This blog has moved.

I will no longer post new entries on this site as wordpress seems to be a much better tool for blogging than blogger.

Coyotes Open House

Thursday 6/25 from 6-9. These players:

will be
in attendance
from 7-8:30

Please RSVP.

The Coyotes will also provide free hot dogs and pop.

Sales Reps will be available for full and half season ticket packages.

Mini-packs have yet to be released.

All pics: my own

Other News

Coyotes resign:

to a 2-year contract.

All photos: my own

The News in Pictures

The Coyotes have traded the rights to

to Florida for
And that is the news.

Rhino picture: my own

Meyers picture: found on dailylife. com

Breaking News: Coyotes are STAYING IN PHOENIX

AND IT'S ONE... TWO... THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT BALSILLIE

That's all I got for now...phone, FB, twitter and NHL Arena are blowing up!!!!!!!

Who is our Mario Lemieux?

The Pittsburgh Penguins have done what some thought inpossible. They beat the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe to win the Stanley Cup Finals!

I would like to extend a huge Congrats to the Penguins. It was an exciting series to watch and the Penguins really showed people what they are made of. MAF and the Penguins defense stood on their head last night and they totally deserved to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Penguins had quite the run this year, filled with ups and downs. They struggled to win a game in Detroit. After the first two, it looked like it might be over with but they won at home to hang in the series and then stole it last night. I am not going to get into too much detail/recap because I am sure you were all glued to your TVs last night!

It truly is a great story and if you look at where the Penguins were a few years ago, truly amazing. It brought a tear to my eye to see Mario Lemieux lift the cup.

I do feel bad that the finals may have been slightly overshadowed by the events in Phoenix (you can thank Mr. Moyes and Mr. Balsillie for that) but it does bring us to an important point…

The Coyotes are in almost the same position the Penguins were in not too long ago. Mario Lemieux came in and turned the franchise around. Now, the Coyotes already have a pretty good player base and with the right owners and coach, this team will go far. In a few short years you will be hearing “The PHOENIX COYOTES have WON the Stanley Cup!!! Can you believe it? After all they have gone through?”. Now that is something I can not wait to hear!!!

Who is our Mario Lemieux?

I love Emery!!!!

He is looking good! I am so excited for the up-coming season!

I <3 Ray Emery, yes I do!

I tried to write about the hearing yesterday but I am just not inspired by it. I had notes and a start but I gave up. I just wasn't feeling it and if I didn't get it up tonight, there really was no point in writing it.

In other news....

FLYERS HAVE SIGNED RAY EMERY TO A ONE YEAR DEAL.

As much as I love the Flyers and Emery, I am a little leary about this. Has Emery learned his lesson? Can he buckle down enough to let his on ice skills shine through? Does he have what it takes to be a #1 in the NHL again? I am glad the Flyers signed him to a one year deal. It says, don't screw up, this is your last chance.

Could you imagine a bench clearing brawl involving Ray Emery and Daniel Carcillo?!? Oh man, that is the things dreams are made of! Ok... maybe my dreams.

I read someone's opinion that said Emery could be the Flyers new Hextall. I don't know if I agree with that but if Emery can be half the goalie Hextall was, I would be one happy camper!

I am so totally going to have to figure out how to afford a trip to Philly and a ticket to the Flyers next season. I believe they will be coming to Phoenix also, but once a season is just not enough!!!!

OMG, can the season start already??

6/9 Hearing

I went to the hearing today and have started some notes for an entry. Honestly, my face hurt from listening to some of those attorneys. I needed a break or I would have gone insane!!

If you follow me on Twitter you got some random, unfiltered thoughts live from court. I may or may not cross-post those here.

Quickly:

Nothing was decided today. It seems the Judge will make the NHL give a dollar number if someone wants to move the team (includes relocation fee and any kind of payment to other teams that may be entitled to it ie Buffalo and Toronto). I am guessing this number will be around 100 mil. If so, Balsillie will most likely back out (his lawyer said as much). Balsillie wants the team cheap and on his terms and conditions.

