No other way to say it. The big winner today was not only Canada, not only Sidney Crosby or any member of team Canada but hockey fans around the world. It’s not just that Canada won, it was the game. It is going to be very very hard to watch NHL hockey this week. The play during this tournament was incredible. I am not sure how relevant this is, but to me it’s like watching the NCAA tournament and then having to go back to watching NBA action. The difference is that this is hockey. This isn’t basketball. The play by all teams was at such a high level. The sport of hockey, those of us who love the game were the real winners today.

Personally, I looked at my son on my side and my dad on the other and said to the youngest of the three of us, remember this goal, you may NEVER see a bigger goal. The Henderson goal was before I was born. I’ve never seen a goal bigger than that. I am not sure Sidney Crosby will EVER score a goal bigger than that. He may win lots of cups, he may score lots of goals, but to score the winner in OT in the gold medal game of the Olympics?????? It reminded me of the late Tom Cheek’s call on Joe Carter’s home run. Touch em all Sid, you will never score a bigger goal.

I’ve not been a fan of most of the coverage on TV this year. Chris Cuthbert was very good today. The hockey team as a whole were very good too. Once again, (I know the horse is dead) following the game on Twitter was the most fun. Finally, to those in the arena, what class they showed at the end of the game, cheering the American players, especially Ryan Miller and Zach Parise. The line of the night has to go to Sidney Crosby who when asked to explain the winning goal said that he had no idea, he just shot it.

More later..

In a previous life I coached kids hockey with some buddies in Detroit. None of us had kids on the team, rather we thought it was a good way to give back to the community, work with some kids and have a good time. We did it for three or four years working our way up the travel program in Michigan. By the end of our run, we were coaching at a fairly senior level. I stopped coaching for a couple of reasons. First, I moved, first back to Toronto and then shortly thereafter to Miami for law school. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I realized at the ripe old age of 25 that I was way too competitive.

When my son asked me to coach his soccer team some 10 years later I reluctantly gave in, again for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I didn’t know the first thing about soccer (how much trouble could I get in?), secondly, I was bored out of my mind whenever we went to the field for his games, thirdly, I hoped I had mellowed a little bit and could use this as a test for hockey should he ever ask me to coach his hockey team and finally and more importantly, for the simple reason that he asked.

So, this past spring when we signed up for the 2009-2010 hockey season when he asked me to coach him, I agreed. This time for 2 reasons. One, cause I learned in soccer that indeed I had mellowed and yes, more importantly, because he asked. To date I have had a complete blast. I am not the head coach so I have been fortunate enough to only play a small role as one of two assistant coaches. The coaches and parents on our team are extremely lucky. There isn’t a bad kid or parent amongst us. There isn’t a parent or kid in the group that doesn’t have their head in the right place. Everyone is there 100% for their kids to have fun. We all want our kids to learn the importance of team sports, and want our kids to have fun. i have yet to see with this group any thoughts, notions or ideas of grandeur. It’s a relief to say the least.

Tonight, I was reminded however, of the evils that lurke in arenas teaching our kids. I saw first hand the reason why we have problems in hockey here in Canada. I saw a coach with such an ego that he has lost all grip on reality. It was the prototypical case of what we as hockey parents should avoid like the plague, the worst part is the person exhibiting these behaviors has no clue what exactly he is.

Here is what happened. My team, a group of 7 and 8 year old house league boys had a practice scheduled at a local arena for 6:10pm. Our head coach wasn’t going to attend. So myself and the other assistant coach showed up to run the practice. We got to the rink early and immediately found there was a problem. We found a scheduling problem existed on the specific rink we had been told was reserved for us. Another team from our league was also there getting ready to practice. Now, in the grand scheme of things, this type of “conflict” isn’t a big deal right? I mean, keeping in mind the purpose of the exercise, the focus on the kids, how hard could it be to resolve the issue? I mean, even the 7 year old boys could suggest a proposed solution- split the ice.

