Arena, Brass and more...

JAL over at A Shot From The Point has part 2 of his arena series up. It's an excellent piece that you can check out here.

NHL.com Dan Rosen has Derick Brassard in his top 10 list to make the jump to stardom next season:

7. Derick Brassard, Columbus -- Brassard will get the chance to be the No. 1 center Columbus never has had. Look for him to start the season between Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius, and if he has an impact there he could put up 60-70 points. He had 25 points in 31

Steve Stamkos and Jack Johnson are his #1 and #2.

Call me a homer or whatever but Brass should be top 5 hands down and Voracek has to be in that mix.

Also no goaltenders listed. They are much harder to predict but you know someone will breakout next season.

Still no word on Zherdev's award from yesterday's arbitration hearing. I would suspect the news will break sometime today.

NHL.com will cover 30 teams in 30 days of August:

There will be no August doldrums for hockey fans. Starting Aug. 1 -- that's Saturday, folks -- NHL.com will be covering all 30 teams in 30 days. The order is alphabetical, starting with the Anaheim Ducks and finishing Aug. 30 with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

The means the Jackets will be up on August 9th.

-LTL

Arena lease update? Beuhler??

From marketwatch:

Worthington Industries reported Wednesday a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as a steep drop in steel sales, inventory writedowns and restructuring costs carved into the bottom line.

For the three months ended May 31, Worthington /quotes/comstock/13*!wor/quotes/nls/wor (WOR 13.63, +0.60, +4.57%) said it lost $13.7 million, or 17 cents a share. The company had net earnings of $53.9 million, or 68 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter fell 46% to $471.6 million, the result of a sharply lower demand for processed steel, the Columbus, Ohio, company's core business. The crisis in the automotive industry, which included the bankruptcies of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, was a major factor behind slumping steel demand.

Much of the loss, the equivalent of 15 cents a share, was tied to a $6.3 million pre-tax inventory writedown and $6 million in restructuring charges.

Excluding these and other one-time items, the company posted a loss of 2 cents a share, less than the 3-cent a share loss analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had predicted, prompting shares to rally nearly 7% to $12.86 at the open.

I have to wonder what impact these kind of losses can have on the hockey team, which of course is propped up by Worthington Industries.

It's been extremely quiet on the arena lease issue since the initial news broke a few weeks ago. Once the "sin-tax" proposal was shelved I couldn't help but think that another "sin".... gambling.... could be the white knight that rides in and saves the day.

Then news of the following broke recently:

Ted Strickland will authorize racetrack slots by executive order and lawmakers will provide him legal protection under a stalemate-ending budget compromise struck Friday.

The order is the linchpin of a compromise with Senate Republicans, who have in turn agreed to include language in the $54 billion, two-year state budget that clarifies the state gambling law allows the lottery to include slots-like video lottery terminals.

I know this is primarily being used to balance the budget but my first thought was if the Jackets could get any piece of this to assist with their arena lease issue? Certainly doesn't look that way at the moment.

Something has to be stewing though.

Have the Jackets gotten any traction with the local politicians?

Is plan B in the works behind the scenes?

Is this just the calm before storm before the Jackets drop the re-locate hammer?

Or is this a calculated move to keep this topic buried for a bit after all the bad press that was generated earlier this offseason?

It's been a great past couple of weeks for the hockey department with the long term extension of 61 and also with the pickups of Pahlsson and Garon. That certainly stopped the bad PR bleeding.

Although this issue may be out of the hearts/minds of fans and politicians for the moment you can bet it will start generating headlines again - hopefully of the positive variety. I would like nothing better than to focus on red lines and blue lines rather than bottom lines.

Remember to keep on your county commissioners Jacket fans (contact info on right side of page) to make sure this issue doesn't sit on the backburner for long.

Of course if I get any updated information I'll certainly pass that info along.

-LTL

Somebody forgot to take out the garbage

I was just forwarded this link from a story the Dispatch ran today (for what reason..? I guess to appear nuetral on the issue) by a scribe named Joe Blundo (who?).

Apparently after a couple of weeks since the arena lease story broke Joe decided to jump in on the action and throw his two cents in -- and when I say two cents, that is really about what this piece is worth.

Here are some highlights:

How bad would it be to lose the team? Obviously, the economic impact would be substantial, but I'm talking psychology and perception here. Would the city's mood darken and its profile shrink?
It depends on how the Buckeyes are doing. Remember that our civic self-esteem is intricately linked to the win-loss record of the Ohio State football team.

When it comes to a sense of well-being, the sports are not equal. Football is like air to Columbus. Hockey is more like an air freshener.

Ah yes, the "there is only room for Ohio State Football in Columbus" argument. Brilliant.

Thank you Joe. May I have another.

