What have I missed?

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

I'm Sorry. I've been reading Moby Dick in reverse order translated into Latin, I haven't been able to check in on the NHL progress.

Have I missed anything?

[faba]

NHL and players' association meet for five hours; more talks next week

By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer

May 12, 2005

NEW YORK (AP) -- Before the NHL and the players' association can agree on a new economic system, there must be a clear understanding of how teams report their finances.

Much of Thursday's five-hour meeting was spent on how teams determine how much money they make -- or lose. The meeting capped three days of talks that involved little true negotiating.

The owners and locked-out players immediately made plans for another three days of talks next week. The sides will convene in smaller groups on Tuesday and Wednesday in advance of a full group bargaining session Thursday.

For the first time, the sides formally discussed the findings of Arthur Levitt, the former securities and exchange commission chairman who was hired by the NHL to conduct an independent study into the league's finances.

Levitt's report, released in February 2004, revealed losses of $273 million during the 2002-03 season on revenues of $1.996 billion, which he said threatened the NHL's viability.

``We provided a detailed overview of the Levitt Report and the work that was performed underlying that report,'' NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly said.

The union challenged Levitt's findings when it was released, and players' association executive director Bob Goodenow has called the report ``simply another league public relations initiative.''

Levitt found that only 11 of 30 teams were profitable in 2002-03, but the union doesn't trust the financial figures that teams report.

That will still be a topic of discussion next week as the sides continue to work toward a new collective bargaining agreement.

``We completed three days of meetings on competition and economic issues with the league,'' players' association senior director Ted Saskin said. ``An additional three days of CBA discussions have been scheduled next week, with the first two days dedicated to reviewing economic and financial reporting issues.''

On Wednesday, a previously unscheduled meeting day, the league and the union branched out into other discussions, such as the potential formation of a competition committee that would be comprised of player and team representatives.

Detroit Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan, who held his own rules summit in December, was invited to take part in those discussions.

Thursday marked the 10th bargaining session since commissioner Gary Bettman called off the entire 2004-05 season on Feb. 16.

Here is your update Guns- a lot of talk and no real action in my opinion.