tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10062266050653337322011-07-19T21:46:59.720-04:00Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.comBlogger1641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-5862766877927099732009-11-30T22:21:00.002-05:002009-11-30T22:26:11.171-05:00

I'm a Don Cherry fan. I don't agree with everything he says, but I think he has a good grip on whats right and wrong with hockey. I agree with him in the fact that Alexander Ovechkin gets away with some stuff that he shouldn't. When I saw him go down tonight with an injury, I felt bad for him. When I saw the replay of how it happened, I did not feel bad for him anymore. Take a look:I took that

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-58723805063302304822009-11-16T11:52:00.005-05:002009-11-16T12:19:54.668-05:00

So I was at the Rangers 2-1 SO Win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday afternoon inside Scotiabank Place. Ottawa is great, and even though the arena is in Kanata (about 10 minutes outside the city), there is plenty to do around Kanata as well.The Senators as a franchise were lucky enough to have the distinct advantage of being placed in Canada to start from a business perspective. Unless they never

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-58065442973243441362009-11-12T15:08:00.002-05:002009-11-12T15:26:31.970-05:00

Few will read this, but for those of you who will (because your either still following or you forgot to delete me from your RSS feeds), I'm back with a new look. Welcome to What a Pass (WaP for short), where I (Rob) give my dilettante-esque opinion on the business of Hockey and Soccer (and occasionally the sports) in North America (for the most part).If any of you remember Puck Money, this is the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-8553249645127377462009-05-06T09:39:00.003-04:002009-05-06T09:50:50.188-04:00

Yeah so by know you all probably know about the Phoenix Coyotes situation with Jim Basillie. Well if you are looking for more in depth reading, Here are some quality links:- A solid summary by James Mirtle (From The Rink).- The NHL is apparently really pissed off about this and this will all be heading to court (Mirtle - From The Rink). A couple of things about this...I received the email he

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-41926595424089640522009-05-03T16:35:00.002-04:002009-05-03T16:41:59.147-04:00

To any loyal readers:I am sorry to say that I will not continue this blog beyond this day. It has been four months of fun and I have learned a lot about the Business of Hockey, but I am unable to fully commit to writing this blog daily, which makes it unfair to you guys to keep it going. I am not deleting the site in case anyone needs my statistics and such, but this will most likely be the last

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-29285146272947210012009-04-29T13:18:00.002-04:002009-04-29T13:27:12.776-04:00

The Phoenix Coyotes are now living under the NHL's financial roof (AZ Central):The day after the team agreed to loan terms Feb. 24 with the NHL, it paid Glendale nearly $351,000 in overdue arena rent payments that dated to late summer 2008. The money also likely was used to meet player payroll. The loan, for an unknown amount, gives the NHL more control over the future of the Coyotes - including

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-79588487686963058752009-04-28T12:12:00.002-04:002009-04-28T12:21:38.114-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business world of Hockey...- The NHL and NHLPA are butting heads over a possible second franchise in the Toronto area via Relocation (Globe and Mail):"With a handful of Sun Belt teams struggling to sell hockey, NHLPA director of player affairs Glenn Healy believes the timing could not be better for the NHL to seriously look at transferring a second team to the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-59748085874520562462009-04-27T11:49:00.002-04:002009-04-27T11:51:51.520-04:00

Readers,I have a final tonight at 7 PM, a paper due Wednesday, and another Final on Thursday at 8 AM. Because of this I will most likely be absent most of the week. And it's 80 and Sunny in Norhtern New York, kill me now.Thanks for reading as always, and check out Blueshirt Banter for all your Rangers News and Opinion.Rob

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-24341056109848355942009-04-23T11:29:00.004-04:002009-04-23T11:47:32.596-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...A relatively big day business wise, lets kick it off:-All national TV outlets (American and Canadian) experienced a rise in ratings this season, along with 12 franchises gaining on the tube as well (Sports Business Journal):"The leaguewide increase at the gate carried over to television, where average ratings were up at each of the league’

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-65881819479096565122009-04-22T14:14:00.003-04:002009-04-22T14:24:16.951-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.Yes, I'm still around. School is winding down (one paper, two finals to go) so I will start thinking about my little corner of the Internet here instead of school so much (who needs it, right!?). Here's some headlines...- The Columbus Blue Jackets have generated over $2 Billion of economic impact in Columbus since their conception in 2000 (

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-13375063526028370042009-04-20T12:30:00.004-04:002009-04-20T12:42:50.656-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- A summary of the Game 1 Local TV Ratings (Puck The Media). NYC ratings surprisingly low.- The Blue Jackets are still operating at a loss (Business First of Columbus):"Q: Will making the playoffs make the team profitable this season? A: We’ll clearly operate at a loss. I’m not in a position to get into the details, but there are a number

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-88244188915821204902009-04-17T15:02:00.005-04:002009-04-17T15:12:00.566-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- Wednesday Nights TV Ratings for all the games (Puck The Media). Let's just say, we're off to a good start.- Last night was nearly as good with Boston pulling a 9.4 rating on NESN (Puck The Media).- Versus is also experiencing a playoff jump as well (Sports Media Watch).- Finally, some interesting information coming out about the Sabres (

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-34057237331902597962009-04-15T14:24:00.004-04:002009-04-15T14:31:39.564-04:00