So when the other assistant coach and I approached the coach from the other team, one would think that given reasonable minds a resolution could be achieved quickly. Instead, this coach, decided in less than 3 seconds, that his team was more important than ours, and that there was NO WAY his team wasn’t going to practice as scheduled. He looked at us and said, without batting an eye, oh no, my team is practicing, we have a playoff game tomorrow. He turned away, walked in to his locker room and slammed the door.

He did this in front of his players, his players parents, our players and our players parents. I mean isn’t this the guy you want to leave your kids with to teach life lessons? This guy had his priorities completely out of whack. Trying to talk to him was like trying to reason with a baby. It didn’t matter that we tried to tell him that he wasn’t in the wrong. It didn’t matter that we suggested that our association double booked the ice. The coach on multiple occasions actually wanted to fight over the ice! Can you imagine that this guy is allowed 10 seconds with the youth of today? In less than 30 seconds he decided that we were wrong and that his team was more important than his.

Finally, he asked us, what exactly we would suggest as a compromise. When we suggested something novel I guess, i mean a really innovative idea called SHARING the ice; splitting it in half, his response was, “that’s really tough to do”! Have you ever heard anything more inane? Unless his kids are lining up for the provincial championship that will decide their entire fate, no 1 practice can be that important to a group of under 10 year olds! I mean who was this guy at the rink for, his kids or his own ego? If this is as freaked as he gets about something so stupid as this, how does he react on the bench when a kid, i don’t know, scores on his own net (you know kids sometimes do that)?

Thankfully, the parents on his team, who were watching this all unfold, were able to speak some sense into this guy. The damage, was already done. While someone was talking to him on his team, we told our kids to go home. It wasn’t really worth it. After about five minutes, we were waiting to make sure that no more of parents showed up, he approached and said that we could share his ice. This was after he showed us his blackberry with the email confirming his ice time. We tried to explain to him that we never questioned whether or not he was told he had the ice. We told him that weren’t made about the mix up. Shit, as they say, happens. We were mad that a fellow coach would act as immaturely has he had. The message appeared to be lost on him. it wasn’t until 5-10 minutes passed and some more folks from his team talked to him that he tried to apologize to us. The damage was, already done.

This is where the problems in hockey start. Within each organization is a person like this. It’s not that they don’t have the right credentials. They aren’t bad people per se. They just don’t see the big picture. They don’t understand that there lessons are being monitored by the kids they are coaching. Their words and actions have huge impacts on the kids. It really isn’t only about winning. Teaching kids how to win and how to lose is equally important.

Proof? I have tried to tell my kids that falling in sports isn’t necessarily a bad thing. When they first learned to skate or ski, I told them that when they fell it meant that they did so because they were trying really hard. In fact, not falling could at times be a sign that they weren’t trying hard enough. I have told my son that practice in hockey for him is more important than the games themselves. It is in these practices where he learns the most. Our coaching group talked up this practice as being important because it was on the eve of our last regular season game. So, as my son and I walked out of the arena, my son looked and me and said, “if we lose tomorrow dad, will it be because we didn’t practice tonight?” Our kids listen, they hear everything we say, even in jest or in passing. The next time you hear the question, whats wrong with hockey in this country, take a look inside the locker room of your nearest arena. I suggest that inside you will find someone coaching a team like I did tonight. That my friend is the problem, that is the evil face of youth hockey. That is where this lack of respect starts. If it is happening at this age, can you imagine how much worse it is as the kids get older?

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Greetings from Seattle. Mike Zeisberger kept up the blasting of the Maple Leafs in the Toronto Sun Sunday. A few interesting takes, including his assessment of who is going to be gone when this campaign ends..

” Then Saint Toskala came to the rescue and made it four.

The same Vesa Toskala who had not won since Feb. 26, beating the Islanders on Long Island.

The same Vesa Toskala who had not posted a home ice victory since Feb. 25, turning aside the New York Rangers.

