Sean's Blog

Upside Down Land

I'm Canadian.  I've lived in Australia now for over twelve years and while I suppose part of me is becoming Aussie, I still have certain things about me that are very Canadian.  As mentioned in another post, I firmly believe in Universal Health Care - I don't know why, I have private health insurance here in Australia (the government taxes the crap out of me if I don't) and I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford it without thinking about it, but I still think the bare minimum the state can do for me is to provide me with medical coverage.  Anyhow, onto my reason for posting...

When you are a Canadian living abroad a number of things jump out at you after awhile.  One, sadly is that Canada's place on the world stage is diminishing.  Perhaps it is the rise of the BRIC nations causing a decline in the power of the G8 or maybe that Canadians have become a little more insular in their political outlook, I don't really have a reason, I just know that while Canada is perceived as a great place to visit, live and work, its not really being accused of hogging the limelight on the world stage.

Another thing you realise is that Americans, oddly enough aren't all bad.  I find I have a fair bit in common with most Americans I meet who live here in Australia and who are close to my age.  We grew up watching the same TV, we like the same sports, we know who Betty Ford is aside from being the namesake of the facility where celebs go to kick their drug habits and they no more understand the 80's Alf phenomenon than I do.  All up, they aren't half bad people once you get them outside of the US for awhile.

Finally, and maybe most controversially, as a Canadian living abroad, you come to understand just how unique we are as a country because of Quebec.  The fact that they are the second largest french speaking population in the world and we all sort of get along in one big happy dysfunctional country makes us somewhat special.  When people ask me if I speak french and I say no, they look at me like I have three heads - how do you grow up in a bilingual country where 20% of the people speak french and barely be able to order a meal in the language?  Blissful ignorance I tell them.  Part of the beauty of the place is we've sort of settled into this happy middle ground, we'll be english and you'll be french.  All of this crazy nonsense about special status and stuff is pointless when you're viewing the country externally.

One thing though that still fascinates me is how Quebec is still really upside down land.  I actually find it quite funny now.  I read a poll today on Canoe that talked about how Harper is still the preferred Prime Minister.  This whole minority government thing is really screwed up - most Canadians agree that having minority governments is bad.  Most Canadians think Harper is the guy for the job and the Conservatives are the party to lead the country.  Mr. Ignatieff is seen as being a bit "un-Canadian" because of his overseas education and work history.  Most importantly, the majority of Canadians across the whole country agree that the country is headed in the right direction...

Oh wait, I forgot upside down land.  The think Mr Ignatieff is "worldly" and therefore suited to lead.  They conveniently forget the kickbacks and scandals of his Liberal party only a few short years ago and they believe that the Liberals are fit to lead.  Of course they do, most of the kickbacks were going to Quebec - anyone need a golf course?  Most telling, 47% believe the country is headed in the WRONG direction?!?!?

How on earth does this happen?  How do one group of people feel so differently that EVERYONE else - literally the majority of people in every other part of the country think things are getting better, except Quebec.  You want to know the reason why?  Simple.  For the last 45 years, the people of Quebec have been voting badly!  The limitation of democracy is simply the common sense of the people casting the ballots.  They repeatedly voted for Separatist Governments throughout the 70's and 80's.  Mulroney made an effort to deal with Bourassa but ultimately couldn't.  At a Federal level they consistently give a disproportionate vote to the separatist Bloc Quebec and as a result, they further isolate themselves because none of the three major parties want to be seen as the ones doing a deal with the devil - they'll die in Ontario and the West if they do that - isn't that right Mr Layton?  Quebec did ok during the corrupt Chretien/Martin years because they had a provincial Liberal government and Chretien and Martin were backhanding money all over the place. 

