The New Coyotes GM Called Little Ol' Me!

I received an interesting phone call this morning from Don Maloney, the new GM of the Phoenix Coyotes. Of course, it was a pre-recorded phone message directed to season ticket holders who have not yet renewed.

I'm not going to transcribe the whole thing word-for-word, but he goes on for quite awhile - much like me! Here's an overview (I removed some of the sales spiel):

"This is Don Maloney, the new General Manager of the Phoenix Coyotes. As you probably know, I just joined the organization and I’m really excited about being here…We certainly have our work to do. I can assure you that we will be working very hard to build a team that will be competitive in today’s NHL. A team with an emphasis on speed, skill and relentless work ethic. I can’t promise you that we will win every game, but I can promise you that we will not be outworked – on the ice or off the ice. That we will build a team that will be fun to watch, and more importantly, a team we can all be proud of."

Color me excited. The part that really gets me howlin' (sorry, that was bad) is his mention of the team possessing a relentless work ethic. I don't mind that the Coyotes are going to lose - and probably lose several for the next couple of seasons. Two consecutive last place finishes will do that to your expectations as a supporter of the Coyotes.

But what I can't stand is a team that doesn't work hard. And there were many, many nights last season when the Coyotes were the definition of lethargic. There were some nights where I didn’t even want to be there, and I think many of the players felt the same way.

I'm going to guess that this has been a problem within this organization for a number of years. It's not necessarily the coaches or front office's fault as Phoenix could turn the hardest grinder into a softie. The weather is too nice, there's too much golf to be played, etc. to focus on being a 'tough' hockey team. Teams come here to play the 'Yotes and enjoy the trip as if it's a nice little vacation as opposed to thinking you're in for a battle against a hungry hockey club.

If Maloney can change this lackadaisical attitude, maybe things can be different and they can develop that winning atmosphere he promises to build here...an atmosphere where I'll be renewing my season tickets without question and anxiously awaiting the start of a new season.

Until then, even a call from Mr. Gretzky himself isn’t turning me into a buyer of yet another rebuilding project.

Wait, there was a game last night?!?!

Thanks to the Bettman and his idiotic deal with Versus/NBC, I had no idea that they were actually playing hockey again last night. I'm a pimp for the puck (if I can steal a line from Jim Rome) and I absolutely LOVE the sport.

You can ask my fiancée who puts up with me and the sport all season and longs for the days of summer when I actually pay attention to her. Her situation is much like Drew Barrymore's character in Fever Pitch. If you haven't seen it, Drew falls in love with a baseball freak in winter when he's appears normal and questions her decision when spring training starts and the real him appears (this also allows me to run a picture of the lovely Drew for visual effect).

Raised during the MTV generation (when they actually showed videos), my attention span is admittedly short. So when the Ducks finished off the Wings LAST Tuesday, I was ready to see the battle for the Cup. It would start by the weekend, right? Saturday would be a great night to start, right? WRONG!

Game 1 was scheduled for a Memorial Day Monday. Now, while I was back from a short vacation to enjoy a late afternoon BBQ at the folk's house, I wasn't in the mood (like many Americans) to come inside and enjoy some hockey. It's still nice at night here in Phoenix so we enjoyed the evening pool-side.

So, I guess I missed a pretty good game as the Ducks beat the Sens, 3-2. Hell, there were five days between games! I had almost forgotten that someone hadn't drank from the Holy Grail yet....seriously, five days between games? Who's scheduling these games - the NBA? Damn you, Bettman. You pay someone to show your games and you're still some one's bitch when it comes to the schedule?

At least I now know Game 2 is on Wednesday on Versus (hopefully, you get that channel, but probably not) and Game 3 is on Saturday on NBC.

At least there are no major horse races scheduled for that day.

Captain, My Captain

Last week, Mr. Shane Doan (Captain of the Coyotes, for those not in the know) himself called into KTAR, 620 on your AM dial here in Phoenix, during the Gambo and Ash Show to give his thoughts on the whole NHL-NBC debacle that occured during Game 5 of the Buffalo-Ottawa series (a moment of silence for our fallen ex-Coyotes, Briere and Numminen...I was SO pulling for you guys!)


One, how cool was it that Doaner just called in to a sports radio show? He said he was listening and wanted to give his thoughts on NBC changing over to Preakness pre-race coverage. And two, as the owner of a ranch and multiple horses, Doan would be able to provide good insight from both sides of the fence (ok, there's a bad horse joke there that I'm not going to make).

Doan said that it was a big time slap in the face of hockey. He did point out that if it had been two traditional teams, say like Chicago or New York, there was NO way NBC would have changed to the horse race.

He also pointed out that Phoenix (which is often listed as one of the cities that doesn't support hockey) would support a winner. He said that the Suns are currently a hot ticket as were the Dbacks during the World Series run. He remembers the good ol' days at the America West Arena when the Coyotes did good business (the Tkachuk/Roenick years) and the Suns struggled to put any butts in the seats.

That's a good point. I hate to say that we're a town of bandwagon jumpers, but if the wagon fits, jump on, right?

The hosts brought up evil Emperor Gary Bettman and the problems that the NHL has had during his reign of incompetence - over expansion, two work stoppages, the NBC deal, not being on ESPN, etc.

Doan did not want to bad mouth Bettman directly, so he talked about the NHL being on a down swing and thought things would pick up with all the young talent in the league (Crosby, Ovechkin, et al). He pointed to the Sports Illustrated cover story that asked if the NHL would rise above the NBA.

One of the hosts asked him when that issue came out? "1994," Doan said.

And when did Bettman become the commish? "I believe in 1994," Doan replied.

Well, he actually took over in '93. But point well made, Captain. This is another reason why I'm glad Doan wears the 'C' for the 'Yotes.