Mail Call

My post from Tuesday has been generating a lot of comments... rather than continue to extend that thread, I'm going to post here to get a number of issues out on the table. This one came in this morning: I think you need to be unbiased and make a smart comment about the WSHL. Best coaches in the league? The Tilt? How dare you not mention Harry Mahood. His track record and reputation amongst the coaching fraternity is very good. He has put alot of players in college and true JR organizations. Jeremy Law has done nothing compared to him. Your a hockey guy! Now say the right things! Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not taking ANYTHING away from Hoody here. If you go back to the 5th & 6th comments, Phoenix is clearly on the table, and I said "you are talking about the two best coaches in the league"... As for which coach is better, last time I checked the head-to-head record is 1-1. With Tucson and Phoenix in the same division, there will actually be some very interesting regular season games this year, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity of watching some of them. Personally, I think having these two teams in the same division is the best thing that could have happened to both them and the league, because playing each other regularly will do a lot more to prepare these teams for Nationals than "running the table." Now, onto my friends that love all things Blue Line and Sanderson (I'll throw Mike's name in here because I believe the people badgering me about the delays have an axe to grind with him). ...Only Phoenix seems to operate on a business level... the rest seem to be garbage-- maybe this is the Tim Best syndrome. Garbage in, garbage out, and Tucson seem to be that way as well. Just like Blueline opening again in May, June, July, August, Tomorrow...Bramahs...Group Ice--that mess is... MARC, you seem to get the best people calling u.... Yes, I am getting frustrated with the delays in closing deal, as are the people involved. All I can tell you is what I'm being told by the people involved in the deal. Frankly, as I have expanded the scope of this blog, the Blue Line drama has become less and less important, and the only reason I continue to bring it up is because I have a small core of local readers who are interested. The other 95% probably don't care. Who calls me? That's my business, but I will say I do more consulting than is indicated by what you might read here. Unfortunately, I am somewhat a victim of geography where the Cavalry, Titans, and Texans are concerned. These were the teams in my neighborhood, and the circumstances that led to their demise were beyond my control. Of course, since the relocation of the Cavalry I've had a standing invitation from Alex Kyrias to do color at Tornado games (we partnered previously when the Tornado hosted Nationals in 2004). Since I was busy calling Titans and Texans games, I never really had a chance until this season to take him up on the offer. This year I probably will make it over to Frisco for a few games. Also, if you think that "Only Phoenix seems to operate on a business level" then you are unfamiliar with the league. El Paso and Lafayette have more season ticket holders than many NAHL teams, and combined probably more STHs than the rest of the WSHL combined. On the tuition issue, I'm already on the record as disagreeing with USA Hockey's corrupted justification (perhaps misinterpretation is a kinder word, but since there are political forces in place I believe corrupted is better) for outlawing tuition. Of course, they left loopholes as big as Manute Bol's five-hole in their language: ...no team scholarships/financial discounts shall be allowed to any individual player based upon his skill and ability or game performances, without that individual player performing meaningful, productive work in exchange therefor off the ice and away from team competition. So I've decided this is a non-issue. Like everything else in life, teams are going to invent ways around it, and other teams are going to whine and complain when they should be asking themselves why they aren't in a position to compete against other teams off the ice as well as on it. In other news... BCHL takes the lead in addressing the new rules confusion... UBC Thunderbirds to join the NCAA? Maybe. It's certainly being kicked around... Peoria Mustangs begin new era...