MLRH Done?

[wildcard00]

Is the MLRH done? No games this weekend and their website isn't working..... What has come of this league and does anyone know where it is going to go from here? Are any of the American teams going to go over to Prague for the "FINALS"?

[letsgopens]

Got this email on Friday, take from it what you will:

All-

I have just discovered that the DC Mad Dawgs will not be going to Hartford and Boston this weekend. This is the death knell for the Hartford franchise who have had three successive "no shows." There is no point in continuing this charade. With great regret, I am suspending the final two weeks of the regular MLRH season. While the the Mad Dawgs are not without blame, part of their problem seems to be rearranged work schedules (several work on Saturdays) because they took time off last week and Charlotte cancelled at the last minute. It goes on and on...

Quite frankly, I can no longer deal with the unending series of "no shows," teams asking for money, compensating rinks and refs for games not played. Every week, about Tuesday, I start worrying about who is going to show up (or not show up) that weekend. I am losing thousands and thousands of dollars and the fun is long gone. Additionally, my stress level is off the chart.

For those of you that have tried to do the right thing, I am very grateful. I still believe that the MLRH model is viable but, as presently construed, we have too many under-financed teams with too many egos and way too many issues with no sense of responsibility to othe rteams in the league. I know that Boston traveled to play DC and Virginia and that Hartford drove all night to play Carolina and Charlotte and then drove all night to get home for work on Monday. I wish I could bottle that dedication. For those of you that have tried to do the right thing, I am very grateful.

Playoffs: For those teams that have operated in good faith, there will be playoffs with the wild card playoffs April 8 at Winchester, VA Semi-finals will be the week of April 22-23 and the Championship Series April 30 & 31. I will honor the European trip commitment that I have made so that no one can say I didn't hold up my end of the bargain. I will also, within reason, help with travel for the semi-finals.

State of the league: For the record, MLRH is not going out of business but will restructure for the future. There are models for success like the Virginia Wings that, despite everything, keep me encouraged. In whatever form this league returns, each team will have to have a financially responsible adult in charge of the operation.

I wish things could have turned out better but I can no longer support a venture from which I get so little joy.

Bill Raue
MLRH

PS: I am sure that this will light up the message boards but there is no point in my responding to the half truths that will emerge. There are many additional issues with teams and players that I have not mentioned. While it would give me great satisfaction to "name names" and point out their individual screw-ups, in the end it is pointless.

[bling45]

Its hard for anyone with sense to say they didnt see that coming, I look forward to this soap oprea at the start and end of every MLRH season...BUT IF Mr. Raue is going to help solid teams with the playoffs and hold up his end of the bargin on the Europe finals, no matter his past ya gotta give the man some credit...Hopefully one day someone will get a coast to coast league with responsible teams and ownership, I know the PIHA has a great thing going, hope they build on it slowly and get it right, who knows maybe MLRH and PIHA ownership could get together and come up with a league that is the BEST YET, lol doubt it...Anyways I hope all works out for both leagues...

[Mlrhnorthfan]

Hats off to Boston and Hartford and Virginia, who showed for every game. I know that Boston and Hartford and Philly all made the trip down South with a short bench regardless of the result because of their dedication. In addition hats off to those guys on the teams that had trouble that kept their commitments and tried to make it work.

Disregard the 'death knell for the Hartford Franchise' comment in that statement. Those guys will continue to be around and be a strong team in whatever league they play in. They carry NO FAULT in this whole fiasco of a league other than to think that other teams would keep their word and actually show for a scheduled game.

GO PIHA!

[SpiderRat]

