Joe Kolodziej just resigned from the IIHL!

[Big Chris]

It has been announced today that Joe Kolodziej just resigned as league VP and Pro Player Development Director. He cited 'conflict of intrest' as his reasons.

This might be the single biggest blow to the iihl's already non-existant credibility to date. Joe has been the only owner to keep his bills paid to date and the only person with a league executive title that had any credibility in the iihl at all. With him gone from the iihl managerial picture, (except with his own team,) all that remains is Killbreath.

Interestingly enough he had his press conference for the Detroit entry in the iihl introducing Darren Banks. Apparently it will be on the Michigan Fox affiliates. They are playing a game on Saturday and all tickets will be free.

Talk about desperate. This league has lost 2 coach/GM's in a span of a few days and lost it's only credible league official. Now they plan on having a game free with next to no remaining personel on at least 2 teams?

This might very well be the slowest, nastiest, most dragged out downfall since the XFL. But then again, at least Vince McMahon paid his bills in that failed venture.

Perhaps Paris Hilton can take Joe's place as one of her jobs on her next reality series...

[peetie12]

Chris,

First of all, where did you hear this news about Joe?

Second of all, Joe did NOT own any of the teams in the IIHL. Tom owned the Northern Michigan team, and I've heard that they have been reluctant to pay their fees to the league. In fact, the only teams that have paid their fees to the league have been the three teams that are owned by the same people that own the league (go figure).

You can say what you want about Mike. But the reason this whole thing has struggled has been because Mike has waaaaay too much on his plate because he trusts very few people to handle things the right way. It's not because he's dishonest or for a lack of effort. The guy sleeps maybe two hours a day, was late for Christmas, was on the phone with me when the clock struck midnight last Wednesday...all because he's trying to take care of everything himself. The guy obviously needs some help, but unfortunately for him he keeps alienating those who try to help him.

I've heard rumors that I'm trying to get involved once again with the league. This is NOT the case, since I am a full-time student with too much on my plate to take on another endeavour again.

I hope the league finds a way to survive for the sake of the players who have given up so much to this point.

[hunter49770]

i spoke with joe last night. he resigned alright. peetie, stop defending mike, you dont know the half of whats going on. joe was the only guy in the league that had any connections or experience and rumor is that he has offers from 3 other teams in higher level leagues on the table. i have gotten to know him pretty well the last couple months and if it werent for him there wouldnt have ever been a league. all of the other teams other than lansing were a joke. there isnt even another team in the league with an experienced coach working the bench. gimmie a break.

[peetie12]

i spoke with joe last night. he resigned alright. peetie, stop defending mike, you dont know the half of whats going on.

Actually, I can pretty much guarantee that I know more about what's going on than anybody else. But since these things were told to me in confidence I'll never make them public. It's a little thing called integrity.

[hunter49770]

give me a break peetie, joe held this thing togehter, he got most of the players for the league. what ever confidence you have in mike should have been lost when you had to find your own way home. dont be surprised if he comes out publicly and tells all that has gone on. he is more than unhappy with how the players have been treated and how the league was represented to him. as for someone paying the bills to mike, would you give money to a guy that has not paid his bills? the teams he owns dont even have game jerseys, they are un professional in appearence and in management. the predators are the only professional team in this league. the truth about mike will come out, and you should hope you arent standing next to him when the #@#%&*# hits the fan.

[therealstory]

Very interesting comments everyone. This is Joe Kolodziej. I will not bash the league, but Pettie, you better be careful what you say. Has your buss been paid yet, or are your players still riding in vans? As for who owns what, thats between Tom and I you dont know any details. As for the condition of the league, call Banksy and see what he has to say. We are the only professional organization in the league. The Northern Michigan Predators are the only team with a coach, uniforms, trainer, equipment, bus and true leadership. We as an organization have supported the league concept from its inception, and have invested a tremendous amount of money in the concept. Fans have watched a professional team play against disorganized and unprofessional oponents. It is an embarassment to watch my team destroy other teams that get on a bus and dont have money for hotels or meals. Give me a break, I jumped off a ship that has no idea where its going, and right now i would say Niagara Falls is the destination. The Predators are the only team in our opinion that have paid anything toward the league. Have the Ref's been paid from the league? Ask where our 11K went. How about when we had to personally pay refs because the "league" didnt supply them, and I personally had to have some refs found for that night. A Professional organization is stable in staff, ownership and the arena. The Northern Michigan Predators are the only team that fits that definition. Tom Considine has bent over backwards to accomodate Mike. I have one question, and it needs to be answered. Where has the @#%*#in money gone?!!!

