BeerGuyJordan

Vancouver and Vegas? Unless I'm missing something crucial in the media, they're both a ways down on the MLB's list. Montreal and Mexico City are the ones the League keeps mentioning. Portlandis also a stronger candidate, with no triple or double-A team. San Antonio/Austin would probably be higher, too. Charlotte's new stadium for the Knights would be a deterrent, but I would still place them right below Vegas and above Vancouver. Indianapolis, Birmingham and New Orleans are all in that same level, as well.

There's almost no way they wouldn't be, imo. They're Pacific time zone, and further west than Phoenix. I feel like this could make too much sense for the League to actually do. Considering it, sure...but they can't actually force Papa K to sell the Hurricanes, just "encourage," I believe. If you look at the stats, prospect market and the overall picture, the League could support two more teams. That being said there are still five or six teams I would rather see stabilized/relocated before expansion occurs. Taking a risk with Vegas seems a lot more sensible than keeping a floundering team in Raleigh. The Hurricanes aren't holding such a najor market that the league should hold on too tightly. The Phoenix, Columbus, and Miami markets are, possibly, worth one big push to stabalize before considering relocation. There's no immediate danger for the Islanders, but their attendance took a dive in their first season in Brooklyn. It's safe to assume there will be a further drop off as the excitement of hockey in the borough wears off, for some, and the travel from LI wears down some of the older fans. The team needs to connect with Brooklyn and create new "local" fans. Barclays gave them a sweet deal, but there's an eject button in the agreement, and attendance is pretty much the only real factor in whether or not it gets used.

I feel like I should hate this identity and logo, but I actually like it.

The main thing is that we are all pretty much viewing it as fans. The business side of it for Detroit and Columbus doesn't match up to that well. If any of Detroit and Columbus should have stayed behind, it was arguably Detroit. They are marginally further west, and can shoulder the added travel costs. Detroit has no difficulty regularly selling out games, while Columbus would, theoretically, benefit more from the attendance boost from facing the more "storied" teams. At this point, I think the best we can realistically hope for is a Vegas expansion, Carolina to Quebec, and the league giving Seattle a little time to get their act together. If they don't, the only three real potential western markets I can think of are Portland, and maybe Milwaukee or Houston. As a Preds fan, I would be open to moving to the EC, but there's almost no likelihood there.

The Tucson AHL team will have an identity unveiling/pick your seat event at Noon, Pacific on June 18th. Also, the Springfield AHL team is holding a name the team contest that ends today.

I do agree that Vegas is a risk, but good franchise leadership and the more competitive edge the team will see (compared to previous expansion teams) could make a huge difference. I like pretty much every move Foley has made, so far. I think he should get the chance. No team in the eastern time zone wants to have the bulk of their games beginning from 8 to 10 pm locally. I don't think there's any putting the genie back in that bottle.

The Atlanta Thrashers were a pretty good indicator of how this "poor attendance + lack of winning + costly legal battles" game plays out. Honestly, though, letting Quebecor buy the Hurricanes seems like a much better option than expansion in the east, anyway.

I just don't understand the business aspect of putting your triple-A farm team in the same arena as your flagship. You're expanding your fanbase by maybe a couple hundred. Most of your season ticket holders are probably going to be people who would rather save their money, compared to a Sharks or Jets season ticket. San Jose, especially, baffles me. Worst case scenario, put your team somewhere else in the metro area, Oakland or San Fran. Putting your team in a nearby city will maximize the number of people you get watching. They were something like 23rd in attendance. The Jets at least have the benefit of being a team that sells out their 15000 seats consistently. There's actually a demand for more hockey. I still think they'd be better off putting them in Saskatoon, Regina, or maybe even Fargo or Thunder Bay, but their attendance was 9th or 10th, if I remember correctly, they're at least having the arrangement work out.

I see Portland as a better option. It's closer to the others and it leaves Seattle open for that future expansion team the NHL bigwigs are doing a horrible job of hiding their anticipation over.

I thought the only person with a magic fax machine was Spano...

