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1. by Trey
   2 days ago

   Jim-
   Thought you would have some fun with a look back... maybe even remember one I missed?
   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/284480-where-does-jimmy-clausen-rank-among-notre-dames-seven-best-no-7s

2. by JW
   3 days ago

   Now that the offense is done, it is time for the defense :

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/284160-the-almost-all-time-tennessee-titans-defense

3. by Dan
   10 days ago

   Have you seen ISU's post-game celebration?

   This is what makes this game so special:http://bleacherreport.com/articles/280262-iowa-states-post-game-celebration-reminds-us-why-we-love-this-game

4. by Anthony
   12 days ago

   Thanks for becoming a fan Jim.

   If you want to see all of my archived articles you can visit here:

   http://clashmoremike.com/author/anthony/

   If you want to subscribe to receive automatic emails with new publishings and/or an RSS feed just visit here:

   http://clashmoremike.com/subscribe

   It's simple, free and painless.

5. by Tyler
   about 1 month ago

   Hey Jim,

   Brad Frank, one of the Duke Basketball Community Leaders, and I have just completed an article we wrote together. We highlight 5 different questions about Duke's upcoming season and each answer the questions from a different point of view.

   Check it out if you get the chance and make sure to supply some of your great comments and feedback. Thanks in advance!

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/266157-duke-basketball-preview-two-views-on-five-pressing-questions-for-season/show_full

6. by JW
   about 1 month ago

   this man belongs in Canton :

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/265091-crazy-canton-cuts-don-coryell

7. by Dan
   about 1 month ago

   I've spent the past several weeks adding to a piece dedicated to one of the father's of college football, Knute Rocke. In time for his dedication tomorrow at Notre Dame Stadium, I present to you the true and inspiring story of the most renown coach in the game:

   Don't be shy, and as always, feedback is appreciated.

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/265043-the-true-story-of-knute-rockne-college-footballs-most-renowned-coach

   R.I.P 3/31/1931

8. by Trey
   about 1 month ago

   To a fellow Irish fan...

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/259082-linebacker-letdown-why-notre-dame-wont-make-the-bcs

9. by Dan
   about 1 month ago

   Jimmy Clausen has been the best quarterback in the past 240 minutes of college football. Will he be invited to New York this year, or will the Tebow's of the nation get their pre-reserved seats?

   Don't be shy.

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/258974-the-unspoken-heisman-candidate-america-meet-james-richard-clausen/poll_results#poll

10. by Robert
    2 months ago

    Hello Jim, here is the follow up article on George Martin. I would appreciate it if you would take a look at it and leave your support in the comment area. Feel free to pass it around. Thanks!

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/244249-give-george-martin-a-key-to-nyc

11. by Dan
    2 months ago

    Hey Jim,
    The great debate continues, and I share my opinion on it in my latest piece. I'd also like to hear your opinion,so don't be shy!

    The full explanation for why college football is better than the NFL: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/243617-saturdays-vs-sundays-why-college-football-is-better-than-the-nfl

12. by Robert
    2 months ago

    Hello Jim, I would like you to take a look at this article and leave your support in the comment area. I would love to see this story make a difference. Pass it around! Thanks

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/224275-ny-giants-george-martin-the-forgotten-hero

13. by Jennie
    6 months ago

    Yours = most accurate description of Bettman EVER.

14. by Steve
    6 months ago

    Thanks for responding again, Jim. I've written several articles on some of the issues you have raised. Since you haven't read them, I'll repeat some of the things for you.

    Hamiliton
    This city of app. 700,000 is located halfway between Toronto and Buffalo, so Balsillie would have to compensate BOTH Toronto and Buffalo. Balsillie is prepared to do this. Another proposition is to play the first few years temporarily in Hamilton while a new arena is built in either Kitchener or London which are outside the territorial limits of Toronto and Buffalo so he will not have to pay any compensation. Balsillie is also prepared to do this. By major professional sports league standards, either of these cities are extremely small, both within the 400-500,000 range. But the entire west Southern Ontario region from Toronto to Detroit contains about 6 million people so he would have no problem drawing fans. A franchise in either of these two cities would be like Green Bay in the NFL.

