Most viewed

Mesa tweaking city livestock regulations

School bus driver asked kids to sing LDS songs

Boeing hopes to market new attack copter

Microsoft's first retail store opens in...

Mesa board OKs Gateway 202 Airpark plans

Construction starts on Christian high school

Mesa cousins fight for cash on 'Family Feud'

Mystery of Mikelle Biggs goes into 10th year

New push planned against illegal immigration
Most commented
Most recommended

Yellow

Pages

Search Yellow Pages:

Location:

Get news by e-mail

News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Home » Sports » NHL

Brownie Points: Hey, Winnipeg, cool your jets

Jerry Brown, Tribune Columnist

September 23, 2007 - 1:50AM

Before they were coyotes: Winnipeg Jets players make a final lap around the ice at Winnipeg arena following their last game in Winnipeg on April 28, 1996.

The Associated Press

Last week, the Coyotes once again headed up to Winnipeg – before it closes for the winter – for an exhibition game featuring half their already watered-down roster.

Read Jerry Brown's Brownie Bytes Blog

And once again, the still-frosted ’Peggers use the occasion to crow about how (1) their beloved Jets were stolen away and (2) Arizona doesn’t deserve an NHL team.

One Winnipeg Sun columnist gleefully reported no Valley media outlets bothered to follow the Coyotes to The Great White North, reminding readers that the AHL’s Manitoba Moose always have two Winnipeg beat writers shadowing the team.

Cool your Jets, Winnipeg. And let’s not rewrite history, eh?

• We know Winnipeg loves hockey and loved the team. But the city lost the team because it refused to build a suitable arena in 1996. Then once the team left, guess what? An arena was built, one that with expansion and updating could be NHL ready.

• The Valley is a big-time sports area. We have a baseball team in a pennant race, college and NFL football, NBA and NHL. Do you guys get the Super Bowl up there? Check the site this year.

So you’ll excuse the local fifth estate if they skip the 2,000-mile trip to see a practice game featuring a dozen future members of the San Antonio Rampage. Winnipeg is a minor league sports town, so minor sports get major coverage. No surprise there.

By the way, the new arena here is fabulous. The lease has 27 years left to run, and the organization has decided to build through the draft (what a concept).

We’re keeping the team. Winning will breed interest. So get over it.

Read Jerry Brown's Brownie Bytes Blog

Comments

Oldest First | Newest First | Show Recommended Only

Reader comments: This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Responsibility lies solely with the comment author.

Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news:

Stay on topic.
No personal attacks, racial slurs or insults; no vulgar, lewd or threatening comments.
Report abusive comments.

Show archived comments

Reader comments (43)

This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Responsibility lies solely with the comment author.

My comment disappeared! What's going on?

View more comments: 1| 2| 3| 4| 5

Patrick Daniels

Im glad to see under "reader comments" it says that responsibility lies solely with the comment author. I guess you need to make some bold rash statements to keep your job from being stolen by an 18 year-old underpaid stay-at-home columnist. I still think he could right a better article that actually used unbiased facts. First, Winnipeg knows that their team wasn't stolen. The market was dying and the canadian dollar was at an all-time low (I get the feeling you aren't very intelligent in economics, you just try to state the obvious). Second, who writes an entire article based on what a gleeful reporter in Winnipeg said, and then stereotypes that everyone residing in Winnipeg feels that way, eh? And CONGRATULATIONS you have baseball and football (two american sports by the way), but hockey is undisputedly a canadian sport, and maybe they should consider setting up a franchise where fans actually care about the sport, in contrast to Phoenix where the fans cant bear the cold in the arena. Pull up your socks jerry or hand in your papers, before the internet scrapes your articles from its garbage bin. Suggest removal of this comment

September 23, 2007

Winnipeg will always be better

Typical American journalistic (egotistic) crap.

There are so many things wrong with that that it’s not even funny. First of all, it’s your job as media to cover the stories that matter to the people of Phoenix. If the team is so important, then why wouldn't you send someone out, or at least find a willing correspondant in Winnipeg, to cover the sotry? Is the development of your rookies not important to the future of your team? You'll willing follow something as trivial as high school baseball or, even dumber - NASCAR, before you're willing to cover one of the fastest and physically demanding sports? Maybe the 'AHL beat writers' in Winnipeg are right to bitch that some pompous, ass backwards American organization brought a professional sports team to a city that didn't even care it existed. Obviously the Coyotes don’t matter to the majority of you and this whole “winning breeds interest” thing is such a crock of sh*t. You must win first in order to breed interest. Made the post-season lately? Didn't think so. I’m guessing more people would rather go to a little league ball game in the rain then support your Coyotes. Bring ‘em back to the ‘Peg and go buy yourselves another football team. Maybe with your dollar dopping faster than the average American person's I.Q. you would have a shot at purchasing a CFL team. I hear Montreal wants to relocate. Hockey belongs in a desert like your article belongs in mainstream media. Go back to your blog or take that refresher course in Journalism 101. Suggest removal of this comment

September 23, 2007

Z4

It's been nearly 11 years. Everyone should get over it. The Coyotes are here in Phoenix to stay. If Winnipeg wants another team...start a different campaign...oh something like "Give Us NEW Jets" maybe and drive the NHL commish crazy like Nashville did to keep their team.

