Sunday, February 15, 2009
NHL: ATLANTA THRASHERS Hockey in Atlanta on thin ice By STEVE HUMMER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday, February 15, 2009 In his throwback Dan
NHL: ATLANTA THRASHERS
Hockey in Atlanta on thin ice
By STEVE HUMMER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, February 15, 2009
In his throwback Dan Bouchard No. 30 Atlanta Flames sweater, Marty Fischer was dressed for the icemaker chill of Philips Arena.
But he is a man who has loved and lost at hockey before, and merely the thought of the Thrashers going the way of those old Flames was enough to send a shiver through him.
3 REASONS FOR HOCKEY TO STAY
Worried about the future of hockey in Atlanta?
“The way things are going, yeah, it’s worrisome,” said the 60-year-old die-hard fan from Marietta, while awaiting a faceoff at a recent Thrashers game.
In 1980, Atlanta lost one NHL team — those old Flames — to the Canadian wilderness.
“It was like a divorce,” Fischer remembered. And Calgary got the kids.
And now, another set of uncertainties swirl around the Thrashers, who brought hockey back to Atlanta in 1999, playing on all those old hockey insecurities.
Welcome to Blah-land — formerly Blueland — where the ownership is fighting itself, the team is in the cellar and angst grows over the very future of hockey in Atlanta.
A Feb. 3 story in the Toronto Sun listed the Thrashers among six NHL teams most vulnerable to either being moved or being shuttered.
“This could be a blueprint of how not to operate an expansion franchise,” the newspaper warned, referring to the Thrashers.
There is no consolation to be found in the local paper, either.
This week, the three-year-long dispute among the eight-man Atlanta Spirit group — which owns the Thrashers, Hawks and Philips Arena operating rights — goes to trial again.
On the ice, the Thrashers have been downright dispiriting, owning the second-worst record in the NHL. And in this most gate-driven of professional sports, Thrashers attendance at Philips Arena has dropped proportionately (ranking 29th in the 30-team league). Some of those absentees are catching the game on TV — ratings are up 27 percent this year — but that still amounts to fewer than 5,000 Atlanta households.
Officially, the word is: Remain calm, all is well.
“We’re not planning on contraction. We’re not planning on moving clubs,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “There is a strong core of fans who we are certain will support the team in increasing numbers as things progress on the ice and with the economy.”
Speaking for the Spirit group, Thrashers executive vice president and GM Don Waddell said, “In countless meetings with ownership, never once have we expressed any interest in selling the Thrashers or moving the Thrashers.”
But the Spirit group is facing serious challenges, prompting some sports business experts to question its ability to hold on to the Thrashers.
In nine seasons, the Thrashers have gained precious little traction in Atlanta. Today they face threats to their long-term health on three distinct fronts.
The Economy
Perhaps you’ve heard — it’s tough out there right now.
“In the city of Edmonton, hockey is the No. 1 thing. When the economy is bad, people will give up on other things rather than hockey,” said Dan Mason, a professor of sports management and a hockey business expert at the University of Alberta. “Atlanta may choose to give up hockey before any number of other things.”
“You’d have to be completely naïve not to think that franchise is struggling,” said Ray Ferraro, a former Thrashers captain, now a hockey broadcaster living in Vancouver.
There are bargains to be had, but the NHL can be an awfully expensive date. The man in the Atlanta Flames sweater, Fischer, paid $156 for lower bowl seats for a night at the Thrashers game with his wife. His Flames season tickets averaged out to $7 each per game, he said.
When the Flames left in 1980, no one blamed the loss on the lack of fan support — it was more an offshoot of a financial crisis by then-owner Tom Cousins.
Nor is anyone prepared to claim the Atlanta fans can’t sustain hockey now.
Former coach Bob Hartley has been to two Thrashers games this season.
“The crowds weren’t very good,” he said. But, he maintains, “Is it the greatest hockey market? Maybe not. Is it a market that should do well? Absolutely. Atlanta deserves a hockey team.”
Whether Atlanta chooses to pay for one during grim economic times is another matter.
The Ownership
Figures filed prior to this week’s trial showed the Atlanta Spirit losing millions of dollars on its two franchises — an average of more than $21 million a year since it took over in 2004. That average could have been worse, if not for the hockey lockout of 2004. Without the need to support the Thrashers, the Spirit’s losses were cut to $12.5 million that year.
