WTH??????

[MDE3]

At the risk of incurring the ire of all parties involved who are trying in their own way to do what they think may be best for inline hockey I have to ask the question "What the hell is going on?"

For years one of the biggest problems facing the sport has been to present a unified front to the world of the hockey fan, in order to be able to market the sport of Professional/Elite/AAA hockey in a cogent fashion to that world. This is true at the club level, the tournament level, and at the "Pro/Elite level.

Now we have a new league being announced which apparently does not inlcude any of the previous leagues, although some of the individuals involved may be the same. We as fans/participants have no idea who is playing where, what buildings, teams, organizations etc etc are involved.

There are currently now four separate Pro/Elite organizations which are apparently still in existance across the country, not including the tournament pro teams...

California Elite
MLRH..no announcement of it's demise has yet been made
PIHA...apparently it is not a part of this new group
XIHL....announced but teams, schedules, locations etc. etc. are not even established yet

How confusing is this to everyone involved in the industry from the fans to the players??????

MLRH and PIHA have some history and a leg up for recognition, but are now competing with a third organization for players and venues..when they were having enough trouble keeping things stable and growing....This splintering is now total madness in my opinion, flies in the face of any maketing common sense, and smacks more of ego collisions than effective planning.

My point....all of you get back to the f******g table and get your collective act behind the same set of wheels, and fast before you lose the interest of the whole community.

[GROWL]

I can tell you this. MLRH, PIHA, and IHA are all involved in this. Trying to be as allusive as possible without being the one to stir the pot. I believe all of Major league's teams will be involved in the new league, but not all of it's management. THe involvement of Charlie Yoder and Benny shows PIHA's and IHA's intentions, even though announcements hyave yet to be made. Give it time and things will be fully revealed.

[SpiderRat]

Wow, are we angry for some reason?? My take on this subject, I'm sure you were all waiting, after reading between the lines, is this, MLRH and PIHA will be the same leagues as in the past. Just joining under one umbrella. Sharing the same name, XIHL. Charlie ran PIHA, Steve, for the most part, ran MLRH. Now, with one league name, I personally think this will strengthen and add credibility to the sport. Fans of both styles of play will be able to following matters easily. Two separate seasons allows players from both leagues to play without having to pick between the two in late spring when one league was ending, and the other starting. Listen, I think the three of them, Charlie, Steve and Benny, made sure the interest of the players, owners and fans was going to be met before ever signing off on anything. I have total faith in the fact that these three gentlemen, will lead our sport towards bigger, better and greater things to come. I'm not sure if your a player, but I am and was extremely excited when the news was released. And even more excited in the fact that Steve, Charlie and Benny, have joined together. Finally, something positive for inline hockey. Embrace their idea. Give it a shot. Who know, this could be exactly what we have been waiting for. Fans and players.

[jamie20]

This didn't just happen overnight. They have been working on this since last year. Good things come to those who wait! And no one is as impatient as me.

[yokes]

Ill second that 1. 2 goals will never happen again Jame, never!!!

Goalies do it better with their eyes closed!!

[MDE3]

That would all be true if MLRH has gone away, and if in fact Piha is actually under the same umbrella as XIHL, but I think there is more information on all of this stuff yet to come.

I have not seen anything from Charley about PIHA being officially part of XIHA..or any information that MLRH has become defunct...In fact there is an announcement of the MLRH superleague..referenced in the above posts...So just what is happening hmmmmm?

...Hence my not so much just anger, but anger and frustration as what appears to be more splintering, not unification occurs.

Maybe it's just my perspective, but....I would hazard a guess that not everyone in the industry is really headed in the same direction.

[Sniper1]

You, impatient?
Yeah, I'll second that emotion.


Ralph T

[patrick14]

Why is everyone leaving out Speedhockey? They are going to need fans,arenas and players as well.

[MDE3]

Umm....anyone?....

[SpiderRat]

SpeedHockey's a joke. It's going to hurt the sport just like Pro Beach did. Square rink, give me a break.

[5_hole_master]

speed hockey will never even get started, especially with the XIHL starting up...

[GROWL]

COMPLETELY AGREED!!!