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I hope Gary Bettman was watching the hockey game yesterday.  If he was and still wants the NHL to end its participation in the Olympics, then his tenure as commissioner needs to end, now tomorrow morning.  There is no better advertisement for the NHL than the Canada-US game yesterday, which drew NFL ratings on NBC (note to NBC: those ratings were for a LIVE broadcast).  I don't know about anybody else, but I have never enjoyed hockey as much as this hockey tournament.  The action was free flowing  and fast, without the clutching and grabbing that plagues the NHL, not to mention the absence of fighting, another issue that plagues the NHL.  Why is that? International rules, which should be adopted by the NHL starting next season.  I would prefer the playoffs, but I suppose it's not fair to change the rules in the middle of the season.

So, Michael Jordan is going to become the majority of the Charlotte Bobcats.  If I were a Bobcats fan, those few of you in Charlotte who are, I would be very worried about the future of the team.  Granted, it's future in Charlotte seems secure but it's chance of continually putting winning teams on the court may have been greatly diminished, given Jordan's lack of success in his post-Bulls career, especially in managing NBA front offices.

The NFL is listening to fans for a change and is in the process of adopting new overtime rules.  As one who thought the old rule was unfair and put too much emphasis on winning the coin flip, I think the new rule is a step in the right direction.  However, why is only going to be used in the playoffs?

Since this is the year of labor strife in North American professional sports, I suppose it should not be surprising that MLS and its players are hurtling towards a work stoppage and in a World Cup year no less.  The players and the league have been negotiating a new CBA for months and extended the current deadline several times, but it has now expired and neither side has expressed a desire to extend it further. The league has said it is content to play this year under the existing CBA, making it clear that any work stoppage will be at the initiative of the players.  Even more than any of the other leagues which may see work stoppages, MLS above all needs to find a way to avoid it.  The league has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception and this year, with the debut of the Philadelphia Union and the opening of Red Bull Arena as well as the expected boost from South Africa 2010, this is not the time to be thinking work stoppage.  The season isn't scheduled to open until March 25, so the league and players have most of this month to make a deal.  However,  we get our first test of the players intentions on March 9, when Columbus and Toluca are scheduled to play a CONCACAF Champions League game quarterfinal first leg in Columbus.

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