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Thursday, August 6th, 2009

The Phoenix saga continues…

The Coyotes situation has exploded again and I’ve decided to weigh in simply because I wanted to post this sweet cartoon a die-hard Yotes fan sent me! So, rumour around the proverbial water cooler is that Balsillie’s $212.5M bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes will now be considered at the team’s auction on September 10th along with other bidders both for and against relocation.

OK, for the purpose of this entry, let’s assume that Balsillie’s bid is accepted, and that his legal team is able to override the NHL’s recent vote against his suitability as an owner on the grounds that they have approved of him as such back in 2006. Let’s assume that a suitable owner cannot be found to both appease creditors and keep the team in Arizona. Let’s assume that relocation to Hamilton is the probable outcome of the Coyotes’ saga. Suddenly, $212.5M looks like chump change.

Earlier on in the court drama that is the future of the desert dogs, Bettman made a public statement that Balsillie’s bid is not as much as it seems. Well, he’s right. What do you think would happen if a billionaire business mogul waltzed into the Air Canada Centre and announced that he was buying the Toronto Maple Leafs for *Dr. Evil voice,* ”Two hundred and twelve MIIIIIIIIILLION dollars mwahahhahaha!!” Well, after MLSE staff and executives regained their composure from guaranteed hysterical laughter, the likely outcome would involve Richard Peddie grabbing his trusted two barrel shotgun and yelling, “Git outta maaaa office!”

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the money makers of the National Hockey League. It is suggested that an NHL club located thirty minutes west of the ACC would pull in similar financial figures, which means that the Hamilton Coyotes have the potential to clear between $400M and $600M a season. A team with that kind of value will not go for a steal – and $212.5M is a blow out sale!

If relocation is a real possibility, then potential buyers willing to move the team to the open arms of Copps Coliseum will have to view the price of the Coyotes as a team with southern Ontario value instead of small scale sunbelt earning potential. Likely this fact will bring previously uninterested buyer groups out of the woodwork, and an all out bidding war will ensue on September 10th. Fortunately, for Jim Balsillie, if anyone is in the position to up the ante, it’s him. However, Balsillie didn’t get nauseatingly rich by investing in projects he was unsure of. He has already proven in the past that he doesn’t want to get locked into a possible money losing venture. According to the Canadian TV show, Power Play (a show revolving around the dealings of a mock NHL team, the Hamilton Steelheads), Hamilton is a small hockey market. Not sure what the writers of that show were on, but perhaps, as history suggests, Jim Balsillie will be cautious about raising his bid should it come to that.

Here’s to what promises to be an entertaining September.

Posted in NHL relocation, Phoenix Coyotes, copps coliseum, hamilton, jim balsillie | No Comments »

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

June 9th: The biggest day in hockey…or not.

Today was supposed to be the most important day of the 2008-09 season for the National Hockey League and quite possibly in the entire world of sport. Not only was this afternoon to witness the verdict on potential relocation for the Phoenix Coyotes, which will consequentially influence the way all professional league sports operate in the future, but it was also supposed to be the presentation of hockey’s holy grail, the Stanley Cup, to the Detroit Red Wings for a second straight year!

The hockey community and fans alike were expecting an impressive fireworks display in Phoenix today, but early this afternoon, Judge Redfield T. Baum cancelled Christmas and announced that he would not be ruling on relocation just yet. Luckily, Canadians will not have to wait as long for any word on progress toward the acquisition of our seventh NHL team, as Baum claims we will have a ruling by the end of the week. Unfortunately, this means a few more sleepless nights for me. I need a vacation!

The second disappointment came this evening, when the Detroit Red Wings were unable to secure a Stanley Cup victory during game six in Pittsburgh. Wouldn’t you know that Teenstache would be the player to foil my playoff predictions (Wings in six)! Must be karma or something, but, come on, he had a teenstache, what was I supposed to do, NOT point it out? (Re: Everybody gets one) At least for the faithful Pens fans, they were able to witness a home victory for their final home game of the season.

