Players' union waiting on NHL

TORONTO — Donald Fehr and the players' association are ready to get back to the bargaining table at any moment. They are now just waiting for the NHL to feel the same way.

"(We aren't talking) because the owners have not indicated a desire to resume," the NHLPA's executive director said Wednesday night before a charity hockey game. "We've indicated any number of times that we're willing to resume when they are (and) we're willing to resume without preconditions.

"So we're waiting to hear back from them."

The sides haven't negotiated with one another since Dec. 6 in New York, when talks broke down. They also met with a U.S. federal mediator for two days in New Jersey last week and reported no progress. Since then, there has been only limited contact between the sides, including a brief email exchange on Wednesday.

"I don't think either party is refusing a meeting," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an email. "But unless there is an indication one side or the other is prepared to move or has a new idea to move the process forward — and so far neither side has indicated — I am not sure what we would do at the meeting."

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Players declare NHL lockout illegal

EDMONTON ALBERTA — Lawyers for Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames players are trying to have the NHL lockout declared illegal under Alberta law.

The NHL has argued before the Alberta Labour Relations Board that a league spanning two countries cannot operate under different laws for each team.

The labor board deferred a decision to a later date.

About a half-dozen players attended the hearing, including Oilers forward Sam Gagner, goalie Devan Dubnyk and veteran Ryan Smyth.

The lockout began last weekend and some players are already signing with European teams for the season. There have been no formal talks between the two sides since Sept. 12. Training camps were to have opened Friday. The league has already canceled preseason games through Sept. 30.

NHLPA lawyer Bob Blair told the panel that the two teams are Alberta businesses, so provincial labor laws must be followed.

"No one gets to choose what labor laws apply to them in this province," Blair said. "The law is the law is the law."

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Bettman warns players about looming lockout

NEW YORK — With a lockout drawing ever closer, the NHL and the players' union are in touch with each other after a day of internal meetings.

But no new negotiating sessions are scheduled for Friday, one day before commissioner Gary Bettman has said he will lock out the players. This would be the NHL's fourth work stoppage since 1992.

On Thursday, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke to special counsel Steve Fehr, the brother of union executive director Donald Fehr. They did not, however, discuss a possible return to the bargaining table.

The contract expires at late Saturday. Bettman has said the season won't start without a new deal. Training camps are to open next Friday, and the season is to begin on Oct. 11.

"We have been clear that the collective bargaining agreement, upon its expiration, needs to have a successful agreement for us to move forward," Bettman said on Thursday. "The league is not in a position, not willing to move forward with another season under the status quo."

The last labor stoppage caused the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season, a lockout that ended only when players accepted a salary cap and a 24 percent rollback of salaries.

"Right now it's not looking great," said Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who was just 17 when the last lockout ended, "but things can change pretty quickly."

Following lockouts last year by NBA and NFL owners, Bettman says NHL management is determined to come away with economic gains.

"Two other leagues — the NBA and the NFL — their players have recognized that in these economic times there is a need to retrench," Bettman said after a two-hour owners' meeting.

Damage from a lockout will occur almost immediately, and there is no telling how jilted fans and sponsors will react to another shutdown.

"One of the questions that needs to be asked is, if indeed they lock out, if indeed they do do that, (whether) that is reasonably calculated to make a deal more likely or less likely?" union head Donald Fehr said. "I think you can figure out the answer."

Players currently receive 57 percent of league-related revenue, and the owners want to bring that number down as far as perhaps 47 percent — which is an increase from their original offer of 43 percent. The union offered a deal based on actual dollars, seeking a guarantee of the $1.8 billion players received last season.

Annual industry revenue has grown from $2.1 billion to $3.3 billion under the expiring deal. Owners asked players to cut their share of league-related revenue during a six-year proposal. Players are concerned management hasn't addressed the league's problems by re-examining the teams' revenue-sharing formula.

Having made several big concessions to make a deal in 2005, the union doesn't think it should have to make more this time after a period of record financial growth. The average player salary also jumped from $1.45 million to $2.55 million over the course of the current agreement.

VANCOUVER BRITISH, Columbia — The Vancouver Canucks signed forward Alex Burrows to a four-year, $18 million contract extension Friday.

The 31-year-old left wing had 28 goals and 24 assists in 80 games last season.

"I never really thought about leaving," Burrows said. "All along, I always wanted to stay in Vancouver. As soon as the management showed interest in an extension, for me it was a no-brainer."

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NPB manager to suggest players for WBC squad

Nippon Professional Baseball confirmed Monday that it will ask the 12 team managers in Japan's pro leagues in a questionnaire to nominate players for the country's 2013 World Baseball Classic 40-man roster.

