places it dangerously close to losing the entire season (again).  You cannot have an effective season to determine the championship playoff qualifiers with just a handful of regular-season games.

I'm getting the impression that the team owners would rather lose the season than surrender the percentage of revenues that the players' union has been insisting on.  And the owners do have the upper hand with their strong financial base, whereas the individual players have only a handful of productive years where they can play at their peak performance and earn their maximum salary.  Sports Illustrated is reporting:

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a radio interview Wednesday that mid-January is likely the latest the sides could go to make a deal to save the season. When pressed, however, he said he expects the season will be played.

No drop-dead date has been announced by the NHL, which is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of to a labor dispute. The 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout.

Daly said the sides hadn't been in contact with each other Thursday, and no new talks are planned. The groups have remained apart since two days of meetings with a federal mediator last week produced no progress. There haven't been negotiations since Dec. 6 in New York, when talks broke down after a few days of bargaining.

This is the 97th day of the lockout.

We're not locked out though, so let's get started with the equipment check.  I'm heading for the winter coffee supply where I'll get another pot started before we meet back in the day room.  See you there.

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Posted by on December 21, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – December 13

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Thursday Morning – Progress Being Made

Regular readers may recall a story that we covered 19 months ago on May 5, 2011, when the firehouse in the small town of Manilla (with 2 L's), Iowa, burned down in a spreading downtown fire.  You can review the STORY HERE.  The memory-jogger of the story is a follow-up we did on May 17 after Fire Chief Bob Macumber sent us the report on how the fire spread into to the fire station and burned it down.  (That story is HERE.)  He inluded a photograph of the burning station taken by a citizen that showed a purported image of Oasam bin Laden in the flames over the building of origin.

Do you remember that one now?  I thought you might.  Anyway,  Chief Macumber sent us another follow-up yesterday with a photo of their new fire station which has been built and ready to go into operation.  He says it has been a tough year-and-a-half for them, and I can believe that.

Congratulations to all the gang at the Manilla FD for overcoming their major loss and completing their new fire station.

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I'll take time to pass along a brief note on the NHL's one-step-forward-one-step-back labor negotiations that continued yesterday.  As we were told earlier, the two sides met at a remote location along with the federal mediators.  The National Hockey League released the following statement last evening:

The session, held at the office of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (in Iselin, New Jersey), was overseen by mediator Scot Beckenbaugh. It is the second time the sides have used federal mediation in the past two weeks.

"We met for about six-and-a-half hours today with the assistance of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "The parties were never actually in the same room together. We did several different caucus meeting rooms. There is nothing new to report.

"We don't have a conclusion to the process. The players are doing something [Wednesday] night and they are going to get back to mediator Beckenbaugh [Wednesday] night and he will get back to us [Wednesday] night."

The sides never met face-to-face during the mediation session Wednesday. Beckenbaugh met with each side several times to discuss the issues the sides must bridge to reach a new deal.

"As I think you may know, there were a number of meetings each side had with the mediator [Wednesday] and, as well, we had caucuses on our own and I assume the League personnel did also,” NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr said. “They were discussions of the various issues involved and how far we are apart and where we go from here. I can’t tell you that any progress was made. Obviously, we are going to continue to stay in contact with the mediator [Wednesday] night and try to figure out what the next appropriate step is."

We haven't been told yet what progress, if any, came from the meetings last night.  Meanwhile, the NHL tv network continues to show re-runs of old games long past.

It's time for us to meet in our own caucus room now and get this equipment checked out.  The coffee concession is open though, so I'll get a fresh pot ready.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on December 13, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – December 12

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Wednesday Morning – The Enchanted Day is Here

Here it is ….. the magical day that the whole world has been waiting for when the clocks and calendars display a long line of 12's.  On the calendar it will be 12/12/12 all day long, but the clocks only have two brief moments when it will be 12:12:12, and we've missed the first one already.  But we have time to get ready for the second magic moment that comes along during the national lunch hour, so get your atomic clock set where you can see it.  Most of them have the date as well as the time on display so you can catch it all.  If you don't have one of those kinds of clocks, the set your internet browser to THIS PAGE and watch it approach and breeze by for the last time in your lifetime.

