Part V: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ

The Howsonian Era -  The Later Stagnation Period to the New Reformation!

The Columbus Blue Jackets Cannon Logo

Arrrggghhh!  This thing has me by the throat, and the puck drops tomorrow!!  Must....blog......harder....    OK, ok, focus.

We last left this tale at the end of the glorious 2008-09 season, when the Columbus Blue Jackets lifted the playoff stigma from their resume, and made the post season for the first time.

By virtue of their strong showing, they picked 21st in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, selecting Defenseman John Moore.  In the off season they parted ways with Freddy Modin, Michael Peca, and Jason Williams.  Optimism was high, the pundits largely picked the squad to finish where it had the previous year, much as they are picking the 2011-12 CBJ to finish where they did last year (shocking newzzzz!)

Jackets to Stream Pre-Season Games

An announcement this afternoon by the Columbus Blue Jackets that they will stream their preseason games on Jackets TV at Bluejackets.com.  The announcement is here.

The grand experiment

If the Rosenberger plan is adopted, Nationwide Arena would transfer to public ownership.
Smile!  You'll be owning an arena!

Permit me to share some perspective on my three favorite sporting teams as a prelude to my discussion of the proposed Nationwide Arena plan.

I've been especially proud of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program because, unlike so many other schools, they have chosen to eschew the choice between the academically qualified and the athletically challenged.  When the lads weren't doing so well - something that's happened a lot recently - I could at least take heart that our kids played hard and graduated after taking legitimate, quality coursework.  When the Irish were on top of the heap, it was even better - but that's another story for another day.

When I was a diehard fan (thanks again, Matt Millen), I took pride in the Detroit Lions for doubling down on a decrepit downtown Detroit as the place to locate the new Ford Field - a place I still consider to be America's football palace.  The team may have had tough times, but ownership did its part to help rebuild of one of America's formerly great cities.  There's nobility in that move...even if it ends up being financially questionable.  Strangely, however, winning has put rear ends in the seats even in downtown Detroit.  Go figure.

And even though the Columbus Blue Jackets have only tasted the playoffs for a brief four games in their history, I could always fall back on the arena as a means to keep my head held high.  As Jeff Little explained in his "Arena Chronicles" articles, Nationwide Arena was one of only five arenas (Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver being the others) in the entire National Hockey League that used entirely private money to fund its operations.  So our team might not be winning every night, but at least the Blue Jackets weren't bleeding the taxpayers while they worked our way along.

All three represent grand experiments: Notre Dame in preserving the notion of the student-athlete in spirit as well as in letter, the Detroit Lions in their commitment to urban renewal and the Columbus Blue Jackets in the spirit of "The private sector can do this without government help, thank you."

With regard to the Blue Jackets, it appears that particular grand experiment officially ended in failure on Wednesday.  And while I'm genuinely pleased that the Blue Jackets' flight risk will all but evaporate by the time this deal is ratified, there still is a tinge of sadness.

Part IV: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ

The Hitchcock Restoration

A Columbus Blue Jackets Civil War Logo

Ken Hitchcock was coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets from November 22, 2006 to February 3, 2010.  He is the winningest coach in Blue Jackets history, compiling a record of 285 G, 126W, 123L, and 36OTL.  Depending on how you fall out on your view of the shootout, he is the only coach in CBJ history to have a winning record.

In my last post I made the assertion that although many names had changed, the talent level of the team plateaued at about the 2003-04 level.  As evidence for that, I point to Ken Hitchcock's coaching record.  Prior to coming to Columbus, as a head coach he had never coached a team in the NHL for the entire year and not made the playoffs.  That is, until he coached the 2007-08 CBJ squad.

Don't get me wrong.  I think he was kind of fond of that team, because he believed that the team had maxxed out.  That they had given him everything that they had.  But it wasn't enough, they simply lacked the talent to be a playoff team.  But I am jumping ahead.

Ken Hitchcock's coaching career for the CBJ served as a bridge between two General Managers, Doug MacLean and Scott Howson.  As such, Coach Hitchcock holds a very important place in CBJ history.

The Nationwide Arena Proposal presentation

Following is the presentation used at Wednesday's event to announce the details of the Nationwide Arena Proposal. If you wish to skip to the summary of terms, look at page 7 (and refer to the abbreviations on page 6).
 

Update on the XM Hockey This Morning guys' forthcoming visit to Columbus

As you're aware, I posted an Open Letter to XM NHL Home Ice's Mick Kern after he made me sad over his comments regarding the fitness of the Columbus market to support the Blue Jackets.

Mick then posted a reply and indicated that he accepted my offer of a Columbus Blue Jackets game ticket and both pre- and post-game festivities.

The dialogue has since left the blogosphere, so I figure that an update for those of you keeping track would be in order.

First, our party of guests has gone from one to two.  Mr. Kern will be accompanied by his co-host, Mike Ross.  While Kern has never been to Columbus, Ross has visited (stayed at the Hyatt Regency, I gather) and - not surprisingly - has nothing ill to say of Columbus or the Blue Jackets.  (I tell you, get the people to Columbus, let them see what it's all about...and the negative stuff about our community and team tails off right quick.)

Second, the guys asked me to hunt down weekends where CBJ games coincided with Ohio State football games.  There are two such weekends, but I learned this morning (yes, I have to listen to their show to find out where their heads are at) that neither weekend works out.  So they're (wisely) eschewing the football and will be restricting their sports viewing activity to hockey.

And that's that.  We're all up to speed.  Kern & Ross need to figure out their schedules and get back to me with a preferred date.  Then we secure tickets, and we're off and running for what should be a terrific day!

