Updated: Talks continue, fans still planning to attend Thrashers’ select-a-seat event

Man, this sucks…..can’t believe it’s really happening. My kid just started playing jr hockey at the IceForum, he’ll be crushed. Oh well, there’s always the Gladiators….but still…

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THIRD!!!

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News flash Zak, there are fans that did support the team. Didn’t you read the article, you . . . jackhammer? it’s about the owners not being able to pay the bills not about the fans not coming out. Look at the numbers of tickets sold for games, we were selling more tickets that some of the ‘traditional markets.’

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@ Zak… yet, the Islanders are still chugging along. Even with two other teams in the NYC area and one upstate.

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I wish the Thrashers would stay in Atlanta! I was looking forward to moving back to the area and getting back into going to their games. I hope the NHL will return to Atlanta in the near future! http://faganaround.tumblr.com/post/5669205146/atlanta-thrashers-moving-to-winnipeg

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I’ve said it a hundred times… complain about ownership all you want, but it comes down to this man and this opinion…

“I understand that there may be dissatisfaction there, but demonstrating your dissatisfaction by not going to games is an interesting strategy,” Bettman said. “It’s your absolute right. But if it becomes a turnoff for anybody who might want to buy the franchise, the long-term consequences could be severe.”

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newsflash zak – we supported the team, but could not support the owners anymore. We supported the team by letting it be known that we expected more from the owners. Would you continue to go to your favorite restaurant to eat your favorite foods if the owners stopped spending money on ingredients, pest control, wait staff, chefs, or management?

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Dear Winnipeg, you might want to conduct some sort of exorcism to rid your new team of the curse that ails it. Long-time fans here know the litany of events that have transpired over the years and can fill you in if necessary. In all my years I’ve never seen such a star-crossed fanchise that even though expectations were never very high always failed to live up to our modest hopes. Here’s hoping a change of venue helps but I have my doubts.

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Very sad day….
The deal is all but done

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I guess the silver lining in all this is that Don Waddell is out of our lives and has to go live in Winnipeg.

.

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Bring a wrench, and take that freaking seat with you. Steal anything that ain’t bolted down!

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There’s no need to slag us Winnipeggers. We do feel bad that someone has to lose a team for us to get one. And believe me, we lost one in 1996 and the loyal fans among us know exactly how crappy it feels. I certainly don’t wish anyone in Atlanta any ill will. In a perfect world we would have got an expansion team and you wouldn’t have had to lose yours.

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I posted this on Rawhide’s blog. It seems our old friend Ben Eager has some negative things to say about us. He said the team has been here too long and the city is not interested. I guess in his short time here, he didn’t pick up on the ownership situation due to too many hits in the head.

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I live about at the mid-point between Chicago and St Louis. I can drive a few hours to either city to see the NHL. If the NHL turns it’s back on the city of Atlanta, I turn my back on the NHL. And once I’m gone, I’m gone for good. I like Hockey. I can and will go to any number of minor league and college games. I’m DONE with the NHL. All that talk about being committed to the US markets is just so much BS. Bettman is such a liar and a hypocrit. He doesn’t care about Hockey in the US. Let them go to Canada and let the NHL return to being a Canadian sports league.

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Eileen – dont take anything Eager says seriously. Look at his last game and you’ll know he suffers from too many head injuries.
As for fans, sorry you have to face what Wpg faced in 90’s. It sucks and hurts!!

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In Brightest Day,

In Blackest ‘Hood,

The Atlanta Spirit Group

Is Up to No Good.

Let Those Who Support

Bruce Levenson’s Sad Plight,

Beware My Power,

Green Lantern’s Light.

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In Brightest Day,

In Deepest Snow,

To One Last Select-A-Seat,

My Sad Heart Will Go.

I Choose The Seat of Bruce Levenson,

That Liar and Ho.

I’ll Make for It a Broken Broom Handle

And a Can of Crisco.

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I find it interesting that Dudley played for Winnipeg….I wonder how he feels about all of this…..Conspiracy?…….Long Live the Atlanta Thrashers!!!!

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Forget the rally – the team is GONE. All it’s going to do is be media fodder for the Canadian media, and give the ASG an opportunity to point out no one cares. You are better off spending time at the rally to save the NASL Atlanta Chiefs, or the groups trying to keep Atlanta Fulton County Stadium and / or the Omni from being razed.

Let’s take our hockey money over to the Glads and try to get them to draw 10K this season…perhaps get them to move up to the AHL in time.

I think I will go to the eventual equipment sale the team will certainly hold. Gonna go buy thousands of dollars of stuff using checks from an account I closed decades ago. What judge would convict me? They lie. I lie.

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Is the fact that the Thrashers are not currently (Fri 4pm) mentioned at all on ajc’s home page a proper reflection of the general attitude of Atlantans?

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Despite the rosy picture most of the Winnipeggers paint of the past, the best Jets NHL attendance from 79-96 was only 87.3% capacity (13.592 in the 86-87 season). The Jets only averaged over 13,000 fans 9 times in 17 seasons which isn’t much better than what Atlanta has done.

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CHRIS VIVLAMORE please take the following and see if you can get any traction.

I think we could get 7000 fans and /or season ticket holders to invest in a private fund to purchase the team. The investment would be $15,000.00, thus 105 million dollars. If each investor bought 80% percent of the games at a mean number of 3 tickets per, there would only be an additional 4000 tickets or so, per game, to be sold to the public. Every game would be a sell-out thus an automatic ROI (return on investment) to the investors of 3 to 4 years. Everyone has skin in the game. Could such a proposal be brought before the current ownership? Will they stay in the game to allow this to work?

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glovesave gets it.

Come on, people. I guess reality will sink in eventually, but when it does, everyone needs to channel their energy into an effective effort to exact a price from Levenson, Gearon, Seydel, et al. They cannot be allowed to get away with this. We need to know what businesses they own, and out them as the scum they are, and keep pressing the issue so they pay for what they’ve done. The Hawks need to be boycotted, Philips Arena needs to be boycotted, en masse.

And the NHL is just as culpable. They have had this orchestrated for months. I feared it the day Bill Daly ran his mount on Winnipeg radio last fall, this fix has been in. There was no search for a local buyer, anyone that popped up was told they had to pay rent to the Spirit Squad and that was unsustainable as a business model. You have to have or share arena rights.

This was a fix from Day 1 and it was on the NHL’s part, I’m sure the Spirit Squad would have been fine selling the Thrashers along with the arena, but it’s the NHL who orchestrated this.

If you continue to support the NHL after this, then PT Barnum was right

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A Final Kick in The Teeth gets it . . . please if you go down there tomorrow, follow his/her advice, and do it en masse, or you’ll be fodder in perpetuity . . .

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I would buy a pair of season tix tomorrow if I knew the team would be here and there would be a new owner.

But it is really hard to engage with this group as it is no matter how much I love this team.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…

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Nice to see Ben Eager in between bonehead plays that should warrant a suspenion take the time to take a dump on Atlanta also. Since when does Ben Eager become a voice? He barely played for us, spent most of his time on the bench because when he did hit the ice, he took a stupid penalty. Sounds like how he plays now.

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I’m so sad I can just cry! Bettman is the ultimate hypocrite, for working hand over fist to save other markets but not finding a way to help us. Life will move on but it will really sting come October when there will be no games to go to. Its not fair that Phoenix gets to keep their team in a sea of red ink, but we don’t get a chance to save ours……Atlanta Sprit can go to hell, that’s all I have to say.

Oh and by the way, the backlash against Vivlamore is just appaling. Don’t shoot the messenger here people! He’s only doing his job of reporting the news as it comes along. Any anger should be directed at ASG, the league or Don Waddell……..Here’s to hoping for a good turnout tomorrow, let’s represent our fanbase loud and proud even if it is one last time.

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“Here’s an indication of the complexities involved: When the Atlanta Spirit bought the Hawks and Thrashers in 2004, each member of the then-new ownership group had to sign his name 372 times on documents that filled six binders, each about six inches thick.”

May each reptile in the ownership group be clubbed repeatedly with said binders until the NHL somehow returns to ATL.

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The Atlanta media took a giant dump on our team also, don’t befriend the Nazi’s because they have the guns right now. The AJC is circling the carcass. Likewise for Bettman, he isn’t on your side because he’s squeezing the ASG for more money..”good cop Vs. bad cop” ..he’s getting paid and it doesn’t help the fate of the team that has already been decided months ago, we’ve been strung along, hung out to dry like always when it concerns being a fan of this wretched franchise that I hope rots in Winnipeg.

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The City of Glendale “contributing” to Bettman’s Coyotes? Don’t you know EXTORTION when you see it?

And the ASG ownership is publicly “negotiating the sale of the Thrashers” to True North for immediate relocation, yet we’re all supposed to show up with bells on tomorrow and choose our seats for next season at Philips Arena? I say, “OooooooWeeeeee….What up wi dat? What up wi dat?”

How can this story possibly get any more WEIRD?

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Guys (and Gals) … take this into consideration about purchasing season tickets …

Presumably you will pay with a credit card.

If within 60 days the team relocates, you simply file on the charge w/your card provider and you get a refund.

This allows ANYONE that wants to try and show team support to do so, at no risk.

