Stars und Sternchen! » Its ridiculous. Hes better than half the

Back last autumn, long before the collective bargaining process for the Canadian Football League and its players began, it wasnt hard to find those around the game who figured the leagues new salary cap would come in at about $5 million. Which is exactly where it landed Saturday night, with the players and league reaching a tentative agreement which - pending ratification - will end the threat of a work stoppage for the next five seasons. The $5 million figure is an increase of $600,000 per team over one year ago which means, when combined with ratification bonuses just for signing the deal, player compensation will grow to roughly $5.3 million per team this upcoming season. Historically speaking, a payroll jump of nearly $1 million per team from one season to the next is unheard of in the CFL. So why are so many players apparently unhappy with the deal? Largely because the CFL Players Association had been trying to build solidarity by pointing to the leagues new TV contract and several new stadium, while pleading its case first for a share of revenues and then for a salary cap of $6.8 million. But as time passed, the CFLPA executive sensed the that the $5 million salary cap was a deal-breaker for the league, an amount the players were likely going to have to accept either now, or in July or sometime after that. The players had every right to expect more. But any student of professional football labour knows that owners hold more of the cards in this sport than any other. Remember that three years ago, with all signs pointing to record revenues and popularity, the NFL locked out its players and rolled back their percentage of the take. All for the same reason the CFLs owners were able to gain the upper hand with their players: because they could and this is business. The unique element of the CFLs business case is that it can reasonably say it needed to make the league more economically stable. The bad old days in the CFL arent really all that long ago (its been eight years since a CFL team folded, 11 since two others were in bankruptcy) so the league based its position on prioritizing the medium to long term future of the league. There are non-monetary wins for the players in this deal, in such things as reduced hitting time in practice time, plus the fact that veteran contracts will no longer tie players to their teams for an extra year at the clubs option. But as for how this will affect the CFL game as a whole, theres not a whole lot in this agreement thats going to change the product as we know it. The league hopes the new agreement will provide the financial footing for it and its teams to invest in all areas of its business, essentially play catch-up on some of the things it wasnt able to do while it was trying to keep its head above water. With three teams having public ownership and six other franchises owned by people of considerable wealth unrelated to the business of football, the owners getting their way in this deal isnt about fat-cats trying to line their pockets. Its really about creating a business model that can drive franchise values up and make CFL franchises desirable to own in a way they havent been for decades. Which is the very best insurance the league can have and should mean the end of fire sales and circumstances where owners are tempted to throw the keys on the table and walk away. If the league operates soundly from here on, there will be better paydays in a stronger CFL down the road. Thats little consolation for this group of players, most of whom wont be around to share in the spoils that may come. But for a league that has spent much of the past 30 years trying to stay a few steps ahead of The Grim Reaper, theres no shame in striking a deal that builds a solid financial foundation to the future. Aledmys Diaz Jersey . - After a back-and-forth battle throughout the season, Alex Guenette has earned the 2013 rookie of the year award for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 by just one point over Ryley Seibert. Brett Anderson Jersey . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season. http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com/Blue-Jays-Kendrys-Morales-Kids-Jersey/ . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Jesse Barfield Jersey . Listen to the Raptors vs. Jazz live tonight on TSN Radio 1050 at 9pm et/6pm pt. The Raptors are 1-1 so far on the five-game junket after defeating Denver and losing to Portland. Jaime Garcia Jersey . