Watch Out Ty...

Looks like someone is out to kill you. This handwritten note arrived at BSPN BC offices in Vancouver today. I'll just let it speak for itself:Mr. Duperron's exact address has been censored for personal safety. BSPN has contacted the Maple Ridge PD in order to protect Mr. Duperron. We'll update you in every step of the investigation.

Interview With Jordan Kasper

Jon Anderson: Time for an impromptu interview with one Jordan Kasper. As you guys know, I love the guy. And, there's a few guys out there who don't. I'll give you the floor right now, why'd you retire this year, instead of the next?
Jordan: It was a spur of the moment thing, let me give you a little rundown of what happened...
Jon Anderson: Aight. Shoot.
Jordan: I've been feeling pretty lousy about a lot of things lately and my self-esteem is probably lower than it's ever been right now. This is definitely not all about TBN, but a decent portion of it is. Before the whole BOG thing hit the forums, there was a pretty massive argument in the staff forum about it, and it was basically me against everyone else, which is fine. After that blew over I had a talk with Shawn and although I didn't get any names, I found out that quite a few people have a major problem with my attitude, demeanor, and how I supposedly talk down to others. There was a time I wasn't well-liked at all around this community but at that time I thought I was generally respected and to be honest it was crushing to find out that there was so much hostility towards me that nobody was even willing to talk to me about one-on-one. Anyways, even before that I decided to give up my GM position for completely unrelated reasons. I told Ty I'd play for a year to just so he wouldn't lose his highest-rated forward without having a chance to plan for it. I was still feeling really down about everything last night (maybe even more so), and Evans' comment really bothered me, even though I thought it was probably a joke (which in hindsight it was not, he's yet another person who really has a problem with me that I didn't even know about). After thinking about it for a little while, I sent a PM to Ty to serve as official notice of my intent to retire after the upcoming season. I didn't think I'd be around, and didn't want to leave open the chance that I could be auto-signed with my lower rating in Season 7. I also said that if my rating was lowered in arbitration I wanted my retirement to go into effect immediately. During my time as a GM and staff member I was probably the most vocal person about having the best players in the league be the ones that participate the most so I didn't want to waste a roster spot if I was a "replaceable" player. I copied the PM to Randy and also requested that I be banned for a week or so to clear my head before deciding whether to make it permanent, even though I already stopped posting awhile ago. He agreed to do it, but asked to talk to me on MSN first. On there he told me that if I wasn't going to be active or was going to have periods of absence, I should just retire now. Considering my stance all along on activity, I realized I was probably being hypocritical if I kept playing so I decided to make it official right away -- it didn't take much convincing. I then sent a PM to Ty informing him of my decision, along with one to a prominent free agent urging him to consider signing with the Cavaliers to take my place. After that, I was banned and assumed that was it.
Jon Anderson: So, does this mean your done with the BHL in all way, shape, or form? Or will you still hang around, similar to Matt Chambers.
Jordan: I'm done with the BHL, and most likely TBN as a whole. I probably won't ask to have my ban extended, but I'll lurk for awhile and gradually slip away as everything that's made this site great for me over the last decade is pretty much dead for me. The great open forum discussions, the BHL, playing PS3...I don't feel like there's many people left here I can consider a friend.
Jon Anderson: Is it simply the people's attitude that has changed, or is it something else about the league, or the community as a whole that you are disappointed in?
Jordan: I wouldn't say it's a change of attitude, just a change in where I see myself fitting in to this community I guess. There's still quite a few people I like a lot on TBN, but right now I don't think there's more than one or two who see me in a positive light at all. I don't have many friends here anymore and I'm questioning if I ever did since I keep finding out that people have had problems with
Jordan: me but just don't speak up.
Jon Anderson: It seems as if a lot of things are coming out in this community lately, for better, or for worse. Back to the league, there have been rumors flying around that you were unhappy with the way new GM Ty Duperron has handled the team. Is there any truth to that? If so, what specific decision(s) did you have a problem with.
Jordan: I'll answer that, but let me make it perfectly clear that I think Ty will be one of the better GMs in the league and will do a great job keeping the team active and competitive every season. I disagree with some of the personnel moves he's made, but that's only natural -- obviously any former GM would be sad to see the team he put together change so quickly. I do feel a bit misled as Ty led me to believe that he would keep the roster largely intact, but that's fine, he can do whatever he wants with the team. The only thing that I really think he did wrong was passing over the current players on the Cavaliers for management positions, instead bringing in his own people. I believe Norton's "demotion" was a mutual decision, but I know Sattler, Cushen, and Mini were all highly interested in the coaching job and would have definitely liked to be considered for the Assistant GM position as well. I have absolutely nothing against Craig or Danne, but it seemed to me like he was favoring the guys he just brought in over the ones who were really enthusiastic and active during a somewhat difficult season last year and that really rubbed me the wrong way. Again though, that's must my opinion and the team's morale has been pretty high so I very well could be wrong about this.
Jon Anderson: I think either way Montreal would be or is in a good position coming into season 6. There's been talk of retiring your number in Montreal, and I for one fully support this endeavor. Here's my last question: Is there anything you'd like to see changed in the way the league itself runs? I know you stated earlier that you were a strong supporter of the board of governors.
Jordan: I requested to Ty in my retirement notice (and previously when I resigned as GM) not to retire my number. It's pretty clear from his comments today that he's not exactly my biggest fan at the moment so I don't think that's going to be an issue. It's a lot of work and kind of pointless anyways considering how many people have a problem with me or the way I went about my retirement. As far as the league goes, no, I was the only one strongly OPPOSED to the Board of Governors, or at least the way it was originally implemented. I won't go into too much detail since it's been beaten to death since then, but it was first put in place without any notice to the staff or more importantly, to Randy. Giving the veto power to the GMs over every decision without even including the staff in the discussion on how the league is going to run basically made my role completely useless and my opinions a waste of breath. I know that probably wasn't the intention and I think some sort of BOG can work if handled correctly, but I was really offended by that and I think rightfully so. As for advice, I don't really have any. The BHL is a community project so do what makes people happy. I do think Randy has done a phenomenal job as commissioner though and people should respect his judgment and even more importantly his willingness to seek and listen to outside opinions.
Jon Anderson: Well thanks for joining me. You give a good interview. Good luck with whatever goes down, and I still love you.
Jordan: Thanks Jon, take care man.

Jordan Kasper Officially retires

Today, what many believed would happen did-long time BHL fixture Jordan Kasper retired. It was well known that Jordan would be retiring after season 6, and what is believed to be personal issues has pushed his retirement to this year.

Jordan and I used to be really close. I became acquainted with him through the shoutbox, and he was one of the first community members who really accepted me. He was someone who I could talk to about anything. He really helped me confront some problems I'd been having with my dad. I love the guy, enough to ask him to trade for me at the deadline last year. Now, my feelings are different, and I don't want to leave Austin...ever, but that just shows how close we were.

My conversations with Jordan on MSN and in the shoutbox dropped off in the last few months-I've just been busy with high school and haven't had time. Shortly before letting people know that he would be retiring after next season, when that was his plan, he sent a PM to a few guys saying goodbye. He basically said he'd be dropping off in community activity for an amount of time that he didn't know.

Now, this may seem unimportant, but this is just my thoughts on a guy I really liked. I'll try and come in contact with him in the near future for an interview-but I don't know if that's something he'll want to do. Sorry for the hiatus guys.