You can be forgiven if you're not up to speed on the Thrashers ownership dispute, what with all of the other issues going on. The Phoenix debacle has been well documented, here and elsewhere, and earlier today we learned more of Stars owner Thomas Hicks's financial difficulty. There's also infighting in Tampa Bay and an owner on Long Island who'll have to sell without a massive real estate development approval in the near future.

One-third of the Predators franchise, meanwhile, is tied up in a bankruptcy court somewhere.

And then there's Atlanta, a group of eight owners known as the Spirit group that have quietly been embroiled in a dispute over how to run the NBA's Hawks and the Thrashers for more than four years. Today's development sees one potential resolution to that dispute tossed out of court, leaving all eight still together, unhappily, but with perhaps just a little less turmoil.

Here's a good take from Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Against the odds, the Spirit has shown it can move forward while being torn litigiously asunder. The Hawks had a very good season and an even better summer. The Thrashers are showing signs of stirring. This partnership fits no earthly notion of a model, but as long as the teams are spending money and trying to win, do we really care?

And here’s the key part: With no ongoing court case — Belkin can appeal this decision, but he isn’t apt to win — the Spirit can look beyond the next deposition. Rumors have circulated for months that the Spirit might sell the Thrashers (while keeping the Hawks), but nobody could do anything while the Maryland decision was pending.

That could well be the best thing for Atlanta sports fans. It’s no secret that, with the exception of Levenson, the Spirit has always cared more about basketball. If the group could find a suitable local buyer, I doubt Blueland would revolt.

Some may scoff at the idea that the Thrashers are "showing signs of stirring," but this is a team that has quietly had the third highest payroll jump in the NHL this summer (behind Toronto and Los Angeles) and is now spending right at the salary midpoint with the additions of Pavel Kubina and Nik Antropov. Atlanta scored a lot of goals last year for a bad team and was one of the better Eastern Conference clubs over the last third of the season or so. They've obviously got a ways to go on defence and in goal, but gains could come in those areas.

The key for the Thrashers is that we're obviously getting down to end game for both GM Don Waddell and superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, one of whom will be canned and the other who will walk as a free agent if this team misses the postseason again. This is as close as this franchise will get to "going for it" under Waddell's watch, and that the ownership situation may be stabilizing — with a sale coming on the horizon — is good news after so much uncertainty.

The only problem being that there's only one man out there looking to buy a hockey team these days, and he's a little occupied at the moment.

Just as we saw last year with the Panthers, it's playoffs or bust for Atlanta this season. Kovalchuk will be the No. 1 trade deadline target if the Thrashers are out of the mix by March, and I doubt the Blueland faithful want The Don making that deal.