The Judge also said that Moyes has to allow the other four bidders the opportunity to look at pertinent information in regards to the sale. Apparently Moyes has been guarding access to this information and that is why none of the other bidders were brought into the court case yet.

City of Glendale showed the most passion.

Moyes wants to be an unsecured creditor.

Balsillie's lawyer talks way too much and makes no real point. Ok, that is not true... she makes the same point over and over and over and over and over much to the Judge's attempts to redirect her to the topic at hand and to get her to answer his questions.

That's about it for now. I need to get ready for bed/work tomorrow.

Short Update

Tomorrow is the big day. Judge Baum will hear oral arguments on the relocation issue starting at 9. I will be attending the hearings, so hopefully I can get up a good summary after all is said and done.

If you have twitter... you can follow TheYotesDiva for updates as things unfold.

There are apparently 5 bids. 3 that involve local buyers, which means most likely they would keep the team here. Then there is Balsillie and the Toronto Argonauts owners, both of which would want to move the team either now or in the near future.

Savethecoyotes.com is now featuring some of the how I became a coyotes/hockey fan stories, go check it out. If you are using Internet Explorer it may cut off after a few of the stories (it doesn't happen when using other browsers such as fire fox).

Calling all fans!

The Coyotes Coalition wants your stories for a future article on their site. Some of the better stories may be asked to present at the next rally. We are looking for stories about how you became a fan or why you love our Coyotes or even how you got into hockey. Anything that shows why you are a fan and/or why you love hockey!

You can send stories, pictures and videos to: CoyotesCoalition@yahoo.com

We would like to have all the entries by June 1st. If you are unable to get it down in such a short time, just let me know and we can probably make an exception.

Here is an example of a fan who loves his team and the kind of thing we are looking for.

Reciting the roster

This is a clip of a young fan who has learned the entire (pre-asg) roster of the coyotes. His favorite bedtime story was the Coyotes booklets given out at the games.

Spread the Word. Spread the Love. Spread the Hockey

I have decided to focus on the positive and promoting the Coyotes. It has become quite apparent that you can’t use logic on the anti-Coyotes people or even some supposed Coyotes “fans“. It’s absolutely ridiculous the things that come out of their mouths (or rather they type on their keyboard). They have no sources and just pull whatever number sounds good to them to support their opinion. Nothing is based on facts, just all opinion and made up numbers. So I have decided to no longer deal with them. I am going to just continue my campaign to support the Coyotes by remaining positive.

I would also like to say how surprised I am at how some people have been so supportive and told us how much they want the Coyotes to stay in Phoenix. Fans of other teams, fans of hockey in general, both American and Canadian. This is what hockey should be about, bringing people together for the love of the game, not tearing them apart. I really appreciate those that are supporting the Coyotes. They see the potential and know that we will make it work here.

We are all hockey fans. Some may be old fans, some new but regardless we all share the same love. Being from one part of the world doesn’t make you a better/worse fan. We are all equal. Rivalries are great but let’s leave them for the players on the ice.

So the following are some great things I found on savethecoyotes.com. I wanted to share them with you. I only have a couple as I just decided to do this today!
******
I imagine you’d be surprised at the number of people who will watch that game (and many of the other playoff games) in the Phoenix area.

Nobody has claimed that there aren’t a lot of hockey fans in Canada, that isn’t the point anybody has tried to make and isn’t worth debating. Does Ontario deserve another team? Probably, but the Balsillie technique is not the way to get one. It didn’t work the past two times.

Which brings up a good point. The Penguins were one of the prior target teams. By the end of that failed deal, Lemiuex decided to just keep the ‘deposit’ made on the team (he had to give it back eventually) because of the angst. So the Pens were in serious trouble just a few years ago. Now try and buy a ticket with a winning team. It takes time and effort to build that team.
I’m sure you’re not aware of much of the history of the Coyotes here in the valley (prior bankruptcy involvements, where will the new arena be located, etc.). If you were, your appreciation for the quality if not the quantity of hockey fans here is on par with more traditional markets.

