Guest RabidBillsFanVT Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 After suffering tremendous hockey withdrawals, here was some bright news that I missed last week: ESPN.com: Rob Ray sues NHLPA Hey NHLPA, :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: Pay the man!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 rayzor is the man... I'd like to see ray fight that gootenhow NHLPA guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Wheels Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Another great bit of PR for the NHLPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Maybe the league should slip in and pay Ray what he's looking for from the NHLPA. That'd cut down their influence on the players a bit, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkFast Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Wonder if Rob Ray realizes that his style of play is one of the reasons why the game he "loves" so much is in the state it is in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Wonder if Rob Ray realizes that his style of play is one of the reasons why the game he "loves" so much is in the state it is in. 187015[/snapback] I don't agree with that at all. Ray is all about playing hard, throwing checks, and fighting. Clutching and grabbing is a league-wide dilemma that the league has to deal with because the players, like all pro athletes, are always going to do whatever they can get away with. Players getting bigger, goalie pads getting bigger, and moving the nets out all have more to do with the game's downfall than a few leftover enforcers like RR. BTW, yes, this is another great move by the NHLPA. They have zero hockey fans on their side and their players are getting paid zilch this season while missing out on a chance to play the game they love for the Stanley Cup. The best part is none of these players realizes how replacable they are. In 15 years basically none of them will even be capable of playing in the NHL so it's probably not a good idea to squander this time away. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamboni Man Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Wonder if Rob Ray realizes that his style of play is one of the reasons why the game he "loves" so much is in the state it is in. Yeah because there is so much fighting in the NHL now compared to the 70's and 80's when there were constantly bench clearing brawls and fights before games even started... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Rob Ray is a class act. He does amazing amounts of charity work. The NHL could use 1000 Rob Rays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Wonder if Rob Ray realizes that his style of play is one of the reasons why the game he "loves" so much is in the state it is in. 187015[/snapback] You couldn't be more wrong about that. The lack of fighting and resulting increase in clutching, grabbing, and stickwork are what's ruined the game. Don't let that stop your crusade, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 The NHLPA is a joke. How can it be taken seriously when its top players go off and steal the jobs of European hockey players? And of course I don't expect they are getting NHL salaries in Europe, so I guess that means they will play hockey for considerably less money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RabidBillsFanVT Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Which is PRECISELY WHY the teams should NEVER, EVER back down from the salary cap stand. They are right, and the players will learn to accept it. Teams like the Ottawa Senators are losing lWAY less money NOW because of no season than they would if there WAS a season under present salary realities! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Which is PRECISELY WHY the teams should NEVER, EVER back down from the salary cap stand. They are right, and the players will learn to accept it. Teams like the Ottawa Senators are losing lWAY less money NOW because of no season than they would if there WAS a season under present salary realities! It will probably take the NHL owners going with replacement players for a portion of next season for the NHLPA to finally smarten-up and cave-in. The irony is that those 2 years of salary that players will have lost is MORE money than they would have lost accepting the salary cap in the first place. Oh well, as long as a salary cap gets put in place eventually and the Sabres are finally on equal footing (sort of) with the other teams, I couldn't care less about how long it takes, as long as it gets done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkFast Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 You couldn't be more wrong about that. The lack of fighting and resulting increase in clutching, grabbing, and stickwork are what's ruined the game. Don't let that stop your crusade, though. 187077[/snapback] One post on a subject is a "crusade" now, huh? What's next, Da? Youre going to call me a "lemming" because I agree with the consesus that it was warm out today? And yeah...FIGHTING is one of the reasons why hockey is in the state its in and a distance fourth, at best, in the American sports conscience, IMO. Maybe not to you die hards, but to the casual fan the way the game is played, including the use of "enforcers", is a HUGE turnoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 How about Michael Pickles Peca......no money in 2 of the last 5 years. Anyone who doesn't like fighting in hockey IAFP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashfruit Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 he should of never said he would play with replacement players. no one likes a scab. im sure hes not a very well liked guy throughout the league since his game consists of nothin but tryin to beat the crap outta people, so the now the target on his chest (if they ever play again) is gonna be even bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet baboo Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Rob Ray needs to give the NHLPA his own big FU and start his own players union Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 And yeah...FIGHTING is one of the reasons why hockey is in the state its in and a distance fourth, at best, in the American sports conscience, IMO. Maybe not to you die hards, but to the casual fan the way the game is played, including the use of "enforcers", is a HUGE turnoff. 187112[/snapback] There's less fighting now than there was even a decade ago when the sport was much more popular. The game's descent into second tier status has taken place alongside a decline in fighting and the presence of enforcers like RR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 It will probably take the NHL owners going with replacement players for a portion of next season for the NHLPA to finally smarten-up and cave-in. The irony is that those 2 years of salary that players will have lost is MORE money than they would have lost accepting the salary cap in the first place. Oh well, as long as a salary cap gets put in place eventually and the Sabres are finally on equal footing (sort of) with the other teams, I couldn't care less about how long it takes, as long as it gets done. 187095[/snapback] Why wait for the replacement players? I went to the Amerks game on Tuesday and had a blast. The place was rocking and you could barely tell the difference from the NHL games. The tickets were cheap, the stands were full, and the game was great. The AHL players could be the new NHL players and I don't think there'd be many complaints. I'm 100% in favor of replacement players ASAP. The dropoff in talent isn't that much and the problem takes care of itself in a couple years anyway. Screw the NHLPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live&DieBillsFootball Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Go get em Rayzor! I can't believe that the union just arbitrarily decided to drop some guys who "should" retire. Besides the 5-10,000 a month, they also were dropping the medical benefits for these players. Just makes the Union look like a bunch of idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 they didn't arbitrarily decide to remove him - they did it because he spoke up and said he might cross the picket line.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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