It’s important, if there is ANY wiggle room left showing support here, that support be shown *tomorrow* (and, if time permits, in the very near future).

There is no risk at all, so why not?

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Who cares what Mason thinks? Wait until Winnipeg fans see how well he plays. He was flat out awful this year. He may not feel so welcome in Canada. Glad he acknowledged the fans and more importantly the employees. The fans will have more money in their pocket. The employees will suffer financially.

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Mason sucked. They interview him from his Alberta home and..Ben Eager. Yes, the media really is your friends delusional fans. We’ve been crapped on by everyone and this isn’t Dutch porn.

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Will just say this, Don Waddell will never last a day in Winnipeg, they would never tolorate
a loser and liar like him anywhere near their team !

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There is a simple way to keep the NHL in Atlanta. Just get enough people to purchase season tickets tomorrow to bring the full season (at non-discounted prices) ticket base above 10,000.

All the people who say they will not purchase tickets because of ASG, DW, etc have a hard choice. Support NHL in Atlanta …. or never have the chance again.

As for me, I have been a season ticket holder since the inception and have done my part.

Call 10 people, get 3 of them tomorrow to buy season tickets, save the team … and then feel free to complain about the ASG and DW all you want. You’ve earned the right.

These complainers are the same people who complain about government yet never vote.

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What? Atlanta has a hockey team?!? Get out of town!

No REALLY…..Get out of town! And take that mobster Bettman with you!

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“Despite the rosy picture most of the Winnipeggers paint of the past, the best Jets NHL attendance from 79-96 was only 87.3% capacity (13.592 in the 86-87 season). The Jets only averaged over 13,000 fans 9 times in 17 seasons which isn’t much better than what Atlanta has done.”

Winnipeg was playing out of a 40 year old arena, and it was poorly designed for hockey (visual obstructions). That said, their attendance back in that era was competitive with other teams.

And remember, you have to stop fixating on the number of people attending. You also have to factor in average ticket prices. So, if you can charge $75/ticket in Winnipeg and only $30/ticket in Atlanta, even if you doubled our attendance, you’d make less revenue.

Canadians pay more to watch hockey. That is a HUGE consideration in a gate-driven league. If the NHL earned a huge chunk of its revenue from TV contracts, there is no way that a team would be in Winnipeg, but rather in Atlanta etc.

That’s just the current reality of the NHL. It’s a winter sport, and it’s kinda hard to sell it to non-winter cities. You never grew up with it.

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Guffman – it’s in your DNA…we get it. But its there because youre great-granddad took your granddad – who then took your dad and then it was passed on to you. We never got that chance to make it multi generational. Only way to build a rabid fan base.

Just be prepared for $300 tickets for the first few rows, and the cheapies upstairs going for $60-$70. Good luck…we gave y’all a decent core group to build upon. Just make sure you dump the Chicago Wolves as your farm team.

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@ Glovesave… it wasn’t that my dad brought me to the Jets game (in fact, he only brought me to one). Rather, the winter climate of Canada encourages us to play winter games, like hockey. Every weekend, the kids would head over to the local rink and play “spongie” or ice hockey. We grew up playing the game recreationally. It’s only natural that we would also watch it professionally.

I think that’s a big difference compared to hot weather cities… just the accessibility of playing the game recreationally.

Because I don’t know, do you think Atlanta fans would pay premium prices (i.e., NHL prices, not subsidized sun belt prices) to watch hockey if you had a relatively successful team? I think that’s the big unknown, and maybe because it is unknown, potential local owners are scared off?

If you want another crack at this, and I think you deserve one in the future, do your best to embrace minor-league hockey and show commitment to the sport in that manner. That’s what Winnipeg did with its Manitoba Moose.

And I hope you guys make it out tomorrow for the rally. Everyone will be watching, so I hope it’s a big turnout. Good luck!

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Funny how the only NHL game played in Winnipeg for the entire season that featured the Stanley Cup Champions was a “meaningless” game. I’m pretty sure you can be shot in some parts of Canada for that kind of blasphemy.

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Darren Dreger just now said on On-The-Fly says no final deal is expected for at least 36 hours.

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Wait a min, I didnt pay attention to how much they are trying to buy Thrashers for? If it is 110 million, then that is just so sad because Joe Johnson contact was for 120 million. *epic facepalm*

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All your hockey teams are belong to us.!

Sucks to see the fans in Atlanta get burned again. Many Flames fans feel for you guys as we historically have a tie to Atlanta.

Stay strong.

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If 300 pieces of paper must be signed by the ASG, lets find the signing site and crack some hands.

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@hip czech Because they DON’T do what every other market does….That’s the point.
Every team you’ve mentioned (which included 6 Cup winners) at some point in their existence won, drew solid tv ratings on local and national levels and/or at least showed improvement and most importantly….was an investment worth hanging onto.

Ray Ferraro (who’s lived and played there) said it best: “”I think with the nontraditional markets, there’s two constant themes that you’ve got to battle: One is that it’s a market that may not understand the game as well. And two, it’s that they’ve had zero success.” “Atlanta has had some really good players, they’ve hung on to none of them. … In Atlanta, we had real good support early. But they’ve played four playoff games in 10 years. Who’s going to go to games?”

“ZERO success.” Tip of the iceberg. I’ve said it 29 times…why not once more to make it once for every team in the league… TELEVISION, TELEVISION, TELEVISION…..where the real money is made in the NHL. The Thrashers television ratings and lack of NATIONAL coverage does NOT make this team an attractive investment in *Atlanta* to ANYone who wants to make a profit on such an investment. Period.

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@glovesave29 “so ya gotta make the difference up in ticket prices. Just be prepared…”

That’s a challenge even for the greediest owner sir – Atlanta had the most inflated ticket prices in the league………

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G52 – don’t get too comfortable over there. The ONLY reason the Coyotes are still there is because Bettman got pissed when Balsille tried to take them away through the back door. There are media reports that talks have already begun to move the team to Quebec City after this one year reprieve. Not nice to celebrate others’ misfortunes – karmas’ a ********

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Phoenix is done. They’re just delaying the inevitable.

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I just want to thank the many regulars that appeared on these boards, in support of hockey and the Thrashers, who urged and pleaded for change and accountability. This ownership just wasn’t capable, from acquisition, of understanding the dynamics of running an NHL team.

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Why do the people of Winnipeg even care about this blog? This is a Atlanta newspaper so the only good thing about the Thrashers going is that we will never hear from these people ever again. GOSH.

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@ glovesave29 Actually, I did address it. Teams featured regularly (which includes the playoffs) on a national basis are a more attractive investment than those that aren’t…Ownership pockets millions for each playoff game their squad appears in, win or lose.

With respect to so much to do in Atlanta, having lived there, I feel it’s….an odd sports town and Mr. Ferraro again puts it best:

“The Braves won 11 straight division titles,” he said. “The first year we were there, Andrew Brunette and I went to go to Game 1 of the playoffs. We didn’t have tickets, and we worried we couldn’t get in. We go up to the box office, and there’s 11,000 empty seats. They had been in the playoffs 11 years in a row. You looking for a college football ticket? You’re not going to get one. You want to go to NASCAR? You’re not going to get a ticket. It’s a market with different priorities. Pro sports is down the chain, for sure.”

Ferraro brings up the point of *uncertainty* when it comes to sporting events… Uncertainty and risk most investors won’t take based on the track record………..and just the documented sports enigmas of the city as a whole.

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If we had stable ownership from the start; we would be alright now regardless what type of team we put out on the ice. I believe from the start it was a mistake to let the Atlanta Spirit own the Hawks and Thrashers. As many corporate partners in this city; I cannot figure out why no one wants to step up here and buy these teams and figure out a way to make a profit from it. Do the opposite of the Atlanta Spirit which loss money due to the lack of not market these teams the right way!

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Andrew51

It’s not a weird sports town as Ray puts it. He didn’t mention that during those 14 division titles, the Braves never won much except that. They were typically bounced early and people didn’t believe in the team.

Also, their stadium is in an even WORSE place – the ghetto – of Atlanta. This is the WORST planned city in America for traffic and sports.

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ThrasherFan, take care. Thank you for coming by these boards. And out to games. And, eventually, your son will get over it. We just have to explain to our children that there is a business aspect to sports, and some owners don’t know how to run their business. So, they are forced to selloff their assets, to survive. Then say, “you’ll understand when you’re older.”

To the Atlanta Spirit, LLC … I want you to know something. People were perfectly willing to spend money on tickets, if you’d supplied them with a product worth buying. Your lousy food drove the customers away from your restaurant. You blame them, instead of the chefs who prepared the food. While I’m sure that you fellas are good at your regular jobs, you sure aren’t very adept at running a hockey team. From a personal standpoint, I hope that nothing you CARE about ever gets damaged or neglected in the fashion that you did to something WE CARE about. That’s all I have to say about that.

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glovesave29, that’s actually a pretty good question that I often have to explain to people. Just my personal belief that AHL doesn’t get as much turnout is because there are dozens of junior teams that are far more interesting to watch. Individually, they only get about 1,500 to 3,000 on their best nights. But add them all up and it is impressive. Do you know how many junior teams are within driving distance of Hamilton? Now ask yourself, would you rather watch John Tavares the year before he gets drafted along with a bunch of other local kids who may make it big or the guys who may never make it at all? I would rather see Cam Newton at Auburn than watch AAA baseball or NBA development league or wherever NFL castoffs go. Maybe some of the Winnipeggers can offer a contrary opinion as it might be different in Manitoba, but I can’t get into AHL when I can watch Taylor Hall battle Tyler Seguin 2 months before they get drafted #1 and #2 overall.

