Jim Ballsillie

[cbcwpg]

Jim Who?

Sorry, but Mr. Basillie blew up more bridges with the NHL, than the allies blew up in WWII. Its one thing to burn a bridge or two, but there are no more bridges left between these two parties.

I would promise that somewhere on a bulletin board in the NHL offices is a " Do Not Sell To " poster.

 

[htpwn]

Jim Who?

Sorry, but Mr. Basillie blew up more bridges with the NHL, than the allies blew up in WWII. Its one thing to burn a bridge or two, but there are no more bridges left between these two parties.

I would promise that somewhere on a bulletin board in the NHL offices is a " Do Not Sell To " poster.

Then you build one.

 

[Koss]

RIM is one of the top 5 sponsors of the NHL

 

[JMROWE]

I understand playing by the rules, but the rules themselves are a joke.

Bailsille offers to overpay for a team and then in partnership with Hamilton and him pay to upgrade a stadium.

Bettman says he wants teams like Nashville and Phoenix to stay where they are.

Frankly I'll always be on Bailsille's side, because I think these rules are bullcrap, I think a guy who has the hundreds of millions to buy a team should be able to do whatever the damn well he or she pleases.

But that's me.

I agree Jim Balsille stand up guy that would be good for the NHL. & he is willing to put his money where his mouth is unlike Bettman who likes to play with other people money without consquences & why people stick up for this guy after all the crap he has pulled over the years .

 

[Killion]

Jim Who? Sorry, but Mr. Basillie blew up more bridges with the NHL, than the allies blew up in WWII.

Kilroy was Here. Yep, his Bird Dog Richard Rodier sure did manage to upset a whole bunch of folks, and a bad smell that just wont go away now that the NHLPA's hired him on as a "Consultant". I do wonder though if perhaps Balsillie wasnt "sat down" by league exec's & explained the facts of life. As in "our problems not with you personally, its your Buddy over there we dont like". Still, the buck stopped with Balsillie, he was funding Rodiers' schemes & adventuring, "he lied to Mario" amongst other transgressions & its really impossible to tell if he'll ever be "rehabilitated". RIM a leading sponsor of the league or not. Why he didnt simply buy a team, make a real go of it, turn it around & sell it off having worked the BOG's from the inside out & worked the expansion angle I just dont know. Hell, he couldve bought Buffalo. Whats the diff between Hamilton & Buffalo if you just wanna own a team?.

 

[Confucius]

Hell, he couldve bought Buffalo. Whats the diff between Hamilton & Buffalo if you just wanna own a team?.

Sad thing is he could have bought Buffalo and just moved them to Hamilton. It would have given Bettman nightmares. Balsillie just claims he's moving his team in his own area

 

[Killion]

Sad thing is he could have bought Buffalo and just moved them to Hamilton. It would have given Bettman nightmares. Balsillie just claims he's moving his team in his own area

Yepp, that'd be one way of going about it. But no, I was suggesting he just buy the Sabres & keep them put. As the owner in Buffalo if he wanted Hamilton then he'd have to sell Buffalo, discount the price through sale to the new owner for an indemnification, and Bobs' your Uncle. Its like what, a 90 minute drive from Waterloo or Hamilton to Buffalo including the border crossing if its not backed up?. Its not that far away from where he lives & works & he could easily take pride of ownership & place. Hell, Tonawanda & Buffalo's a lot like Hamilton or Stoney Creek anyway last time I went through there. Balsillie grew up in Peterborough, likely watching Irv Weinstein & Eyewitness News, George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman on WKBW. He'd feel right at home. Down there in Buffalo.

 

[Confucius]

Yepp, that'd be one way of going about it. But no, I was suggesting he just buy the Sabres & keep them put. As the owner in Buffalo if he wanted Hamilton then he'd have to sell Buffalo, discount the price through sale to the new owner for an indemnification, and Bobs' your Uncle. Its like what, a 90 minute drive from Waterloo or Hamilton to Buffalo including the border crossing if its not backed up?. Its not that far away from where he lives & works & he could easily take pride of ownership & place. Hell, Tonawanda & Buffalo's a lot like Hamilton or Stoney Creek anyway last time I went through there. Balsillie grew up in Peterborough, likely watching Irv Weinstein & Eyewitness News, George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman on WKBW. He'd feel right at home. Down there in Buffalo.

