Thrashers Season Ticket Holders Were Spoiled

Believe this or not, this Select-a-Seat event photo was taken the day of the Tailwake when it was basically all but known the Thrashers were moving. Classy move, Atlanta Spirit.

Ok, I know most of you read the title of this post and either did a spit-take or choked on whatever you were eating. "Spoiled?" I can hear you say. "Why in the HELL would you say that? Eleven years of terrible to slightly above average hockey, superstars like Hossa and Kovalchuk walking for practically nothing in return, and DON WADDELL? How in the hell were we spoiled? We were told to 'just deal with' bad situations. You have to be joking. Or drunk."

While I have had a couple glasses of wine, I'm sober, and I'm serious. I'm currently poking around for last minute tickets to the Blues-Predators game for tomorrow night (helpful hint for those of you who need them -- click the tickets link at the top of my website), and the prices are shocking. $65 for upper, upper bowl? What were those in Atlanta, like $15? Few rows down are in the $80 range on some sites. Atlanta? $35 -- and keep in mind that those rates aren't even season ticket holder prices. Those are the regular ones.

My tickets in section 108 were $1000 for the entire season. They were lower bowl, attack once side, about 13 rows or so off of the ice. I couldn't've asked for more reasonable tickets for an ECHL team, let alone an NHL one. The Thrashers tried "premium game" pricing last year for teams like Chicago or Detroit, or for weekend games. I was pleasantly surprised when I thumbed through the tickets and saw those games at $35.00 value for a STH. The weekday ones for non-premium games? $17. SEVENTEEN DOLLARS.

I sat in virtually the exact same place in Nashville in December, and I paid $68. I would have paid about $110, but I had a coupon for 40% off the site that I used, so yay. For tomorrow, the most reasonable ticket I could find lower-bowl was $100, and tickets aren't exactly widely available. Sure, it's a Saturday night against a division rival that the Preds are fighting with for primo playoff position, but it's impossible to just grab a cheap ticket. It's impossible to do that during the week. It's hard to do that during preseason. This is the price you have to pay for going to go see a successful franchise that's supported by a large swath of the local population.

Yeah, I know the cheap tickets here in Atlanta were basically a last-ditch effort to get people in the building by a group of owners who couldn't give a flying flip, but gosh darnit, wasn't it nice?

My Most Fervent Andy McDonald Wish

Andy McDonald skated in a regular "yellow" jersey at practice yesterday, instead of a red no-contact jersey. Why does this fill me with dread?

Let me say from the start: Andy McDonald has been a very good hockey player. As a Blue, he's produced at nearly a point-per-game pace (189 points in 235 games, or 0.8 ppg--compare to the Blues current "best" offensive player, David Backes, at 0.6 ppg), and is probably their best offensive player in terms of consistency. He also brings to the ice one of the things that plagues the Blues, and will hold them back from being a legit playoff contender: power play production.

God, I wish he would retire.

Andy McDonald is 34 years old. He has two young kids. He has four (known) concussions in his medical history. Since becoming a full-time NHLer in 2002-03, he has played a full slate of games (75+) four times. Four. In ten seasons (counting 2011-12). You hate to hang the "injury-prone" label on anyone, but it is medical science that, once you've had a single concussion you are "concussion-prone." To repeat: McDonald has had four of those.

I am 38. I also have two young kids. The other night, I banged my head on some ductwork in the basement. This was a cause for some mild cursing and a few minutes of moderate pain. If I were Andy McDonald, I would have been terrified that I'd bruised my brain again.

Andy McDonald doesn't owe the Blues, Blues fans, the NHL, or the game of hockey a damn thing at this point. He does owe his kids a dad. A dad who will be able to remember their future spouses' and his future grandkids' names. Does Nik Kronwall's elbow give a damn about that? Dion Phaneuf's shoulder? Any molecule of Todd Bertuzzi's body? I'm afraid to even look at the schedule and see if the Blues have any games left against the Sabres and Patrick Kaleta.

I know he's not reading this, and I know that even if he were he wouldn't but...

God, I wish Andy McDonald would retire.

LeNoceur used to write hockey nonsense at Melt Your Face-Off. He retired from that gig wealthier than you can possibly imagine, and promptly blew it all on Dr. Pepper futures. As always, he is grateful to hildymac for the opportunity to post occasional Blues-related thoughts here.

Andy McDonald And Alex Steen Vs. The Rest Of The Forwards; or, A Pleasant Conundrum

It's always swell when half of your team's leadership is concussed.

