Here’s a couple items before the Kings get on the ice in Arizona. First, my weekly LAKings.com feature takes a look at Jack Johnson, and his need/ability to pick up some slack for the defense while Drew Doughty is out of the lineup injured. Also, many of you might have seen this yesterday, but ESPN’s Bill Simmons wrote his most-recent column on how he was influenced to buy Kings season tickets this season. The Kings are getting some solid “mainstream’’ shout-outs of late, as this follows Al Michaels’ mention of the organization during NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
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What did A.Michaels say?
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:13 am
@Stuart, Q: Al, do you think the Kings can wine the Stanley Cup?
A: Do you believe in miracles? YES!
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Stuart Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:14 am
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose, nice…it just came out of nowhere? I’ll take it!
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:24 am
@Stuart, I was kidding Stuart… Couldn’t resist
Stuart Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@Kings Win, in the words of Eddie Murphy – “good one…you caught me with my mouth open…” ;D
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:14 am
@Stuart, Yeah, I’d like to hear what Al Michaels said.
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MartinRW Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 4:55 pm
@Klong, Was it a totally farcical call?
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The Bill Simmonds column was great and it just shows the best fans in LA are Kings fans cuase we came back after the NHL lockout, let’s what happens with the NBA.
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I live out here in AZ, I prob the biggest king fan out here, can’t wait to go to the game tonight!!!! Any others kings live out here inAZ going to the game today ?
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puck73 Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am
@Brandon, @CrownRoyal will be attending.
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gralx Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:29 am
@Brandon, I am Kings fan in AZ too… not going tonight but going next week (29th)!
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AZ King Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:54 am
@Brandon,
I’m live in AZ also (obviously) wish I could go to the game tonight, but I’m out of town.
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Crown Royal Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
@Brandon,
I will be at the game. After the first period should be visiting with a friend (Coyote season ticket holder) on the very top level just to left of directly behind Coyotes bench.
I’ll wear a black AK BARS (KHL) cap with green and red trim that has a round ensignia on the front. It says AK BARS on the back so I should be easy to spot. Maybe see you there?
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trytodethroneus Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
@Crown Royal,
WOW!! All these KINGS fans going to the game just might double the attendance there
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Glad to see Hockey is getting the respect it deserves and hopefully pulling NBA fans while the lockout is going on
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He made reference to the fact that the LA Kings have a military hero for each game.
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Dug the article… worries me when the writer said GBettman can capitalize on Stern’s mistakes… he obviously doesn’t know Bettman very well.
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xeropoint Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:29 am
@Stuart, Oooh, BURN!
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Dominick Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:55 am
@Stuart, I don’t think Howard Stern likes hockey. lol
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Stuart Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
@Dominick, neither does his cousin, David.
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Lets go kings lets go kings lol I think it was go kings go maybe a couple more games and Simmons will get it right
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Kenny44 Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
@thelexsters, Arrgghhh!!! Saw that, too. Somebody has to get to that guy and straighten him out. We cannot allow him to perpetuate “Let’s go Kings”.
Rich, please Rich, can you ask that gameday experience facilitator guy or someone in media relations to help Simmons?
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No, not the evil Bill Simmons. We as Kings’ fans cannot have one of the most visible single sport writers in the business talking about our team. Its catastrophic.
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puddle Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:40 am
@Sam, Um, and why is that? I think it would be GREAT for the Kings to get such publicity. I’m a huge Lakers fan too, but even I can’t help but love Bill Simmons.
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What I cant understand about Bettman is, they have been fighting tooth and nail to make sure this franchise stays in the Phoenix and yet they couldnt get out of Atlanta fast enough to move it to small market Winnipeg.
I am not against moving a team to Canada at all, but would someone please explain Bettman’s logic on this?
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Goring 19 Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:46 am
@puck73, maybe because of the fans in Atlanta, all tens of them.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:52 am
@puck73,
Cmon puck, you know it had to do all about the kickbacks Bettman gets/got. Always about the cash!
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EASportsMgt Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:00 am
@puck73, I won’t pretend to know more than I do here but I can tell you that it had a lot to do with the demographics. The NHL believed that in Atlanta and the demographic group there, that of you brought in a hockey team that was exciting, that fans would come. Whether it was the NHL or the team itself, there was a monumental failure of marketing and that excitement just never really took off.
In Glendale, you have a completely different type of demographic group. One that the NHL believes that if you market correctly, will attend games and support their team. The problem today is, who fronts that bill? The NHL certainly doesn’t want to invest more than they already are but they hope a new team owner will market the team correctly and fans will fill the seats. I believe it can happen. I’m actually trying to help them make it happen but it will take some time.
