The Dark Ranger: Armageddon In The Desert

Bio of TDR

TDR is a working professional in entertainment and is obsessed with the game of hockey. More fourteen years ago, this site emerged as a means (or an outlet) to tell some truth'isms about the game post-lockout, rather than the crud fed to us through knuckleheads like Jimmy Dolan and his lemmings universe. Today, there are a hundred Rangers sites and is thankful and grateful to all those that have come after him, but honorable thanks go to his fellow Dark-writers, Graying Mantis and J_Undisputed. And "Let's Go Rangers!"

Bio of General Ganz

General Ganz is a cynical yet well-informed student of the human spirit. He's a professional of sorts, with a post-graduate education, some experience working in real companies, and some limited athletic ability. The total small package. He got picked on a fair bit as a kid, and he experienced his first human-non-relation kiss in his teens. He also grew up on the other side of the tracks, thereby helping to cultivate a healthy contempt for dreamers and optimists whose rosy upbringing gave them something to smile about, even when "life produced lemons." Like it or not, his only mission is to point out the potholes you're lucky enough to miss on your drive to work. To find the blemish on your daughter's carefully-stitched (and not-yet-paid-for) wedding dress. To take that little smidgen of hope that your favorite hockey teams fill you with, and pour orange paint on it. Oh, and he is a Blueshirts fan, and takes most of his fashion direction from Ron Duguay (whose name he dropped as a way to close the deal on that first kiss).

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Armageddon In The Desert

All hockey fans are watching closely as to whether or not NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will lose the fight to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Phoenix, AZ and in/out of the hands of Blackberry-creator Jim Basillie. The result will mark Bettman's greatest victory or greatest failure in his tenure running the league. No middle ground here, folks. This is serious stuff because it essentially vaporizes Bettman's expansion plans for the NHL and questions how the league has essentially controlled their own legal system.

Greg Esposito of Ultimate Faceoff did a nice recap:

And then there were two.
According to court filings by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, the third bidder in the Coyotes saga, IceEdge LLC, has in formed the NHL that they do not intend on taking part in the auction for the team scheduled for Thursday. That means the bankruptcy auction is down to a Rocky Balboa versus Apollo Creed-type showdown between the NHL and Canadian ~~Superhero~~ billionaire Jim Balsillie (not quite sure who is Balboa and who is Creed, but $140 million is certainly the underdog to $212 million).
With both Jerry Reinsdorf and IceEdge out, bidders are officially dropping faster than pants in Paris Hilton’s house. Or for you die hard hockey fans, they are dropping faster than personal references in a Jeremy Roenick press conference. More here.

Slightly larger than MSG suing the NHL for a website, more interesting than wherever the hell Dany Heatley will play, and, most importantly, this entire Phoenix to Hamilton debacle has nothing to do with the New York Rangers and Glen Sather. Whew. Truth be told, if you like him or not, Gary Bettman is one mean son-of-a-beech when he needs to be, but can money ultimately beat the small-man's iron fists!!?

Enjoy the grudge match from a distance.

TDR

2 comments:

J_UndisputedThursday, September 10, 2009 3:37:00 PM
I'd like to money win out and completely destroy the little Hockey furer's dreams of warm weather expension teams as well as cut the b@lls off any other asinine initiatives he might be plotting.
Eventually I think the little hockey gremlin will prevail though. One, because the Gov't would see hardly any of the money from the sale. Two it paves the way for others properties to be uprooted from the US and sold somewhere else only to prosper and make more money the US gov't wont see.
Hamilton is kinda iffy in my opinion. If the sens filed for bankruptcy before, why would you try to build another team down the road directly in the shadow of the Leafs. Not the shadow is very dark at this point, mind you... and you could always steal fans off the fence with a winning team...but even when the Leafs have been losing, they have a loyal following. The last team that attempted something like this, won a few cups... but last I heard they were on their way to kansas city. ;P~
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The Dark RangerFriday, September 11, 2009 1:35:00 PM
I do think Basillie would make the team financially sound, as he has more money than (God minus Bill Gates = blackberry), but whether he can attract the talent is another thing. He can win this with money, but ultimately who wants to play Hamilton? If Heatley rejects Edmonton, imagine how many free agents will reject Hamilton. Though, it is hockey mania in that little Toronto area, not dis-similar to the proximity between the Rangers and NJ Devils--- just without that dump called Newark.
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