Great article Blake...well thought out, no bias in one suggestion more than another...strengths and weaknesses at every turn.
Interesting that K-Zoo is looking to the juniors...
Terrific reporting Blake! Looking forward to the new book. Will it be self published again? Love to get a copy right when it comes out.
Eric Tomlinson
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 11:05am
I like your last option, Blake. Get all the mdiwest teams to form a new league. "Federal League" has a nice ring to it, don'cha think?
Dschebig
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 11:11am
Blake--Great article! This is a good reason why you are the best! Tells it like it is with absolutely no bias. We all know you will keep us informed and up to date! For that we ALL thank you very much.
Mike in Toronto
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 11:17am
Ditto, from the North. This story summed it up perfectly. Tough times, I hope a solution can be found.
Steve
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 11:34am
Great article Blake, sums things up pretty good.
"There is also a large number of fans who care deeply where and whom the Komets are playing. They are die-hard fans who see the team as part of the city's and their self-worth."
Great statement, I think it applies to many of the more active posters on this blog. Has me thinking about a few things about myself and my opinions although I think I learned to live with it when the Ks moved to the UHL.
Alan
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 11:38am
Blake, I have to agree with everyone above. That was a fine article. Writing in a "pro or con" style was fair, concise, and covered the issues. Secondly, thanks for letting us know that the game was ON. I wrote quite a long post under "Today's Muskegon reaction" yesterday ( Feb 9th at 3:27pm). I was wondering if you read it. It kind of touches on new regional leagues, negotiations between the leagues in order for survival and stability. It dealt with coprimising the vet, salary cap, and union issues and a system where all teams belonged together but with regional leagues who then played a super playoff tournament. Look, I know some of this is far-fetched but I'm wondering whether this is the kind of stuff Michael Franke was alluding to when he said that the minor leagues were finally "talking"? If you didn't read it, please take the time and look it over if it is possible. Two more things, Blake. Can you identify the 6-8 teams in the ECHL that are having trouble? Also, why would Kzoo think about the juniors after jumping leagues last year. I can see why they might want an AHL franchise, but to go through all of the trouble they did to only go to a lower league leaves me wondering what they are doing. If the ECHL really does lose 6-8 teams they will never be able to withstand the trouble it would leave in terms of divisions, travel, and expense.
ggeiselman
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 12:07pm
Is the USHL or OHL the Kalamazoo rumor?
Charlie Crawford
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 12:47pm
Great article Blake!
JungleMonkey
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 1:06pm
Perhaps Kzoo will have a Junior team in Wings Stadium after they build thier fancy new arena for the ECHL/AHL team.
JungleMonkey
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 2:58pm
Boy Blake, you've got the Kalamazoo crowd going Banana Sandwich over your rumor statement.
There were some interesting things I saw in the attendance figures that I thought I'd point out...of the top six teams, FIVE are in the A. Of the bottom 10, four are in the I. The only league that the I is better than is SPHL (in terms of average attendance). I also thought it interesting that the E is the only league listed with a POSITIVELY trending attendance.
I'm a Franke fan, they've given us hockey for years...and the whole argument that going to the A would drive people away due to cost is just ludicrous. For my proof there, you have to look no further than Hershey:
Single game:
100 Level = $22 ($2 more expensive than current Komet lower-level prices)
200 Level = $16 ($6 more expensive than current
Nojuniors
Thu, 02/11/2010 - 9:58am
The K-Wings are NOT entertaining the idea of moving to the juniors. They looked at juniors AFTER they left the IHL, but not anymore. Not sure why that was put out there unless it was a comment from the still upset Fort Wayne management.
Blake Sebring
Thu, 02/11/2010 - 12:57pm
Sorry, nojuniors, this is not an old rumor and I did not hear it from Fort Wayne management.
Comments
Great article Blake...well thought out, no bias in one suggestion more than another...strengths and weaknesses at every turn.
Interesting that K-Zoo is looking to the juniors...
Terrific reporting Blake! Looking forward to the new book. Will it be self published again? Love to get a copy right when it comes out.
I like your last option, Blake. Get all the mdiwest teams to form a new league. "Federal League" has a nice ring to it, don'cha think?
Blake--Great article! This is a good reason why you are the best! Tells it like it is with absolutely no bias. We all know you will keep us informed and up to date! For that we ALL thank you very much.
Ditto, from the North. This story summed it up perfectly. Tough times, I hope a solution can be found.
Great article Blake, sums things up pretty good.
"There is also a large number of fans who care deeply where and whom the Komets are playing. They are die-hard fans who see the team as part of the city's and their self-worth."
Great statement, I think it applies to many of the more active posters on this blog. Has me thinking about a few things about myself and my opinions although I think I learned to live with it when the Ks moved to the UHL.
Blake, I have to agree with everyone above. That was a fine article. Writing in a "pro or con" style was fair, concise, and covered the issues. Secondly, thanks for letting us know that the game was ON. I wrote quite a long post under "Today's Muskegon reaction" yesterday ( Feb 9th at 3:27pm). I was wondering if you read it. It kind of touches on new regional leagues, negotiations between the leagues in order for survival and stability. It dealt with coprimising the vet, salary cap, and union issues and a system where all teams belonged together but with regional leagues who then played a super playoff tournament. Look, I know some of this is far-fetched but I'm wondering whether this is the kind of stuff Michael Franke was alluding to when he said that the minor leagues were finally "talking"? If you didn't read it, please take the time and look it over if it is possible. Two more things, Blake. Can you identify the 6-8 teams in the ECHL that are having trouble? Also, why would Kzoo think about the juniors after jumping leagues last year. I can see why they might want an AHL franchise, but to go through all of the trouble they did to only go to a lower league leaves me wondering what they are doing. If the ECHL really does lose 6-8 teams they will never be able to withstand the trouble it would leave in terms of divisions, travel, and expense.
Is the USHL or OHL the Kalamazoo rumor?
Great article Blake!
Perhaps Kzoo will have a Junior team in Wings Stadium after they build thier fancy new arena for the ECHL/AHL team.
Boy Blake, you've got the Kalamazoo crowd going Banana Sandwich over your rumor statement.
http://finishyourcheck.com/index.php?showtopic=36192&st=20&gopid=14665030&
The Komets are the #2 draw in all of minor league hockey
AHL Hershey 246,687 27 9,136.6 +397.1 +4.54%
IHL Fort Wayne 161,604 20 8,080.2 +319.6 +4.12%
AHL Manitoba 214,708 28 7,668.1 +497.0 +6.93%
Muskegon comes in at #62:
IHL Muskegon 70,875 25 2,835.0 +134.6 +4.99%
Source = http://www.mib.org/~lennier/hockey/att.cgi
There were some interesting things I saw in the attendance figures that I thought I'd point out...of the top six teams, FIVE are in the A. Of the bottom 10, four are in the I. The only league that the I is better than is SPHL (in terms of average attendance). I also thought it interesting that the E is the only league listed with a POSITIVELY trending attendance.
I'm a Franke fan, they've given us hockey for years...and the whole argument that going to the A would drive people away due to cost is just ludicrous. For my proof there, you have to look no further than Hershey:
Single game:
100 Level = $22 ($2 more expensive than current Komet lower-level prices)
200 Level = $16 ($6 more expensive than current
The K-Wings are NOT entertaining the idea of moving to the juniors. They looked at juniors AFTER they left the IHL, but not anymore. Not sure why that was put out there unless it was a comment from the still upset Fort Wayne management.
Sorry, nojuniors, this is not an old rumor and I did not hear it from Fort Wayne management.