Hartley Miller's Slap Shots - November 5th, 2010
Contraction is defined as a "decrease in economic and industrial activity" (www.dictionary.com). Oh yes, the dreaded "C" word. The NBA may be prepared, but the NHL needs to wake up, face reality, and act appropriately.
In a recent news conference, NBA Commissioner David Stern hinted the league may look at “contraction” as one strategy to solve its financial problems when he said, "I think that's a subject that will be on the table with the players as we look to see what's the optimum way to present our game, and are there cities and teams that cannot make it in the current economic environment".
Now, wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, utter those words? In reality, the league’s stubbornness and traditional thinking leaves them unwilling to walk down this road. For some reason all 30 teams are sacred.
Hello? It is time to take a hard look at the facts. Attendance figures do not lie. In five home dates, the Phoenix Coyotes drew crowds of 17,125 (home opener vs Detroit), 6,706 (vs LA), 8,189 (vs Carolina), 8,171 (vs Tampa) and 6,761 (vs Nashville). This is an average of 9,390 per game, which is just 53.7 per cent of capacity. Did I hear Jim Balsillie chuckle all the way from Southern Ontario?
So, here’s the bad news, fan apathy shows up in other cities as well. The Atlanta Thrashers are functioning at 59 per cent capacity (average 10,931); Columbus is at 64 per cent (average 11,702)
and the New York Islanders are at 72 per cent (average 11,702). Florida and Dallas are less than 80 per cent full with the Panthers averaging 13,725 and the Stars 14,028.
Come on, if the Islanders play the Panthers, or the Coyotes meet the Thrashers, how many people really care about which team wins?
If the NHL reduced the number of teams to 28, 26 or even 24, the league would improve the financial structure, the talent level and the rivalries. If the Canucks never played the Blue Jackets again, would anyone be bothered?
By the way, five of the six Canadian teams are at 100 per cent or more capacity while Ottawa is over 97 per cent.
Two thirds of the league teams are at a minimum 94 per cent capacity, so yes the NHL is thriving in most of its cities, however, the time has come to end the charade. There are not 30 profitable, viable franchises in the NHL.
If only Bettman could show the leadership of Stern and not avoid the word that begins with “C”. Sometimes more is not always merrier.
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Now that the high scoring Prince George Cougars are on the rise, some hockey fans are perplexed as to why attendance figures have not been improved. Four of six home dates at CN Centre have drawn crowds below 2,000, with another game drawing nearly 2,100. Thanks to many “free” tickets, 5,095 fans attended the home opener against Vancouver.
One does not need to be a marketing genius to understand that despite a winning record (following many years of futility) huge crowds will not suddenly return. It takes a long time to rebuild the fan base. Many former supporters are in a wait and see mode. On ice performance is not the sole reason companies and individuals did not renew season tickets over the years. It is one thing to build a strong fan base, which the Cougars once possessed; however, once the bulk of those fans started avoiding the games, it is difficult to recapture that support.
From the Quote Rack:
November 2, Election Day 2010.
JaMarcus Russell worked out for the Redskins. And here we thought Tuesday was the day we kick the bums OUT of Washington.
The Giants previous World Championship was in 1954. Curiously enough, that was Jamie Moyer’s rookie year.
Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California (www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com)
I heard the Giants World Series celebration got a little out of hand. Alcohol flowing. Nudity. Guys crying in the corner. Or as Charlie Sheen calls it: Just another Monday night.
Comedy writer Marc Ragovin of New York
A San Francisco marijuana dispensary offered one free joint to all Giants fans present at the shop every time the team hit a home run during the Series. Guess they called the promotion 'Toke Me Out To The Ballgame'.
Randy Moss has been claimed on waivers by Tennessee. I always knew Titan was short for 'Titanic'.
Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
When Tim Lincecom celebrated his World Series victory the number of people supporting the legalization of marijuana in California mushroomed.
There was a huge brawl during a Calgary Flames practice when GM Darryl Sutter fought with Coach Brent Sutter and hockey advisor Duane Sutter over which woodshed would be used to instill the annual motivational message to the troops.
Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgary (http://smacksport.blogspot.com/)
For Brett Favre it is now a record-setting 292 in a row. The number of times he has text photos of his penis without getting it caught in his zipper.
Comedy writer Jerry Perisho http://monologuewriter.blogspot.com/
And in case you missed it:
Graham Barker, a 45-year-old British librarian, has landed in the Guinness Book of Records after accumulating 0.8 ounces of his own belly-button lint over the past 26 years, the London Daily Mail reported. Veteran collectors say Barker's bizarre hobby is just like stamps or baseball cards — except no one wants to trade with you.Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times
Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com.
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