Thrashers fans want answers from team owners
If you take a look outside, you’ll see the sun shining and the sky a brilliant shade of blue. We here in north Georgia and in other areas of the south are enjoying some very fine weather, even though it’s just a tease of what awaits us this spring.
However, there is also a dark, menacing cloud that remains camped above Thrasherville. It’s been there since the turn of the New Years and has cast a shadow of misery over hockey fans throughout the city.
Obviously, some of this stems from the current slide that the Thrashers have been on for the better part of a month and a half now…one that has seen them play to a 6-12-5 record since the 20th of December last year. However, Thrashers fans are quite used to the feeling that normally accompanies watching the team fall off the edge of the playoff table ‘round about this time of year. It’s almost a routine in these parts…a time honored ritual that serves as a rite of passage. You can’t really be a Thrashers fan, it seems, unless you’ve suffered through this kind of slump come mid-to-late winter.
But this particular cloud is much darker than those in years past. This one brings with it an additional spirit of gloom and despair that even the most longsuffering and emotionally scarred Thrashers fan is accustomed.
Almost since the day the A.S., LLC purchased this franchise, dark clouds began to hover over Thrasherville: L-R Steven Belkin, Todd Foreman, Ed Peskowitz, J. Rutherford Seydel,II, J Micheal Gearon, Sr., Bruce Levenson, Michael Gearon, Jr., Dominique Wilkins and Bernie Mullin. March 31, 2004 (AJC staff photo)
This year’s cloud that blankets the sky comes with the recent revelation that those who own the team, the group that make up the Atlanta Spirit, LLC, have for some time been trying to sell off the Thrashers. This particular piece of 411 came in the form of yet another lawsuit entered into by the Spirit Boys and contradicts the countless denials put forth by Bruce Levenson, the Spirit Boys and their mouthpiece Don Waddell.
Now for most of us, this little info-bomb dropped on Thrasherville a few weeks back came less as a surprise and more of an insult. For six years we’ve suspected that this bunch have looked upon the Thrashers as their unwanted stepchild and were less-than-caring for their well-being. But to have our suspicions confirmed in such a cold, callus fashion…reading for ourselves the legal filings that stated how they wished to “dispose” of the team…came as yet another slap to the face for the paying customers.
Here’s the latest, as reported by AJC Thrashers beat writer Chris Vivlamore:
“Atlanta Spirit co-owner Michael Gearon said there is now a “sense of urgency” to find additional investors or a buyer willing to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta. If the ownership group does not get additional financial help in the near future the franchise could be sold and moved to another city.”
(Update: AJC sports blogger Mark Bradley just filed his reaction to the story.)
I guess this is just another thing we are supposed to “deal with”, eh Bruce?
As stated above, fans in Thrasherville are also “dealing with” this team making its annual March From The Playoffs. Even though this team has shown a certain degree of improvement this season, they are clearly in need of some help if they’re to make a serious run. Help that comes by way of a trade to shore up the roster.
Unfortunately, these same fans also understand that any such deal may increase payroll over the last several weeks of the season. And given how the franchise has conducted its business, right at the league minimum for the last few years, it’s understandable why many doubt ownership would authorize any such increase in spending.
Also, this is the time of year that season ticket holders are beginning to receive their invitations to renew once again. While I’m certain that each and everyone of them are tickled pink blue that they’ve once again been considered worthy of such an invite, I’m confident that more than a handful of them are considering whether or not this team is still a viable choice for their entertainment dollar.
Oh, it’s not that the hockey market here is not what some had thought it’d be a decade and a half ago when the league returned to this area…quite the contrary, in fact. Atlanta is home to a great number of hard-core hockey fans that love the sport and enjoy it live and in person. But the fans here are now “dealing with” the fact that the same people who have lied to their faces are now sticking their hands out and asking for more of their money.
That’s putting the nice folks in the ticket office at quite a disadvantage, if you ask me.
In light of this…and I’ll speak directly to Mr. Levenson…you and/or any other member of the AS, LLC need to join forces with Waddell and hold one of the other time-honored traditions in Thrasherville, the always much-anticipated, highly entertaining, informative and spirited Town Hall Meeting.
This needs to be done and done soon, because quite frankly Brucie… you got some ‘splainin’ to do.
Yes, Levenson and the boys owe these fans an explanation…an accounting of just what they intend for the team that they love and support so much.
Bruce Levenson, right, owes Thrashers fans an explanation. He should do so face to face and not via a carefully crafted corporate memo (Curtis Compton)
In that meeting, Bruce…or whichever one of the Spiriteers possess the wherewithal to do so…should look these people square in the eye and explain why they have repeatedly misled them about their intention to “dispose” of this team. After all, it’s one thing to lie to a person…multiple times…but it’s quite another to insult their intelligence by remaining silent as if no one ever noticed.
Also, Bruce needs to outline to those assembled whether or not he thinks additional help is needed to seriously make a postseason drive…or whether or not he feels the roster is good enough to do the job in it’s current condition.
That is, of course, if he actually cares enough to formulate any such opinion.
Oh sure, sure. To do this right now would place Bruce in quite an uncomfortable spot as he would undoubtedly have to endure the verbal slings and arrows that would be lobbed his way. I’m sure even he understands that there are some mighty peeved residents of Thrasherville. But an owner with any ounce of integrity…any sense of honor and decency…any shred of common courtesy for those forking over good money on tickets…would do so given the circumstances.
Meeting face to face with Thrashers fans is the one and only way he and the Spirit Boys can even come close to regaining any of the credibility needed to once more ask these fine people to pony up the funds required to remain members in good standing of the Thrashers Season Ticket Holders Club. And that’s a club which, as a direct result of the current ownership group’s influence, is becoming more and more exclusive by the day.
Certainly no one expects any of them to delve in depth as to the issues surrounding this current round of legal action. Everyone understands that when a case is pending it’s wise for all parties to say as little as possible. But what the good people of Thrasherville should expect is a certain level of intestinal and testicular fortitude to be shown by their team’s ownership group…especially in regards to their commitment level to the team they continue asking you to commit money towards.
To date, such fortitude has been sorely lacking. But now would be as good a time as any for these guys to start showing some.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
295 comments Add your comment
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
10:08 am
Perhaps they can bring SOB in as the next investor to save the Thrashers!! Help us from ourselves Sage of Bluesland-er.
Paul Postma
February 15th, 2011
10:09 am
Hey guys! How ya doing? Mind if I play a few shifts with Ron Hainsey?
Hockey Biltong
February 15th, 2011
10:24 am
Ay caramba.
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
10:28 am
The Septocluster have a combined testicular fortitude of a gnat.
Joe Johnson
February 15th, 2011
10:32 am
Please get me the hell out of here! My agent made me sign here.
The Real Thrash
February 15th, 2011
10:34 am
Here is the deal: we live in a city where the media and fans tolerate this behavior. Do you think that the owners of the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, Magic would not be available to speak with the media? Hell no! There would be a daily series of articles about it in the print, radio and blogs. What do we see here. Silence. The media is supposed to not only take advertising dollars from the sports teams but service the public as well. That is not being done.
Speak out media. Yell about the lack of response. Tell the fans how often you’ve tried to reach owners and have been stonewalled.
We cannot have a strong democracy (or sports community) without a free press. We are being dis-served and deserted.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
10:45 am
Is there a Town Hall meeting scheduled? I saw stroz say something about March 5th, is there one set for then? Or will they remain quiet.
Brendan mentioned something about TV ratings and that piqued my interest to do a little digging to see if there is real hope that Bettman will keep the team here because we’re the #8 TV market in the country. But the #’s he’s seeing are going to show that no, there’s not. The Stanley Cup Finals drew well this past year, here’s who the top 12 markets were in the country, you’ll notice we’re not one of ‘em: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/06/07/sunday-nights-stanley-cup-final-posts-best-overnight-rating-for-non-ot-game-5-in-8-years/53332
Here’s another one showing that non-NHL markets even outdrew us: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=531483
Here’s an article from last week showing local TV ratings here in Atlanta: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/02/20110207/Media/NHL-ratings.aspx
Only 22 of the 30 NHL clubs report local TV ratings, here’s where we fell for last season (8,000 households in Atlanta watching hockey):
*All numbers according to Sports Media Watch
Here’s all the numbers from NHL Local Markets:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (FS Pittsburgh) – 8.05 (Up 26.2%)
2. Buffalo Sabres (MSG Buffalo) – 6.45 (Down 19%)
3. Detroit Red Wings (FS Detroit) – 4.21 (Up 5.3%)
4. Chicago Blackhawks (CSN Chicago) – 2.45 (Up 131.1%)
5. St. Louis Blues (FS Midwest) – 2.33 (Up 21.4%)
T6. Boston Bruins (NESN) – 2.18 (Down 13.8%)
T6. Philadelphia Flyers (CSN Philadelphia) – 2.18 (Down 8.8%)
8. Minnesota Wild (FS North) – 1.67 (Down 27.4%)
9. Washington Capitals (CSN Mid-Atlantic) – 1.6 (Up 46.8%)
10. Colorado Avalanche (Altitude) – 1.56 (Up 13%)
11. Columbus Blue Jackets (FS Ohio) – 1.39 (Down 25.3%)
12. San Jose Sharks (CSN California) – 1.11 (Down 20.7%)
13. New York Rangers (MSG) – 0.89 (Down 18.3%)
14. Dallas Stars (FS Southwest) – 0.74 (Up 27.6%)
15. Phoenix Coyotes (FS Arizona) – 0.62 (Up 55%)
16. Tampa Bay Lightning (Sun Sports) – 0.60 (Up 27.7%)
17. New Jersey Devils (MSG Plus) – 0.58 (Up 48.7%)
18. Los Angeles Kings (FS West) – 0.48 (Up 50%)
19. Anaheim Ducks (Prime Ticket) – 0.42 (Up 50%)
20. New York Islanders (MSG Plus) – 0.36 (Up 100%)
21. Atlanta Thrashers (SportSouth) – 0.33 (Up 26.9%)
22. Florida Panthers (FS Florida) – 0.25 (Up 8.7%)
Households Watching
1. Pittsburgh Penguins – 93,000 (Up 25.7%)
2. Chicago Blackhawks – 86,000 (Up 132.4%)
3. Detroit Red Wings – 80,000 (Up 3.9%)
4. New York Rangers – 67,000 (Down 17.3%)
5. Philadelphia Flyers – 64,000 (Down 9.9%)
6. Boston Bruins – 53,000 (Down 13.1%)
7. New Jersey Devils – 43,000 (Up 48.3%)
8. Buffalo Sabres – 41,000 (Down 18%)
9. Washington Capitals – 37,000 (Up 48%)
T10. Minnesota Wild – 29,000 (Down 27.5%)
T10. St. Louis Blues – 29,000 (Up 20.8%)
12. San Jose Sharks – 28,000 (Down 20%)
T13. New York Islanders – 27,000 (Up 107.7%)
T13. Los Angeles Kings – 27,000 (Up 50%)
T15. Anaheim Ducks – 24,000 (Up 50%)
T15. Colorado Avalanche – 24,000 (Up 14.3%)
17. Dallas Stars – 19,000 (Up 35.7%)
18. Columbus Blue Jackets – 13,000 (Down 23.5%)
19. Phoenix Coyotes – 12,000 (Up 71.4%)
20. Tampa Bay Lightning – 11,000 (Up 22.2%)
21. Atlanta Thrashers – 8,000 (Up 33.3%)
22. Florida Panthers – 4,000 (Unchanged)\
I am telling you, by the #s, both in gate attendance and in TV ratings, the NHL is going to look at this and say we’re a dead market. We may be #8 in the country watching Survivor, but not hockey . . .
LAC
February 15th, 2011
10:46 am
Well Bill, You told it like it was. No owner will show up, they will send their little Bitch Boy waddell, to face the fans, and he will likely get an earful and exit quickly, as NOBODY in this group of LIARS will admit to the truth or at the least explain just WTF is going on.
Wonder if they will send in Pig Nose ed peskowitz, that clown don’t need makeup to look Stupid As Hell for sure. Just looking at these Idiots, you simply have to wonder… How in the World did “they”
ever come up with enough money to pull this off ? They each look more like panhandlers, than
any type of competent human being. I would not let one of them clean the toilet’s in my railroad buildings, reason… They would not know how !
Dustin Byfuglien
February 15th, 2011
10:47 am
I want at least half of what Joe Johnson’s making. And the other half should go to my boy Ladd. He’s a great captain and can score 22 goals playing 19+ mins / game.
SomaAtl95
February 15th, 2011
10:48 am
I’d pay to see Sage go toe to toe with the “Seven Sages of Thrasherville Sadness” and see Mr SOB subsidize a rear kicking to whomever mouths off to him. I’m sure somewhere along the line SOB would get a dig or two towards us “Sheeple” but I would love for the A$G to take the full brunt of his unhappiness.
And as long as the A$G is suing people for their money I plan on making the S a dollar sign $. Because thats seemingly all the Thrashers meant to them, they wanted to make a quick buck by “Disposing” of the team.
WAY TO GO A$G!
LAC
February 15th, 2011
10:50 am
Gee Whiz “smoothie” attacking a person right off the bat for nothing, your style shows time and time again. These Idiots have no defense and I see they have YOUR support…. Why not pull it over your head and squeeze out what few brain cells you have and attack asg, Not folks like Mr.Sage, Stroz and myself…. We see it…. Why can’t you !
Ted Striker
February 15th, 2011
10:50 am
It’s easy to understand why you’re frustrated by the team’s performance. Any Thrasher fan would be.
However….
Just how many words, exactly, do you think the AS, LLC, drafted of the court filing you cited?
When a party goes to court — no matter the issue — it is the duty of the attorney to point out every potential grounds for damages or defense. That’s all this is.
Look, I get it. You don’t like the product. Fair enough. However if you don’t like AS, LLC, you have 3 choices.
1) You can become successful enough to buy them out and do it better.
2) You can pledge your allegiance to another team/organization.
3) You can whine.
Which are you doing?
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
10:51 am
Trixie, “my comment is awaiting moderation”
Get The Puck Out
February 15th, 2011
10:52 am
How do the Hawks rank in payroll this year?
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
10:54 am
Go to hell LAC!
I really couldn’t give two sh!%s about you and your lectures on class you clown. SOB attacks people every single day so stop defending him you lackey toad. And when have I ever attacked Stroz?
Get off your high horse, I’d hate to see you fall off.
SomaAtl95
February 15th, 2011
10:55 am
Can’t we all just get along?