I have a lot going on - tests, papers, presentations, Ranger playoff games, the norm. This is the only small post today to basically let you know that I will try to be around tomorrow with some more attendance figures, but if not I will be back on Friday when the dust settles.- The city of Allen, Texas; a wealthy northern suburb of Dallas will be getting a Central Hockey League team for the 2009-

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-61643788755855735592009-04-14T22:41:00.002-04:002009-04-14T22:46:46.604-04:00

As you guys know if you read regularly, I am a Rangers fan. I was five in 1994, and it is one of my first and greatest memories waking up to see Messier lifting the cup. I've also played for 15 years now with a semi-successful high school career and have coached when possible throughout college around home. So as much as I sit here in my little niche of the hockey blogging world, I do have an

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-49246558193428717172009-04-14T13:21:00.010-04:002009-04-14T14:07:01.297-04:00

With one more long day to go before the fight for the toughest championship in sports begins, I wanted to update as many graphs as I could with the final attendance statistics. First, what the title describes, the NHL average attendance by month (click to enlarge):Granted, April clearly had the least amount of games, but at the same time it was a good measuring stick for playoff tickets. The max

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-37402598140751532112009-04-13T10:17:00.006-04:002009-04-13T10:49:38.697-04:00

The United Center will be ready to go on Thursday against the Flames.The 2008-2009 NHL regular season is in the books. Coming up this week; final attendance updates across the board in all the categories, so stay tuned while we all wait for Wednesday.Chicago, Colorado, New York Islanders, and Philadelphia all wrapped up the season last night at home, as they round out their averages and the NHL

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-11038561101223115332009-04-12T14:51:00.006-04:002009-04-12T15:31:03.368-04:00

The Columbus faithful will be rewarded with the playoffs this spring.Eleven teams finished up their home games and seasons last night. Atlanta, Buffalo, Calgary, Columbus, Detroit, Florida, Los Angeles, Montreal, New Jersey, Phoenix, and Toronto were the teams. Lets take a look at their attendances (click to enlarge):This group has been the most boring of all so far, with no real shocking numbers

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-67956464593758564212009-04-11T12:29:00.002-04:002009-04-11T12:39:04.907-04:00

An empty Scottrade Center is a thing of the past...Another night of final home games on Friday, another day of fresh attendance stats. To the chart (click to enlarge):Anaheim, Edmonton, Minnesota, and St. Louis wrapped of their home ice schedules last night for the record. The Ducks dipped a bit from last season (which might have been an all-time high), but are still up over the long term and

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-14113218596156062682009-04-10T10:00:00.001-04:002009-04-10T10:00:00.303-04:00

These days are gone in Boston, for now.No daily memo today, I am traveling for a job interview. Sorry.Ahh, the smell of fresh Attendance statistics. Eight teams finished off their seasons at home last night, which gives us the final attendance (announced, that is) stats on their seasons. To the chart (click to enlarge):In alphabetical order; Boston, Carolina, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Pittsburgh,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-59450539449425948552009-04-09T09:56:00.007-04:002009-04-09T14:07:07.735-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- Literally no "news" that I know of, but the Nashville Predators played their final home game Tuesday night, so we have new stats (click to enlarge):Nashville finished up over a half a percent this season (announced attendance), where the Second Half Boost and their race for the playoffs (which looks bleak now) undoubtedly played a huge

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-46300584573378214822009-04-08T11:05:00.005-04:002009-04-08T12:51:11.856-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- So last night during the third period of the Canadiens - Rangers game Subway rented out the end glass where a virtual/digital Subway logo was in large letters across the glass. Innovative marketing, sure, but what is more funny is how many Ranger fans are actually mad at this (HF Boards). Some actually think it was a giant sticker, thus

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-56237768718258616762009-04-07T16:55:00.006-04:002009-04-07T17:11:52.485-04:00

Is Mr. Bettman being overly-optimistic?As I reported earlier, Gary Bettman was in Vegas promoting the NHL Awards when a gem of a business comment caught my eye in the Yahoo article that described the press conference:"Bettman said the NHL is in sound financial shape, and he expects to see league revenues to increase 5 percent this season. He said that playoff ticket sales and season ticket sales

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-66383010818560318802009-04-07T13:29:00.002-04:002009-04-07T13:47:20.160-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- The Nashville Predators will in fact reach the 14,000 paid average attendance mark for revenue sharing (The Tennessean):"That's big news for management, because it likely will mean more than $10 million dollars to help the franchise remain financially competitive with larger-market teams."- Playoff tickets that went on sale yesterday for

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-36813098249717242242009-04-06T11:32:00.007-04:002009-04-06T15:23:01.045-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- The Carolina Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot Saturday night, which means playoff tickets will go on sale Tuesday at noon to the public (Bizjournals).- The Blue Jackets neared there all-time TV Ratings record last Tuesday, drawing a 3.9 with their win over the Predators on FS Ohio (Sports Media Watch). The Blackhawks ratings are surging

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-18553244127968362772009-04-05T12:10:00.005-04:002009-04-05T12:52:38.103-04:00

