Puck Daddy is doing a thing called 5 reasons I love hockey. You really should read them, some are funny and some are serious but all are dead on about the sport of hockey. I wasn’t invited to play so I thought I’d do one anyway. Prolly cuz I’m a shameless sheeple and everything else I should write about today sux.

Despite of the speed, agility and grace that permeates the game, it really drives me crazy when people wax poetic about hockey. Its not always about the pretty play or the crazy mad skillz goal. Most of the time its all about the trench work. The guys gettin down and dirty in the corners and on the boards. Its about the timing of a crucial hit, crease camping, shot blocking, pain, sweat equity and work ethic. Now call me crazy or even say I am not the typical female fan if you want but those are the best parts of the game for me. I love it when strategy and skill combine with luck for a win (or at least a hard fought and spirited loss). Here’s my thoughts on loving hockey.

I don’t really need 5 reasons for loving hockey. My kids made me the way I am. I was dragged kicking and screaming by my daughter. My son started playing in the street, you’d think he would have been responsible for the dragging. But it really is all the girl child’s fault.You see, there were no girls in hockey back then. Not in our small Southern California town, anyway. We had barely gotten hockey back on its feet (after about a 10 year lull that happened when our only ice sheet closed down) and it was a boys only closed club. My baby girl was pretty much rejected by every team in our league and so were her 2 friends. It wasn’t pretty, living with a justifiably enraged 5′10″ 13 year old wanna be defense-woman. I had been team mom and head cheer person for the boys for a couple of years but had no clue really about teaching the game. I finally found a coach willing to take on 3 girls and the Swarm was born. We won 1 game all season. We were in heaven. Then the coach got shipped out and no one wanted to take us over. The kid was devastated. More surprisingly, I was devastated. I took over as coach, started learning the ‘real’ deal behind the beauty, skill and the fun. A life long love affair was started, an addiction was created. There is no 12 step for this and I thank the hockey gods for that fact. My name is Z4dfense and I am a hockey addict.*just claiming your online hockey name before your real one makes you a certified hockey nut doesn’t it?* Even my non-hockey friends have started calling me Z.

Brave hearts - There is honor in this game. Chivalry is not dead when you watch it. There is respect, emotion and a competitive spirit that transcends sport and becomes a microcosm of what life should be like. Hockey is like the Art of War, only easier to understand.

Example of a brave heart: Shane Albert Doan -

If I needed a nother reason I should be whistled dead at the blueline. This is the classiest guy in the sport today. (well he does wear brown shoes w/ any colored suit but that doesn’t take away from his pizazz) The Captain is going through his second possible relocation scenario, has been maligned by his own country’s politicos and hasn’t had a competitive team around him in 7 years but it doesn’t stop the Doaner from playing with his entire soul on the line, smiling, patiently answering stupid questions from clueless fans,  keeping his faith strong and giving back to the community with all his heart. If there is someone out there with a bad Shane story I’d have to call bull! This guy is what hockey is all about on the ice and off.

Free love -  not the 60’s phenomenon, the kind that lets every hockey addict bestow their heart on former enemies (once that guy joins their roster) where else can you have a hated nemesis turn into one of your favorite people in the world… in the space of a news announcement? For example: Ilya Bryzgalov – I hated Bryz, not just because he was a Duck and arch rival. He turned into a soul sucking, rebound hogging, demon every time we played him. And it took us a week or two to rediscover our form after facing that big galoot. But now that he’s ours (news announced and 3 hours later he gets us a shutout!) well NOW I love those crazy Utubes even more.

This phenomenon happens often in hockey, I love how the fans embrace ‘the new guy’ even if he was once an enemy. Can’t imagine NOT loving any addition to my team… well except Avery… thats beyond even this hockey lover’s capacity.

Joie de vie! – Where else would it be okay for a lady of a certain age to swear, scream and jump up and down in agony or in ecstacy? Paint her face brick red w/ Coyotes paw prints? Wear the same unwashed sweater for 9 months at a time? (okay I cheat, it gets ‘rinsed’). Talk about tension release. Going to a hockey game is like being 7 all over again, when you can still get away with crazy behavior and have it be normal, when you still believed in the tooth fairy and other magics. How many times did you hear, she/he is only seven, its normal to be that hyper? Same principle, hockey is like being 7 again, magic and wonder every time you enter the arena. Probably just as much for the players as the fans.

Pretty, pretty boys, we call men -  Sorry for the Hotel California moment but for some women fans its about pretteh boys on skates. Of course I like that aspect of the game just fine too. C’mon! The Lunqvists, the Theodores, the Sauers, Marleaus and Malkins (don’t blame Geno on me, that Geico look gets some people’s motors runnin…can’t argue w/ hormones)… there’s a type for everyone. I often lure my female friends to games with the beefcake. But its funny how often they stay for the game. Hockey players are so much more than the size of their skates. But damn if it ain’t fun to just check out the pretty.

Now that I have totally discgraced myself with that last reason, I’ll just slink away back to the desert.

As always… Go Coyotes

JeezusMerry and Jehostphat! I leave for a couple of hours and all hell breaks loose?

Papa Reinsdorf finally got tired of all the bullshit and pulled his bid. I guess the City was right eh? There really was a chilling of the bidders and it wasn’t the NHL doing it as alledged by PSE. Did anyone not see this coming? I know I hoped not but was concerned. How many leaks, screwing w/ the ticket holders and 3rd party scrutinies does it take to drive an interested party away from a procedure? Apparently 3, with Moyes/PSE breaking confidentiality, siccing the GWI on the City and sending out fanbase eroding messages, GH,LLC has had enough… for now.

Balsillie might not need as much patience as people think, apparently underhanded tactics played out in quick succession is a valid business strategy (seeing Glendale Hockey walk away may just be proof of that), can’t wait til Baum gets back from vaca to this piece of work. PSEs finalized APA.