Let me offer some voting advice to my friends back in Quebec.  Since the 60's the province has gone ass-backwards.  Ontario and Alberta have boomed, even most of the Maritimes have outgrown you.  Canada, as a whole, is a pretty unique place, and Quebec is a pretty massive reason for that.  So embrace the madness of being Canadian, vote for the good guys who are promising you the earth and reap the rewards!  Separatism is a stick - unfortunately you've left it out there so long the rest of the country has beaten you nearly to death with it.  Put it back in the closet for a generation or two and then the mere thought of you bringing it back out will make it powerful again.  With 15% - 20% of you voting for the Bloc, you're simply subjecting yourselves to the status of second class citizen - something the whole point of separatism was originally trying to avoid!

Don't Drink the Sand

As the Commish awaits a ruling from a judge in Arizona it is hard to not draw the parallel to the crazy man in the desert, lost without water, hallucinating and staggering aimlessly. 

The Phoenix Coyotes are dead and no matter what Judge Baum rules, that team will be playing elsewhere this time next season.  The scene on opening night in Phoenix is going to be disturbing - it will be like the "fans" thought it was Halloween and came dressed as empty seats.  The Yotes are in for a blood bath with the NHL underwriting the entire mess.

The best thing that could happen is for Judge Baum to not rule.  The league is paying the bills, the players are getting paid and nobody has the right to an appeal.  If the good judge just waits this thing out, the NHL owners will break and the NHL will be forced to do a deal with the only person in the whole wide world who seems to have any interest in buying this club, Blackberry Jim.  If you figure that the Coyotes have nothing by way of revenue coming in, plus are paying rent to the City of Glendale and the club's payroll is north of $45m with staff and things then between now and April, the owners are going to lose north of $6m per month, maybe more.  The NHL simply doesn't have pockets that deep, so they will have to make a credit call to their other owners.  At some point they are going to blink.

Everyone knows this is about keeping a team out of the Leafs geographic territory unless the Leafs get a fat pay day.  Commish insists no team has a "veto" but Melnyk has already contradicted that - while it might not be in the official rules, the unspoken rules are in play and Melnyk gave the game away.  How long before the other owners who are going to get touched by the Commish for keeping his pet project in the desert alive say, "Enough! Do a deal with the Blackberry guy, get him to cover our losses and move that team to Hamilton!"  I'd say we're talking by mid-November.

So Judge Baum, there's your answer.  You can avoid your ruling being appealed by letting commerce have its way in this dirty little affair.  Just do everyone a favour in the meantime and don't let the Commish drink the sand.

US Healthcare Debate

I'm a Canadian.  Yes, I live in Australia and more and more I'm considering myself Australian every day, but something at the very fibre of my being makes me Canadian - maybe it is my unwavering belief in Universal Healthcare.

I'm not one of those American hating Canadians either; after 13 or so years living abraod (virtually my entire adult life) I've come to the realisation that I have more in common culturally from my childhood with Americans than anyone else.  Only someone who grew up in North America in the 80's would get the "gay pirate" jokes when referring to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers old Jerseys.  Where's the Beef?  I'm not only the President, I'm also a client!  All of these things are similar cultural groundings that Canadians and Americans of my generation can relate to.

I'll also state a bias, shhhh, don't tell anyone, but I'm a "conservative" and especially on fiscal matters.  I was very tempted to say "physical" matters in homage to Steve Fielding, but we'll let that go. 

Even with that bias, I find the whole anti-Canada debate going on within the US regarding health care to be a sad state of affairs.  Canada beats the US in every OECD health care measurement except expenditure - the US spends considerably more but gets alot less.  Canadians live longer, have lower infant mortality rates, have 25% less asthma cases in children and because Canadians are more likely to go to a doctor when something is wrong, quality of life at later ages is higher.  I would have thought these are all good things!

However if you hear a Republican in the US they tell tales of soup kitchen like waiting lines for emergency procedures and hordes of Canadians flooding across the borders for elective surgery.  Sorry, this is all bollocks.  Shame on the Republicans for promulgating such a myth and trying to shroud the truth for political gain.  Yes, Canada has longer waiting times for "elective" surgery than the US and some of those folks do go across the border to get those procedures done.  Do I really care though that someone who has a deviated septum and snores has to wait six months?  No!  Americans DIE because they worry about not being able to afford NECESSARY LIFE SAVING procedures!  Who's really better off here?

