Bettman's popularity

If Bettman is doing such a great job with the NHL, why all the booing? Where's the love? This includes you, Americans. His antics with Balsillie and the City of Hamilton won't help with his popularity.

Entry draft in Columbus (2007)...



Entry draft in Ottawa (2008)...



Entry draft in Montreal (2009)...



Stanley Cup final in Detroit...



Vancouver fans during Trevor Linden's speech...

HT 1920 on Twitter

Rather than post quick thoughts and links to articles on this blog I'll update my new Twitter account. You can follow me here...

http://twitter.com/hamilton_tigers

I probably should have started twitter months ago to cover the Balsillie-Bettman craziness. It might be over next week (hopefully not though).

Song: The Battle of Balsillie

Here's a great song composed by Remo Cino about Jim Balsillie's struggles with the NHL. Enjoy!

A Tale of Two Rallies

RALLY FLASHBACK: If rallies are any indication of local support, perhaps a direct comparison between Phoenix and Hamilton's rallies should give people some indication where support for this team will truly come from. Does anyone wonder why the Coyotes are dying in the desert?

HAMILTON RALLY HIGHLIGHTS
-people, lots of people (est. 3500)
-cheering for a team they don't have
-stage, microphones, celebrity speakers, live music
-support from local government
-food bank drive
-support from pro-athletes

-local & national media

photo credit: bringthenhltohamilton.com




PHOENIX RALLY HIGHLIGHTS
-some people (est. 200)
-cheering for a team they had for 14 years
-shrieking old men
-shunned by local government
-shunned by Coyotes hockey players

-absence of media (except CTV and a local station)
-quality camerawork

photo credit: Phoenix New Times

Balsillie's Back, for good?

This roller coaster never seems to end. Since my last post, Reinsdorf and another group (Ice Edge) submitted bids to keep the team in Phoenix, the NHL board of governers (particularly Leipold and Gillette) lambasted Balsillie at a meeting, approved Reinsdorf's bid and welcomed Ice Edge while denying Balsillie's, an excellent article uncovering why Reinsdorf seems willing to keep a money-losing franchise in Phoenix (because he really is not), and a delay was granted for the non-relocation auction to take place September 10.

Today we finally some get good news. Judge Baum is allowing relocation bids to be included at the September 10 auction, which means Balsillie is back! Although this is certainly a step in the right direction, the Coyotes problem is far from being resolved. This case is getting more complicated at an exponential rate. On August 11, Judge Baum will meet with all parties to figure out what including a bid rejected by the NHL means. See Shoalts' article to get up to speed.

Also of note, the number of journalists seeing the NHL and Bettman for what they are (dishonest, immature, and obstinate) is growing. Here are a few...

Goldstein (CBS Sports). Shady dealings make NHL look even more out of touch with reality (link)

Hickey (The Gazzette). Balsillie has more character than jailed ex-owners (link)

Fenske (Phoenix New Times). Something Smells in Glendale: Did the City Steer the Phoenix Coyotes Franchise to an Insider? (link)