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The National Hockey League owners and players are inching toward a settlement, but there is still a lot of stubborness and animosity between the two sides.  They're still throwing gorilla dust and walking out of meetings, but they sense that if they lose the season they will also lose their lifeline, the fan base (and their major advertisers).  This is Day #88 of the lockout.

Monday morning the league canceled another block of games, those through December 30.  So now 42.8% of the season has been canceled along with the Winter Classic and the All-Star Game.  Writing in the Washington Post, Katie Carrera tells us:  Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week he couldn’t envision a season of less than 48 games, which would likely require a resolution by early January to save a season. Back in 1994-95, the lockout ended on Jan. 11, 1995, and a 48-game season began on Jan. 20, 1995, though, it’s believed the league doesn’t want the regular season to drag into May as it did that year.

Yesterday it was announced that the league and the Players' Association have agreed to get back to the bargaining table today and will be joined by federal mediators, according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. The meeting will be held at an undisclosed location, but not in New York City.   And that's where things stand.

Now we have to stand around our equipment and get it checked out for today and I'll stand in front of the Bunn-O-Matic and get more hot coffee juice ready for when we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on December 12, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – December 5

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Wednesday Morning – More Updates

It seem like our Lineups lately have been mostly about things we talked about in previous Lineups.  Topics with staying power, you might say.  Well, today we will continue the current trend and rag out a couple of hangers-on.  First I will harken back to Monday's Lineup when I broke the bad news that it was the 20th anniversary of "texting" messages via wireless phone.  The man who sent that historic message wasn't the inventer of the process, just one of the engineers that constructed the digital platform making it all possible.

Neil Papworth, the poor guy who is getting all the blame for this, was recently interviewed by Tom Hornyak for CNet and it is an interesting chat about the "invention."  He tells about the obstacles they needed to overcome to make the Short Message Service (SMS) system work and more fascinating anecdotes about it.  But he pleads to not blame him for the messed-up lingo that is an outgrowth of the 160-character message system.  Read the full interview HERE.  I fnd it 2B fun.

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And we can't go too long without an NHL update as we watch the league self-destruct over a few billion dollars.  The hastily arranged meeting between some owners and players' reps. without any negotiators present seems to have had a positive start.  The Tuesday afternoon meeting in a Manhattan hotel was started off well and promised to be productive, so after four hours of discussions, they took a 2-hour dinner break and then reconvened in the evening.

The meeting adjourned at 11 pm and the group agreed to reconvene today (Wednesday) for a continuation of the talks.  The NHL posted this update:

"I appreciate the efforts of the players, in particular we had 18 players in there [Tuesday] and six of our owners,” National Hockey League Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said after the meeting adjourned shortly after midnight. “I think everybody is working hard. I think everybody wants to get a deal done, so I think that’s encouraging. We look forward to hopefully making more progress [Wednesday]."

Daly said the NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association have not confirmed when they will resume discussions Wednesday, but it will likely be before the NHL convenes its Board of Governors meeting at 11 a.m. ET. Daly said the sides will also likely meet in the afternoon Wednesday after the conclusion of the Board of Governors meeting.

"I thought it was a constructive day, we had a good dialogue," NHLPA Special Counsel Steve Fehr said. "In some ways I'd say it might be the best day we've had, which isn't to paint too overly optimistic of a picture. There is still a lot of work to do and a lot to get done, but we'll be back at it [Wednesday] morning."

And the doomsday clock keeps ticking.

Our readiness clock is ticking here, so let's get started with the equipment check.  I'm heading for the coffee pot to get some more of that nutritious stuff started.  It will be ready when we meet back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on December 5, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – December 1

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Saturday Morning – Still Tough Skating

Here it is, December already.  November sure went by fast, didn't it?  Now we are facing domestic pressures to go shopping and partying for the next month.  Good luck to you.

