The Vig

I grabbed a grip of magnet schedules at the Winter Hawks game Saturday night.  I like to pass them around the office and get people a little fired up to go see a game.  It’s the funniest damned thing in this town.  Anytime I mention the Hawks to someone I know, they tell me a story about the last time they went to a game.  The story is always the same…a bunch of friends, much beer, some stuff happens, and everyone promises to do it again.  It’s the same story over and over again.  There’s never a word about the team, in fact it’s assumed that the Hawks are a) good and b) NHL.  When they arrive at the arena, they’re momentarily shocked to learn there’s a city in Canada named Moose Jaw.  They’re even more surprised to learn it’s in a province called Saskatchewan. None of this matters once the puck drops. Then it becomes about cheering for the home team and drinking beer.

For whatever reason the Goldsmith group never figured this out.  Actually I’m convinced they did know it, but they didn’t care.  Jimmy wasn’t going to spend money to make money.  He could have drawn 7,500 a night in the Coliseum if he’d wanted to.  But he wasn’t interested in that.  He was going to fund his team from the other 300 available nights at the Coliseum.  He wanted to use profits from running the building to run his team.  He ran into too many road blocks and burned way too many bridges for that to pan out.  He got what he wanted down in Salem, but the league wasn’t going to allow that to happen.  Once it became clear this summer that he was out of options, he capitulated.  If you can call doubling your money in three years capitulation.

So as I sat there Saturday night looking for Dylan B., who was with his family, and John G., who was no doubt out living the G fantasy, I perused the schedule.  Saturday night would be my last game until November.  I’ll be in San Diego the 9th through the 13th for Betty with Sunglass’ wedding.  I read today on the O-Live forum that Saturday night was likely my last Goldsmith game.  Kind of fitting, I suppose, as I believe the first game under Goldsmith was also a 5-0 loss at the hands of Vancouver.  I could be wrong about that, but I think that’s right.

I’m definitely in the “anything is better than these clowns” camp, but at the same time, this does mean the end of an era.  Hodge is out.  Innes too.  It’s the end of the family era of the Winter Hawks, the only management style it’s ever known.  Coming in are some shrewd pros who will have some substantial backing from that other red, white, and black franchise in the Rose Quarter.  Now that the Blazers have effectively sold-out their season, the Hawks will give the Blazer ticket reps something to do between now and next July.  Hopefully they move a significant number of the Hawks remaining games over to the RG so the 9,000 of us who’ll be attending can feel somewhat comfortable.

Hockey is not a difficult sell.  It just takes someone to lead the way.  I think the Blazers will do that.  And when that happens, the recruiting will become so much easier.  Now suddenly a kid who was on the fence about coming to Portland (honestly, would you want to play in front of 2,000 people on a Saturday night in the Coliseum?) will want to come down and play in front of 9,000 screaming fans.  This town can be electric when it comes to hockey.

Some good things are coming.  The one concern, and it’s minor, is the old-time fans.  The folks who demand their face time with the players.  How will the new regime treat the G.O.A.L. Club and the other various elements of fandom?  Pizza nights and the sing for your dinner stuff.  I’m guessing they’ll still be around, but it will be interesting to see how they interact with the new regime and the hated Trail Blazers.  They all certainly had their moments with Goldsmith.  I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Despite all the hooey of the summer, this year’s opening night was kind of cool.  I mean despite the bagpipers during player intros, and the ongoing saga of the video screens (more on both down below), this year’s opener seemed like a fresh start.  Gone was Jack Donovan’s opening night comments.  Heck, for the first time during the new reign, I didn’t see Donovan in the building at all!

I think the fresh start can be summed up in two separate conversations I had yesterday.  I remarked how semi-embarrassed I was to be there despite declaring not three months ago that I’d washed my hands of the franchise.  Others were equally embittered.  Yet there we all were.  Liz T. was there.  Dwight Jaynes?  He was there.  John G. and Jerry H. were there too.  Despite everything, the regulars showed up.  Of course, no one else did (3200 on a Saturday night?  Wow. Nice work, ticket office!).  And we got to see some pretty decent hockey to boot.