Yeah that works,............ but I'd be surprised if JB got Irv in Peterborough

 

[Killion]

Yeah that works,............ but I'd be surprised if JB got Irv in Peterborough

True. A little off the beaten path in those days. Prolly just CBC. Forest Rangers. Razzle Dazzle n' such. Ward Cornell.

 

[Oscar Acosta]

Balsillie should go to Winnipeg and get a standing O. Without him Bettman would have for sured move the Thrash to KC or Vegas.

Nothing but truth here.

 

[RandR]

I am sure they dont regret taking ballsack and kicking him to the curb one bit. He purposefully tried to ram rules down that would have changed the way every team relocation worked. He tried using BK court to force the NHL to change thier rules on both ownership and relocation so he could get a hamilton team at a 200 million dollar discount. After behaving in a dishonest fashion with Pittsburg and nashville before.
...
Maybe if he plays nice for 10-15 years that will change with a new commisioner and a smattering of new owners, but to get approved to own a team you need 22 votes and I can tell you Pitsburg, Nashville,Toronto, and buffalo are all hell no - the 1st two because of what he did, the 2nd two because of proximity so you would basically need 22 out of 26 owners to approve with TML and Buffalo lobbying extremly hard against it.

I agree with this. From what I read (I think it was Macleans about a year ago), Balsillie's underhanded actions with Pittsburgh and Nashville were enough to pretty much guarantee that Bettman and the current batch of owners would never let him into their "club". Of course trying to use a bankruptcy court to then sue his way into the league just made his cause worse in their books.

I think "hell will have to freeze over" before Bettman and his co-horts ever let Balsillie in the league. And I don't blame them... if someone repeatedly gives you headaches while trying to win approval for membership into your club, you can only expect more problems after they got in and have "squatter's rights". And if the league had to go to court to keep him from joining their club, imagine the difficulty of trying to force him back out if he refuses to play nice in the BOG.

 

[RandR]

RIM is one of the top 5 sponsors of the NHL

Plenty of businesses do deals with arch-rival competitors without getting into bed together.

 

[knorthern knight]

Balsillie should go to Winnipeg and get a standing O. Without him Bettman would have for sured move the Thrash to KC or Vegas.

Huh??? What owner in KC are you thinking of? BTW, Sprint Center in KC is the #3 busiest arena in the USA, right behind #2 Philips in Atlanta. Unlike Gwinnett County Civic Center in Atlanta, there isn't a nearby large arena competing with Sprint Center. Even moreso than Philips, Sprint Center can fill the place profitably without an NHL team, or an NBA team for that matter. The Sprint management group, AEG, probably don't want an NHL team any more than the Philips management group, ASG.

As for Las Vegas... what arena?

Even if the Coyotes had been sold for a loss by Moyes, and the Phoenix situation stabilizied, Winnipeg is the only NHL-ready site right now. And given the hard-nosed attitude of ASG, it's either relocate or contract. I don't see how Balsillie's actions change that.

 

[knorthern knight]

Frankly I'll always be on Bailsille's side, because I think these rules are bullcrap, I think a guy who has the hundreds of millions to buy a team should be able to do whatever the damn well he or she pleases.

Tell that to the hockey fans of Atlanta, who lost not 1, but 2 teams because greedy owners saw a quick buck in selling their NHL franchise. While we're at it, ever heard of the Baltimore Colts?

 

[Firestorm]

Nothing but truth here.

It would only inflate his already inflated ego.

 

[nomorekids]

I understand playing by the rules, but the rules themselves are a joke.

Bailsille offers to overpay for a team and then in partnership with Hamilton and him pay to upgrade a stadium.

Bettman says he wants teams like Nashville and Phoenix to stay where they are.

Frankly I'll always be on Bailsille's side, because I think these rules are bullcrap, I think a guy who has the hundreds of millions to buy a team should be able to do whatever the damn well he or she pleases.

But that's me.