Get The Puck Out
February 15th, 2011
10:58 am
We’re still in ninth dammit!!!
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:03 am
I don’t think I’d take kindly to Levenson and Co. attempting to snow me live and in person. They are on my infinite (BLEEEP) list a la Enron, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc. I will never trust the F.A.S., period.
By the way I added that F to the front of their acronym for a good reason. Yeah, this is Atlanta, but how many of us have roots from markets that would never live this down (Philly, Boston, NY, etc.)? Let’s not let up on the F.A.S.
Badger Bob
February 15th, 2011
11:05 am
TS, are those seriously the only choices you see? What you call “whining” I’ll call “holding the owners accountable”, and then select that option. I presume you’d categorize the protecters in Egypt as whiners, so its not all that bad a label. Let us hope our whining can be that effective.
Rodney King
February 15th, 2011
11:05 am
I wouldn’t pull Bruce Levenson out of an angry mob of rioters even if you paid me handsomely.
Hockey Biltong
February 15th, 2011
11:06 am
What Ted Stryker said!
Russian
February 15th, 2011
11:06 am
**to Joe Friday**
Great post. All numbers are very interesting. I am going to cry, because Atlanta will lost team very soon.
Only 8000 family watched hockey.
Rawhide
February 15th, 2011
11:06 am
Ted Striker – I’m not a lawyer, (don’t even play one of TV), however I have had dealings with them. From what I understand, they act on behalf of their clients. As such, any language in the legal filings is there on the behalf of and with permission from the A.S., LLC.
And there was what, five-six times where it was stated they had sought to sell the team over the last six years? I think their intentions are clear.
As far as what I’m doing…may I suggest a 4th option? I’m simply saying that Bruce Levenson, or any other member of the Spirit Group, needs to face the paying customers that have continued to support this team and answer some of their concerns.
Plus, I’ve done my best to help promote the Thrashers by way of special ticket offers and discounts.
BTW, great username…from one of the all-time comedy classics!
glovesave29
February 15th, 2011
11:10 am
LAC – we all despise the ASG. I think where Sage gets everyone is where he spends time (ad nauseum) patting himself on the back for pointing out the obvious. It’s the same posting every single time. He takes his vitriol out on those who wish to watch the games by calling them names and such.
Brendan – my gut is Duds is gone after this season. He’s gotta realize he is in a no-win situation. It’s one thing to preside over a bad team that wants to get better, a total other to have ownership tanking the team on purpose. Gotta imagine his hands are tied. Offers made to him that he would take, and the goobs upstairs say no to every last one. After he goes, I hope he’s called to the league office to spill the beans…and perhaps lead to the league stepping in and removing these clowns from our midst.
R. Stroz
February 15th, 2011
11:11 am
Ted Striker – Anyone who doesn’t read a legal document prior to signing off on said document is an idiot.
We don’t like the lack of commitment from ownership as evidenced by a perpetually low payroll relative to the other NHL teams.
We. as fans, don’t enjoy being lied to. Do you enjoy being lied to?
Are you unable to delineate between the team, the fans desire to see hockey prosper in Atlanta, and the owners desire to merely dispose of the team?
Andrew G
February 15th, 2011
11:11 am
Joe Friday,
Great information! The obvious argument is this. Look at the two top teams in that category for households watching. The Penguins and the Blackhawks. Do you see the correlation between household viewership and providing a good product on the ice. Take both clubs back no more than 5 years ago, at a time when there was speculation of Pitt moving to KC and a time when Patrick Kane wasn’t in a Blackhawk uni. I know that it is no excuse, but quite frankly, we Atlanta fans are so sick of futility. All we want is a winning product! Before thinking that Bettman will send this team to Quebec, he considers that and knows that. I don’t care if it is “Canadian” sport, success brings interest. Based on the season that both Ottawa and Edmonton are having, I can’t imagine that they are bringing in booming numbers.
Great article “Ice Man.” We need an Arthur Blank to step in and take over this franchise. All’s to blame on the ownership!
Thrashers
February 15th, 2011
11:12 am
G.T.P.O. ….stop stealing our line…We will put you in a pair of skates and let Bolts pummel you into next year!!! If our Coach will keep him out of the press box.
kracker
February 15th, 2011
11:12 am
I won’t be holding my breath waiting on that THM w/ Brucie & Company.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:14 am
Ted – Can I call you Teddy? Teddy, I’m whining and it’s my right to whine, just like it’s your right to try and call us out on whining by whining about us whining yourself. Complacency, apathy, whatever, is STUPID in such a case. This is a local professional team, it’s role is entertainment, period. They depend on us to make them money by going to see them play…for entertainment. What’s entertaining about this? We live here, why would we pick another team? Spare me the self reliance pushing, Boortz-ian jive about how we should buy the team too, it’s silly.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
11:16 am
SAT word alert! Good one Stroz (delineate), Red Light is smiling.
glovesave – big fat YUP!
SomaAtl95
February 15th, 2011
11:17 am
Ninth place is the “First Place” for losers.
Doesn’t make me any happier either.
Hockey Biltong
February 15th, 2011
11:20 am
asg does not give a rats ass what we think.
Holding them accountable is a utopian dream.
Enjoy the NHL here while you can. There is no guarantee it will be here tomorrow.
Separate the team and coaches from the ownership.
It is probably the only way to enjoy hockey at Philips.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
11:21 am
The Postma recall is welcome news, but will he get more than a handful of games to show his value?
Since 2006-07, the Thrashers have recalled a total of 35 players from Chicago at some point during the past five seasons. Those 35 players (some were recalled more than once obviously) have played a total of 400 games with the Thrashers. The quick math tells you that per-recall each player averages just 11.4 games. However, included in the 35 are guys like Bryan Little and Patrice Cormier, who were never sent back down after being recalled. Cormier’s was a rehab assignment.
Interesting, that of those recalled from 06/07 to 09/10, 15 are no longer a part of either the Wolves or Thrashers organization. That’s more telling news that the Chicago Wolves need to be shown the door, and soon!
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:23 am
BTW, Rawhide, I love today’s title.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
11:27 am
de·lin·e·ate is an Atlanta hockey term that means…to paint a gloomy picture!
Thrashers
February 15th, 2011
11:28 am
Paul is a swell guy in the locker room, not much help on the ice, but he tidies up the bathrooms really well. Another cost saving move from the A$$ clown owners we have.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
11:29 am
R/L – did you notice Brett Sterling had 2 goals in his first 2 games as a call-up from W-B in Pittsburgh? Not to say that he’d be a cure-all for our scoring woes, but don’t ya think he’d be a little better at hitting the net and providing some offense compared to Timmy Stapleton?
Russian
February 15th, 2011
11:32 am
**to Smoothie**
Oh, come on. Sterling or Timmy are same crap. They have to stay in AHL. We saw Streling and he had his chanse. He blew it. I just waiting when Timmy is going to move from Atlanta or back to Wolves.
steve brown
February 15th, 2011
11:32 am
Boycott them ’til death.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:34 am
Smoothie, agreed. I always thought Brett Sterling shoulda been given more opportunity, his college and AHL numbers are vastly more promising than Stapleton’s.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
11:36 am
C’mon Russian, at least Sterling scored when he got his 20 or so games to prove himself. Cuz playing LW beside Todd White is what getting a real shot at the NHL is really all about!
Seriously though, Brett wasn’t that bad when here. I’ll never forget the game in which he drew 3 or 4 penalties on the Capitals. Ahh the good ‘ol days!
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:38 am
Steve Brown, we can only boycott so much before this team will relocate. I don’t see any team being relocation-proof when they average 8 or 9k in attendance, I feel that will become a reality if they don’t improve in the next few coming years
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:39 am
Smoothie, again…AGREED.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:40 am
Geez, Brett Sterling is about an inch taller than me, he needed to be paired better. I don’t see how an AHL 50 + goal scorer can’t get 20 or so goals in the NHL.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:42 am
Sometimes little guys don’t get the consideration of the bigger ones, take my vertically challenged a$$es word on that.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
11:43 am
Sterling got 13 games one year and 6 in another in Atlanta. Hardly an opportunity! But, yes, both are essentially from the same AHL stock.
KLS1
February 15th, 2011
11:45 am
Pray for a new buyer or a stanley cup run…not sure which is more likely but if neither happens they will move.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
11:45 am
IR13 – never thought Sterling got a fair shake. When he did get to play a bunch of games, it was long after we had given up on the season.
The only thing that may save us from relocation is this pathetic economy. While the “loonie” is on par with the USD right now, there are far from any future guarantees in the next 10 years. Look how other leagues are facing very serious labor strife and potential lockouts. I think eventually the NBA, and perhaps even MLB, will have to contract. Corporate entities are not going to continue to invest in major league sports when there is so much economic uncertainty here and throughout the world. 1 in every 5 mortgages are under water and it’s only getting worse. Don’t be deceived by the stock market as our govt’s love affair with spending and debt is only going to make it tougher to dig out of this hole. I don’t see the climate improving for major league sports anytime soon. And moving franchises to Canada may not be a palatable idea unless there is absolutely no other option.
AtlFlamesFan
February 15th, 2011
11:46 am
I was always hoping that Sterling would catch on here. I may be wrong, but I think he was not used correctly; being stuck on a checking line and not being able to use his natural scoring abilities.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
11:47 am
“de·lin·e·ate is an Atlanta hockey term that means…to paint a gloomy picture!”
Your Webster’s is on the fritz, that’s the definition of the Atlanta hockey term…re-al-ity
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
11:48 am
Joe Friday – The numbers you posted don’t mean squat. Why? It’s hard for anyone to get excited about a team when that team has had zero on-ice success. The NHL will not look at the numbers, they will look at the potential. The potential of the Atlanta market is huge — we just need to get rid of this ownership, get out of the cellar, get more good players in here, and spend some time in the playoffs.
The better the team plays, the more people will show up. The more people that show up, the fewer seats available, and the more people who’ll have to watch from home.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:49 am
ATLFlamesFan – exactly. For cryin’ out loud Stapleton’s 28 years old too, why is he getting this chance? Look at his career, nothing in there says keep him up here at this point, but the proof’s in the pudding I guess. What does he have one point, an assist at that this season with the Thrashers?
Timmy Stapleton
February 15th, 2011
11:52 am
Hey! I have a shootout goal too!! And stop calling me Mighty Mouse Smoothie! I’ll send out Sage’s gestapo if you keep calling me names!
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:53 am
Smoothie, agreed again. The funny part about the Canadian Dollar is that it’s almost exactly on par with ours, buuut EVERYTHING COSTS MUCH MORE IN CANADA. Besides having a higher concentration of fans by default, I
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:54 am
can’t see the real benefit. Sorry about that broken up text blunder.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:55 am
Tim, sorry I can’t hear you so well, I think you swallowed your chin.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
11:56 am
I’m sorry, that was mean. It’s a nice feature, you rock the chinless look well and I’m sure you’re special to somebody.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
11:58 am
“The only thing that may save us from relocation is this pathetic economy”
Conditions are getting better and companies are spending more, I’m hiring right now . . . we’re not going back to the roaring ’90s anytime soon as there’s lots of problems to work through, but conditions are much improved on the front lines.
Daly’s comments, Bettman’s failure to specifically address Atlanta, and the owners obvious desire to sell the club to anyone (they’d lose less with empty dates in the house and already have filed to recoup losses from their attorneys . . . our 8000 core hockey fans would probably do quite well supporting the Las Vegas Thrashers new AHL affiliate–that’s a financial model that would work here)
Does Vegas have an arena at the ready that could house a team? I was very surprised to see the high TV ratings they had for hockey, Indy as well.
Player to be named later
February 15th, 2011
12:02 pm
Simply stated, this is the worst group or cluster of owners that has ever been assembled in sports history. It just shows you that you do not have to have brains to have money. Look back on the first 4 years of the franchise; 86% tickets sold for a horrible team. So do you think the team would be making money if the owners did not try and B.S. the fans? If Winnepeg gets the team, then they should get 10 years of these owners too then we will see how many happy Canadians will trudge through the Manitoba winters to see this mess. This is Bettman’s mess.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
12:03 pm
“The numbers you posted don’t mean squat. Why? It’s hard for anyone to get excited about a team when that team has had zero on-ice success.”
Try reading again, Alan. The first #s in the links are for the Stanley Cup finals that pitted the Blackhawks vs. the Flyers, those numbers are not for the Thrashers. That’s where the league will look for the potential of this as a hockey market, when places like Las Vegas, Indy, Seattle, Fort Meyers, West Palm, et al are outdrawing Atlanta, then we’re clearly not a “top 8″ hockey market for TV.
The second set of #s is for local hockey here in Atlanta and 6000 to 8000 homes watching isn’t all because we hate the owners. Cripes, I hate the owners and pulled my season ticket money a while ago but I still watch them on TV.
“The NHL will not look at the numbers”
They most certainly will and they most certainly have.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
12:06 pm
Indianapolis ratings were once keyed by native son Ken Klee’s TV appearances, Now, they are subject only to John Michael Liles and Jack Johnson.
World Be Free
February 15th, 2011
12:10 pm
Well Mr. Rawhide, yet another engaging blog that has motived some real lively exchanges. I read this and I want to head over to the local Publix and stick my arm in the blood pressure machines to see my numbers. Not much to look forward to other than the great exchanges of information we have on the blog and amongst ourselves.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
12:13 pm
I never saw Liles or Johnson playing in the Finals this past year, or are you now gonna tell me I was dreaming that my ‘Hawks won and it was really the Avs or Kings skating the Cup, thanks for nuthin, bub!
Ratings from Game 5 2010 Stanley Cup Finals ‘Hawks vs. Flyers:
Top 10 Markets
1. Chicago 26.0/41
2. Philadelphia 19.7/28
3. Buffalo 10.6/15
4. Pittsburgh 5.8/9
5. Detroit 4.2/6
6. Las Vegas 3.9/6
7. Minneapolis 3.8/7
8. Fort Myers 3.7/6
9. Milwaukee 3.6/6
T10. Denver 3.3/6
T10. Columbus 3.3/5
T10. West Palm 3.3/5
Ratings from Game 6 2010 Stanley Cup Finals ‘Hawks vs. Flyers:
TOP 10 MARKETS FOR GAME 6
1. Chicago 32.8/50
2. Philadelphia 26.8/38
3. Buffalo 13.5/20
4. Pittsburgh 9.7/14
T5. Detroit 6.3/10
T5. Indianapolis 6.3/10
7. Fort Myers 6.1/10
8. Minneapolis 5.9/11
9. Las Vegas 5.7/9
10 Boston 5.1/9
TOP NON-NHL MARKETS FOR GAME 6
1. Indianapolis 6.3
2. Fort Myers 6.1
3. Las Vegas 5.7
4. Milwaukee 5.0
5. Baltimore 4.5
6. Memphis 4.3
7. Seattle 4.1
8. West Palm 4.0
9. Orlando 3.8
T10. San Diego 3.7
T10. Greensboro 3.7
Jason
February 15th, 2011
12:18 pm
Shockingly (and I say that with all the sarcasm I can), I have not hear back from my ticket rep after my letter from last Friday.
