The Yotes Diva

Ringing in the New Season

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 18:56:00 +0000

First of all - and with no disrespect toward the Coyotes Organization or Jobing.com Arena staff - that Pacific Division Championship Banner "unveiling" was just... pathetic.

I know we still don't have an owner and thus have no money for pomp & circumstance - but we couldn't at least dim the house lights and RAISE the banner up to the roof? The NHL couldn't at least do that for us all? I was so terribly disappointed with it all...

And it was cooked. Our own players were laughing when it was "unveiled"... come on!

But the take home replicas they gave us were fantastic.

That aside - the most important thing is: hockey is back!!!!

Bonus: They now sell gluten free beer & hot dogs at Jobing.com Arena. It is outside of section 111 at the "Lighter Fare" stand. Please go patronize it. I need beer and hot dogs at hockey games people...

And last - but the farthest thing on EARTH from least - I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our Hockey Family - Izzy - who made an appearance at her first tailgate yesterday.

She's practicing her intimidation techniques - we think she might have some enforcer in her.

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Sat, 26 May 2012 00:01:00 +0000

I think Ray Whitney probably put it best - what you witnessed this season was the definition of the word "team". All the way up to when they cleaned out their lockers at Jobing.com Arena this week.

There is so much that I could say about how our season ended. I could choose to bitch about the officials right now... or I could lay out a huge conspiracy theory... but I'm not going to be bother doing either - because I have a lot more to celebrate than bitch about right now...

Hockey came alive in the desert this summer.

Airport Tower at Sky Harbor Airport, image via..

There proved to be some hockey fans here after all.

Or at least, some more of them moved here... :)

And my team had another record breaking season, further helping to make hockey a part of the culture in Phoenix. The entire town was left aching for more Phoenix Coyotes hockey...

And they're going to get it.

Thank you, our Phoenix Coyotes for an amazing season and one helluva Cup run.

This one's for you...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:22:00 +0000

I remember sitting in a mostly empty Jobing.com arena my first Coyotes game several years ago and thinking to myself... "I can't believe no one is here... Why is no one here? This is AWESOME!!! I better go get season tickets now. Pretty soon they will be hard to come by!"

That was the innocent, uninformed rookie Heather. The Heather that had no idea what was coming a few years down the road. The Heather that was shocked when people laughed and looked at me crazy when I said I was a Phoenix Coyotes fan.

Those next few years brought many wonderful people into my life. The people I now refer to as my Hockey Family. You'll see some of them in the first video. Those were also the people I sat surrounded by as my team made history and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history last night. They were the people I cried with as the final buzzer sounded. We'd cried together before - but not for happy reasons.

Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion...

Please excuse the shakiness you see when that final buzzer went off. It's hard to scream, clap, cry, high 5 and cheer all while attempting to capture the moment on video.

Now the below song may seem strange - but it's an accurate representation and proper salute to those Coyotes fans who have stuck through it with this franchise through the good times we're now having - and the mostly bad times the team went through since they moved here.

To Monique & Heather S. who never made me sit in the back of bankruptcy court alone - you'll get why I chose this song. We sat there huddled together all alone sometimes - the only Coyotes fans there - as the talking heads ripped our team apart. It wasn't fun. It wasn't easy. It wasn't convenient. But we were there.

To those of you who follow my twitter feed and offered me support and convinced me not to throw a shoe at Jim Balsillie and his lawyers... You'll get why I chose this song.

To my hockey family, who sat with me year after year as we watched our seasons end long before the Stanley Cup was awarded. You'll get why I chose this song.

Because we didn't give up - even when the skies got rough. We gave 'em all we had - because we knew they were worth it. And they are... they always have been.

If this is as good as it gets this season - I'm ok with that. We're going to the Western Conference Finals!

But I have a feeling these boys are not giving up either... And just like the injured soldier in the video below...

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily

I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make

Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use

The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake...

Coyotes Pep Rally

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:05:00 +0000

I just wanted to share this with ya'll - Howler spent the day Tuesday doing pep rallies at the local schools in Glendale. I'm happy to see Fox Phoenix going out and helping to grow the excitement of the Phoenix Coyotes playoff run. This is where we start folks - get the kids hooked on hockey first!

