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. Tomas Vokoun Penguins Jersey . 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. Brooks Orpik Penguins Jersey . The Lions traded their fifth overall pick in the 2014 CFL Draft to the Ottawa Redblacks for QB Kevin Glenn. Pascal Dupuis Jersey . The Formula One circus has arrived in town and on this Thursday afternoon the teams crew members are setting up their equipment in the pit lane ahead of the three day race weekend.PITTSBURGH - Matt Cooke is no Sidney Crosby. At the moment, the Pittsburgh Penguins are hardly complaining. The noted instigator scored his team-leading third goal of the season in a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Not bad for a player who has made more headlines for his suspension-inducing hits than his soft hands, though Cooke just laughed when told he is on pace for 61 goals. "Ive learned in the past that these things are streaky," Cooke said. "When youre playing with confidence and you feel good, you get your head up and you make some plays." Pascal Dupuis, James Neal and Richard Park also scored the Penguins, who are off to their best start in 17 seasons despite playing without Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who missed his second straight game with what coach Dan Bylsma called "soreness." At the moment, the Penguins dont need their superstars. Pittsburgh improved to 3-0-1 in the seasons opening week, the franchises best start since going unbeaten in its first 13 games in 1994-95. The Penguins are doing it with contributions from unlikely places. Second-year centre Joe Vitale had a pair of assists -- double his career total -- and Park scored his first goal for Pittsburgh in nearly 16 years. "In a game that wasnt perfect, and we were a little sloppy at times, we got some big plays from people on the third and fourth lines ... that really put us over the edge," Bylsma said. The Penguins will take it while Crosby continues his slow recovery from concussion symptoms. He went through a rigorous skate on Tuesday but remains uncertain when he will be cleared for contact. "Closer than I was yesterday, but I cant give you a date," Crosby said. "Id love for them to tell me a date I can come back and play, but its the same." Dressed in a black suit with a purple-and-black tie, Crosby received a rousing ovation when he was the last player introduced during a lengthy pre-game ceremony. Malkin was a somewhat close second, though the Russian, like Crosby also wore a suit instead of a black jersey. The Penguins arent flashy without their two most dynamic players, but have shown a knack for generating offence anyway. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots for the Penguins, who never trailed in their home opener. Marcel Goc and Tomas Fleischmann scored for the Panthers, who failed to start the season with consecutive victories for the first time since 2005. Jose Theodore had 25 saves. Pittsburgh beat Florida for the fifth straight time behind the kind of disciplined, steady play that has become the Penguins identity without Crosbyy. Jussi Jokinen Authentic Jersey. "They play together as a team," Florida defenceman Brian Campbell said. "I think tonight in spurts we played together as a team, and a lot of the times in the game we didnt play as a team. They make every little play count." The Panthers were looking for their first 2-0 start in six years but never led despite dominating play for stretches. "I thought we could come in here and be the more energetic team and I thought we were at times," coach Kevin Dineen said. "I thought that was really inconsistent. We had our moments but overall we have to have more consistency to our game." Its the kind of consistency Cooke is searching for, too. He has promised to change his ways after last season ended with a suspension for a hit on New York Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh. The transformation seems to be ahead of schedule. He started the season with a pair of goals in the season opener against Vancouver and netted his third on a fantastic backhand feed from Vitale to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead. "I shot the puck maybe six inches," Cooke said. Parks goal travelled considerably farther, clanging off the right post then smacking into Panthers defenceman Dmitry Kulikovs thigh and past Theodore. The short-handed score gave the Penguins a 3-1 edge and it was Parks first for Pittsburgh since Dec. 28, 1995. "Im just enjoying the journey right now," said Park, signed in the pre-season. The Panthers pulled within 3-2 on Fleischmanns first of the season but the Penguins answered when Neal tapped in a pass from Jordan Staal. Neal has two goals in four games, double the total he managed in 20 games last season after being traded to Pittsburgh from Dallas. The revamped Panthers beat the Islanders 2-0 on Saturday in Dineens debut. The franchise is in the midst of a massive roster overhaul, and the new-look unit showed flashes during a rare national television appearance. It wasnt enough, however, as Theodore lost to the Penguins for the fifth time in 26 regular-season starts. "You look at pretty much all their goals, it was similar plays," Theodore said. "Its around the net, its rebounds, so they were at the right spot and they were driving hard." NOTES: The Penguins host Washington on Thursday. The teams will join in on a fundraiser for the families of the 28 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players who died when their plane went down in Russia last month. Both teams will wear commemorative patches on their jerseys, which will then be sold at auction through nhl.com. ... The Panthers are off until Saturday when they face Tampa Bay in their home opener. ' ' '