[peetie12]

Easy there Joe,

We're on the same side here, so I'm not sure why you're lashing out at me. It is painfully obvious to everybody in the league that the Predators are in fact the only team that resembles professionalism. I feel bad that you and Tom have gotten into this mess financially. I, too, am out about $500 of my personal cash that went towards team stuff. I know that probably pales in comparison to the financial committment that others have had, but I went from being a player in the league who just wanted to play for fun, to the captain of a sinking ship with the ship's manufacturer completely unwilling to help. For some reason, Mike HAS filled me in on every single detail and nuance about the league. I know about the deals that were supposed to be set up in Northern Michigan, and I know the details about what was actually set up. Of course, all of that now is irrelevant since you are no longer a part of this mess. The more people that run far and fast from the league, the shorter the lifespan will be. And it is unfortunate because there are people who have MONEY or TIME invested in it. My situation was that if I continued to give my MONEY and TIME as a volunteer GM / Player for the Ice Cats, I probably would be worse off with every passing day. It's called cutting your losses, and it sounds like everybody is prepared to do that at this point.

I hate the fact that this stupid league is still passing through my head, but things still havent' been finalized in Athens.

[therealstory]

Peetie, no worries man I am just pissed. This is rediculous. Mike may have given you some info but I assure you he hasnt given you all of it. I am prepared to tell my story and may be holding a press conference to do so if something doesnt get resolved soon. The bottom line is that until Mike came to me he had no money, no players and no teams. This league was built upon what I brought to the table because Mike had no credibility. The SEHL deal wouldnt have happened with out me, the projoy deal or the OGP deal. 70% of the players in the league were recruited by me. I am still with the Preds and continue to try to play because we owe it to the boys. Think about it, any person can conceive an idea for a league, but if they dont have someone that can get it done, all it is is a concept. Mike filed for his company name 2 days after I signed on the contract, its public record. This was done because he needed to do it while I was running the SEHL camp, or no players would even consider playing for him. Its heartbreaking to watch this happen to those of us that worked 16 hrs a day to make it happen to see the $$$ disappear. He still wont tell us where it went.

[Big Chris]

Very interesting comments everyone. This is Joe Kolodziej. I will not bash the league, but Pettie, you better be careful what you say. Has your buss been paid yet, or are your players still riding in vans? As for who owns what, thats between Tom and I you dont know any details. As for the condition of the league, call Banksy and see what he has to say. We are the only professional organization in the league. The Northern Michigan Predators are the only team with a coach, uniforms, trainer, equipment, bus and true leadership. We as an organization have supported the league concept from its inception, and have invested a tremendous amount of money in the concept. Fans have watched a professional team play against disorganized and unprofessional oponents. It is an embarassment to watch my team destroy other teams that get on a bus and dont have money for hotels or meals. Give me a break, I jumped off a ship that has no idea where its going, and right now i would say Niagara Falls is the destination. The Predators are the only team in our opinion that have paid anything toward the league. Have the Ref's been paid from the league? Ask where our 11K went. How about when we had to personally pay refs because the "league" didnt supply them, and I personally had to have some refs found for that night. A Professional organization is stable in staff, ownership and the arena. The Northern Michigan Predators are the only team that fits that definition. Tom Considine has bent over backwards to accomodate Mike. I have one question, and it needs to be answered. Where has the @#%*#in money gone?!!!

I think it is now time for the police and the courts to get involved with this one. Killbreath was on the OSC message boards declaring to the heavens that this could never fail. Making big talk about this league left and right, yet when it came down to professionalism, he has never had what it takes.

The Great Lakes IHA Elite Pro League, The XHI, the Continental Elite Hockey League, International Independant Hockey League. A pretty long list of b.s. from Mr. Killbreath don't you think? Money has disappeared from all of the above yet he has somehow been able to get away with it across the board. Why is that?

It's time for Mr. Killbreath to be held accountable for his actions. As for the 11K Joe, you and everyone who has put any money at all into this thing are asking the exact same question. Based on his track record I can guess the answer but that's another story...

