Cliff is right .. McMorran family’s wish sadly “has been forgotten”.

Cliff Schrader is a friend of mine, but I would never play hockey with him.  If the Icehawks take as many cheap shots next season, as he did in his Times Herald opinion article dated August 1, 2008, they will be banned from the league.

 After beginning his article with an insult aimed at the Icehawks fans and supporters, Cliff quickly turned on Mark Byrne, calling his analysis “voodoo economics”.  Careful Cliff, the last guy that used that term was regretful, as he accepted the role of defending “Reaganomics” as the Vice President.  Reagan later said “we knew that our economic policies were working when they no longer called it ‘Reaganomics’.”

 Cliff then expanded his insult to five other members of the council suggesting they needed “cover’ for their actions.  After all, “This group neither was the first or second on the list of qualified suitors to run the facility.”  Whose list?  I hope he’s not referring to the McMorran Authority.  If they were competent, the council wouldn’t be looking for someone else to manage the facility.  It’s like asking the Detroit Lions to critique the New York Giants chances of repeating as Super Bowl Champs.  How would they know?

 Cliff gets more specific…”Remember, the Icehawks lost $3,000 a day in their 2007-08 United Hockey League season at McMorran -- $2,000 more a day than McMorran loses.” One difference, Cliff – they lost their own money, not taxpayer money.  The fact that they incurred large losses in their maiden season, without crying that they needed to be “bailed out”, and they instead enthusiastically came back for more, probably was the kind of spirit and gumption that made the council take notice.

“Look up, Alan”, Cliff has you in his sights…”Bravo to Councilman Alan Lewandowski's tortured attempt to redefine the Icehawks' threat of leaving town if they can't have their way with us. Lewandowski called it a "misunderstanding." The Icehawks' threat was, without a doubt, their winning shot.”  So what?  Does it come as any surprise that any “hometown” group, labeled as the least favorable by City Management and the McMorran Authority, whose request to make a presentation is denied, would come to the conclusion that they might not be wanted.  One man’s threat is another man’s statement of the obvious.  They layed their cards on the table ahead of time.  Who do you know that would stick around under those circumstances?

Cliff now comes to the defense of his teammates – “Analyzing what took place through the years -- with the actual dollar reduction in McMorran's subsidy and adjusting for inflation -- you easily could make the argument that McMorran's operators have done a good job controlling its deficit.”  I could more easily accept Daryl McCarty playing for the Colorado Avalanche.  Cliff, you need to read some of your previous articles on the McMorran Authority.

You earn time in the box for this one, Cliff - “it's possible McMorran's deficit could double -- even triple -- under Icehawks' management. That may be why the team's officials want you taxpayers on the hook for the deficit, not them.”  Cliff was not only blinded by rage – it affected his hearing.  Mark Byrne said he could not support any of the current proposals in their present form, and that if the assurance of a lower deficit could not be made he would not support the Icehawk’s proposal.  Marty Doorne agreed.  Mayor Brian Moeller stated he would not support a proposal that didn’t eliminate the deficit in four years.  Lonnie Stevens will not support a quarter million dollar termination clause.  Jim Fisher, Alan Lewandowski and Tim McCulloch, seem to be in harmony with these sentiments.  All of the council members want assurance of a better financial arrangement, than what is currently in place.  The Icehawks have legitimate concerns, also.  Much work, and professional negotiation needs to be done to protect all parties.  In the end, it has to be “WIN – WIN, or NO DEAL”.

For this one, you get a game misconduct – “We should be looking forward to the conflict-of-interest forms council members must file this week. Let's see how many of your elected officials report all of that wining and dining in the Icehawks' Red Wings suite at Detroit 's Joe Louis Arena last season. Didn't they know they would be called upon to vote on this management contract bid?  No group of citizens, with the possible exception of the school board, work harder for less compensation.  In an era when county commissioners, earn more than $15,000, plus health and retirement benefits, and township boards are following down the same path, the city council is paid $20.00 per meeting, with the mayor getting $30.00.  To suggest that they were “compromised” by one game in the Icehawks suite is “over the top”.  Just how many of those suites would be rented out, if they could not be used in this manner?  Give me a break!

Finally, Cliff addresses the title of his article, by quoting Morris Snyder, who was McMorran's general manager for 33 years -  “After what happened at Monday's City Council meeting, I went to Mr. Murphy's grave and said a little prayer. Sadly, the McMorran family's wish of a civic center for the community, especially for the kids and not the owners of a professional hockey team, has been forgotten."  Morris Snyder loves to tell the story about how Mr. Murphy was fearful that the McMorran Complex would be misused.  In 1954, city voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to build and operate a convention center.  The McMorran gift was an attempt to provide such a center, without cost to the taxpayers of Port Huron .  Mr. Snyder tells another story about how the first minor hockey league teams felt that the rental for ice time was too expensive, but that Mr. Murphy held firm,  because he saw that the Complex was going to operate with a deficit in its first year.  He was very concerned that the Complex not be a tax burden.  He was a businessman who expected a black bottom line.  Sadly, the McMorran family’s wish of a civic center for the community, not a tax burden, has been forgotten.

As I said at the beginning of this article, Cliff is a friend of mine.  I know that Cliff sees the current council in a friendly light.  He has told me that “this council has seven independent thinkers”.  I know that he feels this is the best council in years.  Friends sometimes disagree and sometimes say hurtful things when they do.  I trust that Cliff did not wish to cross that line with this morning’s article, and I hope that I have not done so with mine.