Again I feel the need to come to Bills defense. First off, "letsgopens", not cool sharing that email on IHC. That email was sent to team owners and the guys helping to run teams. I don't believe Bill intended that email to go out for the world to see. I'll be sure never to send you a private message. Second, and I've said this before, the situation with MLRH can not rest solely on Mr. Raue's shoulders. Take Hartford for example, they have hyped homes games for their fans, only to have teams not show three weeks in a row. Hartford has an awesome fan base. They really get into and behind the Thunder. Rightly so, they are a great team. To ask the fans to keep coming back knowing the team scheduled may not show up, well you know what happens next, ya sure there's a game tonight. Hartford, like the Storm, has traveled and made every commitment the league has asked of us. Why Washington didn't make the trip us is beyond me. You certainly couldn't expect Bill to drive to each players house, load his bag for him into a van, and drive up the east coast. Every player and team understood at the beginning of the season that not every game was going to be in their backyard. Sure PIHA works, but it's centrally located, teams need not fly to get to away games. Charlie obviously has the right idea. Expanding PIHA will be great because from what I understand, each division will be geographically scheduled. Plane tickets will only be needed once a team makes the finals. Sure MLRH could learn a few things from PIHA, but again it comes down to commitment. To blame Bill for 100% of what's happening to MLRH, is clearly not fair. Yes scheduling was an issue, again not totally Bill's fault. If the guys from Charlotte, Washington, and all the other teams that have forfeited games could man up and explain why they bailed, maybe everyone will see that putting a bullseye on Bill back and firing may not be the answer. Just so you understand where I'm coming from, Bill last year sent us to London twice, on the leagues dime. He made that promise to us last year and I see no reason why he wouldn't honor that commitment again this year. After all, he address's it in his PRIVATE email to us. Boston, Hartford, Virginia, and New York have had faith in Bill from the start. Maybe because we understand what commitment means. Anyway, blah, blah, blah, cut Bill some slack. I don't believe he signed up to become the Parent for some of these guys who couldn't or wouldn't make a game.

Blah Blah Blah, Shoot the puck already

[Superstar9]

Rog,

I'll def man up on the charlotte thing. Bill tried to schedule us 3 different times to go to DC on a saturday and then have to play in charlotte the next afteroon. We agreed to go the 1st 2 times and the games were cancelled after a couple of our guys had bought plane tickets on a weeks notice. By the 3rd time this trip was planned, we had lost the commitment of our players an no one wanted to go. I myself had honestly grown tired of all the scheduling and rumors of teams pulling out. The Knights had already pulled out of the league and then bill basially BOUGHT them back. With all that was going on, I sent an email to my team suggesting that it might be best for our team and fans sake to pull out before anymore damage was done and we lose our fans for good due to not having a schedule etc. I left it to the players to do what they wanted, some chose to continue playing, others did not. The end result, there was not enough to go to DC, and they ended up picking up 6 new guys for the charlotte/hartford game. While I havent played MLRH since before that weekend, we are 100% aiming at PIHA which is why I have joined a PIHA team, so i can become familiar with the league before I have to run a club in it next year. Up until that whole last minute DC fiasco, the guys in charlotte were the most committed I've ever seen but I don't hold myself or them responsible after the trip was repeatedly scheduled and then cancelled last minute twice before that.



-Street-
http://www.outlawzhockey.com

[NLane]

Don't forget that MLRH did run West teams three times. Once Colorado came out here and played the Destroyers, then Colorado came out and played the Gladiators, then Williamsburg(VA) went to Denver to play the Finals. There always seemed to be problems the year after the travel. I have never figured out why except that it really depletes the money. PIHA will travel that far for the first time this season. My appreciation of the Hartford team started years ago with the travelling that they do. I spoke with some of them during the XIHL season and just couldn't believe how they managed it. A Boston team(MLRH) also went to that Finals in Denver on a shoestring budget. While the Warriors and the 'Wolves had owners that spent money in different seasons to travel the rest of the teams had to do it by themselves and it's tough. My hopes are PIHA can withstand the travelling blues and continue to grow and MLRH will once again be a Phoenix, and rise from the ashes so that players do have a choice.

[letsgopens]

dude, i had no intention of 'bashing' bill or airing dirty laundry. i saw the question and had the answer in my hands. rather than try to summarize another man's words, or even worse, speak for him, i figured it would be best to let him speak for himself.

i would never have posted the email if i thought there was anything damaging in anyway to anyone. i still don't see that as the case, so i have no problem with that message being up there.

as far as i can tell, there is no confidential info in the message.

and, as i've seen on this board, if communication is such a sore issue/sticking point/poor quality in this league, what's the problem with letting someone know the truth?

[stormphotos]

Don't forget New York coming to Boston with a short bench, knowing they would have a tough time with the Storm. Hats off to Neil, Nuno, and company.

[Mlrhnorthfan]

Any way you could post some storm game photos from this season?

[stormphotos]

I could email them to you. I don't know if you can post pictures on this site.