Michael Wilbon - Owners Win, Hockey Loses

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Nightslyr

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chiavsfan said:
More BS rhetoric from a PA guy

What about Goodenow not even apologizing to the fans, until he was basically told to do so by a reporter?
Dude, Wilbon isn't even a hockey guy. I doubt he could pick Jeremy Roenick out of a lineup.
 

neelynugs

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John Flyers Fan said:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30827-2005Feb16.html

There was one moment of stupefying arrogance during Gary Bettman's news conference yesterday when the NHL commissioner, moments after announcing the cancellation of the season, said with the straightest of faces, "I don't have any concerns that the fans will come back."

:lol:
keep believing it buddy...bettman apologized profusely to the fans, and said the league would have to "win us back"
goodenow thumbed his nose at us and told us all to go play in traffic. fans, what fans? $$$$$$$$$$$ :shakehead
 

nedved93

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chiavsfan said:
More BS rhetoric from a PA guy

What about Goodenow not even apologizing to the fans, until he was basically told to do so by a reporter?
i've noticed this seems to be a typical debating tactic here - a member posts an article contrary to another member's position, that member resorts to ad hominem attacks in response to the article.

i wonder, did you even read the article in its entirety or did you simply dismiss it because it criticized mr. bettman? if so, i'd like for you to post an excerpt that you particularly found to be disagreeable.
 

GKJ

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Wilbon is not even a hockey guy. It sounds like he might be on to something, but his hockey opinions is hardly something I would call logical.


There will be markets that the fans will not be there. Rod Brind'Amour said it best, they're trying to build a market in Carolina and they can't do it.
 

SPARTAKUS*

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John Flyers Fan said:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30827-2005Feb16.html

There was one moment of stupefying arrogance during Gary Bettman's news conference yesterday when the NHL commissioner, moments after announcing the cancellation of the season, said with the straightest of faces, "I don't have any concerns that the fans will come back."
Bettman is right the fans will come back, because 75% of the fans support the owners.
 

GKJ

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OTTSENS said:
Bettman is right the fans will come back, because 75% of the fans support the owners.


Maybe in the north they will.


I would have a hard time beleive that most teams in the south would ever have their fanbases close to where they were this past season.
 

nedved93

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OTTSENS said:
Bettman is right the fans will come back, because 75% of the fans support the owners.
is that so?

i wonder if the fans will come back in the following markets:

nashville
anaheim
carolina
pittsburg
buffalo
florida
tampa bay
san jose
phoenix
atlanta
columbus
new jersey

i wonder if the fans will come back in the NHL's most critical market, new york? as someone who lives 15 miles outside of the city, i can provide an emphatic NO to that question.
 

Jaded-Fan

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Nightslyr said:
Dude, Wilbon isn't even a hockey guy. I doubt he could pick Jeremy Roenick out of a lineup.


Does anyone else see the irony of using an article to support your point, then saying that you doubt that the writer of said article could pick Jeremy Roenick out of a lineup? Granted, the writer was commenting on his perceptions of one press conference, which btw, judging from the responses on this board the hockey fans, even those who hate Bettman, thought Bettman did a wonderful job with and gained points with them. Said writer obviously has no real knowledge of the background of what has been going on for the past half year, the writer of this post said as much.

So whose opinions am I to find most credible, those from this board who know hockey and who almost unanimously, even the PA supporters, even the Bettman haters, gave Bettman props for what he said yesterday? Or a guy who could not pick Jeremy Roenick out of a lineup?
 

John Flyers Fan

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Jaded-Fan said:
Does anyone else see the irony of using an article to support your point, then saying that you doubt that the writer of said article could pick Jeremy Roenick out of a lineup?


What point? I poseted links to about 10 different aricles. Almost all were columns (opinions) from around the country.
 

Jaded-Fan

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nedved93 said:
is that so?

i wonder if the fans will come back in the following markets:

nashville
anaheim
carolina
pittsburg
buffalo
florida
tampa bay
san jose
phoenix
atlanta
columbus
new jersey

i wonder if the fans will come back in the NHL's most critical market, new york? as someone who lives 15 miles outside of the city, i can provide an emphatic NO to that question.