And don’t get me wrong, I love a good game seven as much as the next diehard fan, but the 08-09 season saw the multiplication, intensification, and expansion of my crazy misadventures in hockey, and truthfully, I’m actually looking forward to having a few months off! I can’t believe I just said that, but I need some time to regroup and rethink some of the choices I made this season. Also, a part of my heart is still in Philadelphia, and so Pittsburgh is the last team I want to see winning the cup! Booo!

So, June 9th, the day hyped up to be the most important day in the world of hockey, turned out to be a dud, and the fireworks didn’t even fizzle! Hopefully Friday will be a far more exciting day with victories for both Southern Ontarians and our neighbours over the Ambassador Bridge! Go Wings Go!

Watch: Make It Seven by the GMOs!

Posted in 7th Canadian NHL team, Detroit Red Wings, NHL playoffs, NHL relocation, Phoenix Coyotes, Phoenix., Pittsburgh Penguins, hamilton, jim balsillie | No Comments »

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Judgment Day: Man-up, Toronto, Look out, Bettman!

It’s 11AM in Southern Ontario, where hockey fans and Hamiltonians are eagerly anticipating the outcome of the NHL vs. Jerry Moyes in a bankruptcy court down in sunny Arizona. Of course, it’s only 8AM on the battlefield, and so we will have to keep our breath held for just a little longer. Will the NHL thwart yet another attempt by Jim Balsillie to return hockey to its rightful home? Some feel, and with good reason, that if the NHL is victorious this will be Balsillie’s last foray into the National Hockey League. Or will the Moyes-Balsillie camp live to see another day?

I’ve weighed in on several issues including the future of Gary Bettman in the NHL should he win this case. Once more, Bettman feels that the Balsillie bid was a personal attack on him. A lack of “respect for the rules” he says, but what are rules, when they can be altered or changed at the discretion of the National Hockey League. We have heard countless falsehoods from the NHL, including one of the dirtiest tricks (I think) the NHL has pulled on us yet. The NHL claimed that they were favouring moving the Coyotes back to Winnipeg, and that they wanted Southern Ontario to have an expansion team in a few years – RIGHT! Playing on the sympathies of the twelve year heartache in Winterpeg. The interesting thing about this statement (lie) is that Bettman had said earlier this year that Winnipeg and Quebec City were failed markets because no one wanted to own a team there. What’s changed?

Also, and only a couple months ago, Bettman told a local radio show that Hamilton and Southern Ontario weren’t fit for the NHL because no one had been studying the market, and we can’t give Ontario another team based on “probability.” This latest PR stunt was obviously an attempt to put the fire out on the anger and hatred Canadians are beginning to feel for both Bettman and the National Hockey League. But, I’m sure that if the League wins today, then we will get squat. This latest carrot being tossed to us is surely a plastic one.

From lying to backtracking and name calling, the League has shown us an ugly and desperate side over the last two weeks. Another hotly debated non-issue is the League playing white knight to the Leafs territorial rights. It is my understanding (though I could be wrong) that the Leafs never formally commented on this non-issue. They were being tightlipped for good reason. It is my opinion that the Hamilton franchise could only help them. The Leafs would not lose season ticket holders, in fact they likely wouldn’t even lose waitlisted fans even if said fans successfully acquired Hamilton tickets. Why? Because the Leafs are still the Leafs and fans associate history and original six-ed-ness with prestige. Sure, Hamilton had a team in the twenties, but it’s really not the same thing.

Also the Leafs only make new revenue through non-ticket ventures in avenues like media and merchandise. The Leafs and Coyotes would obviously have to come to some sort of compromise with CBC and TSN, which means fewer Leafs games on basic cable. Maybe this seems like a bad thing, but for Maple Leaf Sports, the owner of LeafsTV, a channel already showing twelve regular season Leafs games exclusively, will suddenly be televising additional games on their terms and maximizing profit. This also means more true blue fans will have to purchase the Leafs TV package if they haven’t done so already. Plus, nothing promotes a hike in merchandise sales like a little competition and provincial rivalry.