That being said, I do want to say that I was lucky enough to join one of my friends who got a gold-signed Valentine’s puck from none other than…Tim Stapleton! I admit it, I was giving him grief (as was everyone else) about the fact that he won the opportunity to meet Stapleton. But when it was all said and done, he was amazingly friendly and down-to-earth. He talked with us for about 15 minutes before it was all said and done about everything from where we live, how long we’ve been fans, etc., etc. Just a great experience.
Shame his attitude can’t rub off on ownership….
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
12:21 pm
Red Light – it’s not that I wanna say you’re wrong (I think Sterling needs better pairings and more TOI), but just to point out the obvious differential treatment of certain players for reasons unknown…Burmi. That’s all I have to say about that really, well wait no…Cormier. There, I’m done. I can’t justify how they look much more appealing and are given so much more of an opportunity other than there’s nobody else to dress (LAME).
Hoof Arted
February 15th, 2011
12:24 pm
Best – Blog – Header – EVER!
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
12:24 pm
Those Vegas numbers really surprise me . . . is it all northerners down there on vacation watching games? This news was in the Vegas paper last week, some group headed by a guy who’s part owner of the Lakers and Kings wants to build a complex right off the strip, I could see that, go to show one night in Vegas, hit the hockey game the next: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/08/proposal-emerges-build-three-stadium-complex-downt/
World Be Free
February 15th, 2011
12:29 pm
Joe Friday, those numbers from Vegas must comes from the sports bets like the one in the Hilton!
Where do we go from here?
Sage of Bluesland
February 15th, 2011
12:36 pm
Laughing at Alan, who completely missed the point of Joe Friday’s analysis…had absolutely nothing to do with the Thrashers…but, then again, I don’t expect too much from some…
I take issue with someone who stated I ‘keep repeating the obvious’…Huh???
Funny how MOST thought I was nuts when I called Don Waddell out for what he was MANY years ago.
The excuses–from Sara’s spweadsheets…to GaVaSheep’s excuses…to Ranallo- and AlanLambs “incremental progress”….to Joe-Bob-Friday waffling back and forth…to anything put forth by Smoothie…have been far too numerous to count….It has been a difficult road, certainly.
If it were so “obvious”, why has it taken some of you so #$@%%@ long to see it???
But, you were right–it was obvious to some here (wink). Don’t worry, I’ll keep reminding you, though.
There is only one answer now to this completely uncaring ownership and inept management. You know what it is. Those who continue to subsidize this incompetence, in the face of all of the evidence presented, is the problem now. Our ONLY chance is to shake the inertia from the league office by doing extraordinary things (like a complete boycott).
Make the Thrashers bubble-up on Bettman’s desk to the very top. Force him to make a decision. Let’s resolve this issue once and for all–and if it goes pear-shaped, then so be it. I’d rather have resolution and a future–then this neverending state of confusion, inaction, unaccountability, and incompetence which have been nothing but an assault on my intelligence and being as a fan.
Show some self-respect, if you are a ‘real’ fan of the Atlanta Thrashers. This ownership/management group is nothing but an abomination. If you’re a fan of the opponent who comes in here–or a fan of the NHL–then my words mean nothing and don’t apply to you….But, if you truly have the best interests of the ATLANTA THRASHERS at heart, then you know what to do…
alex
February 15th, 2011
12:59 pm
hi Rawhide, like always great article, but i have some doubt about accessibility Mr. levinson. OK we living in democracy compare to Egypt dictatorship i bet you it’s easy to reach Mubarak in his Sinai resort area than Bruce in Washington dc.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
1:11 pm
Yeah, those ratings numbers have nothing to do with all of the legalized gambling on hockey, naaah. I bet the ratings are higher in Vegas for all major sports. You need to compare the Vegas numbers for hockey to the NBA Finals and the World Series for the numbers to really mean what you want them to mean.
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
1:14 pm
Laughing at Alan, who completely missed the point of Joe Friday’s analysis
Don’t sweat it. I’m laughing at you, too. BAAAA, Sheep herder.
Sageless in Seattle
February 15th, 2011
1:18 pm
Screw you guys, I’m moving to Seattle where they deserve hockey. Just look at these ratings figures, pure gold mine up there in the Emerald City. Why hasn’t Bettman moved the Thrashers yet? My boycott has really got Billy Daly all a twitter about the hopelessness which pervades in Atlanta. Why won’t you listen to me and take heed to my Nostradamus-like wisdom??
Midfield
February 15th, 2011
1:20 pm
Rawhide, with all due respect, you’re missing the point. Bruce has long passed the point when he was supposed to explain himself. Now he has been proven – excuse me – a liar, and I mean, it’s the official record, not just my insinuation. This isn’t the time for Bruce to explain himself. This is the time for Bettman to get into the act, if he – Bettman – is serious about what he says.
Cliff Fletcher
February 15th, 2011
1:23 pm
hey lac, there goes your good buddy sage “laughing” at bloggers again for having the nerve to offer their opinion. this is the guy you want us to respect cuz he is right 110% of the time?
respect is earned my friend.
sage-we all called management out years ago just like you. stop trying to act like you were the first to see the issues with this franchise. are you really al gore, did you really invent the internet?
Stan Drulia
February 15th, 2011
1:25 pm
Hahahaha!!! Man. SOB. So all “TRUE” fans of the Thrasher’s should boycott the team. LISTEN TO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!!! You redundant freak! Please don’t tell me that you are a “TRUE” fan… That is a joke. You are the definition of a non-fan. Go watch football and leave us alone to subsidize whatever the F we want to.
Tom
February 15th, 2011
1:29 pm
If any of you have XM Radio try calling in on the Gary Bettman Show Thursday nights at 6 pm. He answers fan questions and bringing the displeasure of the Thrasher’s fans to his attention might work.
While I do not agree with Bettman all the time he does put himself out there with his radio show.
LAC - aka Mr. Sage's lap dog
February 15th, 2011
1:30 pm
I don’t like it when you diss Mr. Sage……
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
1:32 pm
“Yeah, those ratings numbers have nothing to do with all of the legalized gambling on hockey, naaah. I bet the ratings are higher in Vegas for all major sports.”
I believe the Nielsen ratings are for households, not betting parlors. But ok, I’ll play along with your standard antagonism in the face of re-al-ity . . . what about the #s for Indy, Seattle, Milwaukee, Fort Myers, Baltimore, Memphis, West Palm, San Diego, Greensboro? What about Orlando? Must be all that legalized gambling going on in Disney World? Mabye Princess Belle had the hots for Buf and tuned in last year for the Finals?
My point in pointing out re-al-ity is that we’re deluding ourselves if we are holding onto some hope about Bettman wanting to hold onto Atlanta because we’re a top 8 TV market. I kept reading that posted here and I believed it to be true. Most of the growth in Atlanta has come from those of us that moved down here from up north. I see Rangers fans, Buffalo fans, Pitts. fans, etc. all show up when their clubs are in town. But mabye they’re not really hockey fans, mabye they’re just there supporting their old team like when Jets come to town to play the Falcons, but if they’re not here, they don’t watch hockey.
For 6 years they’ve tried to sell this club to someone local, to no avail. We better quit pissing and moaning about the Spirit Squad and Don Waddell, they’re almost irrelevant now . . .it’s going to be up to us to do something in the spirit of what the Art Blank save our team.com has going, but much more, we need to get petitions signed, and not by 200, but by thousands, 10’s of thousands preferably, and get them to the league front office and Board of Govs, or this club is going, going, gone . . .
Tom
February 15th, 2011
1:33 pm
NHL Hour with Commissioner Gary Bettman broadcasts live on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET on NHL Home Ice (XM Channel 204 and on SIRIUS Channel 208 as part of the “Best of XM” programming package) and NHL.com. The show will re-air on SIRIUS XM Radio, with archived shows available for download via podcast on NHL.com.
The show encourages fans to call in with questions for the Commissioner. To submit questions to NHL Hour call 1-877-645-6696.
CatThrashFever
February 15th, 2011
1:35 pm
If Thrashers had won even 6 more games in regulation, we would be in at least 6th place now…Trade picks for someone!!! NOW before the trade deadline stampede….Versteeg would have been a nice addition, but I guess the players don’t even want to come here in this mess!
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
1:35 pm
“This isn’t the time for Bruce to explain himself. This is the time for Bettman to get into the act, if he – Bettman – is serious about what he says.”
Midfield gets it.
“If any of you have XM Radio try calling in on the Gary Bettman Show Thursday nights at 6 pm. He answers fan questions and bringing the displeasure of the Thrasher’s fans to his attention might work.”
Tom gets it.
Forget the Spirit Squad. Forget Don Waddell. Got to stand up for hockey in this town, or it’s gone, all the league knows about is the empty seats and the pitiful TV ratings in Atlanta for the highest rated Final in years.
Geoff Peterson
February 15th, 2011
1:36 pm
BALLS
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
1:41 pm
Hell, if we could just beat Carolina & Tampa half the damn time, we’d be playoff bound. Guess the A$G doesn’t want the playoff revenue to erase any losses! That might hurt their case in court! Gotta look like the pathetic victims that they are!
bob from account temps
February 15th, 2011
1:42 pm
the asg and the big wadd always tell the truth. you just have to understand that it is the opposite of what they say.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
1:52 pm
“Most of the growth in Atlanta has come from those of us that moved down here from up north. I see Rangers fans, Buffalo fans, Pitts. fans, etc. all show up when their clubs are in town”
Same reason Ft. Myers, Orlando and San Diego have good ratings. Retired folks from the North. Not saying you don’t have a valid point but most of those markets can’t support hockey over the long-term. But the fact that the folks in GSO are still watching a lot of hockey as Canes fans just goes to show hockey can work in the south if you grow it right and you don’t treat your fans like crap or lose for a decade straight. Are you telling me Denver should relocate to Seattle because their attendance is down despite a winning team? I just have a hard time believing another market is better than ours because of some TV ratings. If that was the principal basis for decision-making in the NHL, Phoenix would’ve moved to Indy by now. But you’re point about us being the #8 TV market is overblown. But there is still lots of potential. Tough to build a TV audience when you don’t advertise your product anywhere other than your own carrier!
just saying
February 15th, 2011
1:54 pm
Neilsen ratings are garbage. Only 25,000 households have the boxes. That’s less than 0.03% of all American households.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
1:59 pm
But you’re point about us being the #8 TV market is overblown*
Ooops, typing too fast, I mean to say you’re right in that the argument about us being the #8 TV market is in fact overblown. But there are a myriad other reasons as to why hockey should work in this town.
Just think how many of the Buffalo, New York, Detroit etc fans would convert to Thrasherdom all together if we could actually put 4 or 5 winning seasons together. But alas, it will likely never happen with this ownership group. I wish I had more hope for new investors, but the combination of a bad credit market coupled with the eroded goodwill of the A$G will deter most potential investors. Would you get into bed with these lying crooks? Exactly.
Either Bettman will intervene when the time is right or we will lose hockey for a second time. Either way, I’m still going to some games while it’s being played in my backyard. Life is too short to get so wound up over bad ownership and stop going to games. It’s not like we’re the first city to ever experience bad ownership and we certainly won’t be the last. Hell, you don’t even have to BUY tkts, they are usually given away if you’re willing ot work some connections. Either way, the A$G is still losing a crap-ton of money. Shame on them.
SomaAtl95
February 15th, 2011
2:05 pm
The biggest problem of all is that no matter what the A$G says, there will not be an interpreter there to translate Bull-spit into English, so having a THM would just be a waste of time and breathable air.
Today is the last day of my XM subscription, I have tried calling the commissioner before but have not been able to get through thanks to the extreme amount of Islander fans that seem to call and complain during the show… and when it wasn’t islanders fans clogging it up it was GB completely fawning over Cindy Crotchby. It is a good suggestion to call though and if given the chance I would ask “Mr Bettman, with all due respect, when is it going to be time to step in and do something in Atlanta like what was done in Glendale and Tampa?” I’m sure after enough people call in and ask the same questions he may actually address more than “We are looking into it”
Rawhide
February 15th, 2011
2:05 pm
Midfield – I hear ya, my friend. I do, however, think the fans have a right to hear from Bruce Levenson or one of the Sucknificent Seven sometime soon though.
Now, continuing with your point…
Tom – I think your call for Thrashers fans to call into the commissioner’s show on XM’s NHL Channel is an excellent idea. Image if the phone lines were clogged this Thursday from fans here insisting the league step in and help fix the mess the AS, LLC have created.
Thrasherville…Thursday, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm eastern time: 1-877-645-6696.
Ask Bettman what he thinks needs to be done about these clowns.
Cliff Fletcher
February 15th, 2011
2:10 pm
stan drool-bag, you are useless too
Tom Lysiak
February 15th, 2011
2:17 pm
Glovesave29 – I saw your earlier comment on your gut telling you Duds is gone after this season. I can’t argue with your gut, but that is something I never understood about him, Ramsay or Torch coming here. You have to believe that all three of them knew about ASG and inquired on the plan going forward. You read on this blog every single day that no free agents will come here because of the ownership and the problems they have created here. If players know the scoop, don’t you know that coaches and management around the league know the same thing and probably even more? Word gets around the league. Remember when the league was already in the loop on the Torch/Bogo thing and most of us didn’t know anything about it? Everyone else knew about it.
So, why would Duds let Waddell talk him into the Asst position? For the promise of moving up one day? Was he that desparate to get out of Chicago? I know Bowman’s daddy was supposedly calling a lot of the shots up there, but Duds could have found a much better situation. Likewise, why would Rammer leave a great Asst position in Boston with a team on the verge, to come to this team? Maybe in his case the draw of being a head coach was just too much. Why in the world would Torch leave the current cup champions, to come be the Associate coach here? For the promise of being the head guy here one day? Was he that desparate? To build their resumes?