The NHL has put in their own bid in order to keep the Coyotes franchise under their own control. Like they had a choice? The NHL franchise is facing an outright war on their way of life. If anyone didn’t think they would/will pull out all the stops to prevent a franchise from cutting the lead reins they are completely insane. This isn’t about the Coyotes any more. This is all about how a professional sports league can do business. After the NFL’s Davis fiasco, the other leagues are all in a tizzy. Moyes/PSE cannot be allowed to prevail, no matter what the cost. part 1  part2

Ice Edge Holdings has submitted their APA to purchase the Coyotes finally. Don’t believe the crap about playoffs in Saskatoon. *although they do ask for the right to consider that alternative at a later date… like an ace-in-the-hole for xtra cash* These guys have some really innovative ideas for the team. We may not like giving up 5 games (even though we won’t be paying for those games) but if the alternative is no games at all, we better get over that pretty quickly. Remember … better to be Ice Edge than ice dead in Arizona.

The city of El Mirage is trying to come to the Coyotes rescue. Cuz thats what we do in here in Arizona, help each other out.

Mirtle weighs in on possible scenarios. My take is that Glendale Hockey LLC doesn’t dissolve, just sits back and lets someone else (the NHL) do all the expensive dirty work (rengotiating the lease, setting up an acceptable plan for creditor pay off *including itself*). Once all the hue and cry is over and all the debts are either paid off or at least down, GH,LLC calmly steps in and purchases the team as a 3rd party owner. Et Voila! Problems solved. But wait! what about Ice Edge? If the NHL wins the auction, IEH could also step back into the picture as a 3rd party. Their offer is now complete so why not? They can reapply for NHL approval and become part of the good ol’ boys club too.

The NHL has one huuuge ace-in-the-hole for the game w/ the City…. we need a lease adjustment or we can contract the team. Not just resell it to another location…kill it.. dead. Then they can  issue an expansion team somewhere else for triple the money. The City either plays or folds at that point because there would no longer be a Phoenix Coyotes to have an agreement with and the litigation of the lease is kaput. Sound far fetched? Believe the hype on this one, it could very well be the last stand doomsday line in the sand from the NHL.

As always… Go Coyotes!

We lost a dear and valued friend yesterday. Mrs. Linda passed away after a battle against cancer. Linda was the beloved wife of our GoldenBear64. Steadfast fan of the Coyotes and Patio 6 Posse member, Mrs. Linda was one of the sweetest and kindest persons I have ever had the pleasure to call friend. She will be missed.  Our sincerest condolences go out to Scott and the family. The family is a supporter of Life Legacy and it is their greatest hope that Mrs. Linda’s passing may help others live and possibly turn the tides for a cure for cancer and other diseases.

Linda Dianna Busby
8/27/41-8/25/09

Long tme Coyotes fan, since 12/18/96. 4 year ice pack at AmWest, 4 years STH at the Job, 205-I-18.
Favorite players: Danny Briere, Shane Doan, and Dan Carcillo.
Charter member of the Patio 6 Posse
Wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, and best friend.

No services will be held here in town.

Dear Coyotes,

I admit being unfaithful. It was only the one time. HONEST! Yes I did go to a Cardinals game. (I am only admitting my infidelity because I was apparently caught on camera… its hard to deny something when you have been caught on the jumbo screens) I was lured by the wicked ShootthePuckCoyotes! She is a dual sport girl and regularly alternates her affections between you and the Cards. I admire her ability to be loyal to both of you.

I was torn. I feel so guilty… and yet…

The fans are so loud and sport their red bird gear so proudly. I was warmed to the cockles of my black little heart by their enthusiasm. I have to admit that I might be enticed to return to the scene of my crime. The food was good (ummm primerib sammies!) the crowd electric, the players rambunctious and joyful on the field and of course the company was exceptional.

I would like to be able to share my love with another sport, but apparently I am a one sport kinda gal. I will probably not ever buy season tickets to the Cardinals and I will continue to only buy season tickets to see you, my beloved Coyotes. But if I sneak across the street occasionally, will you forgive me?  It does not mean I love you less. Hockey is forever and will always be, my only serious sports relationship.

I would blame my lapse on your 3 month absence but I know you won’t believe me. You know that the Patio 6 Posse keeps you alive for me over the off season. You already know that I believe you aren’t moving to Hamilton (I’ve read all the docs and sat in court until my butt was numb and I believe you will be around for a looong time) I guess I have no real excuse except I missed the roar of the crowd, the chants, the smell of nachos and popcorn and churros, the seas of red and white jerserys, the impassioned discussions with knowledgable fans and the sight of superbly conditioned athletes battling each other for a win. Well I got all those things from the Cards, except… there were no boards rattling, no shushing of newly sharpened skates on the ice, no zamboni, the red color was all wrong, no sweet Coyotes logo anywhere except on my hat and there was not a single howl in the air. I missed you my Yotes. I can’t wait to see you again.

I hope you still love me as much as I love you. I won’t stray permanently. I promise. Football is no match for your beauty, grace and skill. As fun and rambunctious as Fitzgerald and co appear to be, they don’t hold a candle to Doaner and Z and Bryzzie. In penance I worked on inputting all the home games into my calendar, helped Teal with Coalition designs and swapped my Coyotes memorabilia around the house. I only hope its enough.

I remain your faithful follower.

Sincerely,

Z4

Now that I have that off my chest, in other news…

Jumbo Jim is up to his old tricks… laying about the media and court system w/ another ultimatum. If the auction is delayed or if he wins and is not allowed to move the team by September 14th, he’ll take his bags of money and go home. I hope the Judge follows his pattern of not complying with unreasonable demands. It would give me the greatest of pleasure to tell *SlipperyJimB, Buhbye now, don’t let the arena door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. (yes, I know… how crude of me butt its how I feel after all this shite)

Petr Prucha just being cool as hell… http://thehockeynews.com/articles/24408-Getting-To-Know-Petr-Prucha.html

Could they find an uglier picture of DC? I mean really… http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/27595-Getting-To-Know-Daniel-Carcillo.html

Doan at Olympic camp… as usual, the Captain answers the call from his country.

GMDM has our backs. He’s all about the team and a winning season, screw this BK crap.

