More Genius From The National Hockey League?

Quebec City-trekearth

Uh, oh yes, definitely needed. I get them confused all the time...

Nucksmisconduct.com-I think he has been sort of lucky at times. Lucky not to be fired.

si.com: August 26-27, 2014

Cited

'Apparently Las Vegas isn't the only city on the National Hockey League's expansion team radar: Seattle, Toronto and Quebec City will add franchises as well with a target date of 2017, according to a tweet from SportsBusinessNews' Howard Bloom.

Bloom said the four-fold expansion, which would increase the number of NHL teams to 34 and the number of Canadian team to nine, could raise $1.4 billion in expansion fees.'

fivethirtyeight: Auguest 28, 2014

Cited

'Half Of The NHL’s Rumored Expansion Cities Don’t Make Sense'

Cited

'In our study, Toronto easily had the largest number of avid NHL fans; with a shade over 5 million, their total was double that of any other metro area in North America. Even if the new Toronto franchise lures just 20 percent of the area’s hockey enthusiasts away from the Maple Leafs, the expansion club would instantly have about as many devotees as the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings or Calgary Flames. It’s clear that Toronto has the fan base to support a second NHL franchise.'

The same can be said of Quebec City, albeit to a lesser extent. Our research found that an NHL club’s operating income (as estimated by Forbes) is closely correlated to the number of avid NHL followers in its media market, and that the break-even level of local fandom for a profitable franchise was about 300,000 to 400,000 fans. According to our estimates, Quebec City, the former home of the Nordiques, has about 530,000 NHL fans. So, a good comparison for Quebec City would be Winnipeg — another Canadian market that lost an NHL franchise in the 1990s, only to see the league return in recent years. Winnipeg has roughly 560,000 NHL fans, and despite the area’s relatively minuscule population, the franchise has turned a profit in each of the past two years (per Forbes’s data).'

Cited

'Teams in markets with fewer than 300,000 hockey fans, however, have tended to lose money, and that’s where the wisdom of adding franchises in Seattle and (especially) Las Vegas gets iffy. We estimated that Seattle contains about 240,000 NHL fans — fewer than that of Phoenix and Florida’s Tampa Bay, home to two franchises that have struggled to turn a profit for many years. And if Seattle is an enigmatic choice by this metric, Las Vegas would be a disaster. According to our estimates, there are only 91,000 hockey fans in the Vegas media market, which is nearly 40 percent fewer than even Nashville, Tennessee, the least-avid current NHL city, has.'

Cited

'As the reports stand, though, the NHL is instead sticking with what we originally argued was a suboptimal distribution of teams.'

End citations

Well stated, I like that...

Again, and as I have noted on both blogs, this is a philosophical example of a religious like, cultish like idea of growing the National Hockey League in non-traditional markets; when in reality more new avid fans and more money would be made growing the brand in traditional markets without a club or by adding a second club or third club, for example, in Southern Ontario.

Sad to state, I have come to the philosophical conclusion that much of this, and I am definitively and definitely not anti-American, is that the League has 23 US teams and 7 Canadian teams and simply wants to grow the game in the predominant country where most of its franchises and owners are located, and has since the 1960's, regardless of much of the financial reason involved.

Good or bad, financial reasons.

It is a form of philosophical blindness.

The 'growing the game' and 'financial gain' arguments in the United States at the expense of stronger Canadian markets, or stronger traditional American markets, do not stand.

The predominant country being the United States of America and this is why in my mind most of the emphasis is on American expansion and franchise relocation.

The idea of making it a national sport, when in reality it is primarily regional.

Toronto and Quebec City make sense as markets for making money and for franchise values, Seattle is a decent market and I think will likely receive good fan support, but will be down the list of sports, after the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and the NCAA.

Therefore, I reason, Seattle would be like Saint Louis which receives good fan support, but struggles financially according to Forbes values and I question how profitable the team would be.

I also reject outright, the recent attempt over the last few years, largely I deduce by Vancouver hockey fans that want to travel down to Seattle to see Vancouver play road games, the argument that the 'Pacific Northwest' is a huge and great hockey market.

One, Vancouver is not part of the Pacific Northwest, but is part of the Lower Mainland.

Two, Washington State and the Seattle area has a vastly different sports culture and history than does British Columbia and the Vancouver area. It is not a fluke the Seattle has not been involved in the NHL since 1917. It is because it is not a particularly strong hockey market. 

Las Vegas is very questionable because of lack of fan support.