I know that I would have done my homework and gotten some pretty big assurances on the future. Like, not planning a move to another city any time soon. And don’t tell me that ASG lied to all of them too. You might be able to lie to the rank and file fans, but I would hope candidates for GM, coaches, etc would be completely informed and bought-in about the real scoop, not the projected one.
Sorry for the novel…..
Acer
February 15th, 2011
2:20 pm
alex…some Egyptian styles protests against the Spirit would be nice. Realistically, fan protests would be great. Love Thrashers, Hate (the) Spirit!!!
tonyb
February 15th, 2011
2:24 pm
Rawhide, your best blog to date. Excellent. I’m glad I’m not the only fan to feel this way.
I also like the reaction in the comments section. I commend every fan of this team for wanting to step up and fight to keep it here in Atlanta. It gets real embarrassing to hear relocation rumors to such backwater places like Winnipeg and Quebec City. We have suburbs in Atlanta bigger than those towns.
The NHL understands that its customers are moving to the south. Nothing will change that. Bettman, I’m sure, is very unhappy with the way the ASG has operated this team. I hope that enough of the real fans make their voices heard to see real action by the league. They stepped in and bailed out Tampa, Nashville, possibly Phoenix and Dallas, we deserve the very same treatment.
I can promise you this. If this team had good owners and management, that arena would be filled each and every night. Hockey fans will drive 100 miles to see their team play. So, lets keep up the fight and save this team.
Puckhead
February 15th, 2011
2:30 pm
Nice thing about a lawsuit for ASG is they can hide behind it ….. Sorry can’t comment until there is a resolution in the current lawsuit. If the last lawsuit held up previous sale possibilities, doesn’t the current suit create the same roadblock?
Badger Bob
February 15th, 2011
2:33 pm
Tom, good observations on RD, Rammer and Torch.
I recall RD saying during the summer that the Thrashers salary budget was “enough to assemble a competitive team”. I am curious if the budget changed, if he really thinks league minimum cuts it, or if that’s just more spin from the A$G/Sucknificant Seven BS Factory.
Hosni Mubarak
February 15th, 2011
2:37 pm
You hang in there, Brucie!! Don’t give ‘em an inch!!
PS. I’m checking out now….
J-man
February 15th, 2011
2:46 pm
With the NHL continuing to be mired in the endless Phoenix Coyotes saga, I think they don’t have the ability to take over the Thrashers as well. I’ve heard that even if Glendale approves the bond issue that there may be a challenge on constitutional grounds and that could take years to resolve. Don’t expect help from the NHL any time soon.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
2:49 pm
“If the last lawsuit held up previous sale possibilities, doesn’t the current suit create the same roadblock?”
Nope. In fact, it’s the lawsuit that they filed that worries me the most. You just admitted to your fans that you’ve been lying to them for years, why burn that bridge unless you don’t care about it?
More importantly, the lawsuit sets up the proof of how they were harmed when they have to announce the sale at a reduced rate because the goods were damaged by the improper contract that prevented them from selling the club earlier at a higher price.
Get The Puck Out
February 15th, 2011
2:58 pm
Rumored that Nikolai Zherdev is going tobe put on waviers today or tomorrow. Well—- we need a winger don’t we??
Ebenezer Scrooge
February 15th, 2011
3:02 pm
Stiff upper lip, Mr. Levenson! Ignore the pathetic whines of the bill-paying riff-raff! If I could work my will every idiot who goes about with ‘Go Thrashers’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a blue vuvuzela through his heart.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
3:10 pm
Great, we can put Nikki Z on a line with Bergy and Pevs and watch them ice-skate their way to a -15 in 20 games.
DWTOO
February 15th, 2011
3:24 pm
Smoothie – Will they wear figure skates? Skating with the Stars?
Russian
February 15th, 2011
3:29 pm
**to Smoothie**
“we can put Nikki Z on a line with Bergy and Pevs”
It will be better line than Bolt-Pever-Thorburn. I like to see it, but I heard that Capitals will take him as soon as he come to vaiwer.
Blueland Buddha
February 15th, 2011
3:31 pm
Keep the voices loud, Thrasherville! Let’s get the media calling for words from Levenson/Waddell as well. Eventually, the pressure will mount and they will have to say SOMETHING…ANYTHING!
Tom Lysiak
February 15th, 2011
3:32 pm
Badger Bob – thanks! I guess I was saying that they are more screwed than the fans are if they didn’t do their due diligence.
Also, I guess I need to proofread or learn how to spell “desperate” next time….
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
3:44 pm
Russian – at least we might be able to lose games 5 to 4 instead of 3 to 2 if we had Zherdev, Pevs and Bergy figure skating on a line together. Might not be a bad 2nd line if we had a better defense!
R. Stroz
February 15th, 2011
3:45 pm
I’d take Zherdev in a second. Yes, Zherdev is soft but he can FINISH.
Russian – The Thrashers would have to pass on the opportunity to get Zherdev before the Caps could lay claim to him.
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
3:46 pm
Russian – Since we sit below Washington in the standings, we’ll have first shot at him.
Not to say we’ll take him, just saying we can before Washington does.
R. Stroz
February 15th, 2011
3:47 pm
I’d be willing to bet the Devils would grab Zherdev for Kovy before the Thrashers could get him.
ThrasherTim
February 15th, 2011
3:50 pm
No thanks on Zherdev. He is not the kind of player that Duds or Rammer wants. We need to stick with the plan of creating an identity, not adding more guys who don’t want to make the sacrifices.
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
3:51 pm
Byfuglien re-signed! Woohoo!
fes
February 15th, 2011
3:58 pm
for multiple years too! wow. a rfa voluntarily staying a while.
Thrashers27
February 15th, 2011
4:01 pm
Woohoo!!! Hopefully, Buff goes on a tear now!
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
4:01 pm
Enter your comments here
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
4:02 pm
Ack. Didn’t mean to do that.
Anyway, as per Custance:
@CraigCustance Told the Byfuglien deal is for 5-years in the $5 million per year range.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
4:03 pm
Fellow posters, a question…
It’s not that I don’t like reading this blog, posting my own opinions, seeing what other fans have to say or even communicating with you all, but I come on here a few dozen times a day from about mid morning up til the early evening TO SEE IF WE MADE A MOVE. How many of you are this desperate for even the slightest bit of (hopefully) productive office activity?
Blueland Buddha
February 15th, 2011
4:05 pm
The Buff signing is GREAT news- supposedly 5 years! Finally a long term signing! Please ASG, come out and say something about this being a part of the long term plan on building something in Atlanta post-Belkin. I can even help write the press release if you need it.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
4:07 pm
That’s tremendous news. Now they don’t have to kiss his rear anymore and stick him back at forward (I kid!, kind of . . . )
kracker
February 15th, 2011
4:08 pm
Just heard about the Buff deal!! Sweet!!
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
4:09 pm
5 years and $26 million. Nice.
Ebenezer Scrooge
February 15th, 2011
4:13 pm
Bah, humbug! Last time I give you advice, Brucie…
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
4:15 pm
Cap Hit = $5.2 million
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
4:17 pm
How bout tomorrow announcing a 5 year $21m deal for Ladd?
Mr. Heat Miser
February 15th, 2011
4:20 pm
As much as I would love to be at a Town Hall with the ‘tards in charge, they would just spin and lie again. And besides I’d probably get kicked out anyways……..
FormerIslesFan
February 15th, 2011
4:23 pm
Red Light: Although the Thrashers’ FB page has announced the multi-year extension, I can’t find a source for the length/amount. Can you point me somewhere??
glovesave29
February 15th, 2011
4:24 pm
Mr. Lysiak – pro athletes are proud people. I am sure Duds thought he could succeed where everyone else failed. You can study up all you want on a prospective employer, but there are certain conclusions that can only be come to by being on the inside for a while. I hope I am wrong – I think we finally have good people in Hockey Ops, but I just keep getting that gnawing feeling in my gut.
Good news on Buff. Now lets make the playoffs and let him spend the summer recruiting others to come here.
Commish Bettman
February 15th, 2011
4:26 pm
I don’t have time to deal with this. I ‘m too busy taking care of Crosby’s concussion
Associated Press Reporting
February 15th, 2011
4:26 pm
HELL HAS FROZEN OVER.
Zoomo
February 15th, 2011
4:27 pm
Gotta say that I’m somewhat shocked this got done givent the state of affairs. Good on Duds.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
4:27 pm
Got this from multiple sources via Twitter… @ajcthrashers, @TSNMcKenzie, etc.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
4:28 pm
Well, Dudley choked $26 M out of these tight-fisted misers so I guess he thinks he can make this work afterall. Now if we could just get some re-assurance from Bettman, as well as the ownership, so we can shut Sage up for good. Speaking of which, what do you think of this news? Or will you hide in your basement and call Dustin Byfuglien a mindless sheep who doesn’t realize Atlanta is a lost cause as a hockey market?
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
4:29 pm
This market has more going for it than any other in the Southeast, and always has had!
1. Upon its inception, the Atlanta Thrashers had several things that no other Southeast-based NHL team had (except for Nashville). They had a ready-to-go, new state-of-the-art arena, for their first-ever game. Carolina played in Greensboro for two seasons, Florida in the Miami Arena for five seasons, and the Lightning in Expo Hall for one and the Suncoast Dome for three seasons.
2. Atlanta had the highest first-year attendance (17,206) of all five Southeast teams. Upon return from the lockout, their attendance was behind the Lightning, who had won the Cup prior to the lockout, and an average of only 46 fans per game fewer than that year’s Cup champs, the Hurricanes.
3. Atlanta had two No. 1 overall picks, two No. 2 overall picks and the No. 8 in their first five draft years. Tampa and Florida had the No. 1 overall pick just once in their first five drafts, but neither Nashville nor Carolina had a No. 1 overall pick.
4. Except for a goalie, the Thrashers Patrik Stefan played the fewest number of NHL games (455) of any former No. 1 overall pick in the draft since the Bruins selected Gord Kluzak (299 games) in the 1982 draft.
5. Florida hasn’t made the playoffs since Atlanta’s first year in the league, yet they outdrew the Thrashers in seven of 11 of those seasons.
6. Tampa Bay has had eight head coaches, seven general managers and five owners. Florida has had 10 head coaches, nine general managers and three owners.
7. Since 1999-2000, only the Hurricanes and Lightning have won at least one playoff series. Playoff series records since that season. Nashville: 0-5, Florida and Atlanta 0-1; Tampa Bay 5-3; Carolina: 9-3.
da' boomer
February 15th, 2011
4:35 pm
http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=552839&navid=DL|ATL|home
big buff for the long haul…good sign
everyone off the ledges
Don Waddie
February 15th, 2011
4:39 pm
Why waste your time/$$ on these worthless idiots.
Go to the Gladiators, they want your $$.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
4:39 pm
Kevin Allen and others report that Big Buff’s salary escalates during the term: $4.25 million, $4.25 million, $5.75 million, $5.75 million and $6 million.
Tom
February 15th, 2011
4:40 pm
via Kevin Allen on Twitter: Byfuglien’s yearly salaries under his new deal in Atlanta: $4.25 million, $4.25 million, $5.75 million $5.75 million and $6 million
World Be Free
February 15th, 2011
4:41 pm
Red Light-it should also be noted that Gord Kluzak’s career was cut short by knee injuries. Gordie would hacve played for 20 years if it were not for the knees.
Red Light
February 15th, 2011
4:47 pm
Duly noted World Be Free.
SomaAtl95
February 15th, 2011
4:48 pm
A Long term signing by the A$G? Getting Buff makes a lot of ¢ents for this team. Hopefully the revolving door of RFA’s was just shut for a while.
But with Atlanta, anythings possible.
Sage of Bluesland
February 15th, 2011
4:52 pm
“…Speaking of which, what do you think of this news? Or will you hide in your basement and call Dustin Byfuglien a mindless sheep who doesn’t realize Atlanta is a lost cause as a hockey market?”
Since you asked so “professionally”, I will respond. Why can’t I get all that excited over it? Is Buff all ‘that’? Has he made that big of a difference so far this year?
It’s going to take more than a single long-term contract with an above-average player (if that) to convince me this is a new day in Thrashersland.
Wait a minute, are YOU of the belief that this was the long-awaited sign that the ownership group will now set ‘winning the Cup’ and doing whatever it takes to as its goal?
(Please don’t tell me you’re that naive….I won’t hold my breath on that one, so don’t worry…)
I don’t think anyone else out there would pay that much for big buff to begin with…Color-me-as-still-ever-cautious-and-highly-skeptical…
Associated Press Reporting
February 15th, 2011
4:53 pm
Numerous sources are reporting individuals thoughout the Atlanta area wearing swirly bird clothing have fallen to the ground speechless.
Stan Drulia
February 15th, 2011
4:58 pm
Cliff Fletcher everybody…. always an insightfull thought.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
5:01 pm
That’s swell news. Let’s hope Ladd does the same as there may not be any urgency to replace him if he doesn’t.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
5:03 pm
“Has he made that big of a difference so far this year?”
Yeah, one goal shy of the NHL record for GWG for a defenseman is not really much of an impact. Why would anyone pay close to market value for a blueline capable of scoring 20+ goals?
“I don’t think anyone else out there would pay that much for big buff to begin with…Color-me-as-still-ever-cautious-and-highly-skeptical”
Do you honestly believe that other GM’s wouldn’t jump at the chance to have him for $5 M / year? Cuz scoring blueliners are a dime a dozen. This makes the Brian Campbell deal look quite sensible.
And you think we’re naive and ignorant. Okay, keep up your charade and I’ll keep laughing at you behind your back with the fine Thrashers fans I’ve come to know from this blog and otherwise.
Zombie Steve
February 15th, 2011
5:06 pm
Now I can buy a Buff sweater.
Concerning the Octodouches- I don’t want them to say anything. I want them to leave and never come back.
Spud Webb
February 15th, 2011
5:10 pm
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Hell yea! Buff is here for a while! NICE.
Interesting reads today for sure. I’m interested to see IF the dwarf bettman does a d&mn thing about our situation???
Sterling, Stapelton, we’ve seen a hundreds (maybe 20) guys like these come through our system, enough, a body is all they are. Tired of crap like that. Retreads, I’m sure, SUPER nice guys, but I couldn’t care less about their disposition off the ice.
Sherry Taylor
February 15th, 2011
5:13 pm
Great article, Rawhide. Might I add my two cents to Brucie—-If you want my money, THE SHOW ME SOME RESPECT!