There's no good luck for the folks who rely on professional hockey for their paychecks though.  In spite of my optimistic predictions, the NHL and the players union have failed to come to an agreement on a new contract yet, and now we are in Day #77 of the season lockout.  After two days of chatting with them on Wednesday and Thursday, the federal mediators gave up trying to find a common ground and gave the two sides an AMF then went back home.  The Sporting News reported:

"After spending several hours with both sides over two days, the presiding mediators concluded that the parties remained far apart, and that no progress toward a resolution could be made through further mediation at this point in time," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement Thursday. "We are disappointed that the mediation process was not successful."

"The mediators informed the parties that they did not think it was productive to continue the discussions further today," players' association executive director Donald Fehr said in a statement Thursday. "The mediators indicated that they would stay in contact with the league and the NHLPA, and would call the parties back together when they thought the time was right."

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman offered the union a meeting that would consist of only owners and players — without the presence of leaders on both sides of the dispute.

Lotsa luck with that last ploy.  Do you think that a group of athletes who spend their time playing games would be able to hold their own against a group of crafty men who have been (successfully) negotiating business contracts for several decades?

While we're on the topic of NHL, we have an update on the Phoenix situation.  The Glendale city officials voted Tuesday night to accept a deal between the city, the league and prospective team-purchaser Greg Jamison on the arena lease and usage.  This clears the way for Jamison to purchase the team no later than January 21 and settle the matter of ownership and location.  But in the NHL nothing is permanent.

Our equipment is fairly stable, though.  So let's get it checked out and then we can visit the Bunn-O-Matic on our way to the day room.  See you there.

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Posted by on December 1, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – November 28

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Wednesday Morning – Looking For Definitions

I know it's early, but you can still put your thinking caps on and get in on a dynamic discussion that has begun over at Backstep Firefighter where Bill Carey is moderating a series focusing on Defining Aggressive as it relates to firefighting.

Part 1 – Tasks and Identity has kicked it off, so find a quiet moment to CLICK HERE and get in on the roundtable.  Always room for one more.

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Speaking of discussions, the owners and players union of the National Hockey League have agreed to having Federal mediators enter the combat discussions about a new labor contract.  Katie Carrera writing in the Washington Post tells us:

With NHL labor negotiations locked in a stalemate, the two sides have agreed to try a new approach and involve the help of federal mediators in reaching a new collective bargaining agreement.

Before going any further, it’s important to note that the mediation is not binding. The mediators bring a neutral third-party perspective to help advance negotiations, but the two sides are not forced to accept the suggestions.

"The NHLPA has agreed to the addition of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to our ongoing negotiations," NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr said in a statement. "We look forward to their involvement as we continue working to reach an equitable agreement for both the players and the owners."

According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the NHL and NHLPA are expected to meet with mediators Wednesday. It will mark the first formal session between the two sides since the league rejected the union’s most recent proposal on Nov. 21. During the 2004-05 labor negotiations, the NHL and NHLPA met with mediators to no avail.

So we will see what happens next.

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This next item would be more properly filed under the "Culture" category, I suppose:

Has Commercialization Gone Too Far?

This is not a Police Line which you cannot cross….

This is not a Fire Line from which you must stay back ….

This is a Garage Floor Line over which you must not step ….

And with that admonition, we will cross the line and get this equipment checked out.  I have permission to enter the coffee zone and get more java cooking up for when we meet back in the day room.   See you there in a few minutes.

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Posted by on November 28, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – November 25

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Sunday Morning – Still No Ice

My prediction of hockey happiness by Thanksgiving sure missed the mark.  That shows that I don't really know what I'm talking about, I guess.  This past Friday the NHL canceled more games, this time through December 14, plus the All-Star Game and weekend that were planned for January 26 &27.  Even with a quick settlement, the All-Star game is gone because the dates would be needed for a compressed schedule.  So far, 34% of the season's games have been canceled and we are now in Day #71 of the shutdown.