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Belexes Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:02 am
@EASportsMgt,
I think Rich should buy the Coyotes.
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EASportsMgt Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:14 am
@Belexes, I’m in
Cynic Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:47 am
@EASportsMgt, Now I have a neat story about getting free tickets to see the Flyers play the Thrashers in Atlanta on my birthday years ago. Those tickets were 17 rows from the glass and I got 4 of them. There was no one around us for 2 periods! The 3rd period filled in a little.
A gentleman sat down next to me who ended up being a coach for the Arena Football League team from Georgia (Georgia Force). We got to talking. I asked if this attendance was commonplace and he mentioned that it depended on who was playing. He also mentioned that the AFL was drawing more people at the time. This was back in early 2004.
Atlanta did not do the greatest job of marketing their team. When we went, it was hard to realize they even played NHL games there. It got better over time and that AFL coaches comment of ‘Depending who was playing’ was really telling. The arena was beautiful, top notch! It was a shame hockey never worked out there. The people who were into the team were few, but VERY cool. I truly believe the reason for Atlanta’s failure is because their marketing team put too much belief that transplant NHL fans would fill the arena each night and adapt a love for their team instead of trying to naturally grow their own fanbase. They did try to grow their own eventually, just a few years too late. THey should have done it from day one.
Honestly, Phoenix’s problems I believe fall square on the shoulders of the local government rather than ownership. When Phoenix was booming, a lot of promises were made to the Coyotes ownership group to support Jobing Arena and having the team in Glendale. I remember the grand opening being a big deal. The lease from the old arena in Phoenix was already killing the team financially and now the city of Glendale wanted more from the Coyotes. The local governments could have done more to help the franchise out instead of bleeding it’s revenue to death. A little different scenario from Atlanta I think. Both bad.
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Belexes Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:01 am
@puck73,
Many are scratching their heads over this. The move of the Atlants franchise certainly wasn’t because of some new found ability to financially support it in Winnepeg.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:25 am
@Belexes, Actually, the economic landscape is much different than when the Jets first skipped out of Canada. The value of the Canadian dollar is now on par with that of the US, and as it stands right now, if you wanted to attend a game in Winnipeg, you’d have to enter a lottery just in order to be able to buy a ticket to the game.
Atlanta failed before, and it failed again. Quebec City will also probably eventually have a team. Personally, I could still see Hamilton, or even Portland, Seattle, or Salt Lake City gaining a team at some point.
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Belexes Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:38 am
@PP Anybody?,
Yes I know the honeymoon is going strong right now, but what about after? There were a number of studies that went on before the move that had the same bad outcome as rhe failed Jets run.
http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2010/12/8/1536097/nhl-relocation-winnipeg-quebec-city
PP Anybody? Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
@PP Anybody?, That is the question, and only time will tell. My only reason for posting was that you seemed to be perplexed as to how in the world could a team go from a bigger city like Atlanta, to a smaller city like Winnipeg. I only offered that it was because of the love of the sport. Atlanta could care less about hockey. They have NFL, MLB, and NBA franchises. People in Winnipeg have none of those, and only care about hockey. The city is in a better position moving forward economically. You can look at statistics in a variety of ways. You can have a larger GDP, but if there is only 2% interest in hockey, you can throw that out the window. Conversely, you can have a smaller GDP with 85% interest in hockey, and probably fare much better.
Jumblehead Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@PP Anybody?, Bob McKenzie said on TSN the other night that Kansas City and even Las Vegas if they build an arena are “on the radar” of the NHL more so than Quebec.. Take it for what it’s worth… Living in Vegas I hope he is right.
DesertKing Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:19 am
@puck73,
The officials in Toronto needed a place in the desert to play golf.
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variable Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
@puck73,
i think in any sport, no matter how successful, there’s room for reinvention and change…what is perplexing about bettman & co. is that they were able to recognize that the league needed a big change coming out of the lockout, but have failed miserably at acknowledging post-lockout market failures…large companies close non-profitable franchises/locales all the time…unfortunately, no one likes to be on either end of failure but it happens…and it’s just as unfortunate that bettman has decided to follow david stern into a world of denial and not own up to mistakes…
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RICH, YOU ARE THE MAN! This was one of the best morning reads I’ve had in a long time! I think I can say this on behalf of everyone that WE ARE SPOILED AS LA FANS…. AIN’T IT GRAND!!??!!!
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simmons comes off as having nothing else better to do so he might as well try kings games..but we all know as soon as the nba lockout is over he’ll go running back
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@KingsGuy,
Living in DHS and dont see much hockey gear at all in the valley but starting to see more at the new rink in Cathedral City.
