This is an ironic connection considering I am from Atlanta. When ATL Spirit took over the Hawks, Atlanta was one of the worst franchises in the NBA. Since then, they have become a playoff team, and are very good. I am not a huge basketball fan so I do not follow the Hawks very closely, but they have gotten a lot better since ATL Spirit took over. The Hockey team that Spirit owns (Atlanta Thrashers) is a very weak franchise. They have had very few good years and their attendance is awful. Recently, it came out that Spirit will either try to move the team to another city, or sell it. To be fair, any Hockey team in Atlanta isn't going to be very well supported, as the South is not a big place for hockey (Hockey is far behind Baseball, American Football, Basketball in the South)