Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2015

ESPN 30 for 30: Kings Ransom



Film Summary

On Aug. 9, 1988, the NHL was forever changed with the single stroke of a pen. The Edmonton Oilers, fresh off their fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years, signed a deal that sent Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian national treasure and the greatest hockey player ever to play the game, to the Los Angeles Kings in a multiplayer, multimillion-dollar deal.

As bewildered Oilers fans struggled to make sense of the unthinkable, fans in Los Angeles were rushing to purchase season tickets at a rate so fast it overwhelmed the Kings' box office. Overnight, a franchise largely overlooked in its 21-year existence was suddenly playing to sellout crowds and standing ovations, and a league often relegated to "little brother" status exploded from 21 teams to 30 in less than a decade. Acclaimed director Peter Berg presents the captivating story of the trade that knocked the wind out of an entire country, and placed a star-studded city right at the humble feet of a 27-year-old kid, known simply as "The Great One."

Director's Take

My relationship with Wayne goes back to the 1990s when he invited me to play in his softball tournament in Brantford, Ontario. He wanted to get some actors in the game and I was a big hockey fan, having played it growing up in Chicago. I thought it would be a small game, but there were about 20,000 people there. First play of the game, I got a grounder at shortstop and threw out the runner and the crowd started booing me. Turns out it was Gordie Howe. I was humiliated. That began my personal relationship with Wayne.

Through the years, I went to lots of Kings games, and we played lots of golf and poker together. Knowing Wayne is like knowing one of those rare human beings like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, who are so utterly dominant in their sport that it's mesmerizing to be around them. The trade to the Kings was not only a huge moment in his career, but also a very contained and interesting way to look at this incredible athlete's life.

I was working in France when the deal went down. My best friend called me and said, "Gretzky's coming to L.A." His voice was trembling. Wayne F***ing Gretzky was leaving Canada and coming to our city. It felt like more than just a sports trade. It felt radical and wild and unsettling like a country's nationalism was on the line and something big was about to happen. As a fan, it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Naturally, we scraped together all our money and bought season tickets right away. Pre-Gretzky, we used to buy five-dollar student seats in the nosebleeds and move down and sit on the glass because there were so few fans there. It immediately went from that to sellouts many nights. The Kings averaged 14,875 in Gretzky's first season and the arena held 16,005. We were in hockey heaven.

Peter Berg

Peter Berg is a prolific talent with a taste for challenging, compelling material, whether as a writer, director, producer or actor. As a director, Berg, whom Rolling Stone reviewer Peter Travers calls affectionately "a genuine wild man," made his debut with the cult classic "Very Bad Things," starring Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau, and Christian Slater. Berg went on to direct the action hit "The Rundown," starring The Rock, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken, and the critically acclaimed "Friday Night Lights," based on the bestselling novel about Texas football by H.G. Bissinger, starring Billy Bob Thornton.

Berg followed up in 2007 with "The Kingdom," a Michael Mann-produced political thriller set in Saudi Arabia, starring Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper. Berg's latest film, "Hancock," starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman was one of the biggest grossing films of 2008.

On the television side, Berg is the creator and executive producer of NBC's Peabody and Emmy Award-winning drama "Friday Night Lights." He also wrote, produced and directed ABC's critically acclaimed drama series, "Wonderland."
Reference: Kings Ransom.

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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Game 7: Rangers > Capitals in OT



Game 7 is as exciting as it gets in any sport that plays a Best of Seven.  The Capitals took a 3-1 series lead, but every single game was nip and tuck, that is, decided by a mere goal.  It took an OT goal for the Rangers to finish a thrilling comeback.
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Friday, May 15, 2015

#slowmoMonday: Stanley Cup Playoffs (2)



Big goals, big saves, bit hits.  The most bittersweet moment in sports has to be that series closing handshake.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

#slowmoMonday: Stanley Cup Playoffs (1)



I love #slowmoMonday.  Something surreal, something interior.  As if the fast game of hockey didn't quite follow the laws of physics, or rather gave proof to Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity (i.e. that time slows, as we travel faster).

