Recently we wondered out loud (you know what we mean) about the motives of the conservative Goldwater Institute in it's obvious mean-spirited bid to sink the city of Glendale's attempts to keep the Phoenix Coyotes from moving back to Canada from which they wisely fled in 1996.

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We wondered how a group claiming to represent tax payers explains its stalling tactics and legal threats that stand to cost the tax payers of Glendale $510 million in lost revenue if the team leaves town.

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It seems there's a potential connection here that we didn't explore but ESPN.com's Scott Burnside explained in great detail today.

â†µ Questionable motives in Phoenix Coyotes ownership saga - ESPN

Politics? Personal profile? How about the tight connection between Goldwater Institute board members and the Arizona Diamondbacks? Does it somehow help the Diamondbacks in a hardscrabble economy if the Coyotes leave town? â†µ

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The tie that Burnside is talking about it is Randy Kendrick, wife of Diamondback owner Ken Kendrick, who sits on the board of the Goldwater Institute Of Hockey-Hating Hypocrites.

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The Diamondbacks, for their part, deny any involvement despite the appearance of a Kendrick connection.

â†µ Randy Kendrick: No involvement Goldwater Coyotes decision | Phoenix Business Journal

"I would never use my position on the board to benefit my husband’s business." Kendrick said, adding she turned down an offer to meet with Hulsizer. â†µ

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Perhaps the inexplicable position of the Goldwater Institute has no relationship to the relationship between Ken Kendrick and his wife Randy, the GWI board member.

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Maybe they just love Canada more than they love America.