Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner has said that there is nothing that Mr. Balsillie can do to join the NHL ever. With that degree of entrenchment, and with the propsect of appeals and further lengthy court challenges, should Hamilton re-assess its arrangement with Mr. Balisillie? No doubt that Mr. Balisillie has the staying power to see this through, if he chooses to do so, but is this still our best bet at getting a NHL team, or is this destined for prolonged litigation that will only paralyse or otherwise harm our future chances?
Update: Balisillie has increased his offer by 30 million dollars. Do you think it will make a difference, or is this a case of, as Lennon and McCartney wrote, "Money Can't Buy me Love"?
Update: Balisillie has increased his offer by 30 million dollars. Do you think it will make a difference, or is this a case of, as Lennon and McCartney wrote, "Money Can't Buy me Love"?
Cal, good evening....
ReplyDeleteWhere do I start? I'll start by saying that it doesn't matter who the person is that's trying to buy the Coyotes and bring them to Hamilton. If it were a different person we would be hearing the same B.S. from Gary Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors.
Why the opposition to bring an NHL team to Hamilton? because of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. These guys also own the NBA Raptors and these guys get "just enough support" to get by especially from the corporate community in Southern Ontario. You place another Big League team in this Southern Ontario market, like an NHL team in Hamilton for example, and you would put a major dent into the corporate support that the Raptors currently get in Toronto. The last thing that the NBA want to see is another NBA team fail in Canada especially in what's supposed to be the 3rd wealthiest market in North America. This I think would also put a dent into the NBA's International expansion aspirations. Toronto is a key market for them in this regard.
Also keep in mind that NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, previously was a senior vice-president and general counsel to the National Basketball Association (NBA). He still has close ties to this League and wants to continue having a great working relationship with them. To me, however, there is clearly a conflict of interest here and this will be an angle that Balsillie's lawyers would be wise to use, if they haven't done so already in the Arizona courts.
The other major opposition is coming from Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. Important thing to keep in mind here folks is since the last time around when Ron Joyce of Tim Hortons tried for an NHL expansion team for the 1992 season, (which we lost out to Ottawa and Tampa Bay), only THREE of the NHL Board of governors today remain the same. The other 27 that are there now in the 30 team NHL were not even around. Jeremy Jacobs is one of the three senior members still around since 1992, the other two being Ed Snyder in Philadelphia and Mike Ilitch in Detroit. What this means is Jeremy Jacobs has a lot of pull inside the NHL boardroom AND when it comes to having Gary Bettman's ear....BUT, even more important than all of this is the fact that Jeremy Jacobs is also a native of Buffalo, New York, the other NHL market in close proximity to Hamilton very strongly opposed to an NHL team in our City.
I would like to stress here that I have nothing whatsoever against the methods that Balsillie is employing to bring an NHL team to Southern Ontario. My only concern has always been, and continues to be, I feel Balsillie would only be using Hamilton as a temporary "pit-stop", (Copps Coliseum), while a new rink gets built next door in Waterloo, where Balsillie is from and where his company Research in Motion has it's headquarters. I also know for a fact that there are others down at City Hall who fear the exact same thing as I do in this regard.
Having said all that, I did recieve an interesting e-mail from Mayor Di Ianni a while back where he encouraged me to get behind Mr. Balsillie's bid because as he told me that day, "he is the only real shot that we have in Hamilton"...and because I value and respect the opinion of the Mayor, I told him that I would support Balsillie. I still can't understand how when we had a Rally in town Balsillie was no where to be found. I mean, we were told that "he was busy that day" but last time I checked the map Waterloo was next door to us and all we wanted from him was a quick "hello" and then he could go back home to work in Waterloo...10 minutes and that's it....that would have done it for me.
Balsillie may be the only real shot that Hamilton has but to me Jim Balsillie is a Shark...and you know what they about swimming with Sharks folks? "You swim long enough with a Shark and eventually you'll get eaten by one."
Best Regards!
Rick Cordeiro
Not to mention we have to fork over control of HECFI, and all that goes with it and the upgrades needed at Copps will run multiple millions to do.
ReplyDeleteWith the deal about to expire no need for anyone to do anything until the court decides who wins the ownership battle.
Hamilton should take a deep breath and relax on this issue ang get at the issue of disaster relief fund-raising for the residents who were flooded, to be mached by the Province, two for one.
Now there's a good deal for Hamilton, for a change.
There is a fine line between genius and madness,
ReplyDeleteI'd call IT walking a tight rope and Cal had to
mention Hell.
I see a common thread emerging as I swim around
here and there with Rick's big fish too, and that
is the element of water. This is gonna sound goofy
to some like Brian but hey, IT's all about style
when you can't feel the substance.
Ice hockey is a sport played on cold hard water
We can all agree on that
Our new city of waterfalls branding does matter
On that we should stand pat
The flooding of our homes and the Red Hill Creek
Is another of the element's ire
But we're missing the boat as we don't often speak
Of our earth's hot wind and IT's fire
What does that mean? We might want to ask those
seated at the hell bounded table of The Social
Planning and Research Council of Hamilton, who
ignored the well balanced call of the wild and
I don't mean deserted coyotes.
Part of Cal's question was, "...should Hamilton
re-assess its arrangement with...?"
Part of my answer is, "Yes, IT should assess...
and may God richly bless."
An exciting event coming up in our nation is the showing of the Documentary: "From the River to the ends of the Earth". It will be released nation wide on Friday September the 18th, with over 130 showings covering every province and territory. Marney Blorn of Acts News Network INc. has produced this 52 minute film to inspire us with our destiny and to increase prayer for our nation. IT reveals Canada's unique calling, using breathtaking visuals of Canadian rivers and landscapes and interviews with key leaders affirming their belief that Canada is moving towards a powerful awakening. There will be simultaneous, nation-wide corporate prayer for Canada following the showing.
The Hamilton premiere will be shown at the Movie Place Theater on 526 Concession St. from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the 18th at a cost of FIVE BUCKS. Don't miss IT!!
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