Why should we keep a team? Well, minimally, the Coyotes organization and the NHL have made commitments to the City of Glendale and the local fan base for the foreseeable future. Because of those commitments, significant investments in infrastructure, employment and good will have been made. The Coyotes and Moyes have already accepted concessions from both the NHL and the City of Glendale. So now their obligations should be honored regardless of the financial issues of the majority stakeholder. As a hockey fan, I’m sure you appreciate the honor of the game. Shouldn’t the hockey business be conducted in the same fashion?

Will a rally or any other demonstration of fan support influence the US Bankruptcy Court? Who knows? The judge is human and nobody can tell what will influence his decisions as the hearings progress.

The next hearing is in seven days, so we’ll know more at that time.
******
When the Jets decided to move to Phoenix, my friends and I, fresh out of college, were thrilled to have our own team.

We picked out our upper deck seats that first day, and plunked down a ridiculous percentage of our disposable income on season tickets together and celebrated afterward. It could not have been more worth it, and we had an absolute blast. The WhiteOut memories are some of the best times I've had since living here.

My wife and I had two kids of our own since then, and we could not get to as many games as we used to. But there is no team in any sport we follow as passionately as the Coyotes. They're always on TV or the radio whenever there's a game on, and we still got to our fair share of games, even enjoying the opening night at the new arena.

Now that my son is seven, he's playing in the Mite leagues over at the Ice Den with the kids of some current and former players, and they are, to a person, as down to earth and as nice as any other hockey parents.

We also re-upped our season tickets, getting a partial season four rows off the glass, and my son and I have had some great times going to games together. This January, his team had a chance to play between periods, and we had all the relatives there to watch a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a special night, and we all have special memories of it.

The fact that all this might get pulled away in a backroom deal makes me sick to my stomach. I know when my son heard that the team might leave, he was in tears and wondered why they had to move our only team so Toronto could have another one.

I understand all the economic reasons why this is happening, and I know how hockey-mad Southern Ontario is. But "sunbelt" teams do work -- look at your last four Cup champions -- and traditional markets do not guarantee success. Ottawa and Pittsburgh both were as close to leaving as the Coyotes are, and both fought back, fielded good teams, and the attendance followed.

Chicago (my hometown) is a great example of how quickly things can move from red to black once the on-ice product is competitive and exciting.

In addition, most people in the state are not natives but come from somewhere else, usually a more "traditional market" where they grew up with hockey. Just like the Cardinals, the fans will show up en masse as soon as the team experiences some success.

And today's young fan going to his or her first game is tomorrow's die-hard season ticket holder, so let's do all we can to give the next generation a chance to cheer for this team where they belong -- right here in Arizona.
******
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. :-)

There are people who like the Coyotes and look forward to attending more games in the future. If you aren't one of those people, go read and comment on another article. If being negative on a message board makes you feel better about yourself then maybe you need to get off the computer and find some friends to hang out with.
******
We have driven or flow out several times from California to see the Coyotes play and its makes for a great weekend! We've managed to combine a Saturday night game at Jobing arena with the the Cardinals the next morning.

Not do we only enjoy the teams but truly enjoy the friendly cities of Phoenix and Glendale. The people there are absolutely amazing and friendly, and they love their Coyotes! To us 10 times better than hitting Vegas.

I hope that Arizona will know that with the right owners and an effective coach behind the Phoenix Coyotes, they could not only have another great team in the desert, but also the Stanley Cup visit the desert! You already have some of the best players in the NHL and one of the best goalies! Please save the Coyotes!

