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So I just wanted to take a minute and give my two cents on all the changes that have taken place. I have met the new owners, and I really am excited about the way the talk and the way they carry themselves when it comes to hockey in Fayetteville. I admit, the whole name change thing kinda hit me hard ... I wasn't expecting it ... but I am not gonna bash the idea! They really put a lot of thought into it all and it fits their marketing scheme well ... Anthony (the ant) is a good friend of mine and I was absolutely floored to think he wouldn't be around anymore ... but, I have looked at the "Marky" situation and I again am seeing where their marketing scheme fits with the Fox ... so I won't bash him either ... in fact, I was at the unveiling and I like the guy, but he has to grow on ya a bit!! My biggest, and best praise ... has to go to the front office of the Marksmen ... these guys and gals are putting their feet on the ground and running ... they have created some fabulous package deals with sponsors ... they are concentrating on raising attendance back and even beyond the glory days of the FireAntz ... the season ticket program the have now is amazing and I even bought and extra seat this year because of it ... As a fan and a loyal follower, myself and Piehole and Iceman and many others have been saying for the last couple of years that we needed to mix things up and take some drastic measures to get butts back in the seats, and these guys are doing that!! I can hardly wait til our 1st military night this year, cause I think we will see record numbers like we used to have!!! Many people have got mad and even vowed to boycott the team ... WHY?? Because they kept hockey alive in Fayetteville!? I think some people are still clouded in their vision to not see that the Antz were about to be another casualty ... The attendance for the last two years has been PATHETIC!! As a Florence native, and a former Pee Dee Cyclones fan ... let me tell you, it sucks to lose hockey!! To have nothing ... that's how I became an Antz fan ... that's why I drive 88 miles to see them play ... I bet if you ask the die hard Columbus fans they would tell you, that if someone came in and kept hockey there but changed the name and mascot, they probably wouldn't be mad but for a minute!! I say to all of the people who are skeptical ... or doubtful ... give these guys a chance!! I have seen SO MUCH being done this offseason from the front office ... I am truly excited about it!! Let's go Marksmen!!

I agree with everything you ar saying WLGT. I've also have met the owners over a couple beers at a swamp dog's game. They will improve the attendance. They've already added cameras and show replays on the marquee. With Jeff Longo and his experience in the hockey world, I see good things in the furture for our Marksmen. I'm looking forward to hockey.

http://www.cityviewnc.com/2017/09/06/154231/fayetteville-marksmen#.WbNEaRfOZpo.facebook It's about more than the sport, if the recently rebranded Fayetteville Marksmen hockey team shoots their shot right. "Our mission is to get people into the building for every reason other than hockey," new co-owner and team president Jeff Longo told the North State Journal in May. "Then, the hockey speaks for itself."

I've always told the last owners it would be better to put a butt in a seat for $5.00 than 10-15 bucks and no butts.

Nice article. Ive always believed what the article included. Get the casual fans there some way or another and put a quality product on the ice and most people will enjoy the excitement of the game and come back for more. Best way is to have a packed house where the crowd is loud and into the games. The players feed off of all the fans as well. We had some good crowds last year in Roanoke, it makes a total difference in the enjoyment of the games for everybody. Some of the best times were by a promotion our echl team would do back in the day. $5 dollar tickets for everyone to get in for one game a year they called "Pack the Roundhouse Night". Nothing like every seat filled and close to 9,000 loud fans. It brought the casual fan out and im sure a few of them are hardcore fans now. I like your teams new owners they seem to know what they are doing and I surely hope they turn the attendance around so we can be rivals in the league for a long time. Glad to see owners are helping them out to, like they should be. Nobody in the league is really close enough to steal any other teams fan bases. So they should all be sharing tips with each other to help grow the stability of the league. Getting close to season, just a little over a month and a week. Im ready for our first showdown October 20th!!!!!!!!