"What if?" That's a question that usually has a negative connotation. What if the starting goalie goes down? What if the team's leading scorer gets knocked out of the season? What if the defense gets so decimated that half of the corps is made up of AHL guys? What if, what if what if. A hockey fan asks that question about a million times a season, especially a fan of a squad like the Blues who are constantly facing injuries. Last season enough people were hurt at the same time to derail an attempt to get into the playoffs. The defense and the bottom two lines were half of the Peoria Rivermen; kids who needed the experience but who weren't nearly as solid as the players that they replaced.

This season started off the exact same way. Pre-season saw B.J. Crombeen dislocate his shoulder. Kent Huskins went down with a broken ankle. Andy McDonald suffered yet another flukey concussion, then Alex Steen suffered one last month. Tiny bumps and bruises were here and there, threatening the team -- at least to the paranoid fan who expects the worst. A weird thing happened, however: players started to heal. David Perron came back after being out for a year, Crombeen's back to banging and smashing and fighting, and Kent Huskins is getting stronger on his ankle. The Blues haven't had to call up many forwards -- Chris Porter's the only one with the team now -- and all four lines are either legit scoring threats or they're out there creating chances and shutting down teams. The team without Steen and McDonald has been a successful powerhouse at home and are sitting second in the Central Division. Heck, they're sitting at third in the NHL.

TSN'S Dave Hodge Insinuates Tim Thomas Has Klan Sympathies, Proves Political Discourse's Dead

I had no clue as to if I should post this here or at Puck Drunk Love, but I figured this was my blog - I feel awkward about posting political stuff anywhere else.

Tim Thomas skipped yesterday's meeting with President Barack Obama to honor the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup Championship. Teams go to the White House all of the time, and Thomas was the team's only American. He backed out due to his political beliefs; he's fairly conservative and is disgusted with the direction that the nation's moving in, and released a statement to that effect on his Facebook page:

"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

"This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

"Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

"This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"

Heck, ok. That's his opinion, and he's entitled to it. I agree that the government's bloated and run by idiots of both parties -- I think most everyone does. But most everyone would have put team above politics and gone to the ceremony. That's not the point, though - the point is that after Thomas' statement came out, people jumped on him for his political beliefs.

In America today, GOD FORBID someone disagrees with what you believe in. Instead of asking policy questions regarding Thomas' beliefs or having a discourse on why Thomas would believe that, people immediately started to insult him. Look at the comments section of any website: "Boycott Thomas!" "Thomas is a commie!" "Thomas is a stupid Republican!" All of those are chock full of intellect, but absolutely NOTHING tops the winner that TSN's Dave Hodge came up with last night:

Don't know if it's fair to point this out, but Tim Thomas has three children named Kiley, Kelsey and Keegan.

— Dave Hodge - TSN (@TSNDaveHodge) January 23, 2012

Oh, wow, really? Yep. Dave Hodge insinuated that since Thomas is a Republican, and since he didn't go shake the hand of an African American president, that he's racist. Apparently Tim Thomas is a grand wizard in the KKK. Who knew?

Absolutely nowhere in Thomas' statement does he say anything inappropriate, nor (to my knowledge) has he ever said anything of that ilk. This whole "oh, you disagree with the president so you're a RACIST CROSS BURNING HOODWEARER!" bullshit has to stop. It kills intelligent debate of issues. It kills political discourse between individuals. It kills people's faith in politics in general.

Mud slinging is nothing new, though it's gotten considerably worse as of late. Insults are what you do when you lack the brain-power to think about a situation, an issue, or a person. I can only assume that Dave Hodge lacks the linguistic skills to properly communicate his point of view that Thomas should have put politics aside and gone with his team to the White House.

God willing TSN puts their foot down on this kind of slander, or else I'm going to have to assume they're just as incapable of intelligent discourse as their employee.

EDIT: Hodge tweeted this outstanding not-an-apology tweet yesterday regarding his original statement:

To clarify, yesterday's tweet was simply a satirical, tongue-in-cheek observation meant to be humourous and not intended to be offensive.

— Dave Hodge - TSN (@TSNDaveHodge) January 24, 2012

If that's your version of satire, you're certainly no Voltaire, Dave.

Snag Tickets For Tomorrow's Penguins/Blues Game

The Blues close out their first half tomorrow night with a matchup with the Penguins.  Thanks to "Pick Your Price" from our partners @ TiqIQ you can get into Scottrade tomorrow night for below face.  For the cheapest deal, make an offer of $40ea on two "1-star" tickets and save over $10 of the full price of each ticket.  If you want to take in the game from some better seats, make an offer of around $70ea on two "3-star" tickets and you can save more than $15 off the total price.  As with any "Pick Your Price" offer, this deal comes free of service & shipping fees.  But act fast, this offer ends @ 8 PM ET.