Yawn… guys give it up already, it isn’t going to happen.

A rather pathetic ploy in my opinion. Kicking sand has its place in the beginning of events like these, but now it can be rather damaging.

Cyril Leeder (the new president of the Senators) was asked about this whole affair. I didn’t actually hear the interview but the reporting indicates that Cyril recalled the challenges Ottawa faced when trying to land one of the expansion spots. He apparently noted how they emphasized how they would be “good boys” in the NHL club (my interpretation). By playing nice, they got their franchise.

On the tactic of continuing to piss off the good ‘ole boys – "how’s that been working for you so far" comes to mind. I’m beginning to be embarrassed by all this.

who cares if its annoying.

Bettman is 1,000,000 times more annoying than Basillie and his hellbent campaign to have a Toy Team to play with. this letter shouldnt even be asking “Why” Bettman won’t allow the sale – but why Bettman hasn’t gotten the hell out of the NHL already.

this whole issue obviously has a personal side. Bettman, if ever lets a team go to Hamilton, is only going to let some of his “boys” have that market and its eventual increased overall value.

how is this exercise “crossing the line” when 300 million lost “crossed the line” a long time ago. people love to be selective on analysis when theres a new topic of “annoying” to vent about. “forget historical process, im just annoyed with Basillie right now cause life in Canada is boring. why dont those Iranians get over their scammed election too? i mean, come on. it just looks childish now.”

What a spectacular piece of mismanagement. I cannot recall seeing anything quite like this. I thought the pure legal strategy to date has been horribly ill-conceived, and even the average person on the street can see that; however, this sets the new standard.

The emotions that this campaign has been stirring give me serious concern that something ugly (beyond the usual booing) is going to take place when Bettman steps to the podium in Montreal on Draft Day. If I was advising him, I’d tell him to create an excuse to stay home. I sincerely hope people attending the draft will remember the importance of that day for the kids being drafted and their families and act accordingly.

Gerald can speak for himself but I would say a legal strategy is “ill conceived” if you give the judge a perfect excuse to kick the ball down the field (which he was always likely to do) by poor planning and poor timing.

On another Balsille pr ploy, the attempt to pin the word “subsidy” on possible lease concessions by Glendale, it might interest people to know that Research in Motion received $38.6 million in what a taxpayer group calls “corporate welfare” from Industry Canada. Most of that was, I suspect during the startup years which is normal but who can say that (in NHL terms) the Coyotes aren’t also in their startup phase? If you oppose government subsidies because “millionaires” are involved then think about the massive subsidies that Hollywood receives from from US cities and states for shooting on location. They are in a similar business (entertainment) and they make a lot more money from their product than NHL owners do. If you oppose subsidies on principled grounds, as, say the Austrian School of economists does, then fine. But if you just buy into the anger that Rodier and others try to create by using “subsidy” as a synonym for “corporate welfare”, I say you are naive about how developed economies function.