One of my favorite non-sports blogs "Coyote Blog" has a look at the Balsillie thing from a different angle:
One of those 88 I spent a year with was a guy named Jim Balsillie, now famous as billionaire CEO of RIM (Blackberry) and, more recently, for trying to buy an NHL franchise. Jim is not a close friend, and in fact I probably haven’t exchanged a hundred words with him since we graduated. But over the period of a year I feel like I had the measure of him, as quiet, bright, kind and fairly humble. Jim was a much, much nicer guy than I was...
I write this all because I just have to make a public statement concerning a recent statement about Jim Balsillie by the NHL. The NHL recently chose to vote against letting Balsillie buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Fine. I think they are idiots – they should be begging to have a guy of his talents and money in their fraternity – but whatever. What ticks me off, though, is that instead of dicussing the controversial business reasons for the vote and they choose to smear Jim: (via Market Power)
“We voted to deny approval to Mr. Balsillie because we concluded he lacks the good character and integrity required of a new owner” under NHL bylaws, said Boston Bruins Owner Jeremy Jacobs, chairman of the league’s board of governors.
Matt Nestor has some fun with this:
The NHL owners are obviously good judges of character. Some that have been approved:
- William “Boots” Del Biaggio (Nashville Predators), now headed to jail on fraud charges.
- Henry Samueli (Anaheim Ducks), now awaiting sentencing on SEC violations.
- John Rigas (Buffalo Sabres), currently in jail on embezzlement charges.
- Sanjay Kumar (New York Islanders), now serving time for conspiracy.
- John Spano (Islanders), who deliberately misled the NHL and the Islanders about his net worth.
- Bruce McNall (Los Angeles Kings), who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and defrauding six banks of $236 million.
Why would you want a successful businessman to taint such a group?
Tom Benjamin and James Mirtle are the two authorities worth following as the Coyotes story unfolds, but I thought it was worth sharing the perspective of a man who knew Balisillie personally.
