(c) 2008 Michelle Kenneth
Michelle Kenneth began her professional career in Indianapolis, Indiana where she co-founded, along with a group of musicians and humanitarians, The Olive Branch Society, a not-for-profit organization. Due to her extensive work in politics and law, Michelle was elected to serve as the Director of Governmental and World Affairs for the organization.
With Michelle Kenneth, the Olive Branch Society held various fundraisers and community outreach programs, including a fundraiser concert benefiting Adopt-A-Minefield which featured the top acts in Indianapolis. As part of supporting the benefit, the Indianapolis Star published Michelle’s first work, an op-ed piece, on the landmine crisis in war torn areas of the world.
A few months later, Michelle received an onslaught of press coverage as she approached her second project producing and starring in a benefit production of “The Vagina Monologues,” which became the organization’s top fundraiser benefiting various organizations working with victimized women and girls.
After taking a sabbatical for a few years when she moved to New York City, Michelle began to write sporadically, publishing her work in various publications. She did not completely return to writing until she was contacted by Orato.com and became one of their sportswriters with a focus on hockey.
A few months after she started writing for Orato.com, she branched out and began writing for Inside Hockey.com [Inside Hockey is connected to Fox Sports] covering the New Jersey Devils in depth.
She has also had the opportunity to cover many of the special events hosted by the NHL. During her rookie season in the Devils press box, she became the only female and one of four Americans to cover the NHL Exhibition Games in Prague in October 2008.
She also covered the 2009 NHL Winter Classic in Chicago, the 2009 NHL All-Star Games in Montreal, and the 2009/2010 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.
Michelle is also a photographer and has had the opportunity to photograph some of the top NHL players in the league. She uses her best work in her columns. From her photography, she was able to branch out into the art realm. Many of her photographs have been turned into pieces of art. Her most popular collection features Brendan Shanahan entitled “The Shanahan Collection: Shanny in the Artform.”
When not writing about sports, she can be found working on her novel or traveling the world to find new stories and to photograph life. She is currently working on a book project entitled “Losing 100 Pounds of Unhappiness.”
[PLEASE NOTE: This site is about Michelle Kenneth's journey in life. For all news related articles written by Ms. Kenneth, please visit: www.insidehockey.com, www.foxsports.com and msn.com.]
This is the first time I’ve bumped into a real hockey writer. Let me ask you this question.
Do you think hockey would benefit if the NHL reorganized to operate like soccer, without franchises? The top league would be composed of the top teams period.
While I’m here I thought you might like to check out this little known piece of hockey knowledge…. http://rvewong.wordpress.com/about/hockey-tips/why-do-we-tape-our-sticks/
Frankly, I like the way things are in the league right now. Granted, I think there should be much more scrutiny in who the NHL allows to purchase teams…as in…don’t let anyone buy a team if they’re going to be a problem down the road (like the current NY Rangers’ owners). If we were to select who the top teams are, that also raises the issue of WHO the top teams will be. The NHL is more a demographical situation that reaches out to as many people in America as it can with their 30 teams. It gives America an alternative beyond just baseball, basketball, football and Nascar.
I’m also a proponent of having salary caps on individual players (based on a grading scale of their performance and years of service) rather than a team salary cap. I’ve watched way too many great talented players leave the NHL to make more money overseas. The NHL needs to realize that they are now competing with Russia and Europe for professional hockey players. Having a team salary cap will not answer that dilemma. It actually creates a bigger problem and inhibits the NHL.
To reorganize the NHL also means that there will be another lockout. Right now, the way things stand is that it’s the NHL that governs the league and all teams must abide by it’s Constitution. Failure to do so can warrant termination of an owner’s rights to franchise ownership. The franchises are not as free as you would think they are. They are still regulated and policed by the NHL.
Besides, do you know how many players would be out of the job if the NHL switched to only the top teams? The NHL should be expanding, not shrinking.
I think, for me competition is an essential ingredient of sport. Regulations that seek to impede that competition in favor of say Business interests have a tendency to change the “Sport” into some other form of activity such as “Entertainment”. (American baseball people like to refer to their top franchise league as “The Show”).
For me buying a franchise should not be your ticket into the top league of a “Sport”. Entrance to the top league of any sport should be by merit alone. If the Detroit Red Wings can not beat the Ottawa 67′s then they should not be in the top league.
In Soccer they have the concept of relegation and promotion where the bottom teams in a league get relegated to the next lower league while the top teams in a league get promoted to the next higher league. I think this is a very interesting way of ensuring competitiveness as well as team parity.
I would like to see all North American “Sports” franchises including hockey follow the soccer model. I realize however, that this is not in the best interest of any franchise owner as the possibility of relegation would reduce the value of their franchise asset.
Interestingly enough the Soccer model places management teams in financial competition with each other as well as on the field. Poor management or owners soon find themselves relegated out of the league to a level that befits their capability.
Soccer is like a free market.
Great blog
and to pipe in where I probably shouldn’t, I disagree with the assertion that the NHL would run better as an entity more closely resembling how the soccer associations are run world wide. The NHL is a league that caters to North American hockey fans. I’ve had this conversation before about why the NHL will never adopt major traditions from overseas markets… the fans here just don’t care. My .02
Just came across your blog and your bio. Very interesting and I look forward to reading more. I am slowly developing my hockey blog as well on WordPress. Stop by and check it out if you get a moment, I would love some feedback. But I will say again it is a work in progress. My blog is needmorehockey . com
Michelle,
Just ran onto your site while reading some blogs on the NHL. I like your bio combining my two favorite things, activism and the NHL. I’m currently an expat living in Taiwan and play in a hockey league over here. I just started putting some stuff up on my blog.
Cheers again to your writing,
Kurt Wahlgren
kwahlgren.wordpress.com
Impressive
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