The attempted move is back into Phoenix proper. The NHL has shown that this is a market they'd rather not give up on. I think a move back to Phoenix, the new GM turning things around, and a better product, on-ice, could make the franchise viable. Regardless, I still think they have a few years before there's a real chance of being relicated to a new city. Nashville is a great example of how smaller fanbases can still provide a successful market (20th, in attendance despite studies indicating they have the smallest fanbase in the league).

Fulltime, no. But I am happy about the idea of the franchise making them the new thirds.

Since I'm getting ready for a transfer to Tucson, I'm stoked at the AHL news. As long as it is managed better than the Coyotes have been, I think they have a good shot. Also, the Coyotes have stated that they're going to have a fan vote regarding the team name.

I agree, to an extent. Tennessee deliberately waited to change until their new stadium was finished, they played in Memphis the first season and at Vanderbilt their second. If it's a deliberate decision, for solid reasons, I can get behind it.

This is also the city that beheaded HitchBOT...par for the course.

I get where you're coming from, but I disagree where hockey and basketball are concerned, 82 is plenty. Especially since it has been used as a pilot program for new primary designs.

In general, I agree that a sandwich should be finger food. Occasionally, though, a sandwich created deliberately for consumption with a fork can be good. The key is deliberation, if it's just a hot mess that can't be contained to the bread/bun, forget it.

The mustard alt was horrific, which is a shame, I really liked that logo, it looks like the kind of identity the team would have if they were created as part of the first expansion era. The previous two generations of Preds sweaters could have been worse, but they shouldn't have survived as long as they did. There were also too many colors going on, and it made them feel unfocused. I'm much happier with the current set, but would like the blue alt to make a return.

Giordano's was...decent. It's the only one I went to when I visited Chicago. I was out there for dental x-ray training, so I was at the mercy of where the company rep took us. I was really disappointed with the beer selection.

I know some Preds fans wouldn't mind that. From a marketing standpoint, though, I doubt the team would ever go to a single sweater for both home and away. Yep. Wear gold on the road in place of white, and wear navy at home. I know it diminishes the team's ownership of yellow/gold, but big picture? The Preds would still have a very unique set, and the yellow would still be a huge part of that. It would detract from Nashville's gold identity, but a some of the fans wouldn't mind it too much if they made navy the home color (assuming a strong presence of gold as a secondary on the home). Marketing it right would be crucial by the team, though. Some sort of "We're taking Gold on the road" campaign. Now that I've seen more of them, I'd rather wear the navy helmets at home and gold on the road. I strongly disagree that the set is a trainwreck, though. The previous set, now that was an unfocused 90's remnant nightmare.

Wait, what? How does Phoenix not have awesome Mexican food? You'd think that'd be the one thing they can't screw up!I was as surprised as you are when I first moved there. Really disappointed, too. After living there, I suspect there are two reasons for this, though: 1) I can't really speak for Tucson as I've only been there twice (although I tried a Sonoran hotdog while there and was pretty underwhhelmed), but the overly strict and downright racist immigration policies in Maricopa County led to a bit of an exodus of the Hispanic population. I was SHOCKED with how few Hispanics are in Phoenix as a whole. I moved there from an area where the South American immigrant population was pretty high anyway, but I totally expected Phoenix to be a bit of a cultural and population hub for immigrants, but it's really not from what I saw. 2) Due to the snowbirds, there's SUCH a large midwestern influence in Phoenix that it tends to dictate what businesses thrive and fail there. For example, they put a Portillos in Tempe Marketplace instead of more locally influenced eateries (Which I don't get the appeal of at all. It's the most astoundingly meh place I've ever eaten) and tossed up a bunch of Culvers in the county while I was there. I can't imagine Gila River Arena (or whatever it's called now) would be any different as the nature of the business they work with is about as white as it comes. Not a huge fan of sonoran dogs. There is still a decent representation of hispanics in the PHX metro area, but you're right, they are fairly localized. Between the snowbird/retiree and LDS population, you won't find too many hispanics in Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale or Phoenix proper. Most of the ones I know are in Glendale or other outlying 'boroughs'. Filibertos are pretty consistent across the city, though there are a couple bad ones. Tucson has a much better mexican food scene: Mi Nidito, Guadalajara Grill, Tachito's and Casa Molina are a few of my favorites.

