HedleyLamarr

Detroit might depend on the Red Wings for 'success' (despite the Tigers playing in two recent World Series, the Lions making the playoffs a couple year ago, and the Pistons having won an NBA title in the last decade), Detroit is first and foremost a football town. The Lions and college football are king there.

He does have plenty of faults, but I doubt Bettman would allow a move to Seattle unless all parties involved are sure that the Key Arena can make ice. I haven't seen their calendar, but as long as there was a few days to a week of no events, that's plenty of time to test out the ice-making capabilities as well as all the particulars that go into keeping/maintaining ice and an NHL-quality climate in the arena. For all we know, the NHL could have been testing these various conditions days/weeks/months ago......

In how many American markets with 3+ "top four+" teams (even the hockey hotbeds) does the NHL team have a legit claim in being #1 or #2? I mean, the Bruins are an Original 6 team, but they'll never be bigger than the Red Sox or Celtics. Nor would the Blackhawks ever be bigger than the Cubs/White Sox and Bears.

It may not be until close to July (when the playoffs end). Bettman wasn't too happy that word was getting out about True North's purchasing of the Thrashers was close to being finalized while the Stanley Cup Final was about to begin. He didn't like another league news story interfering with the playoffs going on......

Someone that joined barely a week ago wouldn't (more like shouldn't) know about a longtime-running .jpeg response to a realignment-based post.

I smell a rat!!!!

Possible last Coyotes game in Glendale tonight? I think we'll hear some concrete news soon about their future. Bettman has his faults, but he knows better than to have a team announce relocation plans while said team still has home dates left on the schedule. After tonight, that domino falls.

I'm going to preface this by saying that I've been an employee for professional sports teams for a decade. There is absolutely no argument that you can make that makes your stance acceptable. This is simply a debate you're going to lose. You are, indeed, hurting somebody by not sitting in your ticketed seats. More like, you're enhancing the possibility of someone getting hurt by sitting in someone else's seat. Ushers not just direct people to their seats, they're also constantly scanning their sections for disruptive behavior. These ushers are the unbiased pairs of eyes that are making sure that everyone in their designated sections is getting to enjoy the game. When those not sitting in their ticketed seats cause a problem because of seat location, getting the usher involved to settle an argument that's needless takes away from the safety of everyone in that usher's viewing area. You're creating a needless hassle by both the usher and those that have the ticketed seats you're sitting in. You are also causing a disturbance. It doesn't matter how long you're being a disturbance. You're causing people to miss 20 seconds of a game that they paid good money for. A lot can happen in 20 seconds, whether it's baseball or hockey, etc. You're creating a possibility of someone missing "the moment" of the game, all because you didn't sit in your ticketed seat. You're also causing yourself to miss some of the game because you're moving around from seat to seat. I feel no sympathy for your seat location. Whether it's a partial or full season ticket holder, you should have gotten the opportunity to pick your own seats. That's on you.

There's nothing more bothersome about attending games than idiot fans sitting in seats that don't belong to them. Not only do you tick off the people that have those ticketed seats, you also piss off those sitting a few rows behind you, as you obstruct their view of the game while you get up and move. Sit in your damn ticketed seat.

Just so the realigned divisions will stay the same, I expect the Coyotes to move to Seattle instead of Quebec City. If the Coyotes do go to Quebec City, will the NHL scrap the proposed realignment, or will they ask Detroit and/or Columbus to stay in the West?

Phoenix's version of "The Balkan"?

What staff and security? Unless things are different in Philadelphia than any other major city I've been to, there's little-to-no security for downtown parking lots (and those with security are either with always-private lots or individual companies hiring security for public lots that are owned by someone else), and many lot attendants are being replaced with a pay-box, and Muhammed Jones comes by every half-hour or hour to check up on these lots.

For what it's worth, Atlanta is as close or even closer to Chicago and Indianapolis than Washington, DC (Maryland) and Piscataway, NJ (Rutgers) are....so the "lengthy travel times" argument holds no water.

Who's the one that said "I want them to go bye-bye."?

I've explained many times that I have a varied taste, but whatever floats your boat, man. Yeah.....the opposite direction of whichever way the wind is blowing. A contrarian just for contrarian's sake.....

You must've not seen the PSU/Iowa game when I was a freshman at Penn State in 2004.Iowa 6, Penn State 4. No joke. Yeah, but you walked across campus to attend that game. I drove all night from Atlanta to Memphis to watch that joke of a game.

That's pretty neat, actually. And if it garners any extra tickets sold, it's better than none. No matter what game you buy tickets to, you run the risk of the game being a stinker. I've driven 7 hours to Tampa (and 7 hours back, all in the same 24-hour span) to see the Thrashers lose 7-1, and I've driven 6 hours to Memphis directly after a full workday with the Thrashers for a UGA football bowl game the next afternoon, a game where the team wasn't too interested in playing the postseason game and lost 10-6 in what's easily the ugliest football game I've ever seen, either in person or on TV.

Which frankly was still better than what they've got now. I'm starting to wonder if that's not the only way to save NHL hockey in Phoenix, send them back downtown. If the Islanders can play at Barclay's Center there's no reason the Coyotes can't do the same. Particularly when it would solve one of the franchise's worst problems with the location of Glendale. Don't have me re-hash the reasons why the owner of an arena wouldn't be so interested in a hockey team (especially when they already house a basketball team). Please do actually. I'd be interested why the owner of the US Airways Arena (the city of Phoenix) wouldn't want another tenant in their venue. http://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/81108-phoenix-coyotes-drain-circling-thread/page__st__760#entry1766499

Which frankly was still better than what they've got now. I'm starting to wonder if that's not the only way to save NHL hockey in Phoenix, send them back downtown. If the Islanders can play at Barclay's Center there's no reason the Coyotes can't do the same. Particularly when it would solve one of the franchise's worst problems with the location of Glendale. Don't have me re-hash the reasons why the owner of an arena wouldn't be so interested in a hockey team (especially when they already house a basketball team).

Scratch out Boise State. The Big XII didn't want them when they were at their most desperate of times. Why would they want them now?

Adding Georgia Tech for expansion's sake is foolish. Adding Georgia Tech to gain a media foothold in "College Football's Unofficial Capital" isn't foolish at all. I'm pretty sure the Big Ten and the Big XII would love to add Georgia Tech when the timing's right. Keep in mind that the College Football Hall of Fame is set to open in Atlanta in 2014. Should the Falcons build their new stadium and the Georgia Dome still be standing concurrently, it's not out of the realm of thought that Atlanta can become a host city for a second conference's championship game. These could be two factors that lead to either conference extending an invite for Georgia Tech.

Atlanta Spirit was hell-bent on selling the Thrashers to a prospective owner that did not intend on home Thrashers games being played at Philips Arena. The Thrashers were selling out numerous games and turning a profit each year Ted Turner owned the team.

The MAC isn't a power league.

From what I remember, the Virginia Legislature wouldn't oppose Virginia and Virginia Tech splitting up as much if one were to join the SEC and the other to join the Big Ten. Supposedly, if they were to expand again, the SEC would target NC State first. NC State is in a Texas A&M-like situation, where they would love to get out of the large shadow of the #1 state school and create their own identity...history be damned.