Playoff Hockey will soon be back in Carolina... Here we have it, the last installment of the Second Half Boost series before the season ends. Wasn't it just All-Star weekend last week? It sure feels like it. As always, you can find all the previous editions here. Lets take a look at the Average Attendance figures first (click to enlarge): Carolina, Columbus, and L.A. still have the gold,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-56515757320563649632009-04-02T13:05:00.002-04:002009-04-02T13:19:44.586-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- The NBC Stanley Cup Finals broadcast schedule, and the problems with it (Puck The Media).- Jack Carnefix, the senior vice pres. of communications/new media for the ECHL, clarified to Mirtle yesterday about the reason as to why ECHL teams are dropping fast (From The Rink):"Travel costs are not really an issue as teams from the East and West

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-20071793923223464952009-04-01T14:50:00.008-04:002009-04-01T23:55:13.872-04:00

With March 2009 completely in the books, lets review how the month did attendance wise across the league and each of its divisions. Here is the last divisional update, and the last league-wide update. I would normally do it separately, but I've got all my stuff together so we mine as well do it all at once, no?First, the overall good news. The monthly Average Attendance for March is up about 2%

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-11949320068074219102009-04-01T11:43:00.006-04:002009-04-01T15:00:25.996-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- According to Stephen Brunt, Canada stands to benefit if the economy really "slams" the NHL going into next season (Globe and Mail). I can't say I disagree with him much.- Within days, the Washington Capitals look to sell-out their season tickets for next season (Washington Post):"Within days, the Capitals expect to be sold out of the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-14357587254088582012009-03-31T12:30:00.000-04:002009-03-31T12:33:01.162-04:00

Vince Vaughn at the 2009 Winter Classic.One of my roommates here at school is an Ottawa Senators "fan." I use the quotation marks because he doesn't watch any games during the season, he only knows three to five current players on the roster, and above all has absolutely no clue where they are in the standings. All that matters to him is two things. First, Mike Fisher stays with the team. And

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-86428378456987394432009-03-31T12:00:00.001-04:002009-03-31T12:15:46.731-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- The economy has struck down on the ECHL, causing the Dayton Bombers and the Mississippi Sea Wolves to suspend operations for next season, along with the Phoenix RoadRunners decision to cease operations altogether (ECHL.com). The Dayton and Mississippi clubs will have to report by June whether they plan to return to the league in 2010 or

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-63038375882508363042009-03-30T11:30:00.007-04:002009-03-30T16:29:08.626-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- Coming up this week: Check back later today for an opinion piece on Celebrity NHL fans ... Wednesday begins a new month, which means fresh monthly attendance reports either then or Thursday ... Finally, the week will wrap up/start with the usual bi-weekly Second Half Attendance Boost update. And on another note, I'm getting into crunch

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-44217723076971898832009-03-27T14:32:00.003-04:002009-03-27T14:43:25.054-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of HockeySlow day today, and with my first free weekend in a while, I'm not sure how much I'll be around until Sunday.- One thing I do plan on doing is catching the NCAA College Hockey Tourney on the various ESPN networks. If I was home I would be able catch em all, but ESPN 2 will do for today and tomorrow.- An updated look at the NHL and Olympic

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-50506252647809814472009-03-26T10:14:00.003-04:002009-03-26T10:28:31.677-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.Slow, slow day so far.- A look at the Escrow Situation along with some reporting on TV Revenues of four major sport leagues in the US (National Post):"The players are having 22.5 per cent of their cheques deducted and put into an account with J.P. Morgan until the league determines what the actual revenues from this season have been. Once

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-55983309263233383502009-03-25T11:37:00.003-04:002009-03-25T14:29:29.936-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- Smirnoff Vodka drinkers can catch the Coyotes host the Blues on April 7th due to the latest Coyotes ticket promotion. (Coyotes.com)- Wayne Gretzky admits the Coyotes financial troubles did creep into the locker room this season (Versus.com):“We tried to keep it out of our locker room as much as we could,” he told Versus.com. “Going into

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-17444906416360990282009-03-24T10:17:00.005-04:002009-03-24T10:35:43.878-04:00

Striving for a new look on this years attendance numbers as the season winds down, (more like desperate for some material) I figured this might give us a different look after watching a weekend full of my other favorite sport; soccer. For the Soccer incompetent, most leagues use the terms "week" or "round" for each weekend of league matches, just like the NFL.Now, as well all know the NHL does

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-67468101972676290002009-03-24T09:37:00.003-04:002009-03-24T09:55:15.296-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.- Gonna be in Vegas on June 18th? Will you be craving hockey after the playoffs end even more? Tickets for the NHL Awards Show at the Palms Hotel go on sale tomorrow at 3 PM EST. (NHL.com)- The Thrashers are dancing dangerously close to the Revenue Sharing Qualification line. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)- The Avalanche are in the midst of

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-8963256875498147652009-03-23T14:16:00.006-04:002009-03-23T18:43:53.472-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- Philly @ Pitt draws a 1.0/2 for NBC's Game of the Week yesterday (Puck The Media).- Are the Montreal Canadiens and the Bell Centre up for sale? (CBC)- If the Lighthouse Project for the Islanders does not go though, Queens is opening its arms to the club (NY Daily News).- Finally, an old Panthers commercial (head shot, Colin Campbell?):

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-20822135888352121762009-03-22T17:30:00.005-04:002009-03-22T18:02:09.640-04:00

As promised, here is the fourth installment of the Second Half Attendance Boost series. The last was two weeks ago, and you can find all three previous parts here. Without further adieu, the average attendance figures (click to enlarge):Carolina still leads the charge with LA and Columbus just behind. Columbus is still undoubtedly benefiting from the playoff fever, as they are currently in sixth

