Hockey, Labor Dispute | featured news

The National Hockey League and NHL Players' Assn. reached tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement early Sunday morning, opening the way for training camps to open later this week after both sides put on paper and ratify the terms of the complex agreement.

On the ice, the National Hockey League has never been more competitive than over the course of its last collective bargaining agreement, which began with the 2005-06 season. A different team has won the Stanley Cup each season, ranging from big-market clubs like Los Angeles and Chicago to small ones such as Pittsburgh and Raleigh. A total of 12 different teams reached the finals during the seven-year CBA.

The 48-day-old NHL lockout took on a more ominous tone Friday when the league officially canceled the Winter Classic, the annual outdoor game that was expected to draw more than 114,000 fans to Ann Arbor's Michigan Stadium to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Detroit Red Wings.