Go Coyotes!
******
And support from another fan with a team at risk:

No fan deserves a team more than another fan. This Canadian nationalism and bullying by Balsillie/fans/media north of the border should not be tolerated. As a fan of another Sunbelt team that is a target, we all need to stand together and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are dedicated hockey fans in the South (east and west). Go PHOENIX Yotes!
******
There were many, many more great comments I have read but I just couldn't include everything here. Please check out the petition for yourself. Another good place for positive thoughts is at the NHL Arena. There is a whole thread on the Coyotes page for fans to show their support, both Coyotes fans and fans of other teams.

Save the Coyotes Rally

I arrived at Native New Yorker in Glendale about 9:15 to help set-up. Before we were even finished setting up, people started arriving. Yes, people showed up before 10. About in hour/hour and a half into the event we had about 300 people. By the end the count was up to about 500.

We had many valley media in attendance. I saw channels 3, 12 and 15. Someone told me 10 had also been there. The only local channel that didn’t come was channel 5. FSN also stopped by. As far as print media, I confirmed that Phoenix New Times and the East Valley Trib were there but not the Arizona Republic. C’mon Jim G, you are our man! Where were you today? We were the opening story on channel 12 news at 6. It brought a tear to my eye. Channel 15 made me wait to see their story but they did it right. They checked their facts and got the correct number of supporters who showed up. They also gave the link on camera and said they would post it on their website. I have a new respect for channel 15 news!

I, of course, avoided the cameras as much as possible. The 3 TV guy finally caught me but of course I didn’t want to talk to him. He asked me if Canada could have our team. I responded “Hell No!” and then I realized that it was a TV camera and probably shouldn‘t use such language. The channel 15 guy caught me taking a pic of him so I think he kept trying to get me on camera too. I hid many times behind our posters.

Many thanks to our sponsors: Native New Yorker, The Fan 1060AM (Unofficial home of the Coyotes) and Wild Flower Bread Company. Native New Yorker provided us with the location and even opened an hour earlier to serve the fans. Wild Flower Bread Company brought bottled water to keep us all hydrated and the Fan 1060 broadcast live for the entire event.

I keep hearing about all these other events that were going on in the valley and it makes me even more proud that we had about 500 show up!!! The NRA was in town, there was the Duck Race in Tempe and a Cardinals camp for high school students. I am sure there were many other events going on. Also, during the week I heard a lot of people saying they had to work or had other engagements. I was surprised and happy to see that 500 people took time out of their busy lives to come and support the Yotes (and on such short notice - this was put together in a week and the location was secured only 3 days in advance).

For now, those involved are going to take a few days off at least until the hearing on Tuesday. Many have not slept in weeks and have been busy planning, planning, planning. Many thanks to those who organized and I wish I could have done more to help. I was the official coalition photographer #2 today and I helped take donations. All the donations will go to buying season tickets for kids.

As the official photog #2, I took a bunch of pics and 2 short videos of the rally. I will see what I can post on here, so look for those to come soon.

I feel today was quite successful. For an event expected to draw only 50 people (according to many people out there) we were. We got Coyotes fans together. We were loud and proud. We talked hockey. We had some great food and drinks. Native New Yorker also had a special drink for us: Coyotes Shooter. It was a shot of vodka with cherry flavoring, dropped into monster energy drink. It was delicious. And a great end to the rally! I know I will be having the Coyotes Shooter more often. I will also be frequenting Native New Yorker in Glendale and Wild Flower Bread Company. They didn’t have to help us today but they realize what the Coyotes leaving would do to the Valley. I cannot thank them enough.

In closing, we made sure people heard us. We love hockey and we won’t let it leave! We are looking into organizing many more rallies this off-season. This was just the first of many so stay tuned!

Spread the word, spread the love, spread the hockey - Hipchecks

The rally was a huge success. Many thanks to those who came out to show their support. I will write more later!

Rally-Saturday-10 am-Native New Yorker, Glendale

This Saturday the Save the Coyotes rally will take place at the Native New Yorker in Glendale. Please be sure to show up, wearing white, and lend your support to the Coyotes. We know this is not going to make a legal decision but we would like to show other potential buyers that the support is here. We want to show the world we love hockey in the desert! Rally starts at 10 am. Be there or be square!!