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-42049255138534830542009-03-21T12:42:00.002-04:002009-03-21T12:44:18.467-04:00

This week has been crazy as I am on break doing many different things. I will be back posting Monday afternoon. Thanks for visiting as always.One thing for the weekend that I was notified of, the New Jersey Devils are reducing season ticket prices next year and are also offering great deals with them. Take a look here.Come on back Monday.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-2834850545204597662009-03-18T11:21:00.003-04:002009-03-18T11:34:04.508-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- NBC has chosen two Red Wings games to finish out the season in the Game of the Week series (Puck The Media). The Wild visit the Wings on Sunday, April 5 followed by the Wings going to Chicago on Sunday, April 12.- James Mirtle posts four parts of a five part series that has been running in The Globe that takes a look at Junior hockey in

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-89819128968804260412009-03-17T10:52:00.003-04:002009-03-17T11:09:59.408-04:00

News and Notes around the Business World of Hockey...- Players are expected to forefit around 13% of their salaries (through escrow funds) in order to cover revenue shortfalls this season (Globe and Mail). However, because of the raise from 13.5% to 22.5% for the second half of the season, the players will recieve money back plus interest over the off-season:"If the union and league projections

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-59214253498543550152009-03-16T16:45:00.003-04:002009-03-16T16:56:19.556-04:00

I figured I would run this one more time before the end of the season. Here is the first part, and the second part.The Lightning out-average the Panthers by about a 1,000 per game (16,435 to 15,448), but this difference shrinks to about 100 if you just solely look at the second half figures (16,111 to 15,998) as of today.Here's the big graph (click to enlarge):Both teams benefit from their

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-36912105257140815152009-03-16T11:28:00.006-04:002009-03-16T16:37:41.841-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- Is Steve Avery the new NHL Golden Boy? (Puck The Media) - I like to think so.- The University of Wisconsin is going ahead with plans to build a new arena for the Badger's Men's and Woman's Division I hockey teams (BizJournals). This one is a bit different though, as the arena is going to be privately funded, which is unusual for a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-6932010101149466312009-03-15T16:58:00.002-04:002009-03-15T17:03:14.827-04:00

I apologize once again. I finished a hectic weekend in which my younger brother won the New York State High School Hockey Championship. I will be back tomorrow posting again.Congrats to the New Hartford Spartans on a 6-1 win, making this alumni proud as we lost the Section championship just two years ago.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-59523514518015932382009-03-13T19:57:00.002-04:002009-03-13T19:59:11.466-04:00

I apologize for the lack of posting today, I had a long Thursday night with friends, along with a 3 hour traveling session home to a new puppy. I will be back tomorrow.Thanks for reading, as always.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-15241602111323321032009-03-12T09:13:00.004-04:002009-03-12T12:09:10.121-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- Through 32 games, the Predators are averaging 13,940 paid tickets per game, a 7.6% gain since the same mark last season (Tennessean). Let's remember though, it is under the magic 14,000 revenue-sharing bar for this season.- More news on the Lighthouse Project as a public information session has been scheduled along with a long post on

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-38481181179670584782009-03-11T10:13:00.003-04:002009-03-11T15:21:23.623-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- The St. Louis Blues come out with a season ticket offer that if you renew by April 10th by putting as little as 10% down the season ticket prices will remain the same (Blues.com). If not, all season ticket prices go up by 10% for next season. And with the Blues only three points out of a playoff spot as of this morning, management is

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-91290679139335106002009-03-10T16:00:00.005-04:002009-03-10T17:21:38.601-04:00

Last Thursday, BizJournals came out with their "most successful" teams in the 2008 calendar year. Here's how they did it along with the time frame they used:"Half of a team’s score was determined by its level of success on the field, court or ice. Bizjournals’ formula considered each franchise’s win-loss record, average margin of victory (or defeat), and playoff results. The other half was

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-8278633062242068852009-03-10T11:39:00.005-04:002009-03-10T15:57:58.277-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- NBC goes with the Flyers visiting the Penguins for the Sunday, March 22nd Game of the Week (Puck The Media). Many are thinking "ughh, Penguins and Flyers again!?" but the game will be just as good as the other probably option (NJ @ BOS) and will most likely mean more as the Penguins fight for a playoff spot and the Flyers hold onto 4th

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-54330519578073221452009-03-10T09:45:00.002-04:002009-03-10T13:04:22.269-04:00

Welcome to the tenth and final edition of Playing Below Capacity. This has been a series at Puck Money where I take a look at teams (as of December) that are playing below 85% capacity. All previous editions can be found here. Now, if you noticed in that first link the Avalanche weren't playing below 85% as of December, but seeing as they have slipped below teams such as New Jersey and Los

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-664742978398211022009-03-09T10:32:00.005-04:002009-03-09T14:14:31.939-04:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...Couple of things on deck for today.- The NHL GM Meetings began today in Naples, FL. Scott Burnside of ESPN has the full rundown of all the events, meanwhile Paul Kukla posted a small but more business oriented post just a few minutes ago at KuklasKorner:"NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke to Scott Laughlin on Hockey This Morning from

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-83825561523199335112009-03-08T13:35:00.004-04:002009-03-08T14:39:16.079-04:00