One must also consider the anti-Eastern bias against Ontario and Quebec by people in the Vancouver area that may blindly favour franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas over ones in Eastern Canada for those reasons.

Yes, I do not like how the Canadian Broadcast Corporation dominates its Hockey Night In Canada coverage with the Leafs and Canadiens at the expense of the other Canadian clubs at times, but at the same time, I still reason the better markets should have clubs.

Same for the other national networks.

But let's not be blinded by Canadian bigotry....

Where is a second Toronto team supposed play? New arena? The potential arena is Markham appears a dead deal.

Media speculation is that perhaps Rogers (Sportsnet) and Bell (TSN) could end their ownership partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of these corporations could own the new second team in Toronto and also play at the Air Canada Centre.

If the rumour from this article is basically true, I will give the NHL this much, at least there will finally be nine teams in Canada which there should be and under a reasonable and good financial system for them thanks largely through the television deals from Rogers and TSN.

Frankly, I would rather see Hamilton receive a team and the return of the Montreal Maroons than two more mediocre American markets. But as always there needs to be suitable arenas.

These teams would be far more valuable financially than Seattle and Las Vegas.

There is also the possibility of transferring weaker American franchises to Canada.

For balance, I will state that I think Brooklyn, should the New York Islanders land there, as it looks like they will, is a fine upgrade from Long Island. An American city, as in New York, with a proven hockey history and a very large population.

The Star.com

April 2, 2016

In light of reading and listening, I provide this additional perspective as well:

I still reason the hockey business favours hockey markets, but reading and listening to more on building ownership I will add the following: Basically it seems, if a sports team has a good stadium ownership or lease deal, it can stay in place even with a mediocre club and/or mediocre market for that sport. This allows a sports league to place teams in markets that are mainly theoretically good image wise markets (large population, large television market, corporate support), even if not very successful entities in the sport. Bad news if you are in locale or country that is not considered good image, even while a potentially profitable market. So with the NHL, Quebec City is considered by most observers a more profitable hockey market than Las Vegas, but I could see the reasonable possibility that Las Vegas being a major city for travel would have the more profitable arena. I would rather own the arena in Las Vegas than in Quebec City.

All Sorts Of Evil?

Salerno, Italy-Travel+Leisure, Facebook

Business Week: August 28, 2014

Cited

'Firearms Sure, Give a 9-Year-Old an Uzi: Four Blunt Points'

Cited

'A 9-year-old girl in Arizona being taught to fire an Uzi machine gun lost control of the weapon and killed her shooting instructor. This is the kind of horrible incident that invites overheated debate.'

Cited

'1. Wait, a 9-year-old can get her hands on an Uzi? Yes. In most places, it’s legal for children under adult supervision to fire guns. The operator of the Arizona range permitted kids as young as 8 to shoot. The little girl in this case was brought to the range by her parents. Instructor Charles Vacca can be seen on the video released by police eagerly explaining to the youngster how to hold and point the Uzi, a potent weapon originally made for the Israeli military. After the girl fired a single round in semiautomatic mode, Vacca switched the gun to fully automatic and urged her to let loose. A fully automatic weapon, referred to as a machine gun, spews rounds continuously as long as the trigger is depressed. The Uzi’s recoil apparently proved too much for the girl in Arizona, causing the barrel to drift up and to her left, where Vacca was standing close by.'

This raises the question that if someone nine years old is going to be allowed on a firing range; should it not be a gun that is easier to control and not automatic?

Cited

 '3. So should a little kid be firing an Uzi or any other machine gun? No. Not even with adult supervision.' 

This seems reasonable and correct.

Cited

 '4. Does the Arizona episode mean we live in a whacko gun culture?'

Cited

'Those saying no, guns are as American as apple pie, will point out, accurately, that for years, the number of accidental shootings has been declining, along with overall gun deaths. By those measures, we’re becoming a safer country, even as some parents defy common sense and put machine guns in the hands of little kids.'

I am for allowing, reasonably, weapons for self-defence. But I am in favour of keeping automatic weapons out of the hands of non-adults. As well those with significant criminal records and medically documented significant mental issues when applicable should also be disqualified from being able to legally own certain weapons.

Bloomberg.com: August 26, 2014

Cited

'Burger King to Buy Tim Hortons for About $11 Billion' 'Burger King Worldwide Inc. (BKW) agreed to acquire Tim Hortons Inc. (THI) for about C$12.5 billion ($11.4 billion) in a deal that creates the third-largest fast-food company and moves its headquarters to Canada.'

From Facebook

Senior security officer brings in Tim H box because it was his Grandson's 1st birthday. 

