gosioux76

My suspicion is that neither the Rays ownership nor Major League Baseball actually expects this scenario to play out as described. It's a long and complicated scheme to solve the league's Tampa problem, bring baseball back to Montreal, and finally start Manfred's long-awaited league expansion process.

This is so transparent, and also pretty creative. This is just a fresh application of a club using another market as leverage for a new stadium, only this time they're hoping to do it while becoming the anti-Kroenkes. The Rays have yet to come up with a suitable stadium situation that they can finance. So instead of threatening to leave, the come up with this completely bonkers two-city scenario in which they'd have to develop not one, BUT TWO new stadiums. When the Tampa one inevitably fails to materialize, they'll at least be able to say "we tried our best, Tampa." It's crazy and brilliant all at the same time.

To me, that's the jersey he should be remembered for wearing. Won two titles with Houston.

XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck on Tuesday gave a timeline for when the league will release branding details: https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2018/12/11/a-pretty-easy-decision-xfl-commissioner-on-why-st.html

I agree 100%, though removing the wordmark would also eliminate the stick handle. Without it, I wonder if the hockey stick element is even noticeable.

I love the Saints so much.

Are you sure that isn't a throwback? I see a pretty modern-looking patch on the sleeve with what looks like a 20th anniversary patch.

It's hard to not see a dragon in some of those early Broncos sketches.

I hate the combo of pinstripes and piping. It’s garish. But I love that jersey on the right, which pays homage to those classic Braves pullovers from the ‘70s. That said, theres just no way to see Stripers and not read it as “Strippers.”

My high school mascot was the Gobblers, which I always felt was unique, so I'm not inclined to be excited by another organization adopting it. That said, I'd go with Stud Muffins, because why not.

I don't think this has been posted, but here's a fresh take on Portland as a player in any potential relocation discussions: Canzano: NHL spat in Phoenix raises question ... will Paul Allen finally pull the trigger?

You always have to factor in that while owners collect expansion fees, all other future league-wide revenue then gets split in one (or two potentially) more slices. So expansion doesn't automatically become a windfall. That's a really great point. I wonder which one makes the bigger impact: the addition of franchise fees or the decline in league-wide shared revenue.

Trail Blazers president Chris McGowan has said publicly that Allen specifically asked him to explore the NHL possibility when it seemed like the Coyotes were in play. Here's the story from Oregonian columnist John Canzano that describes Allen as ready and waiting for the NHL. LINK

I've never been a fan of the NHL's expansion practices, but they'd be leaving expansion fees on the table if they made Quebec City wait for a relocated franchise. QC and Las Vegas want a team so badly that they'd be willing to pony up those millions for a expansion team. Plus, there are plenty of viable markets open should Arizona/Florida/Carolina/INSERT TEAM HERE pack up and leave. Here in Portland, a columnist with the Oregonian last year reported about Paul Allen's interest in the NHL, but only if it were a relocating franchise. He apparently wasn't interested in ponying up $100M in expansion fees for a new franchise. I'd suspect that's a common sentiment from other potential franchise owners.

I love everything about that Frisco set. And that's entirely because I love the idea of Teddy Roosevelt swinging a baseball bat as a logo. I'll be buying a tshirt of smiling Teddy ASAP.

Baseball puts you outside on a summer day/night. Even at the minor-league level, that's pleasant in and of itself. Hockey, it's winter, it's cold, you're probably in a foul mood. You'd like to watch something watchable. I like watching AHL games because while it may be rough around the edges, it's still very good hockey. Also, tickets to the Chilled Ham are eminently affordable and have nary a bad seat in the house for, again, pretty darn good hockey.I guess maybe I'm not as familiar with the varied skill levels of the minor hockey leagues. Where would the ECHL rank compared with, say, NCAA hockey. Because I loved going to University of North Dakota games back when I was a student there, and I still enjoy it on the occasion they have a nationally televised game. I just may not be a sophisticated hockey viewer.

You could say the same thing about minor league baseball. I don't go to a Hillsboro Hops game because I think the game matters. I go for the atmosphere. I go because it's baseball. I don't even care if they win. It's a game in my community. Why should hockey be any different?

The imagery is fine. I dislike the use of a cream-colored wordmark on both gray and white. Looks out of place.

Here's a bit more frank talk from Bill Daly about the viability of Las Vegas as an expansion market. He seems pretty damned serious about it. http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/282230571.html?page=1&c=y

To be fair, those were regular-looking people when they got to the game.

As far as hockey support, the Portland Winterhawks have a very supportive fan base. And hockey culture seems to be strong here historically. Last winter the local historical society held an exhibit on 100 years of hockey history in Portland. There are still fond memories of the old Portland Buckaroos. None of that, though, translates directly into support. But in a good venue, and in a city that is known (at least with the Timbers and Blazers) to have among the more devout fan bases, I think it would be as safe a bet as Seattle. Plus, the team may suck inititially, but it's not like the ownership and administration would move with it. If Paul Allen ends up owning the team, my guess is he would appoint Blazers' President Chris McGowan to a new leadership position overseeing both clubs. McGowan held a similar role in Los Angeles with AEG Sports in which he had leadership over both the L.A. Galaxy and the L.A. Kings when the club won its first Stanley Cup. I don't see why Portland isn't at least on the radar then, other than the NHL is stupid. I get it, actually. The NHL's always been a league that played the demographics game. Under Bettman it's expansion strategy has been a numbers game: Go to where the market is biggest and the support will follow. So Portland gets overlooked as long as Seattle is an option.

As far as hockey support, the Portland Winterhawks have a very supportive fan base. And hockey culture seems to be strong here historically. Last winter the local historical society held an exhibit on 100 years of hockey history in Portland. There are still fond memories of the old Portland Buckaroos. None of that, though, translates directly into support. But in a good venue, and in a city that is known (at least with the Timbers and Blazers) to have among the more devout fan bases, I think it would be as safe a bet as Seattle. Plus, the team may suck inititially, but it's not like the ownership and administration would move with it. If Paul Allen ends up owning the team, my guess is he would appoint Blazers' President Chris McGowan to a new leadership position overseeing both clubs. McGowan held a similar role in Los Angeles with AEG Sports in which he had leadership over both the L.A. Galaxy and the L.A. Kings when the club won its first Stanley Cup.

Apparently Paul Allen has shown minor interest, but minor interest doesn't get a team. Apparently Paul Allen has shown minor interest, but minor interest doesn't get a team. Paul Allen in recent years has expressed interest in exploring the possibility of owning an NHL team. As The Oregonian's John Canzano reported in August, he's just going to bite unless it's a good deal. He apparently has no interest in paying $350 million for an expansion franchise, but would entertain the idea of paying $250 million for one that would relocate to Portland.

That Charlotte Knights re-do is a mess. If we're have trouble making out exactly what's going on in the imagery, why would anybody else get it. Plus, one of those secondary logos — the one of a dragon with a sword in its sheath — makes it look like the dragon is stabbing itself. Disappointed to see the Red Wings changing things up. Not a fan of their uniforms necessarily, but I've always liked the logo.

Not that the league cares about this, but this is all terribly unfair to the fans in all three cities involved: Phoenix (such as it is), Seattle and Quebec. As for Quebec, could Quebecor at least pursue a service agreement with the Remparts to handle some of the sales and event planning functions in the interim?