Time is running out: the infuriating arrogance of league management and the players is about to take down this season and irreparably damage the NHL

This is it, everybody. In the next two weeks, the NHL and NHL Players' Association either will get a deal done, or the season will be canceled. A self-fulfilling prophecy if there ever were one.

So here we sit. What has become most aggravating about this frustrating situation is the arrogance--on both sides--and their assumption that the fans are ignorant.

Commissioner Gary Bettman makes the rounds and talks about saving "the game." Commissioner, you don't own the game, and you are not its keeper or caretaker. The game is alive and well and being played at all levels around the world. What you are trying to "save" is your league, your owners and, in all likelihood, your job. In a situation that has become all semantics, please make this change. The game goes on, sir; your league is dying.

And that brings to light the next most galling issue: The league seems to believe it doesn't matter how long the lockout goes. It won't be worth solving quickly, league officials say, if they don't get their way. But it does matter. It matters a great Through 10 games in Switzerland for SC Bern, Thrashers RW Dany Heatley was playing well--he had seven goals and eight assists--before breaking an orbital bone. He might return and finish the season after he heals. Back home in Atlanta, negotiations on a plea bargain in his vehicular homicide case weren't getting far. It looks as if Heatley will stand trial, perhaps beginning in February, for the death of teammate Dan Snyder in September 2003. deal. While on paper it might make the most sense to hold out as long as possible to get the deal the league wants, in reality it doesn't work at all. In reality, more fans are lost every day. In reality, more media outlets permanently pull NHL travel money, making NHL beat writing a part-time position. And, just to be clear, this is not just in small, Southern cities. This is at major metropolitan papers covering Original Six teams. If this destruction can be fixed over time, and that's a big if, the repairs will be measured in five-and 10-year increments.

After spending months talking about how the fans will benefit in the end--Bettman said outright that ticket prices will go down and many other plans are in place for the fans when this is over--Bill Daly, the NHL's No. 2 man, told me in a recent interview on Sporting News Radio he couldn't go into details about what will be done, but ticket prices will go down or "stabilize." Stabilize? Is that a joke? Suddenly stabilizing these ridiculously overpriced tickets is doing the fans a favor? How stupid do they think the paying public is?

OK, let's move on to the players. To be fair, they offered concessions, including an across-the-board salary cut, and appear to be ready to offer another proposal, but the players need to be more realistic. They must realize they might need to accept a connection between revenue and player costs to get their league going again. They need to realize that if only 5,000, 6,000 or 7,000 fans show up for games and fewer people are buying their jerseys and bobbleheads, their income will go down. They need to know the fan base will take a hit and that the longer this goes, the bigger that hit will be.

The league and the union need to get this done in the next couple of weeks--or it's game over for the NHL in ways their galling arrogance won't even acknowledge.

speed read

We like closure. We need closure. We can't keep waiting and waiting, thinking that come January part of the season could be salvage. Obviously, the NHL has set a drop-dead date that cancels the season. Obviously, it's approaching. Let us in on it.

INSIDE DISH

After publicly denying it for weeks, the rumor finally is fact: The players' association has asked the league to meet this week in Toronto, where the players will make a new CBA proposal. The proposal won't contain a salary cap, of course, but whatever the proposal is, the league needs to use it to create dialogue and take the negotiations in some direction. If that doesn't happen, the league can't claim to be negotiating in good faith. > The WHA just won't die. Canadian businessman Ricky Smith bought the league and promises the capital behind it will make it a success. He says the league could begin operating at the end of January. > Players are being paid--at least those who accept the players' association's stipend, which was $10,000 a month for November and December. According to the union, all players who receive the money will get the same amount, regardless of salary. After December, the payment will drop to about $5,000 a month for the duration of the lockout. > Penguins W Steve McKenna is known for his fists. However, playing for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite League in Great Britain, McKenna had two goals and four assists in eight games. More impressive: He had no penalty minutes.

Through 10 games in Switzerland for SC Bern, Thrashers RW Dany Heatley was playing well--he had seven goals and eight assists--before breaking an orbital bone. He might return and finish the season after he heals. Back home in Atlanta, negotiations on a plea bargain in his vehicular homicide case weren't getting far. It looks as if Heatley will stand trial, perhaps beginning in February, for the death of teammate Dan Snyder in September 2003.