I am not denying the disaster that will ensue in Buffalo as a result of this team, and neither is the Sabres organization, they have been just as vocal as the league in smearing the Balsillie camp. Of course the reason the Sabres are in danger is because a majority of their season seats are owned by hockey starved SOUTHERN ONTARIANS! Sure, they will lose much of the Golden Horseshoe, but only if the Coyotes tickets prove to be more cost effective. The Sabres tickets don’t break the bank, and likely the Coyotes will be valued higher than Buffalo, but slightly lower than Toronto.

And speaking of territorial rights, who was there to defend the Rangers territory when the Islanders moved in, and again when the Devils moved in? How can the Rangers function with two teams each twenty minutes from them? Seems Bettman and the League are either (once again) lying to us about our own market, or somehow trying to tell us that New Yorkers are better hockey fans than us? I think I hear the sound of Canadian blood boiling!

If Bettman and the League win today, then they will be facing serious problems down the road. Hockey is, for the most part, an unmarketable commodity. People either want it or they don’t. Phoenix has proven that all but a weak few do not want to see hockey in the desert. A new owner that has to keep the team in AZ will not do any better than the last. Should this go down, the League will be stuck with Phoenix. If they try to move the team a couple years down the road as the debt accumulates (the 2009-10 season projects a $45M loss in Glendale), then no one will stand for it after the major blemish that the Moyes battle will be on the face of the NHL. Surely, Bettman will be removed from his position, and neither Canadians nor Arizonians will ever forgive the NHL.

Make no mistake, fellow Southern Ontarians, the League has no intention to act in our best interests. Our only savior is Jim Balsillie. Our thoughts, hopes, and wishes are with him and Jerry Moyes today. If everything goes well today, then let us pray that the NHL governors will look kindly on us and write a new page in the ongoing history of hockey by bringing the game back to Hamilton.

Posted in NHL relocation, Phoenix Coyotes, hamilton, jerry moyes, jim balsillie | No Comments »

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Memories of Copps Coliseum & how I celebrated my graduation.

I was asked what I had planned to do to celebrate finishing my last exam ever at U of T on Wednesday. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought of anything. There was more important business afoot! Surprise, surprise; the major bombshell that Jim Balsillie had made a formal bid for the purchase and relocation of my newly beloved Phoenix Coyotes to, essentially, my backyard hit on the night before my final exam. How much studying do you think I did that night? None. That’s right. Actually none. If the NHL playoffs weren’t enough of a distraction, then the excitement of this news definitely put me over the edge. I stayed up the entire night just sitting and thinking about the future of the Coyotes. This was what I wanted. I had formed online communities a week earlier trying to rally hockey fans to start considering another Canadian team. Was I going to be getting my wish? Was this all a part of the mystical Arizona prophecy that led me to turn my life completely upside down at the trade deadline?

When I walked away from Jobing.com Arena after the Coyotes final game of the 2008-09 season, I was troubled to be facing the six long months of the off season without any clue as to what to do next in my quest to find my supposed destiny with “the Arizona connection.” I thought about what would happen if I just walked away. If I gave up on following some prediction blindly and had a reality check. School is over. Now the real world begins. Real jobs, real responsibilities, real clips on my wings. My traveling road show would surely suffer. Things would have to be different and I knew I would have to spend the off season figuring out what to do next. If hockey was a part of this “higher plan,” I thought, then if I walked away mountains would move. The team would be relocated to Hamilton. (Yes, I actually said that to some of my friends after the game in Anaheim in March). Was this the off season epiphany that I was hoping for? Were the mountains moving?

I will admit I had an internal struggle coming to terms with being a Phoenix fan for the last two months of the season. Mostly because I knew why I was there. I knew that I had decided to take a huge personal and financial risk and blindly follow two years worth of psychic predictions to various ports in the continental U.S . I felt crazy even by my standards, and I didn’t like the feeling. However, when I started hearing things about the real financial situation in Phoenix, I realized that this really was my team, and I wanted them here at all costs!

