Order in the Court; NHL v MSG

Could the Rangers have a shaky future?

My two favorite people, Gary Bettman and James Dolan, are at it again.

Without getting into the frivolous details, of which you can read about all over the Internet, the NHL is suing the owners of the Rangers, Madison Square Garden, over a lawsuit brought about by MSG last September. As you all know, every team website looks exactly the same. They have the same layout, and the same features. The NHL runs this with little input from the individual franchises.

This upset MSG. The Rangers owners felt as if they can better market the team with their own fully functioning website without the mass “cookie cutter” appeal the current situation brings. So MSG sued the NHL last year to get the rights to their website, claiming the NHL was acting like a trust/monopoly/etc. Courts ruled in favor of the NHL, and thus rangers.nhl.com was born.

Angry at the organization for suing them last September, the NHL got as sue-happy as MSG and is suing back. Only, the implications are much greater than matching scrollbars on websites. Claiming that MSG breached the NHL’s Constitution, the NHL wants to show MSG who is boss. Unfortunately for the Rangers, there are many possible consequences for their bad behavior. “A vote of three-quarters of the members of the league can decide to issue fines, suspend or terminate membership in the league, order a sale of the club to a new owner or suspend or expel individuals involved in the team's management.”


http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/20565284.html?page=2&c=y

Fines I can deal with. The rest of it brings infinite amounts of problems.

The odds that this gets worked out with fines only are the most probable scenario. I’m OK with this scenario. I agreed with MSG last September, because I do believe the Ranger organization can do a better job marketing itself then the NHL can. “Cookie cutter” websites take away from the differences between the teams… and the more alike we become the harder it is to see the blurred lines of 30 different franchises. However, MSG does like to flex its muscles, and it’s unfair to the other 29 teams in the league. If we’re going to have cookie cutter websites, the Rangers can’t be different. Suing the National Hockey League wasn’t the smoothest move in Ranger history.

But really, was there ever a smooth move? One Cup since 1941, just saying.

The way I see it, Bettman and Dolan have a lot in common. They like money. They like basketball and hockey because that brings them money. They like power. They could have talked this over lunch, and not only could they have resolved the website issue, they could have raised Ranger ticket prices AGAIN, which could have made them more money. But instead, Bettman got all bent out of shape and started fining the Rangers $100,000 a day that they didn’t change their website. So MSG got ticked and took them to court. Both parties were acting a bit outlandishly over close-to-nothing.

This will end in fines. However, I want to take a look a different scenario. A hypothetical possibility. Read the quote again. “A vote of three-quarters of the members of the league can decide to issue fines, suspend or terminate membership in the league, order a sale of the club to a new owner or suspend or expel individuals involved in the team's management.”

Our options are limited to fines, sale of the club, or termination of membership in the league. Awesome.

Termination of membership in the league.

An improbable option would be the sale of the New York Rangers from Cablevision/MSG/the Dolan Empire. This would be the option if this takes a turn for the worse. But who really cares? The franchise continues, the NHL is happy, and we’re good to go.

Wrong. The person/company/whomever buying the Rangers couldn’t pick them up and send them to Winnipeg or Kansas City. They need to stay in New York. Will the Rangers be able to play in Madison Square Garden if they are ripped from MSG’s hands? Doubtful. So where do the Rangers play? You can’t exactly just build an arena in the middle of New York. How soon could you build an arena, even if a black hole opened up right above Manhattan and made a clearing for your brand new arena? Where would the Rangers play in the meantime? Share home ice with their good friends Lou Lamoriello or Charles Wang?

The Rangers, the Devils and the Islanders are currently broadcasted locally on MSG and MSG plus television stations. Sure, the new Ranger owners could strike a deal with the Yankee network YES or the Mets network SNY. But since the owners of the Rangers and MSG own Cablevision, the only available cable provider for parts of New York, could life become more difficult for broadcasting not only Ranger games, but Islander and Devil games as well?

Worse news for Rangers fans yet is that some people actually think the NHL could do OK without their most profitable American market, as they could send an expansion team to New York and find an arena in Brooklyn, which could be split with the returning New Jersey York Nets, or worse, split the Prudential Center with the New Jersey Devils. http://www.thestar.com/article/446522

It won’t happen. Fines are most likely. This could even be settled out of court. But termination is a plausible threat. Termination of the franchise! New York would be angry. Hockey traditionalists would be angry. Fans would be angry. It makes me angry this was even mentioned.

Would New York accept a new hockey team? Could we learn to love them? Could I?

