rams80

Wait I hadn't even thought about how Vegas would be a catastrophe because of the trouble the players would get in. Oh crap.

We've found the one ostensibly major US market that makes Phoenix look good, haven't we.

Walker has a point. Ivan's economy is imploding and will be completely cratered by 2018. Of course World War Three will likely have erupted before then, so....

Or assign conference playoff spots and seeding entirely on point totals. No automatic seeds/playoff bids even for division champions. The great sport of HOCKEY is not exactly hitting new markets with this move.

And the Sharks only see young players as trade fodder to get aging vets to frantically stave off collapse. Speaking of which, they're probably pushing that idiot round idea on the grounds that they could probably assure themselves of a 9 or 10 seed at least.

Yes, but at least he doesn't want players to die in the Qatari heat or completely the major leagues by hosting the World Cup in the middle of the summer.Actually, Platini is one of the biggest supporters of the Qatar bid, while Sepp wanted to have the WC in the US. What.

Maybe if Western countries started to put serious economic sanctions on countries who support ISIS, there won't beIt's not the issue of countries supporting ISIS, it's western world countries who sit idly back while the Qatari government gets away with slave labour, not paying their workers for months on end, having them live in slums with 5-7 people per room, confiscating their passports so they can't leave, and having the worst safety record on construction sights with ZERO oversight and care about the deaths of migrant workers. Many journalists write these big expose iase on the state of construction within Qatar, and some politicians say a few things how they condemn Qataris for doing this when they are trying to get something else passed. But nothing really happens.Slaves are hardly the biggest issue(for whatWestern interests are, of course) when you're talking about Qatar, Saudi Arabia etc. the real issue is that they support financially terrorist cells in the Middle East and the Maghreb, while also sending hate-preaching wahabite Imams to European banlieus to preach action against Western Countries. But some Presidents are still going to the funerals of the house of Saud. Regardless of what his countrymen/relatives do, Saudi Arabia is still ostensibly an ally. You attend the funeral when your ally's head of state/government dies. It's diplomatic etiquette.

They're all best of seven series and you're going to have to meet sometime if you want to get to the Stanley Cup finals. Division seeded playoffs are fine.

So, um, seriously. What's stopping UEFA et al from setting up their own challenger to FIFA?

What is this "sustainable development" of which you speak?

They'll have to fight the Flames for it after Stockton burns.

I eagerly await Brandiose's completely artificial justification for a Theodore Roosevelt motif for Frisco.

I'm not sure how long it will be there, which is the other issue with this. The L.A. teams will do well with their affiliates, but Calgary basically shouldn't be allowed to have an AHL team, Edmonton hasn't torched all that many markets, but has had a run that consisted of 1 year in Edmonton itself (strike year arena date filler-franchise goes dormant after that) 1 year timeshare with Montreal in Hamilton, Montreal calling the shots 1 year PROSPECTS SCATTERED TO THE WINDS 3 years in Springfield-uninspiring results which include not making the playoffs at all and keeping the market on a slow slow slow burn to destruction 5 years of sitting back and watching the slow painful death of what was once one of the best markets in minor league hockey (Yes, the Thunder play a major role here, but the Barons never took off.) Meanwhile San Jose doesn't torch markets, but has an organizational disdain for running an effective minor league organization and developing young talent except as trade bait for some aging NHL player that stands as an ironic counterpoint to the fact that they were the team that complained the most about the lack of California teams. So yeah, 3 of the 5 teams are on shaky foundations. This experiment could end very badly.

The point is to watch some live hockey representing your home town (or area). As someone who lives in a current non-hockey town, I can tell you I would have taken anything I could get. I'm glad we're getting the AHL, but I would have gladly taken ECHL as well. It's not necessarily about seeing someone going up to so and so NHL team. I couldn't care less that the reborn Gulls are a Ducks farm team or that some of their players might be in the NHL some day. The way you post, I thought you lived in the San Francisco bay area.

Well, if those rumors of further expansion are to come true, the Pacific pod will not be in relatively close bus proximity to each other after next season.

Somehow affiliated baseball seems to pull off the equal schedules and trying to win a championship, though.

Well see, the Sharks might have an urgent need for one of their AHL players on the eastern road trip. That said, getting an equal schedule requires the AHL to have a commissioner who isn't a lapdog. That ain't happening. ----------------------------------------------------------- Another thought: Honestly for all we crack on Calgary for being a ty parent to their AHL affiliate(s), Edmonton and San Jose are scarcely any better. The demise of the Pacific pod may come because of this.

Alaska pays for teams to fly out there and play series. The logistics will work.

Apparently, the owner of the Norfolk Admirals was told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't sell his franchise to the Ducks, they'd terminate their affiliation, and no one else would come to replace them. So, that's how. Norfolk was unwilling to pay the full salary and benefits of an entire AHL team, especially because it needs to draw for meal ticket purposes, the Cavs may be, as all they need is a date filler. There's nothing in the AHL bylaws forbidding existing teams from going independent.

May only be a one year thing too if the rumors of the Coyotes, Canucks and Avs bringing their teams west come to fruition next year. The West could survive as a pretty insular division in that case. Where are the Coyotes going to get the money to buy an AHL team, let alone subsidize travel to said team's new locale? Actually, how are the Avs going to get their hands on an AHL team too, because the Cavs aren't selling.

They'll be the D-Fenders in tribute of the Lakers' D-League team which has a similarly stupid arena setup.

It would be weird having a 5-team pseudo-league; is there any chance there are some games played against central teams (Iowa, Texas, Milwaukee, etc.)--or less likely--are there going to be more than 5 teams on the West Coast? What should happen is for Vancouver to move their AHL franchise out of Utica, NY and out to the west. This would create a six-team Western Division for the AHL. Making a schedule would be a piece of cake. Surprised all of the cheap suits in Springfield and NHL HQ didn't think of it. Utica would be more suited to the ECHL and would have closer in-state rivals like Elmira and it looks like Glens Falls. When Vancouver and the Blues conspired to murder the AHL Rivermen the purported plan was move the team to Seattle (which the NHL discouraged) or Abbotsford under similarly generous terms to what the Flames got (which Abbotsford isn't stupid/desperate enough to offer.) So yeah, they stuck the team in a dying upstate New York city because the road trips would be cheap.

We don't know that. No, we don't know that as fact. But... I was basing my post on this quote, from the Sounds owner himself, Frank Ward, in the story that ran on MiLB.com when the balance of the brand identity system was unveiled earlier this week: "We heard loud and clear the strong feedback of our fans after our new logo was unveiled last fall. We have made the decision to return to our traditional red-and-black color scheme to accompany the new Nashville-styled logos." True, that statement does not quantify how many fans weighed in. But human nature is such that naysayers are more prone to speak out negatively than supporters are to sing praises. So I'm going to stand by my assertion. Were they taking pre-orders for merchandise? Maybe those were disappointing as well.

Being that they're now the A's AAA affiliate can't say I'm worry to see the orange and black go. It didn't feel right having their top minor league team wearing their cross town on and off field nemesis' colors. Georgia is also one of Vanderbilt's nemeses. Yet... I wouldn't describe Georgia as a nemesis so much as "it's hilarious when they lose to Vandy".

And also islanded from....everywhere in the league, really. Granted Lord Thomson can afford the subsidy and airfare, but some teams may just have to settle for flying their prospects back home.