04/18/24
July 25, 2002
Go Sabres!: The owner of the Buffalo Sabres is arrested for fraudulent dealings, embezzling a billion dollars, and generally being a sneaky weasel guy. I never thought there would be an owner more hateable than Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins. Who knew?
John Rigas has to be one of the worst owners in sports.
posted by Samsonov14 to hockey at 03:11 PM - 3 comments
Five Groups interested in Sabres. Bettman says that he's committed to keeping the Sabres in Buffalo. Too bad, as I personally liked the idea of moving the Sabres "temporarily" to Hamilton... but Bettman would never let that happen. Move a team TO Canada?? That's crazy! Worst owners? What about the former LA Kings owners? Both Bruce McNall and Jeffrey Sudikoff -- McNall's replacement -- went to jail.
posted by mkn at 07:39 PM on July 25, 2002
They could always use another team up in the Pacific Northwest (like Portland). The Sabres are right on the border, they probably get a lot of Canadian fan support. Don't forget Detroit and the Minnesota Wild (why would anyone root for them, what a stupid name), they are also 'border' teams in a sense. mkn: I've always wondered, as someone born in Canada but raised in the states, why NHL teams are so under-represented. Well, when you do the math, they are not. Let's say that Canada has 30 million people and the U.S. has 285 million. Canada has 6 NHL teams (Canucks, Oilers, Flames, Leafs, Senators, Canadiens). That's one team for every five million people, or the size of say three major cities. In the United States, California practically has a population near 35 million people. They have 3 teams (Ducks, Sharks, Kings). That's 1 to every 11.5 million, roughly. Ohio has one team, and it boasts about 11 million citizens, not to mention the fact that there are no pro teams in Indiana, Kentucky, or West Virginia. These are all served by Nashville and Columbus and Pittsburgh. Some entire regions of America, like some rural regions of Canada, are not served by an NHL team. The difference for the Canadians is that minor hockey is much more prominent, with leagues like the OHL, WHL, and CHL. How many great players(especially Lanny McDonald) in the NHL first played for the Medicine Hat Tigers, for example? Junior hockey in Canada is superb, and worth watching. By the way, there are 24 American NHL teams, that works out to about 1 team for every 12 million people. Admittedly, a higher proportion of Canadians are interested in hockey, but statistically, Canadians are still better served in terms of NHL representation. At one point you guys had 8 teams! Now if only one of those teams could win the damn Cup.
posted by insomnyuk at 08:15 PM on July 25, 2002
Paul Allen of Microsoft fame has been trying for ages to bring a franchise to Portland, but the NHL is seemingly committed to keeping the Sabres in Buffalo. How is this going to affect their future?