FanNation - The Republic of Sport

:) I would not be shocked to find that the KC hockey interest company doesn't pay for posts ... but anyways - from what I can tell, I would think Milwaukee would be a better fit, and that with the new ownership attitude in Chicago that a ready-made geographical rivalry would make a lot more sense.

"Our city leaders would look for a way to develop youth hockey leagues: (in KC)

?! Are you kidding? You do realize of course that in KC you have a metropolitan area that refuses to actually learn how to clear off snow -because buying sand is just too much money --- how exactly would they then "fund" youth hockey? Frankly from the perspective of an ex-Kansas Citian and a hockey player from Line Creek- well that's just dreaming. (Or spin... take your pick).

Seabird - kindly look at post on this thread:

"conman33 | 08/18/08, 04:28 PM " That is the quote I'd used- I failed to properly attribute a quote. So no I didn't say that stuff in caps that I used the quote marks on,

I think what I did was unintentionally omit the fact that the quote I'd used above was from someone else. It was from maybe page 3 or 4 and some guy with a Hank Stram avatar going by the user name of Conman33 ...

In looking at the post -well duh me, it looks like I wrote the thing- and well that isn't so good. :/ I apologize for the confusion.

If that was directed at me- sorry, I guess I got carried away (I hadn't read the entire thing before I got into posting it).

The only point I was trying make was in my opinion that is how people in KC actually feel about ice hockey... not that I agree with it....

"WOW, SHOCKING. WE'RE NOT STUPID HERE IN KC, MARIO. WE DON'T EVEN WANT HOCKEY BECAUSE IT'S NOT EVEN A REAL SPORT."

Conman33 - well no kidding I've been reamed out on other boards for pointing that same thing out -- now I got an idea- why not go and tell those dips at the KC sports radio stations and the KC Star just that .... because it is those idiots and the idiot suits that must be paying them off that are pumping this load of crap out there and if by any miracle their plan to get an NHL team actually gets one - unless they luck into a decent team like they did in Denver - it will be an embarrassment for the city -as well as for the idiot suits that are more like into snake oil sales.

Honestly- **** are guys like you when these media types in town get on their soapboxes and start blathering about this crap?!

Point of order - the Royals were an expansion team - it was the A's that were brought from out of town.

Actually I think it is actually news to KC (or at least the idiots at their only paper in town --- who know squat about the NHL or ice hockey) -and it isn't like it wasn't obvious at the time -- wake the (expletive) up KC - your new stadium is just exactly that a fantastic bargaining chip for owners wanting a better deal *where they are already - duh ...

I mean think about it - when the IHL merged with the AHL the then owner of the KC team also owned a team in (iirc) Grand Rapids Michigan ... now if KC was such a great town- why would you fold the KC team and stick with a team in that potential NHL town of Grand Rapids Michigan ( sarcasm definitely intended) - well you don't -- if KC is a viable town for ice hockey- and .. guess what? It wasn't viable for the AHL -in one owner's mind - why the blank would it be viable for the NHL (new stadium or not).

Just another example of the KC Star's bubble being burst -this time by Mario Lemieux -I would have said "reality" too -but I think the reality was there all along... the Dumb Fecal Matters.

Being a Blackhawk fan and having endured the Mike Smith years I got to experience a fair few Russian players during that time - and considering the effort put in ( akin to punching a time clock)- I think it is debatable as to who was robbing whom.

Enjoy the toilet paper line Radulov ...

"Tomorrow he'll say that the Canucks will beat the Leafs in 7 games in the Cup Finals!!!"

... of course even so he'd still have a ways to go to beat an old Gary Thorne prediction (saw it myself in the 1990's) during a pregame blurb he was doing to promote a game between Detroit and Vancouver... he speculated that this particular match up could be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals ... (not too likely considering they played then [as they still do] in the same conference.)

Isn't it time for another Mats Forsberg non-story- or is it Peter Sundin today- and where oh where will Khabibulin end up ... my moneys is the Cubs will trade for him --- :/

or.. actually I have it on authority that this Isle's coach was speaking strictly in terms of the Isles winning the SC in a video game.

Personally I think there ought to be a rule that you have to go out with the same rah rah rah attitude that you had when you got hired -- when you get fired ---- it'd make things more interesting.

"For starters, Chicago must atleast win the Winter Classic this year, which right now does not look very likely...."

Huh? Look, for starters Chicago was very competitive with Detroit last season- so how exactly not winning a game on January 1, 2009 isn't very likely in August 2008 isn't exactly realistic -even in Vegas. And by very competitive I mean they owned the Red Wings the first half of the season when no one else could touch them. I'm not saying Chicago wins anything against Detroit this coming season - just that I have no idea how anyone can say they can't.

If Lombardi is *desperate*- then why does Tallon have to move Khabibulin again? Who cares if they have that much tied up in goaltending in Chicago- it is*after all* only for one season.

Look BG- if you are a GM and know that another GM is desperate -especially for salary- and you know you can shift around afew pieces yourself - is there actually any need to just dump salary when you can actually afford to wait?

Personally they might want to stick to reporting about the Bruins at the BG - since apparently they can't figure the situation in Chicago out... and it is pretty simple really--- none of the 3 high dollar free agents that Chicago has is signed after this season meaning they are instantly under the cap for next season -- does nothing for this season- sure- but you know you might expect a "journalist" to maybe try and figure out about how far over the cap Chicago is -- and it doesn't appear to be all that much...


but the fact is - that it is far from desperate in Chi-Town and in LA it seems like Lombardi is about 12 or 13 mil away from the salary floor -and if LA wants goaltending -then they have to be prepared to pay -and probably not in draft choices- since Chicago has all of their's for the 2009 draft -because Chicago is in a position where they don't necessarily have to trade Khabi- so BG reporter guy - what GM *would* you rather be at this moment?

