Atlanta Spirit Trial Over

FINALLY. Actually, the court pretty much threw Belkin's claim out while stating that the other owners can't buy him out, meaning that he is still minority owner unless he sells his shares. The value of his stake in the Atlanta Spirit Group, LLC, has dwindled significantly over the years, so this is a major money loser for him. The whole, horrible situation is over, despite the fact that the outcome isn't really to the advantage of anyone - which is kind of like our season last year.

The only upshot that I can see here is that this leaves them free to sell the team to another local owner who actually cares about hockey and could care less about basketball. They have to sell to a local person because the naming rights to Philips are based upon the NBA and NHL teams BOTH playing there (something that no one remembers when they’re trying to move them to the Yukon or where ever), and if they move, well, good luck finding another company with the spare change to name an arena.

Also, apparently they signed a deal with the NHL promising to not re-locate for a set amount of time after the establishment of the franchise, and the metro area has about 5 million people. If they won’t let Phoenix go anywhere, they’re sure as hell not moving the Thrashers.

So, well, stop panicking. We're fine... for now. Winning'd help out our situation, but like Waddell mentioned at a Town Hall last season, we pay our bills in full and on time. believe it or not, we're an asset to the league.