I ask the question - if politicians didn't have fully covered health insurance, a fat bank balance behind them and ready access to John Hopkins University hospital, would their views be different?  If those Republicans were on $35k/yr, worried their plant might close and their health benefits go the way of the dodo with their job, would they have a different point of view then?  What if they were facing all that and discovered a melanoma?  This is the type of thing that the average American faces every day, maybe some of these spoiled, cocooned politicians should wake up and rejoin the real world.

I say this to any and all of my American friends out there, your health care system is broken and everyone knows it.  The Canadian system is something that ALL Canadians feel so passionate about that many of us want Universal Healthcare enshrined as a constitutional right.  You've put a man on the moon, you've split atoms and created some of the greatest technology the world has ever seen, yet people are dying because they aren't sure they can afford a heart stent - that's crazy!  I say give the Canadian system a crack, see how it goes - let your President do what he was elected to do!

Leafs nab Kessel

Couple of reports out (Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun and Damien Cox of the Toronto Star) have the Leafs acquiring Phil Kessel from Boston.  There seems to be a bit of discrepancy about what went to Boston.  Cox says it was two first rounders and a second rounder and Longley is saying a first rounder and two second rounders.  Cox is also reporting that Kessel has agreed to a 5 year, $27m contract with the Leafs.

I'd like to think that Burke managed to get Kessel for what Longley is reporting, but I think the two first rounders and a second is a bit more likely.  This is a risky deal for the Leafs in two ways:

• Kessel has to come back healthy and the rumours of his introversion had best not be true because the Toronto hockey magnifying glass will fry him; and,
• The Leafs "appear" on paper to be a team that should challenge in the East for the playoffs.  If they have a poor season like last year than Burke has paid a heavy price.

The problem with the Leafs would look to be a lack of goal scoring up front and that terrible penalty killing record from last year had better turn around because the new "more aggressive" Leafs are going to spend more time in the penalty box. 

The question mark around Kessel's health and attitude aside, he now should be entering his prime.  If that turns out to be true, then the Leafs have a ridiculously fast, 40-goals per year first liner for the next five years.  That will go a long way to relieving some of that lack of scoring upfront.  I think he Leafs need Bozak to be the real deal and be able to make the jump this year to the NHL.  If he can chip in 20 goals in his rookie year on the second line, then that would be awesome.  At that point you need Jason Blake, John Mitchell, Matt Stajan and an Alex Ponikarovsky to just have average years by their own standards and that should get you enough goals.  If a Jiri Tlusty, Viktor Stalhberg or Christian Hanson can make the jump this year too, then that's a bonus.  I've left off Kadri because it is hard to believe the Leafs will keep him up, but next year, he might have a good stab.  Also, let's not write off Chris DiDomenico - he will be off skates probably until November and this year is a write off, but longer term, unless his femur doesn't heal well, he's got heaps of potential.

The other thing that's interesting to note about the Leafs is that aside from getting bigger, they got much faster.  Kessel is lightning on skates and Bozak has some serious wheels to go along with a good two way game.  I think being a bit bigger and a bit faster means teams are going to have a little less time to set up shop in the Leafs end and a little more doubt about the consequences of trying.  Throw into that mix just some better guys at the back like Komisarek and Beauchamin and hopefully a still improving Luke Schenn and you suddenly need less goals because you're giving up fewer.

I also think speed and an improved attitude will help the penalty kill.  Nothing throws off the powerplay timing than a quick, fast, reactive box.  When guys are buzzing around the puck carrier, someone will eventually cough it up. 

All up, I think the Leafs have done well - they've given up nothing from their roster to acquire a 36-goal scorer who's only 22 years old.  That's a nice piece of work, Mr. Burke.

Spotlight/Entourage 2008/Snow Leopard Problem

Since updating to Snow Leopard upon its release I've been struggling with my Entourage 2008 Spotlight searching.  I have two accounts and one seemed fine and the other wasn't working at all.

