DaytonBlue

This would be good if the Coyotes stay put. I would think they would have to be staying put for awhile or going after this season. I think the NHL is about finished with owning the team. And surely they wouldn't want WPG stuck in the Southeast for another year while they sort out Phoenix.

My NHL with PHX to QUE Pacific: VAN, SJ, LA, ANA, COL Plains: CAL, EDM, DAL, MIN, WPG Central: STL, CHI, DET, CBJ, NAS Northeast: BOS, QUE, MTL, TOR, OTT Atlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PHI, BUF Southeast: PIT, WAS, CAR, TB, FL I would change the season format to the format of the NBA. This would ensure everyone travels to every arena, minimize the west coast travel for DET/CBJ, and reduce the complaining for teams separated from old division rivals. Division teams: 4 games=16 Interconference: 2 games=30 Intraconference: 36 games (3 or 4 times each on rotating basis) I imagine VAN, PIT, and maybe BOS would have complaints.

Behind closed doors, all put pressure on Gary Bettman (the commissioner of the NHL) that the league will cease to invest millions so as to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix. Many say they don't want to put any more money down there. Semi-related: no one has closed on the Blues sale yet, so the NHL is still funding and operating them, too. I believe the Blues are still being funded by Dave Checketts and his investors. His investors want out, but last I heard were willing to wait on a sale? Did something change that I missed? It still worries me that a team like the Blues, which always draws well when they are trying, playing in a still relatively modern building the team completely controls (they technically lease it from the city but they control), still loses money unless they at least win a playoff series.

NHL 2013-14...5 division format...moving PHX to QUE Pacific: VAN, EDM, CAL, SJ, ANA, LA Central: COL, CHI, MIN, DAL, WIN, STL Eastern: DET, CBJ, TB, FLA, CAR, NAS Atlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PHI, PIT, WAS Northeast: TOR, MON, OTT, QUE, BOS, BUF Pros of this setup: -DET and CBJ get to play more ET games. -VAN stays with EDM and CAL -DAL gets to play more CT games. -The Atlantic stays together. -Many more possibilities for Stanley Cup Final match-ups. play your division 6x=30 games play everyone else 2x=48 games play one additional game against non-division teams with same rank from last season=4 games Playoffs Division winners+11 wild cards qualify. Teams are grouped geographically (kind of like the NCAA basketball tournament) The 8 westernmost teams by longitude are placed in the Campbell Playoff Bracket. The 8 easternmost teams are placed in the Price of Wales Playoff Bracket. Division winners are seeded first in their respective playoffs followed by wild cards. Teams in the central part of the continent could be in one bracket or the other depending on how the standings shake out. Then playoffs proceed as they are now, except that if teams are traveling more than one time zone the series is played in a 2-3-2 format.

It was Keith Tkachuk night and his number was added to the Coyotes' ring of honor. I think they did it when the Blues were there since he played in STL for awhile also. Keith noted the crowds at America West Arena (U.S. Airways Center). It's ironic that if they still played there (supposedly I read about a plan to renovate it to have 16K seats with unobstructed views) they'd probably not be on the moving block.

I will also add the Seattle Sounders FC success may have also been IN PART because of the Sonics move, kind of a "screw you David and Clay, we support pro sports".

I'm surprised there hasn't been a little more talk for Kansas City, if only because when the Sprint Center opened the city was clamoring for an anchor tenant. I read in one article that the building wasn't doing too bad, but I would still think an anchor tenant is key. A Blues/Scouts rivalry would be fun. IMHO, Houston would only have a shot if Les Alexander decided to go for a team again. But I haven't heard anything except the quotes above, which go back to 2005. Seattle: no consideration until they get a new arena...Key Arena not even good temporarily because of basketball only sightlines. I have to think the Coyotes situation will be settled one way or another after this season. Glendale can't keep subsidizing losses and the NHL can't keep owning the team...and for this reason I believe they are going to Quebec City. But then again everyone thought they were going back to WPG at this time last year.

I'd also say the longer we don't hear what the NHL intends to do about reel-line-mint, the more likely it is the Coyotes are going somewhere. Obviously if they go to the East, Detroit and Columbus would almost certainly have to stay West.

This might work if they went to 32 teams. 8 team divisions. Division champions plus two wildcards. LDS round best of 7, division champion hosts games 1-2 AND 5-7, giving them a bigger advantage than the wildcards.

Memphis is strictly a one major league sport town at best. Not enough wealth and companies around here to support more than one. FedEx and AutoZone already sponsor everything from the bowl game to the golf tournament. As far as expansion teams for MLB, I think only Portland is realistic. Maybe Charlotte. I still think Montreal could come back in 20 years or so once Bud is gone. Of course they'd need a stadium. 32 teams would make for nice even divisions and not requiring interleague everyday. It might also be a way (the only way) to get rid of the DH. Hey union, we'll add two teams but DH goes away.

I wonder if all this ownership stuff is going to lead us to a very simple DET to WIN division trade as a stopgap two or three year solution until we figure out where a few franchises will be playing long-term.

I'd let both DET and CBJ go to the East. Yes that gives us 16 East and 14 West. But I'd drop East and West during the regular season and just have four divisions. Then in the playoffs the top 16 teams qualify. The 8 Westernmost teams by longitude are seeded 1-8 in the Western Conference Bracket. The 8 Easternmost teams by longitude are seeded 1-8 in the Eastern Conference Bracket. So yes teams like my Blues could play in the East playoffs one year and the West the next. -Division winners cannot be seeded lower than 4th. -If a playoff series is played between two teams 2 or more time zones apart, the series is played in a 2-3-2 format. The only negative I could see is playoff rivalries being diminished if teams like CHI, STL, MIN are bounced back and forth between conference playoff brackets based on where the good teams are clustered in a given year. It would then be less likely to see rematches in the playoffs as often. However, most everyone is excited for playoff games regardless of who we're playing. A workaround for this could be to reseed the teams as one group when we get down to four (the current conference final round). That would make it possible for any two teams to face-off in the semifinal or final. I imagine a Boston-Montreal final would be pretty awesome.