It appears that we’re only a few short weeks away from the end of the Goldsmith/Donovan/Other Guy-era.  The regulars have made their peace with that and want the next few weeks to be about hockey.  Good on all of them.

Thoughts:

White: Back during the trade deadline last season, there was talk of moving Mucha.  In fact, I seem to recall someone telling me the deal was done, but it fell apart at the last second.  Either way, the operating theory was White would be a capable goaltender while we groomed the next guy.  And last night he showed that.  Yeah, he didn’t face a shot for the first 17-minutes of the first period.  The shots he did see, he handled well.  He gives me confidence that life will go on should Mucha get moved at this year’s deadline.

Hutt: John G. said he’s got a little Marty Standish in him.  That’s like three jokes all wrapped into one.  John G. is a funny funny dude.  Seriously though, he’s a scrappy guy.  I think we’re going to cotton to him just fine.

Brett Freaking Ponich: I think they announced him last night at 6′8″.  The Hawks site has him at 6′7″.  Either way, that dude is a monster.  And he was in a lot of good places last night.  Here’s hoping he takes a big step forward this season.  Lord knows there’s opportunity out there.

Valchar: Radim Valchar has no use for your offsides rule.

Kerr: “That guy can’t skate!” declared Jerry H.

“Maybe so”, I replied, “but he’ll punch you in the mouth.”

I said this early in the third period.  It’s called foreshadowing.  I remember in his first game here last season, he came through and cleared the crease on his first shift in a way that hadn’t been done in a few years.  That alone made him one of my favorite players.  Last night cemented his place in my heart.

Eeewwww…..

I see in the scoresheet this morning that he indeed picked up a game misconduct last night.  It was hard to see how he didn’t, what with the attempting to charge the Chiefs’ bench then slamming his helmet on the ice.  Big Snakian…

The replay screens: John G. remarked during the second period that the screens will go down as the symbol of the Goldsmith group.  Endlessly hyped and ultimately worthless.  They worked for an entire period before crapping out.  The new guys may spring for new screens, but I don’t see why.  The team will be playing exclusively in the Rose Garden in a year, thus negating the need for screens in the MC.  D’oh!  Did I say that outloud?

Jerry Moss: Moss did exactly what he was hired to do last night, work the mike, make his announcements, and get the crowd fired up.  On all those points, the guy gets an A.  But like the socreboards, he’s a symbol of the present ownership, and thus the second the new guys come in, he needs to go.  Watching a guy running around the arena bowl in his pajamas, imploring the crowd to get rowdy, is not my idea of a good time.  I realize he’s not targeted at me, but still.  Like Tom-A-Hawk and that freaking drum, the Moss act is annoying.  This does not, however, take away from his groundbreaking work with Herb Alpert.

Rutkowski: He earned Andy’s third star last night.  This, of course, means I missed something.  All those new numbers and new players out there, it’s gonna take me a game or two to catch up.  I’ll pay more attention when #2 is on the ice, then I’ll try to remember it’s not Bo Montgomery.  Or Jordie Fike.

Ross: He’s gonna be a good one too.

I see you’ve come here by the dozens looking for information on Winter Hawks goalie Kurtis Mucha.  Good on you for recognizing talent when you see it.

Kurtis Mucha is God and were he on a better junior team, everyone would know that.  Unfortunately he’s stuck in Portland with us.  So he’s like our little secret.  We’ll let you in on the secret if you promise to let us keep him for two more seasons.

Deal?

The EPL moved quickly to get Man City owner Thaksin Shinawatra out of Eastlands.  A “memorandum of understanding” has been reached to sell the team to a group from Abu Dhabi; in other words, rich Arab oil men.  This all went down in the last week or so.  Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for some official word on the rich Canadian oil man who wants to own the Winter Hawks.