First port of call was to try and rebuild my index.  So within Entourage you go to Preferences and Spotlight and click the Rebuild button.  Nothing happened.  I tried turning off the Spotlight search and re-enabling that.  That didn't work either.

Next I got a little more drastic and went in and removed the index stubs that Entourage creates for Spotlight to search, then I disabled Spotlight search in Entourage (as above) and re-enabled it.  Theoretically this should have forced Entourage to recreate the stubs, but that didn't occur. 

Clearly this was some kind of crazy process issue.  I then went into the Microsoft Office 2008 folder and launched the Sync app just to make sure it was running - nothing.

Finally I put the stubs back and tried to launch the import again using mdimport -r on the ~/Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft/Entourage/2008 folder.  It chucked up an error which was interesting.  The error said I should force the import again using "arch -i386 mdimport".  I did that and it seemed to run successfully - I could here the Macbook disk churning like mad.

A few minutes later my Spotlight search was working on both accounts and updating itself nicely.

It would appear that there's something askew with the preferred mdimport (metadata import) in Snow Leopard defaulting to the 64-bit version and this not working well with Entourage which is of course 32-bit.  Once I forced the 32-bit version of mdimport, everything seemed good again.

If it acts up again after a reboot I'll update this post, but ensuring the 32-bit mdimport runs on your Entourage index seems to sort the issue.

Hypocrisy of Australian Telecommunications

I have been a firm believer for some time now that Telstra has needed to be broken up into wholesale and retail pieces.  I also think that a "government controlled" entity should own the basic infrastructure to provide backhaul and the last mile - so effectively the wholesale piece minus mobile.  I believe that telecommunications infrastructure is critical to the country and in Australia it is overly politicised and monopolised to no ones benefit.  I think the wholesale infrastructure should be open to any "carrier" at tiered pricing based on volume purchased.  Finally, I believe that government controlled entity should NOT return a profit to the government's coffers, but be mandated to spend its entire profit on upgrading the core networks and reducing the impediments to wider scale high speed communications technology to rural areas.

I do not believe in the NBN.  I think it is poorly thought out and yet another instance of the politicians becoming too involved in things they don't understand.  When people ask me why I don't like the NBN I usually give the glib answer, "If people in Wagga want faster access to porn, they should pay a higher price." 

In many respects, my two positions seem contradictory, but let me explain.  The problems in the Australian telecommunications industry are to do with issues such as: exchange access, last mile access and quality, pit access and regulated pricing.  None of these will be solved by the NBN, but they would be solved by breaking up Telstra.  I just think dropping some $40b on a new network to solve a regulatory issue seems like dropping a nuclear bomb to kill a mosquito.

In its current form, the NBN is misguided.  It will turn out to be a government spending orgy that results in NBN PoPs in every marginal federal Labour seat in the country.  Every school in a safe Labour area will have more fibre than they can shake a stick at while kids in Castle Hill in Sydney's northwest resort to tin-cans, string and carrier pigeons.  I'm not simply pissing on Labour, I'm sure the Coalition would do the same thing - politicians can't help themselves.  They are measured by re-election (a popularity contest) and sometimes, the important ones are considered in a historical context, but the next election is always closer.

I think the government should go through with breaking up Telstra and regulating access to the wholesale network.  I think the federal government should consider what to do with the national fibre networks of NextGen and Optus as part of the wholesale scheme.  If they really wanted to make telecommunications cheaper and better, they'd probably buy both, plus look at the undersea assets in and out of Australia.  Australians pay a fairly hefty price for internet access because of peering costs on undersea cables to the US, which is where the bulk of the content lives.  If you could eliminate the excessive gouging in that area, you'd be onto a winner.  Ultimately, let that piece of policy shake out and then see if we need to spend all this money.  We very well may need to and if the country needs and wants that, then great, spend away, but right now it seems that the market may sort this out itself.