On Wednesday the players union presented the requested full proposal and the league took little time to reject it outright.  Stu Hackel writing for Sports Illustrated, reported:

After hearing a new proposal from the players that contained some major concessions, the NHL’s negotiators rejected it — politely this time and following a couple of hours of examination, not dismissively in 10 minutes as they did the last time the union presented some ideas that could have been at least a starting point. Still, the owners did not deem this new offer worthy of further discussion. "So basically," tweeted Luke DeCock of The Raleigh News-Observer, "the NHL doesn’t want to negotiate. It wants to dictate. Full stop."

In their proposal, the players had made some significant movement, saying for the first time in this process that they’d accept a percentage of Hockey Related Revenue, not a guaranteed fixed amount. They went to a 50-50 split of HRR in Year 1 of their proposals instead of a gradual decline to that figure. They lowered the amount they were seeking from the owners on the misleadingly named "Make Whole" provision to honor existing contracts. That full amount of those contracts is about $590 million. The NHL has offered to pay only $211 million. The PA said Wednesday it would settle for $393 million. It moved the gap on how much the players would share of HRR from what had once been about $1 billion to $182 million. If you want to see the entire NHLPA proposal, TSN posted it here.

"We’ve moved far more than halfway," NHLPA leader Donald Fehr told reporters after he presented the proposal to the owners, "and our expectation is the NHL is going to be willing to meet us if they want to reach an agreement."

Hackel has a full, detailed commentary on where things stand, so if you are interested in more details read the full ARTICLE HERE.  Currently there are no meetings scheduled between the two sides.  The owners might be digging in more because we are starting to hear some grumbling coming from individual players who are starting to feel the effects of missing paychecks.  Pressure is building.

We need to get our sides together now and get this equipment checked out while Cook gets the Sunday breakfast ready.  I will make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is filled.

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Posted by on November 25, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – November 21

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Wednesday Morning – Let's Negotiate

For you straight daywork folks, Hump Day is also Getaway Day this week with the big holiday tomorrow and recuperation period on Friday.  It will be tough to keep your mind on your work today, I know.  But at least try.

Well, we have still another NHL update again today.  Both sides, the owners and players' union are getting a bit antsy to get things wrapped up and get the show started as soon as they can.  Two days ago, on Monday I told you that they had agreed to a meet-and-talk session on Monday evening and it lasted all of 90 minutes.  But after circling a while, the owners asked the players to submit a formal proposal on all of the major issues in order to move the process forward.

"It’s our position that we’ve made a couple comprehensive proposals in a row," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated. "We’d like to know where they are on all of the issues. We asked that they put together a comprehensive proposal for us to consider,"  as reported by the Associated Press.  The AP continues:

(Players union) Executive Director Donald Fehr said he planned to confer with the union’s constituents about the league’s request and that the two sides would touch base Tuesday morning to plan the next session. According to ESPN’s Katie Strang, they might wait until Wednesday to meet again so that the NHLPA can draft a new proposal.

"We talked about various things. No new proposals were made, they were not expected to be made," Fehr told reporters in New York. "We had hoped to engage them in a discussion about the player contracting issues that are so important to the players. At least tonight, they were unwilling to do that."

How the union responds to the league’s request for an all-encompassing proposal, and how the owners receive it, will determine where things go next.

Reporters are saying that this last session did not exhibit any of the anger or conflict that previous session had, so maybe they are through throwing "gorilla dust" and ready to do some serious negotiating.

Lockout Day #67 and Counting

Getting our equipment checked is non-negotiable, so let's get started with that now while I get another pot running before we meet back in the digital day room.

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Posted by on November 21, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – November 9

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Friday Morning – Rumblings in NHL HQ

This is Day 55 of the National Hockey League lockout and it appears that the owners and players' union are settling in to negotiate a settlement soon, barring any insults or perceived slights.  As I wrote earlier, October 25 was the point of no return for any chance of playing a full 82-game season and it passed without any progress.  The next day the league canceled all games for November and last week on Nov. 2 they cancelled the Winter Classic game.  That extremely popular event is a scheduled game played in January in an outdoor stadium.  The combination winter weather – that the sport grew from – and 30 thousand spectators or more, make for an entertaining contest.  But the go-or-no-go date is early because of the extensive preparation involved in setting up a temporary ice rink and everything else has gone by.

