# make it 7!



## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

You know I cannot believe Bettman.

http://sports.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/...=True&date=true&newsitemid=spphoenixbalsillie

http://www.makeitseven.ca/


How many times are they going to stop this guy? A team in Hamilton would make boat loads of money!!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I'd love to see another Canadian team! Especially one that I can actually maybe purchase tickets for!


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Starbuck said:


> You know I cannot believe Bettman.
> 
> http://sports.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/...=True&date=true&newsitemid=spphoenixbalsillie
> 
> ...


What about Betteman? I read both links and didn't even see his name mentioned.
It would be nice to have a team in Southern Ontario that maybe would care about hockey fans.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

From what I gather, Bettman is not the key to making it happen. it would have to be voted on by team owners and he does not think it would get passed.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

GuitarsCanada said:


> From what I gather, Bettman is not the key to making it happen. it would have to be voted on by team owners and he does not think it would get passed.


I dunno, what I heard on the radio today was that Bettman said the HE is the one who decides WHO gets a hockey Team nad he's already said no to Hamilton.

I sit corrected, The NHL Union Does vote..

http://sports.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/...rue&date=true&newsitemid=sp-bettman-balsillie


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Here is a story from Fox Sports. he claims it is down to the owners. But having said that, I think you are still right. He himself is against it.



> NEW YORK (AP) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is skeptical of Jim Balsillie's offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, saying he isn't sure the BlackBerry boss could gain approval of league owners.
> 
> Canada's revenge? Canada looks like it might finally be able to take a team away from the U.S. See some of the franchises America has taken from its northern neighbor.
> The NHL stripped current Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes of the authority to run the club Tuesday after Moyes announced the team had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Balsillie announced a plan to buy the financially troubled team and move it to Canada, where they were the Winnipeg Jets before moving to Phoenix for the 1996-97 season.
> ...


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Here is a story from Fox Sports. he claims it is down to the owners. But having said that, I think you are still right. He himself is against it.


I don't get it though if a team is making money (like a Hamilton team likely would) Doesn't the entire league win?

I hope in this case 3rd times a charm and Balsillie is taken up on his offer.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Starbuck said:


> I don't get it though if a team is making money (like a Hamilton team likely would) Doesn't the entire league win?
> 
> I hope in this case 3rd times a charm and Balsillie is taken up on his offer.


I can guarantee you that Buffalo does not want a team in Hamilton. 3/4 of their crowds have always been Canadians and it would hit them hard. The Leafs are the Leafs and I imagine they will keep their throngs lined up around the corner but it would have a slight impact there as well.

Then comes the question of keeping the place full, every year. Three NHL franchises within a 2 hr driving distance might be tricky. Plus, Copps is a dump and there would need to be work done there for sure. But if anyone has the cash, it is our friends at RIM.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Starbuck said:


> I don't get it though if a team is making money (like a Hamilton team likely would) Doesn't the entire league win?


Its probably more about the NHL having a larger presence in the US (more teams) and generating more league revenue from America TV networks.

The NHL seems quite happy to have teams in locations where most people could care less about hockey.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

The NHL has to get rid of those US teams that are takers. Teams like Nashville and Phoenix are takers with the revenue sharing and always will be. How can an owner vote against moving a team from the position of taker to one of potentially giver?


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I can't stand Gary Bettman. It's personal with him, but he shruggs his shoulders and says it's the "NHL's rules" . What a load of bull$hit. He has made it his mission to sell hockey to the U.S. He's hoping to find buyers in Phoenix!?! Jim Balsillie has $212+ million and wants to move it to Ontario. That this would hurt the Leafs and the Sabres revenue is complete garbage. As I understand it the TMLs could sell out all their games twice over, going by ticket demand. Bettman may have met his match in Mr. Balsillie. He has *a lot* of money and he's a HUGE hockey fan. This will be interesting to watch play out.

Shawn


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Betteman doesn't make it easy to like him. As for finding a buyer in Phoenix. Good luck with that. I don't know how many rich guys that want to sink in to bankruptcy there are in Phoenix


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

If there was an owner that would relocate the team in Vegas......it would have already happened. It is no secret Bettman wants a team there. 
He has signed a deal to have the NHL Awards there for the next three years. Hoping to drum up interest in a franchise there. 
I did the NHL Awards in toronto last year and they were crying poor for every little thing. So hence the show is a small one. Let me tell you, Vegas is THE most expensive town I have every worked in (as far as TV and film are concerned). So he is positioning himself for this.