Another Tim Boyle article: Hingham’s Tim Boyle holding onto NHL dream

I'm sure the FHL loves their only southern team saying, "we're just doing this to get an SPHL team." lol

This league's business model is unsustainable as it stands at the moment. The Columbus situation proves that. Member teams need to be able to prove that they can cover the full expense of playing the season without selling a single ticket with a performance bond before they are approved to play. Teams must have adequate staffing to sell tickets and sponsorships, do public relations, create a first-class website, and provide a quality webcast. Teams must share best practices for sponsorship, group and season ticket sales. The league needs to invest in educating team staffers in sales techniques and marketing. Anyone wanting to buy into the league would be vetted to the point that it would feel intrusive, because it has to be. Can't have another Danny Smith.

The "reaction" emojis are like a marriage- first, love at first click, then sad, then confused, then ha-ha, and finally just thanks.

March 1st looked interesting - until I found out it's not "Win Tickets for a Trip to a Tropical Island Night".

Please take your time to proofread before you post on here because the majority of us are trying to decipher and interpret what you're trying to tell us due to your lack of grammatical skills and/or literacy.

I guess you never showed to a game where Strukoff, Rivait, and Campagna were willing to drop the gloves...... Not to mention Thompson.....

Will be there for sure.It has been a long 16 years since we had hockey in B'ham.Sad to hear Dave Semenko has passed away.He was a thorn in our side when the Bulls and Edmonton faced off in WHA action.Always entertaining to watch him protecting The Great One.

Ok thanks. I thought maybe you were a dedicated $2 beer drinker. When I retire, I plan to travel around the country for $2 beer nights at every arena that has them. My guess is not to many NHL games. But probably most minor league teams have it at least once a year.

G.R.I.T.S.?

Wondering how many times a dead horse can be beaten????????

From: WEAR-TV-Pensacola > News > Local

These 2 guys (co-owners) own a team from Charlotte, and its not the checkers (as I previously thought). Its a junior team, called the Charlotte Rush which plays in the USPHL. I think from what us, Fayetteville fans (have seen so far and what we have heard will happen) I believe we are in good hands. I see a bright future for Fayetteville hockey.

At least it's in the afternoon, between morning and evening services. That way, fans can pray for the team in the AM and rejoice or repent in the PM.

Signings are looking good so far. If we can just get the last 4 signed off our list. Tatrn, Brewer, Ty and Spraggs. I seen Spraggs is coming back to play again if we sign him from his wife's blog. Glad to hear that, wasn't sure considering they are due to have a baby in December. Haven't heard anything on Todd Hosmer. Believe he will probably stay retired. Wouldn't mind having Gintoli, Driscoll, and even Vernace back.

Looking good to me to. Works fine. I believe jmc maybe just going scenile.

Your tweet posts appear just fine, Marksmen119. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, but I'd rather poke MacGuy in the eye with a hockey stick. So keep on the way you've been doing it, and I'll work on my own plan. Thanks for your support.

Very cool. I hope they get lots of names.

As an individual I agree with you. But, as you immediately point out, hockey is a business. A performance bond guaranteeing you could survive to the end of the season under any condition is simply business capital. In order to maintain their lines of credit for day-to-day operations, business are often required to maintain a minimum amount of capital in the bank. Why would this be any different? Yes, it increases the initial investment to start a franchise. But it would dissuade the kind of mid-season collapses we've seen in the FHL. Cost-conscious owners should crunch hard numbers at the beginning of every summer. If business conditions are bad and they question whether they'd survive the upcoming season, why risk the performance bond? Shut down before the season starts. Don't drop the puck and hope you can keep the doors open until playoffs. Hope is not a business plan.

1. In Twitter, go to to the Tweet you want to embed. 2. Click on the More icon (∨) in the upper right corner and select Embed Tweet. 3. When the Embed this Tweet window appears, Copy the highlighted code. Then close the window by clicking on the X in the upper right corner. 4. a. Go to the thread in SPHL Forums you want to add the tweet to and click Reply to this topic... at the bottom. or b. Click Start new topic in the Forum you want to start a new thread in and enter a Title for the thread. 5. Click Source on the left end of the Tools bar to enter HTML editing mode. 6. Paste the code you copied previously. Then click Source again to close HTML editing mode. 7. Add any text you want to the post and then... a. Click Submit Reply to add the post. or... b. Click Submit Topic to create the new thread.