I am so sick of the ignorant arguments coming from Canadians

I have a new theory as to why the Canadians want our US teams. They are sick of losing year after year to US teams in the Stanley Cup finals and maybe even in general. When was the last time a Canadian team, any one of them, won the cup? Like 1993. Wow, 16 whole years. Ok, minus one for the lockout and I included this year as the winner is going to be another AMERICAN team.

If Balsillie really wants another team, maybe he can go buy one in Russia, then we wont have to deal with him anymore. Oh wait, according to him and all Canadians, Canada is the only place that deserves to have hockey. Nevermind… guess that idea won’t work. I guess the only solution is to relocate each and every American team to Canada.

What most Canadians don’t get (because they have never been here and are making ASSumptions based on biased news stories and the games on tv) is that this can, and will be, a hockey town with the right management/owner. The team is starting to come together. The last two seasons we have been close to the playoffs. We have improved. This is a team close the being winners. This is a team, with the right direction, that will be a winner. This could be why the Canadians want our team; they see the potential and look at it as another way to end their 16 year drought.

Some say we only get 6,000 people at a game. Bull shit. Have you ever been to a game at the arena? I doubt it. The first few rows you see on tv are less full then other areas of the arena. Those are the most expensive and mostly corporate seats. I have watched other games on tv, like the red wings, whose arena looks empty because all you can see is about the first eight rows. But that doesn’t mean there is no one at the game.

They also believe the bias media that claims our booster club has 57 members. I know for a fact that this number is about 300 members off. This also is not a good measure for how many fans there are in Phoenix either. I, for one, am not a member. I chose not to be involved in the Booster Club. I have my reasons why but those are not relevant to this blog. I know others who aren’t members for the same reason. This makes the number of members in the booster club irrelevant. How many people are in the booster club is not indicative of how many fans the Coyotes have.

Most Canadians apparently can’t comprehend what a grassroots campaign is either. Have they never had anything like that in Canada? Have they never had protests and candlelight vigils for wars? Have they never tried to get their voices heard amongst the rest of the world? We are one small part of the United States, a city, versus all of Canada. Of course they will have more people for their campaign. They also have a BILLIONAIRE behind their campaign. We have everyday people fighting for their team. I know some of these people and they aren’t rich in anyway but will support their team anyway they know how. We are not affiliated with anyone but ourselves. We are doing this alone. We don’t have a Balsillie or an entire country to back us. Hell, even some of our own are turning on us. What is up with that Kevin Smith??

And no one is saying Canada doesn’t deserve another team, we are just saying they don’t deserve OURS.

Spread the word, spread the love, spread the hockey.

White Out

Location - West Gate City Center
Time: 10am
Date: Saturday May 16th - 2009

This is a a preliminary message. There are still some details to work out. We need as many people as possible. Ask favors, get Phoenix area Hockey fans down there. PLEASE WEAR ALL WHITE as we will be bringing Glendale its first of MANY White Outs in support of OUR PHOENIX COYOTES!!! All white! I can’t stress that enough, it’ll be hot enough so you should want to wear white anyway.We expect media, so it’s key to get as many people out there as possible. In the Thousands!

More details will be released in the Coming days - Until then visit SaveTheCoyotes.com and the Facebook group often. There will be a printable Flyer for you to put up in your neighborhood, grocery store, neighborhood Ice rink/Community centers coming soon also.

So stay tuned!

AW0000000000000000000!

Be there and wear all white. We need to save our team!

Spread the word, spread the love, spread the hockey.

Kevin Smith, you have lost me as a fan.

I have just found out that Kevin Smith is all for moving the Coyotes to Canada. Did he forget that he is an American? All of his movies focus on the east coast area, mostly New Jersey, and he wants an American city to move to Canada? Where are your priorities man? Would you rather be a Canadian, because right now I would gladly kick your ass over the border. They can have your sorry ass. I’m glad the NHL kicked your blog off their site. This is Un-American, especially from someone who is SO proud to be from New Jersey. Where is your American/NJ pride now? What if he wanted to take your team and move it to Canada? Would you still support him?