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What if the owners don’t sign off on the deal…?

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owners secretly signed off months ago

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For every Glads Fan, everyone who wore an opposing team’s jersey, cheered an opposing team goal, or everyone on the seat stealing STH plan…. SxxU you have no-one to blame except the man in the mirror.

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Gary Bettman and the NHL have discovered a creative new marketing plan:

Insult your customers for not buying your product and remove your product from the market, then sit back and wait for the customers to come crawling back to you, throwing their money at your feet.

Let us know how that works out for you, Gary.

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Where have you been Sage? I’ve listened to you on these message boards for years and took your advice. I stood up to the powers that be and never took my kids to any of the Thrashers games even though they begged me at times to go. Now everyone is saying the Thrashers are leaving and it’s because we fans didn’t go to enough games and support the team.

Is this what you expected to happen Sage? Why did we do this to our own team?

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“Hockey is not a Southern sport and Atlanta does not need the team. Let them go somewhere else and take the Yankees and Canucks with them!”

Hey, “Mark” who made that comment. You’re an idiot.

This really, really sucks.

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Brendan, you are like the professor of this blog. RW, you are the best story writer in all of sports. It’s been a great read for a long time. I live about 25 minutes from the Gladiators but just can’t see myself or 14 year old son (who started playing hockey because of the Thrasher games we went to with Braveheart sitting in our section) going to ECHL hockey. I hope that everyone in Atlanta boycotts ANY AND ALL events at Philips Arena. I only went to non-hockey events at the bulb because of discounts of being a STH. This is looking more and more like there is not a thing we can do to stop this. Atlanta could have supported a hockey team with a decent ownership. Its been truly a treat to check out this blog usually on a daily basis. Thanks to all the regulars.

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Atlanta hockey fans, let me give you an idea of why you have a bad perception around the league. Imagine you are from Canada or a traditional hockey market in the north US. West coast game doesn’t start for a few more minutes and you’ve been surfing the sites. You go to the Thrashers local coverage (really, go to your Thrashers homepage for this paper now). Look at that photo. Looks like a game between you and the Hurricanes. But look at all those empty seats! This is your own newspaper. Either they are sending it in for you or they couldn’t find a better photo. Either way, what would you think when you see that photo with all those empty seats? Can’t your local paper at least put up a decent photo from a well attended game when people like me who normally don’t come to this site are visiting this site this week?

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Problem with that picture is that it’s probabley from early in the first period of any home game. With the 1900 start time the majority of the fans arrived after the start.

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Is it over, just say it is over?

Its been fun chatting with all of you over the last several years…my wife has often asked me why I was laughing or smirking…I told her I was reading everyones comments on this blog. I am a man of many interests but sadly this team was #1…which even surprised me sometimes since they have been so bad.

I will be watching this group, in whatever uniforn wear, until they are eventually broken apart…and yes I still blame Bogosian for missing the playoffs this year.

Good Luck boys, wherever you go, may the road rise up to greet you.

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the unemployment rate here in arizona is 97%

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face it ATL is a poor sports market
even the Braves cannot sellout playoff games

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“… it’s because we fans didn’t go to enough games and support the team….”

That’s NOT the cause of the problem; it’s only a symptom of the real cause.

Grow up, sheep-in-imposter’s-clothing.

This isn’t the fans’ fault. If you believe that drivel, you must be getting your opinions from the likes of Kincade….

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OHL – i’ve played the net for 35 years. Travelled all over the USA and Canada on travel teams. Played in college and today in a beer league. Played net for the IHL Knights in a practice when Derek Wilkinson went down with an injury and they only had one goalie. Roman Hamrlik broke my blocker side pinkie that day. Not much I have not experienced in this sport…

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Enter your comments here

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glovesave29, I don’t want to turn this into a pissing match, there’s too much of that going on. But there’s a ton of things I could name that go beyond just playing on pickup teams. I gotta ask, how many of your fellow posters have done even what you’ve done? You guys should get an outdoor team for those once a year tournaments, That would be a blast to see a team from Atlanta.

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The team moving from ATL to WPG is the lead story on tonight’s CBC national newscast. This tells you a couple of things. First it tells you this IS DONE. Second, this shows you the difference between Canada and US when it comes to hockey. This is the #1 news story tonight in all of Canada. This is not even the lead story in Atlanta and it is definitely not a leading news story on MSNBC. Hockey is EVERYTHING in Canada but only a fringe sport for most of America.

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“Instead, it seems like the NHL and the “real” hockey fans would rather contract the fan base into an exclusive little club of the select few than expand the fan base to include non-traditional hockey markets. It doesn’t make sense to me, but then I guess I’m not a “real” hockey fan.”

I agree 100% on that. It makes a person feel small when someone else tells them that they don’t deserve a hockey team, I mean who are they to determine that? I’ve been attending hockey games since I was about 6 or 7 and somehow i’m not a “real” fan of the game?

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I will be tickled to death when most, or maybe none, of the current Thrashers players want to relocate to Winnipeg assuming the sale and move of the team goes through. Then what ?

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Hockey in ATL

Don’t prepare for a death by tickling – they’ll just just move – watch.

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It will be interesting to find out how it turns out in Winnipeg, say 5 years from now, especially when they jack up ticket prices to recoup their investment money.

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Chris/Tim,
Here’s an idea to get a last minute hail mary and maybe even a story. What if the 4 large sponsors that are headquarters in the ATL and already sponsor the Thrashers stepped forward now and said (a) each will provide $5M in funding to the owners this year, in addition to what they currently fund, to offset potential loses while they search for a new owner and the (b) also commit to any new owner that they would do the same for at least the first five year. I am sure if a new ownership group knew they could count on $20M to offset start up loses they would come.

I am a STH since day one and believe there are at least 15000 core fans that would become brand loyal for life and spread the word to family and friends. It would be a great PR tool for them, the league and the team. It would allow us to show the league and others that with a fresh start this town would support the team and turn out with more that 15,500 fans on an average night.

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Is it any wonder that Atlanta has a bad image as a hockey town and NHL hockey has a bad rap with Atlanta fans? I mean it’s the SECOND time this city’s fans have been sh!t on by the NHL and owners who have sold our teams to the Great White North for their own selfish reasons. This all has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with how many fans attended games at Philips Arena and everything to do with a bunch of numbnuts who bought a “package deal” of the Hawks, Thrashers & Philips Arena naming rights when they DIDN’T EVEN WANT a friggin hockey team!!

Gary Bettman and the NHL are just as directly RESPONSIBLE for this latest failure of hockey in Atlanta because he APPROVED the sale of the Thrashers to this OctoCluster Group of owners who (court documents have shown) have been trying to sell this team almost since the day they bought them…..But they repeatedly LIED to the press and FANS, denying any and all reports that the team was even for sale for freakin YEARS…..Yes, they’ve publicly LIED to us all for YEARS!!!!

They also blew any chance they ever had to build a contender here. To be sure, there are DOZENS of more things to do in the Atlanta area than in Winnipeg on any given day, especially in the dead of winter. But this ownership group FAILED to invest in TALENT and made some legendary boneheaded moves that resulted in the best players leaving this city/team, draft choices being squandered, expensive player rental trades, etc that did NOTHING to get average Atlantans excited about hockey! There’s really no need to go on here. DON WADDELL is friggin LEGENDARY in his level of incompetence as GM of a hockey enterprise. So what does he get for his asinine management decisions — He gets PROMOTED TO PRESIDENT of the Thrashers organization to the complete dismay of Atlanta hockey fans!

I grew up in South Georgia in the 70s/80s and we didn’t even get to watch hockey on the television. It just wasn’t available. For the past 4 years, we’ve taken our young sons to at least a dozen Thrashers home games and have Thrashers gear all around our home that we proudly wear whenever we go out, even when it isn’t to a game. This despite the fact that this HAS to be the absolute sh!ttiest on-ice product that has ever been served to a sun-belt city for a period exceeding a full decade.

THAT’S why there’s so much ANGER from me and other Atlanta hockey fans right now. We’re told we suck every half dozen posts on here….We turn on NHL Live and we’re told we suck….We watch the local news and read the AJC and Mark Bradley and Jeff Schultz tell us we suck….But we STILL BOUGHT TICKETS and we STILL WENT TO GAMES and we SUPPORTED OUR SH!TTY TEAM because they were OUR SH!TTY TEAM!

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Pavelec’s Dogs say “Come on down to the tailgate today”……..we all could use a laugh at this point:

http://www.keepthethrashers.com/thrasherstailgateglutch.html

Thanks to the NHL for helping the fans in Atlanta!

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Satan has standards, I’m sure Satan finds the ASG to be beneath him.

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How many season tickets wer sold in Atl last season?