A female Russian trainer, probably in her fifties, signing out asks me who brought the box in sternly and states that the contents are poison...

Tim King's?

Cited

'The purchase brings Burger King the biggest seller of coffee and doughnuts in Canada, which it can use to grow internationally. The deal also lets the burger chain push into the grocery business by selling packaged coffees at supermarkets in North America. The combined business would create a fast-food network with $23 billion in sales, including franchisees, and more than 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries.'

Cited

'The acquisition also moves the merged entity’s global headquarters to Canada, potentially taking advantage of lower corporate taxes. When the companies disclosed the talks on Aug. 24, it heightened debate over American businesses shifting to other countries in search of lower tax bills. President Barack Obama criticized the practice in July, and his aides said that the administration would take action to stop the trend.'

If Canada has lower corporate tax rates than the United States with Canada's reputation for high income taxes, that is quite interesting. 

Perhaps disturbing from a Canadian citizen's perspective?

From the video the idea was given that basically a corporation and its leadership has a obligation to its shareholders in regard to maximizing financial gain. 

I do not deny there is an obligation to shareholders.

But in the context of business in general, not just this deal, I do have very great ethical and moral difficulties with making maximizing gain for shareholders primary over all other ethical and moral obligations. To make this primary risks living for money and financial gain.

1 Timothy 6:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

10 For the love of money is a root of all [a]sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

The context is those in the Christian faith, not those outside of Christ, but the theological concept would apply in the world system as well, that being that the love of money and financial gain is the root of all sorts of evil. 

This could be so in a corporate context as well when corporations as a bottom line have their shareholders financial gain as primary instead of other considerations, for example, even from a secular perspective; the welfare and safety of employees.

Perhaps child labour in developing countries when abuses are taking place by employers?

This means the Tim King's is becoming a Canadian company. Burger King is going to become a Canadian? Satirically, Burger King is associated (as is McDonalds) with 'fat American culture' and now perhaps it will be associated with 'fat Canadian culture?'

CBC

Belgium, Seriously?

Maps of .net

Is Belgium seriously among the European football elite?

CIA Belgium

Population: 10,449,361 (July 2014 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.05% (2014 est.)

Birth rate: 9.99 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Death rate: 10.76 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Present FIFA World Rankings

1. Germany 2. Argentina 3. Netherlands 4. Columbia 5. Belgium

Oddschecker.com

I do not bet but find the analysis gained intellectually interesting.

Favourites to win UEFA EURO 2016

1. Germany 2. Spain 3. France 4. Netherlands 5. Belgium 6. Italy

William Hill

1. Germany 2. France 3. Spain 4. Belgium 5.Netherlands 6. Italy

Metro.Co.UK

July 6, 2014

Cited

'Out but not down! Why Belgium could be real contenders for Euro 2016'

'The team labelled as the ‘dark horse’ for the World Cup finally met their match after an eighth minute goal from Arsenal transfer target Gonzola Higuain was enough for Argentina to secure a place in the semi-finals.'

'Despite looking the more likely to score, Belgium lacked the clinical edge to equalise in the 82 minutes that remained. More conspicuous was the lack of contribution from young stars such as Divock Origi, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne. For some its hard to imagine a young team like Belgium progressing so far in the tournament without having made an appearance in a major competition since 2002. Subsequently Belgium were treated with the harsh reality that their team and players needs more experience.'

'So Belgium is clearly a team in transition and by getting to the quarter-finals and pushing one of the tournament favourites to the edge, they leave the tournament after a successful campaign and its something that they can build on for the future. Having progressed further than Spain, Italy and England suggests that this team will soon be considered amongst one of the toughest in Europe – thereby showing real promise for Belgium to win Euro 2016.'

Give Me Sport

Eleven month ago

Cited

'Brazil 2014, however, could act as a dress rehearsal for Euro 2016 – don’t be surprised if Belgium are being touted as serious contenders in three years’ time.'

'For a nation populated by just 11 million to produce such a high amount of top players in such a short period of time, the national coaching must be doing something right. Definitely one to watch at Brazil 2014, and if you fancy a cheeky flutter on an outsider for the European Championships in 2016, look no further than Belgium.'

Belgium scores versus USA, World Cup 2014-CNN

I will admit right from the start as a sometimes skeptical philosopher, I am wondering if this historically will end up as another example of over-hype. 

Portugal was hyped in a similar way for several years a few years ago. 