I just like the guy in the cowboy hat.As much as there is nothing going on today, I still have some Second Half Attendance Boost numbers to present as they haven't been updated in two weeks. If you missed parts I and II, you can find them here. Let's first take a look at the average attendance numbers (click to enlarge):No huge changes. Carolina is riding a great streak right now, selling out 4

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-44258089137199872492009-03-07T11:50:00.006-05:002009-03-07T21:23:05.948-05:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...One big story to report today...- The Coyotes have apparently paid their bills (Arizona Republic)."The team suspended its payments on Jobing.com Arena last August due to contract negotiations, Coyotes and city officials said last week. Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes is in talks with investors about taking a majority stake in the NHL team...The

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-24175094122680670432009-03-06T11:38:00.003-05:002009-03-06T14:04:46.879-05:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- Three NHL Clubs are in the Top 10 of BizJournals new complete listing of all sports teams from the four major leagues in terms of being most successful in the calendar year of 2008. Five NHL clubs are in the top twenty (BizJournals). Here's the top five:4. Montreal Canadiens7. Detroit Red Wings10. Pittsburgh Penguins12. San Jose18.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-65549094256570772332009-03-05T11:08:00.010-05:002009-03-06T11:49:26.587-05:00

The 2008 All Star Game in AtlantaThe NHL is on pace for another record season in terms of overall revenue, ticket sales, average attendance, and TV ratings (the last since the lockout). The economy has reached new lows and every expert is forecasting hard times for the sports industry. How much danger is our sport in? A little, I think.First, lets take a look at the Hockey Related Revenues of the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-34119033319216710922009-03-05T10:01:00.007-05:002009-03-05T15:48:35.256-05:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...Couple of things thus far this morning.- The San Jose Sharks Tuesday night tilt against the Dallas Stars enjoyed the best TV Ratings in the history of Comcast SportsNet's coverage of the Sharks. The game drew a 2.1, beating their previous record of 2.0 (Jan. 29, 2009) (Sharks).- Although NHL.com is a great site for the league and the to-go

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-28760430773330965542009-03-04T10:44:00.004-05:002009-03-04T15:31:42.277-05:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...Very slow day thus far, as I'm not surprised.- Your media guide to Trade Deadline Day (Puck The Media)- According to a source who is a Pittsburgh Penguins season ticket holder, next seasons full-season ticket plan is going up 8%. Bold move by the Penguins.- On the same note, another source who is a Columbus Blue Jackets season ticket

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-30443682914700046802009-03-03T16:54:00.004-05:002009-03-03T17:16:37.936-05:00

The St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL.As I promised a couple of days ago with the NHL Division by Division average attendance, I stepped it up a bit today and took the average attendance of each division and broke it down into monthly form, through February naturally. Lets take a look at the East first (click to enlarge):The big shocker; the Southeast division is only41 average spectators away

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-53072517301178942782009-03-03T12:00:00.001-05:002009-03-03T16:44:57.802-05:00

Welcome to the ninth edition of Playing Below Capacity, a series where I take a look at teams (as of December) that are playing below 85% capacity attendance. All previous editions can be found here. Today its off to Atlanta, Georgia where the Thrashers rank 29th in average attendance at 14,501 and rank 30th in capacity attendance coming in at 78.2%. Atlanta has not benefited from the second half

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-28460504683889633292009-03-03T09:42:00.007-05:002009-03-03T14:13:55.921-05:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.Somewhat of a slow day today, Playing Below Capacity will be coming up soon.- An update/collection of all the ticket pricing news from the NHL and NBA (Sports Business Journal). They made this handy-dandy chart:- An opinion piece where Shane Morin-Farraway wants four teams to be contracted from the NHL (Bleacher Report)."Which leaves us with

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-58634037940324302462009-03-02T17:27:00.006-05:002009-03-02T17:46:57.385-05:00

The MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.As part I came only five days ago, this will be just a quick update. February was the NHL's best month in terms of average attendance thus far this season, and just nearly missed being the best month in terms of capacity attendance. Take a look at the now update chart (click to enlarge):December still reigns as king in terms of total spectators, but it is a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-47110089684738967082009-03-02T14:03:00.007-05:002009-03-02T14:29:08.468-05:00

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...- Really fun Player/League escrow amount news! Sports Business Journal (from Paul Kukla) reports that the NHL will retain $120 million in player salaries to cover shortfalls. This equates to about $ 4 million per team. From SBJ:"Sources familiar with league revenue projections said that 'significantly' more than $120 million in escrow

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-79408904565437389362009-03-01T09:30:00.003-05:002009-03-01T09:30:00.925-05:00

PostFinance Arena - Home of SC BernA quick note about about the picture above. This is where the New York Rangers played an exhibition game against SC Bern and the Inaugural Victoria Cup against Metallurg Magnitogorsk this past pre-season. The arena has the worlds largest standing room grandstand (for an arena) at just under 12,000; which is pictured. The arena is in Bern, Switzerland.Did a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-31479958534422822212009-02-28T12:32:00.008-05:002009-02-28T14:29:40.336-05:00

- Greg Sheehan at the Bleacher Report takes a look at what the lockout did for the NHL. Don't think the NHL is the strongest its ever been?"Premier talent commanded ridiculous salaries, perhaps acceptable in a more marketable sport, and with no ceiling. In fallout, the contracts of medium- and lower-level talents bore higher salaries, and with no regulations on team and individual player spending

