2014 Mascot Shortlist; NHL Union Chief on Sochi

Sochi Mascot Shortlists

"Little men", a snowflake and the sun are some of the shortlisted Sochi 2014 mascot submissions.

Organizers of the 2014 Olympics revealed a list with 10 possible Olympic mascots and three Paralympic mascots. An "expert jury" will select the winner with an announcement coming on Feb. 7 2011, the three-years-to-go mark for the Games.

"Six months ago we made the unprecedented decision to create our mascot together with the Russian people" Sochi 2014 president Dmitry Chernyshenko said.

"An entire country has taken part in a contest of ideas to create Olympic and Paralympic mascots. The mascots for the Sochi 2014 Games should reflect the characteristics of Russian culture and be familiar to millions of people of different ages, occupations and nationalities, both in Russia and around the world. It is essential that the mascots appeal to children, since for many of them the Sochi 2014 mascots will be their first contact with sport. We encourage everyone to take part in the final nationwide SMS voting, which will be held in February during a live television broadcast."

The full lineup of shortlisted Olympic mascots is: rabbit, dolphin, polar bear, brown bear, bullfinch, leopard, snowball/snowflake/ice floe piece, sun, little men and Father Frost.

For the Paralympics, the choices are a nested doll/tumbler toy, bullfinch and a dolphin.

Stability for Hockey Union Ahead of Sochi Talks

The NHL is a step closer to Sochi thanks to a leadership change atop its players’ association.

The NHL Players Association announced Saturday that former baseball union chief Donald Fehr will succeed Paul Kelly as its executive director. The 62-year-old had been acting in the role since a search committee recommended his hiring in early September.

His appointment comes ahead of negotiations that will determine whether NHL players appear in the next Winter Games.

Fehr wants the world’s best in Sochi come 2014, a stance he reiterated Saturday.

"If you can strike the right kind of agreement and it works, then obviously the Olympics is something you want to take advantage of," he said Saturday during an interview on CBC’s "Hockey Night in Canada".

"You want players to be able to participate if you can."

Fehr led the Major League Baseball Players’ Association for 26 years before stepping down last year, a reign that spanned each of the sport’s five appearances on the Olympic program. Scheduling constraints were even more pronounced than those now facing the NHL, forcing MLB to keep its players out of the Games.

"In baseball, it was very tough to do because it was simply not possible and no one was willing to shut the season for it," he told "Hockey Night" host Ron MacLean.

"There's no doubt there are a whole lot of players who want to play."

NHL players were allowed in the Olympics thanks to the collective bargaining agreement, but that contract expires in September 2012, meaning the game’s top stars could be absent from Sochi 2014.

Commissioner Gary Bettman was non-committal at the World Hockey Summit in late August, indicating talks for the new CBA could decide whether the league pauses mid-season to make room for the Games.

Fehr said Saturday he expects to begin negotiations in the spring of 2012. The last time the NHL and NHLPA met at the bargaining table, a lockout ensued. Only when the union agreed to a salary cap did the stalemate end, but not before the 2004-2005 season fell victim.

NHL players, particularly Russians this time around, want Olympic participation, a desire the league will likely use as leverage in the upcoming talks.

In a conference call with reporters Saturday, Fehr did not address what role Sochi 2014 will play in the negotiation for a new CBA.

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Written by Ed Hula III.