TheOldRoman

In case anyone isn't picking up on it being a joke, the Blues ownership situation being finalized was supposedly waiting on the end of their run. Numerous sources saying an announcement is coming within a week. That situation has earned skepticism itself of course, though there's never been steps back. Just lots of tiny ones forward.

With what we have seen over the past three years, I think everyone means it only half-jokingly. Nothing would surprise us when it comes to this clown college of a league.

Will they ever just die?

If the Coyotes are sold to the Jamison group, it will get more interesting as the constitutional challenge begins. I don't know how long that would take to play out, but there would undoubtedly be lots of pathetic hilarity arising from that. Assuming that Glendale wins the case and the Coyotes stay, all will be quiet for a few years. However, the fact that no legitimate businessmen who actually had money have touched the team in three years lets you know that there is no way this venture can succeed. The Jamison group will be banktrupt and demanding further subsidies within 5 years. Basically, it won't die until the team moves, and it looks like the team won't move as long as Bettman still draws breath.

Actually, I'd like to see Hulsizer back in that role. Just dress him up again and play "future owner" again. Better yet, just put an actor or any guy off the street in a luxury box with a brand new Coyotes jersey and cap and put him on the jumbotron with "FUTURE OWNER?" underneath him. Save it for when the team really needs a boost, then the non-Blackhawks fans can go nuts and ask each other if that was Greg Jamison.

But only if he is wearing the jersey over a shirt and tie.

My favorite feature of Citizens Bank Park is the 360 concourse with full view of the action from anywhere. I never even thought about something like that being built into an indoor arena like that. That's f'ing fantastic, and will make most if not all of the indoor arenas built in the past 20 years obsolete in due time.

As maligned as New Comiskey Park was (I use that name to refer to the pre-renovation park), it was the first of the parks to feature a 360 concourse view. That was one of the few things they got correct off the bat.

Can you really move them now? After a division championship against all odds?

Well, the NHL is the league that saw the Quebec Nordiques relocate to Denver in time for the 1995-96 season after winning the Northeast Division title in 1994-95.

...and go on to win the Stanley Cup the next year.

It would be fitting and LOL-inducing if the Nordiques won the Cup next year after moving from Glendale.

Technically, it wasn't his batting helmet, as batting helmets are required to have earflaps on them. But yes, he always wore a helmet in the field.

I can't watch it at work. Cany anybody summarize it?

I don't remember the timeline last year, but at what point did it become clear the Thrashers would be moving instead of the Coyotes? I seem to remember us speculating they would announce the Coyotes moving between the conference finals and the Cup final. I ask because I am still somewhat anticipating an unexpected team getting moved just to keep the Coyotes there.

If Quebec ever does become independent, wouldn't the Canadiens name seem a little strange? It would be like naming a team the Vancouver Americans.

No, they consider Quebec an independent state (or desire independence, anyway).

Holy crap! The numbers and letters are centered on the jersey, but look where the collar is. Not paying attention to jersey details is one thing, but not being able to center the neck hole where necks actually are is 1000X worse. But as always, it's every bit as good as a licensed replica.

The orange stitching on the black nameplate is a bit of postmodern brilliance.

The Bears wore the horrible navy monchromes twice. Both times were primetime broadcasts against Green Bay. The first one they were pounded by a much better team and the second time they were pounded by a much worse team because they didn't care as they had already locked up the #1 seed. Either way, they were humiliated twice in that look, and for that I think it will thankfully stay in the past. Also, I don't think change-ups are needed in football when teams play 16-20 times a year.

FWIW, I don't hate anything about the Canucks' jerseys either. I think they've got one of the best sets in the league.

I just hate the guys who wear them.

The Canucks set is good (other than the logo), but it has bothered me to no end that the collars are not green and white instead of blue and white on the home jersey. The road collar should be blue and green, not blue and white. Also, the number font blows and the numbers need a thick green outline. I really like that they went back to their colors and didn't pull a Buffalo by using navy and green and telling fans it was what they grew up with. But yes, I hate the Canucks very much.

Unpopular opinion? My favorite unis in the NBA right now - the Atlanta Hawks.

Yes. The Hawks redesign of a few years ago was fantastic.

I think the Hawks redesign was terrible. They abandoned the color scheme which they completely owned in basketball, one which has been synonymous with the franchise for fourty something years, in order to adopt a color scheme which a whole bunch of teams across all sports already wear. Not only that, but every element of the new jerseys (font, wordmark, logos) blows. Their previous set before the rebrand was underwhelming, but the current stuff was a giant mistake.

Don't be fooled by the pictures - a lot of those scumbags use pictures of legit jerseys and then send you crap ones.

Yep, I fell for that back in 2006 before I understood the fake jersey market. I got a Lance Briggs jersey that looked close to legit if you overlooked the bubbly numbers and the fact that the back numbers were sewn on at a 10 degree angle. The seller accepted the return, but I didn't report him to ebay for fear he would leave me negative feedback.

Don't trust ANY seller on ebay unless he provides numerous photos of the jersey from different angles. If you are unsure or see that the same photo is used for multiple postings (by that seller or others), message him and ask him for more photos, such as a close-up of the sleeve numbers. Any listing with a picture of an authentic jersey with no background to the image (just the jersey) is taking an image from NFL.com or another legit website and using it to cover for the fakes they are selling.