So, when I finished writing my final exam Wednesday night, and “Don’t Stop Believing” finally stop playing in my head, I thought about doing something to celebrate my domination of U of T in true Psycho Lady fashion. I decided I would drive over to Copps Coliseum and do some positive “visualization.” I’m not going to lie, I drove out to the 427/7 a couple times last week (the site of the purposed Vaughan arena should an NHL team move there). I’ve already proven that I believe in one form of crazy, so why not just go all out and go “The Secret” on the ass of the Coyotes. It’s the most I can do anyway. Stay positive that is. I won’t even talk to anyone who wants to argue the negative side of this situation!

As I drove to Hamilton I was reminded of all the times I had ventured to Copps Coliseum. This first time was during the lockout of 2004-05. I was 19 years old and a wreck at the loss of my beloved NHL. I had two options: huddle in a corner until the NHL was restored or explore a brand new league. I felt a little old for the OHL, so the AHL was the next best thing. At that time the Toronto Marlies still called St. John’s home, so the nearest team was the Hamilton Bulldogs. At the time I was still a die-hard Leafs fan, so the fact that the Bulldogs were affiliated with Montreal didn’t sit well with me as a loyal servant of the blue and white.

The first game was against the Cleveland Barons, the former AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. The Bulldogs were wearing their Hamilton Ti-cats jersey. I remember thinking that this was their actual jersey and how ugly and bizarre it was. The following year I would go to Cleveland for four games. The drive home was impossible. We drove around downtown Hamilton for probably close to an hour. The one way streets confused me and I couldn’t find my way back to the 403. It was funny that this time around I still had the same Tim Horton’s navigational marker.

During the lockout, the St. John’s Maple Leafs played special games at the ACC. I would go to those games too, but I also went to see them make an appearance at Copps. The arena was packed and if you squinted your eyes, it looked just like the heated Toronto/Montreal rivalry of old! These preliminary games ultimately led me to the beginning of my road trips. Eventually, I turned to the Milwaukee Admirals, the, then, defending Calder Cup champions. Over the next three seasons I would return to the Chiclet coloured seats of Copps Coliseum for every Admirals road game. But by the second half of 2006-07, I moved up to the big leagues and that’s where I’ve stayed.

My final trip to Copps was in the off season after the 2006-07 season. The Flyers didn’t make playoffs, so now I was in baseball mode. My friend and I went to the Jays game wearing matching Red Wings jerseys. The fans and Ace (the Blue Jays’ mascot) were not impressed with us. We decided to flee to Hamilton because Grand Rapids (Detroit’s farm team) was in town for a playoff game. However, by the time we arrived at Copps, we were greeted by an amusing McDonald’s employee who regaled us with the tale of his latest antiquing adventure. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the game.

I’m sure the correlation between my Phoenix “magic” and the news that the team could possibly be moving to Hamilton hasn’t been lost on my readers, but aside from this coincidence, the 2008-09 season has been one of coming full circle. This season witnessed a shift in my fan allegiance as well as my return to brunette-dom, Detroit (the site of my first solo NHL trip in 06-07), and Team Canada (the WJC being the subplot to the events of my senior year in high school, which ultimately led to me writing my book and becoming an even bigger hockey nut. It’s worth noting that this season was also a graduation year for me as well). So, will the movement of the Coyotes to Hamilton be a return to the rink that started it all? Is this to be the end of my traveling road show? Truthfully it would be nice to settle down as a season ticket holder, root for my home team, and become a (somewhat more) normal girl. Besides, I’d love nothing more than a 40+ game season! Anyway, a girl can dream, can’t she? Here’s to the future! http://makeitseven.ca

Picture 1: My last game at Copps Coliseum in Decemeber 2006. Milwaukee Admirals @ Hamilton Bulldogs. Still a blonde! (I’m the one in the black!)

Picture 2: My friend, Ace, and I at Skydome (Rogers Centre) before my last trip to Copps Coliseum in April 2007! Ace isn’t a Red Wings fan.

Posted in 7th Canadian NHL team, NHL relocation, Phoenix Coyotes, copps coliseum, hamilton | No Comments »

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