I can comment from Pittsburgh. This traditional union town was viciously in the owners corner. Mostly I think because of being sold down the river by baseball, and the parallels are too hard to ignore. There is great interest in hockey in Pittsburgh, and I think a big need to send a message by supporting the owners in the NHL when hockey comes back. The talk shows are filled with hockey talk, look how many Pens fans post here. Add to it the fact that the Pens seem to have the underpinnings of a bright future, new arena is pretty much guarenteed with the slots license already approved, great talent on the verge of coming up headed by Malkin, Fleury, Orpik and dare I say it, Crosby/Brule. The Pens could sell that new arena out most nights, they sold out most of the seats in the Civic Arena not so long ago. I have no idea what will happen in those other cities, but Pens fans will come back and support the team in large numbers.
 

Jaded-Fan

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John Flyers Fan said:
What point? I poseted links to about 10 different aricles. Almost all were columns (opinions) from around the country.


This thread was pointless then? Ok, you got me there. ;)
 

nedved93

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Jaded-Fan said:
I can comment from Pittsburgh. This traditional union town was viciously in the owners corner. Mostly I think because of being sold down the river by baseball, and the parallels are too hard to ignore. There is great interest in hockey in Pittsburgh, and I think a big need to send a message by supporting the owners in the NHL when hockey comes back. The talk shows are filled with hockey talk, look how many Pens fans post here. Add to it the fact that the Pens seem to have the underpinnings of a bright future, new arena is pretty much guarenteed with the slots license already approved, great talent on the verge of coming up headed by Malkin, Fleury, Orpik and dare I say it, Crosby/Brule. The Pens could sell that new arena out most nights, they sold out most of the seats in the Civic Arena not so long ago. I have no idea what will happen in those other cities, but Pens fans will come back and support the team in large numbers.
well i hope so because unlike most of the recent expansion clubs, pittsburg has a fairly robust tradition...
 

Jaded-Fan

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nedved93 said:
well i hope so because unlike most of the recent expansion clubs, pittsburg has a fairly robust tradition...


Thanks for the kind thoughts our way. No guarentees, but things definately are looking good.
 

nedved93

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Jaded-Fan said:
Thanks for the kind thoughts our way. No guarentees, but things definately are looking good.
i can also tell you this. as a rangers fan, i am more than willing to see a percentage of the revenue i contribute to my team, go to help your club as it attempts to re-emerge from despair. that would most certainly NOT apply to clubs situated in markets that clearly cannot support them or have any interest in them.

nashville
florida
atlanta
anaheim
buffalo
carolina

in my judgement, the NHL has no business operating in these markets.
 

Flukeshot

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Does anyone else ever watch Wilbon of "Pardon The Interuption"? He is the hockey guy and often defends the sport against Tony Kornheiser (sp?). Sure it isn't his specialty but he cares more then most American sportsreporters do about hockey. Does it even matter if he is a "hockey guy"? I think it is better to gage the opinion of the damage to the league from non-hockeycentrics.

If a casual fan says there is damage to the game, then dammit there is damage to the game! The opinion of non-hockey men is always being badmouthed by fans and players and at times I'm sure owners and GMs too. Players mocked Bettman for not being a hockey guy, does that matter, NO, because he is looking after a the business of the NHL during negotiations and he IS a business guy.

I agree with Wilbon that he needs to go, and Goodenow, so that when the NHL starts about again, it really does come back fresh and on a clean slate.

And I'm not sure if it was sarcasm but...
PTI has had Roenick on a before so I'd guess Wilbon knows who he is. To randomly assume otherwise is disrespectful.

Finally I prevent a Columbus fan from having to come on and say it. Why do people think that Columbus is a bad market? It had great attendence and is the only game in town, I don't see hockey slipping too badly there. Buffalo is another traditional hockey town that hasn't had attendence issues really, just ownership. I'll allow others to defend the markets I know less about.
 