One perception of the ownership is common in the stands: “They’re basketball guys,” said Tim Thompson, a season-ticket holder from Lawrenceville.
Those same fans wonder how long the Spirit — in whatever shape it’s in after the trial — is willing to absorb losses from this “stepchild” property.
But the team argues that the Thrashers are an important part of a larger financial package.
“A stand-alone hockey team in this city? It would be very tough [to survive]. Very tough,” Waddell said. Since the Spirit also operates Philips, however, the Thrashers are intertwined in lucrative arena sponsorships, Waddell said. The largest of those is the $9.3 million-a-year naming rights deal signed by Philips, which extends through 2019 but could be voided if either of the two “anchor” sports franchises pulled out.
Fans aren’t fed on sponsorships; they live on results. According to the Web site HockeyBuzz.com, the Thrashers have the fourth-lowest payroll in the league ($47.5 million, which is about $9 million below the cap ceiling). Whether the Spirit is able or willing to spend enough to build a winner is the question customers are most passionate about.
“Everyone wants to focus on that $57 million [cap ceiling],” Waddell said. “We’re one of those franchises that economically can’t be at the cap. We have to have a budget we can live with.”
Ultimately that feeds into the last, most important, issue facing the Thrashers.
The Product
“Certain teams have an identity. With Detroit, you know what you’re going to get. With Philadelphia, you know. With most good teams, that’s the way it is. I don’t know what the Thrashers’ identity is,” said Tim Ecclestone, the former Flames winger who settled in Atlanta after the team left.
Under Waddell’s watch, the Thrashers have been to the playoffs once in eight seasons — and got swept by the New York Rangers.
While not always to blame, the franchise has lost some of its most dynamic, marketable players, such as Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa. All-Star winger Ilya Kovalchuk, with one more year left on his contract, could have one skate out the door.
This, the Thrashers’ ninth season, has represented a significant backslide, and the fans are restless. The first customer wearing a paper bag over his head was spotted in the stands a week ago. One anonymous grump has begun an e-mail campaign to protest what he called the Spirit group’s “running this franchise into the ground” with more paper bags and banners during a game with Montreal next month.
One of the most reliable clichés in sports states that winning cures all ills. That has never been truer than with this town and this team.
“Put a couple of winning seasons together, have a nice playoff run, then you build a following,” Thrashers defenseman Garnet Exelby suggested.
Nearly a decade after the NHL’s return to Atlanta, though, how much longer must fans wait for that promise to bloom? Or, more to the point of hockey’s future in Atlanta, how much longer will they wait?
Hockey in Atlanta on thin ice | ajc.com
Hockey in Atlanta on thin ice
By STEVE HUMMER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, February 15, 2009
In his throwback Dan Bouchard No. 30 Atlanta Flames sweater, Marty Fischer was dressed for the icemaker chill of Philips Arena.
But he is a man who has loved and lost at hockey before, and merely the thought of the Thrashers going the way of those old Flames was enough to send a shiver through him.
| Would you be upset if the Thrashers left Atlanta? | |
| Yes | |
| No | |
| Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results | |
3 REASONS FOR HOCKEY TO STAY
- 1. The NHL wants a presence in the eighth-largest television market in the United States.
- 2. Moving the team could threaten the $9.3 million-a-year arena naming rights agreement with Philips.
- 3. There is evidence Atlanta would support a competitive team — attendance and interest spiked around the only playoff season — if the Thrashers put one on the ice consistently.3 REASONS HOCKEY COULD LEAVE
- 1. There is the perfect storm of a bad economy, the uncertainty that goes with the court battle over ownership and the team's bad performance of late.
- 2. Vultures are circling: There is interest in acquiring hockey in cities such as Kansas City, Las Vegas, Quebec City and Winnipeg (although each city has its own set of issues).
- 3. Unlike the NBA's Hawks, the Thrashers are not tied to the Philips Arena bond payment agreement.
- Hockey in Atlanta on thin ice
- Hawks/Thrashers ownership dispute heads back to court
- How Thrashers handle long plane flights
Worried about the future of hockey in Atlanta?
“The way things are going, yeah, it’s worrisome,” said the 60-year-old die-hard fan from Marietta, while awaiting a faceoff at a recent Thrashers game.
