CubsFanBudMan

I'm in phone, but just saw a bunch of new Quad-Cities River Bandits logos and caps:

Primary is a tweak to the bridge. BP is addition of arm and bat to existing raccoon head. New caps have retro ball logo splashing in river and another ball in a claw.

Going with the throw everything at the wall philosophy and hope there's something for everyone, apparently.

See them here:

http://twitter.com/sbatt79

And at http://twitter.com/qcriverbandits

Honestly, the problem could be Phillips 66 or any number of other companies that based their look on the 66 sign. Might not be a lot of room in that space... color-wise or otherwise.

So for the 66ers, they turned to the 76 color scheme?! What were they thinking?!

/forced outrage

I like the colors, not the mismatched 6s. I also like road signs, so would have preferred they found a way to use it. Looked more like Phillips 66 than U.S. 66, so maybe it's for the best...

Meanwhile, the NBA says Milwaukee needs a new arena. Wouldn't the NHL love that arena?

That was a good article. Thanks for sharing. I had forgotten how Buffalo's expansion bid had played out, while Tampa Bay's failed first bid remains fresh in my mind. Makes me want to visit the stadium for a Bisons game now.

I think Hughes was at his best with Santo. As a whole, it might not have been a better pure broadcast, but he was able to cover his partner's flaws fairly effortlessly, whether he played off it humorously or gently corrected it. That broadcast was more fun.

I'm not sure his pairing with Moreland was the best choice. Hughes doesn't seem like the standout he was before, but maybe that's because he doesn't have to be a one-man broadcast anymore.

Back off-topic: Arne Harris is your WGN TV guy with the kids and women concept. He deserves some credit for the aura of Cubs games that The Old Roman is referencing. And I hadn't thought about Hawk as a detriment, but I could see people getting the impression of a dull, quiet place because he goes mute like a fan when things go bad.

I liked the symmetrical layout of Comiskey better than the neo-retro contrivance with the FUNdamentals fan deck in left. Is this in any way a defensible stance or am I just going to be accused of circumlocutional Sox-hating?

So much more balanced this way, though I'll give you that blue was an odd choice (allegedly a tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers).

See, I always thought Comiskey II as pictured above was inspired by Yankee Stadium. Throw in the pinstripes and swap black for navy...

Just me?

Most of the White Sox history according to The Old Roman post seems accurate enough, but I'll tell anyone who listens that Sox Park is in a fine location. I'm not sure there was the intentional media bias for the Cubs that he suggests, although I know many Sox fans feel this way. Some even count words in the paper. From what I know of the Trib, they went out of their way to do the opposite.

And as admiral said, don't sell McDonough short. The Cubs-to-Blackhawks shift was real. Had he moved in 2005 or 2006 to the Sox, the Cell might be the place to be. The Blackhawks were all over the baseball stadiums that first summer and it paid off even before the first win. The Sox could have capitalized but didn't.

As rare as a World Series appearance is around here, let alone a title, I don't see how.

BREAKING: League-Owned Hockey Franchise Purchased By Alberta-Based Ownership Group, Will Not Move

Well... they did buy the Mallards from themselves if it was a purchase. Very NHL-like. In reality it sounds more like Boston Pizza didn't want to be league owners anymore and preferred to be team owners instead. But I digress...

LET'S MOVE THE COYOTES TO SEATTLE AND THEN EXPAND TO LAS VEGAS AND KANSAS CITY!

I mean why not at this point, really.

This was my initial thought while trying to channel the NHL. Except I had Quebec instead of Kansas City. Quebec of course would initially be Winnipegged into the West (Southeast) as a penalty for being in Canada.

People can stop worrying about this thread. This isn't even the original. That became the "celebrate Winnipeg" thread.

And just because they move doesn't mean Seattle won't be viewed as a stopgap unless the NBA expands. Key might not be a long-term fix, but it speaks to what the NHL is becoming.

If you abandon a facility built for hockey to play in NBA leftovers that are even worse for the NHL.... no one's building an arena for the NHL anytime soon. In America, anyway. Seattle has said as much. The Islanders couldn't get one, so they're headed to a modern Key.

Glendale, Sunrise, Nashville, Columbus. Any of those last 3 next on your lists by any chance?

I also wonder how the NHL being in Glendale affects the NBC deal in any way. If they require a certain level of market, yet never choose to show that market, it's a wash. Unless it's solely the NBA kind of "Oh no not San Antonio and Indiana" kind of irrational Final(s) fear.

I wish they were actually walking through a revolving door. Would bring new meaning to "going in circles."

Two years in and I don't think anyone still dwells on Atlanta (besides Thrashers fans -- sorry for your loss). Atlanta is certainly suspect as a sports market at times, and Glendale still has football and a still-shiny spring complex. Greater Phoenix will still have the other 3 majors just like Atlanta, so I think they'll survive it.

In fact, getting the NHL out and letting a real arena manager run the Job might help the actual city survive it. Hard to comprehend that that was ever a real concern.

We're getting closer to Ice Edge's target price to go it alone.

Yes. In the quoted portion it says the extra is to run the team. This group doesn't have the money to buy the Coyotes. Or run it. Sounds about right.

So... a January deadline again this time around?

Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that after trying to force the Coyotes in Glendale so long that they'd move on to forcing Seattle.

Same thing as always, but isn't Seattle saturated once basketball returns? And you have to believe it will...

