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The expansion to the Southerly states, such as the Florida teams and Atlanta (ATLANTA??) makes no sense to me.  And why is there a team in friggin' NASHVILLE?  End Quote

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The NHL has a worse collective bargaining agreement than the MLB.  It's sad.

Think of the upkeep and the equipment that you have to go through during an 82-game NHL season for each team.  You're talking about skates, zambonis, busted sticks etc...not to mention the amount of energy it takes to maintain the ice.  And with 25 players on an active roster, at an average salary of who knows what, and they keep demanding more, you're not going to keep up with those salaries.

Not to mention that hockey arenas in most cities rarely sell out (unless you're the Minnesota Wild, bless your fans' hearts) and nobody watches on TV.
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I think you've got it in a nutshell, Earl.  We're still going through the honeymoon up here, which I think explains the Wild selling out so many games.
Another thing: Hockey has to charge more for their tickets to keep up with salaries.  They don't have the rich revenue sources the other major sports have.  And, the Canadian dollar is worth only 65% of the United States dollar.  And hockey players are paid in American dollars.
I'm not a hockey fan, but I feel sympathy for fans of any sports.  In tough economic times what do you do?  Make the car payments or "go to the game?"  It ain't like tickets are going for $5 or $10, either.  Taking the family of four to a game is beyond the means of a lot of people.  
I think it's outrageous that Canadian teams are going under, or moving south of the border.  I don't know what the answer is, either.

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Remember the good old days, when players would just play the game because they realized that they were priviledged enough to be paid to play a kid's game?  No seriously, I wasn't born yet ;)
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I remember when the top salary in baseball was about $150,000.  
I think you're looking at it with rose-colored glasses.  I don't think players, or people in general, are any more or less greedy now than they were then.  Back then, though, the player had few options; either sign for what the club offered or sit out.  
Free agency blew that to smithereens.  Unfortunately, a generation after the introduction of free agency we have games that we can't afford to go to, players that are paid way too much, and a lot less stability than before.  Noone's to blame, everyone's to blame.

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I remember when the top salary in baseball was about $150,000.  
I think you're looking at it with rose-colored glasses.  I don't think players, or people in general, are any more or less greedy now than they were then.  Back then, though, the player had few options; either sign for what the club offered or sit out.  
Free agency blew that to smithereens.  Unfortunately, a generation after the introduction of free agency we have games that we can't afford to go to, players that are paid way too much, and a lot less stability than before.  Noone's to blame, everyone's to blame.

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I agree. If I was offered a great deal of money to do my job, I'd grab it.
Even though it would drive the price of gas through the roof! Like it's not already, but thats a different thread!

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That's true, but you'd think people would think long-term in addition to short-term, like "If he pays me this much now, will there be a job for me next year?"

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That's true, but you'd think people would think long-term in addition to short-term, like "If he pays me this much now, will there be a job for me next year?"
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I think they do.  Some players will take less to play in one city than another.  
Why would an athlete worry about the long term consequences ?  Should Bret Favre play for $300,000 a year "for the good of the game?"  Whether he makes that or $10 million a year, it won't make a difference in the big picture.  The best you can expect is an athlete not holding up for top pay.
And what agent worth his salt would advise his client, especially one of Favre's credentials, to take less than market value?
And what owner wouldn't open the wallet a little wider for a player of Favre's caliber?  

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That's true, but you'd think people would think long-term in addition to short-term, like "If he pays me this much now, will there be a job for me next year?"
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(Sorry, Columbus, but OSU should be enough.)

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What are you basing that on, Indy? Columbus and Indianapolis are comparably sized cities. Why is it okay for Indy to have the Pacers and Colts, not to mention the Brickyard and a WNBA franchise, plus minor league baseball, while Columbus should make do with the Buckeyes?

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What are you basing that on, Indy? Columbus and Indianapolis are comparably sized cities. Why is it okay for Indy to have the Pacers and Colts, not to mention the Brickyard and a WNBA franchise, plus minor league baseball, while Columbus should make do with the Buckeyes?
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I don't think the city size should matter as much as the fan base.  That's probably why the Green Bay Packers are still in Green Bay, rather than Madison or Milwaukee.  :)

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I don't think the city size should matter as much as the fan base.  That's probably why the Green Bay Packers are still in Green Bay, rather than Madison or Milwaukee.  :)
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Sure, it's the fan base that counts... it doesn't matter if you have a population of five million if no one comes to the games. But according to ESPN's attendance stats, the Jackets have been in the top 12 in attendance over the past three seasons, so people are going to the games.