TBGKon Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Lets get Arizona's house in order before we start adding more teams to the NHL. Honestly, while it wouldnt surprise me if the NHL expands past 32, I think the NBA expands first, and maybe even MLB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerslionspistonshabs Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 17 hours ago, TBGKon said: Lets get Arizona's house in order before we start adding more teams to the NHL. Honestly, while it wouldnt surprise me if the NHL expands past 32, I think the NBA expands first, and maybe even MLB. I think the NBA expands first too. Seattle and Las Vegas are basically shoe-ins IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolob Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 2 hours ago, tigerslionspistonshabs said: I think the NBA expands first too. Seattle and Las Vegas are basically shoe-ins IMO.4 Not to make this a Pointless Realignment & Expansion thread, but it kind of feel inevitable that the major leagues expand to 40 clubs, especially if expansion fees are upwards of $1 billion. 1 Quote "I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific." Lily Tomlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDAWG Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeypower Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 This Neko Sparks person seems to be a bit of a potential "modern tech person" red flag from some comments I've seen. He doesn't have much of a presence online, has some connection to cryptocurrency and the metaverse and this is what his company does. Quote Based in the heart of Los Angeles, Pixel Lime is a cutting-edge AI and Immersive Technology company. Utilizing state-of-the-art Interactive Metaverse and Web3 tools combined with intuitive AI and Hollywood level production techniques we deliver mobile-based AI driven immersive experiences for clients worldwide. Our steadily growing list of clients range from Fortune 500 companies like Universal Studios, to small businesses. Quote At our Pixel Lime Immersive Technology Division we are constantly asking ourselves what’s the next step in the evolution of interactivity between humans and digital interfaces such as computers and mobile devices? How does technology better serve its human counterparts? We believe the answer is to “humanize” the experience in an AI driven, fully immersive environment. Utilizing Deep Machine Learning, NLP, and Computer Vision, our cutting-edge, customized AI interfaces, and suite of AI powered immersive tools are designed to educate your users on every aspect of your business. And, our behavioral analytics are sure to take your annual growth and staff training to the next level. He also links this financial/investment portfolio company website in his Twitter, but everything besides the main page and the contact us is password protected, including the pages where you are supposed to see what companies they have acquired. (In some fairness, this could be a new website for something just created for the Sens bid) Why is the face of this bid a nearly anonymous tech/crypto guy? I do hope the NHL will be looking into finances with all the bids, but who knows? OITGDNHL. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tp49 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 1 hour ago, monkeypower said: This Neko Sparks person seems to be a bit of a potential "modern tech person" red flag from some comments I've seen. He doesn't have much of a presence online, has some connection to cryptocurrency and the metaverse and this is what his company does. He also links this financial/investment portfolio company website in his Twitter, but everything besides the main page and the contact us is password protected, including the pages where you are supposed to see what companies they have acquired. (In some fairness, this could be a new website for something just created for the Sens bid) Why is the face of this bid a nearly anonymous tech/crypto guy? I do hope the NHL will be looking into finances with all the bids, but who knows? OITGDNHL. Maybe he's the second coming of John Spano... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Kokusai Green 2: Electric Igloo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Comet Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Neko Sparks? Is this some kind of joke? Sounds like the NHL is about to get zapped to the extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 Ethan Strauss is an NBA guy, but I think that makes this piece all the more salient, regarding the NHL's new obsession with social justice politics and their desperation to be perceived the way the NBA has been (just in time for that league to pump the brakes on it a little bit; the NHL is nothing if not a day late and a dollar short): https://houseofstrauss.substack.com/p/the-nhl-tiktoking-past-the-graveyard Quote In some ways, the NBA’s reputation as America’s progressive sport is unearned, or at least exaggerated. The league has shifted its marketing further away from politics in recent years, and its main fixation is now on getting players to fully participate in relatively meaningless regular-season games. You take a look at the National Hockey League, however, and you see a league completely obsessed with the fashionable ideologies of the era. Not only is the NHL obsessed with issues of race, gender and sexual orientation, but it is visibly uncomfortable with those who are typically obsessed with its sport. The NBA has its issues, but at least doesn’t seem to feel horrible about the demography of its playing ranks or of its fans. The NHL, by contrast, craves new workers and a new clientele, desperately. Among other strange developments are that apparently the league is turning over much of its marketing to a focus group of literal TikTok Teens, and that the Colorado Avalanche, for all intents and purposes a division of Wal-Mart, have become the NHL's moral beacon because a former barista writes their tweets. Embarrassing. As I've said a thousand times before, this stuff has never quite mapped to the NHL from the NBA. They're trying to be something they're not. But then, that's just a logical progression from years of alienating northern working-to-middle-class fans to ingratiate themselves with PMCs in Nashville and Raleigh, and when you look at the way those teams' fans act online, you can see the throughline. 3 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Comet Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 (edited) I think it's a lot simpler even if I agree that there's some of that subtext in what the NHL is doing: Gary Bettman was hired from the NBA. Gary Bettman wanted to make the NHL as big as the NBA. So he expanded into non-traditional markets like the NBA, experimented with ridiculous uniform trends like the NBA, had lockouts like the NBA and now wants to have engagement on social media like the NBA. Slow monkey see, slow monkey do three years later. Edited March 24, 2023 by Red Comet forgot the lockouts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 But I think it's worth noting that it's taking in some places a lot better than others, and it explains why the southern teams have become the new internet darlings all over reddit and HFBoards: fewer crusty old fans to get in the way. This constant yallfolxing on Twitter, to the extent that it's a good fit for anyone, is a better fit for the 15,000 Canes fans performing for themselves than it is, say, the Blues. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digby Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 On 2023-03-22 at 12:20 PM, kimball said: Not to make this a Pointless Realignment & Expansion thread, but it kind of feel inevitable that the major leagues expand to 40 clubs, especially if expansion fees are upwards of $1 billion. Long term, all the leagues having a full quarter of their respective team lists emulating the ASU Coyotes would provide limitless fodder for that thread. but short term, you’re probably right, if that’s the low-hanging fruit money left over when the RSNs dry up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi74 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 11 hours ago, Red Comet said: I think it's a lot simpler even if I agree that there's some of that subtext in what the NHL is doing: Gary Bettman was hired from the NBA. Gary Bettman wanted to make the NHL as big as the NBA. So he expanded into non-traditional markets like the NBA, experimented with ridiculous uniform trends like the NBA, had lockouts like the NBA and now wants to have engagement on social media like the NBA. Slow monkey see, slow monkey do three years later. The NHL had to expand into "non-traditional" markets due to population decline in "traditional" markets, plus the owners wanted the expansion fee money, "copying" the NBA wasn't the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Comet Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 2 hours ago, Luigi74 said: The NHL had to expand into "non-traditional" markets due to population decline in "traditional" markets, plus the owners wanted the expansion fee money, "copying" the NBA wasn't the reason. Pretty sure the Canadian dollar’s value against the US dollar was a reason too. But as far as I’m concerned, abandoning a solid source of revenue and money for something that might potentially make more money doesn’t sound like a strong business plan. I get why they did it, I still think it’s stupid. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacat_12 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 16 hours ago, the admiral said: Ethan Strauss is an NBA guy, but I think that makes this piece all the more salient, regarding the NHL's new obsession with social justice politics and their desperation to be perceived the way the NBA has been (just in time for that league to pump the brakes on it a little bit; the NHL is nothing if not a day late and a dollar short): https://houseofstrauss.substack.com/p/the-nhl-tiktoking-past-the-graveyard Among other strange developments are that apparently the league is turning over much of its marketing to a focus group of literal TikTok Teens, and that the Colorado Avalanche, for all intents and purposes a division of Wal-Mart, have become the NHL's moral beacon because a former barista writes their tweets. Embarrassing. As I've said a thousand times before, this stuff has never quite mapped to the NHL from the NBA. They're trying to be something they're not. But then, that's just a logical progression from years of alienating northern working-to-middle-class fans to ingratiate themselves with PMCs in Nashville and Raleigh, and when you look at the way those teams' fans act online, you can see the throughline. If you see the tagline, "Hockey is for everyone", and somehow interpret that as "I guess hockey isn't for me", that seems like a you problem, not an NHL problem. The idea that by making the game more inclusive & trying to expose it new demographics, you are somehow taking it away from the existing fans just doesn't make sense (before someone mentions any franchise relocations, I'm speaking figuratively, not literally). The article you shared references poses the question, “moral crusade or a business strategy?” several times when it comes to the league's inclusion efforts, but I don't think the two have to be mutually exclusive. I'm not naïve enough to think that these Pride nights & other theme events highlighting minority groups are owners acting purely out of the goodness of their hearts, but that doesn't mean they can't still have an impact. In these cases the actions themselves matter more than the intent behind them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 The former majority and current minority owner of the Coyotes appears to be jailed after allegedly trying to strangle his wife. Look, buddy, you can't be doing NFL Owner crimes when you don't even have NHL Owner money. https://www.aspendailynews.com/news/arizona-coyotes-co-owner-hedge-fund-manager-andrew-barroway-arrested-in-aspen/article_cffb770e-ca86-11ed-839c-97ce3fc9d49e.html#ath 1 1 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRenesis Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 The Coyotes and bad ownership, happily married for fifteen years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_ThenNowForever Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Ethan Strauss decided to lean in hard against supposed NBA "woke culture" after getting fired from ESPN, so I'm really not surprised to see him continue the grift with a new league. Clearly there's any audience ready to hear it. 4 Quote 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digby Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said: Ethan Strauss decided to lean in hard against supposed NBA "woke culture" after getting fired from ESPN, so I'm really not surprised to see him continue the grift with a new league. Clearly there's any audience ready to hear it. Didn’t realize how much I didn’t miss him popping up in my usual feeds until now. Always hard to take seriously people who capitalize “The Media” in general but especially when they are, well. Very important to expose the scandal of hiring TikTok exports to run your brand TikTok. Middle name “Sherwood” explains a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_ThenNowForever Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 12 minutes ago, Digby said: Didn’t realize how much I didn’t miss him popping up in my usual feeds until now. Always hard to take seriously people who capitalize “The Media” in general but especially when they are, well. Very important to expose the scandal of hiring TikTok exports to run your brand TikTok. Middle name “Sherwood” explains a lot. Strauss was so good on the old TrueHoop network. Something broke his brain; I think it was the Raptors winning in 2019. Quote 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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