Coyotes pep rally: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

watch out for Scottsdale boys...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:32:00 +0000

It'll get ya every time!

The wait is over!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:42:00 +0000

My boys have finally advanced to the second round of the playoffs - and with a 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks! I know - there is still a long road ahead of them, but tonight I'm going to enjoy this moment.

Tomorrow I'm going to go greet them at airport when they come home (if you'd like to join me, here's the info on when and where). We are going to celebrate the first time our Captain and many of our players have made it to round 2 of the playoffs. And if we lose in the 2nd round, we at least have a Pacific division title and a round one victory. Neither of which we've had in Phoenix before. That's huge. Certainly I hope we go further - and believe them capable of making it all the way to the finals - but I'm happy to celebrate how far we've come.

The entire town is buzzing about this hockey team - they even reported about the ownership situation and the Coyotes win during the 9pm news tonight. That NEVER happens! So whatever the future brings for us, win or lose - I'm proud. I'm happy for the Coyotes fans who have been through 3 years of hell. The fans who have been behind them from day 1. I'm ecstatic that we have something to really celebrate this year. I'm going to allow the ownership situation to take care of itself - because I have faith that it will - and I am going to simply enjoy the ride.

Congratulations Phoenix Coyotes - I couldn't be prouder.

Alright I'll say it... I miss Bryzzy!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:45:00 +0000

Don't tell my friends - I'll never be able to live it down...

New Bryz...

Classic Bryz...

Christmas Vacation in LA

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:02:00 +0000

Meet "TheYotesDiva Jr"

Hello all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (just a tad bit late...)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles for the first time to visit the Staples Center and watch the Coyotes play the Kings the day after Christmas. Regardless of the loss - I still had a blast! I took my niece - who is an avid Coyotes fan - and my mother, who had never been to a live NHL game before. She LOVED it! The Kings fans were fantastic - and didn't even complain about my niece's constant "GO YANDLE GO!" chant through-out the ENTIRE game. I love that kid...

We stayed at the LA Live Marriott - on Coyotes TV Color Analyst Tyson Nash's recommendation - and it did not disappoint! Fantastic accommodations and within walking distance of Staples Center. Perfect!

My niece and I waiting for the Staples Center doors to open...

Posing by the famous Gretzy statue...

Waiting for warm-ups...

Trying to get Yandle's attention...

Mission accomplished! Commemorative puck from warm-ups obtained!

The Diva's 1st Annual Coyotes Christmas Card Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:42:00 +0000

Each year the Phoenix Coyotes draw holiday cards to be sold by Coyotes Charities. Opening up those cards each year and seeing what each player drew has become a fun tradition holiday in my house. So in honor of this Coyotes tradition, I've decided that I will start my own tradition here on the blog and give out awards to the players who make the best holiday cards each Christmas. Maybe if I ever purchase and learn how to use Photoshop, I'll actually make up awesome little trophies for each award or something. For now - we'll have to go with what we've got...

Welcome to The Diva's 1st Annual Coyotes Charities Christmas Card Awards!

We're here tonight to honor those Coyotes players who really take the time to put some thought into their Christmas cards - or the ones who blatantly just don't give a crap... Because that makes for awesome Christmas cards too. So here we go!

The award for the Best Desert Themed Card goes to:

#16 Rostislov Klesla!!!

Rusty's card got MAJOR props for the Christmas Cactus and PHX patch.

The WTF Award goes to:

#3 Keith Yandle!!!

Uhhh... WTF Yandle...?

This is why my boy is a hockey player and not an artist. Mcy? What does that mean? Is that supposed to be a stocking? You put rope on your Christmas tree? Is that a Smurf Snowman? *pats Yandle's head* you just keep teachin' how to dougie pumpkin.

The "Hey, That's Actually Good" Award goes to:

#11 Martin Hanzal!!!

That's actually a really good snowman! Nice use of colors, great hat. Nice work Marty!

The "Huh?" Award goes to:

#41 Mike Smith!!!

I'm not entirely sure what his message is here - but he's a goalie. And the beauty of being a goalie is that no one has to understand your logic, because your a goalie. As long as you stop the puck you can do whatever you want. I am a bit disturbed by the "Candy of Cane" part though, I can't lie. But uh... Keep on Truckin'!