Nick Ross featured on the Yotes home page.

Maybe if Versus carried more NHL and less weird hunting/fishing crap they’d have been worth DirectTVs time and space?

Keep checking back for more goodies from the Coyotes Coalition.

As always…Go Coyotes!

* SlipperyJimB is not the real Balsillie but boy can he be funny as hell. (hopefully you didnt need me to explain that)

Or would that be ‘wades’ in? Seems like every man and his dog has an opinion on our situtation doesn’t it. From the misguided and misinformed Balsillie backing putzes to the misguided and misinformed Coyotes haterz (insert any G&M article you can find here) to our own  few well informed local media. And then there is of course the die hard faithful trying to provide a positive point of view in this tornado of muck. (umm that would probably be us and the Coalition for the most part, but hey! gotta start somewhere right?)

In less than 20 days this will all be over and life as we know it can return to some semblance of normalcy right? Well … maybe. The City of G has called for an emergency court session to decide if Moyes is a creditor or not and if TGO can get less than the full payment that Moyes promised him. (there seems to be a little problem of Moyes’ personal promise to Gretzky being tagged onto the team’s dime). There is also the anti trust craziness that will ensue when we win or the injunctions and appeals that would ensue if we lose. Either way there will be more to come, but as long as there are Coyotes rockin the Jobarena I can live through the rest.

PSE took potshots at current and past NHL owners. Called them criminals and worse and said the NHL should let him in their club despite the fact that he has been doing everything he can to screw them over. Melnyk wasn’t pleased about being dragged into the mess. Way to make friends and influence people Jimmy.

The NHL is actively pursuing their efforts to remove Moyes from the front line operations again. Can you blame them after reading some of the exhibits in these motions? Cahoots, collusion and plain old greed seem to permeate the Moyes/PSE dealings from start to finish. The Goldwater Institute must think we’re all stupid… they never heard of Rodier? puhleze! Then they must not have been following the Coyotes BK very closely before filing their crapfest against the City of G. Rodier really needs to be taken out of these equations… c’mon Judge, take a good look at where most of the ugly originates…

This guy gets it. Even though I haven’t been a great fan of Cox in past years, occasionally he gets it right. It IS a mess, it HAS gotten tawdry and truly there are no clear cut winners in all this. Everyone has taken a hit here. But at least the fans of Phoenix could still come out of this as victors (worn, torn and battle fatigued) but if the team stays, I’ll take that as a win.

Someone please offer the Bidwills a piece of the special taxing district pie so they can STF! Seriously, the Cards have dined off the City’s dime just as much as any other AZ sports team and now they wanna piss and moan? Gimmee a break here.

Ice Edge Holdings continues to fly under the radar. (They do feature in a few of Richard the Rat’s emails though.)They are still working furiously to get all their poop in a group. Could it be that when all the dust clears, none of the expected parties own the team? People with passion are dangerous folks. Entire revolutions have been started with passion. .. just sayin.

There is much more to come in the next week. Don’t believe the hype, its not over by a long shot. More depositions are being taken this week and if the Judge grants some of these emergency requests, there will be more hair pulling, eye goudging and back biting over at the Federal Courthouse soon. You can always follow along with Larry and C13 on Twitter. As well as reading summaries from the Boster Club and right here at the Hipcheck.

**********************OTHER STUFF**********************

You gotta love that Coyotes Coalition. Taking a page from other team’s fans, theYotesDiva has started a line of apparel and paraphanalia that will support the Yotes charity ticket buying efforts and help with Coalition sponsored activities for the upcoming season. Got a slogan or design or piece of merchandise you think would look good on the Yotes fanbase? Send her your ideas. Visit the Coalition store and buy something cool and funky to show your support of hockey in the desert.

Unoffical training camp is still going. If you haven’t gotten out there you really should. Apparently the boys are looking real good. More NHL faces have started appearing. Doan, DMo and Mueller to name a couple of our favorites. Take a look at the schedule, I am going to try for Monday and Wednesday Thursday (if court doesn’t screw up my plans).

Aaron Downey has been invited to camp for a looksee. GMDM is definitely still on the prowl for a tough guy it seems. Downey won’t be potting a lot of offense but he can skate some shifts and has some experience. He’s not up against a lot of competition for the job so far, it just may be his to lose at this point… (if you are one of those looking at our Francis Lessard  from the Rampage… that dude is crazy!)

ROOKIE GAMES! Road trip? Kings have announced officially (since you already heard it from GMDM here) the dates n times for the our rookies VS their rookies, pre season games. The first game is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. The second game is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.

The success of SBNation.com  has apparently spawned a few more fan driven sports sites. Be sure to stop by Hendrickshockey.com , the goalieguild.com , theNHLarena.com , the hfboards.com and the hockeywriters.com sites. Some of these have been around a long time and some are newbies, I just wanted to spread the love.

The season is right around the corner. Grab your tickets, its going to be a hell of a ride. The NHL has guaranteed your ticket money is safe from the bad guys if things go south.. or sour, take your pick. We’ll be doing a mini analysis of the West and a preview of the team soon, if you need more reasons to come check out the boys in action. You know I’ll be hangin about in section 104 so please come join me, Teal, C13, AZMiss and Brother Q for some Coyotes hockey in the best seats in da house!

As always… Go Coyotes!

Yahoo and SI are probably just the first of the wave of self proclaimed experts prediciting that the Yotes will be dead or dead last anyway in this year’s quest for the cup. They don’t know us. They don’t know Doan and they don’t know Jovo like they think. Warrior proud and mule stubborn, I think our Capt and Jovo are gonna be pissy and irritated by the time they hit the ice. If I have any clue about our leadership’s competitive spirit, I think they use all this to pump up their troops and they come out with all pistols firing. The YotesDiva makes a good point when she says that as long as the pundits are ranking the “PHOENIX” Coyotes, it doesn’t matter ‘where’ they rank us does it?