The matter was discussed at a meeting of representatives from NPB's 12 teams. Because the policy is for the manager selected by NPB commissioner Ryozo Kato to have the final say on players, the results of the survey are expected to provide a body of reference for those decisions.

As far as the process of selecting that manager, no details of the selection process were said to have been discussed.

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Players no different than in old days

NEW YORK — On second thought, I was wrong to make it appear coach killers DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings — who paved the way for Paul Westphal's recent ouster — are more full of themselves than self-absorbed slugs back in the day.

It only seems that way because today's athletes make movie star fortunes and their business is out on the street 24/7 in the twinkle of a tweet regardless of whether they lust to live in the limelight.

Coaching conflicts with players, altercations between teammates and lousy late night lifestyles weren't kept under wraps because people were better at keeping secrets eons ago; beat writers and columnists simply didn't report what they knew for fear of falling out of favor or exposing their complicity.

Exempting this lapse, I've always made a point to stop people from believing today's players are all that different from those in the past. I mean, other than being spoiled rotten at an earlier age, possessing lopsided loot to squander and getting indefatigably distracted by designer temptations.

No matter what locker room I've ever walked into, I've heard identical grumblings about touches, minutes, broken promises, lack of appreciation, ignorant coaches, trade demands and, of course, money, money, money.

One time, Bob Love, Norm Van Lier, Clifford Ray and Chet Walker pitched a bitch about one or more of the above. And the Bulls were winning 47-54 games a year in those days.

For me, the biggest bonus of hitting the road is getting together with people who were tight-lipped when I covered them but now aren't shy about opening closets and cave doors.

In Oakland two weeks ago, I had dinner with Jim Barnett, the Warriors long-time TV analyst. The wild card guard (averaged 11.7 points over 12 years) and I hung from time to time after he and Neal Walk joined the Knicks for the final 30 games of the 1974-75 season. The exchange rate was Henry Bibby, greatly coveted by New Orleans Jazz coach Butch van Breda Kolff.

Today, a team would never chance using an outgoing player for fear he might get injured and ruin the deal.

Red Holzman, feeling fairly powerful in the wake of two successful championship crusades, gambled that Bibby might help the Knicks win an afternoon game at the Garden before cutting the umbilical cord.

During the first half, I discovered Bibby had been traded. I alerted his then-wife and filed what I had found out. Virginia notified Henry before the second half got under way. He played terribly. And the Knicks lost.

Later that day, on the charter to New Orleans, of all places, with Bibby on board, it came to Holzman's attention I had mucked up his game plan. He let me know, in the most articulate of unprintable terms, how he felt about it . . . and me.

I hadn't intended to write the above Bibby story. It spilled out on account of my get-together with Barnett, who shared a slew of anecdotes with me. The most relevant concerned Elvin Hayes and how he had emasculated San Diego Rockets coach Jack McMahon, ultimately getting him fired 26 games into the 1969-70 season.

Unlike Cousins, Hayes didn't enter the NBA as a potential superstar, he showed up as a bona fide beast. In his rookie year, the 206-cm forward averaged 28.4 points and 17.1 rebounds. His presence improved the Rockets from 15-67 to 37-45.

Still, the Big E's unwillingness to break a practice sweat and make a premeditated pass, incensed McMahon and teammates.

Naturally, problems intensified the next season as the third-year expansion team started 9-17. Rock bottom was reached at the outset of a game in which Barnett perfectly hit Hayes on the hands three straight times, and he fumbled each one.

"Jack called a timeout after the third turnover and wanted to know what the bleep Elvin thought he was doing," Barnett recalled.

"What do you care? You won't even be here tomorrow," Hayes snapped.

McMahon was expelled the next day. His replacement was Alex Hannum, a two-time champion as coach of the 1957-58 Bob Pettit Hawks and 1966-67 Wilt Chamberlain 76ers, the teams that prevented the Celtics from running off 13 consecutive titles.

Folklore has it, the 206-cm Hannum threatened to dunk out Dipper if he didn't fall into line.

If anyone had the juice to get Hayes' respect and attention, it was Hannum.

Not.

Barnett said Hayes continued to cruise at practice. Hannum tried to motivate him in various ways but got nowhere.

Next, Hannum put pressure on him by making everyone else run. That didn't work either. So, Hannum cleared the gym. He ordered the team back to the locker room . . . except Hayes. Ten minutes later, the players were recalled.

"I don't know what happened," Barnett said. "But, from that moment on, Elvin ran his tail off and did what was asked."