The Best Christmas Tree Award goes to:

#33 Adrian Aucoin!

Is his wife taller than him? Cuz I... well... Why is the pink one the tallest? Um... yeah... that's a really good tree though!

Last but certainly not least we have...

The Best Overall Award, it goes to:

#13 Ray Whitney!!!

Where's Whitney strikes again! This time apparently, as Todd Walsh's creepy 2nd head. The absolute epicness of this card is immeasurable. From Shane Doan's nose to Walshie's shoes - it's a WIN all around.

If you'd like your own set so you can see what the rest of the team drew - you can order them here. You won't be disappointed.

And with that - I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Hockey New Year!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:56:00 +0000

The Phoenix Coyotes return to Winnipeg...

With sense of humor - and Coyotes game night giveaway winter hats - in tact.

Give 'em hell boys...

I sincerely hope they went to dinner in their hats tonight.

Image Via

AccuScore App from iTunes

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:34:00 +0000

AccuScore, touted as the leading sports forecasting company, renowned for offering the most comprehensive and accurate sports forecasting engine anywhere, has launched a free AccuScore App to bring its proven track record to the mobile devices of all sports fans.

AccuScore provides users with everything they need to know before the game. AccuScore is so proven effective that it is used by many top sports media companies including ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports, Sporting News and The Wall Street Journal. The AccuScore App brings all of this information to the mobile platform with its new FREE App.

“It’d be amazing to see into the future. While it’s not quite possible just yet, sports fans can at least use apps like AccuScore to see the latest statistical forecasts for numerous games and the players participating in them,“ says 148apps.com

The AccuScore App offers forecasts for NFL, MLB, NCAA, College Football & Basketball, NHL and NBA games. Included in the free app are the forecasted winner, winning percentage for each team, forecasted player statistics, real-time alerts and one free tip per day that projects margin of victory, total points scored in the game and who will win.

Additionally, the AccuScore App includes the leading sports fan communication network called FanConnect, connecting you with fans of all teams in all sports, via team lounges so you can chat, compare notes and forecasts, share, heckle, and more.

In-app purchases unlock further details for those who need even more information on their respective games.

AccuScore is out now for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Download the free app at http://tinyurl.com/3ew4o4u and get started seeing into your sports future: The AccuScore App was developed in partnership with The APP Company, a leading mobile software developer and maker of numerous hit iPhone, iPad and Android apps (TheAPPCompany.com).

So - how accurate is it, you ask? Well I downloaded it to find out...

I picked two games on 11/03/2011 - the Nashville Predators @ Phoenix Coyotes (obv) and the Oilers @ Kings. I took screen shots for proof of the AccuScore predictions:

Well.... AccuScore wasn't quite so accurate in their winner predictions on the 2 games I picked. In fact - BOTH of those predicted winners got shut-out. The Oilers blanked the Kings 3-0 and my Boys lost 3-0 as well.

So I decided to give it another try. Here AccuScore's predictions for 11/04/2011:

Aaaaaand the results are in...

Flames 1 Buffalo 2 - CORRECT

Colorado 6 Dallas 7 - CORRECT

Chicago 4 Tampa 5 - NOPE

Montreal 2 Ottawa 1 - CORRECT

Vancouver 2 St Louis 3 - NOPE

Washington 5 Carolina 1 - CORRECT

I say - 4 out of 6 ain't bad! Definitely an app worth the download.

Coyotes Home Opener!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:00:00 +0000

The Coyotes organization outdid themselves yet again this year - with a spectacular home opener:

Here's some of my crappy iPhone pictures from the evening.

Player intros - complete with fire!

GOAL!

And we howled...

And that was all I managed to capture via photo before I got some bad news on a personal level and it consumed the remainder of the game for me.

But we won - and that was amazing and wonderful and made me happy.

The "Old Jets" are still far superior to the "New Jets".

Why? Because...

WE WON!

I'm officially taking advantage of those bragging rights now.

WE WIN, WE WIN, WE WIN!!!

Fly home little Jets!

Ready. Set... HOCKEY!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:30:00 +0000

It's here!

My ticket card to every home Coyotes game for the next two seasons.

That makes it official - it's HOCKEY SEASON!!!

I'd like to propose a toast - to another season for the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale, to (hopefully) getting an owner who will keep our team here, and to my boys continued success...

