NHL Hockey thread

[Grey Fox]

It's hard to decode Gestapo Gauthier because while everything he says is important & should be analyze, he also lies a fucking lot.

[PRC]

Tim Thomas skips Bruins White House visit because he is a Tea Party nutjob...


From Yahoo's Puck Daddy Blog: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/bruins-mvp-tim-thomas-skips-white-house-event-203636656.html

Bruins MVP Tim Thomas skips Obama White House event; why he shouldn't be demonized for it

WASHINGTON, DC -- While congratulating the Boston Bruins on their 2011 Stanley Cup Championship, President Barack Obama did the obligatory spotlighting of key players in that run. Zdeno Chara got the height joke. Brad Marchand was chided for being the "Little Ball of Hate." Tim Thomas was celebrated for being only the second American player to win playoff MVP, having posted two shutouts in the Final.

Chara smiled. Marchand blushed.

Thomas wasn't there to hear it.

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli confirmed that Thomas had told him months ago he would not attend the White House event due to his political and ideological differences with the Obama administration. Chiarelli said he had tried to convince Thomas to attend the event "over the last couple months" to no avail.

"He chose not to come. The reasons behind it I think he'll make the media aware through his Facebook," said Chiarelli.

The GM said that he could have mandated Thomas attend the event, but chose not to. "I can require someone to attend a team event. If they don't, I can suspend him. But I'm not going to suspend Tim. Whatever his position is isn't representative of the Boston Bruins or my own. But I'm not going to suspend him."

Bruins team president Cam Neely said the decision was Thomas's and the team honored his choice.

"Everybody has their own opinions and political beliefs. He chose not to join us," said Neely. "We certainly would have liked to have him come and join us but that's his choice. All the guys came except for Tim. It's his decision and his choice."

While his politics aren't common knowledge among many hockey fans, Thomas hasn't hidden his political leanings. He's a fan of former Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck, once saying he aspired to appear on Beck's talk show as a guest.

Big Government, a website founded by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, celebrated Thomas as a "true Tea Party patriot" for having "In God We Trust" and the Gadsden flag on his mask. From Big Government:

    In addition to displaying his support for the Tea Party on the ice, Thomas is a FreedomWorks donor, giving generously right before the historic November 2010 elections, according to the FEC.

Chiarelli said he hoped Thomas's decision not to attend the White House event wouldn't overshadow the Bruins' day.

"We're like a family. We have our issues. You deal with them and move on, and try and support everyone," he said. "It may or may not. If it does ... I hope it doesn't. The guys enjoyed the day."

My take: Good on Thomas.

Good on Thomas for using this moment — where a professional sports team participates in what's both an honor for their accomplishments and a political photo opportunity — to make a political statement of his own.

It's the moment when Thomas will no doubt lose a lot of supporters, for sure, when they realize an athlete they celebrate has stark political differences than they have. He's not the first nor the last athlete to choose not to visit the White House.

It's a moment in which a professional athlete uses his fame, his influence for something he believes in, and does something that won't be popular among fans or media. Sean Avery did the same thing: Potentially alienating his teammates by taking a political stand on gay marriage.

If he's celebrated and Thomas is demonized, what does that say about our real tolerance of free speech? That it's only free when we agree with it?

(And for the "separation of politics and hockey" crowd — that flies out the window when you agree to be a backdrop to a speech in an election year. Or any year.)

There's a difference between freedom of speech and speech without consequence, of course. This is the moment when Tim Thomas, the most valuable player to his team last June, did something that detracted from his teammates' celebration. This is the moment when, for better or worse, he becomes something more than the blue-collar hockey player from Flint with the great backstory and the sterling save percentage.

And as long as he's willing to accept that his absence from an event that even Tomas Kaberle attended has overshadowed this day and changed his profile as an athlete, then like Cam Neely I'll respect the decision.

[Ed Anger]

Milan Lucic put the defense secretary through the plexiglass.

[Zoupa]

What a douche.

[Ed Anger]

However, he makes delicious muffins.

[Grey Fox]

So Tim Thomas is racist, eh.

[katmai]

So Tim Thomas is racist, eh.

No, just a Beck loving retard.

