Broke Yotes!!

[Perceptor]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Man, the whiteouts started in Winnipeg, where the team was originally moved from. Now Phoenix is having even worse problems then the team had while it was here in Manitoba. And I don't recall the NHL getting their panties in a knot when that team was going to be moved.
This whole situation with the Yotes, and the call to "keep them in Glendale" is making my stomach turn. We had more of an emotional attachment to the team than the fans in Phoenix EVER WILL!
Poetic justice, maybe?

I completely agree. People may say Ballisilie's a slimeball, but Bettman is no better. He just doesn't want to admit that he screwed up because Phoenix hasn't done as well as he had hoped

[mgoblue]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I completely agree. People may say Ballisilie's a slimeball, but Bettman is no better. He just doesn't want to admit that he screwed up because Phoenix hasn't done as well as he had hoped

The team should probably move from Phoenix, but I hope Balsillie doesn't get the team...He is a slimeball who apparently doesn't give a crap about the actual NHL itself, trying to put the spotlight on him rather than the awesome NHL playoffs going on. He obviously won't go about getting a franchise the right way, there's just way too much going on here that's shady. It's like when the Sonics moved from Seattle, just shady and wrong the way he's going about things.

[Vince]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Man, the whiteouts started in Winnipeg, where the team was originally moved from. Now Phoenix is having even worse problems then the team had while it was here in Manitoba. And I don't recall the NHL getting their panties in a knot when that team was going to be moved.
This whole situation with the Yotes, and the call to "keep them in Glendale" is making my stomach turn. We had more of an emotional attachment to the team than the fans in Phoenix EVER WILL!
Poetic justice, maybe?

Yeah Winnipeg started it, but Phx continued it very well..I still remember that series back in 99 or was it 2000, when the Blues took the Yotes to 7 games and Turgeon scored the overtime winner....Great series.

[RealmK]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I also find it funny that the NHL claims they've been running things since November. I distinctly recall Bettman saying that Phoenix was fine and the league was only helping them find an owner.
This is a lie that Bettman can't avoid anymore. How is anyone supposed to believe anything that comes out of his mouth anymore? That's why I think Bettman is so ticked. He knows he has no credibility any more when speaking about the state of the league.

Personally I never thought Bettman had much credibility to begin with and has pretty much just bumbled along the whole time. From TV contracts (Vs? really? f'in Vs?) and now this horrible situation with Phoenix, just furthers along that thought in my mind.

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Personally I never thought Bettman had much credibility to begin with and has pretty much just bumbled along the whole time. From TV contracts (Vs? really? f'in Vs?) and now this horrible situation with Phoenix, just furthers along that thought in my mind.

Speaking of TV Contracts. Doesn't anyone else see the irony in the fact that the owners of the other 29 teams have had to give back over 50% of their TV cut to keep Phoenix afloat? Because weren't non-traditional market teams like Phoenix supposed to broaden their national viewership and eventually secure them a lucrative TV deal? It's the sole reason why Bettman refuses to let that team leave Arizona.

Regarding Ballsillie, maybe it's because I'm a Canadian, but I don't see him as a slimeball. Yes, I think he could be going about this in a different way but I actually think he's acting more like a kid that needs to have the toy he's always dreamed about.

And I think he's well aware that he blackballed himself out of the NHL after doing what he did in Nashville so he's desperate and trying to force himself into the league - come hell or high water.

One BOG who spoke on anonymity said after the Nashville fiasco that Ballsillie would have to throw himself on a sword in front of the BOG's in order to make amends. So essentially, he would have to buy a struggling club and put up with the losses for several years before getting the okay to move. I don't think Ballsillie has the patience or tolerance for that.

I wish he had gone about this differently. He should have bought Nashville and let it be for a season or two before pleading with the BOG's to let him move it.

Instead, he's just bullying himself into the fray. And I don't think a lot of these rich tycoons and their old-boy's club mentality like it one bit.

[Qb]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Regarding Ballsillie... I actually think he's acting more like a kid that needs to have the toy he's always dreamed about.

Excellent analogy.

Instead, he's just bullying himself into the fray. And I don't think a lot of these rich tycoons and their old-boy's club mentality like it one bit.

No, they don't. Primarily because they're usually the ones bullying people...

[SPTO]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I think this will lead to Bettman's demise. I've always assumed that Bettman and the league has fudged a lot of numbers especially when it came to the Preds, Lightning and now Coyotes. Then there's the whole "territorial rights" crap. I know i harp on it a lot but just remember this, the issue of territorial rights is said to be an NHL by-law but nowhere has it been written out in black and white. You add that to the fact that with that issue it has NEVER gone to a vote and the party looking to move into a market ALWAYS had to pay money.

Doesn't this just seem a tad fishy to you? It's like GB has no confidence that the owners would vote his way. Another thing that needs to be looked at is the fact that the NHL has constantly said that PHX is ok but the organization was literally having their creditors take office equipment and such out of the building! The Coyotes don't own a THING. Everything they "own" has been borrowed and never paid back fully. How does this equal a franchise with normal financial difficulties.

Let's also look at the owners that Bettman has brought in through the years. He's brought in scam artists, crooked people looking for big bucks, two young Hollywood guys that seemingly owe the whole world (watch Tampa is going to be completely bankrupt by October) and an outright criminal in Boots Del Biaggio!

This battle with Balsillie is going to lead to one of two situations: Balsillie losing out for the last time and never to be heard from again or Bettman being fired or resigning in disgrace.

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

No, they don't. Primarily because they're usually the ones bullying people...

Absolutely.

Have you ever read a book called "Power Play" by Gil Stein?

He wrote about the BOG meetings in Florida when he was a member in the 70's and 80's.
You wouldn't believe the crap this old-boys club did for tradition or entertainment.

