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One lockout down, one to go

by K. Kozla
 
So it has come to the inevitable end, the decision makers have managed to forge an agreement that all parties agreed to and now only time will tell if it is what was wanted… no needed for the good of the players, the managers, all involved and for the game itself. 
 
The training camps will start, the games will begin and the season will not be cut short.  Trades are being picked up again and fans have something to cheer about.  That isn’t where it ends.
 
The big story is coming out of New York where the Jets are actually stepping up and setting things right.  Many people in many organizations had been forced to take pay cuts and furloughs while others were laid off entirely. This hurt a lot of people in an already tough economy where individuals are living paycheck to paycheck.  So Gang Green decided to pay the employees for the wages lost during the lock out.  They are setting right what had been done now that the company knows the revenue will be there.  Now that they know the decisions made to preserve the organization were not needed.  Will other teams follow instead of taking the money and pocketing it or allocating it to something else?  No one knows and only time will tell. 
 
Godspeed to the teams and their managers, do the right things.
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Lockout Changes

by K. Kozla

As the NBA lock out stands strong forcing players to scramble for new options there is light in the NFL world.  It appears that the NFL lock out may be coming to an end and that is a not only good for the Players and the Teams, but it is good news for the fans and all of the people whose work and financial lives revolve around the people doing what they do best.

The end to the NFL lockout could not come soon enough, the players need to start their preseason preparations and then the games might be able to start on time for a full season.  The fact that talks are working towards the right place gives hope for not only the NFL, but it brings hope to the NBA as well.  It shows that people working together for a common good and a common interest can make changes and come to agreements that will benefit everyone.

That is the lesson that everyone could and should be taking from this.  We do not need to destroy the other side, we need to find a way to come to an agreement that raises both sides up.  That way everyone succeeds and brings a cohesiveness that had not been there before creating a path for the future.

Godspeed to all the people moving to find a solution to the problem.

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Lockout looming on the horizon

by K. Kozla
Players, coaches and fans alike are staring at the clock and even though it is not a shot clock or a period timer this one might be the most important clock of them all: the count down clock that clicks closer and closer to the imminent threat of Lockout.  The owners and players union met this afternoon, but no decision has been reached as of yet so all eyes are falling onto the Commissioner to see what he does when the clock strikes 12.
This is not something the players or the owners want.  For the players they will not have pay checks coming in.  They will not have their medical benefits.  Training facilities will be closed. Owners won’t have their teams after one of the most watched seasons in the sport’s history.  On top of it all it will bring all talks to a screeching halt.
This will hurt the players and their families and it will also hurt the coaches, but we have to remember the unspoken casualties that also will be affected.  In this troubled economy there is a silent party that will have their hours cut, if not completely unemployed, if this is not fixed and fast: all of the people who work at the stadiums where the teams played.  If the games are not going on and the buildings are not in use no one needs people to watch in the parking, or security in the games, no referees, no vendors, no ticket counters, no mascots, no cleaning crews, no cooks.  They are the people who do thankless jobs to support their families from paycheck to paycheck while the stars perform for owners of teams and they too will be hurt if this is not fixed.  Hopefully it will not come to that, but it seems unlikely that there will be any other out come.
I wish Godspeed to the ones in control, may they remember each and every person it touches.