The same Vesa Toskala, the No. 1 target of Air Canada Centre boo birds, who last night was cheered when he blanked the Caps in the shootout, leading the Leafs to a 2-1 triumph. ”

Not sure why, but the whole begging part of his article is all Vessa. Is the point that we now love Toskala after last nights game? If so, I am missing the love in part. While last night’s game is nice- in the grand scheme of thigns right now it doesn’t mean ANYHTING. They beat a very good hockey team in the Capitals. They still are the same team who has only won 4 times this year. Again, I don’t get why “Maple Leaf Nation” is lumped into this BS full of crap catch all by guys like MZ.

” But in the long run, it does not change much.

With Toskala among 11 pending unrestricted free agents on the roster, a housecleaning by Burke is inevitable. In fact, by the time Burke, named team prez on Nov. 29, 2008, reaches his second anniversary at the post one year from now, the lineup will hardly resemble the one last night.

The writing is on the wall for Toskala, who earns $4 million this season. Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson, a pending restricted free agent, was brought in to be groomed as the starter, and likely will be re-signed early in the new year. ”

What? if it doesn’t mean much then why the hell all the focus on it? What a strange bit. Toskala is going to have to stand on his proverbial head to get renewed by the Maple Leafs. Burke has to be able to find better given what he and his coach have seen so far since they both got here. If Toskala improves enough that they want him, he will win goalie of the year this year!

” Of the forwards who dressed against the Caps, only five — Jason Blake, Phil Kessel, Niklas Hagman, Mikhail Grabovski and Colton Orr — are under contract for next season. Two others — John Mitchell and Nikolai Kulemin — will be RFA and likely will receive offers from Toronto before the summer, as will defenceman Ian White.

After that, all bets are off. ”

Isn’t this the type of stuff that was written on Saturday. I am not sure what is more confusing, why this is being written again or the fact that Colton Orr does have a contract that extends beyond this season.

” With the screws tightening for Burke to make a move, trade discussions have already been held, with Matt Stajan reportedly a target.

Stajan’s a stand-up guy who has shown modest chemistry with Kessel. Having said that, he never has consistently proved to management that he can be a full-time first or second-liner.

A rare survivor of the John Ferguson era, Stajan, a Mississauga native, might be better served with a change of scenery. That was the same logic used when two of his buddies, Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen, were traded to the St. Louis Blues for Lee Stempniak a year ago. ”

Who in their right mind is going to give up anything of value for this guy right now? How much would you give up for Matt Stajan? I am all for getting something back for unwanted assets, but you have to get something back. What round draft pick would we get at this point?

” The Stempniak experiment has not worked out. With just 16 goals in 82 games as a Leaf, Stempniak, a pending UFA, would seem as good as gone, just like Toskala, defenceman Garnet Exelby and blue liner Mike Van Ryn. The status of role players Wayne Primeau and Jamal Mayers would seem to be in doubt too.

On the other hand, the Leafs would like to retain Alex Ponikarovsky, one of the pending UFAs.

As for Blake, locked in for a cap hit of $4.5 million US for each of the next two seasons, his two goals in 21 game performance certainly is grounds for a buyout, although that could be very pricey. ”

Not much opinion or analysis there…I for one have more time for Stempniak then some of the other guys. I suspect he would get more on the open market than Stajan, but what the hell do I know. I know this, this is a lame article that shouldn’t have been written- nothing hear of value hasn’t been said the day before in another paper.

At the same time you have Stay At Home Berger with usual silly rants:

“Though it’s understandable why followers of the Maple Leafs are angry and disheartened by the club’s dreadful showing in the first quarter of the season, I’m astonished with the number of people that are essentially writing off the Brian Burke-Ron Wilson tandem. These are many of the same fans that celebrated Burke’s much-anticipated arrival almost one year ago; fervently endorsed his defensive make-over in the off-season, and sanctioned the hiring of Wilson the previous summer because of his long-time association and friendship with Burke. Now, after a tough stretch in their first full season together, folks are clamouring for heads to roll in the Leafs’ hockey department.