Of course by now eight teams are history from the 2015 Stanley Cup contention:  Blues, Predators, Jets and Canucks from the West; Penguins, Islanders, Red Wings and Senators from the East.  A bit wistful to see these teams on this first postseason edition of #slowmoMonday.
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Friday, December 12, 2014

Five Pressing Questions for the NHL



Forbes hockey fanatic Mike Ozanian runs through the five most pressing questions for the NHL:
  1. Will the New York Islanders actually sell for the crazy-high $485 million?
  2. Will the Carolina Hurricanes finally nab investors vis-a-vis a $400 million team value?
  3. How will the first year of the media rights deal with Rogers Communication (Canada) do in terms of TV ratings and digital traffic?
  4. Where will the NHL expand to: US and-or Canada?
  5. What will happen to money-losing Arizona Coyotes: stay or go?
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

NHL Team Value vis-a-vis Performance



When I looked at the most valuable teams in the NFL last year, and eyeballed team records, it was clear the relationship between value and performance was a complex, perhaps counterintuitive one. There are a lot of factors that determine both, but I would say that top leadership, management skills, and business savvy are primary. How well does the front office secure viable, diverse and sustainable revenue streams: from ticket and merchandise sales, to media deals and ad sponsorships? How well do they invest in the team, create a winning culture, and hold everyone accountable? The players are the frontline soldiers and coaches the on-field (on-ice) generals, so win or lose is squarely on their shoulders. So what talent do they bring and what commitment to winning do they abide by? So while that relationship I refer to is complex, which I plan to investigate, I daresay that some relationship between value and performance does in fact exist.
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Monday, December 8, 2014

Rising Value and Popularity of Hockey



It is no surprise to hockey fans that Canadian teams dominate the upper NHL echelon in value, according to Forbes annual estimation and ranking:     
  1. Toronto ($1.3 billion)
  2. New York ($1.1 billion)
  3. Montreal ($1 billion)
  4. Chicago ($825 million)
  5. Vancouver ($800 million)
I love hockey, and it is the first sport I played when my family and I and our immediate relatives arrived in Chicago in 1968.  Among the four major sports in the US, hockey is last banana, but its popularity may be on the rise, along with its value.  The Los Angeles Clippers basketball team recently sold for an ungodly $2 billion, and I suspect that the amount former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer dished out will have upward ripples across not only the NBA but also other sports leagues like the NHL.  The Forbes article The Most Valuable Teams in the NHL points out that there are wealthy businessmen willing to buy losing teams and to pay enormous sums.  This, too, drives up value.

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Friday, June 13, 2014

Kings Grab Cup, Rangers Hang Tough




















































































Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

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Monday, January 20, 2014

NHL Strong vis-a-vis John Tortorella Nonsense


Vancouver Canucks' head coach John Tortorella

Here's the story, in a nutshell.  The Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley began the game with a lineup of goons, hoping to face the top line of the Vancouver Canucks.  But John Tortorella, seeing the provocation, had last dibs on which of his players to actually put on the ice.  So he countered with his own goon squad.  Not surprisingly, multiple fights ensued.  Like it or not, that much is hockey gamesmanship.  

But Tortorella added unnecessary fuel to the fire by trying to enter the Flames' locker room after the first period.  Which resulted in a 15-day suspension.

ESPN Scott Burnside offered a good piece on the incident, but I think the title is overstated:  Tortorella's actions black eye on NHL.  Yes, it's a black eye, but I simply doubt that any negative fallout among fans, for example, will be that significant.  On ESPN 1000 radio, Waddle and Silvy talked about the added difficulty the NHL will have in attracting casual fans to the game.  I just don't think this incident will unduly add or subtract from that difficulty.