I tried a place here that serves it fajita style. Topped with beef, pork and chicken. With cheddar cheese and pico de gillo on top. Closest to southwest style I've ever seenArizona has TERRIBLE Mexican food. And don't even get me started on that bland white rice "Southwest" style crap they have. Where the heck are you eating? I'm originally from AZ, and I've never had better than in AZ (I'm from the border with Mexico). Especially Tucson, but I've found some good places in Phoenix, too. I can recommend better places, if you need.

Not really that unpopular. I'd even say that it's somewhat common. I'm in the other camp, though. As a Nashville fan, I love how unique the identity is. I will admit that it is a harder color to pull off.

Growing up as an Army brat, people come by their favorite teams in a myriad of different ways (as is evidenced by the fact that I only have one team in common with both my brothers). Pro Hockey/Nashville Predators – I, like most people my age, had a brief love affair with hockey during the 90’s due to the Mighty Ducks and D2. At the time, my family was living in Augsburg, Germany, which happens to be home to one of Europe’s oldest hockey clubs, the Augsburger Panther. My first exposure to live-action hockey was awesome, and I got really into it for a couple of years until my family relocated to Arizona in early 1997. Living nearly four hours from Phoenix in the 90’s, there was essentially no opportunity to get involved with hockey, and I was the only member of my family interested, so my interest in the sport dissipated rather quickly. After returning from a deployment in Afghanistan to Fort Campbell, KY in 2011, a family friend with season tickets gave me a pair as a welcome home gift. They were in the all-inclusive section and the beer and food was free. It was an awesome reintroduction to the game, I’ve been a die-hard Preds fan ever since. College Hockey/Bemidji State Beavers – As I’m currently living in town and attending BSU, I’ve really gotten into following their hockey program. College Football/Tennessee Volunteers – I’ve never really gotten into pro football, despite going to a few games with friends while living in Nashville. I inherited this fandom from my father, who grew up in Tennessee. Going to high school in Arizona, we had two flagpoles in the yard, one for the American flag, and another, smaller one for a bright orange UT flag. My father would fly it at half-mast for two days whenever the Vols lost an SEC football or bowl game (I’m dead serious). College Basketball/Arizona Wildcats – I’ve never been that into basketball, and the bit I do watch is always UofA, primarily from living in their fanbase area during their early 2000’s glory days. I primarily watch and root for them during March Madness. Baseball/Arizona Diamondbacks – When I played little league, my team was the Yankees. Living in Germany and being the son of a man who didn’t really have a favorite baseball team, they just became who I followed, made easier by the lineup they had in the latter half of the 90’s and early 2000’s. In college, my girlfriend was a die-hard BoSox fan. That was literally the only thing that ever started fights between us. When we decided to move in together, we agreed to make our apartment a Yankees & Red Sox free zone and follow the Diamondbacks together, and we did, for two seasons. We eventually broke up when I realized that I had no interest in ever having kids, but the new team stuck, for both of us. She even wound up marrying a guy who played for them. Soccer/Korea (primary) & Germany (secondary) – I really only get into the World Cup, but I get pretty into rooting for South Korea. I was living with my Dad in Korea when Korea hosted, and got really into it with a bunch of my friends. We all wore our “Be the Reds” shirts and went to watch Korea beat Spain. I always follow them during the Group matches, then root for Germany after they get eliminated, to stay invested. Lacrosse/Boston Cannons – The only MLL game I’ve been able to attend was while visiting aforementioned girlfriend’s family in Massachusetts. We went to watch the Cannons play the New Jersey Pride (her cousin was playing for the Cannons at the time). I’ve been a fan of the Cannons ever since.

So many people are talking about Columbus being forced west, but I really think the burden is more likely to fall on Detroit. Looking at the coordinates of their arenas, Detroit is further west (not by a large margin, but still). Of the two clubs, Detroit can much better shoulder the extra costs as compared to Columbus.