Maybe it’s just me, but I doubt Balsillie needed to prompt anyone to spam Bettman’s inbox with any variety of messages. I’d like to know the ratio of pro-Basillie emails that Bettman has received to say, the ratio of emails just telling Bettman to suck it.

Posted by Jennemy of the Skate from putting the b*tches in the box on 06/17/09 at 06:26 PM ET

After the, um, Ugliness, that was the Pittsburgh and Nashville situations, do you really believe Mike that Balsillie had a way in other than kicking the door down?

And you’re forgetting the first thing about today’s 24-hour news cycle: the public forgets stuff instantly. Without any substance, you’ll be surprised at how quickly Make It Seven becomes an afterthought, especially once training camp begins and sports fans have actual hockey to talk about.

Funny, I don’t recall it being a problem for him to find publicity for his campaign during the Stanley Cup freaking Playoffs.

Posted by Josh from Fort St. John, BC on 06/17/09 at 07:18 PM ET

Funny, I don’t recall it being a problem for him to find publicity for his campaign during the Stanley Cup freaking Playoffs.

Sure, if there’s newsworthy activity going on. I mean that if it devolves into just the occasional press release/mass email without any sort of actual courtroom activity or real traction, it’ll become old hat pretty quick.

Posted by Mike Chen on 06/17/09 at 07:34 PM ET

Perhaps, but the judge didn’t actually make much of a ruling aside from basically saying that Balsillie’s timetable is too short. There’s still going to be an auction for the club among phantom “bidders who want to keep the club in Phoenix” in September (right, smack-dab in the middle of training camp) and then, if that fails, an auction for the club among actual existing bidder(s) who want to relocate the team.

I suspect you’re right that interest in the campaign may fizzle out somewhat shortly, but I expect it’ll pick up steam again in the fall when there is going to be newsworthy activity going on again.

Posted by Josh from Fort St. John, BC on 06/17/09 at 09:18 PM ET

Mike, good thing Mark Messier didn’t think like you, or he would’ve said “I give up” before Game 7 instead of “We’re gonna win”

Posted by bcrt on 06/17/09 at 09:33 PM ET

Those messages on MakeItSeven get sent to a makeitseven.ca email address… they are then to be printed and then mailed to Gary Bettman’s office.

If you want to send an email directly to Bettman with that message, go directly to:

http://www.FireBettman.com

Posted by Joe on 06/17/09 at 10:34 PM ET

Perhaps, but the judge didn’t actually make much of a ruling aside from basically saying that Balsillie’s timetable is too short. There’s still going to be an auction for the club among phantom “bidders who want to keep the club in Phoenix” in September (right, smack-dab in the middle of training camp) and then, if that fails, an auction for the club among actual existing bidder(s) who want to relocate the team.

But even if he does meet that timetable, he’d still have to get approval from the BoG. I haven’t read the bylaws but I’d be really surprised if there isn’t a statute of limitations on his previous approval (then again, this is the NHL here). All I’m saying is that things like this, while they may engage his supporters, ultimately do nothing to get him in good with the BoG. In fact, I’m sure it winds up antagonizing a good chunk of them. Remember, this is an old boys’ club. If you want in, being loud and flamboyant about it won’t get you anywhere.

It’s like what Mark Cuban said:

“My guess is that this is more about process than individuals,” Cuban wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “Purchasing—and the possibility of moving a franchise—is not something any commissioner wants to see negotiated through the press.”

“The issue isn’t the owner or their personalities,” Cuban wrote. “It’s the issue of control. No commissioner wants there to ever be the slightest perception that they are not in control of the assets of the league. Loss of control can have far greater impact on the business of the league than the personality or desires of any owner.”

Posted by Mike Chen on 06/17/09 at 11:03 PM ET

Mike, good thing Mark Messier didn’t think like you, or he would’ve said “I give up” before Game 7 instead of “We’re gonna win”

I don’t quite see the comparison here, and this isn’t even really slagging Balsillie’s intentions. It’s just saying that all his public shenanigans most likely push his goal further away because the gatekeepers to what he wants hate that sort of thing.

If he was methodical and patient with the application process, I bet he would already own an NHL team.

Posted by Mike Chen on 06/17/09 at 11:05 PM ET

Here’s the deal:  What happens when Balsillie moves the Yotes to Hamilton and they suck and lose money every year?  What would he do then?  My guess is that this guy is just an attention whore.  Meaning...if they let him get a franchise, that franchise is going to collapse when he loses interest and starts promoting his patented hair in a jar product.