Give it a rest. ”

Take your own advice Stay At Home, give it a rest. The ‘number’ of people who want to take WIlson out back right now are on the majority from the MSM who are trying to sell either papers or ads. The fans who have been clamoring for that change are callers to your radio station. The sensible fan has made no such argument yet.

“And, while the first quarter of their initial campaign together has been an unmitigated disaster, it would hardly make sense for the Leafs to start over yet again; to resume their decades-long hunt for the perfect hockey amalgam. There’s still every chance it could be right beneath the tall foreheads that comprise Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Burke and Wilson enjoyed the proverbial honeymoon period last season, as they were directing what was primarily Fletcher’s team. Modest expectations were followed by predictable results. And though Burke did some restructuring with second and third-tier free agents, only the foolishly optimistic expected monumental advancement in 2009-10. ”

Now Howie, is that any way to talk about Sir Damien and others who predicted that the Leafs would make the playoffs? Remind me again by the way why they are tall foreheads at MLSE….

“But, double-B will truly begin to earn his keep next summer, when so many burdensome contracts are no longer on the Leafs’ ledger. With enormous cap space, he’ll be able to go after the biggest fish in the free agent pond, and a Toronto team built around Jonas Gustavsson, Phil Kessel, Luke Schenn and perhaps Tyler Bozak, Victor Stalberg, Christian Hanson and Nazem Kadri will begin to emerge. At that point, it will be fairer to judge Burke, and to gauge how Wilson is able to guide a representative team. ”

Write that in blood and let’s all remember this the next time he slams Burke or the Leafs. Stay At Homer Berger is more like Short Term Memory loss berger… Remember the words, folks- he won’t I gurantee you….

“This season is a complete write-off, which is extremely and legitimately disappointing for Leafs’ fans after the manner in which it was pre-positioned. Burke and Wilson either got caught up in their own excitement, or they tried to sell the city a bill of goods. In my view, it was the former. Burke accurately determined last year’s club to be devoid of valor and he sought to remedy the problem in free agency. But, he may have overestimated the caliber of his acquisitions and their ability to withstand the Toronto hockey spotlight. ”

Why is it so hard for people to understand what Burke said at the start of the season? He said, that the goal is to make the playoffs. That is not to say that he thought they would make the playoffs, rather that it is the goal. It’s no different than a start-up business esteeming to be profitable in year one. Doesn’t mean they are going to be, rather, it is a goal. Burke has said repeatedly, that if that isn’t your stated goal at the beginning of the year then why be in the game. He is right, he had to state that the goal was playoffs, the alternative is pretty lame, and how do you motivate your players when the goal isn’t even to make the playoffs.

“But, the feeling of dread among Leaf supporters has to stop for no other reason than its utter futility. If you choose to bang your head against the wall for 15 minutes at the notion of Peter Chiarelli selecting Taylor Hall with the No. 1 pick next June, you’ll simply wind up with a sore noggin. And, when you’re done, you’ll be no further ahead than when the conniption started. The deal has been made and nothing is going to reverse it. Instead, Burke, and fans of the hockey club, must turn their focus to building a team around Kessel and hoping for the best. ”

Remember that one too should the Bruins select number one or 2 next spring!

Shoalts comes back with another stellar piece of work in tomorrow’s globe:

“For example, Burke is talking to the Chicago Blackhawks about defenceman Brent Sopel, who is earning $2.5-million this season and will get $2-million next season. The Blackhawks have agreed to long-term contracts with star players Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith but cannot make it official because they do not have the cap space now nor next season to accommodate all three. So they have to move someone now to create some room.

Burke is offering to take Sopel, who played for him when he ran the Vancouver Canucks, plus, say, a second-round draft pick to solve the Blackhawks’ problem. But Sopel is a decent player, so Hawks GM Stan Bowman is getting a lot of calls and may get a better offer.”