In 1980, Atlanta lost one NHL team — those old Flames — to the Canadian wilderness.
“It was like a divorce,” Fischer remembered. And Calgary got the kids.
And now, another set of uncertainties swirl around the Thrashers, who brought hockey back to Atlanta in 1999, playing on all those old hockey insecurities.
Welcome to Blah-land — formerly Blueland — where the ownership is fighting itself, the team is in the cellar and angst grows over the very future of hockey in Atlanta.
A Feb. 3 story in the Toronto Sun listed the Thrashers among six NHL teams most vulnerable to either being moved or being shuttered.
“This could be a blueprint of how not to operate an expansion franchise,” the newspaper warned, referring to the Thrashers.
There is no consolation to be found in the local paper, either.
This week, the three-year-long dispute among the eight-man Atlanta Spirit group — which owns the Thrashers, Hawks and Philips Arena operating rights — goes to trial again.
On the ice, the Thrashers have been downright dispiriting, owning the second-worst record in the NHL. And in this most gate-driven of professional sports, Thrashers attendance at Philips Arena has dropped proportionately (ranking 29th in the 30-team league). Some of those absentees are catching the game on TV — ratings are up 27 percent this year — but that still amounts to fewer than 5,000 Atlanta households.
Officially, the word is: Remain calm, all is well.
“We’re not planning on contraction. We’re not planning on moving clubs,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “There is a strong core of fans who we are certain will support the team in increasing numbers as things progress on the ice and with the economy.”
Speaking for the Spirit group, Thrashers executive vice president and GM Don Waddell said, “In countless meetings with ownership, never once have we expressed any interest in selling the Thrashers or moving the Thrashers.”
But the Spirit group is facing serious challenges, prompting some sports business experts to question its ability to hold on to the Thrashers.
In nine seasons, the Thrashers have gained precious little traction in Atlanta. Today they face threats to their long-term health on three distinct fronts.
The Economy
Perhaps you’ve heard — it’s tough out there right now.
“In the city of Edmonton, hockey is the No. 1 thing. When the economy is bad, people will give up on other things rather than hockey,” said Dan Mason, a professor of sports management and a hockey business expert at the University of Alberta. “Atlanta may choose to give up hockey before any number of other things.”
“You’d have to be completely naïve not to think that franchise is struggling,” said Ray Ferraro, a former Thrashers captain, now a hockey broadcaster living in Vancouver.
There are bargains to be had, but the NHL can be an awfully expensive date. The man in the Atlanta Flames sweater, Fischer, paid $156 for lower bowl seats for a night at the Thrashers game with his wife. His Flames season tickets averaged out to $7 each per game, he said.
When the Flames left in 1980, no one blamed the loss on the lack of fan support — it was more an offshoot of a financial crisis by then-owner Tom Cousins.
Nor is anyone prepared to claim the Atlanta fans can’t sustain hockey now.
Former coach Bob Hartley has been to two Thrashers games this season.
“The crowds weren’t very good,” he said. But, he maintains, “Is it the greatest hockey market? Maybe not. Is it a market that should do well? Absolutely. Atlanta deserves a hockey team.”
Whether Atlanta chooses to pay for one during grim economic times is another matter.
The Ownership
Figures filed prior to this week’s trial showed the Atlanta Spirit losing millions of dollars on its two franchises — an average of more than $21 million a year since it took over in 2004. That average could have been worse, if not for the hockey lockout of 2004. Without the need to support the Thrashers, the Spirit’s losses were cut to $12.5 million that year.
One perception of the ownership is common in the stands: “They’re basketball guys,” said Tim Thompson, a season-ticket holder from Lawrenceville.
Those same fans wonder how long the Spirit — in whatever shape it’s in after the trial — is willing to absorb losses from this “stepchild” property.
But the team argues that the Thrashers are an important part of a larger financial package.
“A stand-alone hockey team in this city? It would be very tough [to survive]. Very tough,” Waddell said. Since the Spirit also operates Philips, however, the Thrashers are intertwined in lucrative arena sponsorships, Waddell said. The largest of those is the $9.3 million-a-year naming rights deal signed by Philips, which extends through 2019 but could be voided if either of the two “anchor” sports franchises pulled out.
