NHL Locks Out Players

Another NHL season is in jeopardy: Owners and players couldn't even come close to a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement before their midnight deadline, which means the league has officially locked out its players, reports ESPN. The impasse comes about a month before the regular season was supposed to start—and the last time this happened, the league lost its entire 2004-05 season. The two sides can't agree how to divvy up $3.3 billion in revenue, reports AP, with owners looking to shrink the amount of "hockey-related revenue" the players get.

The lockout amounts to "colossal stupidity" on the part of both owners and players, writes columnist Scott Burnside at ESPN. "For the second time in eight years, the sport that loves to claim its fans are the best in the world closes its doors to those fans, with guesses ranging from weeks to months to an entire season as to when it might return." Lots of big-name players are planning to play in Europe assuming no deal emerges. See Bleacher Report for that. (More NHL stories.)