Since you tout your own experience... If you discovered yourself running the SPHL in lieu of Combs, what would you do? What changes would you make to improve the stability of the existing league and to encourage sustainable new franchises?

Then you should wear a Preds jersey. Even closer without being the home team. And they knocked the Blues out of the playoffs last season.

Yeah, that's how I roll sometimes. Gotta give the missus something new to needle me about.

The issue for mobile and tablet users has been fixed. You will no longer have to swipe to get the menu...merely press the button.

Yes, Virginia, there is a "Thanks." Put the arrow over the "heart", which is "Like", then sweep left over each emoticon- you will see "Sad", then "Confused", then "Haha" (not Clinton-Dix formerly of the Crimson Tide and now with the Green Bay Packers), and finally at the far left "Thanks".

Added to list. Thanks, Lumps.

Only they're not "Thanks" any more, they're "Reactions." Must be the emotionally-neutral version.

That is correct.

Or maybe he didnt want to take the call up (just like Hauswirth didn't want to, who had his reasons), just saying....

The game of hockey has changed to include the NHL. We don't see as many fights like the old days. We have enforcers when needed that can actually play a position. It's about scoring goals. I'm ready for some hockey.

Inching up on 2/3-rds of the way to Volstate's goal. In hockey terms, that means the puck is less than a stride outside the blue line of our attacking zone. So all it needs is some one to carry it across the line along the boards and initiate a few passes to spread the opposing D. Then a crisp pass to a sniper in the high slot, who will pick the five hole & put it in the back of the net for the OT winner.

http://marksmenhockey.com/news/marky-marksmen-unveiled-as-mascot/ Fayetteville, N.C- The Fayetteville Marksmen have unveiled their mascot and the winning submission of the “Name the Mascot” contest. At a special event on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at Cross Creek Mall, the team showcased Marky Marksmen for the first time. About Marky: The son of Martha and Michael J. Marksmen, Marky Marksmen is a native of Fayetteville, being born just outside of the Cross Creek Mall in the Spring of 2012. Soon after his first birthday, Martha and Michael J., along with Marky and his three brothers, moved to California. While there, Marky auditioned for the part of the fox in the music video for the hit single What Does the Fox Say?, eventually losing out to computer generated look-alike.

The USHL would be quite a come-down (and let-down) from the AHL level that Peoria fans were used to. And do you really think a USHL team would fill the arena??? Talk about fans disguised as empty seats! And how would the bearded one react?

In case you weren't where you could see it - a view of the totality portion of the solar eclipse as seen from the land of Ice Bears: Shot with an un-enhanced iPhone 7.

Actually, I meant to type "I'm NOT completely familiar" - fixed my original post. But your points are valid. Though Jim Combs ultimately has to represent the collective wishes of the League's constuent owners, it does seem from a public perspective that he has a significant influence on major decisions. So if indeed he was a contributor to operating cost increases, then he must own part of the responsibility for failures (Lousiana, Columbus?) as well as for successes in that area (Peoria, maybe someday Evansville?). Though the latter two have certainly contributed to your travel costs concerns.

That is what I get for not paying attention. The new jerseys are not much different but nice. Look like old school Penguins jerseys.

Just now noticed you already got that. I missed it somehow

I'm not completely familiar with all Mr. Combs has done & said during his tenure. But it sure seems to me that he's had a good influence on the League over the last few years, and has represented the owners well to the fan base & sports media.

Reconstruction was done after the Civil War- it can be done again.

Here's an idea: stabilize the existing teams and the business model before adding teams in markets that aren't suitably equipped. It would only make sense in the wake of one the league's foundational organizations (Columbus) going to puppy heaven.

A lot of those players spent the peak of their careers in the SPHL before dropping to the FHL. There's some good talent in the FHL and trying to stay positive with all the FHL pickups.

I will just officially make this the puckcounter tough guy, toughness, rumor thread for the year......given his posting history, I know there will be more threads started this season talking about tough guys and who needs to be signed, etc.....