I personally think we surprise the hell out of everybody and start those damn Cinderella stories flying again around mid season and I hope the team doesn’t read any of it (because they start believing the hype and fall on their faces every time). We are basically the no name crew once again. The motley band of ice warriors that everyone counts out from the giddyup. Nothing new in that. Rarely are we ever predicted to be out of the bottom 5. But I think this BK circus will put the fear of the hockey gods in the boys, sting their pride and get them going as nothing else has so far.

As for the Gretzky effect … sighhh, if Papa Reinsdorf prevails, no longer an issue (positive or negative) if he’s still around we may have a few additional problems with my scenario but I still see us in this fight right thru March. We’ve done as well or better with lesser rosters in the past. (Hell, we hung middle of the pack with TQ and Kapi on top lines.) With the new additions (even if Verbie dies the last 15 games again) I think we can create a solid positioning that may be just enough to keep us in the hunt and possibly over the hump… and I pray nightly, into the post season. I’m not gonna rank us, I’m just flat out callin it… we’ll sneak into the playoffs this season and as long as we don’t meet the Flames or Wings right off the bat, I think we can make a good accounting of ourselves in the first round. *We’ve shown an excellent ability to hold our own with the rest of the west during big games*

Why am I so confident? Pollyanna syndrome?  New rose colored glasses? Masochistic streak coming to the frontal lobe with a vengeance?  Um that would be a NO! There is potential with this crew. A solidity that hasn’t been there before. Much as I have adored our rosters in the past, I have always realistically not expected much because it was all bailing wire and glue… one bad injury or slump and we were up to our necks in failure. Take a good look at the depth and setup for this year and you might just want a glass of the koolaid too.

FAIL= Too many rookies and not enuff substance between rookies and true veterans. We keep hitting walls because the kids can’t keep up and the vets are getting frayed and frustrated just when we need to kick it up a notch. GMDM may have fixed this problem by adding a few transplant tweenies like Pru, Lombo and Uppy who brought an immediate surge of win-at-all-cost-itis to the team late last season. Team Transplant bridges the gap between the boys and the men quite nicely and just might provide that small spark of stamina in March to take us thru. (I know that the handful of games they played don’t tell the full tale but we got some tweenies in their contract zone… they’ll be wanting to prove their worth in 09).

FAIL = Sophmores under too much pressure. With his soph slump behind him and being tagged back to center, Mueller could be the puzzle piece that takes over if Vbrat peters out at the end. (The slimmed down, healthy Mueller shouldn’t be caught standing still this year.) Hanzal did a fantastic defensive job even fresh out of back surgery. (just ask the Sharks’ Jumbo Joe) now that he has established his bonafides as a bad ass shut down center… its time for him to  pump up the offensive volume *bringing Vrbata in, gives Hanzal his mentor back and someone he has already had chemistry with*. Expect the big Czech make some seriouse noise this season. (Marty takes a little time to adjust to each level he reaches and then explode so this isn’t an unrealistic expectation.) The key sophs have graduated to big boy status and will have to step up a huge notch but given their talent, I don’t see this being an issue.

FAIL = Special teams that actually qualified for the short bus. The biggest difference with this season will have to be special teams. Aucoin/Jovo’s PP boomers should provide the jumpstart to improve our numbers on the PP point (surely JV can’t can as hard a time scoring this season as he did last…right?), the physically revamped Mueller should be able to help QB the man advantage much better this season and we actually have a 2nd PP unit this season w/ team Transplant, instead of TGO playing duck,duck, goose to get replacements onto the ice. As for the PK, nearly all of the new additions over the offseason are known for their defensive abilities, so there shouldn’t be any glaring holes on the kill this year. (And just maybe Z won’t be risking life and limb in such dramatic fashion since he’ll have help finally)

FAIL = No extra points when they mattered. Having a couple of extra snipers rather than pluggers (sorry Fridgie) may just mean we can get those barely missed tied games for the extra points. There were teams out there that parlayed those loser points into playoff berths. *Ducks! cough, cough* Vrbata should help assure that we come away with a few xtra points in those pesky shoot outs too, if he can regain his Coyotes form. Adding Verbie and Prucha in with Doan, Muells and Turris, our shoot out line up looks a bit more robust for 09.

FAIL = Headcase issues in the net and no solid cure or potential to help. Bryzzie reaffirming his goalie bonafides in the World Cup should have him strutting on the ice like he owns it this season. AZBarbie (can’t keep callin him LABarbie now can I?) needs to prove a lot, to himself and everyone else, so we can expect him to be challenging Bryz for every single game he can get. (This is a very very good competition to have for 09) I loved Telly, I thought he deserved more starts, apparently I had more faith in him than TGO did though. I think Labarbra may just force his way into more starts and if he can hold his best game, it won’t hurt so bad if Breezer crashes occasionally.  (Jason has been a #1 net minder before and wants it again, I bet every game he can grab will be a personal war to win)How can two dominant goalies jockeying for position be a bad thing? The competition to keep the #1 slot should pay off handsomely and with Monty showing such promise last year, the worries about injuries in the net are also dramatically reduced.

FAIL = Rookies, rookies everywhere…as far as the eye could see. Boedker, Turris, Lisin, Tikhnov, Porter, Schlemko and that list doesn’t even compose all the kids who hit our ice. Too many and too fast in some cases. Weight issues, strength issues and then of course there was that damn wall they hit every year. Not this time. This time we won’t be rushing the kids. Oh, there might be 1 or 2 who get a nice looksee, (McClean, Porter, Ahnelov and Schlemko in particular) but we certainly won’t be dependent on them in situations where they just can’t succeed consistently over 82 games. Say goodby to that nasty wall that we consistently ran into around game 60. Look for the sophmores of 2009 to really make a difference now that they truly understand what it takes to be an NHLer.

