OT, Should we be concerned about safety in Sochi?

[dare2be]

I'm thinking that Jane Austen is a prognosticator...she wrote that book almost exactly 200 years ago about the plight in Sochi today...Pride and Prejudice.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Huh.

Usually you have to wait for a few years AFTER the Olympics for the photos of the place abandoned and in despair.

Sochi: We ain't waitin' for nothin

Most expensive Olympics evah!

Sochi 2014 : Encyclopedia of Spending

Is the Ice Cube Curling Center named after Ice Cube? Music, bad movies, bad Coors commercials, curling star... is there anything this polymath doesn't do?

 

[mattola]

Vancouver man appalled at Sochi conditions after working on ski, snowboarding courses

 

[elocomotive]

Vancouver man appalled at Sochi conditions after working on ski, snowboarding courses

To be fair, the guy probably could have communicated better if his Russian English was better. Check out this quote from the guy...

“There is plenty of snow on the mountain and the course will be ready and will be amazing,” he said. “There is a group of very talented people working there and it will be fine."

That is appalling. It should read...

“Thyere is plenty of snow on mountain and course is readying and will be amaze,” he said. “There is group of premium people working there and it fine."

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Quite a public statement to be making

[ame="[MEDIA=twitter]427965473142362112[/MEDIA]"][/ame]

 

[dash]

^

Shit just got serious.

/Not saying that it wasn't serious before.

 

[davnlaguna]

Nhl says if anything happens they will pull players

 

[DragonfromTO]

Nhl says if anything happens they will pull players

Joe Thornton says we're still 4 goals away from the point where anyone will need that

 

[forty_three]

Quite a public statement to be making

In other news, congrats to Japan and North Korea on their Silver and Bronze in hockey, respectively.




Of course, I am assuming that this means Canada, USA, etc just wouldn't send hockey teams at all.

Hey kid, guess what? You're on the Olympic team!

I am? SWEET!

Yeah, we don't want to send NHL players in case they got blowed up. But you, you can go.

Wait, what?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

putting on the Gallagher tin foil hat

is this most definitely the last Olympics for NHL players ... they want to build up their OWN 4 year tournament in the world cup where all the "massive" revenues go directly to the NHL and NHLPA instead of the IOC ... the "World Cup" doesnt have the same marketing cache as being involved in the Olympics but some revenue is better than almost ZERO revenue

*changing my tin foil hat*

How can the NHL walk from the Olympics when NBC (*cough* Ed Snyder *cough*) has paid huge doallars for tv broadcast rights which extend to the next winter olympics in 2018

 

[forty_three]

How can the NHL walk from the Olympics when NBC (*cough* Ed Snyder *cough*) has paid huge doallars for tv broadcast rights which extend to the next winter olympics in 2018

Maybe Snider doesn't have the pull he once had.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

putting on the Gallagher tin foil hat

is this most definitely the last Olympics for NHL players ... they want to build up their OWN 4 year tournament in the world cup where all the "massive" revenues go directly to the NHL and NHLPA instead of the IOC ... the "World Cup" doesnt have the same marketing cache as being involved in the Olympics but some revenue is better than almost ZERO revenue

*changing my tin foil hat*

How can the NHL walk from the Olympics when NBC (*cough* Ed Snyder *cough*) has paid huge doallars for tv broadcast rights which extend to the next winter olympics in 2018

Yay, more revenue = higher salary cap.

Higher salary cap = another lockout

 

[dash]

Yay, more revenue = higher salary cap.

Higher salary cap = another lockout

???

Profit!

 

[elocomotive]

putting on the Gallagher tin foil hat

is this most definitely the last Olympics for NHL players ... they want to build up their OWN 4 year tournament in the world cup where all the "massive" revenues go directly to the NHL and NHLPA instead of the IOC ... the "World Cup" doesnt have the same marketing cache as being involved in the Olympics but some revenue is better than almost ZERO revenue

*changing my tin foil hat*

How can the NHL walk from the Olympics when NBC (*cough* Ed Snyder *cough*) has paid huge doallars for tv broadcast rights which extend to the next winter olympics in 2018

A couple thoughts on this...

(1) Even though they don't gain direct revenue, I can't help but think it does nothing but help the NHL in that it no longer shortens their season so there is no revenue loss and it reaches potential hockey fans that might never tune into a NHL hockey game. The USA-Canada final in Vancouver had 35 million viewers in America. A World Cup tourney would be lucky to pull a million. You bring in more fans and make more money long term with tens of millions of eyeballs that don't normally watch your sport than a million of the same people that already watch your game. Best of all, your players do it willingly and eagerly. Free advertising to hundreds of millions around the world you don't have to pay a dime for and the league even considers not participating? That is fucking idiotic.