Rawhide you said if they had any integrity, honor, decency or courtesy they/Bruce would meet with the season ticket holders, at least. I don’t believe any of those words can now or were ever used to described this set of owners. Honestly, I spent quite a few years around professional sports and it isn’t hard to spot an owner/s who cares about not only their investment, but the fans. Most owners realize that the people who shell out the bigger bucks for season tickets are their bread and butter and should be treated with respect and not lied to, because if those ticket holders don’t put their butts in the seats, there is no team, there is no franchise, there is no income. All, sadly, in Atlanta are in sparse demand, but this group of owners have no one to blame but themselves. They have, as my grandmother used to say, ‘cut their nose off to spite their face’ and unfortunately, they have taken not only themselves, but the fans, the community, and players down the tubes with them. They owe it to the team/players and the fans, and the city, not to mention the hockey community, to GROW A PAIR/S and DO THE RIGHT THING. Now, I’m not sure they can do either. Only time will tell. I can only believe that Ted Turner’s son and son-in-law are sources of great humiliation and confusion. They obviously didn’t learn at thing at dear old Dad’s knee.
Big Daddy (formerly waffleboy)
February 15th, 2011
5:15 pm
SOB – Nobody would pay Buff 5 for 5? Seriously?
Huge deal for this organization, but not the only one that need to be made. Signing Ladd long-term would be great and a positive for the whole franchise. Dudley has a plan and he’s working it. Let’s see what kinds of deals he pulls before the deadline. Potsma and Kulda were called up for a reason, right?
Tom
February 15th, 2011
5:25 pm
OMG – Rumors coming out of ASG headquarters are saying that 2 of the owners are suing the other 5 for signing Buff to his new contract. News at 11…
Thrashy Thrashy
February 15th, 2011
5:40 pm
Nice to see the Buff signing. Get Ladd done and go add some guys to this team. Maybe that would change the mood a bit.
Russian
February 15th, 2011
5:40 pm
Good Deal for Big Buff. Ladd contract should be next.
But we need help now. Dudley has to bring players.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
5:54 pm
Sage, don’t be a jackhole. You lose any credibility with that tripe. Signing Buf for 5 and into his UFA years is quite the coup.
Rawhide
February 15th, 2011
6:00 pm
Sherry Taylor – Very, very well put.
OMG – Rumors coming out of ASG headquarters are saying that 2 of the owners are suing the other 5 for signing Buff to his new contract. News at 11…
Tom -
ziltort
February 15th, 2011
6:00 pm
Whoopie doo! I s anyone on this team gonna break 30 goals? Anyone? Will one player on the entire team get at least 70 pts? Will we ever have a plus for goals on the entire season?
tonyb
February 15th, 2011
6:12 pm
Lets all hope this is the first step in the right direction by the ASG to right many wrongs.
Remember people, this one little thing that everyone keeps forgetting. THEY OWN THE ARENA RIGHTS. Name me one sports team in any league that has ever moved or threatened to move from their own building. Just one. To do that very thing is insane. Why? Because the money is in the building.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
6:12 pm
Wow, you know it’s a good day when Joe Friday calls someone a “jackhole”! Love it!
Still need another damn scoring winger, but hey, this is a step in some direction other than into a black hole of doom & despair. I’ll take it for now.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
6:16 pm
tonyb – it all boils down to how ironclad their naming rights deal and covenant with the NHL is. If those two things are assailable in a court of law, and these cowards try to challenge the efficacy of those agreements, then we have serious trouble. But you’re right, makes no sense to sell to anyone that would move the team since they’d be giving up those 41 nights of lease revenue from the buyer. And that’s if the covenant with the league didn’t exist. Of course, we can’t get anyone to give us clarity on how long that covenant lasts, but you would think at least 15-20 years.
Iron League 13
February 15th, 2011
6:48 pm
I gotta say I’m very surprised at Buff’s re-upping. He and his agent knew he coulda gotten such a deal (maybe better) in the offseason with a franchise in better shape than this one. That said, I find it very telling of Buff’s character, he wants responsibility, he wants to be part of the foundation of something promising. I know what you just read, trust me I can’t believe I wrote that “something promising” bit either, but there’s gotta be something promising. If that’s not the case then both he and his agent are dimwits and I just don’t buy that.
I can’t stress enough how critical Ladd is. I don’t think the F.A.S.G. will allow Duds to replace him with another player of equal quality in a jiffy (are we paying attention to this trade thing?) and we shouldn’t want to, he’s a keeper.
Buff-n-stuff
February 15th, 2011
7:03 pm
I suspect…..Ladd re-signing gets announced tomorrow or Thursday….then the deal/deals happen…probably a top 6 forward w/RFA or a couple of years u/c left + a young, big, d-man. Probably lose an “older d-man” on current roster, a forwrd on current roster, a couple of prospects, a 1st rounder and a 3rd rounder….just a feeling !!!
CatThrashFever
February 15th, 2011
7:07 pm
testing italics and BOLD
Sara
February 15th, 2011
7:27 pm
Buff deal = awesomeness.
Smoothie – I forget where I saw it – I’ll try and find the linkage – but what I read said those non-relocation covenants are 7 years. Which makes sense – in theory 7 years ought to be enough to test any market, assuming of course you don’t have the tandem of AOL/TW & AS LLC to flush it down the toilet from damn near day 1.
Rawhide – you know better than anyone that crybaby Brucie isn’t about to let someone say anything not nice to his face.
Tom should be nominated for comment of the year – I spit my soup out over that one. Though Joe Friday’s Princess Belle snark was a pretty close second.
As for you Sage, BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
CatThrashFever
February 15th, 2011
7:34 pm
Random observation: I think I need to stop cheering for teams below us in points, hoping they beat teams ahead of us! Because unfortunately the teams below Thrashers are gaining on us!!! yikes: hmmmmmmm: Sabres, Devils, Leafs…
goose
February 15th, 2011
7:39 pm
I think that the Major reason that Buff resigned here was because of Toby. Who knows how he would be at defense without him, also when you find a line partner that you gel with as well as those two did and you already have cup, and are offered a good contract, Why not resign?
JT from Columbus
February 15th, 2011
7:43 pm
What are the chances we do a deal with Calgary? According to Darren Elliot ther were two scouts at the game Sunday.
LAC
February 15th, 2011
7:46 pm
I have to say, I Can’t Believe It !!!!!!! For the FIRST Time in a LOOOOOOOOONG time to owners Stepped up for a CHANGE. No lies, no being so damn cheap, they paid to keep a Top player after so MANY have departed, For a change, I cannot say anything negative, and I find that HARD to believe. Glad Buff had the NICE comments, unlike hossa,kovlepuke, and others who said all the wrong things. Makes one wonder if their is hope here… I hope so !
Jamie
February 15th, 2011
7:55 pm
The game’s a foot, check out http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
8:31 pm
“There are a lot of good things that are going to happen here,” Byfuglien said. “I’m excited to be here and be a part of everything that’s going to happen. It’s fun to be in an organization that builds from the bottom up.”
Gotta love Buf. be a part of everything that’s going to happen . . .love his attitude, guys a winner.
“Byfuglien was asked if he entered negotiations with concerns over the possibility that the team might be sold and relocated.”
“It obviously is talked about,” he said. “I don’t have control over it. … It comes into play, but I’m not really worried about it because we put a winning organization together, we’ll stay.”
Good attitude again. If it happens, it happens, the players still are a team, just in a different place. But to me he sounds confident that if they begin to win, the fans come, someone will buy them and keep them here, is that the way anyone else reads that?
Ladd next, 5 years $21m sounds right for him, no?
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
8:33 pm
“you know it’s a good day when Joe Friday calls someone a “jackhole”! ”
“Someone”? that’s your nemesis, I don’t even get an atta boy? Should have gone with jackwagon . . .
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
8:41 pm
“Rawhide – you know better than anyone that crybaby Brucie isn’t about to let someone say anything not nice to his face. ”
I know, we need to forget about those buffoons. The only thing we need to work on is what we can do to facilitate new owners. The Art Blank save our team gang is in the right vein, but we need our local town crier here, that’s you Rawhide, to rally the troops around petitioning the league to facilitate new ownership here to keep them in place. Selling a few hundred tix to games is great, and a plus, but getting sigs of 1000s of fans on a petition sent to the NHL to help facilitate new ownership would be more effective to the ultimate goal here.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
8:54 pm
Joe – sorry dude, didn’t want to trigger the automated posting bot that dumps the same crap all over this blog every time someone uses his name or initials.
Alan R.
February 15th, 2011
9:23 pm
Good attitude again. If it happens, it happens, the players still are a team, just in a different place. But to me he sounds confident that if they begin to win, the fans come, someone will buy them and keep them here, is that the way anyone else reads that?
I really love the attitude. Spoken like a true leader.
I read it this way, too.
Last, good job calling out the jackhole.
AtlFlamesFan
February 15th, 2011
9:39 pm
I’d love Blank to by the Thrash, but I think there is no way that this will happen. He is dedicating his funds in an effort to replace the Georgia Dome (which I think is one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard. There is absolutey nothing wrong with that building.).
11pm News 11 Alive Thrash Owner Story
February 15th, 2011
9:41 pm
11 Alive should have a story, from a fan’s point of view, on the on-going saga with the Thrashers / ownership…….We are trying to rally Atlanta leaders to help find NEW OWNERS. If you want the Thrashers situation to improve it is NOT going to happen with ASG. Please send emails to Mayor and Governor and tell them Atlanta needs to keep the Thrashers. ASG is NOT the answer.
http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/fans.html
Winnipeg and Quebec leaders and fans are working to take our team – we need to work together to PROTECT OUR ATLANTA TEAM.
Flames
February 15th, 2011
9:48 pm
It is a good day…. Buff is a class act…The Captain is next! Then Penner for a first round pick…
Sage of Bluesland
February 15th, 2011
9:49 pm
It looks like Joe-Bob-Friday is waffling again…We’ve seen that before now, haven’t we?…
We’ll see.
Joe Friday
February 15th, 2011
10:04 pm
Sage, a 5 year signing into his UFA years of a top guy in this league (yes, he’s a top guy in the league, any team would want him right now) is a coup, no other way to look at it. It won’t hurt you to admit Dudley did right here . . . screw the owners, I’m sure Dudley did it on his own, even with the Octocluster in place, that’s even more a coup. Call a spade and spade here and admit they did good. Gooder even still if it’s followed up by Ladd. Waddell and the Spirit Squad are still a mess, but Dudley did right here.
HookyBob
February 15th, 2011
10:18 pm
I don’t want any stinking meeting with(or comment from) ownership,.. cause I wouldn’t believe a word they say. And I question the inteligence of those who would believe them. Actions speak louder than words.
Speaking of actions,..re-signing Buf is big, really,…really,…HUGE. Buf now becomes “the solid rock” this franchise can build on. However, I credit this to Duds,..not ownership. (Until we spend well over the salary floor ownership gets zilch credit,..and Duds gets extra credit for the handicap.)
Buf was always big, but now he is 9′ tall to Thrasher fans.
I was pleased when this franchise (finally) put “genuine hockey people” in key positions (that would be Duds, Rammer, & Torch). It is a start, (albiet 10 years in coming). Buf resigning is the next step. Resigning Ladd (be it 2 years or more) would be another. A trade in the next 13 days would be another?
The “coup de grace” (end the suffering of wounded followers) would be getting “genuine hockey people” as owners of both the Thrashers and Philips arena rights. Yeah baby.
Go Blue,..give ATLANTA SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN. ATLANTA WILL RESPOND.
Tom
February 15th, 2011
10:21 pm
Thanks Sara!
Smoothie
February 15th, 2011
10:41 pm
Flames – now you’re talking!
I find it humorous to think SOB thinks Joe F is looking for validation from anyone, especially a troll like Stooge of Blue-slander.
A lot of reason for concern, disappointment and “gnashing of teeth”, but today gives us at least a temporary departure from the doom and gloom. But will the “Peachtree City” Thrashers ever march forth from the forgotten orchard of unharvested promise? But three things are certain at least: death, taxes and our resident bell-tolling hunchback of “Bluesland”!
SomaAtl95
February 15th, 2011
10:59 pm
Its a privilege to talk to all of you folks about our team. It is unfortunate that we put so much time in letting trolls and the “usual suspects” get us all pi$$ed off. If we all put half as much effort into doing something to get our situation fixed as we do griping and name calling we could bring some media attention to our cause. Imagine if we could get Sam or Fred from WXIA to come to a practice in Duluth where it is packed with all of us, holding signs that say “Save the Thrashers, let A$G go extinct” or “Sheeple Pride” or even “Dear A$G, we love the Thrashers, even if you don’t!”
Its a start. Anything worth fighting for starts small and builds up when people believe.
WE CAN SAVE OUR TEAM.
Its almost a shame that we can not buy stock in the Thrashers.
Tom Lysiak
February 15th, 2011
11:12 pm
Hmmm, now Ottawa sends Chris Kelly to the Broones for a 2nd rounder. Guess that Kaberle to Boston rumor has lost a little steam…..
Tom Lysiak
February 15th, 2011
11:13 pm
Whoops, forget the Kaberle part of my post please!
Tom Lysiak
February 15th, 2011
11:32 pm
My bad, I was thinking Campoli, the other Chris…..
Brendan
February 16th, 2011
12:08 am
Joe Friday, interesting post on the TV ratings. Thank you for posting that information. I had hoped … that Atlanta’s hockey fans would tune in more to the Stanley Cup playoffs. My TV is always on them, through all four rounds and two month’s worth of playoffs. I don’t fully understand why hockey fans, and there are hundreds of thousands of them in the 5 million population of the greater Metropolitan Atlanta-area, would NOT want to watch the NHL playoffs? Can Atlanta’s hockey fans be so streamlined … that if the Thrashers aren’t in the dance, then there’s no point in watching???
People … we’ve got to show the Commissioner that we enjoy hockey, and that we’ll watch it on TV. The Thrashers certainly aren’t eliminated from this year’s playoffs, but if/when they are, I would hope … that every fan who bothered to attend a game at Philips Arena this year … would make it a point to be watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs, too.
Wayne stuck in AL
February 16th, 2011
12:59 am
I think the reason Atlanta has such low TV ratings for hockey is simply that if you don’t have a rooting interest, hockey on U.S. TV (as opposed to Canadian TV) is simply dreadful.
