Press Box: NHL proposed 50-50 revenue split with players
The NHL extended a new offer to its locked-out players on Tuesday that includes a 50-50 split of hockey revenues and a plan to play the entire 82-game schedule.
The proposal was announced during meetings in Toronto by commissioner Gary Bettman.
The terms of the former collective bargaining agreement gave the players 57 percent of the hockey revenues.
"We hope we've given our best shot," Bettman said.
Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association, said the league's offer includes a contract agreement for at least six years.
The league is pushing to end the lockout, which began Sept. 15, with a deal that would allow a full season to get under way on Nov. 2. Regular-season games originally were to start Oct. 11.
Bettman said the league is not seeking salary rollbacks for the players. ESPN.com and the New York Times reported that the NHL's proposal is designed to protect players from salary reductions.
MOTORSPORTS
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who missed last week's NASCAR Sprint Cup race after sustaining two concussions in a six-week span, visited Pittsburgh on Tuesday to consult with a concussion expert, according to NASCAR.com and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Earnhardt, accompanied by Charlotte-based neurosurgeon Jerry Petty, went to see Dr. Micky Collins, head of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. Results of the meeting weren't immediately known.
Earnhardt will miss this week's race at Kansas Speedway after sitting out Saturday's event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. According to the Tribune-Review, Petty said Earnhardt could be cleared to return to action for the Oct. 28 race at Martinsville (Va.) if he is headache-free for four or five days.
COLLEGE SPORTS
--Tim Curley's contract as Penn State athletic director won't be renewed when it expires next year, the university announced Tuesday.
Curley was placed on paid administrative leave last fall after news of the Jerry Sandusky scandal came to light. He faces perjury and failure to report charges in Sandusky's child sex-abuse case.
The trial for Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz, who also faces similar charges, is scheduled to begin in January.
"The university has notified Mr. Curley that it will not renew his contract when it expires in June," school spokesman David La Torre said. "Due to this being a personnel matter, we cannot comment further."