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I’m an Islander fan and the only reason why they have not moved is because of the history and plus the lease to stay on Long Island isn’t up until 2015 unless they get a new arena. As for the Thrashers I’ve been to a few games and honestly the times I went the arena was empty. Also from watching the games the only time I see people is if a big time market team is in town and most of those in attendance are for the visiting team. I think that its not right or fair that Atlanta will be losing another hockey team. On the other hand I don’t think its right if everyone does come to this rally to keep them here and then next season no shows up again to support the team. It would be nice to have the Thrashers here though just so I can go see them play the Islanders when they do come.

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I like men.

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As for the Canadian bitterness, it should be understandable. These trolls come here and attempt to rub it in our faces when they should know what it feels like, even their mayor is gloating and negating the fact that so many people will lose their jobs. People do care about hockey here, (our media doesn’t…Custance was the only noted hockey fan to write for the AJC) HOCKEY is supposed to be for everyone not just the frozen north. I am hoping it turns out to be a monkey’s paw, careful what you wish for type of deal..because if you think an NHL team can’t be taken from you twice, look around, Winnipeg.

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I want to say thank you to all those who had kind words for me, and to reciprocate my appreciation for your posts, through the many years. It’s been fun, in spite of the choppy seas we had to endure with this ownership group.

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Runnin’ down Winnipeg? Safe bet that none of you folks have ever been there. I’ve been to Atlanta and Winnipeg. All I will say is that Winnipeg is a nice place. Why run down a city anyway? It’s not the buyer’s fault. They’re only buying something that is for sale.

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There is probably a lot more to this “the deal has been done for months” than you might think. There are many facts (as well as rumours – but those are just that: “rumours”) that support this theory. One big one being that TNSE had undertaken and now completed a press box expansion of the MTS Centre a number of months ago. The previous press box was more than suitable for the Moose. Why bother with that expansion and the cost if its not necessary, and for an NHL team we may never get? We may never know the truth about how long this deal has been in the works, only ASG, TNSE, and the NHL can answer those questions. I believe TNSE was VERY close to landing the Yotes last season, but sometime between then and now the Thrashers were the primary focus. I don’t believe now that TNSE ever really wanted to take a serious crack at the Yotes this time around. They (and the NHL in particular) just wanted that deal to get done to keep the value of the Thrashers higher and keep relocation fees higher for the owners. If Phoenix moves to Winnipeg this year, the Thrashers value would plummet, as there is no market that is NHL ready enough to take them for next year. Simple supply and demand, and the Thrashers would not be in demand. There are a few sellers out there on the NHL market and next to no buyers. Is this a conspiracy theory? Yes. But definitely one that is a possibility. I’m sure the book will come out in about 25 years or so.

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I wish I had the price of a Thrashers season ticket for each and every time Gary Bettman, one of his underlings or a member/spokesperson for the Atlanta Spirit publicly LIED to Thrashers fans over the past 7 years.

I’ve never heard so many outright LIES come from the mouths of grown men who solicit large sums of money from hard-working individuals….And they aren’t even politicians running for office!

This day the NHL has taken on a new meaning, redefining itself by the words, actions and empty promises of its League Office and Atlanta Spirit, LLC:

No Honor Left

The fish always rots from the head down. Backroom deals, extortion money, public lies being peddled as truth, multi-million dollar payoffs —- This is what the No Honor Left has become.

Outsiders see this as just another hockey team failing in Atlanta…..But the keen observer sees it for what it is, plain and simple: The operations of a crime syndicate run by a mobster who will always get his way or Rocko will be coming to break your kneecaps tomorrow.

Goodbye No Honor Left…..You aren’t even wanted in Atlanta anymore. We deserve better…..

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It’s being catered by Philips Arena. So plenty of stale popcorn to go around. Oh, and it’s not a “rally” anymore. It’s a FUNERAL. Didn’t you get the memo?

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Breaking News out of St Johns Newfoundland. The AHL Manitoba Moose are being relocated to St John. Press Release Friday. The Manitoba Moose will also be the new farm team for the new NHL team in Winnipeg.

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now i’m an ex Thrasher fan since I was robbed by the ass clowns, Don Wadell and Gary Bettman

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Atlanta Jets:

2 (TWO) Phoenix players made comments about Winnipeg.

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I head Mason’s interview – he said nothing wrong at all. Nothing. He did not say that he wanted to go to Winnipeg just that he would be okay with it. Your players deserve more respect from your city. It’s not Mason’s decision that this deal is going down.

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I am just packing my stuff for the rally. I have a very practical question for anybody who can answer.

Why did we choose the day the world ends to hold this rally?

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2 phoenix players said they would not come to Winnipeg. Actually the 2 players that said that are losers. Doan 15 years and has done nothing and Bryz folds under pressure.
Big Buff has publicaly stated he is excited about a move to Winnipeg. His family doe not live far from here. Brian little teewted that he laid in bed on Thursday night dreaming about jumping onto the ice at the first home game in Winnipeg with 15,500 rabid fans cheering away. And Chris mason has said to Leah hextall on Friday that he is excited about playing in Canada for the first time in his professional career.

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Wow my 1st post ever on AJC…I’m excited! Glad to see G52 and GlovalView are her in atlanta. Both are diehard Coyotes fans and have been fighting with the Winnipeg trolls for ooooh years on thier site in Glendale Arizona. You 2 are troopers man…That’s the only reason I am posting on this board. Hope the Yotes keep thier team, other than this has been a NHL TNSE plan for over a year. Yotes stay,Atlanta..a great hockey town…moves. It’s biusness. You yote fans keep up the fight..You haven’t quit in yrs. Atlanta Keep fighting..Although I don’t think the NHL is listening.

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Sully’s Dad – A) It’s Bryan Little, not Brian and B) Bryan Little doesn’t have a twitter account. What are you talking about?

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Per a Darren Dreger tweet:
“For what it’s worth, the Manitoba Moose say they have no agreement with St John’s and no plan for an announcement on Friday.”

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Enter your comments here

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Conceded. Thanks Winnipeg. Your landfill just got fuller! Got enough trash in Georgia as it is. @ ^ @

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Hey winnipeg=poverty

Mason did the interview from his summer home in Red Deer, Alberta genius. Very similar climate to Winnipeg but its about a tenth of the size. I’m sure he’s spending the summer there because nobody in their right mind would want to be in Atlanta for the summer. Way too hot and you can’t breathe the filthy air.

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Let’s all get season tickets to show ASG we want our Thrashers to stay in Atlanta. What a bunch of jerks. Take some time and find a buy who will keep them here. You are hurting the fans and many children who love hockey by selling to someone who will move the team. Stop it!

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a thrasher must be sacrificed so a yote can breath

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bag, bag, bag there it is finally i take a thrasher over a table it feels more like a strong man tight in the rear than a bird when it releases its juice

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Since when does Canada even have the internet to know about the rally?

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Every watch ABC’s Sharktank? The richest guy on that show – Kevin O’Leary and another guy on that show, Robert Herjovic, they are both Canadians and they are as close to OWNING the internet as anyone could be.

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“Are you serious? I don’t think this is a hockey city. Just sayin”

They had to of made that up or just pulled some random person off the street.

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Gary Bettman, why hath thou forsaken us?

.

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“burn a GO JETS GO banner.”

GO THRASHERS GO!!

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wpgJetsfag

Are you NOT the same IDIOT that insisted the Coyotes were moving to loserpeg.. How did that end up workin’ put for ya..

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BTW, when I say “real” I mean someone as opposed to a random lady on the street, not the devoted fans at the rally.

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“hockey teams in NON TRADITIONAL MARKETS”

21,000 in attendance..

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Settle down, BrYan Little’s comments were made on the Fan 590 not Twitter, you also may want to check out his interview in the Guelph Mercury news rag. It my (or may not) change your view on what players think about coming to Winnipeg. Winnipeg never had a problem before, many players made their homes here year round, even bought cottages on many of the great freshwater lakes and beaches we have here. Its laughable to hear the “the whole team will request a trade”.. blah blah blah. Are you forgetting that many of these players grew up and developed their skills in climates very similar to Winnipeg? Whether that be Canada, Minnesota, North Dakota, Sweden, Russia, Finland? And many return home in the offseason from their “warmweather” cities they play in. It definitely comes across as, and definitely is true bitterness. Sorry Atlanta and Glendale, you just aren’t as special as you think you are.

And here we go again, Tampa sells out a conference final game and we talk about what a great hockey town in it. Again laughable. If a team has to rely on long deep playoff runs to come close to breaking even they are in trouble. There isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t sell out a conference final home game! Well maybe Phx, but luckily for them the 6,000 or so Red wings fans saved their asses. Atlanta isn’t Monte Carlo, and Glendale, well, you’re in a desert. Short for “deserted”. Not attractive, save for a 3-4 months of the year. Get over yourselves. Yes Winnipeg (and most of Canada) gets cold for 3-4 months of the year, that’s why we play so much hockey and why its part of our culture. Probably the most passionate, giving people in the world. Winters are a breeze for us, that’s why we don’t tolerate whiners. Players will be held accountable in this town, hockey does matter. It will show.

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G52 – you have been trolling around the net for days. Time to try and find a job. No work in AZ? I hear there’s work and a strong economy in Winnipeg and they’ve got a new NHL franchise.

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And what is it with you and small Canadian boys anyway?

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I’m waiting for that TNSE announcement.. Anybody heard from them other than begging the province for money..