Fans aren’t fed on sponsorships; they live on results. According to the Web site HockeyBuzz.com, the Thrashers have the fourth-lowest payroll in the league ($47.5 million, which is about $9 million below the cap ceiling). Whether the Spirit is able or willing to spend enough to build a winner is the question customers are most passionate about.
“Everyone wants to focus on that $57 million [cap ceiling],” Waddell said. “We’re one of those franchises that economically can’t be at the cap. We have to have a budget we can live with.”
Ultimately that feeds into the last, most important, issue facing the Thrashers.
The Product
“Certain teams have an identity. With Detroit, you know what you’re going to get. With Philadelphia, you know. With most good teams, that’s the way it is. I don’t know what the Thrashers’ identity is,” said Tim Ecclestone, the former Flames winger who settled in Atlanta after the team left.
Under Waddell’s watch, the Thrashers have been to the playoffs once in eight seasons — and got swept by the New York Rangers.
While not always to blame, the franchise has lost some of its most dynamic, marketable players, such as Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa. All-Star winger Ilya Kovalchuk, with one more year left on his contract, could have one skate out the door.
This, the Thrashers’ ninth season, has represented a significant backslide, and the fans are restless. The first customer wearing a paper bag over his head was spotted in the stands a week ago. One anonymous grump has begun an e-mail campaign to protest what he called the Spirit group’s “running this franchise into the ground” with more paper bags and banners during a game with Montreal next month.
One of the most reliable clichés in sports states that winning cures all ills. That has never been truer than with this town and this team.
“Put a couple of winning seasons together, have a nice playoff run, then you build a following,” Thrashers defenseman Garnet Exelby suggested.
Nearly a decade after the NHL’s return to Atlanta, though, how much longer must fans wait for that promise to bloom? Or, more to the point of hockey’s future in Atlanta, how much longer will they wait?
Hockey in Atlanta on thin ice | ajc.com
Friday, February 13, 2009
NCAA Basketball Saturday Injury Report -- February 14
In Order of Rotation Number
Connecticut.... Dyson Out Indefinitely Knee injury
| ARIZONA WILDCATS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/13/2009 | Jordan Hill | F | Foot | Probable Saturday. | N/A |
| KENTUCKY WILDCATS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/13/2009 | Patrick Patterson | F | Leg | ? Saturday. | N/A |
| LA SALLE EXPLORERS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/10/2009 | Yves Mekongo Mbala | F | Hand | Out | He is out 2-4 weeks. |
| RHODE ISLAND RAMS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/11/2009 | Jimmy Baron | G | Back | Probable Wednesday. | N/A |
| CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 1/27/2009 | Chris Kellermann | F | Foot | Out | He is out for the season. |
| PURDUE BOILERMAKERS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/13/2009 | Robbie Hummel | F | Back | ? Saturday. | N/A |
| IOWA HAWKEYES | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/13/2009 | Jeff Peterson | G | Back | Out Saturday. | N/A |
| JAMES MADISON DUKES | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/13/2009 | Juwann James | F | Heart | Probable | He missed last 4 games, is upgraded to probable Saturday vs William & Mary. |
| ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK TROJANS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/13/2009 | Steven Moore | G | Sick | ? Saturday. | N/A |
| FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/8/2009 | Dwight O'Neill | G | Suspended | Out | He is out indefinitely. |
| CSU NORTHRIDGE MATADORS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 1/13/2009 | Deon Tresvant | G | Leg Problems | Out | He is out indefinitely. |
| ST MARY'S GAELS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 1/29/2009 | Patrick Mills | G | Hand | Out | He is expected to miss up to 1 month. |
| SE MISSOURI ST REDHAWKS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/11/2009 | Calvin Williams | PF | Dismissed | Out | He is out for the season. |
| GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 1/14/2009 | Willie Powers | G | ACL | Out | He is out for the season. |
| FAIRFIELD STAGS | |||||
| Date | Name | Position | Injury Location | Status | Note |
| 2/11/2009 | Jonathan Han | G | Suspended | Out | He is out for the season. |
Gambling IQ
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Is there a team worse than DePaul at covering the number this year?
