ASG reportedly sells Thrashers

[Seano]

Ice hockey in the South is a bad idea. Don't know why that basic, common sense notion escapes so many people, from fans to NHL executives.

Well from the NHL's perspective, like I stated it was a money thing all the way, and they got blinded by trying to chase the $$$ in the late 80s-early 90s. They really wanted to be big time, and demographics were telling them that the US population (and their money) was shifting southward to the Sunbelt, and so that's what they were chasing after. That's why you saw Nashville, Tampa, San Jose, Anaheim, and Florida all being awarded with new franchises, while the NHL continued to abandon its much more traditional demographics, its source of strength and really its historical home base by transferring teams from cold weather (and hockey crazy) northern tier cities like Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Hartford to Phoenix, Dallas, and Charlotte.

They damaged their product greatly by doing this. Not only did it become incredibly watered-down, but the league lost its credibility in the process. It's absurd to have hockey teams playing in cities in which a natural patch of ice might last maybe 10 minutes before melting, but that's what the did, and the NHL is just kind of a joke league anymore in my opinion and many others as a result of that.

[Guest]

ASG is making big liquidation moves. I had a ticket rep call 3 times today, I picked up the 3rd time. Let's just say she wish she never called me asking for season tickets. I gave her (ASG) a major lashing, just a huge tirade. The only thing that would have made it better is if I had an old time phone that I could slam down to hang up. I felt like a pany pushing "end call" on my touchscreen.

My guess is they want to get enough assets now to hold onto the Hawks. I hope they fail miserably.

[sturt]

The curious thing, to me anyhow, is that the rumor making the rounds earlier this week was that the Hawks sale was further along than the Thrashers. If that had merit, then indeed, it would seem that the Hawks deal to Moores could also be "reached at any moment." We'll see.

[Sothron]

I've heard from people I contacted that the ASG is in talks to sale the arena and Hawks to one group and the Thrashers to another group. The ASG apparently wants out completely. This is why they don't want to sell the Thrashers to a local group because they can't guarantee a local group the new possible arena owners would host the Thrashers.

[Devon]

F*Ck the A-S-G, I hope all of them have permanent painful rectal itch...

[NekiEcko]

It seems like that Spirit ends exclusivity on Hawks sale talks on Friday with Mr. Moores, so that could have meant that the deal for the hockey team is/almost completed and they will be leave team soo.

To me, it feels like that ASG did this, so they can hold on the basketball and arena and Hockey could have been sold to somebody else outside of Atlanta without giving up all three.

But this is going to cost ASG alot of fans and hated from so many people(if they didnt like them anyway)

[Dejay]

It is just a mess all the way around. I'm with Soth on this, though; I won't step foot in Philips Arena again until the Hawks and the building are sold. If the sale of the Hawks fall through and they remain in charge after the new CBA is signed, I'll stay home and support them from my living room couch. Not another dime of mine will go to that group.

I wasn't much of a hockey fan but I attended a few games a year. How the Notorious A.S.G. treated their fans in terms of keeping the most incompetent GM in the history of pro sports (Waddell) around to run the team into the ground while not putting any real $$$ into the product, only to blame the fans for having the gall to not support them was downright criminal. The Gearons might as well leave town or lay low like Tom Cousins did after the Flames were moved.

But you know what's going to be the real stinker in this? The second after their plane touches down in Winnipeg, they'll fire Waddell, spend gobs of $$$ on free agents, draft guys who can actually PLAY and make deep runs into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just like another former NHL team I once knew that coudn't win a playoff series here but, well, you know the rest...