FAIL = Lack of true blueline depth. With Jovo struggling offensively we were dependent on novice Keith Yandle to fill in the gaps. (Although much improved, there was no way for Yands to pull the bluelineers into the points fray alone.) When Sauer and Morris went down, there was nothing the constantly shifting pairs could draw from to stabilize themselves. Adding Aucoin, Lepisto and Vandemeer while deleting the unfortunate Hale, the inconsistent Kalinen and our elder statesman Klee, we may see some solid if not game winning point production from the back end in 2010 and even better, some solid defense that stops every man and his dog from shooting on our net for 40+ sogs per game. Vandy also brings some bite with him, if JovoCop shows up, these two can make the Coyotes defensive zone a very harrowing place to be in the other guy’s sweater. Lepisto makes a great 7th man and could easily be interchangable with Ahnelov/Schlemko during their cups of coffee and for short stints could hold the fort on a regular pairing for injuries. This is a solid and robust defensive corps that can produce both ways, contribute consistently and hold up through 82 games even if bitten by that bitchy injury bug occasionally.

FAIL = Lack of offensive production. The addition of Ollie Jokinen was supposed to be the lynchpin for a giant step forward in goal scoring. Shane wasn’t going to be doing it all again this year. Reality fell far from expectation. (If you can’t mesh w/ Doan, who the hell can you mesh with?) The rookies tried, Rhino tried, but something truly was missing. Chemistry, confidence and consistency routinely failed to materialize after the ASB. We simply couldn’t buy a goal some nights. Adding a former 30 goal guy w/ Prucha, bringing back Vrbata where he performed career high offensively, putting Mueller back at center, the net crashing tendencies of  Uppy and Lombo and the extra puck possession time that should be generated by the other new addition’s faceoff totals should mean valuable scoring chances that we have lacked in the past. With the tweaks in place, the rookies won’t be pressured as much and should be comfortable enough to contribute w/out the fate of the team resting on their young shoulders all season.

FAIL = Team toughness MIA. Grit plays a big part in every game…especially down the stretch. Your kids can’t play if they are scared. It isn’t totally about the fighting (although the well chosen fight can completely change the momentum of the game) its about regulating the cheap crap that goes on. Its about standng up for each other, about manning up rather than punking out when pushed. Vandy, Jovo and Doan can patrol the ice quite well but it is almost  imperative! that we grab a guy whos mission is to make life miserable for our opponents…(Anyone who screws w/ a rookie or cheap shots the non combatives *Z, Tiki, Boeds come immediately to mind in this category*) but whose stints in the box won’t hurt the team either. (No more extra PIMs or missed PP opportunities due to obnoxious behavior, like overactive reactions or diarrhea of the mouth.) A fighter who can skate would be nice, a fighter who can skate and actually play the game would be a miracle. If GMDM can pull this one off we’re totally set to rock n roll.

I like the new additions, we’ve shored up weak spots, upgraded in some key areas. Now if we can just avoid the post ASG break slump, watch out post season, we’re gonna be a force to be reckoned with. IDK if HatTrick can be talked into doing an ‘official’ Preeason Preview or not, I’d love to see his opinion on specific areas and names that we’ve upgraded. He’s pretty busy workin on Green Ideas (a great new website that he hopes to see launched soon. HT is such a fantastic web guy, I love to see his sites go up. Fun and informative places to visit.) but I will try hounding him for some opinions.

Our friend Coyotes Q reminds us *Happiness comes not from having everything you want, but by making the best of everything you have.* -The Song of the Coyote. Does that not fit what we have to do this season perfectly? 

*************Quick hit on the promised updates for the BK stuff scheduled to be going on for the 9/2/09 court fracas…  The minutes of the last day in court finally came out and rather than recapping I’ll simply point you towards James Mirtle, who has laid out all 14 points in his blog today HERE be sure to check out the comment from Gerald on his thoughts about the TGO 22.5M owed… interesting as hell.

If you haven’t made it out to the unofficial camp yet, this is the week to begin doing it. All the big boys have been returning to town and there have been sightings like Khabibulin, Mueller, Boedker, Spina and Lisin already. (some new and old Yotes faces as usual) Loads of fun to be had so go check it out.

As always… Go Coyotes!

At 1PM Commissioner Bettman walked into the courts along with a bevy of NHL lawdogs from Clark to Meda and trailed by SOF’s Abromowitz. It was very cool that Bettman came over and was introduced to us fans by Doug Moss. We of course thanked him on behalf of all Arizona fans for the NHL’s continued efforts on our behalf. 10 minutes later the gang of reprobates PSE and Moyes arrived, as did those crazy kids Anthony Leblanc and Todd Jordan from Ice Edge. The City of G’s Reese made the party complete by 1:20. Glendale Hockey, a group of 3 lawyers from Ice Edge and City of G’s William Baldiga made the shindig via the phone system.

Not quite the brawl we keep anticipating. The contempt issue wasn’t even broached (much to my intense disappointment). But the NHL apparently ‘Doaned’ PSE today which was almost as much fun as I expected the contempt brawl to be. After the auction was thrown open to ALL bidders, I admit, I was nervous. Hearing the Judge say that PSE would be allowed to bid on the team inspite of all the issues with the City of G and the skullduggery seemed to be an endorsement of ‘the ‘highest’ bid not the ‘best’ bid like I had hoped. But Judge Redfield T. Baum is a whole lot shrewder (is that a word?) than most give the plain speaking Judge credit for. After ruling last week that the Sept. 10 auction was open to all bidders including Balsillie,the Judge has now set a hearing for Sept. 2 to determine whether Jim Balsillie is a qualified bidder. (weird huh?) Well not really, the NHL has decided that JB is not qualified owner material. They rejected him unanimously, according to their rules and by-laws. The Judge now has a clear path to one of the elephants that has been tiptoeing through the proceedings. I don’t blame the Judge for not wanting any appearance of impropriety in this case. No one wanted to step up and file the right kind of motions to get the elephant out from under the rug. Now its out and there is plenty of precedence for allowing the league’s ruling to stand.

The second big hit was the sudden agreement reached between SOF and Glendale Hockey LLC. SOF’s attorney body slammed PSE with an endorsement of the local bidder (Abromowitz told the Judge that the court should do whatever was possible to keep GH,LLC’s bid viable). After the court was adjourned, Mr. A refused to comment on whether the agreement meant SOF no longer supported PSE’s bid. (Tres interesting reaction eh?Makes one wonder if PSE made some crucial misstep in handling SOF?)

