Richard Brosal Departs. Good for the UHL. Good for Hockey. Good Riddance.

MAJOR BLOGS - www.majorblogs.net - [Opinion] I come to bury Richard Brosal, not to praise him.

The President and CEO of the United Hockey League (UHL) announced yesterday that he would be stepping down to pursue an opportunity at B2 Networks (See "UHLs Richard Brosal Accepts Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for B2 Networks," RAW FEED, 02.09.07). Good for the UHL. Good for hockey. Good riddance.

Brosal may be the worst league president of an established hockey league in the history of independent professional hockey.
After all, how many leagues can say that their president was involved in a made-for-reality version of The Sopranos?

On Brosal's watch, the league has taken on owners from the crummy to the allegedly criminal.

Let Them Eat Cake

Joe Milano (See: "The Fault Lies Not Within The Stars, but Within Themselves," SZ ), couldn't successfully operate not one, but three hockey franchises in two leagues. Brosal insisted that Milano was a qualified owner, even in the face of the fact that the WPHL, which was contractually obligated to let him try to open two franchises, shut down his Tucson Scorch franchise attempt before they even played a game (See:"Scorch Scratched", MLNSportsZone.com).

Milano's  Columbus Stars were one of the top teams in the league when they financially folded in the shadow of the UHL all-star break.

Milano provides an interesting look at the difference in the way that leagues handle their problem owners.

The CHL has gone in and cleaned up ownership situations gone awry without impacting the fans. Even in the case of Milano's Scorch, the league took care of season ticket holders and other obligations. Class act.

Brosal's Marie Antoinette-like answer to what might happen if Milano tanked his UHL Columbus franchise was:

"The league isn't going to guarantee the season seat holders their money," Brosal said. "Is there any guarantee in life?"

Not a class act.

Yeah, That's the Ticket...

Over the years of our interviews with the UHL president, Brosal never ceased to amaze me, particularly in his ability to spin mendacities that suited his point of view. In the Milano story, I called him to verify a quote that he had made about checking the owner out with the president of the WPHL. He stuck with the story even after Brad Treliving, now the CHL prez, would not corroborate the quote. We gave him two opportunities to revise his remarks before publication. He stuck with the discredited story.

Trashing the UHL

Yet the crowning glory of Brosal's league management missteps was the admission of the Danbury Trashers and owner James Galante (See: "Trashing Danbury," SZ 03.30.06), a masterpiece for the Picasso of bad judgment.

Galante, owner of a waste disposal business in Connecticut, turned over the hockey franchise's operation to his 19 year old son, AJ (See: "What I Want for Christmas," SZ. 12.11.04). Colorful, but hardly the kind of thing to solidify any impressions about the stability of the UHL clubs or their ownership.

In 2004 James Galante allegedly assaulted one of the UHL officiating crew, (See: "Taking Out The Trashers," SZ. 12.10.04), linesman Jim Harper, on Dec. 1 following a highly contentious game in Danbury between the Trashers and the Kalamazoo Wings.

Galante was arrested by Danbury, Connecticut police and charged with assault. Harper intended to prosecute.

Brosal slapped undisclosed fines on Galante and suspended Harper for five games for taking the hit (See: "Owner Jim Galante Slapped & Official Jim Harper Suspended in December Danbury Donnybrook - UHL Hockey ). He put pressure on Harper to drop the charges against Galante.

More was uncovered in the days that followed. Galante was the subject of an FBI investigation into the mob and the trash business that led to his arrest on June 9, 2006 (See: "Reputed mob boss, trash hauler among 29 arrested in federal sweep", Boston Globe/AP (Boston.com). 06.09.06).

Brosal and the UHL were, at the very least, publicly embarrassed in the sting when he was caught on an FBI wiretap tape allegedly trying to "fix" the Harper incident (HEAR the audio at NewsTimesLive.com) in a conversation with an associate of Galante. The first tape excerpt has Galante speaking to Ciro Viento, identified as a Galante "employee", telling him to contact Brosal to make the Harper situation go away. In the second tape snippet, Viento calls Brosal to forward his boss' desires to have Harper drop the assault charge.

Further, the sting revealed that Galante had been allegedly paying players and their wives under the table in violation of UHL salary cap rules.

You would think that the revelation of the the FBI sting tapes, combined with Brosal's applied pressure on an official, and many years of league volatility, the UHL would toss Brosal out on his ear. It didn't happen. Perhaps they think he's doing a great job.

Truly, Dickie B. has shaped the league over his tenure. This is not, in our opinion, to the better.

Even when ESPN's Barry Melrose signed on to the ownership of the Adirondack Ice Hawks, one of the few bright spots in recent league history, it was a band-aid: Melrose bought into the club to save hockey in Glens Falls, NY, his home town. The prior owner had done such a bang-up job of managing the club that the local sherriffs actually conducted a raid during a game to confiscate over $10,000 in concession money to collect on unpaid debts.

Many such stories form the unsavory rep that the league has developed in far too many places, with far too many hockey fans.

Falling A

While the ECHL and the CHL tightened up veteran rules and improved the product on the ice, built new venues and strengthened their ownership groups, the UHL has been slow to improve.

At one point, given all of it, MLN dropped the league to class A status in our review of the leagues. There is no "formal" system for league ranking that is NHL-sponsored. Our lack of esteem came from both the quality of the product on the ice, and from the way that the fans in many of these markets were treated by the league and their owners.

Expansions into markets like Richmond, where numerous failed attempts at hockey have scorched the ice so badly that it would be hard for any owner to succeed, were missteps.

Franchise turnover has been high, even where the ownership groups are less "colorful."

To an outside view it seemed that, as long as the franchise fees cleared, anything went.

We only elevated the league's standing back to AA after they had spent a year without major incidents like the Milano or Brosal cases. Still, when compared to the ECHL or CHL, the UHL seems a poor cousin to us.

Tidying Up

Once Brosal has found himself a comfy desk over at B2, that the governors of the league need to do a little house cleaning.

They need to select a replacement who has some credibility , and can generate stability and real growth for the UHL.

The league has been unwilling, under the Brosal regime, to say what investment criterion they use for their ownership groups. Forcing owners to commit to multiple years and come up with business plans, particularly in markets that have been prior hockey havens, that deal realistically with the marketplace, is getting to be a must. You can no longer reopen in places like Tucson and say that the only reason that the sport failed is because the other guys were jerks, and you are the hockey savior of the city. If you are in a burned market, you need to show how you'll replant, and build again.

The fans of hockey are owed at least that in exchange for their trust, their passion, and their hard-earned entertainment dollars.

Red or Black Smoke

Whomever is going to take over the job will set the tone and direction of the league for many years to come.

If the pick is internal, our concern would be that it will be a continuation of the same policies which brought the UHL down.

Not that they have evidenced any signs of doing so, but if the governors really want to step up to the bar that the CHL and the ECHL have set, they really should look outside of their house for a new leader. That would probably mean interviewing faces from the AHL,ECHL, or CHL, or perhaps Junior hockey management.

We would encourage this. Strongly.

The person entering Brosal's job has some mighty small shoes to fill. Whatever they do has to be an improvement. After all, how much worse can you be than Dicky B?