wrote:

On Monday, August 24, 2015 at 8:33:38 AM UTC-5, Nyssa
wrote:

It is currently 11:17 a.m. and 78 degrees in beautiful
Pyongyang this 24th day of August in the year 104.


No, I'm still waiting to hear if the NHL will be
participating in the Winter Olympics to be held in South
Korea next time.

If NHL does go to the Games, Pyongyang would be just a
hop-skip-and-jump from the Olympic ice rink to watch the
teams go for gold.

Until then, no elopement.

Nyssa, who doubts that the NHL is going to go though
because of that awkward time change issue for
broadcasting games

I understand (holding back tears). Forging bravely on;

It sounds iffy whether the NHL will participate in the
107 Winter Olympics. I've heard many of the owners are
against it because it disrupts the regular season and
wears out their stars. Flyer's owner is dead set against
it and he apparently carries a big stick.

The wild card in the equation is that NBC owns the
rights to the Olympics and the network pays the NHL big
bucks for broadcast rights for their matches. NBC won't
appreciate it if the NHL bows out and takes the luster
off of the event. Ratings are already going to be
problematic considering the vast time differences
involved. Prime time games on tape delay that people
already know the result of? Ugh...

One thing I do know is the Russians will participate in
the Olympics regardless of the NHL decision. Alex
Ovechkin has already told Tass the Russian new agency
that he and others are playing even if they must defy
Bettman and the NHL. See http://tass.ru/en/sports/815277

Oh and belated Happy Birthday! Your 39th I assume? And
stay tuned because I am going to need you to talk me off
the ledge soon. I just learned that the NHL is likely to
start putting advertising on team jerseys next season.

I can't take anymore NHL rapaciousness. Tell me
everything is going to be okay Nyssa because I'm
teetering! Tragedy or farce?

It is currently 3:17 p.m. and 74 degrees in beautiful
Pyongyang this 25th day of August in the year 104.

I'd heard about OV and his claim about the Olympics. I'm
wondering if Bettman would fine him or something for
going with the Russians if the NHL doesn't participate.
That could very well drive him to the KHL instead of
staying with the Capitals, with the NHL losing one
of its top-drawing stars. (Although my opinion of him
is less than stellar because of his hot-and-cold attitude
about playing at his best every game.)

There was a brief discussion on Sirius radio yesterday
about how Bettman may be pulling the same trick as he's
done before, mainly holding out for a better deal for
the NHL before agreeing to participate. It worked last
time, and as you point out NBC has a big reason to want
the NHL there too so they may put some pressure on as well.

I'd bet along with a bigger slice of pie from the Olympic
committee, the players will get some concessions over
lodging, meals, and so forth. I remember the jokes about
the short beds in the Olympic village from a couple of
cycles ago (Japan?). And I can't see the players going
for cafeteria style kim chee this time either.

So dry your tears, that elopement may be on after all.

I agree about the advertising on the sweaters. Talk so
far has only small, unobtrusive logos such as the ones
already there for Reebok or Nike. But as with everything,
it's all about the money, so once it starts we risk
ending up with the billboards like they have in many of
the European leagues. ick! The word is, if advertising
goes on, fans will still be able to buy non-advertising
sweaters for their own collections though. I still don't
like the whole concept. It's not like revenues aren't
already rising and they need the cash to pay for ice time.

I'm wondering about those temperatures you've been posting
for Pyongyang. When I was in South Korea in August, it
was hot and extremely humid during the days with cooler
temperatures, but high humidity levels at night. You
couldn't walk a block down the street without needing a
shower and a change of clothes. 70s in August in Pyongyang?
Maybe at night. It's not that far north of Seoul to drop
twenty degrees in temperature on hot August days.

Meanwhile, shifting topics entirely, I'm just getting ready
to post a review to Amazon for "Allegiance" by Kermit
Roosevelt. It's a historical fiction novel set in WWII about
the workings of the Supreme Court. It covers the Japanese
internment camps issue as well as some nice background
to how the Court chooses cases for review. It might be
of interest to some of the posters and lurkers here.

Nyssa, who needs to catch up on writing her other reviews,
but the other reading (and yard work) seems to get in the way