The third big blow was the Judge’s adamant and stern warning that there would be no more talk, consideration or thoughts about deposing the other bidders. There would be no more information provided to PSE or Moyes about them period, point blank and simple. Moyes’ personal attorney (perhaps trying to get ammo to get out of the contempt issues) and Freeman  from PSE  (who knows what new nefarious purpose Rodier had planned)made a couple of lame attempts to change the Judge’s mind and were rebuffed with an unqualified no. (If the Judge had been in Boneshequa mode, this would have been ‘hell, to the NOT!’ accompanied by a head roll and a hand on the hip)

All these things brought a tear to my eye. Don’t underestimate this seemingly mild mannered Judge, the guy can be a real pistol when his bullshit meter reaches its limits. So anyway after my fist pumps of joy… here is the rest of the recap.

Shep Goldfein opened the day with the items on the list but got sidetracked by the issues within the issues.

Apparently there was a list of about 15 items to take care of -( I can’t find a full copy of all the items yet and it got real twisted in there so I didn’t get all the items in their entirety, nor all the discussions and neither did any other source that I can find yet. I will EDIT when I can find that crap for you.)

Issue #1 is a motion from the NHL. Simply stated, the league contends that PSE and Jim Balsillie are NOT qualified bidders. Period, end of story. Balsillie was rejected by the BoG according to bylaw 35 and should not be able to participate in any auction of the team. The NHL basically wants the Judge to rule that their rules and bylaws stand, even in the face of BK. They contend that their process was fair and equitable and that the relo played no part intheir decision. (Apparently PSE wants to challenge this… ya think? LOL They are requesting the NHL hand over all records of the criminal records of current and former NHL owners, they want to depose folks to prove Balsillie was treated unfairly, they also want access to the background discovery of the other bidders and they want a bout a decade worth of docs given to them in an expedited manner)

Issue #2 is control over the Coyotes. The NHL contends that Moyes is causing harm to the asset and needs to be removed from the process to prevent further chilling of bidders and loss of potential fanbase revenue.

Issue #3 is the OSC (Order to Show Cause) for the contempt charge. The reason this needs its own hearing is for the NHL to get both the control and the contempt verdict and remedy out of the way by the end of August so as not to impede the auction(s). There will many motions, responses and and objections/replies on both of these issues and very little time to get this done.

Issue#4 was something about fiduciary responsibility? The effect of the actions by Moyes/PSE on chilling the bidding. (2 – 4 apparently all go hand and hand and will be heard that way during the coming weeks)

Issue #5 is the Glendale lease and the right to service agreement.  (this will be the possible deal breaker of the BK if PSE is somehow found to be qualified)

Items 6 – 9 and 11 were apparently discussed in the big round robin parade up to the podium but not really called out by number….

Issue #10 is the viablity of moving the team for the 2009-10 season. The team will continue to have a hard time selling tickets to a fanbase that isn’t sure if there will be a team in Glendale in October. The NHL apparently wants to Judge to just flat out declare a move in 09 a nonstarter.

Issue #12 is all about claim obligations, equitable subordination and avoidance actions. ( IDK what the hell that is all about and my brain is too tired to hunt it down right now. I will try to figure it out and regurgitate it later) but there were terms like advesarial objection and mention of 510e thrown around.

Issue #13 is the Gretzky claim. (not sure if this is in regards to whether or not he is a creditor or in the same boat as Moyes due to his purported ownership equity but it sounded like it)

Issue #14  Is Moyes is considered a creditor? The subsumation of debts upon the winning bid is part of this issue… because his status has not been made clear.

Jordan Kroop argued that 5/12/14 must be settled before the auction because the debtor has already rejected the lease on the arena. Apparently the Judge has a couple of choices to render 1. the lease can be assumed w/ amendments or 2. can reject the lease and set an amount of harm damages. Kroop requested that a summary decision be made. Item 13 may also be lumped in with these to determine if TGO really must be paid as a creditor too. (GH,LLC has rejected both Moyes and TGO claims as creditors)

Issue #15… is there one? hell I dont know… my butt was numb by this point and I figured I might be able to see the actual list at some point so I gave up on following the bickering so closely.

Basically everyone wants some discovery. The Judge said he will limit how many depositions can be taken by each party and to be very very sure what info they want because its a one shot deal.

This was perhaps the most intense yet bloodless set of battles so far. PSE came off the worse for wear this time. After court, we crazies shook hands once again while bidding Bettman good bye. He says to tell you all to hang in there and thanks you all for your support. We also attempted to put a premature end to Richard Rodier by letting him bum a cig, not sure it will work but anything was worth a try.

Not a good day in court for PSE

The Star weighs in on how court went.

The Court Making Good Use of PSE’s Bid?

GMTA? Rez and I both think this whole thing started w/ that absent rat Ellman. (the Coyotes that still pay the $1-million penalty for Westgate falling short of its sales tax revenue targets.)

Shuddup and sit in the peanut gallery GWI.

Remember, all the docs get filed and posted HERE. Wade through the legal slime at your own risk… its deep and can get nasty.

HANG ON Yotes fans. Its been ugly and the end is nearing. Next big ’scheduled’ court showdown is for 9/2/2009. We’ll be there, bringing you all the juicy stuff as well as more boring detail than you ever wanted to know.The Ice Edge kids are flying under the radar very well, letting the big boys duke it out while they gather their resources. Big daddy Reinsdorf is kickin asps and takin names. The local bidders are alive and well in the desert so don’t give up hope. A final note… The NHL is pretty much guaranteeing that you will get your money back if you invest in the team for 2009 and by some crazy chance they don’t play in Glendale next season. So no more waffling… buy your tickets and show your support for the team. GAME ON ARIZONA!

As always… Go Coyotes!

