Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1995)
Owners and players decide to lace ‘em up NEW YORK (API - The Mil. season was saved Wednesday when players gave-in to a man agement ultimatum and sacri ficed some freedom to play hockey again. Leaders of the NHL Players Association accepted the own ers’ tnke-it-orelso proposal, effectively ending the 10.1-day lockout and pulling off the biggest save in hockey history. Had they rejected the 6-ytlI contract, the NHL would have gone major-league baseball one worse by becoming the first sports league to shut down an entire season in a labor dispute "Are we happy about the s< ,irs that have been created for the game of hockey?" asked union president Mike Gartner "Are we happy about losing mil lions of dollars? Are we happy the relations between owners and players have been severely hindered? “No, we're not happy about that. Hilt we re happy that lux k FINALLY WHAT: 1C» day NHL lockout cam® J to an end on f Wednesday. ' HOW: The NHL Players Association accepted the owners proposal AT STAKE: Had the ptayers not accepted the final proposal, the NHL would have become the first sports league to shut down an entire season in a labor dispute. (Mt WAiD ey is hopefully going to tie played very soon." The NHI.l’A executive com mlttee stmt the contrac t to the union's 700-plus members for ratification by management's noon Friday deadline Anti though it is expected to r»*< eive the necessary 51 percent approval, "there will lie « lot of guys with discontent." said Mick Vukota of the New York Islanders "There have been hard liners in our union who have stopped aside for the good of the game," Vukota said. "Some relation ships between players and own ers were in bad shape even before this started " Although they managed to sidestep the salary cap and pay roll tax favored by the owners, the players made most of the concessions during three month* of often Ii.istv negoti i lions. Nevertheless, most seemed happy that they'll be practicing Friday afternoon for the first time since owners announced Sept 30 that the lockout would begin the next day. "It's our livelihood." said Hrit VVeinrich of the ( he ago Black hawks "This is what most of the guys have done their whole lives All we know is hockey We want to plav hockey txs ause that's what hm key players do." NHL commissioner Gary Hettman, who on Tuesday night delivered the owners take it-or Itwvt* it offer to union head Hob Goodenow, said tin* season would start late next week, pot sibly Friday Tlte regular season, probably 48 games, will be followed by four best-of-7 playoff rounds The NHL normally plays art 84 game schedule, and most own or* said as recently as this week that any season shorter than 50 games wouldn't l*e "legitimate In the end. the owners felt los ing to games from this season's s< hedule was a small price to take hai k some of the control they lost m settling the 10 day strike before the 1992 playoffs "I think players realized that something had to change," said Kdmonton general manager Turn to AGREEMENT, Page 1? Recent events a blessing for Oregon athletics Chris Met/. I never thought I’d he saying this, hut it's a great day to be a Duck fan. Not that any other day is a par ticularly bad time to be a fan of Oregon athletics, hut oven the snootiest of fans would probably admit that the Ducks have done nothing but impress in 1994-95. In one week, the Oregon foot - hall team played the No 2 team in the nation to a stalemate through three quarters of play in the greatest postseason bowl ever some would even call it "the granddaddy of them all." And before Oregon fans could even unpack from their trip to Turn to METZ, Page 12 GhAftV a*.) 1994 was an Incredible year for Oregon and Its fans, who were treated with a trip to Pasadena, and 1995 looks to be heading In the right direction as well. USC Seven-footer out for season with torn ligaments in knee l/)S ANGELES (AF). Backup center Kirk Muimmii k will miss the rest of the Southern California Trojans' basketball season because of torn ligaments in his left knee. The 7-foot Homtmick, who averaged l 3 rebounds and one point a game in limited duty this season, w ill have surgery on his knee on Friday, the school announced Wednesday. He hurt his knee during practice on Dec :tl Homenick is the second Trojan player to Iw sidelined by o knee injury this season. Tramayne Anchrum. a 6-5 forward, hurt bis knee in practice Oc! 26 and had to have surgery, which ended his season. USC has only nine basketball scholarship players available now, and only one player — 6-11 David Crouse, also a backup center — taller than 6-7. The Tro jans have been using a three-guard lineup. Hockey settlement not exactly something to write home about Jim Lttke Counterfeit seasons are like stereos bought out of the trunk of some oily guy't car They look like a good Idea until you actually try and play them. Now that the hockey deal is finally done, watch what happens when the switch gets thrown. Unrepentant owners, unprepared and unhappy players, unexciting games and an unbalanced schedule — all the elements am in place for an unmitigated disaster of a season. And all because those unnecessary delays in August, September and October gave rise to a 103-day lockout that prompted this unseemly rush to get hack into the pockets of the paying customers Remember the split season that baseball pawned off on its fans after the striku of 1'tHl (and may y*»l be forced to repeat in HW5)7 Remember the lliH7 NFL fiasco that featured three games played by impostors before the real owners of the uni forms. fresh from the picket lines, showed up to fill them out? Well, when this hockey season ends in July, there won't be a /.am bonl anywhere big enough to erase the bad memories, either burlier this week. Now York Rangers general mnnngur Neil Smith called plans to start the season next Monday "unrealistic and improbu ble.” And that was before all of Tues Turn to HOCKEY. Page 10 January 12, l‘W5 Volume ee, luuc 75 NAMES IN THE GAME PHOfNIX <AP) Hours after accepting tfnj head coaching pb af Phoenix Col lege, former Nf L running back Stum# MMcheU lurried down the position Wednesday after being told he couldn't continue to coach at Casa Grande High The school district board voted T un- day nght to allow Mitchell to coach Phoenix College but Mitchell fund he did not want to abandon the prep program I feel like l have an Obligation to the kids af Casa Grande kids (hut 11 are about, he said "I can't just run off and leave them hanging Den nis Mitchell Wang Junxia w 1C WOOSH! use 70.5% UCLA 70.6% Stanford ’ Pac-10 Men's basketball tree-throw percentage leaders 1 >738% K | SOURCE Pile-10 Conforanca * MATT (iAHTOHI *****