Jaded-Fan

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nedved93 said:
i can also tell you this. as a rangers fan, i am more than willing to see a percentage of the revenue i contribute to my team, go to help your club as it attempts to re-emerge from despair. that would most certainly NOT apply to clubs situated in markets that clearly cannot support them or have any interest in them.

nashville
florida
atlanta
anaheim
buffalo
carolina

in my judgement, the NHL has no business operating in these markets.


Again, thanks for the kind thoughts, and hopefully the Pens with the new arena, etc will be a contributor, not a taker. But I disagree on those other markets. With rule changes, especially enforcing rules to eliminate as much as possible clutch and grab, increase scoring with smaller goalie pads (remember the NBA almost lets players walk from midcourt because it increases scoriung), a new CBA that has a Cap, I want to give the NHL a reasonable try to grow. I am convinced that the sport is fundementally good enough to become one of the top four if they get their act together, a new CBA the major part of that. They seemed on the verge of a breakthrough not that long ago, early and mid-90's they were the hot and upcoming sport. To abandon those teams, contract significantly, would be to forever give up any hope of being thought of in even the same startosphere as the NBA, MLB and NFL. I think we belong there much more than where we would end up with that contraction, in the same league with women's basketball, poker and bowling.

Let all of the teams see what they can do under the new system.
 
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Sotnos

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nedved93 said:
nashville
florida
atlanta
anaheim
buffalo
carolina

in my judgement, the NHL has no business operating in these markets.
As a southern fan, I'm used to getting trashed and don't much care about people who don't have any respect for me as a fan, but I've gotta ask...BUFFALO??? What's wrong with Buffalo?!
 

joechip

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Sotnos said:
As a southern fan, I'm used to getting trashed and don't much care about people who don't have any respect for me as a fan, but I've gotta ask...BUFFALO??? What's wrong with Buffalo?!

How do you think I feel? A Sabres fan who lives in Florida?

The NHL can exist in whatever market they choose. By virtue of those choices they will have to then create an economic framework by which those choices will be viable.

If the players don't want to play in Buffalo, then play in another league, because the NHL has stated that they will not be removing teams from their organization to satisfy the salary/comfort whims of the NHLPA.

Ta,
 

JimEIV

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I'm a PA guy....I'm a owner guy.....Blah, Blah......Nobody cares and the league is going to be crippled over this........It took Major League Baseball 5 years to get back to pre-strike levels.....It took Sossa and McGuire to get into an epic home run race to gather interest back......Who is the McGuire or Sossa in the NHL???? Pleassse.....This game is dead for 5 to 10 years........No major TV deal, merchandising stinks, and the gate reciepts is ALL they got! So what happens when some teams have to play infront of 6 to 8 thousand people next year or whenever hockey starts, and when that does happen, and it will, how long will it go on for???

The league and the players are drasticly underestimating the effect this going to have.
 

Sotnos

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joechip said:
How do you think I feel? A Sabres fan who lives in Florida?
But you're in Gainesville, a very nice little city, and you can have Center Ice, so life must be pretty good. Hockey and you're not freezing your butt off, the best of both worlds! :D

(You're not the guy who brings his HUGE Buffalo flag to wave around at Bolts games are you? God he's annoying!)

The NHL can exist in whatever market they choose. By virtue of those choices they will have to then create an economic framework by which those choices will be viable.
Agreed. People who make these blanket denouncements of markets they obviously know nothing about really get on my nerves. But I guess if people want to live in the past that's their problem!
 

SuperNintendoChalmrs

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Michael Wilbon + Involvement with ESPN = Too much flash and dash..... :lol

Read Dupont's article on boston.com today. Let us try and stick with the hockey writers if possible.


John Flyers Fan said:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30827-2005Feb16.html

There was one moment of stupefying arrogance during Gary Bettman's news conference yesterday when the NHL commissioner, moments after announcing the cancellation of the season, said with the straightest of faces, "I don't have any concerns that the fans will come back."
 
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