I'm surprised ECU is so low on the wish list. They actually fit geographically and the last 5 years have had a strong bowl presence. Did I interpret this as Memphis being a backup for football only? That would be nuts.

Morgantown is not 2 hours from PIT, but more like 45-60 minutes.

My question for teams like the Stars and Blues is this...In both cases the arena/arena lease goes with the purchase. Would moving the Stars and then keeping half of the AAC work out financially? Or would he just sell it to Cuban? Regardless, I'm pulling for the Stars to stay. Because if it happens to them, it could happen to the Blues. I love that all my pro teams not in the World Series today have constant talk about relocation. It's unlikely but frustrating to think about.

Going from some Twitter reports, BYU is back in the running as favorite. They'll have to decide on 10 or 12 for next season. When they decide to go 12, it's expected that all those schools would be invited and probably would join. With TCU, they could only take 3 to get to 12. I would think Cincinnati is the last choice, but isn't BYU enjoying independence? However, this is somewhat respectable: East: WVU, Cincy, Louisville, Iowa St., Kansas, K-State West: TX Tech, Texas, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma, Ok-State If this happens, doesn't Rutgers and UCONN go running to the ACC begging for a spot and then we say night night to Big East Football? Give the Mountain USA champion a BCS spot and maybe then this madness can stop. Then Big East basketball could merge with or take the good teams from the Atlantic 10 and have a beast of a basketball conference. And Notre Dame has a place to park its non-football sports. So, whoever wins the Red River Rivalry would be the team coming out of the West? To be honest, I don't see how a Kansas State or West Virginia deserves to get a Big XII Championship spot when they play Louisville, Cinci, and Iowa State. That competition doesn't seem to pan out compared to Texas, Texas Christian, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. That's how it's been when the Big 12 was north and south. A North team last won the conference in 2003 (K-State). Not saying it's right, but I'd be surprised if they would configure it on anything besides geography with a conference spanning that kind of distance.

Then I think they end up staying indy. Right now I would think they can count on playing USC, Stanford, Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue, and all 3 service academies if they wanted. That leaves them 4 games to fill. Probably wouldn't be the toughest schedule many years, but if they want to stay independent they'll do it.

Good points, but wouldn't Notre Dame still be able to find decent teams willing to play them even if the current agreements are thrown out? Of course they may not all be East Coast, especially if ACC went to a 9 game schedule. So the question is will ND be willing to sacrifice $$$ to stay independent.

Surprisingly, my research on the Panthers shows their ownership to be content with targeting Northern Snowbirds to see their team on the road. Also, they control the BankAtlantic Center which itself is profitable.

The Blues have a verbal agreement with Hulsizer. I think with him controlling the arena, the new Peabody Operahouse opening (attached to the Scottrade Center), and him living an hour plane ride away in Chicago, that the Blues aren't going anywhere. At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself. The Stars are in a planned bankruptcy, and a guy in Vancouver is the only one who has shown interest. He also gets half of the AAC, which is not as lucrative if he moves the Stars. So I think they will be fine. In Columbus, the city is taking casino revenue, buying Nationwide Arena, and Nationwide insurance will then take that money and invest in the team. This locks the Blue Jackets into Columus until 2039. So Gary, just move the Coyotes already to Quebec City and be done with it.

Going from some Twitter reports, BYU is back in the running as favorite. They'll have to decide on 10 or 12 for next season. When they decide to go 12, it's expected that all those schools would be invited and probably would join. With TCU, they could only take 3 to get to 12. I would think Cincinnati is the last choice, but isn't BYU enjoying independence? However, this is somewhat respectable: East: WVU, Cincy, Louisville, Iowa St., Kansas, K-State West: TX Tech, Texas, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma, Ok-State If this happens, doesn't Rutgers and UCONN go running to the ACC begging for a spot and then we say night night to Big East Football? Give the Mountain USA champion a BCS spot and maybe then this madness can stop. Then Big East basketball could merge with or take the good teams from the Atlantic 10 and have a beast of a basketball conference. And Notre Dame has a place to park its non-football sports.

The way i see it, if Big East football ends up falling apart (latest reports having BSU and Air Force saying no thank you), it helps the BCS greatly. They simply let the Mountain USA champ take the BE BCS spot and call it a day. The MAC, WAC (now that Boise is gone), and Sun Belt do not have teams that could really make a gripe about not being in a BCS game. But this would hurt the chances of a playoff ever happening, IMO.

Thanks for the pic. It's almost as if their approaching it like the Seattle Sounders did with being "promoted" to MLS.

PROTIP: ESPN is a rather considerable financial stakeholder in the continued viability of the Big XII by virtue of its ownership of both first tier TV rights and the third tier rights of certain programs that shall remain nameless. That is going to slant their editorial bias towards arguing that Missouri should stay, because the Big XII isn't viable if it keeps losing members. Good point.

OK, this is crazy... Would anyone in TB ever consider giving the Rays Steinbrenner Field site and have the Yankees move spring ops to St. Pete. Is there room to expand Steinbrenner field? I would think it would have enough parking with Ray Jay right there. St. Pete is closer to the beaches so I think Yankees spring training tourists would like that.