At least not any more so than the impact of other dumbass actions by head coaches had in their respective leagues:
  • Case in point: Jason Kidd, spilling a cup of water late in a game, to buy an unwarranted timeout (NBA, Brooklyn Nets)
  • Mike Tomlin, standing in an off-limits area on the sidelines, while an opposing player was running up field along those same sidelines (NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
  • Countless MLB managers, like Lou Piniella, making fools of themselves on the field, while arguing vociferously with the umpire
That said, the NHL is the least popular among major North American sports.  NHL news hardly appear on the ESPN home page, and even among the Chicago teams, the regional page hardly highlights the on-ice exploits and triumphs of the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks.  That page was dominantly by the mediocre, struggling Bears, until their season's end.  Then it was dominated, it seemed, by the mediocre, struggling Bulls.  

So put this way, Burnside has reason to worry that the Tortorella incident will slip the NHL further down the lucrative food chain known as professional sports.  But again much as this was a bonehead thing to do, I don't think it will have that much of an impact.
The NHL is scoring off the ice like never before thanks to its Canadian teams.

The lockout, notwithstanding, which threatened to scuttle the 2012-2013 entirely, we hockey fans came back in droves.  Said Blackhawks won their second Stanley Cup in four seasons, and life was good. 

For one, from the above Forbes study, I have reason to believe that the rising strength of the NHL will manage any Tortorella fallout well.

For another, I am so thankful the Blackhawks don't play goon hockey in the least.  There was talk, in fact, that their championship was good for the NHL, because they play a clean, finesse, speed game.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

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Friday, December 6, 2013

The NHL is Surging in Value



Maple Leafs are most valuable NHL team
The average NHL team now has an enterprise value (equity plus net debt) of $413 million, 46% more than a year ago. For the first time since Forbes began tracking NHL team values in 1998, three of the league’s five most valuable teams–Toronto Maple Leafs($1.15 billion), Montreal Canadiens ($775 million), Vancouver Canucks ($700 million)–are Canadian. The New York Rangers ($850 million) and defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks ($625 million) are the two U.S. teams to make the top five. And this is also the first time that every Canadian franchise ranks among the top 16 in the 30 team league. 
Why is this so important for the NHL? Because hockey was born in Canada. Nurtured there. And it is where the majority of the game’s stars are born and hone their skills. In Canada, hockey is not just another professional sport. The ice is where character is measured. Hockey isn’t a religion in Canada. It isthe religion. This passion delivers at the turnstiles–regardless of market size.
Reference: The NHL's Most Valuable Teams.

I'd like to believe that the Blackhawks have had a significant contribution to this NHL surge.  They play hockey with finesse - skating agility and speed, puck handling and passing wizardry, and scoring prowess - rather than fight or brawn.  Moreover, they have proven themselves to be tough players as well.  In virtually every playoff game last season, opposing teams have outhit them.  Still they endured, and came away with the Stanley Cup championship.

It baffled me that opposing coaches, especially Claude Julien of the Bruins, kept at this hard hitting strategy through their final loss in that Cup-winning Game 6 last June.  It didn't work.  Specifically his Bruins laid out quite a heavy artillery in the first period, and Blackhawks weathered the blitzkreig with just a 1-0 deficit.  By the second period, the Bruins were noticeably worn down, and were consequently vulnerable to those thrilling two goals in 17 seconds by the Blackhawks in the waning minute of that fateful Game 6.


These findings from Forbes make sense:  While markets in US cities are big, the hockey markets in Canada are bigger for NHL teams.  So should the Coyotes, Panthers and Lightning relocate to Canadian cities?  It bears serious consideration for owners, if it hasn't yet.  



Expect the NHL to become more popular, and thus more valuable, as TV deals, ticket sales, and retail under gird its business model.  Top players will garner more endorsements, and supplement their incomes with off-ice earnings, as do NFL and NBA players.

Thank for you reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

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