Considering Belgium's relatively moderate population compared to most world football powers, as even the Netherlands has over 16 million as population according to the CIA website; population and population growth are not seemingly major positives for Belgium.

Belgium has never won either major tournament, the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championships for which it can qualify. It did finish fourth in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

On the other hand, not being a football expert, I must acknowledge the commentators when they opine on the positives of Belgium in the present and future as a club. 

It should also be pointed out that Belgium's neighbours Germany (3), France (2) and Netherlands (1) have all won the UEFA European Championship and Germany (4) and France (1) the FIFA World Cup with the Netherlands losing the final three times. Even with only moderate size population, Belgium is in basically in broad terms, in the world centre of football in their part of Western Europe. It would be reasonable to develop into a football elite from that perspective.

Looking at this information as a non-football expert, but educated observer, I reason Belgium will probably begin to challenge the elite national sides of Europe.

But will not win a European Championship or FIFA World Cup.

However it would be rather interesting to see if they did because it is extremely difficult for any nation to break into the winners category, consistently, especially.

Colombia is ranked fourth in the FIFA rankings and although they could not defeat Brasil, ranked seventh, in the recent World Cup, they might be the best hope for a rising national team from South America.

The Peoples Cube

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Belgium-trekearth

Note: Uncle Chuck lived in Belgium... 

Pope Chuckles plays goalkeeper here in East Maple Ridge football with ball hockey nets. His alternate goalkeeper is a garbage can with a lid...

I think we play tonight again. 

For someone that never played organized football/soccer my shot is getting pretty hard and more accurate.  I am beginning to scare people. I was pretty mediocre when we started a few years ago.

Pace is still not my best quality.

Perhaps martial arts and ball hockey muscle is finally transferring to football muscle in regard to the shot?

I could however, play well at goalkeeper from the start. Of course it helps that I am pretty large and muscular and that we play in ball hockey nets.

What a wood smell...

Brief On A Professional Wage

Venice, Travel+Leisure-Facebook

I am not interested in entering into a minimum wage discussion. I have not done enough research into the pros and cons and there are complex issues in each separate economy of how much exactly a minimum wage should be.

I am clearly, based on educational background not an economist. I am a theologian/philosopher of religion.

Minimum wage  is not a specific issue for me, thankfully, as I work in corporate security, and also have expenses covered from homecaring.

Basically I have two sources of income. I am now presently covering my student loans and monthly banking some savings.

Working at a large corporate site and thinking about some of the employment on site that is in a low paying job environment, I reason this will tend to promote in many cases a lack of professionalism by employees in particular.

An attitude will exist in some employees that he/she will not be with the employer in the long term and therefore he/she is not very committed with time and effort to the employer.

I do not agree with a these views, as in any lack of good work ethic, but acknowledge it as reality in some cases.

Let us consider that fast food restaurants are a classic example.

It can often be observed how dirty fast food restaurants are in comparison to fine dining or even family restaurants.

Perhaps a difference in cleanliness is largely based on the professionalism of the employees?

Yes, management is responsible as well. Not instilling professional standards.

I think employers, more specifically major corporations and companies, that simply use 'market value' or 'market demand' arguments for paying wages are often making a mistake.

Lower wages tend to bring in less skilled workers as well.

There are those employees such as myself with a Christian work ethic that will always do their best, and I am always looking to upgrade my CV and Resume, whether I work in the security/justice field or in theology/philosophy.

But, not all workers are self-motivated in reality.

Therefore

I am philosophically deducing that a working person's wage, a wage that is viewed in a culture as one within a profession, rather than as a low paying job, will often, along with proper training and a professional environment produce better work standards than will simply a wage supposedly based on the market.

It is often better to pay significantly higher wages and instill professionalism into a job, instilling a career mentality than to rely on market value.

This will tend to bring in higher skilled workers.

I realize small businesses in many cases may not be able to pay professional wages to employees.

End

'Interesting' logos In light of the Washington Redskins logo and name controversy

Killahbeez.com-Washington Rednecks-But they are not really a southern team...

Korkedbats.com-Washington Fredskins- With the name 'Fred' and how outdated the Flintstones are, would this logo not be as outdated as the Redskins?

Further web developments in regard to logos

Shirtshovel.com-Baseball does have its moments of action. A sport can be interesting during slower strategic moments, but that does take more devotion and attention from the spectator.

Shirtshovel.com

Shirtshovel.com-This is very much like when Bobby Buff and Cousin Buff meet anywhere in the Lower Mainland, but almost always Maple Ridge or Mission to fit into B. Buff's celebrity schedule. He has his concert appearances you know...