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Must suck for Canadians that 2 non traditional market teams – Carolina and Tampa – have won the Stanley Cup in recent years. Must suck that Canadian teams can’t actually win a Stanley Cup.

Glad they burned the Jets banner – I am so sick of Winnipeg fans and Canadian media acting as if they deserve someone else’s team just because they are Canadian.

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Oh wait you have signed a couple of washed up, 30-somethings over the past few years. When close to retirement, why not work in a retirement community? My apologies.

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Just saw the banner burning – such as it was – looked like someone used crayons to make the banner I’ve played and watched hockey all of my life – never saw a banner burning until today. You idiots really don’t understand hockey culture. We don’t burn stuff in the hockey world. If this is your attempt to save your hockey team, you do not deserve to have a team.

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My frozen village will be unthawed from July 22 to July 26. Atlanta Native should come for a visit. You will have to land in Flin Flon, and then dogsled your way down to Winnipeg. I will have my team of dogs waiting for you if you like.

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phx – don’t let these crackers near your dog team. These guys will set up a dog fight just to bet on it – I am not kidding. That is what they consider sport.

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After reading many posts from individuals from Winnipeg, Winnipeg citizens can be placed in two groups, the fine citizens of Winnipeg and Winnipricks.

I’m blessed not to have so much time on my hands that I TROLL other teams pages.

To the fine citizens of Winnipeg, I would have prefered that you procured your original team that fell victim to the same type of disinterested ownership that the Thrashers had in Atlanta.

Bettman and Stern should never have approved the sale of either the Thrashers or the Hawks to eight clowns, who collectively, could only put a ten percent down payment on both teams. This should have been a RED FLAG that they had no business in the sports franchise business.

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Ulf and I did it all for the fans. Those were great days.

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i’m dating my mom, who is also my therapist

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I’m glad they burned the banner for all the idiots from up north that have been trolling our boards

I think I’ll make my own burning video and put it on YouTube for you goobers to get mad at.

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I’ll put clips from Winnipeg’s first game on YouTube.

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Wow, all this hate for each other. How is it nobody is bragging about all your fans that showed up for the rally this afternoon (200, I hear). When the Jets left in 15 years ago 30,000 showed up. If that doesn’t paint the picture for you what does

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When you idiots stop booing our Anthem, I’ll stop burning your banners. Deal?

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ttp://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/hockey/article/535585–little-not-surprised-thrashers-might-move-to-winnipeg

Bryan Littles Interview

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ttp://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/hockey/article/535585–little-not-surprised-thrashers-might-move-to-winnipeg

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Wouldn’t have trouble selling tickets if they actually had a respectful ownership who cared about Atlanta and cared about winning

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if he were a coyote, he wouldn’t want to leave the valley

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200 people. Not bad – that is 0.00000018 % of your population. Plus burning Winnipeg stuff in effigy? Hang on a minute – that is bad. Don’t share this information with the NHL. It might not help your cause.

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Wow!!! Ulf is here as well. 94 assists in his rookie year!!!

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HEY – Blame Canada – the Anthem booing you allege. Where and when?

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How embarrassing. Yep, that accomplished alot, didn’t it? It simply reinforced what most believed and perceived.

Whoever is mad at anything-Winnipeg is bat@#$% crazy. You want to blame someone? Blame the ownership.

(and then look in the mirror, sheep, for not taking action sooner; some of you actually believed beyond the reasonable facts and ACTIONS right in front of your faces…Oh well, I tried to do my part to show you the fraud from years ago….yet you refused to listen….Oh well.)

Seeing that embarrassment on video (the banner-burning) actually soothes my feelings over losing this team. Then, seeing some sheep-comments (like from EA) and I think maybe it’s all for the best.

Embarrassing. Well done, Atlanta.

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And you can’t forget about Peter Sullivan & Markus Mattsson.

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Anders,

Go ask your brothers in Montreal about booing the Anthem. They are very familiar with it.

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So 250 people showed up to the rally…that should convince the NHL to keep them in Atlanta…NOT!

This should answer the question, why is there no local buyers? Good job Atlanat you’ve now become the only city to lose TWO NHL franchises!

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Oh Montreal – that is a bit of a different case. They are technically part of Canada but with an asterisk.

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Phx – there was also Willy Lindstrom. Never took a slapshot but scored buckets of goals.

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Sage – can you take the Blame Canada guy and get him a milkshake or something like that. He’s struggling a bit today.

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Okay – my serious hat is on. Not cool. Booing the anthem is not at all cool. Really really bush league.

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Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000 based on the average night-time temperature during December, January and February, inclusive.

Good luck attracting free agents

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Lazy??? If you think I was lazy in Winnipeg, you should have seen my one year in Atlanta. I took lazy to a new level and still easily led the team in scoring!!!

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Winnipeg’s biggest festival celebrates it’s Frenchy heritage:

“Festival du Voyageur, western Canada’s largest winter festival, celebrates the early French explorers of the Red River Valley”

‘Peg is Frenchy to its core

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There is truly nothing to do in ‘Peg:

“Roller Derby is also gaining popularity in Winnipeg, with three sold-out bouts occurring at the Winnipeg Convention Centre in 2010. The Winnipeg Roller Derby League has three home teams, and one traveling team: The Murder City Maidens.”

LMAO

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Le club de Hockey Atlanta est en train de Winnipeg le Mardi.

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Next the Falcons are headed to Los Angeles!

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Maybe we can arrange a Roller Derby grudge match….www.atlantarollergirls.com/

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Actually the roller derby is very cool, and they have really attracted a niche market. Very retro, I enjoyed it with some buddies!

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Oui Phx, cet Blame Canada une tete de merde, est ne pensent pas a vous?

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Blame Canada The middle of nowhere and cold – we will absolutely take credit for that but CRIME?? Your murder rate is 7 times ours. Every crime you can think of happens WAY WAY WAY more commonly in Atlanta than Winnipeg. It is pretty funny you even brought it up.

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Blame Canada – did you bring up crime? You’re a pretty good googler – Google “Atlanta Slum”

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Enter your comments here

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This is officially the first time French has ever been spoken on the AJC. Hopefully it’s the last when this is all over with and you goobers leave.

Surrender Frenchy’s

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A toothless, dog fighting fan in Atlanta is telling me there is a lot of crime in a Canadian city.

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Major attractions in the capital city include:

•Manitoba Legislative Building
•Assiniboine Park
•Winnipeg Art Gallery
•Royal Winnipeg Ballet
•The Manitoba Museum
•The Forks National Historic Site
•Riel House National Historic Site
– and now Roller Derby LMAO

No wonder all you Frenchy’s are on our site. Winnipeg bores you all to TEARS! What a lame city

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“Winnipeg is the home to the second largest community of French- speaking Canadians outside of Quebec.”

Definitely gonna be some Anthem booers without a doubt! Burn your Jets banners now

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What Redneck/Frenchy ingenuity LMAO

“Pantages Theatre was the first air-conditioned building in Winnipeg. Huge pieces of ice were placed in the basement and large fans were used to blow air over the ice and cool the patrons.”

Definition of REDNECK

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“Famous Winnipeggers include author Carol Shields, film maker Guy Maddin, comedian David Steinberg, movie director Ken Finkleman, children’s entertainer Fred Penner, world champion curler Jeff Stoughton, native leader Phil Fontaine and media mogul Izzy Asper”

WHO?!!? Is there no talent there at all?

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[...] talks to finalize a sale between True North Sports and Entertainment and the Atlanta Spirit Group continue on for the [...]

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PS: Thanks for the Thrashers. This team really does have a solid young core and is almost ready for prime time. 7 overall draft pick to add to it (Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton??)! Won’t be long for this team 2-3 years max! Getting rid of Kovalchuk was the smartest thing this team did. Biggest prima donna in the history of the NHL!

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Pegger8, how do you have the audacity to call me a redneck after this fact?

“Pantages Theatre was the first air-conditioned building in Winnipeg. Huge pieces of ice were placed in the basement and large fans were used to blow air over the ice and cool the patrons.”

Definition of REDNECK

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Vinny – the very best player on the Montreal Canadiens is of African ancestry. Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal are pretty culturally diverse cities yet these cities are crazy for hockey.

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Yes we do have idiots who enjoy your Great ice fishing. I personally don’t understand it.

However, far more of you Frenchy’s flee that frozen hellhole in the winter to live on our Golf Courses, and it’s not even close!!

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Anders, are you tourism and trade official? I guarantee that 99.9 percent of the US population couldn’t find Winnipeg on a map if their lives depended on it. Relax, nobody cares.

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Go Away Thrashers…Go Away….No body in the South really cares where you go or stay….you can’t draw a crowd – no one wants to see you play. So Go Away!!!!!!!!!

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Quit Crying in Your Beer – it is over – they are gone…….Atlanta is not and never will be a Hockey city……The SEC football games are ten times more important here…….nobody cares about Hockey……

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“Oh and we get as warm or warmer than you in the summer, minus all the humidity.”

LIAR!!!

Manitoba is also prone to high humidity in the summer months with the extreme of 53.0 °C (127.4 °F) in Carman, which set the highest humidex recorded in Canada.

Get your facts straight. Winnipeg is a frozen hell hole half of the year, and a humid mess the rest of it. Horrible place to live.