    Winnipeg and Quebec
    Both want their franchises back but there are two different problems. Both (like Hartford) lost their franchises because of economic problems and "small city thinking". Being small cities, they did not build proper NHL size arenas to get them through a rainy day and when economic conditions deteriorated, they lost their teams. Contrast that with Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa which built proper arenas for the long term. In Quebec there is no problem with a fan base. 80,000 people signed a petition wanting the Nordiques back. The problem seems to be finding investors for both an arena and team. There is nobody like Balsillie actively fronting any group. If they could find people who believe in a Quebec franchise and arena, they would probably be the best city after Hamilton for a Canadian franchise.
    In Winnipeg, they can't seem to make up their minds whether they want to be an NHL city or not. Since they have an AHL franchise, they built a new AHL size arena instead of a proper NHL size one. There is a pressure group there which I have clashed with on BR that insists the new arena (with 15,000) is big enough for the NHL. In fact the new arena is over 1,000 seats less than the Islanders arena which is condemned for being too small. If they had built an NHL size arena instead of an AHL one, they would have been in a good position to bid for the Coyotes and get their old team back. And the NHL would have preferred to go back to Winnipeg instead of Hamilton because there are no territorial issues and it gives them a chance of sticking it to Balsillie again. I doubt if Winnipeg will build another arena of NHL capacity in the near future, so Quebec would be the likely Canadian candidate for expansion/relocation if they could resolve their arena issue.

    Bettman and Southern Expansion
    Bettman wants hockey to become one of the "big four" sports in the United States. This is symbolized by a rich American tv contract like the NFL, MLB, and the NBA have. But hockey is still very unpopular in the United States despite what limited growth and success in new markets (Anaheim, San Jose, Colorado, Dallas) it has enjoyed. Television ratings are so pitiful that the NHL could not renew its old contract with ESPN and had to accept a deal with Versus instead. Ratings are on the pro-Darts level. To counteract this negativity, Bettman persuaded the NHL governors to expand into non-traditional hockey markets to make hockey seem like an American national game. He figured that if these new markets took to hockey, ratings would improve and he would get a rich American tv contract.
    Instead hockey failed to take off and the NHL had 10 teams that were losing money when the season ended. Many of these teams offer sweetheart discount deals in order to lure fans. Many pad attendance figures so that they can get financial assistance from the NHL. St. Louis, Columbus, New Jersey, and Carolina have probably turned the corner because their teams are getting better and have made the playoffs. The Islanders have a glorious past and once had an adequate fan base. But bad teams and now possessing the smallest NHL arena have put the team's future in jeopardy. If they don't resolve the arena problem, they will move and Kansas City is the likely destination. Tampa Bay has bad ownership. If they were sold to good owners who want to make the team competitive again, there is no reason to think they won't become popular again. But Phoenix, Florida, Nashville, and Atlanta are all in bad shape and could face contraction or relocation. But if that happens, it would be a personal humiliation to Bettman and his strategy and goodbye to any rich American tv deal. Hence his opposition to moving from money-losing Phoenix to money-making Hamilton.

15. by Steve
    6 months ago

    Thanks for commenting on my comment, JIm. Actually there are several other cities that want an NHL franchise. Quebec and Winnipeg in Canada want their old teams back but neither has built a proper NHL size arena, so there is no point in repeating the main mistake that cost them their franchises in the first place and return to them until they get competitive arenas built. If they did that, they would be an almost guarrenteed success, especially Quebec. But Hamilton already a has an adequate small-size arena built (17000+ seats) and $50 million pledged to upgrade it further. Moving a money-losing franchise there is a no-brainer. It has been estimated that a Hamilton franchise would be the third most valuable in the NHL behind only Toronto and the Rangers.
    Earlier this year, the mayor of Hartford met with Bettman to discuss getting the Whalers back within five years and agrees that a new NHL size arena would have to built. If they, like Quebec and Winnipeg corrected the arena problem which cost them their franchise, they would be an excellent choice for an expansion/relocated team. There is an on-line petition set up (which I signed even though I am from Toronto) for fans who want to get the Whalers back.
    There are also other American cities that would be excellent franchise locations. Canada is not the only place that Bettman shunned when he expanded the league in the 1990's. He completely ignored the northern United States in favour of unfamiliar southern markets. Seattle and Portland with hockey ties to Canada through their membership in the main Canadian junior league, the CHL would be probably be sure successes. Milwaukee would probably be a success.
    Then there are the other "unfamiliar" American hockey markets. Kansas City recently built an NHL size arena in hopes of luring a team. The New York Islanders, with severe arena problems will play an exhibition game there this fall. If they do not resolve their arena problem, they may move there permanently. The last time the NHL expanded in the 1990's, Oklahoma City bid for a team and it's known that the NHL would like to get teams in Houston and Las Vegas too. Expanding to a symetrical 32 teams in 2 conferences of 4 divisions like the NFL makes a lot of sense. The only question is where to go. As a Canadian I would like to see more teams in Canada but only Hamilton has a proper arena. So if Hartford builds a new arena, they would be my second choice. If Quebec, Winnipeg, Seattle, Milwaukee, and Portland all had proper NHL arenas, they would be the best choices for expansion/relocation.

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