Well tie down your fight straps kiddos, today’s court may include a bench clearing brawl. Puck drops at 1:30PM on the 7th floor. (viewing room overflow is on the 6th floor if you get a chance to get over to the court house)

Today we expect to hear exactly how the auction will proceed. The time lines for motions, objections and bids for both the local and mobile assets.

The NHL has already laid their ground work to exclude PSE (and in the absence of any other mobile asset bidder, will try to get the mobile auction date vacated yet again).

The City of G will be providing its case on the Moyes contempt charges and why JM should be excluded from further participation in favor of a neutral or 3rd party. Their other cures for his ‘accidental’ breach of confidentiality will also be on the table and should be doozies. They will also be wading into the muck surrounding a mobile auction. (we may even see some serious discussion on just what kind of ‘harm’ cures the City expects from any mobile bidder)

Moyes and PSE will be battling on multiple dangerous fronts today. From contempt to probes of the NHL to trying to maintain accounting quid pro quo, these guys will be busy.*Apparently the team, including Don Maloney and the team travel coordinator, has negotiated a deal with US Air (who is experienced in handling the travel for many sports teams) to get a much lower price for air travel . Moyes is insisting that the team continue to use Swift Air. Consequently, a motion has been brought to resolve this. Swift Air billed the team $2,576,401 for charter travel last season.* Just one more turn of the screw by JM before he can’t bleed the team anymore?

For those of you just trying to keep up or make sense of this entire farce, the docs filed so far can be found HERE, including one that describes the travel deal GMDM has been instrumental in working out for the coming season.

Look for your favorite Tweeters to update from court: HKYFN  YotesDiva  and look forward to the sweet email updates from the Booster club on facebook as well as my rehash later today.

Keep the faith hockey is NOT dead in the desert. Arizona still has a hockey team and its GAME ON ARIZONA!

As always… Go Coyotes!

Contemptable behavior appears to be contagious whenever Richard Rodier is anywhere in the vicinity. Reading through the Daly deposition has caused me to speculate further on our de-facto owner Jerry Moyes’ behavior lately. It seems like he’s being manipulated like an ugly puppet (and a pretty dumb one at that). Why else is Moyes risking financial and legal censure from the court by attempting to devalue his own team and breaking confidentiality agreements? At this point in time I don’t have a whole lot of faith in his business acumen so I can only assume he is being given counsel from an outside source. Given the current data, that would suggest Rodier as the most likely ‘voice from the left shoulder’. Playing with fire seems to be JM’s latest hobby, if he’s not very careful in the coming weeks this tendency could leave him seriously burned, taking a substantial fall and holding a bag of epic porportions.

10 ton elephants will be running through the Glendale streets. By not vacating the mobile asset auction date, BK court has finally pulled the rug back and revealed that there are (2) 10 ton elephants under there. Before the September 10th auction both will be parading through the streets trumpeting their values. In order to move forward with an auction to sell a movable Coyotes team, Judge Baum will have to fix a dollar amount to the relocation fee and to the City of G’s claim of harm. It is illegal in the US to charge territorial rights/indemnification fees as far as I know but BUF and TOR are going to have to be compensated if another team is brought into their NHL  approved radius’. (see ANA deal for the workaround to this issue) Traditionally the Relocation fees have not been horribly high. There is precendence for a formula to determine these fees. (see NFL case with the Raiders) NEW location value minus OLD location value = relocation fee seems to be the standard formula. Which brings us to:

Elephant #1 – Because PSE would be taking a location that is the NHL’s territory but will be returning a territory this makes absolute sense. But it also means that the relo fee will also be quite high. Even by PSE’s own accounting Hamilton is far more valuable/profitable than PHO. In Susan Freeman’s own words PHO is a loser that isn’t worth a dime and Hamilton is King Solomon’s mine waiting to happen. So $400-600M minus 10cents = a big ol’ relo fee no matter which way you slice it. *according to the N.H.L. bylaws, in Section 36, Article 6, which discusses reasonable and appropriate conditions the league can impose, there is  a “transfer fee” that reflects the “good will” developed by the league in the new location and an “indemnification fee” to compensate for the “good will” developed by neighboring teams.*

Elephant #2 – The Judge has said… the City of G will be harmed, irreparably and incomparably by moving the team. Any bidder for the mobile asset will have to ‘cure’ that harm… they will have to pony up a fee to mitigate the affect of the loss of the team in Glendale. Will it be the whole 700M penalty? I dont think so but I am also thinking that number is going to have to be quite high to even begin to mitigate the losses (there is still over 125M owed on the bond that paid for the arena to be built) and then one must consider how hard it will be to find a tenant to replace the Coyotes (even the Judge acknowledged that this isn’t like replacing the anchor store in a mall). Some folks think that the City will be paid its ‘cure’ money out of the general pot, leaving nothing for any unsecured creditors. I have no proof but I think the cure money would be in excess of the bid… we may unfortunately get the answer to that if a mobile bidder wins.

We don’t want to play with you!  Despite all the rhetoric bounding gleefully around the net these days, it would seem to me that the unanamous rejection of Balsillie by the NHL’s BoG should carry substantial weight. Early on in these proceedings, the Judge admonished PSE for only wanting to apply the NHL rules when it suited them, I wonder how much those rules will play in the coming weeks hearings? (Will the Judge ‘ practice what he preached’ or not?)

Speaking of rules, IF Judge Baum decides not to allow the NHL’s rules and by-laws to preclude Jim Balsllie, the can of worms becomes a dire reality instead of a blog column title. The NHL will definitely tie this case up in court for eons to come. The full weight of the MLB and NBA will fall heavily as well. There will be injunctions and the like out the wazoo. So don’t count on the Coyotes going anywhere soon, especially the 2009 season but maybe well beyond that. IF Balsillie is allowed to pack up the Coyotes (after being denied ownership status) (without the league’s consent to the relocation) then all major league sports franchises can cite the Phoenix case as precedence and begin playing musical cities at will. Does anyone actually see these sports moguls allowing that to happen? I understand that BK is a whole nother animal in and of itself but precedence set is precedence available to use in other contexts. If you think you are tired of this saga now… talk to me again in 2012.