66 pages of self-righteous moralizing later, so many posters fail to grasp that this is an economic issue. Go ahead and charge an exorbitant amount for an easily duplicated product, and don't be surprised when the counterfeits proliferate.

Obviously it can't be hurting the manufacturers that badly if the prices for these things have remained the same or gone up. Once they feel it you'll see prices start to come down as it did with the music industry - Napster and Limewire brought a swift and merciful end to the days of the $24.99 backcatalogue CD. Perhaps it won't be long before the same happens to the $299.99 authentic jersey.

Moral of the thread: We are all entitled to own whatever we want and nobody has a right to set the amount you must pay them. Since it's wrong of them to deprive you of things you want, just steal anything you don't feel like paying for.

We live in a very individualistic society

Exactly. There are some people think it's ok to help break the law and there are some who don't think its ok.

Nobody is going to convince the other side of anything. Best thing to do is just end it.

Yeah, if we are going to run with the imbecilic wallet-stealing analogy, the board members who don't care would be the people who the wallet thief sold Looooooooooogodude's $500 Best Buy gift card to for $100.

Those Brewers unis would have been much better using kelly green instead of the forest they went with.

Do you really think they have 5,500 employees working at each game?

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the use of sarcasm?

I understand. I was just pointing out that there was at best 1/3 of the announced attendees in the actual stadium. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here and say that picture was taken during warmup, but there can't be more than 500 people in the seats right then.

Do you really think they have 5,500 employees working at each game?

He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Gary Bettman.

Do it to Atlanta! Do it to Atlanta! Not me! Atlanta!

Like Homer looking at the Gary Larson calendar, I laughed... but I don't get it.

I imagine the ceilings are painted vintage white.

The NHLPA is claiming that the $25 million per year in taxpayer money to keep the Coyotes playing hockey in Glendale is thus Hockey-Related Revenue to which the union is entitled. At my house, we call these uh-ohs!

L O freaking L.

One problem that isn't regularly published is that the city of St Pete will not allow the Rays to even sniff a new venue of any kind outside of city limits. This means that even if the city of Tampa (proper) or any other option has a plan, they really can't go public without roughing the seas.

I have heard of a few possibilities on the Tampa side of the bay, but most are skittish to interfere before the Rays get permission.

I've heard of that as well. I think you could work something out there though. I can't see a situation where St. Pete would rather have the Rays leave the area completely then move to Tampa. The Rays wouldn't be looking into moving to Tampa at all if they thought the lease was that daunting.

If the Rays said we want to stay and we'll build our own ballpark but only if we can go to Tampa, I think they would let them. The biggest concern is probably losing the Trop as a viable venue more then losing the Rays. St. Pete took a huge loss on that stadium for years before the Rays even moved in, so I think all they are looking for is at least a few more years to show that they didn't completely waste their time and money in building the thing because the second the Rays leave the Trop turns into a white elephant.

That wouldn't make sense for anybody. Why would the Rays move back to the Tampa region after leaving for another city?

The thing you're missing is, everyone is saying the entire situation is untenable. Horrible stadium in terrible location, no prospects for a new stadium, terrible attendance. The biggest thing is, as everyone has been saying, the TV ratings are way down. The market has already failed. At this point, not even a PNC of the south in the perfect location in Tampa would save the team because if people can't be bothered to watch the team on TV, they won't come to the new ballpark no matter how cool it is. I mean, I don't like watching Rays home games due to the opressive dreariness of the dome, but I wouldn't let that keep me from watching baseball. There would be no use for the Rays to build a new stadium in Tampa to keep them in the region, as that would just lock them into this horrible market for 20 or more years. At this point, it is a matter of waiting it out until a new city presents itself. Then the Rays are gone right away.

I know the wheels started in motion for the Expos' demise around 2001 or so (if not with the 94 strike), but do you think Bud regrets pushing the Expos to Washington now?

Not in the slightest.

MLB got a team in a major American market with disposable dollars, extorted the DC government out of a $600 million showpiece ballpark and kept Congress at bay all in one fell swoop.

You have to remember how bad things got in Montreal and how unwilling the provincial government AND local businessmen were to support the Expos (or even the general concept of Montreal baseball). This is precisely how Jeffrey Loria got his dirty paws on the franchise in the first place...NO ONE in Montreal was willing to step up to save the thing.

Also recall that Stade Olympique was (and is) like playing baseball in a giant cave - and this was not going to change because when push came to shove, no one wanted to build a new ballpark.

Given all that, just about ANYTHING would have been an improvement over Montreal. The fact that MLB got all of the goodies out of DC in the process was just gravy.

I do hope Montreal gets back in the baseball game, but it would have to do quite a bit to convince anyone who was paying attention to the Expos fiasco that Montreal can support a professional team - including building a new, modern outdoor facility. I've always advocated that they should go after a AAA team, build a park that can be expanded to MLB size at a later date, and develop the fan/corporate support necessary to take that next step up at the appropriate time. Either way, I hope that they can get baseball back, but I won't hold my breath.

I understand all your points. I was merely stating that Montreal was a better situation than Tampa because Montreal at least had potential. If an owner came in who made nice with the government, put money into the team and marketed to the Francophones (instead of eliminating all French broadcasts, as Loria did), the Expos could have seen a renaissance. The people of Montreal loved the Expos at one point. That could never be said about Tampa Bay and the (Devil)Rays.