I'll take Chicago's position any day.

Hank:

"Southern Cross 116

Hockey failed in KC with the Scouts.

It does not deserve a second chance."

You know the only argument I might have with you on this one is why they ever deserved a first chance. . .

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"No such thing as a rabid Nashville fan unless you try to take away his BBQ."

CPE - It doesn't sound like you'd ever been to KC ---- same thing there

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"Hockey failed in Atlanta also .... and they got a second chance! Oh! Wait! That just proves your point!"

Not really - Atlanta is a lot bigger market than KC -or most US cities for that matter.

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Regarding Canadian cities losing NHL franchises - I think the then much weaker Canadian dollar had a lot to do with things -- certainly not because there was any big clamor for it coming from south of the Mason-Dixon line ... I mean honestly that entire line of "thought" sounds a lot like Paul Newman's attempt to sell the Charlestown Chiefs to some unnamed buyer in florida .. get some what in the for sale sign??? :D

"100,000 rabid Nashville fans isn't nearly enough to justify a team.

And once any Tennessean gets behind me I'm concerned for my back passage's structural integrity."


2 points...

1) so having like 1-10,000 "rabid" NHL fans in Kansas City is? (Ok, that's Bettman for you...)

and 2)

Look, in a fiar bit of Missourah you have exactly the same problem... you know the Ned Beatty squealing like a pig thing you are referring to. . .

I'm sure "The Wall" can manage that for you Bos GM - of course it might be for the opposing team, but why get technical... ;)

Cruiser --1, the Savard thing was not serious, but 2- that salary floor thing is real for some teams, so it is possible that some assets would be coming for a guy like Khabibulin,, maybe even Havlat and Lang as well. And if I am wrong about that -then really what's the difference - I mean the cap clearance for next season is still something - anything you get for player's in that position is a bonus.

"The Bulin Wall to the Rangers for Drury." Nice try----

How about to Boston for Marc Savard?

This one isn't so much about Nashville as it is about AEG -and what they apparently have been trying to do to fill their non-tenanted stadium that they manage in Kansas City. . .

don't look for a team to be let into KC anytime soon until this investigation is resolved... as AEG = the Kansas City stadium.

Well some facts- Khabibulin is signed through this year- you can bet he is gone from Chicago after this season no matter what.

Aren't there also some teams drastically below the salary floor? I heard that LA was like 12 or 13 million away from the min team salary. And Kopitar is underpaid being relatively new to the league.

Khabi is overpriced... ok - so here is a match ... now in LA - you don't want to part with your better younger player(s) -so you have to figure out how in heck you can do this without getting screwed over by the Chicago GM .... with his overpriced over the hill goalie he is offering. . . but yet there don't really seem like that many decent UFA's wanting to go to LA (sort of the situation you saw in Chicago during the past 10 or so odd years...) so really all you might be able to *do* is trade for higher salary run down players...

Now Chicago doesn't appear to actually be that far over the cap, and it seems like they could actually work around that without trading Khabibulin unless someone wants to give up something decent for him ... ok so who would do that- well probably not any competitive team at this point ... but the teams not at the floor- and a longer ways off don't have as many options...

See in my opinion, that this is where having dealt with the Dollar Bill Wirtz method of throwing money around like manhole covers ... works in Tallon's favor... I think I'd rather be in his place than one of those GM's needing to drastically increase their teams' payrolls. . .

Especially since both Khabibulin and Havlat at the worst won't be the same cap hit at all next year- and that assumes they'd even get signed by Chicago -which I am not ... the Blackhawks dp a littlle bit of juggling- and it ends at the end of this season ... at best they might make off with someone's underpaid rising star since they decided it was in their teams' interest in throwing nickels around like those manhole covers that Wirtz used to do.

I don't think the Hawks want or need draft picks at this point, they seem fully stocked for next season -now if it were me and someone had a potential lottery team -and were dumb enough to offer a number 1 if it were me I'd have to seriously consider it... otherwise... what else you got? It seems like a seller's market for Khabi but not to everyone's team.

Considering that 'Boots' obviously wanted to move any team he had any even minute amount of pull in to Kansas City where he had a sweetheart deal from a city whose gov't was more than willing to do anything in its power to get a team to avoid making it look like they built a downtown arena (The Sprint Center) for the express purpose of housing an indoor football team .... and considering "Boots'" allegedly legal issues- it is probably a good thing (for Kansas City) -that this "Boots" fella failed.

Although with the nickname "Boots" he would have more than fit in with a certain segment of Kansas City "culture" --- I find it hard to believe that a guy like this -if he'd have been successful would have cleaned up -and after milking the situation for all it was worth -would have disappeared like so much flatulence on a windy day.

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BosGM - I think too it was more than Bettman- as it was also a combination of Kansas City selling themselves like 2 for 1 night in any red light district. I think Balsillie's biggest mistake was letting it be known that he planned on moving to Hamilton (no offense to Hamilton- I just think that Bettman saw dollar signs in KC) -- Hamilton would have made a lot more sense from a hockey perspective- but I am pretty sure that Bettman could care less about ice hockey.

Chicago's site shows him signed by the Hawks for 8 years.