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Frenchy’s,

Just thank us for your protection, commerce, and sustinence all these years and go back to your boring existence in WiniWhere. Time for you to go.

Your welcome

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Atlantans can be proud of one thing…they now are the all time record holder…they lost not, one but two NHL teams!!!
Yet, losing two teams and still people will sit here and blame management for the problem. A young franchise, only around for 9 years and they’re supposed to win a Stanley Cup? They won a division, went to the playoffs and lost over $20 million dollars that year. It’s their fault, not the fans who like most people in Georgia expect eveything to be handed to them. Management is to blame because fans didn’t buy tickets, that’s rich. For those of you who were failed by the Georgia Public School system , or never attended school, EVER…think about it, no money coming in, no money to put a quality product on the ice. You had a quality team and in theeir one trip to the playoffs they lost, so you gave up on them. Never satisfied are you? Well you need not worry about that anymore, this team will move where the game is actually played by the fans and they eat, drink and sleep hockey. Y’all can get back to your grits now.

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Getthepuckoutahere,

Do you want to keep the proud Thrasher name on the team? I doubt it.

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Are San Jose, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Dallas, Washington DC, Raleigh, Tampa and Miami hotbeds for youth hockey? If “playing the game” is so important, then why not restrict the NHL to the Northeast, Midwest and Canada?

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@ Blame Canada
I find it interesting you state people wouldn’t know where Winnipeg is on a map. I went to a Bank of America branch in Cobb to get a new debit card and she told me that since I originally opened my account in Massachusetts I had to wait for 3-5 business days. They only give cards out at the branch if you opened the account on the EAST COAST! True story. BRILLIANT. By any chance was that you?

To you Winnipeg might be irrelevant, but they have a hockey team and you just lost your second! …what a dope.

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Hahaha, I love it how the pride of Candian’s just annoys the snot out of you Blame. You are just beside yourself digging up facts, searching Wikipedia, etc.. Comical. Seriously, I am sorry to hear you are so bitter wherever it is that you cowardly hide behind your screen. I’m from Winnipeg, I’m Canadian and I am damn proud of it! Hope you soon realize there is nothing you can do to break the people’s spirit in this country, and most places I have traveled in the USA I would say the spirit is just as high, as it should be. Great country. Anyways, cheer up, get out and enjoy life, the glass is half full. It works, try it. Sorry for using you and your hilariously bitter attitude to entertain myself on a relaxing rainy day in Winnipeg. Time to go watch a little basketball, it just arrived in our frozen hellhole a couple of weeks ago. . Cheers.

PS: You really should put the brakes on the cultural/racial stuff though, its just not funny or cool and all it does is reflect poorly on you, it actually makes me feel a little sorry for you.

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Peg…don’t let Blame Canada or any other basher of the Great White North bother you. Most of these dolts have never left Atlanta let alone Georgia. The closest they’ve ever come to skating is when they’ve busted their butts in the last ice storm. As a frequent visitor to Montreal, Thunder Bay and Ottawa, I’ve always found Canadians to be some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. These people are just bitter they weren’t able to support a team, the second time around and now will have to go back to chewing tobacco, eating grits and going muddin’!

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Poorly run yes…but I look at it like this…once it was established there wasn’t enough support for this team and you starting bleeding green, how motivated could you be to stop a ship that was inevitably going to sink? There’s’ plenty of blame to go around, it just bothers me that everyone here thinks this is all managements fault. Maybe if Bettman had halted this raid on the south, thinking that there was a market for a sport that no one even plays in these states the Thrasher’s wouldn’t even be in this predicament, but they are and now it has to be dealt with. I’m surpirised they lasted this long. I had them gone in ‘09.

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I always thought the Omni crowd chanting “Go Flames Go” sounded much better than the Philips Arena crowd chanting “Lets Go Thrashers” in the Yankee-fan inflection.

Also, I have never liked Philips Arena’s configuration. Stacking the box seats on one side of the arena cuts down the crowd’s energy. Yet another Thrasher screw-up.

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Naturally I will pass on your offer to sell snowblowers in Marietta; however, how are snowblower sales going in LA, San Jose, Dallas, Raleigh, Tampa, Nashville and Miami?

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@Blame Canada…I got transferred here by my company. You know how it works, companies here keep hiring northerners to come to Atlanta to do the jobs that you either can’t do or do at a snail’s pace!
Oh, I still own my home there too. Do you own the trailer you’re in?

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@pete, can’t speak for snowblower sales in those other cities, but I can say their teams do get better support than here, two teams in, two teams out. If memory serves, weren’t the Panthers having attendance issues not long ago? I’d assume if they were to continue to avoid playoff contention, they’ll end up in the same boat.

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Pegger8 claims to know all about hockey and the NHL, rode the bus with his fellow butt pirates….Yeah, yeah….Blah, blah. JAMC

Just Another Misinformed Canadian

“If a team has to rely on long deep playoff runs to come close to breaking even they are in trouble.”

If ignorance were an Olympic sport, you would have just won the Gold Medal! Fully SIXTEEN of 30 NHL teams LOST MONEY during the 2009-2010 season according to Forbes.com….(That’s more than half for you Canadian Trolls.)

You Canadians set your watches according to when the next hockey game is….We get it. Well, kind of anyway. What a SAD existence…..

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Does any southern-market team other than Atlanta have a minor league team competing against the NHL?

I doubt the Gwinnett fans could have saved the franchise, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have had a few hundred more at Philips.

Probably the best location for an NHL arena in Atlanta would have been somewhere on the north end of the Perimeter, but I guess we’ll never really know. I wish the Mayor of Atlanta would have done more to save the team….

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I’m going on memory, but the AHL Knights had a pretty good run in the early to mid-90’s, and I think some of their ownership group were interested in developing an arena in Alpharetta and going after an NHL franchise. Ultimately they were squawshed by Ted Turner. Although my facts could be wrong about the Knight’s history, I still have a gut feeling the NHL was viable in Atlanta — which is not to claim Atlanta would have ever become a Boston or Detroit type of market — but neither is our baseball market as strong Boston’s. Turner Field, in my view, is not the best possible location for the Braves, but Major League Baseball can withstand a slightly less than optimal location for its venue. The NHL, on the other hand, could not. The best possible venue location was essential, and only a winning team could have overcome the handicap of playing downtown. Even a marginal winning record might have been enough. But we got the perfect storm of poor venue location, poor ownershiop-management group, and pathetic product on the ice.

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ATL has the worst sports fans PERIOD

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[...] talks to finalize a sale between True North Sports and Entertainment and the Atlanta Spirit Group continue on for the [...]

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I love beastiality. Just read my posts if you don’t believe me. I especially like it when I’m the bitch.

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Caught word tonight from someone within the Thrasher organization that there IS a legitimate 3rd group in the mix that have submitted terms to buy the team and keep it in Atl. This is why the.deal with true north has been stalled.

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Ah, just as I thought, lame excuses. Thanks for confirming exactly what I thought Big Wally. 5-10 years ago free agents were scared to sign because they might have to live in an igloo eventually? Are the fans ever to blame??? I’ve never heard so many excuses in my life. Its Winnipeg’s fault now that your team stunk and you couldn’t sign players? Winnipeg is also the reason nobody showed up to games, Winnipeg is to blame for your poor air quality, etc.. My apologies to the real fans in ATL, I know there are a few.

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I heard the hangup was because they found out True North was negotiating in furs and pelts. ASG has someone trying to figure out what that means in dollars.

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I don’t blame Winnipeg for wanting another team. Heck I already miss the Thrashers and they haven’t left yet. I can’t stand the gloating and rubbing our faces in it, that the low class winnie fans(see Pegger8) have on here.

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“Settle down Zombie Steve, sorry to say this deal is done, and has been for a lot longer than you realize”

Wouldn’t that be grounds for a lawsuit if the ASG had no interest in finding a way to keep the team here? Also wouldn’t that be grounds for making any deal null and void considering all options were not expended to keep Atlanta in Atlanta?

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Pegger…excuses, excuses is the Georgian way! These people blame everything on everyone else, NEVER is someone here at fault for anything…pass the buck. The fact remains, they didn’t support the team, if they did they wouldn’t even be crying on this thread. They can all say what they want about Canada, Winnipeg, even the Red Sox and Massachusetts, but when they all get up tomorrow there still be one franchise moving, and no franchise anymore in Atlanta. Remember Pegger, the ONLY one to blame here is management…management should have picked up every dime this team was losing, even the $20 million they lost in the one season they made it to the playoffs. Who was on that team? Hossa -Gone, Kovie – GONE! You had talent, they won it still wasn’t enough. So as you see, they were given a team that produced yet we have whiners here saying if they had a team that won they would’ve been supported, so that doesn’t hold water. Wake up Atlanta and for once assume some responsibility, actually once out of two team you’ve lost to date…it’s everyone else’s fault – unfrickinbelievable!!!

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stop talking stupid, they can sell to whoever they want to

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You have to consider loserpeg a HUGE step backwards for the league..

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to the porch monkey saying there a no jobs up north
here is something for you
ATL unemplyment 10%
WPG unemployment 5.5%

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Pegger, all this is falling on deaf ears. While we’re speaking facts, the masses will return with their childish rhetoric.
I wish the new franchise in Winnipeg nothing but the best of luck. It’s good for Winnipeg, it’s good for the players and in the end it’s good for the league.