To the season!

{image via}

Town Hall this Saturday: Q&A with Coyotes COO Mike Nealy, GM Don Maloney, and Head Coach Dave Tippett

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:12:00 +0000

The Coyotes have asked me to invite all Coyotes Coalition members out for a Town Hall they are hosting this weekend at Jobing.com Arena.

Please see the flyer below for additional information and hopefully we'll see you there!

There's really nothing quite like the smell of fresh ice...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:50:00 +0000

I love that first trip to the arena as the preseason is getting ready to kick off. There's really nothing quite like the smell of fresh ice after a long, hot summer.

The rookies looked great - and the place was packed! Which is unusual for the first day of rookie camp. There was an air of enthusiasm at Jobing.com Arena - the fans are optimistic and excited about the season - even if the outlook at the moment isn't the brightest. Hockey is taking a turn in the desert - a turn for the better.

This sound is my favorite. The sound of their skates as skid to turn around when they participate in this drill. Coincidentally - my hockey playing friends tell me it is the most hated of the drills - because it is rather difficult. But I still love that sound...

Bring on the season!!!

P.S. Don't mind my horrid camera skillz - and the commentary in the background.... :D

Minsk tribute to Lokomotiv hockey players killed Wednesday in plane crash (video)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:46:00 +0000

<br><br><br>The

I have no words...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:05:00 +0000

For the second time in a week - I am left speechless over a senseless tragedy. This tragedy is of epic proportions - and adds on to an already troubling off season for the hockey world. International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel said today was the darkest day in the history of our sport - and I say I must - unfortunately - agree.

"Despite the substantial air travel of professional hockey teams, our sport has been spared from tragic traffic accidents, but only until now. This is the darkest day in the history of our sport. This is not only a Russian tragedy, the Lokomotiv roster included players and coaches from ten nations...”

To those who lost their lives today - may you rest in peace.

To their families, friends and fans - may you find peace in this troubling time.

{via}

There are many things that I want to say right now...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:25:00 +0000

But there are no words that can adequately describe what I am feeling - so I will keep this short...

We have now lost three amazing men this summer.

Men who were dedicated to their fans, the NHL and the teams they played for.

Most importantly - they were husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, lovers, friends, grandchildren...

My heart breaks for the families of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and now Wade Belak.

Their families, friends, fans and the NHL as a whole is left with a void that can't be filled.

I mourn the lives they had ahead of them - the additional people they could have impacted - and the broken hearts they've left behind.

"Gone too soon" is an understatement.

Ahhhh... the off season...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:46:00 +0000

Not much fun is it?

I thought I'd check in with everyone and say hello. I hope you're all enjoying your summer.

I wish I had some news on the Coyotes ownership front... but I don't.

Things have been looking rather bleak for us on the ownership front since Hulsizer walked. At this point I honestly have no idea what's going to happen after this season. I can't stand the thought of losing this team. That thought has ruined every season for me since May 5, 2009. Every victory, every playoff game, every moment of the past 2 seasons have been clouded by the thought that the team may be leaving.

There have been some good things recently - our new season ticket sales are up. That's wonderful, but I find it hard to rejoice. In fact, I find it hard to talk about my hockey team or their situation what so ever right now. I find it hard to talk hockey at all right now - which is why this blog has been so quiet this off season. Normally I'd find something hockey related to write about during the off season. I'd rejoice about player signings and most definitely wouldn't have missed the opportunity to tell Jovo good-bye on my own little internet hockey home. But I can't even muster up the strength to do that.

Hockey used to be what made my day - now it makes my stomach churn with nerves. I can't help but fear that this is the last season we will have with our beloved Coyotes - and I hope I'm horribly mistaken. Is there anything left that we can do? Would it even matter?

This may be Atlanta NHL fans' last hope - will you help?

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:10:00 +0000

It could be us - so let's help our fellow hockey fans in their attempt to keep their NHL team!

Save The Thrashers!

Sign their Petition To The NHL Board of Govenors:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveourthrashers/

My Condolences...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:24:00 +0000

To my fellow hockey fans in Atlanta - I offer my sincerest condolences. My heart aches for the loss of your NHL team. As they celebrate in Winnipeg - you mourn. I am mourning with you. I can't celebrate a relocation. I wasn't here to celebrate when Phoenix got a team via relocation - had I been here I would've likely not celebrated. I hate for one city to celebrate while another mourns. It's not right.

