Monday Commentary: Big 12 Commissioner and Sprint Center

A great weekend was had by all in Omaha (well, except Mississippi State fans), but now I'm back and only have a nasty sunburn to show for it. Well, maybe a little more than that. If you haven't been to the CWS, I recommend you go sometime. It's a good time, including when one Husker fan tried to get the "Go Big Red" cheer started and half his section told him to shut up.

But anyway, I'm back now and it's time to get back into some news items around these parts. So without further ado...

No new word yet on who will replace Kevin Weiberg as Big 12 commissioner. It seems like the names of most Big 12 ADs have been mentioned, although DeLoss Dodds is the only one I would consider a serious contender. Blair Kerkhoff of the KC Star thinks senior associate commissioner Dan Beebe should have the job. His credentials are strong, as Kerkhoff mentions in the article. But the big four (UT, aTm, OU, NU) may balk at him because he would be seen as a Weiberg guy. On the other hand, he doesn't have a vote on revenue sharing, so maybe the ADs don't really care what the commish thinks on that issue. They may care more if he manages to get a good TV contract in place where a lot more conference games are on TV, which would dilute the TV money.

There seems to be a lot of conflict right now about Dodds. Some K-State fans point to the fact that he is a Kansas native and K-State alum and think maybe he'd look out for Alma Mater while in Dallas. I'm not sold, although I did meet him in Manhattan and he's a really nice guy. He's a Texas man now, and has publicly stated he opposes revenue sharing. Maybe that's only because it would be a financial hit for UT, but I'm still hesitant.

I'm sure you're all anxiously waiting my pick for the next Big 12 commish, but sorry to say I haven't made up my mind yet. From reading about Beebe, he would be my early favorite, but I want to make sure we have a man who can get the schools on TV a lot more. Of course, maybe that's not a huge consideration, as Husker Mike mentions in a post where he looks to the future of college sports broadcasts.

One other thing to clear up from my earlier post. Apparently some people thought I insinuated that Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman advocated Nebraska leaving for the Big 10. That's not what he nor what I said. Perlman mentioned he would never rule out leaving the Big 12, although it's not currently in Nebraska's plans. My point was that his, along with Tim Weiser's comments about schools leaving, puts that idea out there.

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I promised last week to discuss possible tenants for the new Sprint Center in Kansas City. It seemed like a hot topic last week when news hit about the NHL considering expansion. I was all set to post about it when Weiberg resigned and left me to talk about that. So here you go...

It looks like the possibility of getting an NHL team via relocation has passed for Kansas City. The Nashville Predators will be bought by a Canadian (is it OK to say Canuck, just as a joke?) billionaire, who plans to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario (wherever the hell that is). In fact, he's already launched a ticket drive, and there's apparently a buyout clause even if Nashville's citizens pull themselves away from their live music and Christian radio long enough to go to the games. Suffice it to say, we won't be seeing an NHL team named the Kansas City Predators.

But despite that, one of the two news sources that still cares about the NHL let it be known that Jerry Bruckheimer is interested in bringing an NHL team to Las Vegas, and the NHL is interested in that happening via expansion. There are currently 30 NHL teams, meaning an expansion would make more sense if two teams were added, so Kansas City naturally popped up as a possibility, thanks to the Sprint Center.

I have to admit, when I heard this my first thought was, "How the hell is the NHL going to expand?" Their ratings are lower than Bud Adams' approval rating in Houston right now. When you have a friend who played club hockey in college and has to be reminded that an NHL game is on network TV, you know the NHL has been forgotten about.

However, I do see some positives in this. The NHL could be the first major sports league to get into Las Vegas, which is an event market. I could see pro sports, even hockey, succeeding in Vegas, maybe even thriving if they can get some star power in there. And despite what the apprehensions of some in Kansas City, I think the NHL can succeed here, too. The NHL is going through what Major League Baseball went through in 1994 and subsequent years. It's going to take a while to get fans back, but I believe they will come back. Also, the NHL season fits pretty well into most KC sports fans' calendars. The first part of the season may struggle a little because of the Chiefs, but the good news is the Chiefs only play once a week, leaving six nights where Kansas Citians have nothing better to do than go down to the Power and Light District, have a nice dinner, and catch an NHL game in their glittering new arena. The Royals don't start then until April, which means the two teams would only have to share the fans for a month or two at most. This discussion excludes college basketball in Manhattan, Columbia and Lawrence, which is also a huge attraction to many KC alums of each school. But on the whole, I think a KC hockey team could average 15,000 fans per game.

That brings us to the other possibility to fill the Sprint Center...the NBA. It's no secret that the Seattle SuperSonics are owned by an Oklahoma City businessman who will be moving the team if they don't replace aging KeyArena. It isn't likely Seattle citizens are going to pay more tax on their lattes to build a new arena, so the question becomes, "Where will they go?" The ESPN article above mentions Vegas again, although the odds-on favorite is OKC. The Sonics' owner (Clay Bennett) is from OKC, and the city has a decent arena that has been home for the New Orleans Hornets since Hurricane Katrina decimated NO. The city proved they could support a pro sports team, although one may wonder whether that can be sustained over a longer period of time. The Sprint Center offers more revenue streams than the Ford Center, but as this article mentions, KC may be an overextended market.

Oh well, at least the Big 12 tournament will be in KC three times in the next five years.