The Vig

There’s a very interesting little nugget in Andy’s blog this evening.

If you’re wondering who has been writing the longer features on www.winterhawks.com, that has been the Hawks new PR and Media Relations hire, Graham Kendrick. Graham moved to Portland recently with his wife and has worked in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies. Expect to read and hear more from him in the future.

He relocated to Memphis when the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated as well, so he is a Canadian at heart with a passion for hockey. Welcome to Portland, Graham…

They’re ramping up the marketing end of the business. This is a terrific development for the Hawks and portends well for the future.  So many things need to be done to get the franchise back on track, not the least of which is the sales and marketing.  It all begins, though, with good hiring.

I don’t know the first thing about Graham Kendrick, but I’m guessing he and Mr. Piper go back a ways.  How else do you convince a guy to give up an NBA gig to move across the country for a junior hockey gig.  Could the Winter Hawk front office become an incubator for future front office talent?  The mind reels.

And speaking of spending it to make it, the Hawks ran an ad tonight either during 60 Minutes or King of the Hill (now you know how I spend my Sunday nights).  There wasn’t a lot to it.  Just advertising Teddy Bear Toss, which is this Saturday night.  But still.  An ad buy on broadcast TV.  Wow.