From the Thrashers website:

Atlanta Thrashers Update

Tuesday, 05.31.2011 / 11:01 AM

Atlanta Thrashers

May 31, 2011

"Earlier today, we, along with our partners, signed an asset purchase agreement to sell the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment. If ratified by the NHL, Commissioner Bettman and the league's Board of Governors, this will result in the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, Canada beginning with the 2011-2012 season.

It's extremely disappointing to all of us that it became necessary after all other options were exhausted. We want to express my gratitude to you, the fans, for the years of dedication you have offered to the Atlanta Thrashers.

As many of you know, for some time we have been seeking a buyer for the team or a partner willing to join with us in continuing to fund the team. We hired an investment banking firm to seek out potential investors with the expressed goal of finding someone who would keep the team here in Atlanta. In recent months, we openly indicated a growing urgency to secure assistance in off-setting our operating losses in hopes that our public plea would produce investors who, to that point, had eluded us.

After extensive effort, nobody has come forward. As a result, we had no choice but to explore the investment option presented to us by the NHL in the form of True North Sports and Entertainment.

Relocation of the Thrashers is not the outcome that any of us ultimately wanted. We knew when we purchased the club in 2004, that professional sports teams are seldom, if ever, money-making investments but rather vital community assets. We believed in the overall impact that the team had on the sports landscape of Atlanta, and over the past seven years, invested a significant amount of money into what we felt was an integral piece of the greater metropolitan Atlanta area. We are truly grateful to have been a part of this city's professional hockey history, to have made an indelible impact on the community through our players' outreach, our organization's activities and our foundation's donations, and most of all, to have been a part of paying tribute to you, our fans, each and every time our team stepped on the ice.

Thank you for the opportunity to be entertained, thrilled and inspired alongside you by Atlanta Thrashers hockey. None of this would have been possible without your support.

Sincerely,

Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon"

KeepTheThrashers.com

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:33:00 +0000

As most of you know - I'm a Georgia girl. Even though I didn't become a hockey fan until I moved to Arizona and was introduced to the sport, the Atlanta Thrashers will always hold a special place in my heart - as does the state of Georgia. It's home - and this is my home state's team. I hope that you will show the Thrashers fans the same support that you have shown - and continue to show - us Coyotes fans as we battle to keep our NHL teams.

Atlanta - we know how you feel and we're here to help and support in any way that we can.

Coalition Update - Glendale City Council Meeting Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:30:00 +0000

As we pass the two year anniversary of our team being put into bankruptcy by it's previous owner, I can only wish that this post carried to you better news. However, we still remain in limbo and a new owner is not yet in place.

The latest reports tell us that new financing is in the works but that it will take more time. I remain optimistic that a deal can be worked out and that we will eventually be able to celebrate together when a new ownership group takes over the reins.

For now we still have some work to do...

This Tuesday night the Glendale City Council will vote to set aside an additional 25 million dollars for the NHL to keep the team in Glendale for at least another season. The money will cover the losses - should they incur any (I am playing the part of the optimist). I'm writing to request your presence Coyotes fans - in your Coyotes gear - at the city council meeting this Tuesday night.

It's important for Glendale to know that we are still here and that we still support them in their efforts.

For those of you who are out of state or out of country, we appreciate your continued support as well. You can find a list of email addresses for the Glendale City Council Members here. If you are unable to physically be at the meeting, an email of support to the City Council Members would also be appreciated. I know many of you enjoy traveling to Glendale each year to see the Coyotes, let the Council members know that!

You can find the Agenda for Tuesday's City Council meeting here.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 pm Tuesday May 10, 2011 at Glendale City Council Chambers.

The address for the Glendale City Council Chambers is:

5850 West Glendale Ave.

Glendale, AZ 85301

I hope to see you all there!
--
Best,

Heather McWhorter

President, The Coyotes Coalition

Twitter, Facebook, Website, Blog

Sponsor Luv! Featuring @travel_babbles @hockeywife_22 @coyoteshipcheck @hipchecks & Tex (who isn't on twitter )

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Well folks it's getting to the end of the month and the end of my free sponsor promos! So this will be my last sponsorship post (for now at least). I'd like to introduce you to the rest of my leading ladies!