But would losing the Jackets hurt our image? Not in real terms, because, right now, we don't have an image. But we think we have one, so the idea of having it harmed by a Jackets departure does, um, sting in that sense.

Ignoring for a sec the fact that Joe probably put about 5 minutes worth of research into this piece (of crap)... Really the only image I'm interested in is who in their right mind writes this garbage?


Well here you are ----------------------------------->>>

...but wait.. he's not finished:

Ironically, losing the team might raise our profile in the short term. We'd get a burst of media attention. People throughout the country who had no idea that a National Hockey League team played in Columbus would finally catch onto the fact. Next thing you know, they're telling their friends, "Hey, did you even realize that Columbus, Ga., had a hockey team? I didn't."
Long term, though, the hockey team would contribute to the raising of our profile. The beauty of a big-time sports franchise is that it can benefit you at either extreme: If the team wins a Stanley Cup or two, Columbus is suddenly attracting attention.

Conversely, if it fails to win a Stanley Cup for, oh, say, a century, the media come calling again. They love a prolonged bout of sports futility. Has Chicago been harmed by the championship drought of the Cubs? Hardly. In a way, it makes the place more lovable.

So let me get this straight Joe. A losing team would actually help the city and it's image? Alright... let me get on the horn to John P., Howson and Hitch and spread the word...

Honestly I need a Cup O' Joe after reading this mess. My man Joe is so all over the map here that a compass couldn't even point him in the right direction.

I'm honestly not sure a caveman could have written something worth less... because that is exactly what this type of thought process is -- straight from the stoneage.

Message to Joe ---> stick to your symphonies and let the grown ups handle this one.....mmm-k?

If you actually made it through to the end of this post and want to contact Mr. Blundo - he can be reached @ jblundo@dispatch.com.

UPDATE: If you would like to contact the editor who approved this garbage his name is Ben Marrison and can be reached @ bmarrison@dispatch.com.

Thanks for the info John.

-LTL

Response from County Commissioner John O'Grady

Thank you for your letter regarding the Blue Jackets’ proposal to purchase Nationwide Arena. Despite being a strong supporter of the team, I share your concern about the potential negative impact that a so-called ‘sin tax’ would have on the citizens and economy of Franklin County.

I want to let you know that the Board of Commissioners was approached by the Blue Jackets regarding this legislation, and that we did not initiate or propose the idea. As of May 29th, the Ohio Senate stripped the authority to levy this tax from the state budget bill, eliminating any possibility of it being implemented.

We will work closely with the Blue Jackets to identify alternative solutions to ensure that they have a successful future here in central Ohio. If the team folds, our community stands to lose a significant amount of jobs and tax revenue. Additionally, a bright and vibrant Arena District will lose one of its greatest assets.

Again, thank you for taking the time to let me know your position, and please feel free to contact me if you have any additional concerns.

Regards,


John O’Grady
Franklin County Commissioner

Kevin Griffith
John Glenn Intern
Franklin County Commissioner John O'Grady
373 S. High Street, 26th Fl.
Columbus, OH 43215
Ph: (614)-462-4143 Fx (614)-462-5999
Em: kngriffi@franklincountyohio.gov
________________________________________

I see this is the exact same response Rocket got as well (he posted it in the comments of a previous post). Like Rocket, I mentioned nothing about potential negative impacts the "sin tax" would have on Franklin County in the email I sent.

Clearly these folks aren't even reading what is sent into them.

Personally what I want to hear are specific actions that the Commisioners are currently acting upon. My guess is that absolutely nothing has happened since this news broke two weeks ago.

Well I suppose someone's time was allocated to type up a vanilla response like this and hit the send button.

I hate to say it but I see exactly where this thing is headed. It's going to take the Jackets dropping the hammer (i.e. threaten to move) to get any of these folks off their asses to take the serious steps needed to resolve this issue.

That is how the political game is played - see Pittsburgh. Hopefully by then it's not too late.

Keep your emails and calls flowing Jacket fans. Let's keep the fire burning.

-LTL

Response from County Commissioner Marilyn Brown

This was the response I just received from County Commissioner Marilyn Brown from an email I sent in last week regarding the arena lease issue:

Thank you for taking the time to let Marilyn know your opinion on the issue with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

While Marilyn does not support an excise tax without voter approval, she does realize how important the Blue Jackets are to our community and our economy. She is encouraging all parties to come together to try and work out a solution that will keep the Blue Jackets here in Columbus and that is fair to the residents of Franklin County.

Again, we appreciate your time on this issue,
Laura Stehle

Thanks for the canned response Laura.

Let me try to translate - so in other words Marilyn, it doesn't sound you are taking any kind of relevant action.

Words of encouragement will not accomplish anything.

-LTL