NHL named Sports League of the year

[LadyStanley]

NHLKerry
NHL COO John Collins accepting award for Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Awards http://yfrog.com/hsegazfj

Click to read more...

 

[Retail1LO*]

LOL

The other leagues were in that bad of shape, huh?

TKO

 

[JohnLennon]

While I do not know the nature of the awards, this can't be anything but good news. Well done, NHL!

 

[jessebelanger]

Is Collins a candidate for next commish? I know that's a ways off - but I've been seeing his name pop up all over recently. He seems to be behind some of the NHL's more successful ventures(winter classic, sponsorship deals).

 

[obsenssive*]

LOL

The other leagues were in that bad of shape, huh?

TKO

I also thought that. it must be the NHL's intangibles which separated it from the rest.

 

[Roomtemperature]

LOL

The other leagues were in that bad of shape, huh?

TKO

NFL is in a lockout, MLB had attendance and I'm pretty sure Series ratings down, NBA is heading to a lockout and the mass of talent heading to a cluster of teams couldn't have helped the lower level teams. The NHL had ratings grow, new TV deal and to be fair I don't know what the overall attendance did as a league

 

[cbcwpg]

NHLKerry
NHL COO John Collins accepting award for Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Awards http://yfrog.com/hsegazfj

I guess you get this by stopping relocation at all costs?

 

[Killion]

Is Collins a candidate for next commish...

Yes, the NHL actually does hire smarter people than Gary Bettman jesse'.

 

[King Woodballs]

All i can say is... How?

 

[bictron]

All i can say is... How?

Surprised as hell.

 

[LadyStanley]

Press release:

http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.co...1/05/nhl-named-sports-league-of-the-year.html

NHL won over MLS, UFC, NFL and NBA

The Award caps an amazing year for the NHL, both on and off the ice. The League leveraged its big event and digital media strategy to achieve significant revenue growth for the fourth consecutive year, breaking records in TV ratings, merchandise sales and traffic to NHL.com.

 

[Frank Booth]

John Collins-smart? Yeah, he's smart alright. He knows how to be in the right place at the right time and do nothing. He couldn't run the Cleveland Browns, let alone run the NHL. He did nothing but collect a (large) paycheck. The NFL was glad to get rid of him when he came to the Browns, and the Browns quickly realized what he was good at, running up his expense account, and taking credit for what others have done. But in the NHL, they promote you for that. The Browns quickly tossed him out in the trash, which is where the NHL picked him up, off the curb. But if the NHL BOG truly wants a vapid puppet as commissioner, he's the man.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/...rnal-names-nhl-pro-sports-league-of-the-year/

PHT/NBC on the award

 

[danishh]

is this a "thank you for upholding our right to choose our owners and locations" award?

 

[Alex The Loyal]

Well, let's see...

MLB: Disgusting lack of parity and insane salaries and no replay
NBA: Little parity, no salary cap
NFL: Still best league in North America, but lockout is a demon
NHL: All is well if you don't count Phoenix and Atlanta
UFL:
MLS: Soccer isn't that big in North America anyways

So yeah, the NHL isn't really flying or anything

 

[not a trapdoor]

NBA: Little parity, no salary cap

Well, there is a salary cap, but with about 50,000 exceptions to the soft cap & then if a franchise chooses to exceed it, they pay a luxury tax, which isn't the best disincentive.

Your basic point is still valid of course - the salary cap doesn't do enough to promote competitiveness. They're trying to bring in a hard cap, which would address the parity issue nicely, but the players are dead against it & a lockout might not be far away.

If they do manage to get a hard cap like in the NHL, then it'll do wonders for the league's parity. Teams like Milwaukee & Memphis - as it stands - have no chance of winning the league. Ever. Can you imagine how much harder a team like the Coyotes (yes, I chose them on purpose) would find marketing themselves if they couldn't sell the dream of a Stanley cup? That's where many of the smaller market NBA franchises find themselves. So yeah the NHL as is in a superior position in this respect.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Well, here's my exact reaction from the topic on the league board:

I think that's probably more of an indication that the other leagues are having down years, haha. The NFL's locked out, the NBA will lock out (and likely lose games next season), half of the MLB is playing in front of empty or unusually low capacity crowds, and nobody gives a crap about soccer outside the Pacific Northwest, so the NHL's situation just doesn't look as bad as it used to.

I stand by that.

 

[Jeremy Hronek]

Well, let's see...

MLB: Disgusting lack of parity and insane salaries and no replay
NBA: Little parity, no salary cap
NFL: Still best league in North America, but lockout is a demon
NHL: All is well if you don't count Phoenix and Atlanta
UFL:
MLS: Soccer isn't that big in North America anyways

So yeah, the NHL isn't really flying or anything

The MLB has got a decent amount of parity, just very few teams that make the playoffs so it looks that way. Secondly, It is UFC not UFL.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

World Series Champions since 2000

Yankees
Diamondbacks
Angels
Marlins
Red Sox
White Sox
Cardinals
Phillies
Giants

9 champions in 11 seasons. STOP SAYING BASEBALL HAS NO PARITY! YOU ARE JUST WRONG!

/rant

 

[wsoxfan1214]

I don't think he means different Champions as much as how huge the gap is between the first and last place teams each season. The teams up front and in back can change, but the gaps that develop tend to be larger than in any other league.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Hey, something good happened! Let's all tear it down!

 

[Dominator13]

World Series Champions since 2000

Yankees
Diamondbacks
Angels
Marlins
Red Sox
White Sox
Cardinals
Phillies
Giants

9 champions in 11 seasons. STOP SAYING BASEBALL HAS NO PARITY! YOU ARE JUST WRONG!

/rant

It's still always the same teams that go in the post season, minus the Red Sox/ Rays fight for best 2nd team.

I'm really, REALLY it beat the UFC though. I've never a sport grow so rapidely with such a unique and new Marketing strategy.

Congratulations to the NHL though.

 

[Evil Doctor]

Hey, something good happened! Let's all tear it down!

Well it's not like they won an Academy Award or the Nobel Peace Prize...

 

[KevFu]

I would be extremely interested to see a "Business of MLB / NBA / NFL" forum somewhere like this one is for hockey. Because the other sports have the same issues (or worse) than the NHL.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Well it's not like they won an Academy Award or the Nobel Peace Prize...

If those are really your standards for NHL greatness, then it's no wonder that the league gets so much unfair criticism around here.

To the topic - good on the NHL; nice to see some good recognition.