There’s a joke in here somewhere…

Dylan B. points out that the Hawks were wildly outshot yesterday by a bunch of 15-year-olds.

Andy and Scooter met for lunch today.  Andy says they’re going to stay good friends and that’s it.  No more radio for Scooter.  A shame.

The Hawks have a good one in Andy, imho and my campaign to bring Scooter back shouldn’t be interpreted as a slight toward him.  Andy’s knowledge of the game is second to none and he’s a joy to listen to on the radio, whether as the #1 or #2 guy.  My Tivo though…

I kid.

The whole point of this campaign though resides in the fact that there’s a ton of work to be done in order to restore the Hawks to their former glory in this market.  There’s no one better suited for the task than Dean Vrooman.  He has the contacts and he has the passion.  So I shall keep banging the drum.

Is it futile?  Most likely.  But I’m going to continue anyway.

As long as we’re discussing the Hawks, did anyone hear Dwight on the radio this afternoon?  He brought up a good point about why we’re seeing the delay in the sale.  It’s one I’ve made in the past and forgot in all my excitement.  They’re taking their time to make sure they have the right guy and that he not only has the resources he claims (Alan Caldwell dug up an interesting tidbit), but is willing to use them.  Hopefully everything checks out and we have a new group in a few months.  Hopefully.

So says Drinnan.  A whole new front office and bench comes in the deal too.

Mike Johnston, a former NHL assistant coach under head coach Marc Crawford with the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, will be the Winter Hawks’ general manager and head coach.

Former NHLer Travis Green, who played in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs, will be the assistant general manager/assistant coach.

Ken Stickney, the chief executive officer of Mandalay Sports Entertainment, will be the Winter Hawks’ president and run the business side. “He will concentrate on turning Portland around from a ticket-selling perspective,” one of the sources said.

$7.1 million US CAD is way too much for the franchise, but it’s not my money.  Hopefully the three-J’s are forced to use a portion of that to pay off the existing debts, but who knows.  All I know is next week they’ll be gone.  My check will be in the mail shortly thereafter.

Goldsmith and crew have left a heckuva mess in the front office, so don’t expect things to change immediately.  There’s going to be a steep learning curve for the new dudes.  But they seem to all be professionals.  So I’m on board.  How about you?

Update:  One more thing.  Here’s hoping they call Scooter first thing tomorrow morning and throw a whole lotta cash at him.  The franchise needs him nearly as much as it needs new ownership.

So much for waking the slumbering bear.  We’re entering the third year of the J2 experiment and the franchise seems to be sliding further and further behind.  The marketing effort has been non-existent.  The scouting, as has been pointed out elsewhere, has been turned over to the genius who brought us Francis and Cepek.  And the on-ice product is barely half as good (20 points) as last year’s version (37 points).

And now there’s this.

Dylan says we need to chill.  And perhaps he’s right.  But there have been too many other similar rumors all season to discount this one.

Goldsmith says he’s a winner.  Winners don’t let their bills go unpaid.

Goldsmith says he wants to be Mark Cuban.  People thought Cuban was insane to buy the Mavericks.  The first thing Cubes did was invest in player facilities and comfort and make Dallas a place guys wanted to come.  His most famous player perk was a PlayStation in every locker.  But he also made sure they had first-class catering.  And first class travel.  I have a feeling if the team plane broke down in Seattle, Cuban wouldn’t leave his team stuck in a hotel while they waited for parts.  He would have whipped out the black AmEx and had his team back home post-haste.  That’s what Cuban would do.  That’s what a CHAMPION would do.

Instead the organization seems to have accepted their lot.  I keep hearing “why should they market this heap?”  For the life of me, I do not understand that mentality.  Especially at the minor league level.  Minor league sports fans do not care about wins and losses.  They want to have a good time.  And facilities?  Go over to PGE Park and ask Jack Cain how he led the Northwest League in attendance in the hole that was Civic Stadium.  He did it by promoting a good time and delivering it.  He did it with MERC employees running the place too.