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-80464904311739160332009-02-27T16:15:00.008-05:002009-02-27T16:53:07.033-05:00

As promised a couple of times over the week, here is a look at more NHL v. NBA attendance and NHL month by month attendance. Lets start with the latter.I decided to look at the month by month attendance this time through the capacity filled lens seeing that the amount of games in each month varies. With the average attendance, December has been the best month so far for the NHL, so lets see if

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-22103658742711823432009-02-27T09:51:00.005-05:002009-02-27T10:26:27.417-05:00

Plenty of news today.- According to Paul Kelley, the NHLPA Executive Director, the Salary Cap will remain the same or drop next season (Slam):"He figures the salary cap will be between $54 million and $57 million next season, but he can't say what will happen in 2010-11."- The Dallas Stars released some ticket pricing information (Dallas Business Journal). Highlights:• The reduction of the price

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-90229664376531954102009-02-26T21:06:00.005-05:002009-02-26T21:16:34.841-05:00

I changed up my spreadsheet today by applying a color scheme to each teams game by game attendance. I went through each teams schedule, month by month, and applied a different color so I can see (when the end of the season comes) which months were the strongest. So as I wait for the season to end, I figured I would find the NHL average attendance by month through January thus far. It isn't much,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-19892875020744954202009-02-26T13:01:00.004-05:002009-02-26T14:20:57.019-05:00

Couple of quick headlines. I'm pretty busy today but I managed to tinker with my attendance spreadsheet so I can do some new graphs and such; but that will come later tonight.- Remember the Maple Leafs raising ticket prices for next season on Tuesday? Ken Campbell has a good article at THN in reaction to that. The point of it? Essentially, the Leafs are covering potential gains for not being in

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-25714988932193142922009-02-25T19:43:00.005-05:002009-02-25T20:48:56.238-05:00

Seeing that a report recently caused some traffic to one of my NHL v. NBA attendance charts, I figured I would update it tonight. The previous chart showed that the NHL was outdrawing the NBA in terms of capacity attendance in five out of the ten markets the NHL and NBA directly (meaning they share the same building) share. This is still as of today, but in Denver the Nuggets of the NBA have

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-1516441459203681922009-02-25T14:06:00.003-05:002009-02-25T14:15:35.678-05:00

Relatively slow day after a big one yesterday...- The NHL Network is providing a free preview for six days starting March 2nd through March 7th (Puck The Media)."The NHL Network will offer a free preview to more than 34 million subscribers of multiple distributors in the United States, such as DIRECTV, DISH Network®, AT&T U-verse, Verizon, Cox Communications, Grande Communications and TVMAX,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-54610330357835642312009-02-24T17:21:00.003-05:002009-02-24T19:04:35.175-05:00

Today was a big day for the Lighthouse Project, as the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York (where the Lighthouse would be built), discussed and "passed" the Environmental Impact Statement for the project. I say "passed" because there wasn't any vote on it, it was discussed and no major problems arose. Although this is a much smaller part of the process that the project has to go through

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-60216009661431937032009-02-24T12:36:00.004-05:002009-02-24T12:47:21.916-05:00

- McDonald's Canada has more NHL promotion in store for this year, as they have released a new commercial revealing their mini-collectibles:Funny if you ask me. As you see at the end of the commercial, there are six mini-figurines to collect. I doubt this will run in the United States, but lets hope for some odd reason that it does.- In ticket pricing news, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be raising

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-10578225295337086882009-02-24T12:00:00.001-05:002009-02-24T12:09:22.579-05:00

Welcome to the eighth edition of Playing Below Capacity, a series here at Puck Money where I've been taking a look at teams (as of December) playing below 85% capacity in their arenas. The previous seven editions can be found here. Today its off to Sunrise, Florida where the Panthers are fighting for their first playoff appearance since the spring of 2000 and are currently ranked 29th in

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-68920655198767272082009-02-24T09:23:00.003-05:002009-02-24T09:31:50.761-05:00

Playing Below Capacity: Florida Panthers, will be coming up soon...- The City of Glendale, AZ has been quietly bailing out the Coyotes for the past several months."A record of lease payments by the Coyotes shows the city has been letting the team play virtually rent-free at Jobing.com Arena for seven months. Based on past payments, the break could be worth up to $4 million over the course of a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-82848902599606817522009-02-23T18:39:00.006-05:002009-02-23T19:14:43.139-05:00

A slow news day led me to re-visit the attendance battle between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers (Click here for first part). The two teams are now very much on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of playoff, as the Panthers push for its first playoff appearance in seven seasons. However, Tampa Bay is out-averaging the Panthers by about a 1,000 spectators per game, and

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-40328362849988390732009-02-23T14:04:00.006-05:002009-02-23T18:38:25.457-05:00

- Philadelphia Flyers ticket prices will not be raised next season (Philadelphia Business Journal). I think this applies for all prices after reading the article, but if not the season ticket prices will definitely not rise.- Yesterday's Pens @ Caps NBC Game of the Week draws a 1.1/3 overnight (Puck The Media).- Finally, some on-ice news for any fellow Blueshirt fans who follow me here, Tom

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-11103072277957267512009-02-22T15:38:00.004-05:002009-02-22T16:11:45.325-05:00