A better offer than what? There is nothing mentioned here. This isn’t even a proper rumour, Leafs get a 2nd rounder and Sopel for what????

“Either way, look for Burke to make a move of this nature between now and the trade deadline on March 3″

That’s not exactly rocket science David. The only thing that Burke has to trade these days is cap space. To say that between now and the deadline he will try to use that leverage isn’t exactly news.

“The most encouraging signs came from goaltender Vesa Toskala and defenceman Luke Schenn.

Toskala played his best game since 2007-08, his first season with the Leafs, although hope has to be tempered with reason since his play has waxed and waned for the last two seasons. But some long-awaited consistency from him would go a long way to easing the Leafs’ terminal goal-scoring pains.

Schenn finally looked more like the 18-year-old rookie who took the team by storm last season instead of the uncertain sophomore he’s been this season.”

I’m sorry, but one game does not a trend make. A player can look as good or as bad in one game to not mean anything. Wake me when they actually do something consistently say over 5-10 games minimum.

All that said, I get more value by reading an article like this one, don’t you?

Sun article is here

Stay at Home is here

Shoalts is here

So we are losers and idiots, that is the story that we hear all the time right. Dumb Leaf fans. Idiots follow the team through thick and thick. We dish out our hard earned cash in unwavering support day after day, time after time. As a result of this support, the theory goes, there is no pressure on the franchise to ever improve and therefore the team will forever suck. Right? Did I miss a point?

The good folks over at PPP had a brillant post today comparing Mr. Berger and comments made by Mr Hogan (that I didn’t hear) about the Toronto Blue Jays and the lack of fan support the Jays received on Sunday.

“Contrast this with the reason typically given for the lack of championships won by the local hockey team. “The Leafs don’t have to win because the sucker fan base show up all the time regardless.” So which is it? Jays fans don’t deserve a winner because they don’t show up. Leaf fans don’t deserve a winner because they do.”

Aint that the truth! However, let’s take this one step even further sports fans. Imagine for one second that interest in the Leafs starts to wane. Try to imagine that this team’s attendance starts to drop off to let’s say, oh I don’t know, the St. Louis, Chicago (in years past) or other struggling markets. Before you say it will never happen, anything is possible and, more importantly go with me here, it is my post.

So, what would happen if Maple Leaf nation was no more. Leaf fans lost interest. Did what the media wants, stayed away, stopped tuning in, turning on and paying attention. Would those who call us idiots be happy then? No really, where would the Howard Berger’s be then? Think about, suddenly readership on Maple Leaf centric blogs, Toronto Sports papers and audience on both Toronto radio shows dropped like a stone. You know all those folks who bash the shit out of their audience for “suckeredly” follow the team, do you know where they would be?

UNEMPLOYED IN GREENLAND!

It’s one thing to be suckers for following our teams. It’s quite another to be suckers for taking shit from the media. Now, I happen to side with Hogan on this one. I think that 36k to see Roy Halladay pitch vs. the Red Sox is sad. I know, it’s better than other teams draw, I know it’s better than most games, but it is still not a large number. However, Jays fans aren’t the cause for the teams demise. Their GM is. Their GM signed the contracts that are now “albatrosses” around the team’s neck. If you want to point the finger of blame in why the Jays are where they are, then it starts with the GM. This is his team. He put it together. He signed the guys. Ownership initially hired him to cut costs. The plan was to give in to JP when the time was right and spend as necessary. Ownership followed that plan. JP asked for more money, ASH money and guess what? He got it! Boy did he ever. The payroll swelled again and the team didn’t improve. Jays fans fault? Hell no.

One day, more guys will join the likes of Norm Rumack on the real sidelines. Norm is there as a result of tough economic times. There will come a day, maybe not in the foreseeable future that the good ship Maple Leaf will not be what it is today. The coach of the Maple Leafs will one day face a media scrum of less than 10 people. Free agent day in Toronto won’t garner hours of coverage, nor will the NHL trade deadline day. Nothing lasts forever, NOTHING. Then, I promise you those media types will be longing for the days when jobs in the greatest hockey city were aplenty. A time when the fans hung on every word, read every paper, listened to every show and saught information on the team as if it were more important than food. That day will come.

