[JuniorAnalyst]

Interesting

[hockey216]

wasn't arizona unable to give the tickets away?

[petey5]

I still don't think it's going to work there.

[Microphone]

Their arena is like the baseball stadium in St. Pete FL. In a brutal area. Having said that, the Coyotes fans (and NHL fans in general) are far more dedicated and would embrace Coyotes far more than Tampa has embraced the Rays. Given a show of stability, support and the recent uptick in success, I think can work there, although barely. Will it have the fever of an Original 6 city, Philly etc? Probably not. Still think it can happen, but this is probably the best they can do:

http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance/_/year/2004

[hockey216]

nobody watches hockey in the usa anymore. it's the sad truth. it never gets the respect it deserves. it's a damn shame. it's the best sport in the world. fans have a hard time understanding it, plus people are more likely to watch the sports that they played growing up. fewer people play hockey because its so damn expensive (equipment runs you 1000 bucks, and ice time/registration costs are very expensive). nobody plays it, and nobody watches it. the media rights only bring the average club what, 3 million? lol in football the tv rights generate BILLIONS. you know how much a superbowl ad costs? hockey is treated like a 2nd class citizen on ESPN and by sports fans in america. its a damn shame.

[Microphone]

nobody watches hockey in the usa anymore. it's the sad truth. it never gets the respect it deserves. it's a damn shame. it's the best sport in the world. fans have a hard time understanding it, plus people are more likely to watch the sports that they played growing up. fewer people play hockey because its so damn expensive (equipment runs you 1000 bucks, and ice time/registration costs are very expensive). nobody plays it, and nobody watches it. the media rights only bring the average club what, 3 million? lol in football the tv rights generate BILLIONS. you know how much a superbowl ad costs? hockey is treated like a 2nd class citizen on ESPN and by sports fans in america. its a damn shame.

216,
You're right on the ESPN part, but you're slighting the NHL in other areas. Late here on the east coast, I'll try to remember to pick this conversation up soon.

[hockey216]

yes microphone in mltiple markets nhl doing great. it doesn't compare to the nfl, nba, or mlb though. many markets have lot of loyal fans which is good, but hockey fans in the south are much rarer. what upsets me though is the way ESPN treats hockey. i like barry melrose. i disagree with him at times, but he really does know the game. i think he's the best hockey analyst and one of the best analysts in sports. lot of the espn commentators don't know shit but barry knows the game really well. but other than having barry on during playoffs, espn barely covers hockey at all. on shows like espn first take skip bayless and steven a smith talk about football baseball and basketball all damn session, every damn day, but never cover hockey. espn should stop treating hockey like 2nd class citizen. obviously the fans are great in some markets but lack in others. i think in the south theres much fewer hockey fans. everyone is crazy about football and knows everything about football, but the same football junkies that know everything never watch hockey.