[Barrister]

One of the stupidest articles ever on the Return of the Jets:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1194181/1/index.htm

Yeah, it's in SI, which is why I decided to link it.

But it spends the first half of the article slamming Winnipeg, before finally getting to its point that things are going great (Hello?  Ever heard the concept of 'burying your lead'?)  For God knows what reason they interview a 90 year old Monty freakin Hall, who although I love the man hasn't lived in Winnipeg since 1946 (according to wiki).  And of course not to mention how OLD this story is by now - the move was announced last May, and they've been playing since last October.

[PRC]

So Tim Thomas is racist, eh.

No, just a Beck loving retard.

Dave Hodge of TSN tweeted this:

"Don't know if it's fair to point this out, but Tim Thomas has three children named Kiley, Kelsey and Keegan."

[viper37]

Bah, any city with an NHL team can't be boring

[Barrister]

Bah, any city with an NHL team can't be boring

... except Columbus.

[Zoupa]

So Tim Thomas is racist, eh.

No, just a Beck loving retard.

Dave Hodge of TSN tweeted this:

"Don't know if it's fair to point this out, but Tim Thomas has three children named Kiley, Kelsey and Keegan."

[Grey Fox]

Yep, racist.

[Barrister]

Surely at this point everyone recognizes that Winnipeg is here to stay, but in case there are any remaining doubters...

Reborn Jets a success off the ice
Rank high in per-game revenue
By: Ed Tait

Posted: 02/1/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 6 (including replies)

0 0 ShareNewPrint E–mail Report Error 
Enlarge Image

The Philadelphia Flyers' Brayden Schenn goes after the puck against Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec during the first period at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tuesday.The Jets won 2-1 in a shootout. (YONG KIM/ MCCLATCHEY NEWS SERVICE)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The building is jammed every night, merchandise is flying off the shelves and the buzz around the Winnipeg Jets is still electric.

And so, not surprisingly, business is very good with Winnipeg's reborn National Hockey League franchise.

Just how good? On a comparative scale, consider this:

Toronto radio host Bob McCown reported this week on Prime Time Sports the Jets are ranked in the Top 10 among NHL teams in terms of per-game revenue, while Doug MacLean -- the former Florida Panthers coach and Columbus Blue Jackets GM, also now with Sportsnet -- stated his sources have the Jets in the Top 15.

Both suggested those numbers are revealing, not just because Winnipeg is the NHL's smallest market but because of what it says of the state of some of the franchises struggling in the United States.

Jets governor Mark Chipman opted not to comment on the report -- hardly surprising given NHL teams generally guard their financial results like state secrets.

The math, however, is easy. With an average ticket price of approximately $82 and a capacity of 15,004 at the MTS Centre, Winnipeg's per-game number on tickets alone is well north of $1 million.

Despite playing in the league's smallest venue, the Jets have played to 100 per cent capacity and rank 25th in official league attendance, ahead of Columbus, Anaheim, Dallas, the New York Islanders and Phoenix.

As well, the Jets are apparently ranked No. 2 in merchandise sales among all NHL teams while all of the suites at MTS Centre are sold out for the next few years.

The per-game revenue status, however, should not be confused with a team's total revenue number, which is used to determine what, if any, revenue sharing a franchise is entitled to under the current CBA.

To qualify for a full share in that department, a payment from the NHL in excess of $10 million per season, a team must meet attendance targets set by the league (about 14,000), other revenue targets, still be in the bottom 15 of the league in total revenues and be in a market of less than 2.5 million.

It's designed to help smaller-market clubs -- who have fewer corporate and business opportunities -- compete with the mega-market teams of the league, and sources have said in recent conversations that Winnipeg's status as a revenue-sharing team is not in jeopardy.



[email protected] Twitter: @WFPEdTait
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 1, 2012 D2

I actually heard McCown's bit on the radio (he's a Toronto-centric self-omportant blowhard, but he does have his sources) and he said they were 10th, not Top Ten, but whatever.  Of course he mentioned it in the context of how poorly the league was doing in the US if even Winnipeg was 10th in the league.

[Grey Fox]

BB, do you know if there are any plans to expand the MTS centre beyond 15k capacity?