Just when we thought this was over
Posted 1:36 PM ET | Comments 1
Just when we thought the website war between the NHL and the NY Rangers was finished, the Rangers have struck back.
According to Newsday http://www.newsday.com/sp...0,5919151.story?track=rss, the Rangers have asked the US District Judge to dismiss the case. here is the article.
Madison Square Garden Thursday asked a U.S. District Court judge to dismiss last month's claim by the NHL that alleged that the Rangers breached NHL bylaws by challenging league rules, a move that the league said could lead to disciplinary proceedings -- fines, suspension or even termination of ownership with a vote of three-quarters of the owners.
In documents filed Thursday, the Garden said that the league should have the lead in collective bargaining and on-ice rules, but not on certain aspects of marketing, such as team Web sites.
In a letter to the 29 other owners, MSG chairman James Dolan insisted that there was no attempt to undermine the basic business structure of the league, but some off-ice centralization made the NHL weaker by removing fans' loyalty to teams, which generate 92 percent of league revenues. "The growth of the NHL starts with fans' passion for the teams, not the other way around," Dolan wrote. "Rangers fans will inevitably become NHL fans. So too, Ducks fans will become NHL fans."
I hope the Rangers do get control of their website back as it was much more entertaining than the cookie-cutter everyone has same style just differentcolor websites
According to Newsday http://www.newsday.com/sp...0,5919151.story?track=rss, the Rangers have asked the US District Judge to dismiss the case. here is the article.
Madison Square Garden Thursday asked a U.S. District Court judge to dismiss last month's claim by the NHL that alleged that the Rangers breached NHL bylaws by challenging league rules, a move that the league said could lead to disciplinary proceedings -- fines, suspension or even termination of ownership with a vote of three-quarters of the owners.
In documents filed Thursday, the Garden said that the league should have the lead in collective bargaining and on-ice rules, but not on certain aspects of marketing, such as team Web sites.
In a letter to the 29 other owners, MSG chairman James Dolan insisted that there was no attempt to undermine the basic business structure of the league, but some off-ice centralization made the NHL weaker by removing fans' loyalty to teams, which generate 92 percent of league revenues. "The growth of the NHL starts with fans' passion for the teams, not the other way around," Dolan wrote. "Rangers fans will inevitably become NHL fans. So too, Ducks fans will become NHL fans."
I hope the Rangers do get control of their website back as it was much more entertaining than the cookie-cutter everyone has same style just differentcolor websites
It doesn't really mean anything that Dolan has asked for a dismissal. This is just pro forma and generally has to be asserted at the appropriate time in the proceedings or it will be waived.Nevertheless, Dolan just doesn't get it, in my opinion. In the first place, the owners voted to allow the NHL to have uniform control over the web sites and also to have a great deal of licensing control over individual team trademarks and resultant product marketing. Dolan is on record as being opposed, according to NHL's answer and counter claim to the original complaint. Nevertheless, he is bound by the decision, just as he is bound by all the other rules for the mutual benefit of the association.In fact, the NHL is structured as a joint venture, which means that the owners create and vote on their own rules to apply to all equally for mutual benefit, just as they have joint and several liability for any corporate ventures that don't pan out. That is, their rules are pretty much private law and the courts simply aren't going to get involved in "club" rules.One also presumes that Dolan knew the League rules in advance. With his Comcast and MSG business holdings he can hardly argue now that he is an unsophisticated businessman. But, both the harassment settlement for the Rangers ice dancer and the JUDGMENT for harassment for the Knicks executive by Isiah Thomas give a clear indication that Dolan probably has an incredible stubborn streak and lacks some common sense in knowing which battles to pick. (Especially when he continues to keep Isiah on the payroll).Frankly, as much as it pains me to say it, Bettman, et al, are correct in their positions, if the statements in their counterclaim are true, which I assume they are. Who knows - maybe Basille will get the Rangers.