MLRH Is no more......

[JAX96]

from Bill:

It is with great sadness that I am announcing that Major League Roller Hockey has suspended operations.

For those of you that know me, you are aware that I have spent countless hours building this league. Unfortunately, I have determined that I no longer have the passion or energy required to continue this venture. With additional Midwest teams in our expansion plans, I cannot, in good conscience, accept their league fees knowing that, in my heart, I cannot make myself available 24/7 to run the league.

In the interest of full disclosure, I actually enjoyed a three day weekend over the Columbus Day Holiday at the beach and the prospect of living a normal life, without the frustrations and demands of running a league, were too obvious to ignore. As many of you know, my wife is English and we have a home on the ocean in England that I have not seen in almost two years. I would like to see if i can still reclaim my spot on the village cricket team.

To all of you that have been supportive of MLRH over the years, a heartfelt "Thank you." While there have been disappointments along the way, the friendships gained are what I will remember.

Thanks everyone,

Bill Raue

PS: If you attended a tryout camp, your fees are being refunded.

[ajf2731]

Good luck to Bill and everything he does from here on out.

[NLane]

That's too bad. MLRH has really taken so much of Bill's life that I can understand why he'd want to get out while he's still breathing. Best of luck to him and I'm grateful for the friendships that came out of being associated with MLRH.

[FrankFrank]

This is all a lie... ole Doc Brown is finally gonna build a time machine, go back and correct the errors in the world of roller hockey leagues and create The League. = )

Bill, thank you for my start in roller hockey's upper eshalon of play. It's always sad to see a league disolve like this. Bill, best of luck in everything you further pursue and thank you for your devotion to the sport.

Frank~Frank

Baltimore Bulldogs '01
DC Voltage '03
Pottstown Firebirds '04
DC Mad Dawgs '05/06

[RichardGraham]

Hi JAX96,

I received the same e-mail message.

It is disappointing news, because I've known Bill for a long time and I consider him a friend. Bill worked hard for many years to try and build Major League Roller Hockey, and I think the sport owes him a huge debt. It seems to me that Bill was let down by a lot of people, who complained and back-bited, but didn't do a whole lot on their own part to make things work. I think he was also taken advantage of by some of the people he'd brought in to help him grow the league and the sport. I'm sure that Bill would admit to some mistakes he made, but I always felt that he was straight with me, Inline Hockey News, and Inline Hockey Central. Some reading this might have had different, or negative, experiences with Bill; I'm just saying that I did not.

Bill's goodbye e-mail was classy and to the point. I wish him all the best in his post-MLRH days -- relax a bit and have some fun, Bill, you deserve it.

[CaptainHook]

I wish I could tell you all of the stories that I had in the pro league and AAA, Bill Raue is a really good friend of mine and I want everyone to know, now that the league is no longer around...He was stiffed on the league fees for the past 6 years runniing the AAA, by some teams and you all know who you are. His vision was always to see our sport excel and I wish he was a little more cut throat, maybe he would not have been stepped on....I mean here is a man who paid expenses for players to go to europe. To be able to skate in the Anehiem pond while playing roller hockey.....Not alot of people can say that even at the Ice level...Bill made that possible. And to be honest bill is the only one who allowed pure roller hockey players to play in the pro division, even RHI did not allow that....well I will always be able to thank bill for letting me do what I like and Thats lace em up......Best wishes to Bill and I am glad I have your home number so I can still bug you after the bar closes...

[SpiderRat]

Now that the smoke has cleared, I just wanted to add my two cents to the news of MLRH shutting down. First off, the demise of MLRH isn't all Bill's fault. He did what he could and what he thought was right. In my opinion, Bill Raue is truly an asset to the world of inline hockey. His dedication and commitment in trying to keep that league alive was outstanding. I too have had the opportunity to become what I consider, Bill's friend, and have seen the way people and teams have treated him. I think it was too easy for people not involved with MLRH to point the finger at Bill as if he was the only reason the league failed. I've said this before, but what did everyone expect, Bill to drive to everyone's house and bring them to their games? The lack of respect towards Bill, the league and to the opposing teams, who most of the time spent their own money to secure their respective rinks for a game, was inexcusable. When a schedule is in place, under no circumstances should a team not show. Granted sometimes the schedule was changed, but that was due to Bill getting a late call telling him that the visiting team, for what ever reason, wasn't showing. So Bill was always forced to revise a schedule no one would adhere to in the first place. Since meeting Bill some four years ago while playing in Virginia, he has been nothing but honest, sincere, and generous. Bill sent me and my teammates to London and Prague out of his own pocket. Paying for everything including, out of nowhere, handing me fifty pounds while in London to, "pick up something nice for my son". So, before anyone decides to "diss" Bill for the league folding, think about how your team failed the league. Did you and your team do everything asked of you by Bill. For those of you that has played MLRH, think about how much fun you had and how that experience added to your love of the game. Think about the successful road trips and how you felt walking into your opponents rink feeling like a "super star" because you were playing in a "pro" league. When you sit back and think about those good times you've had, you might want to say a quick thank you, out loud, to Mr. Bill Raue. I will wear my MLRH t-shirts with pride. I only hope that Charlie Yoder doesn't fall victim to the same disrespect Bill was shown just because guys start to get comfortable with Charlie and forget about how he has gotten us all together to play in a league spanning two countries and growing. Charlie has the same vision Bill had. If PIHA is now everyone's league of choice, maybe we can all keep in mind what failed RHI, the west coast Elite League, XIHL, MLRH and all the other "pro" leagues, and do our part to expand and enhance the creditability of our sport and league. My hat will be forever off to Mr. Bill Raue. A true pioneer in elite inline hockey. Enjoy your time away Bill, you've certainly earned it. And thank you for sending me to places I would have never seen, had it not been for MLRH.

[NLane]

I don't think anyone on these boards has stated that anything was Bill's fault, especially the league folding. Anyone who has been a part of or followed MLRH has seen what has happened thru the years. And I'd break the blame down like this: It's not the team's fault when a player doesn't show for a game...it's the players fault! Commitment has always been a problem for some players. No matter what league or tournament or team they have said YES to they just don't show up. And I'd bet that no one involved with inline hockey expects the "trip" to be free. If they do they must be dreaming! If it's paid for it should be because of the hard work by the whole team, or a really great owner...everyone should be lucky enough to experience that at least once! Sad to see MLRH go and I hope PIHA benefits from it all.

[SpiderRat]

I apologies if I jumped the gun or presumed anyone is or did put the entire blame on Bill. I just remember all the Bill bashing in the past and probably anticipated the nah-sayers to be elated now that MLRH has folded. And you're right, the players are accountable for themselves.