Is there any demand for hockey in Seattle outside of the NHL's? I mean, the demand for the Sonics is obvious, but the passion for hockey seems to be, "bring back the Sonics and hey... we get hockey, too?"

Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders, Sonics, Coyotes...

I don't see how this is any more legit than the last 3 or 4 bids. "A few hurdles" in Coyote-speak might as well be Mount Everest. Doesn't mean this song and dance won't keep them there through this time next year, though. But asking $13-15M when $6M is budgeted seems like a deal breaker off the top. If I'm Glendale, I don't budge. And hire someone else to "manage" the arena.

Cue the Whitesnake...

Good to see you've been following along.

If it was posted here a month ago, I must have thought it was a joke. Well, it is anyway, but... my apologies.

Does Brian Stubits post here?

Report: Group nearing agreement to purchase Coyotes

By Brian Stubits | Hockey writer April 30, 2013 11:44 am ET

The NHL is reportedly nearing an agreement with a potential ownership to sell the Phoenix Coyotes.

Here we go, again.

According to Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona, Renaissance Sports and Entertainment -- headed by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc -- is working on ways of making the Coyotes a more financially stable franchise with the idea of buying the franchise that has been up for sale for years.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/eye-on-hockey/22170303/report-group-nearing-agreement-to-purchase-coyotes

It is defensible when you go to Florida Marlins games a decade ago and the usher tells you not to go to your $5 "Fish Bowl" seats in the top two rows of the upper deck because there is no one in the first 20 rows of the upper deck. "Just sit here." And I like sitting with no one behind me...

On the other side, Wrigley's aisles give section-raised people such fits. Try sitting in a seat 111 next to seat 11 and convince them that not only are you not in seat 12, but that they need to go all the way across this section past all the people they just climbed over and go find your seat across that row and another group of people (who are probably in the wrong seats, too). STHs become ushers at Cubs games.

And they just know they are right, despite the giant number on the back of my seat.

Well, at least the Marlins part was Coyote-relevant...

I did not want to go in that old thread because I expected all the mixed up "you can't see the forest for the pine needles in your eyes" comments but it was so much worse in that thread. I don't remember things getting biblical at all. Glad nobody was struck down by lightning. I had to quit after a few pages. I don't miss that irrational stuff in these Coyotes threads at all, but that was so far off the deep end it just wasn't entertaining to read for me.

Wow. Link worked yesterday (when it was tweeted out) and again when I went to find it this morning. Guess I should start pasting the whole thing. With Coyotes owners news, it's here today, gone tomorrow.

EDIT: It was still available on the tablet version, but just in case:

Courtesy Sporting News, Feb. 8, 2013

Former Arizona Attorney General and well-known Phoenix trial attorney Grant Woods is the latest name to pop up in the Phoenix Coyotes ownership drama.

Woods is working with some new and perhaps recycled bidders for the financially challenged and NHL-owned franchise

, according to officials familiar with the Coyotes machinations.

An ownership group called Ice Edge Holdings previously tried to buy the Coyotes and was most recently involved in Greg Jamison’s unsuccessful bid to buy team.

Ice Edge could now again be back in the Coyotes three-year ownership soap opera and murky future in Glendale.

Canadian oil executive and Portland Winterhawks minor league hockey team owner Bill Gallacher could also be in the mix to buy the team, according to Fox Sports Arizona.

Gallacher and Ice Edge could also work together on bid. Gallacher has pursued other NHL teams. He could keep the Coyotes in Phoenix or try to move them to Portland.

Woods served as state attorney general in the 1990s and has been a political maverick among state Republicans. He’s also involved with a number of charitable causes in the Valley including the Children’s Museum of Phoenix.

Woods did not respond to a request for comment on details of his involvement with Coyotes bidders.

Jamison missed a Jan. 31 deadline buy the team and benefit from a $308 million arena deal from the city of Glendale. That increases the odds of the Coyotes being sold and relocated to another market like Quebec City or Seattle. The former San Jose Sharks CEO could still trying to buy the Coyotes or be part of another group that buys the team.

Woods is not the only Arizona political and legal power broker in the Coyotes mix. Phoenix attorney and lobbyist John Kaites has been part on-and-off Coyotes pursuits with Chicago White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Kaites declined comment on the current Coyotes situation.

The NHL bought the team out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 for $140 million. The league wants between $170 million and $175 million from a Phoenix buyer.

I read this yesterday, came back last night expecting to see some updates here, but there weren't and I didn't have the URL. Forgive me if this is old news:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2013-02-08/phoenix-coyotes-sale-grant-woods-bill-gallacher-portland-hockey-team-seattleaa?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The NEW names to know in the Phoenix Coyotes ownership drama:

Grant Woods (an ex-attorney general?)

Bill Gallacher (Portland WinterHawks owner who may or may not want to keep the team in Phoenix)

But wait, there's more... names you know:

Ice Edge is involved

Some of the Jerry Reinsdorf group partners

I'm not sure who goes with what, but I figured it doesn't matter since this is likely all a farce anyway. But there it is for the record.

In Seattle, the NHL would definitely be #4, maybe even #5 behind MLS.

They'd definitely trail the Sounders in popularity. The city's crazy for that team.

I think this answers why an expansion team's value would be much higher in the two Canadian cities. Seattle is desperate to land an NBA team, as evidenced by Hansen's willingness to overpay for the Kings. They could take or leave the NHL, which has had designs on Seattle for the Coyotes for years now, as mentioned/rumored in these threads.