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

Here's the scoop; Bettman, in conjunction with Cirque du Soleil and Steven Wright present a unique NHL experience where the audience views the game from below the ice surfacekkjuw

Andy


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

sysexguy said:


> Here's the scoop; Bettman, in conjunction with Cirque du Soleil and Steven Wright present a unique NHL experience where the audience views the game from below the ice surfacekkjuw
> 
> Andy



I'd buy that for a dollar...:smile:

Okay not really.
But it wouldn't shock me.


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

> I'd buy that for a dollar...


 In the new Vegas, a buck will get you 10 minutes of access to your floor's ice machine

Andy


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

sysexguy said:


> Here's the scoop; Bettman, in conjunction with Cirque du Soleil and Steven Wright present a unique NHL experience where the audience views the game from below the ice surfacekkjuw
> 
> Andy



LOL! made specially for the people who needed the "comets tail" in order to see the puck! Morons!


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Starbuck said:


> LOL! made specially for the people who needed the "comets tail" in order to see the puck! Morons!


Yeah, unfortunately that is the target audience for the NHL. Hence their reluctance to allow a team to move to a hockey mad city like Hamilton.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

bagpipe said:


> Yeah, unfortunately that is the target audience for the NHL. Hence their reluctance to allow a team to move to a hockey mad city like Hamilton.


Well if you've ever seen the movie Mystery Alaska, they would like folks to think hockey was invented by Americans.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

It's looking better every day. Mr. Ballsillie may be one of the richest guys on the planet, but if he sticks it to Bettman I'd buy him a beer.:smile: I really get the feeling he's doing this out of love for the game and it's fans. If he buys the Coyotes and builds a new arena for them in Hamilton, it will be a long, long time before he sees that money back in his pockets. This isn't just business for him.


http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayR...STORY=/www/story/05-14-2009/0005026594&EDATE=

Shawn


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## monty (Feb 9, 2009)

I think this time we are going to get a team.
That said, GB is a stubborn ass who should be turfed by the owners.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Hamilton, K-W, etc., they will never get an NHL caliber team. If they ever did, Toronto would want one too!


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## JimiGuy7 (Jan 10, 2008)

bagpipe said:


> Its probably more about the NHL having a larger presence in the US (more teams) and generating more league revenue from America TV networks.
> 
> The NHL seems quite happy to have teams in locations where most people could care less about hockey.


That is what makes absolutely no sense to me!!!! I don't know why these people have such a hard time putting a team in an area that will generate revenue and will have an instant fan base. Yet, if someone wanted to put a team in LAS VEGAS!!!! They are all for it. Phoenix is not and never will be a hockey town, nor is Nashville among others. Is it that hard to understad why the residents in these cities are not jumping on the bandwagon? THEY DON'T CARE!!! They have all those boring American sports to worry about supporting in there cities, why should they worry about a sport that they probably thought was only played by drunken Canadians on a frozen pond, which half the time it is. SWEET!


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/NHL/...line=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True

Not that I'm surprised, but why bother to keep a franchise in a city that doesn't care????


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

Starbuck said:


> http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/NHL/...line=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
> 
> Not that I'm surprised, but why bother to keep a franchise in a city that doesn't care????



Exactly! And how does losing $300 M over the last 12 years make Phoenix a "viable" location for a franchise. What a joke!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Starbuck said:


> http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/NHL/...line=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
> 
> Not that I'm surprised, but why bother to keep a franchise in a city that doesn't care????


(I know it was a rhetorical question, but I gotta say it...) Why bother? Because the judge and Bettman are contrary, pissy, indignant twits. A bunch of suits who never knew what it was like to play shinny, pretending they were Keon, Sittler, Richard, Howe, et al. Fair play, decency, and common sense aren't in style these days and lawyers don't profit from it much.

He shoots, he scores, pending judicial review.

Peace, Mooh.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Starbuck said:


> http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/NHL/...line=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
> 
> Not that I'm surprised, but why bother to keep a franchise in a city that doesn't care????


I think part of it really was the fairly short amount of time left to the team and the NHL to move a franchise. I think there will eventually be another team in Southern Ontario, and it's a good bet that Balsillie will own it (unless RIM tanks), but this situation wasn't likely to pan out from the beginning.

Fortunately, there are plenty of teams in the forgotten parts of the States that can be bought and moved because they're not earning a cent.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

This battle was lost, but the war goes on. The Coyotes are expected to lose $40 million next season regardless of what happens with potential buyers in Phoenix. Bettman wants a team in Las Vegas, and keeping the Coyotes ailing in Arizona is all part of his vanity project. He'll impress upon a prospective buyer that the Coyotes can be had for a song and moved to Nevada for peanuts. This isn't, nor has it ever been about hockey for that miserable little prick Bettman. He's one of these business sociopaths that wants his vision realised no matter how out of touch and foolhardy it is.


Shawn.


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