Posted by stoneman from Vegas on 06/18/09 at 12:44 AM ET

Or maybe not dumb, but petty, impatient, and childish. This “Spam Bettman” campaign is the virtual equivalent of toilet-papering the NHL offices (or perhaps the good ol’ flaming bag of dog poop). Annoying, attention-getting, but ultimately fruitless.

Funny how two people see the situation completely different.

To me, Bettman and the BoG are the ones that are dumb, petty, and childish. They are denying their ownership group and their league an owner that would be financially stable, would want to WIN, and would move a team to a viable hockey market before it implodes and forces the other owners to bail it out with even more of their own money.

Worst of all, they’re denying the fans what would be undoubtedly good—a good, passionate owner, that wants to win for his fans, even if he moves the team. It would be tough for the roughly 10k fans in Phoenix, to be sure, but when you snag up every hockey fan between Windsor and Toronto, you’re more than making up for that paltry loss.

Perhaps some of his tactics have seemed immature and stupid, but you’ve got to look at it from his perspective—do you really thing the BoG has ever given him a fair look? Ever really given him a fair opportunity to become an owner? For some reason they don’t like this guy. Probably because he’s a strong owner that would join forces with a guy like Ilitch and provide more push-back against the small-market owners that want to turn quick profits and don’t care about long-term, on-ice success.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 06/18/09 at 07:30 AM ET

Perhaps some of his tactics have seemed immature and stupid, but you’ve got to look at it from his perspective—do you really thing the BoG has ever given him a fair look? Ever really given him a fair opportunity to become an owner? For some reason they don’t like this guy. Probably because he’s a strong owner that would join forces with a guy like Ilitch and provide more push-back against the small-market owners that want to turn quick profits and don’t care about long-term, on-ice success.

Well, I definitely agree that the BoG has been childish about it. Having an old boys’ club mentality tends to do that. That being said, I’m positive that if Balsillie didn’t get overzealous (like selling tickets in Hamilton for the Predators) or petty (Make It Seven), he’d have his team by now.

In a perfect world, Balsillie would get a fair shake and the pros and cons would be properly weighed. Unfortunately for him, he carries a lot of baggage now, and maybe the only way out of this really is through public mudslinging. I just think that if he took the high road back then, he’d get what he wanted. For today’s situation, further public negotiating doesn’t get him anywhere. I don’t know why he wouldn’t call up each BoG member after the court battle and say, “Hey, let’s reset this whole thing. Give me a chance to show you I’m not a bad guy.” Sure, he may not believe in being chummy with those the BoG, but if those guys are the only way you’ll get a chance to win, he’s gotta get in good somehow rather than slinging mud.

Even the most successful NHL owner, even if he believes in the Hamilton market and recognizes Balsillie’s passion, has to be wary of his buck-the-rules mentality. It’s just not the way you want to operate such a high-stakes business. Hell, in my little writing business, I know if I had a potential partner who broke my client protocol, I’d cut ties right away, regardless of his talent. You just don’t want someone who believes that he’s above the rules.

Posted by Mike Chen on 06/18/09 at 11:43 AM ET

“I don’t quite see the comparison here”

You said “What you’re doing is a collective waste of time"… but the point is hes trying everything in his power, including public pressure. And your argument against online petitions is flawed. In fact, public outcry has never been bigger in any situation than during the lockout. It was public outcry which made the players capitulate.

“If he was methodical and patient with the application process, I bet he would already own an NHL team. “

He did that twice already and it failed. Albeit I agree Pittsburgh didn’t need to move. But they stonewalled him in Nashville and scraped together a rag-tag ownership that can barely afford to keep the team afloat. And Phoenix had to go to bankruptcy no matter what since no one was going to buy the team with the lease as is. The two mistakes that Balsillie made was not submitting his ownership/relocation application earlier in the process and not giving the NHL a reasonable amount of time to look at his application.

And sorry, I did mix up some of what you said with another article which explicitly told Balsillie to give up because “its over”

Posted by bcrt on 06/18/09 at 12:02 PM ET

The problem for Balsillie back at the beginning is that the NHL wasn’t willing to even consider a second team anywhere within Toronto’s footprint. It wasn’t up for discussion.

You can argue with his tactics if you like, but you can’t deny the fact that there’s momentum and discussion with a Southern Ontario team now - the other owners now have dollar signs in their eyes when they talk about how much the “relocation” and “indemnification” fees. It’s anonymous talk still at this point, but that’s a lot better than there’s been in the past.

Posted by Josh from Fort St. John, BC on 06/18/09 at 01:04 PM ET