http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:48:45 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/09/150240.php#comment-602059 My apologies, I think I twisted his name in my head because the title sounded neat. I was not making generalizations about the South, I was stating what is gradually fading, but is still a widely held notion - not by myself, but by many people in the mainstream media and elsewhere - that a "northern" sport cannot survive in a "southern" city (in spite of all the various successes - Dallas, Tampa, etc.) I think any season ticket holders who give up on a team because they haven't made the playoffs yet is one that should not be missed by the franchise. As I mentioned, the way pre-lockout hockey ran, I don't think it was reasonable for them to expect the kind of success other expansion teams had (very early success) - and the progress they have shown since the lockout had them on the right path to be contenders very soon without doing anything other than filling holes with veterans. Hence my point that they overpaid for Tkachuk. Hotheaded and stupid. Sounds an awful lot like a guy who makes mistakes because he's 22, not because of a lack of ability - I'm sure he was a #1 pick for a reason. I think Zhitnik was a good idea, and they may well be better off in the immediate future, but I think they will eventually regret giving up on Coburn so early. Again, I should have fleshed those ideas a little better, my apologies. There you have it folks, Doug is right, it isn't Doug's fault. 602059@blogcritics.org Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:48:45 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/09/150240.php#comment-600427 His name is Don Waddell, not Doug. Zhitnik is with us for two more years, there is no re-signing necessary. Coburn was a hot-head that consistently made stupid mistakes at the wrong time. He will not be missed. Metro Atlanta is a majority of Northerners who could care less about NASCAR. Taking potshots at the South does not make you look like a hockey know-it-all, it makes you look like every other Northern sports blogger that has nothing important to imput, but another tired stereotype that is far from the truth. Atlanta needed to make the playoffs this year or face the very real possibility of losing a ton of season ticket holders who have waited too long to see playoff hockey. Don should not even try to re-sign Walt. Missing out on first round draft picks this year is no big deal. It is a weak draft anyway. Next year may be a different story. The talent pool is very good in our minor league system. We need some good vets to carry our young team into the next few years. DON, not Doug, got us a shot at some vets and we will see what that brings. 600427@blogcritics.org Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:38:59 EDT