My last thought is on hypocrisy.  The Howard Government were bitterly opposed by the now governing Labour party when they went through the process of selling Telstra.  The Howard Government made the Telstra debate part of their election platforms.  Labour has decided to break-up Telstra and have set a deadline effectively for doing so that would preclude the electorate from getting a say on a significant decision.  Labour obviously doesn't want to have done to it, what it encourage the labour unions to do to the Coalition during the last campaign on WorkChoices and that's run ads all over the place slamming Labour's decisions on telecommunications - the government is trying to keep Telstra's marketing machine on the sidelines. 

I suppose the part I find most hypocritical though is that Labour were opposed to selling Telstra, yet they inherited the Future Fund which was made up of the proceeds from that sale and now they are breaking up the goose that laid the golden egg so they can spend the proceeds that may not need to be spent to fulfill a poorly constructed election promise that has become bigger than Ben Hur.  It just doesn't pass the smell test with me.

The Customer Is Always Right!

Over at Gameworldone.com they have a new blog post written by Mark Burton that I had to read twice to get my head around.  I like Mark Burton.  I reckon he is probably the best resource about FML that Sports Interactive and Sega Europe aren't paying when it comes to the game.  Mark is the Lead Moderator in the Fowler Gameworld, where as a fellow moderator, I have the immense pleasure of dealing with him.  More than that, whenever I have any sort of question about FML, Mark is my first port of call for an answer.

HOWEVER!  I think he's bumped his head and then drank the kool-aid heavily before writing the above mentioned post.  Here's a brief summary of Mark's positions:

• Sega Europe publish their Terms and Conditions and its up to you to keep abreast of the changes they make to the game;
• Even though they sell the game to those of us overseas, their primary responsibility is to the UK and Ireland for support;
• FML is the "little brother" of Football Manager, even though myself (and alot of other customers on 12 month contracts) pay more, we should "understand" that FM is actually the priority and gets the bulk of the resources; and,
• The community on the forums really ought not to expect the SI Devs to spend too much time tracking the community.

Mark is a great guy, but this blog entry is seriously warped.  Let me go through the points above and give you my flavor:

• SI/Sega need to do a way better job of keeping the community informed of the future of the game and that's totally evident by the general feeling within the posts we're seeing on the forums and some discussions on the GWs that the GWs are slowly dying.  I think SI/Sega treat their "conversation" with the customers as a bit too one way and they hold back way too much.  It is totally old school marketing where you create demand and then have a "ta da" moment unveiling.  I suggest that a few of the senior folks at SI go read "Tribes" by Seth Godin;
• The idea that its "ok" to sell the game overseas, but REALLY those of us not in the UK should just understand that support is primarily focused on the UK is ridiculous.  If I walk into JB Hi-Fi here in Sydney and can pick up a boxed copy of FML then I'm a first class citizen and the idea that I'm not disgusts me.  I hope that's no the SI/Sega Europe point of view;
• The concept of the "little brother" to FM irritates me.  I understand fully that FM is the bread winner for SI and Sega Europe, it is what let's them gamble a bit on things like EHM (I miss that game so much, shout outs to Riz and GK), but I pay a fair whack for my annual subscription to FML.  I think Mark has this wrong.  I am pretty sure SI have a separate team entirely working on FML, with its own budgets, P&L and KPIs - to do anything else would be stupid business; and,
• Having a community like the one SI have built over the years is a double edged sword.  Most companies would DIE to have such a dedicated, rabid fan base.  FM and FML fans are the football management equivalent of Twilight junkies.  Unfortunately, there are no IQ and EQ tests required to buy the games and sign up to be a member of the community.  I used to be a mod on the SI forums years ago when EHM was around and some of the people who posted made me call into question Darwinian theory.  On the other hand, those people MUST be considered a PASSIONATE fan base.  I think SI see it that way too, Ov, Miles, Duffy and a few others do spend their time getting in amongst it.  Again, I think Mark's view in his post is a bit inconsistent with SI's views - he doesn't work for them nor is he speaking for them, so that's cool.  I would suggest that SI hire their own Community Manager and get a bit more involved, I don't know Bertie from Sega, but I think someone who sits in SI's offices and is part of the team would better serve that role.