Not much news happening today, so I figured I would run the numbers on the second half attendance boost again. I plan to do this every other Sunday. You can view the first part here, and lets remember that for my sanity, the "halfway" point for each team was put at 20 home games. Note: Attendance figures used are updated through Saturday, Feb. 21st.First, the all-mighty chart:As you can see, I

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-30372030804892992722009-02-21T11:47:00.003-05:002009-02-21T12:19:03.339-05:00

Wednesday it was Phoenix, Thursday it was Nashville, and yesterday was Carolina. That was the route of Commissioner Gary Bettman, and each day he was in each city stories broke on different NHL franchises and their financial concerns.Bettman stated yesterday to the Tampa Tribune that the Lightning are fine financially. A little tidbit of detail was shed yesterday by the Tribune:The team also

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-74860493394006920312009-02-20T14:54:00.004-05:002009-02-20T22:45:10.859-05:00

Sorry about not posting all day, I had a busy day starting in the morning and has really turned sour with some family-related news. Not much to report anyways besides Nashville-relocation rumours that started out of nowhere just because Gary Bettman visited Tennessee and hosted his XM radio show, NHL Hour. (TSN, NHL.com).Work calls at 3:30, so maybe something later tonight, but otherwise enjoy

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-25056219813176056612009-02-19T17:32:00.005-05:002009-02-19T17:45:52.640-05:00

Chris Botta of Point Blank is claiming that "The Lighthouse project has a healthy pulse." Botta would definitely be one to know, as he was the former Vice President of Media Relations for the Islanders.Over the last 24 hours, Point Blank received more than a half-dozen anonymous tips in our Inbox that business was being conducted over the plans to transform the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-78165638898063938162009-02-19T11:48:00.007-05:002009-02-19T13:45:00.121-05:00

- Rangers/Flyers from last Sunday draws a 0.9 rating. Still up 13% from last seasons matchup of Stars/Red Wings at 0.8 (Puck The Media).- Let's start the Coyotes fun! After Dredger's original TSN report, Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes did confirm that they have received interest from investors. Yes, there is an s on the end of investors (azcentral.com).- In response to this news, David Shoalts writes

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-59114013438294127262009-02-18T23:52:00.003-05:002009-02-19T00:00:24.791-05:00

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Sports Business Daily, and Sports Business Digest; the NBA is borrowing $175 million which is to be distributed among 15 of its franchises. Where are they getting this money? Check out this quote from Sports Business Daily:The private-placement deal was arranged by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. In a private placement, non-banking lenders such

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-83144156013922606322009-02-18T14:19:00.004-05:002009-02-18T17:04:22.843-05:00

According to Fast Company, an industry leader magazine which focuses on business, the NHL is #7 on their list of the most innovative companies in sports (NHL.com article, Fast Company article). Fast Company seemed to be impressed with the NHL's Internet presence:NHL.com: The challenger brand of sports leagues is becoming quite the creative digital-media company. Free from other leagues'

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-25523674256320233522009-02-18T10:03:00.005-05:002009-02-18T10:09:56.555-05:00

Seeing as the "worldwide leader in sports" doesn't promote hockey, the fact that they use their usually funny "This is Sportscenter" with hockey-themed objects (in this case, mascots) is somewhat of a shock. Below are two "new" ads, I say "new" because I'm not exactly sure when they debuted, but I've seen ad each once in the past two days. There pretty funny as well:I like the second one

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-40413161613196219942009-02-17T21:55:00.001-05:002009-02-18T00:00:09.037-05:00

The Sedin twins kickin' it.Messing around on the 'net today, I found an article from October of '08 stating that in 2009 the MLS will pass the NHL and NBA in average attendance per game. Naturally, this got my wheels turning, as this is very much a possibility.Below is the chart that the blog Synthetic Turf provides for their argument:I thought this might be possible with the relatively old news

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-81285159174314050452009-02-17T14:00:00.003-05:002009-02-17T16:25:20.799-05:00

According to Sports Marketing and PR Roundup along with Marketing Daily, the NHL brand is back and stronger than ever. The articles cites changes to the on-ice rules, the NHL's strong Internet presence, and the creation of the Winter Classic as some of the biggest factors in the resurgence.I did a marketing piece a little over a week ago, which focused on moving forward using partnerships and

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-12858017978405439552009-02-17T11:35:00.001-05:002009-02-17T11:51:34.454-05:00

Welcome to the seventh edition of Playing Below Capacity, a series here at Puck Money where I take a look at teams playing below (as of December) 85% capacity. The previous six editions can be found on this page here. Today we visit Columbus, Ohio; where the Blue Jackets are fighting hard for their first playoff appearance since their inception in the NHL expansion of 2000. The Jackets are

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-40631919766010571662009-02-16T14:00:00.007-05:002009-02-16T14:28:37.898-05:00

- The Tampa Bay Lightning are accused of giving thousands of tickets away a night.Numbers provided by Hillsborough County, which owns the 13-year-old facility, show that through December (the latest data available) the team sold an average of 14,119 tickets for 16 dates. Announced crowds, however, averaged 16,698. NHL teams announce attendance based on tickets distributed, which means Tampa

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-15440119317778213202009-02-15T13:36:00.006-05:002009-02-15T18:26:27.098-05:00