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I’ve been thinking this for a long time, and I think JJ has been doing right things to develop himself. He’s been taking it one step at a time. He set the task whether it’s his own end or zone coverage each season, kind of an experiment. He knows that a defenseman needs more time to develop.
Look at what he did off the ice. He took the course to get a degree in college for his future plan. Once this guy set the course he follows it no matter what. His offensive talent was pretty much there from the begining so he took time to work on his defense.
And now he comes to the point to take it to the next level, balancing out everything he learned and take the game over.
For him, this is the year to take off. Opportunity presents itself with Richards joins the squad. JJ has been waiting patiently until the time has come. But now wait is over.
Watch closely. He will be unstoppable.
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Dominick Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
@goldielocks,
I’m with you on JJ. I’ve taken a lot of flack for JJ support the last few years. Nobody looks at who he covers and who we score against. Richards is gonna change that +/- of his becuase Richards will get his points, but now it’ll be against the other teams best offensive players, and 3 things are going to happen.
1. The Kings goal differential will go up.
2. JJ’s +/- will go up.
3. The Kings 5 on 5 numbers will improve.
No one will tie the 3 together, and think that JJ somehow finally became a good player, but I’ll know, and have a big smile on my face when I hear poeple congratulate JJ on a good season, and start giving him his due.
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goldielocks Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
@Dominick,
JJ and Richards are already reading off each other very well at this early stage. Good players know each other.
I wonder if DL saw this kind effect coming by acquiring Richards, and if so he’s genius. It’s kind of amazing what one man (DL/Richards) can do.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
@Dominick,
Yup, sounds just like the proud papa! Also good to have your beliefs justified, eh Dom?
Good call on JJ, not just because you saw what most didn’t, but because you saw what most didn’t!
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Dominick Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
@Kingsfanone, LOL, What can I say, you pick up a few things.
nykingfan Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@goldielocks,
I agree. You can see JJ taking babvy steps eacvh year to get better. compare him now to his 1st year. It’s like night and day.
he has a good head on his shoulders and is an incredible talent. I won’t say he’ll be a better player than DD, but with both of them, I’m not sure there will be a better tandem in hockey.
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goldielocks Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
@nykingfan,
I hope DD and JJ both will be allstars and possibly Norris candidates.
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Dominick Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
@goldielocks, Wouldn’t that just blow everybodies mind to have 2 cadidates in 3 years? Would be historical to have 2 on the same team at the same time.
colo king fan Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
@goldielocks, god wouldnt that be somethin!
That Simmons piece is just another NBA lockout article disguised as a hockey article.
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Marc Nathan Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:49 am
@Dwreck, it may be, but he bought Kings tickets, and seems to have an open mind about embracing the sport… That’s the bottom line.
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nykingfan Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
@Marc Nathan,
I don’t believe he has an open mind when it comes to deciding between basketball and hockey. He’s going to decide whether to keep his Kings tickets or Clippers tickets next season .Notice he didn’t say whether he would decide between Kings or Lakers tickets!
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puddle Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:59 am
@Dwreck, I agree with Marc. Simmons also seemed to have massive respect for Kings fans and recognized how good the Kings should be this year. Yes, it wasn’t about the Kings primarily, but I have a feeling there might be a few pieces about the Kings from him in the nearby future. Considering he’s probably the most popular sports writer out there these days, I find that exciting!
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variable Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
@Dwreck,
the hockey element/hook was effective…but, yeah, it was yet another simmons tirade on his favorite sport’s big dilemma…
it was yr typical simmons vitriol…:…bitter, humorous and insightful with sources…
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Naturallawyer Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
@Dwreck, but who cares if Simmons goes back to the NBA when the lockout is over? He just told a mass of people (his readers) that going to a hockey game is fun, great entertainment, and makes more sense than the NBA on a lot of levels. Oh, and the Kings might win the Stanley Cup. Bill Simmons will go back to his Clippers post-lockout, but some of his readers might not after they give hockey a chance. This is a positive article for the Kings even if Simmons didn’t really intend it to be about hockey.
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Simmonds makes a GREAT point about the door being wide open for this team to take the city captive. This is truly an important year for the Los Angeles Kings as a professional sports team.
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Doughty2Simmonds Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
@Cynic, Simmons, not Wayne Simmonds
He has long been my favorite sports writer, hopefully he loves what he sees on the ice!
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Cynic Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
@Doughty2Simmonds, Habit….