It won’t happen. Over a stupid website? It can’t happen.

Would 2/3’s of the Board of Governors ever agree to kicking out any franchise, never less an Original 6 team that makes more profits than very other team besides the Maple Leafs?

But since when was this about the fans, anyway? And with Gary Bettman and James Dolan, will it ever be?

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And the award goes to...

x-posted to Bethany's Hockey Rants & The Sports Diva Magazine

Okay, here we go!! The NHL Awards Show is over, and now we have about a week to get ready for the draft. I am so excited!! If you want to see what my predictions were you can check them out here.

The Lester B. Pearson went to Alexander Ovechkin. This one is not too big of a shock, he was an absolute beast the entire season.

The Frank Selke went to Pavel Datsyuk. I knew it would be a Red Wing player, they are just so good. Not trying to take anything away from Madden, he is one of the best.

The King Clancy went to Vincent Lecavalier. He has done so much work in the community in Tampa and also he is a great leader on the ice.

The Masterton went to Jason Blake. I almost broke down when he started speaking, although he is a Leaf, I still have so much respect for him. He is an amazing person and I just wanted to give him a hug.

The Lady Byng went to Pavel Datsyuk. Pavel had my favorite quote of the night with this:

“I want to make speech longer but my English short.”

Hilarious Pavel.

The Jack Adams was a huge surprise for me with the Capitals Bruce Boudreau winning his first Jack Adams. Good for him. He seemed absolutely shocked to win, and I was too. I was expecting Babcock to be up there.

The Calder Trophy went to Patrick Kane. Deservingly so, he had a great season, and well is partially responsible for the Chicago turn around.

The NHL Lifetime Achievement Award went to none other than Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe. I have to admit when he walked onto the stage, I stood up and I cheered. I have so much respect for what that man did and continues to do. He is a great person, and for being 80 years old, he looks great!

The Vezina Trophy was a complete shock for me. Martin Brodeur, my favorite player received the award. I am not complaining, but Evgeni Nabokov I think really deserved it. There is always next year though.

The Hart Trophy went to Alexander Ovechkin. I don’t know that it was a big surprise for anyone. He was the best player this season.

I saved the Norris Trophy for last. There is a reason for that, mainly because the NHL had a little slip up with the jersey…and this is what happened:

Yes, that is an ‘n’ in Lidstrom. Niklas Lidstrom won his 1289283 Norris Trophy…and they couldn’t even spell his name right. (Big thanks to RWBill at KuklasKorner for the picture!!)

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It's What I've Always Wanted

According to the item description on the NHL.com shop:

You can add hockey design to your wardrobe and carry all of your money and personal belongings in this Little Earth NHL® team Fender Flair purse. The purse is formed from 2 recycled aluminum license plates with tear-shaped, nickel-plated steel end caps and hundreds of Swarovski crystals. The officially licensed purse has a velvet lining with pocket and a 21-in leather strap with contrast stitching for easy carrying.

x-posted to Purple Crushed Velvet

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The Triple F Threat- NHL Promotion Plan

Read it and weep hockey fans.

When my friend linked me to this website, I wasn't even sure what I was looking at. I don't follow ratings. Sure, I like to bring up ratings when trash talking small market teams, but I don't really know what I'm talking about. What is an average rating for the NHL? What is an average rating for a sports market? I don't know. And frankly, I don't really care.

But this hurts:

"The NHL drew the lowest overnight rating of any live sporting event on broadcast television last weekend. The 0.8 for Rangers/Canadiens was lower than the rating for bull riding on NBC and taped extreme sporting events on CBS the same day."

What the NHL obviously needs is a better promotion plan. There is no excuse for large market teams like the Rangers and the Canadiens to be drawing fewer ratings than bull riding. Bull riding! Maybe it's the Yankee in me, but I just don't get it.

This may be complete nonsense, but take it for what it is. I'm annoyed by the NHL's lack of relevancy in the world of sports. Clearly the greatest sport in the world should be seen as such. The NHL is a "niche" sport, but that doesn't mean we should give up. We need a good advertisement plan.

I have developed (in all my wisdom) a 3-step, Triple F plan to promote the NHL. It may eventually be debunked, but hey, this is my best shot:

The Triple F Threat:

1. Funny

2. Flashy

3. Frequency and Quality

This simple three step plan should make anyone an addict. Let's start with some humor, shall we?

