BRABHAM IS SELLING; WHO'S BUYING IS THE QUESTION

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992                   TAG: 9202130033
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
BRABHAM IS SELLING; WHO'S BUYING IS THE QUESTION
The fate of professional hockey in the Roanoke Valley could be settled today.
Roanoke Valley Rebels owner Henry Brabham, who has decided he wants to sell the East Coast Hockey League franchise, said Wednesday that he will meet today with a group of out-of-town investors who have expressed interest in buying and keeping the club in Vinton for the 1992-93 season.
Brabham refused to reveal the identities of the investors, who approached him after the sale of the team to either of two prospective buyers was voted down by the league's board of governors in Charlotte, N.C., last week.
"I'm going to make them a proposition on keeping the thing here, and that's the way it's going to stand," Brabham said.
Brabham said if he can't strike a deal with the group he will sell the club to another party, which, Brabham said, has plans to move the franchise, most likely to Birmingham, Ala.
"If the group I'm talking with today doesn't take the proposition, then I'm going to sell it to the other people immediately," Brabham said. "They had already contacted me first and I feel like I owe them that, so that's the way it's going to go."
Brabham, 62, who has kept professional hockey alive in the valley for the past decade, said he wants to sell because he is losing money because of poor attendance. The Rebels rank 14th in the 15-team league, averaging 2,070 spectators per game at the 3,216-seat Vinton LancerLot.
\ ECHL Commissioner Pat Kelly said Wednesday he has decided not to suspend Rebels coach Roy Sommer for an incident at the end of the Rebels' 3-1 victory over the Johnstown Chiefs on Sunday at the LancerLot.
Sommer, upset at a couple of late-game officiating calls, charged across the ice in pursuit of referee Chip Tyson after the final horn. Before he could get to Tyson, Sommer was restrained by several of his players. Sommer received a gross misconduct, with a possible suspension at Kelly's discretion.
"There was some verbal abuse, but no physical contact between Roy and the referee, and that was the key part," Kelly said. "Since Roy has kept his nose clean all year, I decided to let him off with a warning only. I think he knows he can't do that again without penalty."
Sommer said if he had been suspended, Brabham likely would have handled the chores on the Rebels' bench in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday.
\ ICE CHIPS: In Greensboro, the Rebels will be without defenseman Mike Barlage, who will be serving an automatic one-game suspension after receiving his third game misconduct of the season Sunday against Johnstown. . . . Friday's game begins a stretch of seven games in nine days for Roanoke Valley. The Rebels return home for the weekend, facing the Knoxville Cherokees on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and the Hampton Roads Admirals on Sunday at 6 p.m. . . . The Rebels have won four straight and nine of their past 11 at home. The road is a much different story, however; they have lost five straight and 15 of their past 16 away from the LancerLot . . . The Louisville Ice Hawks dealt former Rebel Brian Bellefeuille to Knoxville for future considerations.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB