Blues Back on the block

The saga of the St. Louis Blues continues to drag on and on. The latest suitor for the stumbling Blues, Dave Checketts of Madison Square Garden fame, has decided to pull out his bid for the team. Checketts' was apparently not impressed with the negotiating style of the Blue's management and let some words of disappointment leak out, through his old friend John Davidson over the weekend.

The team which is owned by Bill and Nancy Laurie has been on the market since June but has yet to find someone willing to give the Lauries their asking price. Considering the state of the team it's not surprising, St. Louis is off to one of its worst starts in its history (11 losses so far and counting) and with an asking price of 150 million dollars, the line up for potential tire kickers is getting shorter and shorter.

The Lauries are adamant that the Blues will stay in St. Louis, and their representatives today continued to toe that line, even if there doesn't appear to be any local people inclined to buy the team at the moment. (Anybody in Saskatoon got 150 million kicking around? It Could be time to rekindle Wild Bill's Dream!)

Vancouver sports fans can help folks fill in the blanks about the Lauries, should anyone be interested. Think back to the days of the Vancouver Grizzlies, at one time the Lauries were involved in a purchase of the Grizzlies from current Canuck owner John McCaw. At the time of that purchase there was talk of the Grizzlies re-locating to the City with the Arch, but as time and history would show, Michael Heisly ended up in the ownership box and he took the team on a dog an pony show, eventually deciding on Memphis as a home. It was a scenario that left a bad taste in Vancouver sport circles for years and to this day has Vancouverites suspicious about McCaw and his commitment to the Vancouver market.

As in many ownership situations, all the participants begin to resemble similar Peas in a pod and all of that. Bottom lines and secret deals are of far more importance than franchise history or dedication of fans.