He spoke about a white-suit party where everyone had to dress in all white tuxes, suits, etc.
And then each of them was expected to do a presentation with unique material they wrote, such as poems, skits, songs, etc. It sounded like the most pretentious event I've ever heard of.
A bunch of rich trust fund babies who enjoy acting higher and better than anyone else on the planet. And now suddenly this brash 'dude' comes along and thinks he can crash our elegant party without kissing our butts first? How dare he!

Don't get me wrong, I understand why they're upset. And I disagree with Ballsillie's tactics, but this whole thing makes me laugh. A bunch of billionares angry over someone using the back door to get in their treehouse fort.

[mgoblue]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I actually think he's acting more like a kid that needs to have the toy he's always dreamed about.

I would just prefer not to see the grabby little punk kid who gets whatever he wants to be rewarded. It's obvious how he's going about this the wrong way.

Again, I think the Coyotes should probably move, but just not a fan of Balsillie's tactics.

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I think this will lead to Bettman's demise. I've always assumed that Bettman and the league has fudged a lot of numbers especially when it came to the Preds, Lightning and now Coyotes. Then there's the whole "territorial rights" crap. I know i harp on it a lot but just remember this, the issue of territorial rights is said to be an NHL by-law but nowhere has it been written out in black and white. You add that to the fact that with that issue it has NEVER gone to a vote and the party looking to move into a market ALWAYS had to pay money.

Doesn't this just seem a tad fishy to you? It's like GB has no confidence that the owners would vote his way. Another thing that needs to be looked at is the fact that the NHL has constantly said that PHX is ok but the organization was literally having their creditors take office equipment and such out of the building! The Coyotes don't own a THING. Everything they "own" has been borrowed and never paid back fully. How does this equal a franchise with normal financial difficulties.

Let's also look at the owners that Bettman has brought in through the years. He's brought in scam artists, crooked people looking for big bucks, two young Hollywood guys that seemingly owe the whole world (watch Tampa is going to be completely bankrupt by October) and an outright criminal in Boots Del Biaggio!

This battle with Balsillie is going to lead to one of two situations: Balsillie losing out for the last time and never to be heard from again or Bettman being fired or resigning in disgrace.

Excellent points. There was an article recently that showed how the Coyotes needed assistance to pay back airfare and even the commentators salaries.

There's also great sources that the new Lighting owners had to borrow money from Davison before he died to pay the players.

And looking back at all the crooks Bettman has brought it in is a joke. Most, if not all, of these guys were handpicked by Bettman. And what has that led to?

And now he's blackballing a prospective owner who is legit, has boatloads of cash and is emphatic about the sport.

I think this is an excellent time to review the NHL's directive. Maybe it's time to realize that the sport is a niche sport in the US and can be very profitiable if marketed region-by-region.
That elusive US TV deal is never going to happen. We'll never come close to pulling in the same deal that MLB or the NBA have. NEVER.

[Vince]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I would just prefer not to see the grabby little punk kid who gets whatever he wants to be rewarded. It's obvious how he's going about this the wrong way.

Again, I think the Coyotes should probably move, but just not a fan of Balsillie's tactics.

It's pretty clear Bettman doesn't want any more Canadian teams, so Balsillie really has no choice but to try and force his way into the NHL.

[tyler289]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Phoenix is not an expansion franchise. They were the Winnipeg Jets before moving to Phoenix.

Well yea, but moving a team to Phoenix was part of the expansion to the West Coast and South.

[mgoblue]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

It's pretty clear Bettman doesn't want any more Canadian teams, so Balsillie really has no choice but to try and force his way into the NHL.

I guess I just remember the whole Penguins situation where he 100% wanted to move the team from a city that was at least trying to work with things...Yeah, they had major issues going on, but it's not like the city had given up, but you knew that he'd move the team immediately.

I dunno, just left a bad taste in my mouth concerning him...maybe it's a bad rap, I dunno. I just think that if he was truly above board that the BOG would gladly welcome him in and give him a team to move...

[RealmK]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Bettman either resigning or being forced out would prolly be the best thing to happen for the NHL in a long time. The man clearly doesn't know what he's doing, nor seems to care about the sport very much to begin with.

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

On the Hotstove segment last night on HNIC, Pierre Labrun revealed that an NHL Governor told him he was softening on letting Ballsillie into the league and was in the process of getting support for him from other BOG's. The plan was to begin softening Bettman's ear to finally let this guy in. Then this whole fiasco dropped. Now this particular Governor said all bets are off. Everyone's ticked at him again.

I think the biggest reason Bettman and the BOG's are pissed about this is because they know if they expand they can slap a team in south Ontario for a cool $300M expansion fee. That's $10M to each owner.
That disappears if Ballsillie gets to move this team to Hamilton.

Like most things in sports, this is a lot more about money than it is anything else.

I'm starting to believe that Ballsillie is not going to win this battle. Listening to XM the other day, the judge can take a look at the other bids and if he/she believes that those bids are better for all creditors (including the city of Glendale that has a big empty rink to get a tenant for) then Ballsillie is out.
But even if the judge takes JB's offer, it sounds very suspect that he/she can force the NHL to accept the relocation clause.

Bettman needs to take a hard look at himself because he created this mess. He helped coordinate the deal to move the team from Scottsdale to Glendale and effectively cut off half of the valley where the majority of Yotes fans come from.

Also, during the HNIC telecast many brought up the point that it was only 3 years ago that Pittsburgh and Washington were nearly bankrupt and in danger of moving. The difference with those cities were that they have a history of having great fan support and in Pittsburgh's case they were desperate for a new arena.
The same could be said for Buffalo and Ottawa.

I'm still not convinced that Phoenix would be a success at anytime. It might take the drafting of the next Crosby AND Ovechkin to save this sinking ship.