[BigMike]

Killbreath was on the OSC message boards declaring to the heavens that this could never fail. Making big talk about this league left and right, yet when it came down to professionalism, he has never had what it takes


you full of blow Bigchris he was never here

you have been bashing the wrong person with your foul PM"S to boot

will someone with good eyes check Mike Killbreath's ISP if you can find it
The man hasn't posted on this new board that I know of and compare it to what BigChris thinks is his

[BigMike]

peetie12

Joe let the folks know at SDN
it was posted there

[Big Chris]

Killbreath was on the OSC message boards declaring to the heavens that this could never fail. Making big talk about this league left and right, yet when it came down to professionalism, he has never had what it takes


you full of blow Bigchris he was never here

you have been bashing the wrong person with your foul PM"S to boot

will someone with good eyes check Mike Killbreath's ISP if you can find it
The man hasn't posted on this new board that I know of and compare it to what BigChris thinks is his

Sorry Killbreath but I have found undeniable proof that you are indeed who I say you are. The email address that was found after a IP check was:

MKillbreath@aol.com

Be a man for once in your life and be accountable for your actions. You have taken the dreams of too many young players to count and squashed them. You don't even give a crap.

Killbreath, you are a pathetic joke and a predator preying on the dreams of young athletes. You have accomplished nothing but hurting people and I pity you for it.

[BigMike]

that is not my e-mail address
that is Mike's address

[Sewer-rat]

In a time where the $h!t is slowly starting to hit the fan, with Coaches, Gm's, and the VP of the league resigning we must ask ourselves this very important question....

What would "The Masher" think of all this!!! :lol:

[Friendlyref]

Joe,

I am glad to see you got out before you lost too much money. Thats why I jumped off the sinking ship. When it was all said and done with me I was out 2 1/2 weeks pay and 2 months worth of cell phone bills. Thanks to my loving family I will land on my feet. I think anyone associated with this league from an executive standpoint whether it was Joe,Shaun,Tom or myself feels betrayed. Alot of people put in alot of time effort and and hardwork to make this work. But thanks to one individual all that work has gone to waste. The man who runs this league will blame everyone for it's failure when in reality, if he has just listened to us this league would still be running and the players most importantly would be alot better off for it. In the end the players lose out the most. With the exception of the players that Joe and I have helped move up to the next level, the vast majority of the players are not only out of a job and money, but there season is all but lost, and that is a shame. The idea of the league is a good idea. You just need someone who is honest, smart and loyal.

[The Shadow]

Justice must be served. The time has come to alert the authorities to any and all improprieties on the part of the IIHL's "founder". I suggest that the office of the Attorney General of the State of Michigan be notified at once.

[davyd83]

The biggest problem that this league has faced has been itself. The league was hastily organized. NO team was given 6 months to a year to build an organization and credibility within its community. No team was given 6 months to a year to promote itself and establish business relationships and ties within its community. No team, starting this late (the Predators possibly the exception) had enough capital to operate for the season. The league had very few people with experience in minor pro hockey management working for it. Outside of Craig Coxe, (who should have learned a lesson about underfunded organizations from Billy Davidson in El Paso) I don't see too many names that have a day's experience in management, promotion, media relations, sales or any other facet of the business of pro hockey (with the exception of a few players). The SEHL affiliation should have provided some insight to what happens when the proper steps aren't taken in the building of a franchise. The SEHL's predecessor, the ACHL formed hastily and put teams into operation with little time to plan, hire and promote. By Christmas 2002, three of the six original teams were on death's door and a fourth had moved from its original home less than 10 games into the season. The three on deaths door were rescued and subsequently pulled from the league. The only two of the original six that have had success have been Knoxville and Cape Fear (Fayetteville, NC). Not coincidentally, they were the teams that had experienced management and ample lead time and funding to put their organizations together.

This, to me, looks like the equation that has badly hurt many teams:

No management experience + no lead time + insufficient funding = doom!

[hockeyfan]

JOE NEVER OWNED A IIHL HOCKEY TEAM YOU DUMB ASS!

It has been announced today that Joe Kolodziej just resigned as league VP and Pro Player Development Director. He cited 'conflict of intrest' as his reasons.

This might be the single biggest blow to the iihl's already non-existant credibility to date. Joe has been the only owner to keep his bills paid to date and the only person with a league executive title that had any credibility in the iihl at all. With him gone from the iihl managerial picture, (except with his own team,) all that remains is Killbreath.

Interestingly enough he had his press conference for the Detroit entry in the iihl introducing Darren Banks. Apparently it will be on the Michigan Fox affiliates. They are playing a game on Saturday and all tickets will be free.

Talk about desperate. This league has lost 2 coach/GM's in a span of a few days and lost it's only credible league official. Now they plan on having a game free with next to no remaining personel on at least 2 teams?

This might very well be the slowest, nastiest, most dragged out downfall since the XFL. But then again, at least Vince McMahon paid his bills in that failed venture.

Perhaps Paris Hilton can take Joe's place as one of her jobs on her next reality series...

[Big Chris]

I pity you killbreath.