The NHL is a corporate entity. No one team or owner has more power than the sum of the whole. It's easy to think the way you do because you're, no offense, just Joe Schmuckatelli fan, and you have no idea how these things work.

If an individual McDonalds' franchisee wants to start serving McLobster, the community at large might think that's a great idea, because hey, who doesn't like lobster? But the corporate entity of McDonalds is sure to disagree, because it breaks the consistency model that makes McDonalds what it is, and what makes it EXTREMELY successful.

So yes, it is "just you." The NHL becomes a sideshow when it has rogue owners playing by their own rules. And yes, it's the NHL\BoG that took exception with Balsillie's actions. Not your figurehead "villain," Gary Bettman, that exists just to "keep good, hard-working blue-collar Canadians from the game they deserve."

If Balsillie had played by the rules and put his cart behind a horse that two, sizable farmers were deadset against having in their pasture, then I imagine he'd have a team now, or at least be as close as someone like TNSE, who has done things the right way.

Just because you think it makes more sense for a city like Hamilton to have a team than a market where no one "cares," like Nashville or Phoenix -- doesn't make it so, doesn't make the logistics correct, and doesn't make Balsillie's actions noble.

 

[King_Stannis]

Balsillie should go to Winnipeg and get a standing O. Without him Bettman would have for sured move the Thrash to KC or Vegas.

Uhh, no. If anything Balsillie probably could have soured the league on Canada in general. Fortunately Chipman and Thomson were so stand-up and looked so good in comparison that Winnipeg was always the next city up for relocation.

 

[Killion]

No one team or owner has more power than the sum of the whole.

Not quite. Within the BOG's there is indeed a hierarchy, a pecking order with a smallish cadre' calling the shots. Always has been. Through the 40's & 50's & into the 60's, Jim Norris ran the league with an Iron Fist, Clarence Campbell a Puppet, followed by another Norris protege' out of Detroit & the Wings organization in John Ziegler. The power base has shifted over the years, however for the past decade at least, Snyder of Philly, Jacobs of Boston & Anschutz/ASG out of LA rule the roost. The NHL is far from being a utopian confederation of democratic munificence.

 

[Dado]

If Gates could find a way to buy $200M of Jobs' stock, the NHL can find a way to let Balsillie back in the room. No business bridge is ever completely burned, as long as bags o'cash are crossing it.

If the move to Winnipeg says anything, it says the NHL will try anything to stave off contraction - Balsillie is one well-timed franchise blowup away from being right back in the mix.

If he isn't already...

IMO, etc.

 

[RandR]

Here are some quotes from legal testimony taken during the Phoenix bankruptcy hearings that illustrate the mistrust the current set of NHL owners has for Balsillie:

“We have just a tremendous amount of experience with Mr. Balsillie, and it hasn’t been good,†said Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, testifying at his own deposition this summer. “His memory was very selective in how he construed things. He just wasn’t somebody that we felt was really truthful and acceptable as a future partner.â€

This is from a long-standing and influential member of the BOG.

Nashville's owner Craig Leipold:

“He’s untrustworthy. He’s deceiving. He’s arrogant. He’s a person who doesn’t know how to be a partner in our business,†Leipold testified. “When there is someone that you have dealt with and that has lied to you continually, that has deceived you—knowing that he was going to deceive you at the end—that is a pretty good reason to dislike him. Yes, it is true. I do dislike the man.â€

At some points his tirade turned ominous: “This is the way [Balsillie] operates. He operates by threats, by innuendos, by phone calls to people. Quiet phone calls, and you can connect the dots.†But mostly it revolved around what Leipold viewed as Balsillie’s rank capriciousness. “This is a person,†he said, “I could never support as an owner.â€

Taken from Macleans magazine (lengthy feature story) ... http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/09/30/why-balsillie-went-ballistic/

 

[Dado]

There is much, much irony in statements like these coming from Jacobs and Leipold, both Grade A lying deceitful *******s themselves.

 

[kdb209]

There is much, much irony in statements like these coming from Jacobs and Leipold, both Grade A lying deceitful *******s themselves.

