by GABRIEL MORENCY

They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We're guessing that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will be more lawyer than historian when dealing with the league's second work stoppage under his watch.

Considering the deal the players got in 1994, you can understand his reluctance to relive the past. After a three-month battle, the NHL Players' Association walked away with an incredibly high 76 per cent of gross revenues generated going to players' salaries (compared to 64 per cent for the NFL and 58 per cent for the NBA). The owners evidently have zero per cent interest in extending a deal that they say cost them losses of $273-million (U.S.) in just one year alone!

As hard as it is to sympathize with billionaire owners who charge fans 120 bucks a ticket and eight bucks a beer, that's exactly what Canadians are doing nation-wide - most polls have less than 10 per cent of fans on the side of the players they pay to watch. Nobody would be expected to take a 25 per cent pay cut, as the owners have forcibly suggested (the players offered five per cent), but the Players' Association's reluctance to even discuss a salary cap is almost as obnoxious as the 60 bucks that they are charging for their touring Original Stars Series - a series that uses the term Stars very loosely, as it includes such household names as Aaron Downey, Dan Boyle and Matt Bradley. Think I'll wait for the Original All-Star series, thank you very much.

The Canadiens should be opening their pre-season Thursday night at the Bell Centre against Tampa Bay. They obviously won't be. Not only are all players barred from entering the building, but they have also been told they can't participate in any charities involving the club they play for. If any players want to make a holiday visit to the Children's Hospital, better not do it in a Canadiens jersey. Commissioner's orders. And we miss these people, because?

The Semi-Pro option

For those of you who can't live without the coolest game on earth, the Ligue nord-américaine de hockey (LNAH), formerly known as the Semi-Pro league, is open for business province-wide. For 14 bucks, fans get a chance to see some entertaining, trap-free hockey that makes ultimate fighting look tame, as there are more punches thrown in a Laval Chiefs-Verdun Dragons game than there are in an Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward fight. Look for some of the locked-out NHL players to turn up in a local LNAH arena near you. Donald Brashear has said he will play for le Radio X de Québec, who are owned, appropriately enough, by Quebec City bad boy radio station CHOI.

Adios Expos

The Expos play their last home game of the season Wednesday, Sept. 29, ironically enough against the Jeffrey Loria-owned Florida Marlins, in what very well could be their last game in Montreal. While it is still unclear what will happen to the franchise (the courts will decide that), there is no debating that this season was nothing short of a spectacular failure. From the first game on, Expos players seemed as apathetic as the fans in the city they play in. Losing became not only tolerable but acceptable to a team that was supposed to not miss a beat in the post-Guerrero-Vasquez era. Yeah, right. It's hard to be interested in winning when your organization - from the president down to the manager - isn't. The players deserve better. So do we.

Protest the Expos move with Encore Baseball, Saturday Sept. 25, 3:30 p.m. Viau metro

Legendary Alouettes

When the Alouettes take on the Bombers this Saturday at Molson Stadium, it will be their 53rd consecutive sellout. They have won 11 of 12 football games this season, have wrapped up home field advantage through the playoffs, and yet their fans are concerned whether the Alouettes are still the team to beat. Anthony Calvillo has taken so much heat you'd think his name is Red Light Racicot. Regular season success is nice, but it's championships that build legends. Don Matthews had a legend in Toronto in Doug Flutie. Does he have one in Anthony Calvillo? We'll find out November 21.

Meet the Als wives by bringing a non-perishable item just prior to Saturday night's game. All donations go to Sun Youth

Pigskin Prognosticator

Saturday, Sept. 25
Winnipeg (+13.5) at Montreal: Winnipeg
Sunday, Sept. 26
Jacksonville (+6) at Tennessee: Jacksonvile
G.B. (+6) at Indy: G.B.
N.O. (+7.5) at St. Louis: N.O.
Morency's season record to date: 3-0

Join Sports Rage and crew for Road Rage 10, Sept. 9, at the Grand Bayou (12 Rachel W.). Sports Rage with Gabriel Morency is vented weeknights 11 p.m.-2 a.m. on TEAM 990 AM. This column appears bi-weekly. Comments: sportsrage@team990.com