When all is said and done, nothing has changed really. Local and mobile bids will be taken on September 10th and the Judge will decide best bidder by the end of day on the 11th. Now its just a matter of which local bidder can prove his offer best (not simply most) and knock Balsillie, well… silly. At the end of the day, a bid that does no harm and gets people paid (even if its not up front in one chunk) has got to win right?

Don’t lose hope faithful, we still have two slightly tarnished white knights left in the game. Get ready to rumble! GAME ON ARIZONA! Bring it!

As Always… Go Coyotes!

Instead of an auction we had what basically amounted to a scheduling hearing. Judge Baum kept asking people what dog they had in this fight. By the time court was over I felt like I had been to a dog show.

Reese, City of G was all Chocolate Lab…on the scent and pointing to the downed target.

Maida, NHL represented the Doberman group in fine form… intense and watchful and totally protecting the league’s interests.

Boshes (sp?),  Jennings Strouss firm reminds one of a wire haired terrier with tufts of untamed hair, energetic movements and prone to yapping.

Kroop, Moyes legal was all enraged miniature bulldog with his affronted attitude about the STH letters.

Freeman, PSE I am tempted to say Chinese Crested with attitude but actually more like a chihuahua having a really bad day, exhaustive barking tendencies.

Ms. Reese led the proceedings for the City of G, detailing the incidences and outlining the City’s position. She also asked for a rescheduling of the proceedings so that Jennings Strouss firm could reply to the City’s requests and filings. The City is waiting to present their methods of cure based on the harm done by the release of confidential information on the local bid process.

Mr. Rhodes – general counsel for Jennings Strouss firm stated that the requested response will be filed late today and no later than tomoroow 8/6/09. He also reiterate that the City of G would be responsible for proving damages and proving that those damages could be directly linked to the charges.

The Court will set the contempt hearing dates after the City of G schedules the depositions they feel neccessary to their case. All of this appears to be headed into next week for the depos and 2 weeks for the hearing. Rhodes reserved the right to object to some depositions, citing possible witness availability issues.

Mr. Meda was up next and replied to the Judge’s question of what dog the NHL had in this fight by bringing up the who is in charge of the sale process question. The Judge said the NHL had an agreement w/ Mr. Moyes and that agreement was still in affect. Meda disagreed, he brought up the letters to the STHs. (the City of G and the NHL were not apprised of Dewey ranch’s decision to send out information to the STHs, instead an intrepid group of loyal and concerned fans informed them of the breach) The continuing uncertainty of the 09 season being in Phoenix. He alledged that Moyes is deliberately creating the perception of a lame duck season to further devalue the team. The Judge waived Meda’s concern about the relocation cleaver hanging over the team’s immediate future by declaring that he will absolutely make a decision about who can bid on September 10th. His decision will be published by tomorrow 8/6/09. Mr. Meda countered with the arguement that Balsillie was already rejected by the NHL-BoG and would prove problematic for September and the Judge reiterated that his decision would address Mr. Balsillie’s status. Judge Baum also admonished Mr. Meda that the BoG’s decision was just hanging about in the ether and was no good to anyone until filed with the court. (if it aint filed I can’t rule on it is basically the point)

Given the nature of all the rest of the issues, the Judge has decided to schedule some additional dates to work them out before the Sept auction. (The Judge is still a wee bit miffed by the hundreds of pages filed on the eves of nearly every subject so far)

Susan Freeman from PSE was next to step forward. The Judge told her “You don’t have a dog in this fight.” She replied that they do. The NHL wants to deny us our chance to bid on Sept 10th. The Judge reiterated that he will make his decision today and THAT would determine whether or not PSE can or cannot bid. The Judge also commented that a limited bid should be fairly quick but either way this whole thing will be over on September 11th… period.

Mr. Gaffney of SOF requested that confidentiality status be reiterated, with so many filings and so many parties, it would be benificial to the proceedings to revisit who has already consented to confidentiality and what information IS covered and how it should be marked.

Ms. Reese, City of G addressed the SOF statements by saying the City would send letters to all parties to re-designate the types/levels of confidentiality. Some items no longer appear to be confidential and some appear to be even ore so. She would like the Judge to underscore to ALL parties just exactly what confidentiality means. The Judge said he found it hard to believe that any of the legal counsel present didn’t understand the meaning of confidentiality. (hmmm in light of the Jennings fiasco.. maybe that isn’t true your Honor)

The US Trustee rep agreed with the court that the City of G needs to have statute or case law backing their case for contempt.

Jordan Kroop was at pretty high level of pisstivity about the allegations on the STH letters. He stated that the accusations that the letters went to all STHs for nefarious purposes was absolutely untrue. The lettersonly went out to the STH on the Master Mailing Matrix who were in effect, creditors before the BK (by virtue of funds deposited for their tickets) and that Dewey Ranch was only keeping them informed.

The NHL conceded that Mr. Kroop was indeed correct, not ALL STHs received the information but questioned why all of a sudden Dewey Ranch was including the people on the mailing matix when they never had before. (only two such contacts have been made through out the proceedings… *desperate much Mr. Moyes?*) That Mr. Nomo might have been playing the part of the junkyard mutt in this dogfight… circling the fight and nipping the legs of the Moyes camp’s dogs with small tidbits of innuendo that held a ring of inglorious truth… why now indeed, if not to damage the value of the team with the core fans?

Soooo, look for Judge Baum’s ruling on whether or not PSE can bid on September 10th in any capacity by tomorrow. And for further court appearances in the City of G VS Jerry Moyes contempt or not contempt pissing match in the coming weeks. For those of you interested in the depositions… here is Dalys. will post them as I get them.

Remember, we ain’t done yet. Grab a ticket or two for the 2009 season. Shout it loud and proud! We’re the Phoenix Coyotes and we play at Jobing.com Arena. Tell everyone you can about the team and the fun and the adventure that can be had as a fan.  GAME ON ARIZONA! Bring it!

As always… Go Coyotes!