All up, I thought Mark's article was difficult to read because it was apologist.  It let's SI and Sega Europe off the hook for things they don't do well and calls into question whether the customer is right or wrong.  The customer is ALWAYS right.  Even when the customer is wrong, the customer is RIGHT.  Why?  Because the customer controls their spend.  As a software company you can be as right as you like, right about everything, but if the customers think you're wrong and don't buy your product, then ultimately, the company was wrong. 

Here's what I would like... I'd like to see a more open product roadmap.  We keep hearing about plans to "re-vitalise" the older GWs.  How about rather than telling me as a customer, why not have a conversation with me about it?  What if SI/Sega Europe outlined their high level plans and asked for some feedback?  Sure, somethings may or may not come to fruition and the ones that don't will certainly upset people who like those ideas, but forewarned is also forearmed.  I've made a decision to join SI/Sega Europe for the ride - I signed up for 12 months and will renew for another 12 months.  Instead of treating me solely as a customer, how about treating me as a partner and letting me know where the experience is headed.  Use your blogs to dream, not advertise upcoming features that are already set in stone and 95% developed.

Things like forums, blogs, Twitter and the like are "social networking".  By their very nature they imply a two way conversation.  I'm not interested in seeing the blog, with the video of the tactics engine for FM10 that is already finished and in final testing.  Post on the blog about the ideas you're toying with for Youth Academies in FML.  I know the SI team do take a lot of ideas on board that come from the community, I just think right now it has gotten away from them a bit - people now expect more engagement, sometimes it just feels that SI/Sega Europe are preaching from "on high" and not talking to us - and that's my biggest complaint about Mark's blog entry, he's making excuses for that behaviour.

NHL Contraction

This mess in Phoenix must have demonstrated to the NHL owners that there are very few rich people out there wishing to swell their ranks.  Now compound the problem with the Florida Panthers being in trouble (apparently the owners won't sink anymore funds into it) and Tampa Bay already in a position where they have admitted they won't meet their costs and you wonder how reducing the number of franchises in the NHL isn't on the agenda?  The Commish and Board of Govenors have set themselves a precedent where now you must be of strong moral character as well as stupidly rich to own an NHL team - that's going to be a tough one.  What with Kumar and Boots currently serving time and Len Barrie by all accounts having borrowed the money for his share of the Lightning from a fund he was entitled to dip into and the NHL continues to look ridiculous.

Why not do a deal with Basillie, get him to pay the league some silly sum of money, $300m or whatever and let him put an expansion team in Hamilton.  Then the league use its powers to revoke franchises, fold them up and setup a wide ranging expansion/dispersal draft.  Each team protect 17 skaters and 2 goalies, anyone you leave unprotected is immediately bought out and becomes a free-agent if they are not taken in the draft.  If you select a player, you let one off your list go.  Basillie gets to pick twice per round, first and last.

This would do a whole bunch of things for the good of the game.  It would get rid of three lame duck franchises and create one strong one.  It would give the owners a chance to clean up some of their contractual messes without taking a salary cap hit.  Ideally the league would be stronger because the 40 weakest players would now be unemployed - technically, every team would get an upgrade.

I think if you got really ambitious this could be part of re-neogtiated and extended CBA.  The players will complain about losing 40-odd jobs.  You solve that problem by not lowering the cap next year (as it will most certainly do), increase revenue sharing among the teams, reduce that stupid hedge fund the NHL gets by withholding large parts of the players' income and look at doing some more inventive things to generate NEW revenue.  I think the NHL should seriously look at MLB.tv as a model - exploit the long tail of fans around the world who will pay on the internet.  Set it up as a JV with the players, make them put some skin in the game - the NHLPA encourages members to promote and help deliver content for the new online medium and the league and players split the revenue.