This past Saturday the owners and players reps. spent the day in informal talks to set up some parameters and negotiating points with the intention of getting serious discussions going this week.  They have been meeting this week and yesterday agreed to meet again today for the 4th straight day of negotiations.  Both sides are amenable to continuing on through this weekend if progress is being made.  They are approaching the time frame where the whole season can be lost if things don't get wrapped up and the show gets started.  As you can expect, they are not publicly saying what the bargaining sessions are focusing on.

In related news, last week I passed along to you that the NY Islanders will be moving from crumbling Nassau Coliseum to a new arena that is already open and in use in Brooklyn for the 2015 – 16 season.  Now there is more arena news bubbling up.  The Phoenix Coyotes have been operated by the league for the past couple of years after they went bankrupt.  The league has been looking for someone to purchase the team with preference for someone who would keep it in Phoenix.  But there have been problems with the arena that they have been using in nearby Glendale.  That city has been having financial problems operating that white elephant and in this week's election they voted in a mayor and council who campaigned on a "no handouts" platform with a city budget that is in trouble.  So there is good chance that the team will be relocating not this year, but very possibly next season.

Conveniently, the Seattle City Council has already approved the construction of a new arena for their basketball team that will specifically be configured to accomodate a hockey rink.  While that might be a tantalizing escape route for the Coyotes, the owner of the Edmonton Oilers has his eye on it as well.  He is hoping to be able to relocate after his lease is up in Edmonton because the area just cannot generate the revenues needed to operate a competitive team in the NHL.  It looks like a game of musical rinks is about to break out.  Oh, and don't forget that the league itself has a wish list of eventually expanding by two teams for a more workable 32-team league.

We had better relocate now to the apparatus and get our equipment checked out for today.  The coffee concession stand is open and the day room is ready, too.  See you there.

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Posted by on November 9, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – October 31

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  Wednesday Morning – Goblins Afoot

Hallowe'en arrives… and the ghosts, goblins, and beasties will be out for their annual romp tonight.  Unfortunately the main performers of the National Hockey League will not be doing any sort of competitive romping yet as we mark Day #46 of the lockout.  This past Thursday was the deadline for any agreement that would permit a full season to be played as time ticks away.  The deadline came and went, and the next day, Friday the NHL canceled all scheduled games for the entire month of November.

Leading up to the deadline the players' union proffered three proposals for consideration in order to open more negotiations, but the owners spent a mere ten minutes considering them and rejected them outright.  It looks like the owners are prepared to wait it out some more and put pressure on the union by getting the players themselves a bit restive (and a little bit squeezed financially, perhaps).  One thing to keep in mind is that for about half the teams, the owners lose less money during the lockout than they do when they are playing.

Some of the players are able to play in other leagues duing the shutdown with perhaps 10% of them able to sign temporary contracts with some of the European leagues.  That provides them with some income and helps keep them in game shape, but for most of the others, they are relegated to pickup games at their local rinks.  A few that are still classified as rookies were able to go back to the American Hockey League and compete near home.

The last meaningful meeting between the two sides was on October 18 and currently none are scheduled.  Not publicly, anyway.  I would guess that there are regular, informal messages going back and forth looking for an opening to get back to the bargaining table.

On a related note, the owners of the New York Islanders announced last week that they will be relocating from Nassau County to Brooklyn for the 2015-16 season after their lease at the Nassau Coliseum expires.  The old arena is decrepit, crumbling and seriously outdated and the team's owner Charles Wang has been trying for years to get a new arena built.  He even arranged for private financing for a new arena that would be part of a commercial complex that would bring many businesses to the county, but the politicians kept erecting roadblocks that effectively stymied the efforts that had been ongoing for years.

