Posted on

2012 Beginnings and Endings

by K. Kozla

The NFL Fall Season is getting ready to swing into full gear; the players have been practicing and the fans riling up.  The grass is being trimmed, the yard lines laid down and if we listen hard enough we can almost hear the roar as the team charges from the locker room and is announced onto the field. 

Anticipation is electric in the air… for some at least.

Another field of battle is eerily quiet, another set of locker rooms sit empty.  No one is preparing the court for titans to compete to cries of support that erupt from fans.  Parties have been unable to come together and the clock continues to count down to a year without the NBA.  Each tick passing without agreement is one towards an end game; one where the season might be canceled entirely. 

A bad dream is turning into a harsh reality for far too many people.  No jobs for concession workers, no jobs for ticket takers, no jobs for the people who tell you where to park or clean up after a team tastes sweet victory or the bitter defeat.   No jobs for the coaches, the players, the representatives and more.  The draft picks who clawed their way up will not reach the big time yet.  In a time when the economy needs every little bit it can get it appears the unemployment numbers will be going up.  Will the players look to other countries to continue their love of the game or can some miracle still occur?

Me?  Well, I’m not giving up hope yet.  If the politicians in D.C. could push to the wire to make the jump shot to raise the debt ceiling.  Well, then maybe the Players’ Association and the Teams can find a way to make a play at the buzzer and come to an agreement too. 

 Godspeed to those playing in the 2012 NFL Season and to the 2012 NBA year.

Posted on

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.
Posted on

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.