LAC
February 16th, 2011
1:19 am
I noticed on the tsn site where they announced the Buff signing. In the reader ALL those LOSER canada fans are “looking” forward to seeing him in either winnipeg or quebec city, or like Anniston,Alabama or Gainesville…. Just how Stupid these “canada” fans really are, Go move New Jersey and all THEIR empty seats or Detroit with a lot of empty seats, or Dallas or Colorado…
You canada fans are THE worst fans in any country, you think you own the game…. NOT.
You whiners need to withdraw your 6 teams and form the CHL. We will expand to 6 more USA cities and whip you canada crybabies every time. Must really be tough being the 51st state, Right ???
Brendan
February 16th, 2011
1:46 am
Sage of Bluesland, I must say … that I’ve watched the Commissioner’s Office, and prior to that, the NHL President’s Office, stand IDLY by … while hugely important markets like Chicago, (Cupless since ‘61 until 2010, mismanaged badly by “Dollar” Bill Wirtz,) Boston (Village Idiot Harry Sinden, Mike Milbury, etc.), Detroit (in the 80’s, known as the Dead Things), and New York (which went 54 years between Cups) faltered. The Rangers used to field an $88 million payroll, while missing the playoffs for 7 straight years, with most of the league’s top talent on their roster.
So, I don’t know why we should think NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will intercede here, like a ‘Savior.’ If the league offices wouldn’t intercede to save New York, Boston, Chicago, or Detroit … when they were in lean years and bad ownership situations … what makes us think they’ll act now, for us? Seems to me … they just sit back and handle things, ‘crisis-by-crisis.’ Now, if the Thrashers declared bankruptcy … that might be different. If the AS,LLC were indicted on charges, or something swarthy like that, perhaps the NHL would step in.
Try to think of our situation like the Rick DiPietro contract, back in 2005. We all sat back, after missing a YEAR with a Lockout, in STUNNED DISBELIEF that the NHL Commissioner wouldn’t intercede to void a 15-year contract for a goalie, that pays him until he’s 40. Commissioner Bettman’s quote, “Sometimes these deals work out. Sometimes they don’t. Time will tell if the Islanders have acted wisely. But nothing prohibits this kind of contract.” Now, bear in mind, an annual salary of $4.5 million, for each and every one of those years, clearly is not cap circumvention. It’s Kovalchuk’s proposed 17-year, $101 million deal, that fronted him three-fourths of his salary in the first 9-10 years, that finally PROMPTED ACTION and intervention from league offices. But I submit to you … that Gary Bettman should have stepped in to say, “Look, we’re not allowing 15 year deals, with respect to DiPietro. It’s a dangerous business concept. We just had a Lockout, for the love of Pete, to curb ridiculous contracts made by GM’s.” The Atlanta Thrashers … are the Rick DiPietro contract. Gary Bettman will sit back … and do nothing … stating something a kin to, “It’s up to ownership to run their teams. Some are good at it. Some, not so much.” I think that’s a bit of chutzpah. How can it ever be “okay” for annnny of the league’s teams to operate with incompetent ownership? For decades at a time? But, it happens that way. No one is coming to our rescue. We must hope for a sale. That’s the ‘meaningful change’ that Joe Friday has talked about, for years, on this message board.
Brendan
February 16th, 2011
1:47 am
Trixie, can you free my reply to Sage of Bluesland?
Brendan
February 16th, 2011
2:29 am
Rawhide, with your permission, given the title of your blog, I’d like to revisit something from ONN. We go LIVE to the studios of the Onion News Network (ONN), for some BREAKING NEWS on your Atlanta Thrashers.
Brooke Alvarez: “Put your hands in the air and spread your legs wide, you’re entering the ‘Factzone,’ where security checks are always mandatory. We have some BREAKING NEWS for you puckheads out here. Bruce Levenson stunned the world today by ‘coming out’ as a terrible owner. Our field reporter, Jane Carmichael, has more. Take it away, Jane.”
Jane Carmichael: “Thanks Brooke. I’m standing here in front of the league offices of the National Hockey League, which was all a BUZZ this morning amid a shocking revelation by Atlanta Thrashers part-owner Bruce Levenson … that he’s a really terrible owner.”
Brooke: “I see. Can you shed anymore light on the causes behind this ’bizare confession?’”
Jane: “Yes Brooke. I took some time out to interview Bruce. Let’s go to the video footage. So Bruce, why have you ‘come out?’ Why now? And what’s it like to be an OPENLY TERRIBLE sports owner?”
Bruce Levenson: “Well Jane. There’s never really a wrong time to start telling the truth. I haven’t been forthright about things, for many YEARS, really. One day I woke up, painfully aware of my many deceptions. My claims that ‘I gave at the office.’ The times I charged all my drinks to a different room, while frequenting the hotel bar. Half the time, I bill my room service to Ed Pescowitz. My scorecard on Golf outings is an utter work of fiction. And the times that I get dragged out to Church services, I just put a coupon for $0.35 off Shake-N-Bake in the collection plate. And don’t get me started on my tax return.”
Jane Carmichael: “I see. Uhh, tell us how you arrived at this personal epiphany?”
Bruce Levenson: “Well, ya see Jane. I’m uhhh … not good. Not good, at all, at what I do. When people say, “We have a pool and a pond. But a pond would be good for you, I take the hint.”
Jane Carmichael: “So, how do you go on, every day? What drives Bruce Levenson to put one foot in front of the other, and march on to the daily drudgery of life? And what’s your strategy for coping with failure?”
Bruce Levenson: “Well, to cover up for my many failings, I sue everyone around me in an attempt to make it appear as if it’s THEIR fault, instead of mine.”
Jane Carmichael: “And how’s that working out for you?”
Bruce: “Well, I don’t like to comment on pending litigation.”
Jane Carmichael: “That’s probably smart of you. By the way, how’s that suit going against K-Mart, for those insufficient in quality and duration … vibrating plastic pony rides they sometimes have in their storefront areas?”
Bruce Levenson: “Asked and answered Jane. I have no comment on pending litigation.”
Jane Carmichael: “Alrighty then. Uhh, so … what’s next for Bruce Levenson?”
Bruce Levenson: “Attorney fees. And more attorney fees, if I lose. Whenever something doesn’t go my way, I sue or counter-sue to recover my losses.”
Jane Carmichael: “Including suing your own counsel??”
Bruce Levenson: “Missteps were made, Jane. By THEM. They must pay, like PizzaHut (TM) just did, when I recovered damages from them over what was ‘a pathetic attempt’ on their part at making a double-cheese pizza.”
Jane Carmichael: “I’m just glad you could reach an out of court settlement.”
Bruce Levenson: “Me too, Jane. Me, too.”
Jane Carmichael: “Well, that wraps it up from here, Brooke. ‘Outed’ bad sports owner Bruce Levenson, a man finally coming to terms with himself. Back to you, Brooke.”
Brooke: “Well, it’s nice to see him finally taking some responsibility for his many misdeeds. Any word on an increased budget for his fast plummeting hockey team?”
Jane Carmichael: “Brooke, Bruce said, and I quote, ‘I wouldn’t be ‘a terrible sports owner,’ if I went around FIXING things, or making them better.”
Brooke Alvarez: “Very good, then. That’s a point well taken. Great job, as always. And remember, Jane, smiling too much brings out your crows feet on HD television.”
Jane Carmichael: Jaw agaped, looks disgustedly at the camera, outraged.
Brooke Alvarez: “In a related story, the Florida Panthers said the Atlanta Thrashers are nothing more than ‘copycat wannabees,’ when it comes to being a lousy-run franchise. We’ll be sure to stay on top of that story, as it develops. Stay here, with the Onion News Network. We’re always with you–even when you ‘think’ you’re alone.”
ZAvalanche
February 16th, 2011
2:37 am
Can’t believe what I just read. Seriously? They ponied up for Buffy? Fantastic news. Now secure the Capt. What surprises me more (and I am sure somebody has mentioned this already but I am being lazy) is that Buffy didn’t even test the market and jumped right in. That is the attitude we need more of. Yes, the season is approaching the literal point-of-no return, but with Buffy on the train we are one step closer to “puttin on the foil” for next season. Maybe we can pick up Oglethorpe for a bruiser…………
Sharon
February 16th, 2011
3:50 am
I’m thrilled about the Buff signing! I appreciate his willingness to play here and his comments. We really needed this little ray of hope.
World Be Free
February 16th, 2011
4:55 am
Tom Lysiak-I actually think the Kelley deal may bring Kaberle closer to the Broones. Look for Kaberle for Wheeler straight up-Tronna needs bodies not draft picks and Blake just became expendable. Do you agree Tom? I like Kelley, but he’s not what we need. We need a finisher and Kelly is a plumber.
Red Light-I always gave the Brunes credit for taking Kluzak over Brian Bellows, who was the number pick for most of the 1982 summer leading up to the draft/ Too bad about his knee issues. You wonder what Boston would have done with both Kluzak and Bourque in the same stable?
Buff signing is a good one, now the speculation begins about Bogosian. And let me say for the record, trading Bogosian will be a BAD DEAL unless the return nets us a young top 6 forward. You do not trade 20 year old defenseman unless the return value is overwhelming. This has Zhitnik-Coburn II written all over it unless it’s done right.
LAC-Canadian hockey fans are like a fire, constanty being whipped by the wind of the Canadian media. Look at all the uncreditable rumors out of Canada the last 2 years that the Thrashers were moving to Winnipeg “any minute now”. What else do Canadian sportswriters have to write about, the CFL? And yes there are plenty of empty seats throughout the NHL, just like all sports. The stat is over focused, in my opinion. The world needs to stop looking at Winnipeg and Quebec City as prime NHL cities with major upsides.
Sage-you posted some good dialogue and insightful comments a few days ago. I think we all welcome those comments again, maybe establish good conversation with some fellow bloggers. Just saying.
World Be Free
February 16th, 2011
5:18 am
Zherdev will be available via waivers in the next 24-48 hours. Any takers here? You just wonder what professional situation will be right for this kid to finally break out? There’s no doubt he has skills, so why hasn’t this happened yet?
World Be Free
February 16th, 2011
5:21 am
Flames-I think Penner is the next focus of everyone’s attention. Just don’t know about Hemsky, since he is more of a setup man than a scorer. Sunday’s Carolina game proves the points that we need finishers more than anything.
Looks like Kari is struggling in Dallas.
Tom Lysiak
February 16th, 2011
7:35 am
WBF – I definitely agree with you. When I was thinking Campoli instead of Kelly I thought, well they went for a young-ish defenseman instead. Not comparing Campoli to Kaberle in any way. I just thought they were going a different way.
Also agree that Kelly wasn’t what WE need either.
Flames
February 16th, 2011
7:44 am
WBF- I agree with you. I would rather have a big forward than a winger that is always injuried. I know that Bogosian doesn’t want to be traded. He likes Atlanta and thinks the franchise is headed in the right direction. I believe that the Penner trade will happen soon. The oilers know that a Thrasher first round pick usually is a high one. I’m wonder if the thrashers are trying to package Bergfors in that trade and get Hemsky as well. I DON’T NOT want to trade Bogosian! If the team signs the Captain to a five year deal it will be a good sign.
glovesave29
February 16th, 2011
7:52 am
I would like to see JF’s ratings chart cross referenced against a weather report for each city. Besides the fact that by the time the Finals roll around the Thrashers have been on vacation for 2 months, if it’s 80 and sunny here and 35 and miserable in Detroit or Pittsburgh – you know that the TV ratings will be affected.
Look y’all…Sage = Milton Waddams from Office Space. Just give him his stapler back, so he can go back to his Mom’s basement, and cut and paste all his responses here.
Buzzeng
February 16th, 2011
8:18 am
*sigh* makes me wonder how different the Thrasher history would be if David McDavid was “awarded” the Thrashers franchise instead of the ASG. At a minimum, there would probably be a hundred fewer employed attorneys in Atlanta…and only one throat to choke (not 8).
jimbo
February 16th, 2011
8:25 am
The way that ASG has managed this business would be a classic Case Study for any marketing/management school. If they’ve had an Exit Strategy for six years that called for selling the business, Strategy 101 is to build it up and increase its worth so that you can “Sell high” not at its lowest value. It looks like a classic case of inherited wealth with no intelligent attachements.
Zoomo
February 16th, 2011
8:28 am
I listened to the Buff interview on 680 yesterday afternoon and it sounded like he couldn’t really hear Kincade. He answered a question about Dudley with a response about Ramsay. However, in between all the idle patter, Buff said that he sees great things ahead with the young core, and can see it being similiar to what happened in Chocago, and that’s why he wants to be here. Boy was that refreshing to hear.
Red Light
February 16th, 2011
8:29 am
This just in…a restricted free agent can’t test the waters, they can only be poached by another team. Sure, the raiding team in that scenario can contact the agent, but the player remains as property of his original team. There have been very few instances of a RFA leaving his entry level team, but when there is an offer (like Hjalmarsson) the club has right of first refusal. So, it’s not like Buff can contact all 30 teams, because Atlanta most certainly would have issued him a qualifying offer, just like they will do with Ladd and Bogo if their contracts aren’t re-negotiated in advance like Buff’s was. The extension means this guy can go out and conduct his business on the ice, rather than having to go through the dog-and-pony show this summer. But, he wasn’t leaving, couldn’t leave without the Thrashers blessing.
All that said, $5.2 million for five years is a high price to pay, but he has a ring, can play both on the wing and on defense and has taken 13.5 percent of all Thrashers shots this season…as a defenseman. That’s the highest total by far by any other d-man in the league and he certainly could use some help in that dept.
High marks for Dudley to get it done, ie. those players with NMC’s in their contracts might say “yes” to Atlanta knowing Kane, Buff, Pav, Enstrom, Antro, Little, Oduya and Hainsey will be back, for at least next year, and several beyond that.
A very good day for Thrashers for those reasons, but not so much in the standings. 10th and now just six points ahead of Clarke MacArthur’s Leafs!
World Be Free
February 16th, 2011
8:32 am
Flames-I have an issue with Hemsky’s health as well, he kind of reminds me of Tim Connoly. Both players’ health issues impact their play, though I have to say that I was shocked to see Tim Connolly block a shot against Montreal in OT last night. Buffalo is on their game right now, this kid center Byron may make Derek Roy expendable this summer. Good little center that sticks his nose where Roy doesn’t.