First of all, the Rangers suck. Tom Renney is eventually going to take the fall for Glen Sather's awful GM decisions, and its a shame. He has overachieved with this club and brought the club back to life the past couple of seasons. End the Sather era in New York.Anyways...Wayne Gretzky spoke with HNIC's Inside Hockey last night. They started with the state of the Coyotes and eventually led to his

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-58247964543931966472009-02-14T12:41:00.003-05:002009-02-14T12:47:44.469-05:00

I managed to watch the second period between the Habs and Avs last night in Colorado, where they saluted the 100 seasons of the Canadiens by turning back the clock on their broadcast. They broadcasted in black and white (duh), but also with no scoreboard and between the faceoffs when they would look at a player a simple; 23 M.Hejduk - would come up. Here's a highlight as to how it looked (

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-5177251391114302022009-02-13T16:34:00.002-05:002009-02-13T16:42:47.006-05:00

Dan Rosen of NHL.com reported that Commissioner Bettman was touring the new Yankee Stadium Thursday as a possible site for the 2010 Winter Classic. Bettman was apparently invited by the Yankees to swing by. Bettman naturally backtracked, saying:"This was extremely preliminary," Bettman said. "To suggest we're even at the embryonic stage would be an exaggeration."I'm gonna call it now, the next

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-44522560230141657122009-02-13T13:06:00.010-05:002009-02-13T13:43:22.599-05:00

Back in the middle of December I did a little piece on which Divisions have the most stable attendances. I figured I'd revisit that today since every team has had at least about 10 home games since. It also gives us a chance to look at the game by game attendance of each team while were at it. Click the graphs enlarge/clarify them.- Central Division:December Stability Rating: 6 out of 10 (2

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-77345818999672204332009-02-13T11:25:00.004-05:002009-02-13T13:24:44.884-05:00

- Watching the Kings game last night, they announced a new ticket deal in the third period. The L.A. Kings Stretch Pack:The Kings (24-21-7, 55 pts) are in the playoff chase this year (Western Conference Standings), entering play on Feb. 12, just three points out of a playoff spot and six points out of fifth place in the West. Jump on the stretch run of the season as your Kings battle for a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-45173253631817484812009-02-12T20:23:00.004-05:002009-02-12T21:07:04.990-05:00

Seeing that the Flyers visit the Rangers this Sunday at 12:30 PM EST in NBC's Game of the Week, I figured I would show a scrapped NHL on FOX promo involving the two teams.Good night and come on back tomorrow.- Update (9 PM):George Richards of the Miami Herald says that the Panthers and Blackhawks will kick off the NHL Season in Helsinki, Finland along with the Red Wings and Blues in Stockholm,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-12891246770122766242009-02-12T13:30:00.000-05:002009-02-12T13:32:30.495-05:00

Note: All attendance figures are through Wednesday, February 11th, 2009.Welcome to part I of a little series I thought up recently. In most sports (except American Football) attendance figures usually rise or fall after the halfway point of the season. This is especially true in the NHL (and NBA), as the playoffs or the off-season approach teams fast.With each NHL club having 41 home games (Euro

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-50369279563605629182009-02-12T11:50:00.000-05:002009-02-12T11:53:27.276-05:00

I really don't know why I like that picture so much...Anyways, welcome to the sixth edition of Playing Below Capacity, a series here that looks at teams (as of December) that are playing below 85% capacity to see what (if anything) is wrong. The first five editions can all be found on this page here. Today we will take a look at what is going on in Raleigh, where the 2006 Stanley Cup Champions

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-58839521282048452402009-02-11T16:54:00.005-05:002009-02-11T17:08:40.457-05:00

Mirtle found the following image yesterday, showing how the Thrashers are discounting ticket prices along with stringing a deal for next season:A great deal, for sure, but I don't think it will work very successfully. Why? Well because there in Atlanta, for starts. Atlanta is just above the 14,000 threshold for revenue sharing, but is under 80% in capacity (team has to have one or the other to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-27965476778109484242009-02-10T13:46:00.005-05:002009-02-10T13:56:54.521-05:00

I am detecting virtually no business related news today, except for this quick piece by Cassie Campbell at CBC. It takes a different look at the Coyotes and Predators situations. This will be my only post before I begin my afternoon/night of exams, and although the Devils trounced the Rangers last night; there is a god.My Sean Avery NYR Jersey could be put to use, soon. Avery is heading to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-19935687277828391342009-02-09T21:36:00.002-05:002009-02-09T21:44:13.508-05:00

A couple of quick hits tonight:- NBA Commish David Stern was on TheFan 590 this afternoon discussing the state of the NBA and the Toronto Raptors. Here's a quick summary:NBA Commissioner David Stern joined the Game Plan to discuss the impact of the economy on the professional basketball league. In contrast to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (who stated that his league is doing well) Stern admitted

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1006226605065333732.post-68075312472262034072009-02-09T14:15:00.005-05:002009-02-09T14:53:32.335-05:00

Here are the top stories this afternoon around the Business World of Hockey:- Wings @ Pens drew a 1.1 on NBC yesterday afternoon (Puck The Media)- Speaking of marketing partnerships, MLB TV and NHL GameCenter team up to offer you a great online viewing deal (NHL.com)- CBC posts Gary Bettman's uncut interview on CBC's "The Hour" last Thursday. (Slap Shot - New York Times) Highlights? Right off the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086001730019147060noreply@blogger.com1