Whalers and CT state officials denied an ESPN report citing
NHL ownership sources that the team was preparing to announce a
move to Nashville. Whalers Owner Peter Karmanos said he was
"astonished" by the report, adding Nashville is a "cruddy market.
... I've never talked to anyone in Nashville." CT Lt. Gov. Jodi
Rell and Whalers President/GM Jim Rutherford held a noon news
conference yesterday to "quash the report," while the team's
season ticket drive "grinded to a halt" as sales staff "virtually
suspended operations to field calls from anxious customers." NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman called the ESPN report "untrue" and
"unfortunate." Bettman: "I know in fact that the Whalers have
not been in negotiations with Nashville." Gaylord Entertainment,
which has been trying to get an NHL team in Nashville, denied
having had any discussions with the Whalers (Michael Arace,
HARTFORD COURANT, 4/17).
STANDING BY THEIR MAN: Vince Doria, Managing Editor of
ESPN, said the network stands by its story, reported by anchor
Keith Olbermann. Doria: "Keith's sources on this, particularly
one of them, have been excellent sources in the past" (HARTFORD
COURANT, 4/17). Olbermann on Tuesday: "I had no doubt about
that story last night. I have no doubt about that story today."
Karmanos: "ESPN should take some responsibility. Being a
neighbor of Hartford (in Bristol). Those yahoos didn't put us on
the TV set once all season (on the primary ESPN carrier). Now
they file this report. It's like they want us to leave."
COURANT columnist Jeff Jacobs writes after 12 hours on the phone
he "couldn't come up with a sniff to confirm the ESPN story"
(HARTFORD COURANT, 4/17).
BACK TO THE DRIVE: A press conference will be held today to
give results of the ticket drive. Sources say around 2,000
tickets out of a goal of 11,000 have been sold, but that it could
project to 7,000 by the end of the drive (HARTFORD COURANT,
4/17). Rutherford did say yesterday that thus far the corporate
sponsorship aspect of the team's campaign to raise 11,000 season
tickets "is not going as well as it should be" ("SportsCenter,"
ESPN, 4/16).