Arguably true, but those "lying deceitful *******s" are already in the Club - and they are the ones who get to pick and choose who they let in to join them.

 

[Killion]

IMO, etc.

Never say never, and I agree, Hamiltons' prospects are looking brighter as other franchises prospects grow dimmer. If not Balsillie, then someone else..... the etc part to yer post.

Nashville's owner Craig Leipold:]

Ya, ya see, a lot of people have a real problem with Craig Leipold's integrity. Its not all negative of course, I mean, he's a pretty decent High Class Grifter. I often wonder if he isnt one of Harold Ballards illegitimate offspring. One crazy night at the Chicago Hilton in 1951.... Jacobs' had some business interests to protect. These guys are pretty far from being Paragons' of Virtue.

 

[ThirdManIn]

I'm not a big fan of Leipold, either, so I can certainly see how it's the pot calling the kettle black, but Balsillie operates in a very shady way. He began his quest to purchase and move the Preds in 2005 by contacting the city financial director to inquire on the team's lease with the city, its net worth, and suggested the team was in default of its lease due to unclear language in a net worth provision. This is before he even contacted Leipold about buying the team, and it also marked the first time the City of Nashville looked into the financial situation of the Predators. A couple of days after their last contact with the city they finally made contact with Leipold about purchasing the Predators. Over the next week and a half or so, three articles appeared in the Globe and Mail discussing the financial difficulties of the team, and even going as far as to say the team might not meet its net worth requirement as outlined in the lease (this even though no one, not Rodier, Balsillie, the city of Nashville, nor the G&M had documentation that showed the team's net worth) This sparked an inquiry into the worth of the franchise by the city itself, and the city took the position that only physical assets could be included in the actual "worth" of the team. Leipold said he feels like Rodier and Balsillie were behind that extreme position. Regardless of how it began, the city used the event to withhold money from the team.

Now I understand that Nashville was in a bad spot in 2007. I understand the Leipold wasn't a very good owner at all, at least not in a market like Nashville. I get that the team was losing money, and I get that the attendance was down. However, the way he went about attempting to buy and relocate the Predators paints a clear picture of how this man operates. He didn't cause any of the team's financial issues before 2005, but he definitely used his lawyer to create conflict between the city and the team. Not only that, but he then began leaking stories to the Globe and Mail in order to drum up more support for relocating our team.

 

[nomorekids]

I'm not a big fan of Leipold, either, so I can certainly see how it's the pot calling the kettle black, but Balsillie operates in a very shady way. He began his quest to purchase and move the Preds in 2005 by contacting the city financial director to inquire on the team's lease with the city, its net worth, and suggested the team was in default of its lease due to unclear language in a net worth provision. This is before he even contacted Leipold about buying the team, and it also marked the first time the City of Nashville looked into the financial situation of the Predators. A couple of days after their last contact with the city they finally made contact with Leipold about purchasing the Predators. Over the next week and a half or so, three articles appeared in the Globe and Mail discussing the financial difficulties of the team, and even going as far as to say the team might not meet its net worth requirement as outlined in the lease (this even though no one, not Rodier, Balsillie, the city of Nashville, nor the G&M had documentation that showed the team's net worth) This sparked an inquiry into the worth of the franchise by the city itself, and the city took the position that only physical assets could be included in the actual "worth" of the team. Leipold said he feels like Rodier and Balsillie were behind that extreme position. Regardless of how it began, the city used the event to withhold money from the team.

Now I understand that Nashville was in a bad spot in 2007. I understand the Leipold wasn't a very good owner at all, at least not in a market like Nashville. I get that the team was losing money, and I get that the attendance was down. However, the way he went about attempting to buy and relocate the Predators paints a clear picture of how this man operates. He didn't cause any of the team's financial issues before 2005, but he definitely used his lawyer to create conflict between the city and the team. Not only that, but he then began leaking stories to the Globe and Mail in order to drum up more support for relocating our team.

To many posting in this thread and on these boards, the end justifies the means. While most have grudgingly accepted that Nashville might be a better market than first thought, at the time, even if all of that was publicly available, the sentiment would have been, "yeah, but....Hamilton is a better market than Nashville, so none of that matters."