You can read the rest of brilliance here

Don’t get me wrong folks, the media coverage on the biggest sports trial in these parts since OJ (that’s a joke okay)but we all need to take big, deep breath with respect to the Phoenix Coyotes/Jim Balsillie/Gary Bettman bankruptcy case. Nothing, let me say this again, nothing, has happened that is the least bit unexpected. Strongly worded documents are filed in court cases EVERY day, they are nothing more than arguments. They are supposed to be persuasive. In order to be successful, a good argument will use words like “sham” to try and influence the decision maker. The press, especially in this city is hanging on every word that gets filed in this case as if it were fact. Jerry Moyes hired the top bankruptcy attorney in the state of Arizona. I guarantee you that nothing that has been in the filings has surprised the lawyer one bit. When you pick up the paper and you read things like:

“Just when billionaire Jim Balsillie cleared one hurdle – getting a 32-year lease for Copps Coliseum – his bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Hamilton ran into a potential new roadblock. The city of Glendale, Ariz., laid out its legal objections to the proposed sale of the Coyotes late last night, saying a bankruptcy court judge shouldn’t consider the sale of the team “based on the false premise that (the winning bidders) are legally capable of relocating the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team.”

Take a deep breath and ask yourself this very simple question. If you were the city of Glendale and you have a hockey arena with no other major tenant, and you have a long lease with that hockey team that pays you lots of money, wouldn’t you strongly object to a proposed nullification of that lease?? I mean come on people!! This isn’t news. The only way Glendale can protect itself is by thumping it’s chest. Imagine if they didn’t!!! That would be news!

“The city is not asking the judge to rule on the lease, but wants all bidders to be aware of it and threatens to drag out litigation over the issue. “Any relocation of the Phoenix Coyotes is … prohibited by law. The city has stated that it intends to vigorously and fully enforce that (lease) commitment.”

Of course that is what they are saying. It would be incredibly stupid if they didn’t do just that. Does that mean it is a done deal”? Hell no. The city knows it, the Coyotes know it and so to does Balsillie. This is all part of having to play things out. In baseball terms, we aren’t even out of the first inning yet!

“The good news for Balsillie occurred last night at Hamilton city council. In a deal approved unanimously by the council, Balsillie is promising to sign a long-term lease if he secures the Phoenix Coyotes. The deal includes a $5 million injection of cash from Balsillie to help upgrade the 17,000-seat arena by 2010.”

I have no problem with this fact being reported, however, again, is this really news? What other choice does the Hamilton city council have??? In the grand scheme of things what does the city of Hamilton have right now??? NOTHING. The elected officials can tell their constituents that they were doing their best to bring hockey to town. Other than that??? nadda!.

“The NHL is taking direct aim at Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie, calling his bid to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton a sham and alleging he is trying to undermine the “fundamental structure of the thirty-team NHL venture.”The league attacked Mr. Balsillie in a series of strongly worded filings in an Arizona court, alleging his offer for the Coyotes smacks of “duplicitous dealing” and, along with his two previous attempts to buy NHL teams, demonstrates an unwillingness to follow league rules.“Apparently, Balsillie does not want to face the scrutiny that comes with the NHL Board of Governor’s standard review and approval process,” Bill Daly, the league’s deputy commissioner, said in an affidavit.”

Gary Bettman has proven to be a pitbull. Gary Bettman was stunned by this move by Moyes (how that is possible is stunning in of itself). Therefore Gary Bettman’s lawyers are going to come out swinging. Does it mean anything yet? NO! What were people expecting these documents to say? The NHL really prefers that this doesn’t happen? How effective would that be? The lawyers on both sides are highly skilled at their trade. They are paid to draft arguments like this. They know what the elements are in each law that is in question and they are trying to persuade the trier of facts that their argument is more persuasive then their opponents.