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks.PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Mason and the Flyers are playing their best hockey of the season heading into the Olympic break. Its a break team chariman Ed Snider would love to abolish. Mason stopped 38 shots, and Mark Streit and Michael Raffl scored goals, leading the Philadelphia Flyers past the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Thursday night. Mason blanked Detroit 5-0 on Jan. 28 and stopped the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 on Feb. 1. He was only 2:50 away from his fourth shutout of the season, and third in five games, when Nathan MacKinnon beat him for his 21st goal of the season. Mason stopped his first 33 shots. Mason, who signed a three-year extension last month, has been the key reason the Flyers have been able to hang around in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With one game left before the break, the Flyers recent spurt could stall because of the Olympics. "I hate them," said Snider, the Flyers founder. He added: "Its ridiculous, the whole thing is ridiculous. I dont care if it was in Philadelphia, I wouldnt want to break up the league. I think its ridiculous to take three weeks off, or however long it is, in the middle of the season. It screws up everything. .. How can anybody be happy breaking up their season. No other league does it, why should we? Theres no benefit to us whatsoever. If anything, I can only see negatives." Reminded the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup finals during the last Olympics in 2010, Snider laughed. "Maybe I like them," he said. "I forget about that." Claude Giroux, who scored an empty-netter with 20 seconds left, has plenty of time to rest during the break. He was snubbed Thursday by Hockey Canada when Martin St. Louis was picked as an injury replacement for his Tampa Bay teammate Steven Stamkos. Steve Yzerman, the Canadians executive director and Tampa Bays general manager, chose St. Louis over Giroux and Pittsburghs James Neal. "Its a farce," Snider said. "Hes one of the best players in the game. Its ridiculous. Hes better than half the guys on that team. "Anybody that thinks that Claude Giroux doesnt belong on the Canadian team, they dont know anything about hockey as far as Im concerned. Its politics, to a certain degree. He had to pick his own guy. His own guy is good, but Claude is better." The Avalanche, who lost 5-1 to the New York RRangers on Tuesday, couldnt solve Mason until it was too late.dddddddddddd The Avalanche called timeout with 1:27 left and pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov in a last-gasp effort at the tying goal. It didnt work. The Flyers scored in the second period, when Streits shot from the blue line was deflected by a defenceman and wobbled past Varlamov for his eighth goal. Streit is heading to his fourth Olympics for Switzerland. The Flyers got a scare when centre Brayden Schenn was checked from behind into the boards by Patrick Bordeleau. Schenn quickly got on his skates, and his teammates went after Bordeleau behind the net. Bordeleau threw his right elbow into Schenns back and the Flyer thumped the board, and then hit the ice. Bordeleau was hit with 5 minutes for checking from behind and a game misconduct. Colorado coach Patrick Roy was red faced and furious as he argued with the officials that the hit didnt merit an ejection. Masons play picked up after a recent pep talk from Hall of Fame goalie Bernie Parent. Mason stopped 14 shots in the first period and made the save of the night in the second when he robbed Gabriel Landeskog with a glove save from his rear. "I think we didnt make it hard enough for him in the first 55 minutes," Landeskog said. "I think the last five, we were in his face, banging rebounds, and trying to bang one home there and made it hard on him. We started throwing pucks from different angles and tough angles and what not." Mason posted a 1.51 goals-against-average over his last four starts, stopped 95 per cent of his shots and had two shutouts. "The job as starting goalie every night is to make sure we provide stability back there, and thats what Im trying to do," he said. Raffls seventh goal of the season, off a nice pass by Sean Couturier from behind the net, early in the third was the insurance the Flyers needed to win their third straight. NOTES: The Flyers had a video tribute and a moment of silence for former coach and general manager Keith Allen. Allen died Tuesday. He was 90. "I love Keith Allen," Snider said. ... Lauren Hart, the daughter of longtime former Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, sang "God Bless America," alternating lyrics with Kate Smith, who was on a video image. Smiths rendition of the song has been a rallying anthem for the Flyers since the mid-1970s. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys discount uswnt jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Wholesale Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. Roma Jerseys Wholesale Atletico Madrid Jerseys Wholesale Chelsea Jerseys Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Bayern Munich Jerseys For Sale Cheap Borussia Dortmund Jerseys Cheap Inter Milan Jerseys Juventus Jerseys From China Leicester City Jerseys For Sale Discount Liverpool Jerseys Wholesale Manchester City Jerseys Manchester United Jerseys For Sale Wholesale Paris Saint-Germain Jerseys Real Madrid Jerseys From China Cheap Sevilla Jerseys Authentic Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys ' ' '