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and then there’s this: http://mashable.com/2011/10/20/la-kings-gamification/
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@KingsGuy, I had a similar experience. About a week ago, a young guy (probably 20-25) sporting a Kings hat walked past me and I popped my Kings shirt and said “This is our year!” and he looked at me like I had aliens crawling out of my ears. I then realized he probably bought the hat because he liked how it looked, not because he liked the Kings. Oh well…
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I remember browsing in a gift shop at LAX before a flight and I couldn’t find one Kings merchandise. There were the Dodgers, Lakers, and even the Clippers, but NO Kings stuff. Hopefully this has/will change. Besides, isn’t that why they changed their colors this season. Love the black and white, but they could have kept the crown with some purple on the front. IMO!
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Stuart Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
@gr81scores, i was once told that the Kings do not license as much merchandise (non-NHL brand merchandise) as other teams… like I’ve looked for a hitch-voer for years before I finally found one last year. Another thing I’ve been on the watch for is a spare tire cover for my pull-trailer, but no… I can get a PIT one, even a sucks one, but not the Kings…
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PurpleRocks Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
@Stuart,
Not sure exactly what you are looking for but I think there are some on ebay – black or white ones.
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Stuart Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
@PurpleRocks, I will look into it! If you ever see one, let me know, it would be GREATLY appreciated…I’m not a big ebay’er, but I’ll give it a look.
What an awesome column by Simmons…I go to both kings and laker games. Kings games are way more exciting. As long as kings perform like contenders they will pull alot of new fans. LA loves winners
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I wasn’t as impressed with the Bill Simmons column.
It seemed to me that he’s using the NHL and his column to help the NBA make a deal.
The fact that his season tickets will come down to Kings-Clippers as opposed to Kings-lakers tells you all you need to know.
Most of the article centered on the NBA”s labor problems and not the game of hockey.
Assume the locout takes out the whole season, does anyone really belive simmons would choose a Kings game over a Lakers game next year? (well aware they play in the same arena)
certain things are ingrained in us since we were kids..most notable our favorite sports.
The NHL went away for a year, but it sure didn’t get me to like the NBA. Why should this be any different?
In the meantime, I hope he enjoys his time watching hockey.
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goldielocks Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
@nykingfan,
My thoughts exactly.
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colo king fan Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
@nykingfan, in his defense, the guy is a basketball writer primarily… he may not stick, but there will be others who will. he summed it up well towards the end when he talked about the Kings having a real opportunity to steal the spotlight in LA.. will they be the Lakers overnight? probably not. but the lakers are one of the most popular, successful sports franchises in the world, not just the NBA.. given that, the fact that the Kings could somehow feasibly get to that point, in and of itself, is encouraging.
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MindGeyser Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
@nykingfan, “The fact that his season tickets will come down to Kings-Clippers as opposed to Kings-lakers tells you all you need to know.”
He doesn’t have Lakers tickets. He couldn’t bring himself to enter the waiting list to buy them because he’s a Celtics fan.
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Must be nice to be able to just go out and buy season tickets a few rows behind the net…I have a hard time with affording them on ticketexchange. i clearly don’t care for this guys opinion, but he is right it is a very important year. BAH HUMBUG!
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@KingsGuy,
Lol terrible. Good thing here in Ft. Lewis we have all sorts of people around the US. I usually see the occasional Red Wings or Blackhawks jersey. I sport my Kings logo on my truck and car!
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go Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
@tacomakingsfan, I at my local farmer’s market sporting my Kings hat as usual and someone came up to me and said “Kings fan?” I replied “Go Kings!” Looked up and saw he was wearing a Kings hat too. Made my day.
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@KingsGuy,
I was shopping with my wife at Santa Clarita COSTCO last Sunday where the box girl was wearing “I Love Kings” shirt. When I remarked on her shirt, she smiled and reported that the Kings had won the night before (Philly). It’s nice to know that some who wear the swag actually do so with a purpose!
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If I was the Kings PR guy I would be writing Bill Simmons an email right now and doing whatever I had to do to get him at a table with Kopitar, Brown, Quick, Johnson, or any of the other members of the young core. Let him spend a lunch talking with just 2 or 3 of them and let him see the hockey players are in fact the “most likable”, most humble, most personable and most real of any big time professional athletes -always have been, always will be.
just saying.
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Jumblehead Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
@Bickleton Wigglesworth III, Truth
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I’m a huge JMFJ basher for good reasons but it does seem when he has pressure (doughty out, olympics), he shines and plays better. No bad passes and good positioning and all is well.. His offensive presence and skill level is very high, just few costing mistakes he needs to tighten up on
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Doesn’t it bother you that Bill SImmons called this a hockey article and mentioned the Kings, and then devoted 95% of the content to the NBA…..
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