Saturday, July 12, 2003
Well, I was gonna start off today's blog with, "expect the schedule within a week or two."
Instead, we learn from Darren Hunt of the El Paso Times that the Buzzards may yet move out of the defunct teams forum.
An ownership group led by Conrad Thomas is seeking local investors for a last-minute bid to play this year. Which, with all due respect to Brian Kennedy and the wonderful fans of El Paso, seems like a terrible idea.
First of all, at this point you'd be screwing with the scheduling and ticket sales of 17 other teams.
Second of all, gearing up to play this late with no coach and no returning players can't be good for the product on the ice.
Third of all, if this group doesn't already have enough money to buy the club and then some, they probably don't have enough to do what it takes to revive hockey in El Paso.
Face it, if it was such a good idea the investors -- including other parties which supposedly have interest, and one which did but changed their mind -- would already be on board.
This isn't about the 500 or a thousand fans who love their Buzzards hockey -- it's about everybody else. A year off and a fresh start can only help to win those people back.
Drop the puck this year, and you're looking at a season like the Saints had, on the ice and at the gate.
So expect the schedule within a week or two.
Point Shots
Good piece by John Erfort on Mike Gorman's departure from Odessa. Four AHL cities within driving distance of Flint -- fair enough. Given that he's only 23, the book is certainly not closed on Gorman's chances at that level.
He's no Hatcher, but with the signing of Don Sweeney, at least Chris Perry has a reason to pay attention to the Stars.
Meanwhile, the Bruins made another ex-defenseman, Norm MacIver, their assistant coach. That means Brent Hughes still has to compete with interim head man Scott Gordon for the Providence AHL job.
No wonder the Baton Rouge Kingfish are kaput: they had Brian Leetch, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuck right in their backyard, and didn't take advantage!
Apparently Doug Johnson remained in intensive care as of yesterday, though he's doing as well as could be expected. You'll find another address (the hospital itself) and more news from the Johnson family at that link, which is to an old Ice Pirates board (thanks Tara).
Instead, we learn from Darren Hunt of the El Paso Times that the Buzzards may yet move out of the defunct teams forum.
An ownership group led by Conrad Thomas is seeking local investors for a last-minute bid to play this year. Which, with all due respect to Brian Kennedy and the wonderful fans of El Paso, seems like a terrible idea.
First of all, at this point you'd be screwing with the scheduling and ticket sales of 17 other teams.
Second of all, gearing up to play this late with no coach and no returning players can't be good for the product on the ice.
Third of all, if this group doesn't already have enough money to buy the club and then some, they probably don't have enough to do what it takes to revive hockey in El Paso.
Face it, if it was such a good idea the investors -- including other parties which supposedly have interest, and one which did but changed their mind -- would already be on board.
This isn't about the 500 or a thousand fans who love their Buzzards hockey -- it's about everybody else. A year off and a fresh start can only help to win those people back.
Drop the puck this year, and you're looking at a season like the Saints had, on the ice and at the gate.
So expect the schedule within a week or two.
Point Shots
Good piece by John Erfort on Mike Gorman's departure from Odessa. Four AHL cities within driving distance of Flint -- fair enough. Given that he's only 23, the book is certainly not closed on Gorman's chances at that level.
He's no Hatcher, but with the signing of Don Sweeney, at least Chris Perry has a reason to pay attention to the Stars.
Meanwhile, the Bruins made another ex-defenseman, Norm MacIver, their assistant coach. That means Brent Hughes still has to compete with interim head man Scott Gordon for the Providence AHL job.
No wonder the Baton Rouge Kingfish are kaput: they had Brian Leetch, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuck right in their backyard, and didn't take advantage!
Apparently Doug Johnson remained in intensive care as of yesterday, though he's doing as well as could be expected. You'll find another address (the hospital itself) and more news from the Johnson family at that link, which is to an old Ice Pirates board (thanks Tara).
# posted by JC @ 10:00 AM 
