On a serious note, the NHL seems to be finally listening to relocation requests and getting the Coyotes the balls out of Phoenix. Personally, this team needs to go to Vegas. Sure, the loyal fan support wouldn't be as high as a truly viable franchise somewhere else, but the expensive seats would get sold out every night by casinos looking to comp the tickets. More people would show up then, say, Atlanta, and don't tell me the players wouldn't love to play there. Plus, the ensuing drunken debauchery when Dion Phaneuf takes off his pants and runs around in Bellagio Fountains? You can't buy that publicity. The NBA and NFL denounce it, but they thrive off of dumb players making dumb mistakes. Personalities sell tickets.
Finally, relating to the soon-to-be-not-Phoenix Coyotes, I do respect the NHL giving teams a chance to succeed. Dallas is a good example of a non-traditional market that has remained strong. The real problem I have with the Grizzlies move is that the NBA (read: Michael Hiesley) moved the team after only 6 seasons. The fans never got a chance to support a real team. The NBA denied the Grizzlies and the Raptors the chance to draft in the top 5, unheard of for expansion teams. The Grizzlies win totals read: 15, 14, 19, 8 (lockout shortened season), 22, and 23. How was any momentum for support expected to be generated?
Moving a franchise that young says two things: management is losing money and doesn't see potential for growth. The potential for growth, however, may have been the biggest in NBA history, if we play a big game of "what if". If the franchise doesn't move in 2001, it is unlikely the team would have undergone the overhaul (Abdur-Rahim for future ROY Gasol, Williams for Bibby, etc) it did when it moved to Memphis. Most likely, this team would have been another top 5 lottery pick waiting to happen. (Even with the overhaul, Memphis still finished with 23 wins.) The 1st pick of the 2002 Draft was Yao Ming. With the doubts surrounding Yao Ming's eligibility, many teams were unsure that the first pick overall (which Yao's agent group demanded) was worth it. (All this information is from highly credible sources.) Say the Vancouver Grizzlies were in the top 5 picks in the draft. With a large Asian population, and the chance to make a splash to their fan base, tell me they wouldn't throw everything but the kitchen sink at Houston to trade up and get Yao. The Houston Rockets have captured the imagination of Chinese basketball fans. With the close connection between China, Hong Kong, and Vancouver, and the dense Asian population in Vancouver, the Grizzlies may have been one of the most popular franchises in the league, both within the city and internationally. A franchise can certainly be considered successful if it draws an estimated 250 million television viewers, like the Yao-Yi matchup did in late 2007. Houston, without Yao, would still be a successful franchise financially; Vancouver, and now the failing Memphis Grizzlies were not. By not giving Vancouver a chance, the NBA has potentially lost its most viable franchise.
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