I'd like to start by introducing you to my favorite hockey wives!

Meet Tex!

(I'm not so sure she appreciates me calling her Tex, but it just kinda happened that way :)

This is a blog that you do NOT want to miss. From lessons in German curse words to the Storyteller's Blog Hop - you won't want to miss a single post! Take a few moments to read over her About Me page. Her wedding story is phenomenal!

This is Kimmy!

(another nickname :)

Kimmy isn't "officially" a hockey wife yet - but the wedding will be here before you know it! I have gotten a lot of inspiration from Kimmy and her blog - Travel Babbles - in the short amount of time I've "known" her. She challenges me, inspires me and keeps me laughing.

This is Hockey Wife's blog (no nickname there really - she's an anonymous blogger... shhhh :)

A blogger I met online - and now call "friend". This woman is amazing! If you've ever wondered what life married to a professional athlete is like - grab a cup of coffee and cuddle up with your laptop on the couch - A Day In The Life of a Hockey Wife brings you the ups, downs and everything in between! My favorite is reading about the never-ending adventures of Linden, her hockey crazed son!

{link}

Next up: My Bestie!

Another Coyotes blogger - and my best friend! Her hockey insight is definitely top notch - check her out!

Last - but in no way least - we have CoyotesHipCheck!

Another of my best friends - she is better known in our little circle as Mama Z. Her blog is full of great information about the Phoenix Coyotes and the ups and downs of being a Coyotes fan in this lovely "non-traditional hockey market" of ours.

I hope you'll take a moment to check these blogs out - all of them are fabulous!

Happy Friday!

Ownership (Non) Update

noreply@blogger.com (Heather McWhorter) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:11:00 +0000

There's not much to update at this point. I'm certain that's there's plenty of things going on - but we aren't privy to that information at this point. I don't want to feed in to the speculation and tell you what all the mysterious "sources" have been reporting to the various media outlets - so I'll just stick with the facts:

According to the Globe & Mail - Bill Daly has said that

“Goldwater is not even a factor in this for us any more. We are not trying to structure a deal to satisfy them. We are trying to structure a deal that can close.”

This comes on the tails of the meeting held last week between the Goldwater Institute and the City of Glendale in an attempt to "resolve their differences" in concern to the deal in place with potential Coyotes owner Matt Hulsizer and city. Now dubbed "The Cupcake Summit" - the meeting was quite useless. If you feel like smacking yourself on the head repeatedly, you can find audio of the meeting here. If you'd just like to read Goldwater Institute's list of "concerns" and their proposed solutions (which quite frankly were rather telling of their ignorance on the situation) - they can be found here.

Now for my thoughts on the "Cupcake Summit". I listened to it all - call me a glutton for punishment, but I pressed through. The part that stuck out the most to me was a "solution" Darcy Olsen proposed regarding the Tohono O’odham tribes casino they'd like to construct not far from Jobing.com arena.

A lawsuit has been filed against the tribe in an attempt to keep the casino from being built. Darcy mentioned that the tribe would be willing to invest in the Coyotes purchase if the city would drop the lawsuit and allow them to build the casino. I don't know about you - but that sounds like blackmail to me...

Whether or not you agree with the building of the casino (you can read why Glendale opposes it here and here) the fact that Goldwater even brought such a thing up seems extremely fishy to me.

It's also noteworthy to mention that the Glendale "tea party" - that has voiced their opposition to the sale of the Coyotes and their support of Goldwater, is also in favor of the casino being built.

Back to the Coyotes - there were also some reports of a meeting between Gary Bettman and valley sports mogul Jerry Colangelo - and some speculation that Bettman was asking him to contribute financially to the deal. Those reports were proven false however - Mr. Colangelo did voice his support of the team remaining in Arizona.

A few more links of note:

Jude Lacava of FOX10 calls out Goldwater Institute

NHL Commissioner on Coyotes sale

Glendale Mayor To Move Forward With Coyotes Sale

Hopefully this whole mess gets resolved soon - if anything else of interest arises, I'll keep you all updated!

For breaking news be sure you're following my twitter account.

Happy hump day!