It is very sad when you have such an awesome sport destroyed by a stupid people in charge.

One Down, Two to Go...

Ice Edge Holdings have pulled out of the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy auction leaving just the NHL and Blackberry Jim.  Jim's latest gambit of chucking another $40m on the table for the City of Glendale makes the NHL offer look even more ridiculous because they've not ruled out moving the team (they will certainly move it - maybe Craig Leopold wants another team) and they've made no concessions to Glendale.  This mess just gets crazier and crazier for the Commish.

I'm not a legal expert, but here's how I see things:

• Blackberry Jim has made an offer that sees all secured creditors receive some form of compensation, including the City of Glendale.  My understanding is that Judge Baum (or any bankruptcy judge) has the authority to set aside a lease, so offering them about 25% of the total cost of building the arena is a pretty good offer considering they will still own the facility;
• The NHL's offer has flaws in that it preferences non-secured creditors ahead of secured creditors;
• The judge's role is complicated now only by the fact that there is no precedent to force a professional sports league to accept an owner; and,
• The NHL may find itself up on anti-trust charges if the judge rules in the NHL's favour.

The last point around anti-trust is probably the one I'd be most worried about if I were say, Ed Snyder or some owner who couldn't care less about a team in Phoenix.  The NHL owners have unanimously voted against letting Blackberry Jim into their club on pretty flimsy grounds considering the Boots just got sent to the can recently over his purchase of the Preds.  If the NHL now convince Baum that they alone can determine who enters their "club" and Blackberry Jim is ruled out of the auction, then the NHL stands to make some money out of this.  They will certainly look at moving the team somewhere else because NOBODY will want to own it in Phoenix.  They'll certainly sell it for more than the $140m they'll end up paying for it.  So in the end, their club refused entry to someone willing to pay more and profited on keeping their ranks closed.  Smells like an anti-trust violation to me.

One other interesting side note in all of this - Michael Dell (of Dell Computer fame) is the controlling shareholder of SOF Investments.  Imagine a scenario where Blackberry Jim does a deal overnight with Mr. Dell that let's Dell Computers license the Blackberry OS for the new Dell Mobile Handset and suddenly in exchange, SOF Investments no longer supports the NHL bid, but is enthusiastically in favour of Blackberry Jim's.  That could muddy the waters.  Of course that won't happen, Michael Dell and Jim Basillie are men of integrity, I wonder how they got mixed up with the Commish and the NHL?

Commish, Let Me Solve Your Problems!

There's a new ownership drama cooking down in Tampa where it would appear that Len Barrie didn't use his own money to buy his share of the Lightning, nor has he ever repaid it.  The former owner's estate is effectively underwriting the current ownership and Len Barrie is talking about an injection of $350m from a Dubai company to buy a luxury resort project where he apparently "borrowed" the money from to fund his NHL ownership dream.

News Flash for Len Barrie, Dubai is on struggle street!  They have their own debt issues and the desert is slowing reclaiming the place.  And just what the NHL needs, another franchise backed (albeit indirectly) by more people who live in a desert.

Needless to say, I have an answer!  Now that Jim Basillie has so kindly fronted up with the extra money to buy out the City of Glendale, why not Blackberry Jim have the Coyotes and move them to somewhere that experiences proper winter.  Then the NHL can take its $140m off the table, do a deal with the estate of Bill Davidson to buy back the Lightning and then sit down with Quebecor to let them buy the franchise and relocate them to Quebec City.

This would take two of the league's most seriously misplaced basketcase franchises, put them in the hands of deep pocketed owners who want to own NHL clubs and have them operating out of hockey markets!  I know, I know, Quebec versus Hamilton isn't going to sell Versus subscriptions but who cares?!?  This is a television network that virtually nobody subscribes to even if they can get it in their local package, but in their own titlebar on their website, BULL RIDING comes ahead of the NHL!

I think the NHL needs to stop the constant bleeding with these crazy franchises, get them in the hands of people will more money than brains and situate them in places where fans appreciate the game.