Several days after eating with Barnett, I was at Staples Center talking to Stu Lantz, the Lakers' long-time TV analyst.

Out of nowhere, he brings up Hayes and McMahon. As it turns out, he and the Big E were Rockets' roommates during that period.

"We were tight," Lantz said, "but I felt terrible the way Elvin treated Jack."

By any chance, do you know what happened when Hannum spoke to Hayes alone, I wondered?

"Yeah, when we got back to our room that day, Elvin told me, 'He's crazy. He told me he was gonna kick my ass!' "

I'm not so sure it would do Cousins or Evans any good.

Peter Vecsey covers the NBA for the New York Post.

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Sawa, Messi named Players of Year

ZURICH — Homare Sawa, the 2011 Women's World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner, was named FIFA Women's World Player of the Year on a historic night for Japanese soccer Monday.

Athletic and elegant: Nadeshiko Japan star Homare Sawa reacts after being named the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year at an awards ceremony in Zurich on Monday night. AP

Norio Sasaki, who guided Nadeshiko Japan to an astonishing first ever World Cup triumph at last summer's finals in Germany, won the Women's Coach of the Year, while the Japan Football Association also won the Fair Play Award.

Barcelona's mercurial Argentine forward Lionel Messi landed the men's Ballon d'Or award, becoming the first man since former France international Michel Platini to take the title three years in succession, while the Men's Coach of the Year award went to his club coach, Pep Guardiola.

Messi was up against Barca teammate Xavi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo, the 2008 winner, was unable to attend the awards ceremony as Real is in action on Tuesday night in the King's Cup against Malaga.

The 24-year-old Messi won the award after polling 47.88 of the votes, ahead of Ronaldo (21.6 percent) and Xavi (9.23 percent).

"It is a big pleasure to win the third, a big honor. I want to thank the teammates, players and coaches that voted for me," said Messi.

"I want to thank my Barcelona and Argentina teammates, without them this would have been impossible. But most of all, I want to share it with Xavi: you deserve this as much as I do."

Messi, man of the match in the Champions League final in 2011, also won the Primera Division, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup last year.

Dressed in a traditional kimono, Sawa, 33, and the 53-year-old Sasaki were the first Japanese recipients and first Asian winners of their respective awards, picking them up at the star-studded ceremony in Zurich with the cream of the soccer world in attendance.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," said Sawa. "When my name was read out I didn't know what was going on. This award feels so heavy. I wasn't at all confident that I had definitely won it and just wanted to give myself a pat on the back for making it among the three nominees."

"I am so surprised and delighted with this award. I spoke with people at the JFA and came to the conclusion that the kimono represents Japan and was the most suitable attire for tonight," she smiled.

"As the JFA president I feel blessed," Junji Ogura said of the country's hat trick of awards. "Winning three awards doesn't happen very often. Sawa won and Sasaki won, something that no other Asians have done, and this is fantastic. Getting the Fair Play Award is an added bonus."

Sawa beat out five-time winner Marta of Brazil and American Abby Wambach, while Sasaki was named from the coach's shortlist that included Pia Sundhage, whose U.S. team lost to Japan in a penalty shootout in the World Cup final, and France's Bruno Bini.

"I am so thrilled for Sawa," said Wambach. "I think the Japanese deserved all of the awards they received tonight. They were of course the World Cup champions, she was proven to be the best player and I am very proud of her."

Said Platini: "It's good that there is a Japanese woman (winning the award). I think it is possible in the future that a Japanese man could win the award but they will have to win the World Cup first."

Sasaki, who in an inspired piece of sports psychology showed his players footage of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami's aftermath before their World Cup quarterfinal and semifinal wins over Germany and Sweden, said, "I am full of gratitude to everyone."

"I was just overjoyed to be able to be here with my family. It was only for a moment but it really hit me emotionally when I got the award. Last year we suffered a disastrous earthquake in northeastern Japan and many, many people in the football family of the world provided such warm support and I would like to thank everyone for their support."

These awards were decided after a poll in which the captains and head coaches of the men's (for the two men's soccer awards) and women's (for the two women's soccer awards) national teams, as well as international media representatives selected by French soccer magazine France Football, voted for candidates in each of the four categories. Each group's votes represented one third of the final result.

LONDON — Thierry Henry made a fairy tale return in his second spell with Arsenal, coming off the bench to grab a late winner in a 1-0 victory over Leeds in the third round of the F.A. Cup on Monday.

The former France striker took the first step in enhancing his already-legendary status at the north London club, side-footing home an angled finish in the 78th minute — 10 minutes after being introduced as a substitute.