I will never buy another ticket or DVD of your movies again. I may never watch Mallrats again. Even though it is one of my all time favorite movies, I would rather not watch something made by someone who would support ripping my team out from under me and giving it to that slime ball Balsillie.

Spread the word, spread the love, spread the hockey.

Spread the Word. Spread the Love. Spread the Hockey

I really despise the "Make it Seven" campaign. I was looking at their twitter and they actually say "hockey is Canada's game". I mean c'mon... don't be such a selfish, jealous sounding person. You should want to share your love of hockey with others. I know I love to talk about hockey with everyone I know regardless if they like hockey or not.

And it's not like Canada doesn't have NBA or MLB teams (not sure about NFL, I couldn't name 5 NFL teams off the top of my head). We share our sports with you. What if Canada wanted a Nascar track? I am sure the fans would love to spread the love of their sport.

How about we send all of the American and international hockey teams to Canada? Apparently no one else but Canada can have hockey, according to Canadians. Bull shit. Everyone should be able to enjoy hockey. It's a great sport and once introduced most people fall in love with it. My parents knew I was a hoceky fan when I was little but never went to a game. I have taken them to Coyotes games and they now follow the Coyotes, from Wisconsin. I have talked to a lot of people who think hockey looks like a great game but don't understand all the rules. If we teach them, they will want to go to more games.

Ultimately the smear campaign will fail and Phoenix will keep our team.

Spread the word. Spread the love. Spread the hockey.

I'm back and the fists are up!

It’s on. I was a little MIA these last few days but I have seen what is going on out there in cyber space and I am ready to fight to the death for my Coyotes.

I have been reading the comments on Save the Coyotes that try to discredit the Coyotes. You know what? I have an answer to every single one of your overused, already been heard arguments. And I am posting them.

Given time, hockey will grow in Phoenix. We have been here how long compared to some of the Canadian teams? It’s lifetimes of difference and thus you cannot compare! It’s like trying to compare apples to oranges. With proper owners and coaches, these players will go far.

This blog is going to take on a different look until the future of my team is stabilized. I know the name of the blog is hip checks but my banner will be a “Save the Coyotes” one until we get out team on stable ice (ahahahaha, see… I still have a sense of humor).

If you want to show off your support for the Coyotes, you can purchase a “Keep it Six” shirts (and other various items) here. Any proceeds from sales will be going to the Coyotes Booster Club. They are working out the details with how best to use that money, most likely the money will be used toward the tickets for kids program. You will be doing not one but two good deeds by supporting the “Keep it Six” campaign.

If you have a problem with the Coyotes staying in Phoenix, you have a problem with me. I don’t give up easily, I always have to have the last word and I’m stubborn. What can I say… the Irish in me comes out at times.

For those that don’t know I am not a Phoenician by birth. I moved here about 3 years ago and instantly became a Coyotes fan. I was born and raised in Wisconsin and followed the Flyers ever since I can remember. My senior year, we got a hockey player arrested, among other things. He couldn’t stand our taunting. Our athletic director wasn’t too happy either and the following year tickets were not available to students unless a parent gave it to them. So as you can see, I am very passionate about hockey. Always have been, always will be. This is nothing new to me.

Hockey has been a part of my life for many, many years and I will not roll over and let some Canadian slime ball take my team. You want a team Balsillie? How about you try getting one that doesn’t step on anyone’s toes? You might have better luck. You know the saying “nice guys finish last”? That’s not always true. Have you ever heard of a gentleman’s agreement or other such arrangements? Sometimes in business you need to be cordial and follow the rules. Being reckless and offending those in charge isn’t always the way to go. Remember the toes you step on today could be the ass you kiss tomorrow.

That is all I have for now. I will not go easily. I will not give up. It's not part of who I am. I fight for what I believe in and I believe hockey belongs in Phoenix.