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don’t forget to vote for the yotes players for the next all star game

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Phoenix loses money because nobody goes to the games, the Canadian small markets lose money with full buildings because they are INCAPABLE of supporting big league sports..

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Calgary, larger city, bigger building, better hockey fans = loses money

Edmonton, larger city, bigger building, better hockey fans = loses money

Ottawa, larger city, bigger building, better hockey fans = loses money

Loserpeg = no chance of being successful..

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http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2010/12/8/1536097/nhl-relocation-winnipeg-quebec-city

Putting a team in such a tiny poor market would be a HUGE embarrassment for the NHL..

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G52, hold on, your nurse will be back in a few minutes to give you your meds.

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Oh look, now I am Gary Bettman..

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I’m wondering if you stupid peggers fools are as sure the Thrashers are moving to loserpeg as you were the Coyotes were moving there..

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If I had a dollar for every time I have heard some stupid snow monkey say, “Done deal”, I’d be RICH..

Other than begging the province to free up some cash nobody has heard a word from TNSE..

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It’s a done deal. Oh well at least we have a minor league team here stll. Come to think of it, Winnerpeg is getting a minor league team as well.

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yeah, stick to supporting the braves

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If loserpeg does get an NHL team, it will be fun to watch it crash and burn..

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Yotes have no owner. Winnipeg will be my bitch on Tuesday.

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Another day loserpeg is all excited about that will more than likely come and go uneventfully, like all the rest..

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Your stupid little city has no team..

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I got laid off from walmart……..arizona’s largest employer

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Anders Helberg et phxismybitch, est-ce que vous vraiment parlez français?

J’essayais communiquer mes opinions à façon logique et courtois. Néanmoins, les gens ici sont très émotionnels et adolescents.

Bon, je voudrais souhaiter la nouvelle équipe de Winnipeg (les anciens Thrashers) la bonne chance et dire le bienvenue à la septième équipe canadienne de la Ligue Nationale.

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Someone ban that ahole already

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A few hundred come out for the rally? Winnipeg had 35000 for their save the Jets rally. That’s in a metropolitan area of 600 000 at the time. There are 5.2 million people in the Atlanta area and only like 700 show up? The fans never abandoned the team in Winnipeg. The NHL abandoned the market. Winnipeg won’t squander their second chance like Atlanta did. If the fans want a team back in Atlanta, they can rally really hard and get someone to buy the Coyotes when they go up for sale a year from now and move them to Atlanta. Not likely though.

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Oh BTW, that Jets game with 8500, was a PLAYOFF GAME..

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[...] talks to finalize a sale between True North Sports and Entertainment and the Atlanta Spirit Group continue on for the [...]

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Yup, loserpeg had been planning for that good-bye rally for 15 years by not going to the Jets games..

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I feel really bad for ATL Thrashers fans. The NHL has gone out of its way to help keep my PHX Coyotes here in AZ, but has not lifted a finger in regards to help keep the Thrashers in GA. Doesn’t seem right at all. I hope the NHL will return Atlanta soon.

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I hope channel 11 still carries the national games. The Thrashers ownership, put an inferior product, on the ice. When the team was competitive, ATL fans showed up.

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Attendance was a double edged sword, I know the brainless Northern trolls use the numbers as fodder but it shows how the “rightful owners of hockey” are completely oblivious considering they try to pass themselves off as know it alls. If you northern trolls knew everything, you’d know that going to the games would have helped the team financially, the team may have stayed. But you’d use that brain to also know that going to said games puts money into the pockets of tyrannical owners, keeps said owners in business here running the team into the dirt, an inferior product, etc etc. Of course in Winnipeg you are elated, happy to be here attitude regarding hockey, you have nothing else to do with your lives, especially in long, frozen winters. It’s not even a “winner” that people wanted but, at least, a formidable team that played hard every night. If you want to spend 75$ on an average ticket, 20$ for concessions..15-20$ for parking to see Tim Stapleton take the ice, good for you.

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^^ It’s possible and I have been secretly wishing for that also, they sue everyone and end up getting sued as well. If it drags out we have a chance (thus the two schedules for the ‘team’) ..most seemingly feel that it will be announced next week that the Thrash are flying to the frozen wasteland, at this point we can only hope the Spirit does what it does best and screws everything up and forces us to have at least, one more year.

I like the urgency of finding a local owner AFTER they said they’ve been trying to sell the team for how many years now? Was it 5? It was never publicized..alls we get near doomsday is the “Balkan” which appears to be a giant hoax..or the usual suspects in Rollins who has less money than Glavine’s group..oh and DW was working on this to find a local owner. Yikes. If that isn’t a sign the end is near I don’t know what is.

Too bad Bettman is also a lawyer and both sides will get money..while Atlanta fans get told “deal with it”. I think Bettman has a strong disdain for this ownership not to mention he will gladly take the funds and pour it into his team in Arizona which pretty much means we are toast. Keep hope alive but it’s grim, at best. God bless Chris Thorburn…if more people started saying what’s right rather than what’s accepatble..it would send a clear message to everyone that our players love being here and under the right ownership, hockey could flourish here along with the fan base.

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‘God bless Thorburn’ is right. Makes you wonder just how upset the rest of the players are. I’ll miss these players.

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i hate Weinerpeggers and asslantans!

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can i use my foodstamps to buy Yotes tickets? anyone?

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no mommy……I don’t ewant that one today. I want to take the cute little red pill today, OK?

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I know Boulton isn’t happy either, he has obviously taken less money to stay here where he also has roots in place, like Thor. These players do deserve real owners who want to own a team and run it properly, but it should have happened here, they shouldn’t be stolen by Canada, and for every dim-wit in approval of this relocation, it means your team could be poached one day also..unless Bettman owns them or Mario is a former player. The NHL and the ASG go hand in hand, they are the same. This entire thing is foul, corrupt and unfair to the fans of our team who stuck by the Thrashers until the very end, a team that was designed to lose by indifferent owners in an indifferent NHL. I won’t support anything concerning either business after this and I recomend that others do the same. Don’t give them your money. Do not give the NHL and the ASG money, they screwed us.

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Hi Fart,

Agree with everything you said except for a couple of things:
1. Boulton is happy.
2. The players have real owners who happen to want to sell.
3. The team should be moving to Canada
4. The team won’t be poached
5. There is nothing corrupt
6. Fans did not stick with team until the very end.

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Are you stupid snow moneys more or less sure you are getting the Thrashers than you were the Coyotes..

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What did you guys think of the rally? Not bad – the world not ending made it a bit of a better time. I was hoping to meet the Balkan. We should plan another one soon.

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For what it’s worth, I’m a Coyotes STH and I feel your pain. The ONLY reason we still have our team is, Glendale built the arena for the Coyotes, and the NHL didn’t want to walk away from that commitment. The Thrashers were so crappy on the ice (like the Yotes) it’s a wonder anybody supported that garbage. Waddell is in the same league as Gretzky was down here! You were never given a reason to show up at Thrasher games. Who went to Black Hawk games several years ago when they stunk? 11K fans!

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Tick tick tick…. soon…. very soon! Mwah ha ha! Oh and G5, enjoy your team for one more year. They’ll be either in Hamilton, Toronto, Quebec City or Saskatoon next year.
Also, there was NEVER a playoff game that had 8500 people in Winnipeg. Every playoff game was sold out in the 90s. Remember WE invented the whiteout (which everyone else poached), and as Don Cherry proved during the last series with Detroit, we were the loudest playoff building in the NHL (decibel levels near to standing next to a 747 on takeoff).

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Here ya go G5. Youtube video of game 3 of the 1996 series between Detroit and Winnipeg. Sold out and all in white. We knew the team was leaving, but look at the support… or better yet listen to it.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWYvRUzMXYk&feature=fvsr

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We had season tickets from 1972 to 1996 and the only time we ever had 8500 at a game was when we had the snow storm when the NJ devils were in town. I had to use my Xcountry skis to get to the arena.

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LOL at the Wienerpeg fans listing the famous people from Wienerpeg. You really don’t have to justify your city to us. I guess it says it all that you feel you have to…..

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@G52PIM228 The L.A. Kings play by play man is NHL broadcast wing hall of famer Bob Miller. I had a C-band Satellite dish system in the 1980’s and 1990’s, so I watched many games from the old Winnipeg arena and Winnipeg was constantly made fun of by broadcasters and media covering the games there. I know how much Bob Miller hated that town, but it wasn’t just him if the broadcast crew didn’t include someone originally from Canada everybody had no problem making fun of Winnipeg. I haven’t heard anybody make fun of Atlanta except a few Canadians trying to put Atlanta down because of attendance not because of it being a miserable city like Winnipeg is.

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Hi Poverty,

Nobody ever makes fun of Georgia and the deep south.

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Sadly, I have heard some Georgia jokes over the years and I am from Georgia. Don’t say stupid sh!t like people make fun of you more than us. They make fun of us too, Poverty.

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to “Ulf Nillson”….Comments in a paper are from a few dozen people out of almost a million…so don’t go off and make sweeping judgements about Canadians or Winnipeggers . A lot ot those comments are from either local idiots (ya, we have em too) or from frustrated fans that have been enduring this will they/won’t they soap opera for a few years…after 17 years of not having a franchise we lost even though we always supported a very mediocre to very bad franchise.
We have the utmost respect for what Atlanta fans are going through and are sorry it’s going down this way.

