Business Tale of the Tape: Chicago and Philadelphia makes for solid Stanley Cup final

The end of the Montreal Canadiens' improbable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals means smaller Canadian audience numbers for CBC and dramatically lower ratings for RDS, but it makes for a solid showdown between two of the strongest American brands in the National Hockey League. And in that light, the championship round bringing together the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers is great news for the NHL's U.S. television rights holders, NBC and Versus.

It's a worthy follow-up to last year's Stanley Cup final between the eventual 2009 champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the 2008 winners, the Detroit Red Wings; the two most popular road teams in the NHL over the past three years.

There's no Sidney Crosby in this year's Stanley Cup final, but a quick look at the sport business tale of the tape pitting the Blackhawks against the Flyers suggests it might be the best U.S. match-up in at least a decade based on sheer hockey market strength:

Franchise valuation - According to Forbes Magazine, this Stanley Cup series showcases the fifth and seventh highest-valuated franchises in the NHL. Philadelphia is valued at $273 million US while Chicago comes in at $258 M (and rising as the hottest property in the NHL). In 2009, Detroit was fourth while small-market Pittsburgh was middle of the pack.

Overall revenues: It's a meeting between two of the top eight revenue-producing franchises in the NHL. After quadrupling their sponsorship sales since 2007, the Blackhawks are tied for sixth (with Boston) at $106 million US while the Flyers are eighth at $101 million.

Box office revenues: It's #3 (Philly) against #9 (Chicago), each driving well more than $50 million of their revenues at the gate.

Ticket prices: Philadelphia is top-five in the NHL (at $60.25) while seeing the Blackhawks at the United Center is still one of the best bargains in professional hockey at $46.80 (19th overall).

Home attendance: After ranking 29th out of 30 four years ago, the Blackhawks make the Madhouse on Madison the biggest building in the NHL, packing it with more 22,000 fans per game and leading the NHL in attendance for the second straight year. The Flyers average 19,503 at the Wachovia Center; sixth-best in the league.

Road attendance: This final brings together the seventh (Chicago) and 14th (Philadelphia) most popular teams on the road this season.

Media market size: In addition to Versus and NBC, the NHL's U.S.-based sponsors are smiling as they contemplate the third and fourth largest designated market areas (television DMAs) on the continent. Chicago is #3 and Philadelphia is #4.

Regional television audiences: Chicago and Philadelphia were two of the top five U.S. hockey television markets during the 2009-'10 regular season. The Blackhawks drew an average regional audience of 196,800 viewers on Comcast and WGN while the Flyers attracted 147,900. That's #6 and #11 overall in the NHL and #2 and #5 in the U.S.

Hockey market: Forbes Magazine's research suggests this is a clash between the fifth and seventh strongest hockey markets in the NHL and the third and fifth best in the U.S. (based on franchise value attributed to city and market size).

Simply put, the 2010 Stanley Cup final features two of the best marketed U.S. franchises in two of the best hockey markets in the U.S. When one considers both market clout and brand appeal, it's arguably the best U.S. match-up since the Flyers last reached the finals in 1997 against the Detroit Red Wings.

It also comes with important intangibles based on history and tradition: one is an Original Six franchise that hasn't won a Cup since 1961 and the other a first-wave 1969 expansion team that hasn't done so since 1975. It's that hunger -- shared by the respective organizations and their fans -- which will make for good storylines throughout the series beginning Saturday at the United Center.

And good stories make for good ratings.

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It's official: Vancouver for Memphis is worst trade in National Basketball Association history

There have been some lopsided trades in the history of the National Basketball Association.

Among the worst trades ever was the 1980 transaction which sent Robert Parrish and the #3 draft pick who wound up being Kevin McHale to the Boston Celtics for the two Golden State Warrior draft picks who became Joe Barry Carroll and Ricky Brown. Also popping to mind are draft day deals sending Kobe Bryant from Charlotte to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac in 1996 and Dirk Nowitzki from Milwaukee to Dallas for Robert Traylor in 1988...and let's not forget Seattle sending Scottie Pippen to Chicago for Olden Polynice in 1987.

Yet the worst trade in NBA history has to be Milwaukee's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for four players in 1975. Right?

Nope. It's Vancouver for Memphis in time for the 2001-'02 season. With the Memphis Grizzlies currently selling upper bowl season tickets at $5 per game -- that's no typo -- in preparation for their 10th anniversary season in Tennessee, it is now officially the worst trade the NBA has ever seen.

Franchise relocations are never a badge of honour, but this one might even rank as the least satisfying in the history of North American sport.

It's all in the 2009-'10 NBA Composite Power Rankings released Monday by TheSportMarket.biz. TheSportMarket.biz.http://www.facebook.com/thesportmarket?ref=ts#!/photo.php?pid=3702634&id=280702824731

And here's why: For the fifth straight year, Memphis is dead last in the NBA in pure sport business rankings, with an anemic box office of about $325 K US per game. The Grizzlies drew an average of 13,485 fans to the FedEx Forum in 2009-'10, despite offering the NBA's bottom-priced tickets averaging $24.10 a pop.

Let's put that in perspective: in 2000-'01, their last season in Vancouver -- with the relocation imminent and local fans enduring a sixth straight losing season -- the original Grizzlies somehow posted an average attendance of 13,737 at General Motors Place.

It's true that the Grizzlies were the 18th-ranked team on the floor this season, staying in playoff contention until the final weeks of the season. Yet that makes their plight in Memphis even more troubling for the NBA, which saw the original Grizzlies make the move south-east despite considerably stronger box office results in their six seasons in Vancouver. And that was despite the fact Vancouver's Grizz never had even a sniff of a playoff berth.

The relocation of the once-proud Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans (2002) isn't working out much better, but the Katrina factor is still in play there. It's also ridiculous that Seattle no longer has its Sonics, but last year's controversial move to Oklahoma City is so far, so good on and off the floor, with the Thunder in the playoffs and earning almost three times what the Grizzlies take in every night in ticket sales.

When it comes to basketball market swaps ranking as significant upgrades, you have Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960, which created a lucrative heritage brand for the Lakers and -- on and off the court -- one of the most consistently high-performing basketball franchises on the planet. http://thesportmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/nbas-la-lakers-continue-to-fire-on-all.html
But at the other end of the spectrum, we have Vancouver to Memphis in 2001...a trade that is looking worse every season, for the Grizzlies in particular and for the NBA in general.

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