Tom Lysiak-do you wonder what it must be like to be Tomas Kaberle the last 3 seasons? He signs a home-discount contract with Tronna, then has to listen to trade rumors every other day. Maybe it is just because it is Toronto, but he has been the most rumored player in recent memory. And he had better watch it and NOT spurn a trade to a contender. The last think clubs want to hear about in the free agency market is a player that is content in staying with a losing team. Kaberle is on for a big payday this summer, watch Buffalo go for him. Kabs is just what Buffalo needs with a new owner that is ready to spend.
Spud Webb
February 16th, 2011
8:33 am
You cannot trade bogo, no if and or butts. I mean we’re doing one thing or the other, building young talent that will develop or trading young talent to win now??? Let’s be realistic for a second, is trading bogo this season going to fetch us a Stanley Cup?? I think not, the answer is NO. We want the playoffs bad, trade picks, we have enough young talent currently, with Burmy, Kane, Little, Thorburn, Bogo, Pavs, we don’t need more young guys to develop. Imperative to sign Ladd now, make a trade, but for a winger who can score, is under contract and wants to be here.
World Be Free
February 16th, 2011
8:35 am
Flames on Oilers-
Now wouldn’t that be a trade!
Phil Myre
February 16th, 2011
8:42 am
anyone who thinks these owners are going to spend one dime on the Thrashers are in a dream world. Unless a local buyer comes forward, this team is gone in the next yr or two. That will be a shame because Atlanta will get ripped for not being a hockey town when the actual problem is just very crappy ownership. They used to say Atlanta wasnt a baseball town. A little winning by the braves cured that,
Player to be named later
February 16th, 2011
8:46 am
Hey Phil I think the word is starting to get around that the real problem in Atlanta isn’t the fans but the owners. Maybe the media doesn’t go deep enough but the lasrge number of plateyrs jumping ship is attributed to the team’s decisions not the fans. In this economy, most people with alot of money are trying to protect it. We will see.
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
9:10 am
Good points, Brendan…If the commissioner won’t assist such big markets, then there is no hope on that front for us…
Not a good way to start the day, with that thought.
Now, let’s see if this newfound hope for this abominable organization equates to spending more money on more than one or two players…Tokens, folks…Tokens and Symbols of “hope”.
Don’t let the propaganda fool you. Don’t be ignorant of history.
kracker
February 16th, 2011
9:33 am
Now get Laddie signed. That should make it a wee bit easier to interest players in signing here. Same applies for those players controlling which teams they will accept as a trade destination.
Cliff Fletcher
February 16th, 2011
9:36 am
gee sage thanks for a post that is reminiscent of the your last 500 posts. think we are all bright enough to know this team’s history.
Link To 11 Alive Story on SAVE The Thrashers
February 16th, 2011
9:37 am
Thrashers fans – we would appreciate it if you could take a moment to help us move the ball forward on our “Keep the Thrashers in Atlanta” campaign. Our objective it to find new owners who will keep your team based in our fine city. Can you please “like” or Facebook page and forward links to the 11 Alive video and to our website to your friends, family, and co-workers…..a little time and effort on your part may help us move closer to having a better team on the ice and new owners in the club suites:
11 Alive Story on SAVE The Thrashers;
http://arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/videosavethrashers.html
Facebook and Twitter Links:
http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/fans.html
We, as hockey fans, need to band together and let community leaders know that we need them to step up and lead on this issue. We appreciate any help you can provide. BTW – signing Buff does not necessarily show ASG is committed to the team or keeping the team here. Buff is now an ASSET of the franchise – an asset that can easily be sold or moved to another city. Glad to see they did it, but do not read too much into it regarding ASG’s commitment to winning or staying in Atlanta.
Smoothie
February 16th, 2011
9:45 am
This team better earn at least 7 of the next 10 points with wins over Buffalo and Toronto or else we will fast become sellers at the deadline. Buffalo is 4 – 1 – 1 in their last 6 and they get their next 6 games at home (although that seems to be more of a curse for the Sabres this year as they’ve struggled at HSBC). Montreal has left us in their wake and we probably won’t see them again unless the bottom totally falls out or Carey Price gets hurt. And it’s almost like they let Buffalo come back and win just to spite us in the standings by settling for the lone loser point. It’s put up or shut up time in more ways than one, and that includes Rick Dudley!
Big Buff is locked up, but playoffs far from a lock for the Thrashers: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?p=31285
Is there enough time?
Red Light
February 16th, 2011
9:54 am
A couple of things related to my post above. The Byfuglien contract is important in terms of its length, because he could have walked away after two more seasons (I do believe) when he would have become an unrestricted free agent. Now, he’s locked up for three years into his UFA years. I get the sense listening to his media conference yesterday, that he said “Yes” more to $5.2 million per year, the NHL, the ability to be a key figure on an NHL team and to the Atlanta weather. He’ll be a part of the organization until his contract expires at the age of 31, and you haven’t been able to say that about many 26-year-old Thrashers before, plus he should improve as a defenseman as the years pass.
Tom Lysiak
February 16th, 2011
9:57 am
WBF – no doubt about being Kaberle in TO. If I were him, I would be sick and tired of hearing that crap for all this time. I doubt he vetoes a trade unless it is to the Oilers. I bet a part of him would like to stay for the rest of the season and leave Burke holding the bag, as a payback for all the stress.
Even the announcers last night were commenting on Connolly blocking that shot!!!
Spud Webb
February 16th, 2011
10:02 am
“Kaberle is on for a big payday this summer, watch Buffalo go for him.”
WBF, I’d like to see Buffalo do that, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Yes new owners, but as a skeptic of the Sabres, I don’t believe they’ll make any moves. Byron has been a spark for them. Good young talent up there.
RedLight, great posts as usual. A 26 year old going into his prime, will be here for the next 5 years, awesome!
Gone Now
February 16th, 2011
10:09 am
from day 1, these moron owners have ruined any chance of the team being successful—just a bunch of rich prima donnas not having a clue about running a team. Good riddance—get the thrashers out of town and these owners too.
jjones
February 16th, 2011
10:22 am
Far to many REDNECKS in Atlanta to be a hockey town. All that these hicks care about is football -(the manliest of all he man sports.) … Yee-Haw!!!!!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
10:24 am
THE WORD IS OUT!!! CVivs just got the scoop. THIS TEAM MAY MOVE!!! That’s straight from the F.A.S.G.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
10:29 am
This is troubling as we know there ARE potential Cannuckian investors…THAT WANT THE TEAM IN CANADA!!!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
10:39 am
Jjones- BULL(BLEEP) How in the Hell does Nashville and Carolina have teams when our northern transplants out number their entire populations? CUZ THEY WIN. WINNING = BUTTS IN SEATS, DUH!!! This happened in Pittsburgh before Crosby too, cuz they sucked. This town has had 2 minor league teams that did well one of which only left to make room for this sorry organization and Philips.
realist
February 16th, 2011
10:40 am
the whole experiment of hockey in the south is a miserable economic failure. miniscule tv revenue and not enough fans to pick up the slack. nothing unique about Atlanta–all the other southern teams are in miserable financial shape and can’t make it long term. so your whining about the ownership is misdirected and short-sighted. the only way hockey can be a success in the south is if more fans show up, and that’s not happening in Atlanta or anywhere else. Period.
Puckhead
February 16th, 2011
10:40 am
CViv’s latest article finally gets the truth out in the open. I was better off in my world of make believe. Any suggestions on where to spend the money for next year’s tickets.
Baaadger Bob
February 16th, 2011
10:43 am
A little funny to hear a broken record like SOB talk about history. History tells us the Thrashers don’t usually negotiate contracts while the season goes on. History tells us that our RFAs don’t sign contracts here that extend into their UFA years. History tells us that this team lacks identity. History tells us this team is cheap. Even us mindless sheep can see that Buff’s contract is a little bit different than what has happened during the Thrashers sad history.
Smoothie
February 16th, 2011
10:45 am
Hey look! The boycott is working!! The boycott is working!!
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-thrashers/owner-sense-of-urgency-840692.html
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
10:46 am
Interesting article on one of the owners asking for a commitment from the fans…My, that takes some nerve!
Commitment from the ownership–including accountability–is needed before my hard-earned dollar is given for your product.
This is an organization that ‘promoted’ Don Waddell, for Heaven’s sake.
Nope. Not another dollar for incompetence. Oftentimes in this world, you indeed get what you deserve. This is yet another textbook example.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
10:47 am
So freakin’ pissed right now. Guys, basically what this translates to is that this team is gone. There are no ridiculously wealthy buyers for this market. Honestly, I understand. If you are a billionaire from Atlanta or the southeast, what are the odds that you LOOOVE hockey? It’s just not a sexy locale for hockey for non souther billionaires and I get that too. Anywho, now I think I know why Buff re-upped for so long.
kracker
February 16th, 2011
10:48 am
C-Viv’s new article will set the Canadians to howling again about moving the Thrashers
Stan Drulia
February 16th, 2011
10:49 am
Hey Sage, looks like you genius plan just may work… we may lose the NHL forever in our fine city. Hope you are happy.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
10:52 am
Realist, here’s some realism for ya too…BULL(BLEEEP). How about the Isles of the 80’s compared to now? Or again Pittsburgh post-Mario/Jagr and pre-Crosby? How many teams has Winnipeg had? Hell even Hamilton and Quebec have had teams. WIN-NING EQUALS FANS AND BUTTS IN SEATS. Shortsighted is so funny, this town has hockey initiated people, LOTS OF EM. Why do the Glads fair well or the former Knights? Save it, you lose. Now go watch football or something.
Smoothie
February 16th, 2011
10:52 am
If the Thrashers would just win, they wouldn’t need any of SOB’s “hard-earned dollars” or that of any other naysayer. Should have spent some money on Mad Max at the start of the year or for a trade in late December and the winning could have continued. And a certain SOB would have been silently subsidizing his own incompetence in life.
Stop Yelling Knights
February 16th, 2011
10:53 am
So they get money when they sell the team and we get no hockey in Atlanta. Awesome!
kaiser souze
February 16th, 2011
10:57 am
All douches’, each and everyone of the Spirit Group. How can a group such as this been approved by both the NHL(figures really) and the NBA(focus Stern focus)? So it goes. How can you expect fans to step up when the dumb-ass owners are always shown sitting down laughing like their pulling a fast one on the Atl fanbase.
Tom Lysiak
February 16th, 2011
10:58 am
Bettmann went out and recruited Jeff Vinik to buy the Lightning almost a year ago. At least that was what I recall reading. He knew the ownership issues down there and found a buyer who lived in Massachusetts to buy that team. Is there reason to think he would do the same for Atlanta? Is there reason to think he would not? I know the building lease situation is different here, and that may be the problem. Either way, this has gotten to the serious stage. I’ve seen this movie before….
SomaAtl95
February 16th, 2011
10:58 am
Hello Mr Troll “Realist”, pretty sure you are a “Friend” from the great white north known as Canada. Only you guys call hockey below the “Mason-Dixon Line” an experiment.
Kind’ve like what we Americans call your form of government an Experiment, you see relaist, we rejected the crown in the 1770’s and if not for our country (even the states in the south) then the NHL would not be what it is now. Its always nice to act like you are so superior when you only have six teams in the league.
Keep up the snide comments and you’ll see people push to “Make it 5 or less” for your teams up in Canada – baseball is American but you dont see Americans say that Japan, Latin America, etc don’t “Deserve” it. Its common sense that if you want your sport to grow THEN IT HAS TO GROW BEYOND TRADITIONAL AREAS. If you love hockey so much then why constantly try to halt its growth?
I love the non Hockey residents of Canada because they aren’t pricks with giant egos and a sense of entitlement beyond what we Americans are accused of. How’s that for being a “realist”?
Frustrated Fan
February 16th, 2011
11:02 am
I have been a long time lurker on this blog and enjoy reading everyone’s comments and especially Rawhides perspectives. That being said, I have finally been compelled enough to write how frustrated I am with the owners. I finished reading the article on the front page about how the owners now want fan support, and they are desperate to find investors or the team will be moved. This ownership group has been lying to us for the last 6 years, not keeping players here, and now its our responsibility to show up at games to help save/keep this team here! Are you serious?!! In the article it seems that he is deflecting the responsibility that his group has shared for the last 6 plus years to now he puts it on the fans. This group has had enough time to fix/address this issue. If this team moves I will put that on the owners. How dare this guy, Michael Gearon, even hint at telling fans to show up. I have been a season ticket holder, wont do that again, many of us here have supported the team even when this ownership didn’t and lied to us. I am sick of this group! I do hope we, as fans, get a group in here to replace this bunch of @##holes! This guy has the nerve to treat this team like S@#T for 6 plus years and then tell the fans to spend their hard earned dollars on the team! What a complete J@##*&S!!
FAN
February 16th, 2011
11:05 am
Go to the games and show a potential buyer we can support a team!!!!!!!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:06 am
GET IT RIGHT FROM HERE ON OUT GUYS IT’S THE F.A.S.G., LLC!!!! GRRR!!!! BLAMING US, WHAT NERVE!!! ACCOUNTABILITY!!!! THESE ARE NOT MEN, THEY CAN’T OWN UP TO THEIR OWN CRAPPY PRODUCT!!!
AGAIN IT’S THE F.A.S.G.!!!
Tom Lysiak
February 16th, 2011
11:06 am
Interesting that this “announcement” happens the day after Buff is signed long-term. Wonder if he has a 72 hours cooling-off period for that new contract?
gcs
February 16th, 2011
11:08 am
Does anyone notice something interesting about the above picture?
The guys on the outside are “out of the picture” team-wise. Belkin and Mullin are both gone.
Dominique better watch out.
.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:10 am
I can’t believe this group doesn’t read this kind of vitriol from us THEIR MONEY MAKERS!!! Guess what? I don’t believe they are oblivious to our feelings. EFF THEM!!! Shirking responsibility and dumping it on US!!! WE’VE BEEN HERE THICK AND THIN (MORE LIKE ANEMICALLY THIN)!!! EFF YOU F.A.S.G.!!!
Get The Puck Out
February 16th, 2011
11:16 am
Is the Hawks also in “trouble”?
alex
February 16th, 2011
11:17 am
now after gearon stated plain and strait that unless somebody, investors or buyers have to step up to save thrashers here, it’s no make any sense to whining and screaming about asg. for last 5 years i am been first on this blog gs fairly blaming asg idiots for not commitment to winning. now gearon speaking out: buy this or will move. of course this weasels can make impossible to local buyers to help in order to make more money from Canada. just lost all hope, only left to pray.