We 'real' hockey fans in Phoenix love our team regardless of whether they get to the post season or not. Our city provided the arena needed, the management shake up is providing new leadership and a system for success, our drafting for 2006 and 2007 has provided a solid cupboard of prospects for the future. Eventually we will have a winner here in the desert.

Everyone needs to take a chill pill over the press coverage in Winnipeg, such a non-story. Suggest removal of this comment

September 23, 2007

Anthony Girardi

Even at it's worst point, adjusted for inflation. The Jets never lost $30+ million in one year. Besides, we don't want this crap team back. Why would we? The owners ran it into the ground, hope you are enjoy it. Suggest removal of this comment

September 24, 2007

Geoff

Well first off, any city whose NHL team plays in an arena where you can go to a booth beofre the game to try and find out what the rules of the game are is a joke. Cities like Phoenix, Miami, and Nashville are what is wrong with the NHL today. You can't build a succesful league in any sport, if the people in the communities you put teams in can't participate in the sport in their area. Theres a reason hockey is Canadas sport, its because you can't walk 3 blocks in this country without coming across a hockey rink. So yes, those of us in towns where hockey is life because its cold here 8 months of the year will continue to complain about teams hemmorhaging money in the deserts and beaches of the American south.
A couple of more points to make about this ridiculous article, firstly, yeah we get the superbowl, we just all realize that its 4 hours of stupid commercials, and "yay America" montages, before the hype leads to an inevitably terrible game. We prefer the Grey Cup (the CFL championship for those who claim to be football fans but dont know what they are talking about) Its still usually a blow out one way or the other, but at least the game is more important then everything surrounding it.
Secondly, I find it a little odd that a city that is home to the Cardinals, and Coyotes would mock others for being minor league, is it worse to be minor leage then your respective sports door mat?
Third, if the fan base in Phoenix is so good for hockey, and people like the team as much as you claim, then wouldn't you be fired for the outrage the fans exclaim over not getting any proper coverage of their team during training camp? Suggest removal of this comment

September 24, 2007

Bob

Tell you what, Winnipeggers. We'll give up our hockey team if you give up the Canadian Football League.

Until then, we have every right to have an NHL franchise. You can make fun of us all you want... but the fact is, we've got the team, and you're still moaning 11 years later. Comment has been reviewed

September 24, 2007

Lutheren

Winnipeg a minor league town? You calling the Winnipeg Blue Bombers minor league? lol

That shows how dillusional and uneducated people in the U.S. are. They probably don't even know where Winnipeg or even Canada is on the map. huh, probably even the United States can't be found on the map.

So maybe we are wasting our time trying to get through to those people. Suggest removal of this comment

September 24, 2007

deathbypopcorn

Winnipeg may be the greatest sports town in the world.

We play all sports, and love all sports. We have the greatest and loudest fans EVER!

We don't deprive ourselves with such outrageous views like most united states people.

I dare someone to even visit Winnipeg and you may find our city is above average.

Visit our best sporst team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on gameday and find out what real fans are like.

Then only imagine what our NHL gamenights were like for our Jets. 365 for our Jets, not like the way you and most U.S. cities treat yours. And you are such great sports fans down in the U.S.

We treatet both our Jets and Blue Bombers the same way. They were the pride of the town. And in some ways, still are.

Only lost our Jets because of typical politics, and I guess the same can't be said to most places in the United States.

Crooked politcs did not win that time in 1995 and 1996.

But please. Still wear white! it makes you guys look so good.

And tell most of the population down there that wear white, or red. Bring pom poms to the game. That it all started in Winnipeg. We made it look cool!

And we were loud!

Oh, and we loved the game, and knew what the game was about.

Maybe you should move to Canada, and learn from us!

And i'm not talking just hockey Suggest removal of this comment

September 24, 2007

Allen

Jerry Brown is an idiot, lol. Suggest removal of this comment

September 24, 2007

Paul

I am beyond disappointed by the lack of respect that fans have here, especially those from Canada. It's interesting how Winnipeg journalists can take shots at Phoenix, but God forbid that those that cover the Coyotes fire back. Simply amazing. It was journalists from YOUR CITY that baited Phoenix into a war of words, not the other way around. Period. Winnipeg fans and media certainly are more than willing to dish it out, but you certainly cannot take the heat back, can you?

You know what? Randy Turner and Gary Lawless had it coming to them. If DBP and other Winnipeggers that decided to make a rare visit to an Arizona newspaper web site because somebody's talking bad about their angry town want to make this a United States vs. Canada thing (including hockey), go ahead. You're only making yourselves look foolish, not us. Suggest removal of this comment