Wang had several very lucrative offers to relocate his team to other states/provinces, but he is dedicated to Long Island.  So it is no surprise that he has decided to move to a new arena in Brooklyn, the Barclay Center, that is already in operation and hosting a minor league team.  Brooklyn is on Long Island, so that technicality is met and Wang says that the team's name and logo will be retained.  Hockey fans can read more about this move HERE.

Time for us to skate on over to the apparatus now and get the equipment checked out.  I'll open the coffee concession and make sure we have plenty of the good stuff.  See you back in the day room shortly.

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Posted by on October 31, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – October 20

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Saturday Morning – Make Me An Offer

Things are still unsettled in the National Hockey League on Day 35 of the lockout.  Yesterday (Friday) the league canceled all games that were scheduled through November 1.  Previously they said that the season would have to begin by November 2 in order to have a full 82-game season.  After that, they will have to schedule an abbreviated season with fewer games played.  In order to begin playing on November 2, however, a new contract has to be approved and signed by October 25, this coming Thursday.

There have been some negotiating going on with some batting the ball back and forth and the two sides are now in the hard-nose bluffing stage of the process.  The pressure is on both sides now to get to an agreement, so they are quicker with proposals, counter-proposals, and rejections this week.  The main item that the entire contract will be built around is the revenue sharing formula.  This week for the first time, the league gave a little on the split by relaxing their demand to a 50-50 split in revenues.  Naturally, the players' union rejected it, but that is definite progress in the negotiations.  As I mentioned before, tied in with this will be the new definition of what constitutes "game-related revenues."  Once they agree on these two points (and it appears that they are closer that they are letting on), then the rest will fall into place quickly.

My own uneducated, inexpert opinion says that we can look for a settlement by Nov. 15.  At least I hope so.

Our own contract calls for an equipment check every morning, so let's get started on that now.  I'm headed for the Bunn-O-Matic.  See you back in the day room pretty soon.

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Posted by on October 20, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – October 1

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Monday Morning – New Week, New Month

Here we are in October already.  September sure went by fast, at least it seemed that way to me.  Now we have a flurry of autumnal activities and holidays rolling in starting with Columbus Day in just a week from now, then Hallowe'en followed by election day, Veteran's Day and everybody's favorite, Thanksgiving.  By the time that's over, you'll be wondering if the kids will ever have a full week of school again.

So far, something that's not coming up soon are National Hockey League games.  This is Day 16 of the lockout but the owners and players' reps finally began meeting on Friday.  It was the first time they had sat down together since Sept. 12, three days before the shutdown began.  This latest round of meetings ran three days through Sunday (last night) and were concentrated on the non-economic issues such as free agency, defining "hockey related revenues," health and safety issues and similar topics.  The intention is that getting these other issues out of the way first will generate some movement in the salary stalemate.  They have adjourned for today in order to do some "internal discussions and homework" within their respective organizations.  So things have started moving, albeit slowly as usually happens with these things.  But neither side is expecting a quick resolution.

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If you have any pre-teen or teenage girls in your household, there is new cultural activity arising from our ongoing digital revolution that you might want to be aware of.  It began in the adult world of twenty-something gals and is sure to trickle down before long.  I am referring to the 21st-century version of the Slumber Party.

No longer do they need Mom's permission to "stay over at Jane's house tonight… can I Mom, please?  Everybody else will be there!"  Nope, not necessary anymore in this age of sitting around and typing.  This new trend begins with the cellphone switched to texting mode and "the girls" are all comfy in their own beds or couches and texting their fun-gossip and wishful plans in conference call texting.  A lady who blogs under the name Southern Girl recently wrote:

As we get older our slumber parties morph into visits at college or at homes in new towns, girls trips to celebrate promotions, engagements, weddings, and babies. We are grown ups, so no more sleeping in the living room floor watching Night Trax until the wee hours. Given the chance for a slumber party now, I’d bet that we would not act a lot different . . . giggling, gossiping, laughing, telling war stories, complaining, seeking support, and did I mention laughing?