(2) If safety is a concern, I can say most/all of the Canadian and American players saying 'oh well, a two-week vacation will be nice.' But what about those that wouldn't accept that or the Russian players? Are you telling me that Malkin and Ovechkin aren't going to play for their teams if the NHL says no? ZERO chance of that. What about some of the guys that have never made an Olympic roster before and are unlikely to again? The NHL can't physically stop them from getting on a plane. They'll head over, play in the games, and face whatever suspensions/fines they get upon their return, which I'm guessing would be lax if you have many high-profile players involved. Is the league going to issue a long suspension to the league's leading goal scorer and punish franchises for their players participating in something the league has already agreed to? I highly doubt that.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Yay, more revenue = higher salary cap.

Higher salary cap = another lockout

???

Profit!

Bill Daly:

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league isn’t concerned about the cap rising too high, pointing out it’s “a function of revenues”,

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Even though they don't gain direct revenue, I can't help but think it does nothing but help the NHL in that it no longer shortens their season so there is no revenue loss and it reaches potential hockey fans that might never tune into a NHL hockey game. The USA-Canada final in Vancouver had 35 million viewers in America. A World Cup tourney would be lucky to pull a million. You bring in more fans and make more money long term with tens of millions of eyeballs that don't normally watch your sport than a million of the same people that already watch your game. Best of all, your players do it willingly and eagerly. Free advertising to hundreds of millions around the world you don't have to pay a dime for and the league even considers not participating? That is fucking idiotic.

agree with the first bold (not the second) ... like i said the world cup has no marketing cache

at some point the league has to be introspective ... this will be olympics #5 and they have made very little inroads as a result of it. Free advertising to hundreds of millions around the world who arent even your consumers of your regular product ... not your target market ... they still cant muster any type of tv broadcasting deal internationally

theyre shutting down their game for 2 weeks and killing momentum of their product/league

imo the risk reward equation is a bit one sided against the nhl/nhlpa

 

[jstewismybastardson]

If safety is a concern, I can say most/all of the Canadian and American players saying 'oh well, a two-week vacation will be nice.' But what about those that wouldn't accept that or the Russian players? Are you telling me that Malkin and Ovechkin aren't going to play for their teams if the NHL says no? ZERO chance of that. What about some of the guys that have never made an Olympic roster before and are unlikely to again? The NHL can't physically stop them from getting on a plane. They'll head over, play in the games, and face whatever suspensions/fines they get upon their return, which I'm guessing would be lax if you have many high-profile players involved. Is the league going to issue a long suspension to the league's leading goal scorer and punish franchises for their players participating in something the league has already agreed to? I highly doubt that.

taking the safety concerns out of the argument, if the NHLPA and NHL come to an agreement that they wont be going to future olympics (because i can see the players being convinced on this) good luck to the player who chooses to leave his NHL team in season

that'll be a fun dressing room

 

[elocomotive]

agree with the first bold (not the second) ... like i said the world cup has no marketing cache

at some point the league has to be introspective ... this will be olympics #5 and they have made very little inroads as a result of it. Free advertising to hundreds of millions around the world who arent even your consumers of your regular product ... not your target market ... they still cant muster any type of tv broadcasting deal internationally

theyre shutting down their game for 2 weeks and killing momentum of their product/league

imo the risk reward equation is a bit one sided against the nhl/nhlpa

They got 35 million Americans to watch hockey. I think that's hitting the target market. And the league has increased revenue, improved attendance, and signed increasingly lucrative TV deals in recent years. And this is all despite several work stoppages and labor issues.

I get your point, but it's hard to imagine Olympic exposure hasn't aided in those positive outcomes in the last decade, especially with such a poor/sluggish economy in the U.S over the last 6-7 years.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

They got 35 million Americans to watch hockey. I think that's hitting the target market. And the league has increased revenue, improved attendance, and signed increasingly lucrative TV deals in recent years. And this is all despite several work stoppages and labor issues.

I get your point, but it's hard to imagine Olympic exposure hasn't aided in those positive outcomes in the last decade, especially with such a poor/sluggish economy in the U.S over the last 6-7 years.

they got 35 million americans to watch 1 hockey game ... Im not sure how much it translated over increased viewership/attendance of the NHL product

I think the high cdn dollar has had more of an impact on revenue growth over the past 6 - 7 years than olympic participation

 

[jstewismybastardson]

for bettman to be such a supposed hardass negotiator, he sure has done his owners a disservice to not be able to pull ANY revenue from the IOC

yah yah yah higher revenue = higher cap

but this is the increased revenue stream YOU WANT because it is SHARED REVENUE from the get go ...

it isnt the Toronto maple leafs charging new hundred thousand dollar seat licenses and being able to get away with it ... and resulting in the Nashville Predators cap floor going up and then being unable to manage that

... it is TRUE HOCKEY RELATED REVENUE that is shared amongst the 32 teams