FUNNY- Humor

The Dallas Stars had a good start this year with their cute billboards trashing (in jest) other sports. And the New York Rangers had those infamous "Bobby Granger" commercials. (If you haven't seen these, youtube them. And laugh.) And of course, Versus had those “NHL players are just like you, only good at hockey….” thing. Oh, and the newly-termed “Ovechkin” curse word. The problem with these innovative and funny commercials is that they don’t showcase hockey. Quite honestly, if you don’t know who he is, Ovechkin ordering food service for Crosby isn’t funny. In fact it makes no sense. But the idea of watching Joe Thorton butter toast is humorous… I guess. So at least this will catch people’s attention. It’s not perfect but these commercials get points for trying. Plus, who doesn’t want Turco in the back seat of your car? (That WAS Marty Turco, wasn’t it?)

FLASHY- Showcasing Hockey

Perhaps realizing this, the NHL decided to go in a different direction this season. Instead we watched Briere vandalizing a building with a puck, and listening to Crosby sell Reebok stock (because he’s playing for the logo on the front, not the name on the back). At least the Briere commercial showcased hockey. It said “this is what hockey players can do.” And I think it was pretty cool, and more effective than big Joe having toaster difficulties. (Oh, and a quick Ranger plug, as the Bobby Granger commercials also taught fans the new rules of the “new NHL,” which helped old fans and new ones understand.)

FREQUENCY and Quality- of Air Time

The biggest problem with the Bobby Granger commercials was when and where these commercials were played. Madison Square Garden Network is a television network comprised of basically two things- the Rangers and the Knicks. So why are we promoting the Rangers… on a channel only Ranger fans watch? In fact, this is the problem with the NHL’s attempts as well. You are not getting new fans by showing commercials during hockey games. You are just showing hockey fans ...more hockey. And it’s a big waste of commercial time.

On Ranger nights off, I spend my time watching the Islanders, Devils, or nationalized games on NBC or Versus, because I just like hockey.*** Hockey is fun. And most hockey fans I know feel the same way, and do the same thing. So advertising during hockey games aren’t helping you any, NHL. This is about proper air time and proper channels to put these commercials. This means on basic cable, or ESPN, or hell, even Nickelodeon or MTV, and get some kids and teenagers familiar with some NHL Superstars. They all know Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez, so why not add Vinny Lecavalier to that list?

You know what might have helped? A commercial during the Super Bowl. (Eighteen and one GIANT loss!) If you can’t afford it because granted, Super Bowl advertisements must cost unreal amounts of cash, at least try ESPN. Does this cost money? Sure, but it’s not unrealistic.

I really don't like the New York Islanders Christie Brinkley commercials. No, I don’t want to watch Billy Guerin smashing into the “windows.” It isn’t funny. And I don’t think it showcases hockey. However, these commercials aren’t only shown on FSN New York. They are shown on ESPN and other channels, which promotes the Islanders so much better than watching Bobby Granger commercials only on MSG. Commercials for Versus don’t work if they’re shown on Versus. Isn’t that a “duh?” But a commercial during SportsCenter might have a different effect. So you need to give the Islanders credit for doing what this league needs to do- promote the sport to new fans, not just the current ones.

***Hey NHL, in another way to increase ratings… the three New York metro area teams seem always play on the same night, leaving several nights of no hockey available to us hockey fans. Considering the fact that most hockey fans will watch whatever hockey is accessible, quit showing all three teams in one night. Spread out the wealth, and maybe you’ll see an increase in ratings; because although I would never turn off the Rangers for a Devil game, I would turn off American Idol for it.

Come on, Gary. FFF. We’ve got to do better than Bullriding.

X-Posted to Some Like It Blue

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I'm no marketing expert, but...

So there is a huge Stanley Cup Playoffs on Versus ad featuring Sidney Crosby...on the back cover of this week's issue of The Hockey News. Now call me crazy, but if I get The Hockey News, I already know that the playoffs are underway. A similar television campaign featuring Cindy and the boys is airing during the playoff games. Again, if I am watching a playoff game, you probably don't need to tell me that it is NHL playoff time.

Shouldn't these ads be in a non-hockey related media? I checked my latest issue of ESPN the Magazine (sorry to kill so many trees, but I got this sub as a freebie last year) hoping maybe there would at least be a Crosby ad in there, but nope, no such luck.

At first I was annoyed that the NHL was focusing on Cindy and the Penguins as though they are in the Finals already, but I understand that getting the Cindy name out there is critical to opening up the sport to new fans. But if you are going to promote Cindy and the boys, wouldn't it be a better idea to do it in some non-hockey related media?

Just saying....

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