COMMENT

SKATE OF AFFAIRS

FEBRUARY 2009

YOUR BEST FRIEND
Your Best Friend will be a tough band to catch up with by the time Spring comes around. If you were to buy stock in one band locally, you would want it to be YBF.

THE TRAVELING KID SECRET
The number of Traveling Kid shows has decreased a little bit. The reason is due to a special surprise that The Tridge has an exclusive on.

MANUFACTURING MICHIGAN
2008 will certainly not be remembered as a year that was friendly to the manufacturing sector, Michigan businesses, or anyone for that matter.

WAITING TO EXHALE
The Mackinac Center's Russ Harding discusses that regulating CO2 is a good way to move the economy into depression

Gary Bettman is the most powerful man in the world. Well, at least in the hockey world. With the general success that the Red Wings/Penguins Stanley Cup Final garnered, things certainly seem to be looking up in a league that is desperate to get its product to every corner imaginable in the United States. Commissioner Bettman insists that the league is better off now than ever before, citing the improved TV ratings from this year's Finals.

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Bryan W. Thumme is the president and chief executive officer of Midland Hockey. He also serves on the board of advisors for the arts and culture magazine, The Tridge. Reach him at bryan@thetridge.com.

Last year's matchup between the Disney-founded Anaheim "Ducks" (Not mighty anymore!) and Canadian-based Ottawa Senators drew an average of 1.7 million viewers in the United States. By comparison the NBA, had a record low in views: 6.2 million. The NHL, with a much more appealing matchup this year in Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins and the hockey empire known as the Red Wings, the ratings were much better this year, but still did not manage to crack 5 million viewers on average. (For reference, American Idol had 36 million viewers. Yeah, I can't comprehend that either.)

However, not all is well in the hockey world. William Del Biaggio, owner of the Nashville Predators, recently filed for bankruptcy. Last year, he tried to sell his team to Jim Balsillie. Balsillie is the mastermind behind RIM's Blackberry technology. After he tried and failed to buy the ailing Penguins franchise in 2006, he made another attempt to purchase the lackluster Predators during last year's off-season. Del Biaggio agreed, but like every other pro sports organization, league approval was needed, and the league did not approve.

The most likely scenario was that Balisillie, who is Canadian, would have re-located the team from Nashville to either Hamilton, Ontario or possibly even the Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) region. While league officials danced around why they denied the request, it's obvious to followers of hockey - Bettman does not want more Canadian teams - no, the game has to be moved to places in the United States since that is where all the money is made.

In the last seven years, the league has seen teams relocated to areas such as Phoenix, Raleigh ("Carolina"), Denver ("Colorado") and Dallas as well as expansion in Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and St. Paul ("Minnesota"). Of those teams, the ones that have struggled the most are Carolina, Nashville, and Atlanta. The main reason is fan support. These teams practically were giving away tickets to try and get people to fill the stands so that they could go to the league and say, "See! People support us."

The areas I described are not what you call hockey markets per se, which is why the NHL wanted to go there (and by NHL, I mean Bettman). The thought of getting all these new people to the game meant that the league would become the talk of the south. It would be "the thing" to see. Know what the problem is though? Most people in the south don't give a damn about hockey. Sure, there are select people there, just as there are people who follow Australian Rules Football and cricket here in Michigan.

With an already over-expanded league then, can you believe the league is still looking to expand!? Talks are about a team to Las Vegas or Kansas City. Of those two, I hate both, but Kansas City has a brand new arena in the Sprint Center making it a little more attractive. I have a better idea though: Seattle.

Last week, the NBA's Seattle Supersonics left the town on bad terms and is relocating to Oklahoma City. While Oklahoma City doesn't have a pro sports team, the New Orleans Hornets played some of their games there last year because of Hurricane Katrina. This is a perfect chance for the NHL to finally put a team somewhere where there is a chance to survive. The nearest team to Seattle is Vancouver, at approximately 122 miles away. The Canucks have an avid fan base and regularly pack General Motors Place. However, looking at the big picture, the next nearest teams proximity wise are Calgary (675 miles driving) and Edmonton (791). In the States, San Jose sits 840 miles to the south. That would mean that Seattle would have, literally, the entire Northwest to draw from. Better yet, there wouldn't be any competition. With no Supersonics, that would divert all media attention (except on Sundays) to the Seattle team.

While an NBA team more than likely will be back in the Emerald City within five years, that won't happen until there is a new arena built: KeyArena, which by the way houses the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds (Major Junior Hockey, think Saginaw Spirit but out west.) That means that there will be a new arena within a year or two (assuming this re-location would happen next year). An untapped market, fans in need of a team, and a new arena to come, what else could the league ask for?

The only issue is how does the team get there. Expansion is highly unlikely. All that will do is dilute the talent even more. Re-location then remains the only alternative. I have stated before that it needs to come from one of the Southeastern teams, most likely Atlanta, Nashville, or the Carolina franchise. The other two may even contract, although that is highly unlikely as well, since Bettman refuses to acknowledge that both teams are spiraling out of control. Need more evidence that people don't want hockey in the South? A June 1st poll on ESPN asked fans to vote for which they wanted to watch more: The Stanley Cup Finals or a MMA fight that featured Kimbo Slice. Although the majority was for hockey (by majority I mean 52%), it wasn't that number that piqued my interest. When ESPN does their polls, they also show what the majority of each state's vote was, similar to what you would see in elections. And there it was: divided by the Mason-Dixon line, the entire North voted for hockey, while the south voted for the MMA fight. I was at a loss of words when I saw it. That was the icing on the cake.

So here's what needs to be done:

· First and foremost, the TV contract. While Versus and NBC provide decent broadcasts, it still remains that they are channels people don't watch. The NHL needs to plead and beg with ESPN to get a deal, even if it means ESPN 2 and costing the league a substantial amount of money.

· Contract. Atlanta, Nashville, Carolina, maybe even another team need to go. The South has shown they don't want hockey from abysmal TV ratings and poor attendance.

· Re-locate. Even if it's not Seattle, just move teams as far away from that SE region as possible. Canada is a good choice, Mr. Bettman.

· Stop making all these changes. Hockey isn't what it used to be 10 years ago when the league outdrew the NBA. While I do favor the shootout, it seems like anytime you hit a player now it's a penalty now.

While I'm sure none of the points I just made will happen, the fact remains that it is an uphill battle for the league. Thankfully, the league is climbing that hill. For the 2008-09 season, every team will play each other at least once, which is a great chance to showcase some of the elite talent in the league. For those of you who don't really follow hockey, do yourself a favor and check out a game. You might be surprised that it is actually entertaining.

Bryan W. Thumme is the president and chief executive officer of Midland Hockey. He also serves on the board of advisors for the arts and culture magazine, The Tridge. Reach him at bryan@thetridge.com