JROFRANO
February 16th, 2011
11:17 am
at the risk of repeating myself, ownership has to break the stalemate.
team loses, fans won’t come. fans won’t come, ownership has an excuse to stay way below the salary cap. since fans don’t act in concert, ownership has to break the stalemate and spend some money. if the team starts winning, fans will come.
does anyone know if attendence was up during the hot streak?
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
11:18 am
Well stated, “Frustrated Fan”….Your ire is properly directed at the real cause of this problem: Ownership.
All else is peripheral, including the systemic blaming of ‘me’ for the obvious and correct market forces in play.
The naivete is astounding!
I’d rather have resolution to this never-ending circle-jerk than the constant offense to my intellect, the “Five-Year Plans”, the playoff “promises”, the “we’re further ahead of the Flyers at this point”, the “building through the draft!”, et. al.
Bettman CAN make it happen…if he only wants to…
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:20 am
When do we get our fair shake in the press? I’d love an expose from true fans in the media. I don’t want many of our former NEIGHBORS up north and in Canada getting to say, “told ya so”. Sick of Bettman glossing over this when asked with softball crap and the F.A.S.G. and their lies and blame passing. SICK-OF-IT!!!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:22 am
JRO- GOOD QUESTION!!! Yes, it absolutely was, then a couple home games into the current crap it was heading south again.
Get The Puck Out
February 16th, 2011
11:22 am
Heck, Joe Johnson is making almost as much as buff in one year as he is making in five. Priorities?
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:23 am
That’s a very good question and yes, it absolutely backs us fans up with what we’ve been saying “WIN”!
Smoothie
February 16th, 2011
11:24 am
“All else is peripheral, including the systemic blaming of ‘me’ for the obvious and correct market forces in play.”
You really do have an over-inflated sense of self worth dont you? We don’t blame YOU jackhole, we resent you for trying to come across like all of your ideas are original and trying to take credit for the idea that ownership is to blame. Duh. These idiots will be out of professional sports in less than 5 years. They won’t be able to make money on the Hawks either. Any group that misses on Chris Paul obviously doesn’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:26 am
what is up with not being able to see all the posting?
Tom Lysiak
February 16th, 2011
11:27 am
Sage, nobody really cares what you’d rather have.
Jason
February 16th, 2011
11:28 am
Might I suggest the owners take around $1 million and buy a bunch of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets when it gets around $175 million? Maybe they could afford the team then….
glovesave29
February 16th, 2011
11:30 am
Beat me to the punch Smoothie. That was the MOST moronic post I have EVER seen. Exactly WHERE did anyone post that comment? Whatta windbag.
Somewhere, the owners of the Gladiators are calling their accountants to prepare for a substantial increase in the value of the team.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:30 am
C’mon Mr. Rawhide, can’t wait to read your blog and for a proper forum for this discussion.
philalamo
February 16th, 2011
11:30 am
Please don’t talk about Thrashers ownership or the possibility of the team relocating or else BTN (Behind the Net) will take his toys and go home – and whine loudly while doing it.
Eileen
February 16th, 2011
11:31 am
We have our answer. At this point, Bettman knows the reality of the situation. Let’s see what happens.
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
11:31 am
Uh, Smoothie, you may want to blame Billy Knight for the oversight of Chris Paul (who had character-concerns coming out which is conveniently forgotten, of course)….Do you have any credibility at all? Please do us all a favor and get some facts straight, just for once…
WHO CARES
February 16th, 2011
11:32 am
`
Move to Canada and take the Thrashers and Hawks with you.
.
.
.
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .Football Is King
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:32 am
Note: The ’show all’ comments icon is a time machine.
Why do I have to post something to get where I should be?
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:34 am
WHO CARES – _nlm <-right there bud Now go watch big burly men in shiny tights slap each others butts and talk tough. You ironic tragedy.
BG33Brown
February 16th, 2011
11:37 am
WHO CARES, why does there only have to be one sport? I played divison 1 college football. You don’t have to “vote” for one or the other. Its not an election and your not running for homecoming queen. WAKE UP-having a lot of sports teams is good for the city and its residents.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:37 am
WHO CARES – Suggestion: make Hooked on Phonics “King”
fes
February 16th, 2011
11:37 am
Can these morons really be so shortsighted that they’ve forgotten that Philips was packed to the rafters for our lone two playoff games???
Put a good product on the ice and the rest will fall into place. Welcome to Business 101.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:38 am
BG33- I support your football playing and interest. But, I gotta stick up for hockey too. Don’t take offense.
BG33Brown
February 16th, 2011
11:41 am
IL13-i am a bigger hockey fan now than football fan. It just frusterates me that these idiots from Atlanta want the thrashers to move too. I feel like we have to fight the canadians and our own idiot residents. We are surrounded.
WHO CARES
February 16th, 2011
11:45 am
Bring the Atlanta Flames back.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:46 am
Food for thought…
If the Hawks are doing well with attendance and Philips is one of the most heavily booked arenas in N.America (maybe the world). How are the Thrashers doing so bad? They’ve NEVER been at the bottom of the league in average attendance, so what give?
SHELL-GAMES PEOPLE, UNINTERESTED, NON-COMMITTED OWNERS THAT NEVER WANTED THIS RED-HEADED STEP-CHILD OF AN ACQUIRED ASSET!!!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:46 am
BG33- agreed in full.
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
11:46 am
Stan Drulia: “Hey Sage, looks like you genius plan just may work… we may lose the NHL forever in our fine city. Hope you are happy.”
Who are the ignorant ones now? Please confess and be an adult about it, for once.
I’ll take the high-road and gladly accept your apology(ies).
jjones
February 16th, 2011
11:51 am
Atlanta is full of WHO CARES. If it’s not football, then Nascar.
“We don’t want any trouble.”
“Oh,… you already in trouble.”
SomaAtl95
February 16th, 2011
11:54 am
Sage – most people will reply that you are being the ignorant one. We hope for new ownership and the team to remain in Atlanta. Wasn’t that what you wanted too? I’m not trying to be disrespectful and I really don’t want to be called any names or treated like I am an idiot – but I always thought you would go back to supporting the Thrashers if new ownership comes along. Now you’re so dissatisfied that you want major league hockey to leave Atlanta for good? Is that correct?
ASG (mis) Management
February 16th, 2011
11:55 am
Please note that Dustin Byfuglien will not be available for comments today on his new contract. He is in Quebec City shopping for a condo. He will be back with the team in time for the loss Thursday night.
World Be Free
February 16th, 2011
11:59 am
I am officially taking a day off from the blog-until we have a hockey subject to talk about.
Today’s news is NOT news and none of us can control the outcome, so let it be.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
11:59 am
Geez…
Smoothie
February 16th, 2011
12:00 pm
Character concerns! Ha, that is hilarious. Because he punched Julius Hodge in the nuts!! You are an imbecile. Hodge was a punk and deserved what he got. And who left Billy Knight in his position too long you pompous jerk? Yeah, same idiots who continue to employ Waddell.
Puckhead
February 16th, 2011
12:04 pm
Scene from Slapshot sums it up for me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QILn1G8zaqc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
12:05 pm
Absolutely not, Soma. While an Atlanta native and, thus, an initial hockey-nuance ignorant person, I purchased numerous ticket plans (of varying scopes) in the first couple of years of the team (and was tutored a native Buffalonian, who loves the sport like no other). It rubbed off on me, in a way.
Sure, I liked the Flames…but was much younger and thus not as interested in them compared to many other things life had to offer….I still love that name, though, as its historical-reference (as well as hockey-sounding) is priceless and so true to the city.
Anyway, I have long directed my ire at Don Waddell–and said that his removal would get me back “on board”. However, my ire has become redirected toward the only person(s) who have the power to remove our lisping, blustering buffoon of a GM/President/Whatever he is.
I have often stated I can live with losses…I completely understand–and support–rebuilding. It happens. It’s cyclical. However, I stopped the subsidization with the continued rebuilding with Don Waddell at the helm.
I always will. Granted, he is just a symptom of the real cause. I (re)learned that, too, after a few years.
This is a wonderful game and it is a shame the support is dwindling–but I completely UNDERSTAND it. The restaurant-analogy is tried-and-true and certainly applies.
In the end, I absolutely refuse to subsidize incompetence. We have been treated to NOTHING BUT incompetence during this organization’s existence.
To make excuses–some of them beyond pathetic–gets my ire equally.
Boom Boom
February 16th, 2011
12:06 pm
The Spirit are a bunch of greedy dishonest crooks.
Rawhide
February 16th, 2011
12:14 pm
OK gang…here’s a blog for you to react to the latest slap in the face by the Atlanta Spirit, LLC.
Joe Friday
February 16th, 2011
12:19 pm
There must be a deal already in place to move them at the end of this year and this is Gearon saying “last chance before they’re going, going gone . . .” Gearon’s comment of not willing to stomach another $20m loss, means just that, they’re losing $20m per year and they must have an offer on the table to move the team to another city at the end of this year.
Just. Damn.
I was very fearful after hearing Bill Daly’s comments last fall, now held in the light of this context, it’s apparent this club is gone and the NHL is not going to stop it. And after looking at the TV numbers for the NHL in this town, who can blame the NHL?
What are the odds the new owners are the ones that directed the new contract for Buf? I’d say 80/20.
What’s the over/under on the date the sale gets announced? I’ll put it at April 11th at 10am.
This all comes down to Don Waddell’s inability to build a club and driving the once solid fan base away.
Just. Damn.
jay
February 16th, 2011
12:22 pm
Didn’t they move to Calgary?
Stan Drulia
February 16th, 2011
12:32 pm
Sage, instead of apologizing to you (for what I have absolutely no idea) I would like to apologize to all readers of this blog for my taking the bait and responding to your border-line-psychotic rantings several times in recent days. You dream is being realized – we are possibly losing hockey in Atlanta. While this brings me almost to tears, I also will have tears of joy in that I will never have to read your insane, senseless and rambling statments… EVER AGAIN!!!! Praise Jeebus!
Sage of Bluesland
February 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
Joe-Bob-Friday, who is the “jackhole” now?
Jackhole.
(at least the time-duration between your waffling has gotten much shorter…)
vietvet
February 16th, 2011
1:07 pm
We’ve been through all this with the Flames. Face it, the majority of the fans are displaced northeners. The deep south is not a good venue for ice hockey.
JASon
February 16th, 2011
1:09 pm
Seriously who cares what happens to the thrashers. I would much rather spend $18 and go to a gladiators game. Consider:
-no panhandlers
-good service at gwinnett arena
-none of the other crap associated with downtown
Boring sport
February 16th, 2011
1:10 pm
Good riddance! The city has already wasted enough millions on this loser franchise with a bunch of crooks running the team. Get them out of town and back to canada. The whole sport is boring anyway–not enough scoring. The ticket prices and concessions are obscene—the team is run by morons. I hope they leave ASAP!
Smoothie
February 16th, 2011
1:22 pm
Boring Sport – if that happens, then they need to sell the Hawks to new owners in Vancouver as NBA basketball is as boring as it gets.
The Truth
February 16th, 2011
1:30 pm
Yawn…I can’t believe this story is getting any press. Ice hockey in the south doesn’t work. We don’t care about ice hockey down here – that’s a fact. Let this team and this boring game go somewhere else.
ATL Housewife
February 16th, 2011
1:31 pm
Maybe Big Poppa can buy the team and keep it in the ATL? The Blue Crew has to be better than you-know-who!
JMT21
February 16th, 2011
2:44 pm
Full disclosure. I am from Winnipeg. First off, I want to mention that the hockey knowledge for Thrasher fans is head and shoulders above from what you might read in the Arizona papers.
I’d like nothing more than have a team return to Winnipeg but NOT at the expense of fans who would lose their team. I went thru that back in 1996 and wouldn’t wish that experience on my worst enemy.
It’s obvious to me that the team and it’s fans are bearing the blame for what I can only describe as a half-assed ownership group.
I do want to clarify a couple things I noted on these comments. Quebec will not get an NHL team because they have no arena although one is planned for 2015. There is also no ownership group at all.
In Winnipeg, we have an NHL ready arena… a small one by NHL standards but it did receive approval by Bettman. We also have an ownership group consisting of Mark Chipman and David Thomson. Mr. Thomson is the richest man in Canada with a net worth of roughly 20 billion.
Again, I don’t want an NHL team back here at the expense of another city losing their team. I just wanted to clarify a few things regarding the Quebec and Winnipeg situations.
Thank you.
JMT21
Badger Bob
February 16th, 2011
3:10 pm
JMT21, thanks, and please share your well informed ideas with everyone in Winnipeg. Hockey passion is alive and well down here – we just need owners who give half a flip about hockey.
Fan Site - SAVE THE THRASHERS
February 16th, 2011
3:46 pm
We have de-Blanked our website – now that the story has been broken, we are moving to a general plea to Atlanta leaders and fans. How Fans Can Help;
http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/fans.html
Home Page:
http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/
CBS is running our story at 5 and 6 today – please support the Thrashers!
Buzzeng
February 16th, 2011
7:36 pm
(posted on Bradley’s blog, too)…
Let’s get real. Who, in their right mind, would invest in a team to join a bunch of proven failures who only seem to be good at one thing – initiating lawsuits against each other and even their lawyers – and lousy at what they are supposed to be doing – winning games. Who in their right mind would join these spirit-deflating owners when they can’t even write a contract with terms they, themselves, can live under during its term? Who in their right mind would want to invest in a team (or even two teams) that the current owners can’t operate without losing so much money?
As I see it, the team only gets sold to a new owner. Hopefully, that new owner is in Atlanta. No one should have to live through losing two NHL teams in their life.
Buzzeng
February 16th, 2011
7:44 pm
…and another thing…
Who in their right mind would think all members of the ASG could even agree on a selling price without suing each other…?
Unicoi
February 16th, 2011
11:04 pm
Who’s WE? You and ya buncha buddies sittin’ aroung dier camp waiting to “bust one” while ya’ll arguing bout how the dawgs defince kaint get it dun dis yare cause mark rick caint get er done?
“We” happen to take pride in our sport and our city. But, I bettin’ if in them surrendering canadiens try to take our futball taem, by god, I’m gone take it to them and give em the what fur.
You are a redneck sports fan personified. No wonder them krazy canada’s are so dumb for watchin a stupid sport like eyes hoky. They don’t have to deal with idiots like you because after all “WE DON’T CARE ABOUT ICE HOCKEY DOWN HERE-THAT’S A FACT”.
Speak for yourself idiot.
BTW- Guess what the oldest sports trophy in North America is? The Stanley Cup. Moron.