So now let's have some fun...in the interest of leaving no stone unturned, permit me to ask all of you two questions:

1. If you had to suggest one game in the entire CBJ home schedule for Kern & Ross to see, which one would that be?
2. If you were to take your buddies from out of town to a CBJ game, what would you consider the "Do Not Miss" points of a game night experience - pre-/during/post-game?

Post your thoughts in the comments.  Can't wait to see what you suggest!

On professionalism in sports, and reconciling dreams with reality

(This article will get around to the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Really.)

This past weekend has me wearing
sackcloth and ashes today.

This past weekend pretty much stunk, and I'm still in a bit of mourning.  My alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, played a football game in which they choked at a historically high level through the fourth quarter against a mediocre-to-poor opponent.  As if that heartbreak wasn't enough, I sat through a day-long series of 9/11 anniversary specials.

Let's be clear: The events of 9/11 overwhelm the significance of any sporting event.  I challenge anyone to dispute that fact.  However, when one's mood is already down, being bombarded with imagery of unspeakable hate, death and devastation isn't necessarily the best tonic.  I know I could have turned the TV off, but it was important and compelling...never mind that the lethargy coming out of a tortured night's sleep thinking about what's happened to my beloved school's premier athletic program over the past 15-plus years didn't exactly supply me with the energy to do much more than sit on the couch.

Big-time college sports is a funny thing, a paradox of sorts.  It's de facto minor league system for professional leagues.  The National Football League doesn't have an official minor league, they have the NCAA schools (and arena football, Canadian football and the United Football League...which, combined, pale in comparison to the NCAA for the number of players they develop and deliver to the NFL).  The NBA now has an official D-League, but I'm again not hearing how basketball players are eschewing the schools for the D-League.  Baseball and ice hockey are a bit different, as the well-established minor league systems aggressively compete with college sports for talent.  The CBJ's John Moore, for example, was committed to Colorado College before skipping school for the CHL's Kitchener Rangers.  And soccer...well, soccer's just weird.

Part III: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ

The MacLeanian Epoch - The Ice Age and the Later Deludian Period

After the lockout the CBJ unveiled a new logo.

The NHL 2004-05 season was lost to the lockout, otherwise known in this tale as the Ice Age.  Nothing moved, and the Arena District was a ghost town.  The Ice Age has a large impact on this history, because similar to the younger of two brothers, the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets were always trying to catch up to our more established brethren.  As the CBJ started trending towards larger, and more physical players to effectively compete in the pre-lockout NHL, the approach to the calling of the existing rules was changed dramatically after the lockout, emphasizing speed and skill.  From a talent perspective, the CBJ was caught on the wrong foot, and we went out of the lockout with a team ill-equipped to handle the speed of the new NHL.

The Later Deludian Period thus has that theme.  Even after the lockout it seemed as if we were still molding a team to play in the pre-lockout NHL.  Perhaps Doug didn't quite believe the NHL when they said, holding, hooking and obstruction were now going to be called.  They had said the same thing several years prior to the lockout, but the referees had quickly reverted to the older style.  So perhaps his skepticism had a sound basis.

A word about the 'older style'.  From watching many of those games, it seemed clear to me that the officials believed that you had to have the talent, strength and personal fortitude to overcome the opposition if you were to succeed in the pre-lockout NHL.  And, the referees did not feel at all obligated to help you achieve respectability if you happened to lack any of those factors.  It was your job to prove you belonged, not their job to help you.  Thus, the established NHL teams often seemed to get the benefit of the doubt on the officiating side.

Coming into the 2005-06, post lockout season, the roster again had some significant additions and subtractions.

NHL Home Ice's Mick Kern responds to my open letter

I'm sure you recall my open letter to Mr. Kern.  He posted his own open response with a succinct reply:

I accept.

(And then he goes into a discussion of Cleveland which you're welcome to go and read.  He also made me go and look up Machias Seal Island...who knew such a disputed property existed?)

There's obviously much to consider going forward, starting with when Mr. Kern will roll into Ohio's capital city.  I'll be contacting various members of the CBJ Nation to work out the details once some of the basics are nailed down.  We have a unique chance to show off our great community (and, I hope, our soon-to-be great team)...let's make the most of it!

GAME ON!

Fan Fest: Thank you, Columbus Blue Jackets!

I didn't get a single autograph.  I didn't sit in on a single Q&A session.  I didn't do any of the hockey skill contests.  I had to leave around 7:30 from an event that ended at 9:00.  That's how life goes when you attend a jam-packed Columbus Blue Jackets Fan Fest with your toddler son.

Regardless, I had a great time.  The Dark Blue Toddler and I "tore up" (term used REAL loosely) the Ice Haus ice for well over an hour during open skating.  The little man hadn't skated since this past winter, and he found his legs remarkably quickly.  There is hope for this little skater yet.

And he met Stinger!  There is something about that ugly green bug, something that the kids just love.  I won't understand it, but I now am witness to it.  The evening was made.

(Side note: As we were skating, the Ice Haus staff fired up the p.a. system.  Wouldn't you know that the first song to boom throughout the rink was "Call to Arms", the song from Skraut's awesome CannonFest video.  That was too cool to be coincidence.)

Once we met up with the rest of the extended DBJ family, we grabbed a bite (Ah - arena prices!), hit the bounce house and did a quick locker room tour.  We exchanged waves with Antoine Vermette and cleared to the side as Coach Arniel passed through.  A quick examination of the goalie nets and the zamboni, and it was time to get DBT home to bed.

That's my story.  Now, let's consider the entire evening as a whole...