02-07-2009, 05:25 PM | |||
| |||
 Is there a team worse than DePaul at covering the number this year? The Blue Demons are a magical 3-14 ats Anybody worse? |
Bobby Abreu and Anaheim Angels Agree to Deal
Source: Abreu, Angels agree to deal
Comment Email Print Share
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com
Archive
Bobby Abreu has reached preliminary agreement on a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, a baseball source said. The Angels expect to announce the contract once Abreu passes a physical exam, which was scheduled for Wednesday, and the team clears a spot on the 40-man roster.
Fantasy: Heavenly Outcome?
The rest of the Angels lineup might benefit more with Bobby Abreu's arrival than Abreu will himself, Tristan Cockcroft writes. Blog
It's believed that Abreu will make about $5 million in base salary, and there will be additional, undisclosed incentives that would bring the total value closer to the $8 million that Abreu was seeking.
Foxsports.com reported Tuesday -- and two baseball sources confirmed -- that the Angels will make room for Abreu by taking pitcher Nick Green off the 40-man roster.
The Angels signed outfielder Juan Rivera to a three-year, $12.75 million deal in December, but the departure of Mark Teixeira and Garret Anderson through free agency has left general manager Reagins with the flexibility to add a bat. Abreu, a .300 career hitter in 13 seasons with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, would help upgrade an Angels lineup that ranked 10th in the American League in runs and OPS in 2008.
Abreu's financial aspirations have taken a hit because of the soft economy and surplus of left-handed bats available. Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Edmonds, Anderson and Luis Gonzalez are among the other veteran lefty hitters still looking for jobs.
It was believed that Abreu was seeking a three-year, $48 million deal after filing for free agency in November.
The Braves have also expressed serious interest in Abreu, but sources said Atlanta's budget is so tight that general manager Frank Wren would have to stretch to give him a $5 million salary.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets are among the other clubs that have been mentioned in conjunction with Abreu. But none of those teams advanced beyond the exploratory phase.
This year Abreu joined Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson as the only players to amass 200 homers and 300 stolen bases while maintaining a .400 on-base percentage. Abreu is also one of five players with 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in each of the past two seasons. The others: Chase Utley, Adrian Gonzalez, David Wright and Alex Rodriguez.
Jerry Crasnick covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.
Source: Bobby Abreu agrees to deal with Los Angeles Angels - ESPN
Comment Email Print Share
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com
Archive
Bobby Abreu has reached preliminary agreement on a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, a baseball source said. The Angels expect to announce the contract once Abreu passes a physical exam, which was scheduled for Wednesday, and the team clears a spot on the 40-man roster.
Fantasy: Heavenly Outcome?
The rest of the Angels lineup might benefit more with Bobby Abreu's arrival than Abreu will himself, Tristan Cockcroft writes. BlogIt's believed that Abreu will make about $5 million in base salary, and there will be additional, undisclosed incentives that would bring the total value closer to the $8 million that Abreu was seeking.
Foxsports.com reported Tuesday -- and two baseball sources confirmed -- that the Angels will make room for Abreu by taking pitcher Nick Green off the 40-man roster.
The Angels signed outfielder Juan Rivera to a three-year, $12.75 million deal in December, but the departure of Mark Teixeira and Garret Anderson through free agency has left general manager Reagins with the flexibility to add a bat. Abreu, a .300 career hitter in 13 seasons with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, would help upgrade an Angels lineup that ranked 10th in the American League in runs and OPS in 2008.
Abreu's financial aspirations have taken a hit because of the soft economy and surplus of left-handed bats available. Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Edmonds, Anderson and Luis Gonzalez are among the other veteran lefty hitters still looking for jobs.
It was believed that Abreu was seeking a three-year, $48 million deal after filing for free agency in November.
The Braves have also expressed serious interest in Abreu, but sources said Atlanta's budget is so tight that general manager Frank Wren would have to stretch to give him a $5 million salary.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets are among the other clubs that have been mentioned in conjunction with Abreu. But none of those teams advanced beyond the exploratory phase.
This year Abreu joined Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson as the only players to amass 200 homers and 300 stolen bases while maintaining a .400 on-base percentage. Abreu is also one of five players with 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in each of the past two seasons. The others: Chase Utley, Adrian Gonzalez, David Wright and Alex Rodriguez.
Jerry Crasnick covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.
Source: Bobby Abreu agrees to deal with Los Angeles Angels - ESPN
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