The goal, a trademark Henry finish from the left, extended his club-record tally to 227 goals in the first game of his two-month loan spell from the New York Red Bulls.

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NFL players still keep concussions hidden

NEW YORK — Ask Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew whether he would try to play through a concussion or yank himself from a game, and he'll provide a straightforward answer.

"Hide it," the NFL's leading rusher said.

"The bottom line is: You have to be able to put food on the table. No one's going to sign or want a guy who can't stay healthy. I know there will be a day when I'm going to have trouble walking. I realize that," Jones-Drew said. "But this is what I signed up for. Injuries are part of the game. If you don't want to get hit, then you shouldn't be playing."

Other players say they would do the same: Hide it.

In a series of interviews about head injuries with The Associated Press over the last two weeks, 23 of 44 NFL players — slightly more than half — said they would try to conceal a possible concussion rather than pull themselves out of a game. Some acknowledged they already have. Players also said they should be better protected from their own instincts: More than two-thirds of the group the AP talked to wants independent neurologists on sidelines during games.

The AP spoke to a cross-section of players — at least one from each of the 32 NFL teams — to gauge whether concussion safety and attitudes about head injuries have changed in the past two years of close attention devoted to the issue. The group included 33 starters and 11 reserves; 25 players on offense and 19 on defense; all have played at least three seasons in the NFL.

The players tended to indicate they are more aware of the possible long-term effects of jarring hits to their heads than they once were. In a sign of the sort of progress the league wants, five players said that while they would have tried to conceal a concussion during a game in 2009, now they would seek help.

"You look at some of the cases where you see some of the retired players and the issues that they're having now, even with some of the guys who've passed and had their brains examined — you see what their brains look like now," said Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher, the NFL's leading tackler. "That does play a part in how I think now about it."

But his teammate, backup fullback Mike Sellers, said he's hidden concussions in the past and would "highly doubt" that any player would willingly take himself out of a game.

"You want to continue to play. You're a competitor. You're not going to tell on yourself. There have been times I've been dinged, and they've taken my helmet from me, and . . . I'd snatch my helmet back and get back on the field," Sellers said. "A lot of guys wouldn't say anything because a lot of guys wouldn't think anything during the game, until afterward, when they have a headache or they can't remember certain things."

San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith captured a popular sentiment: Players know of the potential problems, yet would risk further damage.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if (you have) a concussion, you're probably damaging your brain a little bit. Just like if you sprain your wrist a bunch, you're going to have some wrist problems down the road. Yeah, I'd still play through it. It's part of it. It's part of the game," Smith said. "I think if you're noticeably messed up, yeah, they'll take you out. But if you've just got some blurry vision, I'd say that's the player's call. And most guys — 99 percent of guys in the NFL — are going to play through it."

Smith said he sustained one concussion in high school ("You don't know who you are," is how he described it) and another in college ("Walking around the whole time, but I don't remember anything until six hours later").

The NFL likes to say that views about concussions have shifted from simply accepting they're part of the sport to doing what's possible to lessen impacts. Commissioner Roger Goodell talks about "changing the culture," so players don't try to "walk it off" after taking hits to the head.

Yet the AP's conversations with players showed there is room for more adjustments, which did not surprise Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, co-chairman of the NFL's head, neck and spine committee.

"The culture change takes awhile," Ellenbogen. "Why would these guys want to go out? They love playing the game. They don't want to leave their team. They want to win. I understand all that. And that's why we have to be on our toes with coming up with exams that are hard to beat, so to speak."

New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Zach Strief put it this way: "We all grew up with, 'Hey, get back in there. You (only) got your bell rung.' And while it's changing now, I think it's going to take time for the mind-set to change."

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NBA players OK drug testing plan

NEW YORK — NBA players have agreed to additional drug testing, adding offseason screening for performance-enhancing drugs only.

Union executive director Billy Hunter sent a memo Wednesday to players detailing these and other changes of a new labor deal and recommended they ratify the agreement.

Less clear is a provision for human growth hormone testing.

According to the memo, an NBA-NBPA joint committee would study the "possibility of an HGH testing program." NBA spokesman Mike Bass, however, insisted both sides agreed to HGH blood testing, subject to the process being validated by a "neutral committee of experts."

It wasn't immediately clear who would be on that panel.

Major League Baseball and its players recently agreed to start HGH testing in spring training. The NFL's new labor contract included a provision for HGH testing as soon as this season — but only once the NFLPA approved the process. That hasn't happened, in part because the NFLPA says it needs more information about the test itself.

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