On a Friday night not long ago I discovered the modern version of the grown up slumber party. Erin in Texas sent a group text to me in Indiana, Lisa in Florida, Rita in D.C., and JF in Connecticut. This text initiated a four-hour dialogue that covered recent dates, naming babies who have yet to be conceived, job interviews, kale, noodles, dudes generally, dudes specifically, hobbies, bacon bits, baby nurses, leather pants, cable television, and soul mates. Now, the last topic consumed a lot of the conversation and resulted in laughter – literal laughter even though I was sitting alone in the dark on my screened-in porch. The soul mate discourse was pure nonsense, with 2 marrieds, 1 committed, and 3 passed 30 and single it was high-order silliness.

So be forewarned and make sure your wireless contract has unlimited texting.  This is sure to mushroom rapidly.

Now we need rapidly get the clipboards and start the equipment check.  This is long-list Monday, remember.  I'll make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is ready for extra usage before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on October 1, 2012 • Filed under: culture, morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 8

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Sunday Morning – Techno-Toys Wish List Time

Forget about that National Hockey League realignment scheme that I posted last month.  The players' union has declined to accept the proposal with the excuse that the travel demands are worse under the new plan than currently.  That was one of the main problems that led to devising the new layout in the first place, but the proposed alignment does appear to create more problems than it solves.

Also, the proposal did not include the promised revamping of the playoff ranking and scheduling.  The players feel that they are entitled to know what that is and also have some input into the new formula.  So the league announced that they will be retaining the same format as currently for one more season at least.  This will further complicate the bargaining on the new labor contract as the current one expires in September of this year.

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This week brings the annual Consumer Electronics Show that we usually follow each year.  The CES is opening a week later than in year's past, but boasts an increase in participation with the largest number of exhibitors since 2006.  There are 2,700 of them expected which gives promise to the industry of a rebounding demand for their products.

This year there is no one great technological advance that has the mavens anxiously awaiting the unveiling, but the improvements to existing products will be entertaining enough for the 150,000+ paying attendees.

Samsung's new 27-inch ultrathin monitor is among the
eye-candy that will greet the gawkers.  It also will
display 1080p television images.

We will be posting the occasional report beginning on Tuesday when the show opens in Las Vegas as we have for the past few years.  Get your wish-list pad ready.

Right now though, we need to get our equipment check sheet pad ready and get started with that.  I'll see how the Sunday breakast is coming along while I start some more coffee.  See you back in the day room.

Posted by on January 8, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

A Hockey Player’s Greatest Embarrassment….

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…. IS THE “OWN GOAL” where a player will accidentally shoot the puck into his own net, thus awarding a goal to the opposing team.  It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it crushes the poor guy who did it.  In a highly-competitive sport like hockey, it is like the end of the world to the victim.

One of the more famous and costly own goals in recent times occurred in 1986 in the Campbell (Western) division finals.  The defending Stanley Cup champions Edmonton Oilers were playing rivals Calgary Flames for the right to advance to the Cup Finals.  In the seventh and deciding game with the score tied 2 – 2, Edmonton’s defenceman Steve Smith was beside his own net when he gave the puck a strong whack to clear it out of the defensive zone.  Instead, it went off his stick wrong and struck his goaltender Grant Fuhr on the back of his foot and deflected into the net.  That goal ended up being the game-winner and eliminated Edmonton from the championships.  It was also Steve Smith’s birthday.  Have a look:

 

This past weekend another own goal was played that will be remembered as the longest one.  The Anaheim Ducks were playing Edmonton and with the Oilers leading 3 – 2 in the final minute of play, Anaheim pulled their goaltender leaving the open net in favor of an extra skater in a last-minute attempt to tie the game before the buzzer.

With Anaheim mounting an offensive flurry on Edmonton’s goal, the Ducks’ Corey Perry collected the puck behind the net and attempted to throw it out in front of the crease in the hopes one of his teammates would be in position to shoot it point-blank into the net.  Instead, his pass hit the goal post and riccocheted down the ice… all the way into his own empty net.  A record 200-ft. own goal.

Watch the unusual play in this video from the NHL:

 

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Posted by on November 28, 2010 • Filed under: current events, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,