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uh “Thrasher Tim”…Exactly what attendance numbers are you referring to??? Winnipegs average attendance was 13,000 in a bad 15,0000 seat arena, in a bad economy with a bad team..and was consistent over it’s 17 year history. The ONLY time it was bad was the last year when the city new the team was leaving the year before and there was a backlash.
Your bitterness is understandable….your facts are not.

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I was a season ticket holder of the Jets from 72 to 96 and when The Jets left it ripped my heart out, so I know the pain. I wish that Wpg. and Quebec City got expansion franchises instead of it coming to this.

The WHA Le Nordique and Jets was thrilling hockey, unbelieveable speed.

As to Winnipeg trolls, GROW UP, Atlanta and Phoenix are wonderful cities, both deserve better than what they’ve gotten.

Gretkzy is the greatest hockey player in history, but was clueless in the front office, Atlanta never had ownership that was serious.

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Go blog somewhere else, what exactly is your definition of “open-mindedness”? Does that mean being politically correct and ignoring facts? Because if it does then who would want to be “open-minded” by that definition? Please speak on the matter of factual information, does Atlanta or Winnipeg have a larger urban population? Does that play a role in which types of sports team may or may not be popular? Please, just the facts.

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Sports is a business and the best business models are those that are realistic, not those that are politically correct. I’ve interacted with too many reasonable people on this blog to think that some people in Atlanta can’t be realists. Are those of you who are reasonable and realists upset if I make a logical conclusion based on one market versus another having more or less of an “urban population”? I can’t for a second think that people in Atlanta are that worried about being politically correct instead of smart and realistic. Sorry but to be referred to as “ignoramuses” because I used the term “urban population” just floors me.

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@Winnipeg=Poverty….Winnipeg sucks, but Atlanta is great? Did you happen to catch any headlines yesterday, (not that they’re much different than any other day) infant shot, 4 people shot in Grant park, all before lunch. How many people got killed and shot in Winnipeg yesterday? Not a day goes by where there’s not a drive-by, cop shot, shootings in the ‘hood…great frickin town you have there! Or as we say in Boston…wicked pissah!

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http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2010/12/8/1536097/nhl-relocation-winnipeg-quebec-city

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And the “legendary” Bob Miller would rather be hit by a bus than be out in Winnipeg in January/February? What a revelation! For some of those days in Jan/Feb we wouldn’t want to go out either, its frickin cold! Hahaha. A dude from LA doesn’t want to go outside in a Canadian winter. Wow, who’d have thunk it. C’mon you can do better than cold weather jokes can’t you. I’ve got another newsflash, Bob Miller doesn’t want to walk the streets of South Central LA after dark ANYTIME of year. Keep spewing out the hard-hitting facts, I’m quite enjoying them. Yeah its cold here for a couple months. Hockey is a winter sport, if it wasn’t cold the ice for our kids to play on wouldn’t freeze and we (and parts of the US, Europe) couldn’t supply this league with the talent. Any other obvious points?

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More links to editorial pieces huh G? Sorry but I’m above sending links of articles and videos that support my case (but can send many). I can articulate my thoughts for myself. That is sooooo lame. You are starting to bore me again. Too bad.

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Pegger…Miller wouldn’t want to walk around most of the streets of Atlanta after dark either. Anyone trying to portray this city as some type of Shangrila is way off the mark. Unless they’re from the local trailer park…to those dolts they’re living high on the hog as it is. Believe me when I tell you, the crime rate here per capita is nothing to be bragging about.

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It will be FUNNY when the BoG vote AGAINST TNSE and force ASG to operate the team for another season while the league lines up a purchaser..

I’m gonna laugh and laugh at you stupid loserpeg trolls, especially my little impersonator..

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Apparently I have upset some stupid little snow monkey enough to stalk/impersonate me here.. Silly silly little kids.. When Tuesday come and goes without event like the rest of your “deadlines” I will STILL be laughing at Darren Fraud’s stupid little snow money trolls, will you..

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I still don’t think for one second the Thrashers are moving anywhere, ESPECIALLY some tiny already failed cluster of igloos..

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That’s not my mom commenting above. She doesn’t know who my dad was, you liars.

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So basically what you are saying is other than begging the province for cash, nobody has heard from TNSE..

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I may be a flaming gay man but at least I don’t have to live in Loserpeg with you Snowmonkeys.

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The joke is in my pants.

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I’m sick and tired of you impersonators making me say stupid things that I don’t want to.

STOP IT.

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I just peed myself, and mommy isn’t home to change me.

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13000 fans in seats would be announced as 25,000 in Atlanta Phoenix or any of the money pits in the south! Once again where do these attendance figures come from?

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Once read this in the “New York Daily News” about an Islander game being played in Winnipeg. The writer started it as “the Islanders have a game tonight here in Winnipeg, a city that looks like by plane that’s in serious need of defrosting”.There was once a Czech or Slovak player and I don’t remember his name who was flying into Winnipeg for the first time to play a road game looked out the plane window and said to a fellow player “UGH!! reminds me of Moscow”. Winnipeg you see has always been made fun of and I didn’t make that stuff up it’s all very, very true.

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http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/articles/2011/05/22/its_hard_to_see_winnipeg_­as_a_winning_move/

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@G52PIM228 Looks like Winnipeg is already being made fun of by Kevin Paul Dupont in Boston.com even before they have a team. It’s says a lot about the dread that Winnipeg brings out in the hockey media that have to travel to Winnipeg just once or a couple of times each year. Can you imagine what the players think about having to play and live in Winnipeg for 8 months.

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I see passion when I read this postings. There is Winnipeg = Poverty talking about traveling to Winnipeg. There is G5 – I don’t know what he is talking about but I can feel the passion in what he is trying to say. Come on – let’s come together and get this deal done.

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See – that is the kind of thinking outside of the box we need – is everybody in or are we all happy to be singing “Ohh Canada”?

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I can’t believe you bragged about a b list actress filming a movie in your little hellhole in the middle of nowhere. So sad! Haha

Surrender now you Frenchy’s!!!!

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The NHL in Loserpeg is a big time LOSER, TNSE asks for a “ticket drive”, ticket drive fails and TNSE gets to blame the fans for the NHL not returning.. I guess Chimpman is smart after all..

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Thunderbay, Wheres that piss hole located in Cananda ?

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I’m curious, if loserpeg is such a “can’t miss money making market”, what happened to the Jets..

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Sorry , The whole Countrys a piss hole…O CANADA ..OUR HOME AND NATIVE PISS HOLE…

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Jimmy is bitter because he’s never left Georgia, hell he doesn’t even know how to spell Canada, and he thinks Thunder bay is one word. Go back in the trailer.

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“WOW…one whole Season Ticket. Now that’s what I call support. If you get this guy and the reported 250 fans to show up to your next rally you’ll have 251 fans in all. Again, hockey isn’t supported enough to sustain a franchise, I don’t see what’s so hard to comprehend.”

I imagine alot of people who would buy season tickets are demoralized and thus they are holding onto their money out of fear the team is probably leaving.

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PS Jimmy (this is a bit embarrassing) YOUR team is spelled “Lightning” as in electrical activity in the sky. Lightening would mean getting lighter. It’s okay Jimmy – the keyboard is tougher than the crayons that you are used to.

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“G52: What can I say, man. Great to have you here. Like the cracks on a cement pavement, your posts provide a visible and precise separation between posts worth reading. Keep up the good work!”

ROFL.

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Balkie BartakaMOOSE.. Coincidence, I don’t think so..

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Agreed. As a four year season ticket holder and a partial season ticket holder before that, there are no excuses folks. You NEVER went to the games and we sat for years with other teams out yelling our home team – embarrassing. ATLANTA caused this move, not the THRASHERS. You cannot have a franchise with 9,000 in attendance night after night. We were 2nd lowest in the league forever. The others had history and a cup, we never had a playoff win. HOWEVER, the THRASHERS threw the latter part of the season for sure. We know this. They were 2nd in the conference in NOV, 13th by April. Along the way, trading all their stars and signing BUFF only to lure Winnepeg. That’s the real story. 130,000,000 loss. Bad business no matter if COKE is right around the corner. No playoffs, no fans, no gimmicks, changing jerseys every 5 minutes (BLUELAND but red jerseys? smart) and bringing in 17 year old girls skating around in mini skirts to bring in more male fans – sort of demented and sick.

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Good job Tony, it’s been a few minutes since some waterhead managed to type an asinine retort about Atlanta not being a hockey town, brilliant. It would be redundant to point out to you and those generic copies like you that the Flames and Thrashers had terrible ownership and the entire IHL didn’t work, genius. I like how “Atlanta lost the Knights”..when the ENTIRE IHL LOST EVERY TEAM. How do people like you miss that? Winnipeg is that way –> hopefully you find yourself there frozen to their AHL arena with their greasy fans from Bettman’s butt juice.

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Keep Hockey in Atlanta is right. The Knights only left because it was announced that the NHL was coming in 1999. And the Omni had to be imploded to pave the way for Philips Arena.

Gwinnett’s ECHL club appears to be doing just fine.

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