Excuses.  Excuses.  When will they end?

The Malarchuk injury was much more horrific than Zednik’s, IMHO. You can go on YouTube and find both for yourself, I’m not going to help you.

Anyway, the former Winter Hawks goaltender is the goaltending coach in Columbus these days. The Edmonton Journal caught up with him yesterday.

“I have no trouble watching mine now, but any time I’ve seen a movie where there’s a throat-cutting scene … you know the movies can be pretty graphic, I don’t like it. I cringe, I turn my head. I shiver. But I’ve done so many interviews about my incident and seen it hundreds of times, it doesn’t affect me anymore.”

It sure affects me.

It sounds like Zednik, also a former Hawk, will be just fine and should be back on the ice next season.  In the meantime, if you ask politely, John G. might wear his Zednik jersey at the next Hawks home game.

I may have been in a Codeine-induced haze for the better part of the weekend, but it didn’t keep me from somewhat paying attention.

Blazers: I had tickets to the game but ended up giving them to a co-worker. She also has my tickets to Wednesday night’s game against the Bulls. Friday, I dozed off and on as the Blazers fell behind then rallied. It’s nice to see Brandon got his due, but more importantly it’s great to see he’s not letting up. Are the Blazers a playoff team? Not this year. But soon. Jack Bog wasn’t too high on the big three-way trade rumor of the week, but enough other folks were intrigued at the prospect of adding Devin Harris to the core of Roy and Aldridge that I had to go look him up. I gotta say, Harris would look awful good in a Blazer uniform. The whole thing goes to show I’m nowhere near the fan of the NBA that I was even a decade ago.

Man City: A relatively easy match against bottom-dwelling Derby was just what the doctor ordered following the FA Cup disaster. Someone forgot to tell Derby to roll over, however, and the Blues stumbled into a draw. Those two points will come back and bite our side in the arse at the end of the year. But that’s no news to City fans. Saturday’s 3-1 throttling at the hands of league leading Arsenal only magnified the Derby draw. Sensing things slipping away, Man City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has registered City for something called the Intertoto Cup.  Basically it’s a back-door route into European competition should City finish out of the top-six.  It’s OK, I guess.  But it seems a bit unsporting.  That’s just me.

Winter Hawks:  Ugh.  They gave up 118 shots in two nights and people in the O-Live forum are praising the effort of the defense?  Yowza.  How bad would it have been if the defense played like crap?  Could Seattle have gotten off 100 shots?

Super Bowl XLII:  I was rooting for the Patriots and perfection.  I was rooting for a stomping.  Fortunately it didn’t come to pass.  My buddy Doug and I exchanged texts from across the room at his party today.  I whooped it up after Brady hit Moss to go ahead 14-10.  He texted back “Here’s where Eli wins the MVP”.  He’ll say he wasn’t joking, but he was.  He’s a completely different cat than his brother and he showed it tonight.  Apples and oranges.  Peyton is like some European race car.  Its beautiful to watch, but if its not running at 100% efficiency, it can easily end up in the shop for a month (see the San Diego game).  Eli is a Ford.  Nothing flashy to watch and he’s not going to be the most graceful around the track.  But the car more often than not will get you home to your wife and kids at the end of the day.  Even through snow.  It would be interesting to see how Peyton would have done with these Giants and Eli with his brother’s Colts.

UFC 81:  I missed the Frank Mir-Brock Lesnar fight.  As I write this, it’s available on YouTube.  By the time you read this, however, it will most likely be gone.  Lesnar had an awesome 75-seconds, but in the end skill beat out youthful naivte.  Lesnar is a champion, though, and I’m rooting for him.  He’s way more than a flash-in-the-pan ex-WWE guy.  He’s way more than that.