“Some observers questioned Mr. Balsillie’s strategy. “I look at it and say, ‘Gosh, what an amateur [Mr. Balsillie is],’ ” said Chuck Greenberg, a Pittsburgh lawyer who worked with Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux when Mr. Balsillie tried to buy that club. “He’s not the first person to buy a franchise. He seems to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Leagues are an unusual being. You’re a competitor; you’re a partner. When a guy takes the same action and circumvents the rules in the same way, it’s pretty reasonable to ask if he would be willing to follow any rules.” Mr. Greenberg added that Mr. Balsillie has “probably done more to hurt the chance of a second team in Southern Ontario.”

Now that is an interesting observation and one that is newsworthy. Keep in mind that there is a stated bias on the part of the owner of that opinion. I don’t think Greenberg is alone in disagreeing with the theory that Balsillie is destined to fail given his repeated path of choice. As for the last part about Balsillie hurting SW Ontario, I am not sure I buy that. I don’t think that another failed bid to land a team here has any adverse effect on it happening down the road.

What is really interesting too is that Balsillie is trying to win this case in the court of public opinion. The problem is, the public in Canada or Ontario is so far removed from an Arizona courtroom. Do you think the judge gives a rats ass what people here think? His obligation is to the creditors. No more, no less. So Balsillie can get 10 million email addresses and do radio shows every day of the week and three times on Saturday and it won’t make a difference in how the judge rules. I know the argument, if there is enough public push other owners may be swayed. I find that hard to believe. These guys again aren’t going to be swayed by people in Ontario. Moving a team to Southwestern Ontario only removes a small problem for other owners, it takes one team off the take. They don’t get a big fat expansion check when a team moves. I consider the other owners unmoved by any amount of public sentiment.

Here, my friends is the question I would love to know the answer to. We all know what happened to Balsillie’s previous unsuccessful bids. “There was no front door to get this team here. I looked. I checked every which way. I’m so inside in every which way. I know a lot of these owners,” said Balsillie.” I can think of one way which he didn’t consider. Balsillie walked away in the past because the league imposed qualifications on him. “You can buy the team if you agree to commit to the market in Nashville”, “you can buy the team if you agree not to move the pens for 7 years”. So what did Balsillie do? He turned the tables. “I will buy the team if I can move them “Balsillie said. Here is my question. Imagine for a second that Moyes puts the team into bankruptcy(just like he did in reality). The difference is, what if Balsilie’s bid didn’t have the condition? He puts in an unconditional bid, at the same money to buy the bankrupt franchise. Reinsdorf’s bid comes in at $130 million with a condition of the team getting tax relief. Now, what would Bettman do? Bettman would now have to be the ultimate bad guy bad mouthing Balsillie wherever and whenever he could. Would Bettman tell a bankruptcy court that he will only accept Balsillie’s far superior bid if Balsillie agrees to keep the team in Phoenix??? He may. Would the trustee enforce that??? I suspect that the trustee would be far less willing to enforce Bettman’s condition in that scenario as opposed to pre-condition he is currently facing. The trustee would be facing a huge pay day for the creditors UNCONDITIONALLY under my scenario. Why would a trustee want to risk that? Now I know what you are going to say, Balsillie wouldn’t be able to get out of the lease. The lease situation would be no less in play then it is now. The lease is questionable because of the bankruptcy. Moyes puts the team in bankruptcy, Balsillie makes an unconditional offer and forces Bettman to impose the condition. I would love to know how that would have played out. I am willing to bet it would have been much better then how this is going to end. We will never know.

Don’t get me wrong in all of this. The press is doing a great job bringing all of this to us, the public. I think they are failing us in not providing us with the proper perspective. Everything is unfolding the way all other cases do.

TSM

The Star is here and here
The Globe is here