A text I received from a b-ball fanatic...

David Stern is doing a deal with New Jersey to acquire Sactown team and leave Seattle in the dust. No media has this info. I heard from a reliable source who is involved in the investor meetings. New Jersey was promised a team first by NBA when they gave up team to Brooklyn.

• Sonicsarena.com
• Rendering of ice hockey rink and seating at proposed new Sonics arena.

Curious about what the proposed new Sonics arena might look like when configured for an NHL game? Well wonder no more: SonicsArena.com has a couple of renderings up online that has visions of Water Bears skating in Megan's head! (Yes, Megan has this ridiculous idea that the team should be named the Seattle Water Bears instead of what we all know it will be called: The Seattle Metropolitans. Silly Megan.)

As far as we know, Seattle doesn't even have an NHL ownership group put together yet, let alone a team in hand. But it's still fun to look at the pictures.

If you can watch this and not get a little teary, you are a monster.

Courtesy of Lindy West.

The former NBA star tweeted this during a recent visit to North Korea...

It's been extensively noted that Kim Jong-un is an avid basketball fan and was a Bulls fanatic in his youth. Judging by this pic from the '90s, he has apparently been a long-time admirer of Rodman as well.

The National Hockey League is proposing a realignment plan that would see the league move from six divisions to four, arranged mostly by time zone, and call for divisional playoffs instead of the current conference playoff system.

Hockey? Who cares, right? Well, interestingly, the proposed plan would leave eight teams each in the two most eastern divisions, but only seven teams each in the two divisions furthest west. But most league observers expect those numbers to be evened up by adding two expansion teams—the perfect opportunity to plug a new Seattle franchise smack dab between Vancouver and San Jose in the seven-team Pacific division.

No rush, because we don't have a new arena yet, and we don't even have an ownership group that we know of. But if the NHL is intent on expanding on the West Coast, Seattle is the obvious place to go.

Last night the Chicago Blackhawks came SO CLOSE to breaking their record-breaking points streak. Their game against the Oilers went into overtime, and all the Oilers had to do was put one into the net. Easy peasy. Done deal. But Hossa came in after a bit of a scramble and won the fucking game. Again. The Blackhawks have yet to lose a game in regulation.

I know I was all "LOSE, BLACKHAWKS, LOSE!" But I've changed my mind. I still hate you, Patrick Kane, but now I just want to see this go on forever. It's too cool and ridiculous to hate.

Here at Slog we like to save you time. So we've cut out the entire NASCAR season to show you all anyone really wanted to see: Saturday's spectacular crash at the Daytona 500 race. Also, here is some fan footage taken by somebody who was sitting seats away from where an errant wheel landed. Then somebody yells "Unbelievable!" The varied reactions are fascinating and unsurprising at the same time. All in all, 28 fans, one driver, and a three-year-old, 22-foot-tall fence were injured. Because it was so effective in the first place, the fence was repaired in time for Sunday's big race.

Less than an hour ago, King County Superior Court judge Douglass North dismissed a lawsuit that attempted to block an arena deal designed to bring pro basketball back to Seattle.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union sued on behalf of maritime industrial interests that move freight though the south downtown flatland, where the arena is proposed, arguing that the city hadn't gauged the impacts of a stadium. They say the deal—involving the City of Seattle, King County, and investor Chris Hansen—would skirt environmental law by predisposing the arena to be built in the Sodo neighborhood. State regulations established in the 1970s require that a project can only be legally cemented after its impacts are examined (for example, on freight mobility) and compared to alternatives (such as building it in a different neighborhood).

But Judge North found that the parties entering a memorandum of understanding for the arena—a preliminary step, not a final agreement—didn't yet require environmental review.

Naturally, Mayor Mike McGinn, who is behind the deal, was elated at the news. “This is a big win in our work to bring the Sonics home to Seattle," he said in a statement to reporters, adding that the city and county councils must still ratify any final plan and that an environmental review must be completed.

Likewise, Seattle City Council member Tim Burgess, an arena supporter who made some tweaks to the arena legislation, noted that the city will "continue forward in our environmental review process" in his own statement. Burgess is challenging McGinn for mayor this year and has been trying to garner as much credit for the deal as possible.

• Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
• The talented but pompous little worm.

Crazy! But I can't wait to see them lose. They play the Sharks tomorrow night, and I really hope they lose. (Which might be unlikely because the Sharks, while they started out strong, haven't been doing well. But! On Tuesday they finally broke their losing streak, so maybe things are looking up?)

I mean, I'm torn. I like to see hockey history happen, but I really dislike Patrick Kane. I really, really do. Fuck you, Patrick Kane, you talented but pompous little worm.

How are you hockey fans feeling about the situation? Let's have a poll!

CBS:

A Nike advertisement with the phrase “I Am The Bullet In The Chamber” has been taken down from Oscar Pistorius’ website after he was charged with murdering his girlfriend.

The advertisement shows the South African double-amputee Olympian in an action shot coming out of the starting blocks.

The bullet thing is a part of the "this my weapon" campaign...

I fucking love hockey. And plenty of you love hockey too. So why aren't we all watching hockey together!?

• Kelly O
• Let's fill this place with hockey fans!

They have poutine (with three different kinds of gravy, including vegan options!), burgers, fish and chips, drink specials for us Slog hockey fans, and a bunch of TVs to show all of the games. Wear your jersey! Bring your foam fingers! Cheer on your favorite teams and laugh when Burrows gets a penalty!

It'll officially start at 5 pm, and here's the game schedule for the evening (obviously feel free to show up early if your favorite team is playing an earlier game—all times PST):

Winnipeg vs Buffalo at 4 pm
Montreal vs NY Rangers at 4 pm
NY Islanders vs Ottawa at 4:30 pm
Toronto vs Tampa Bay at 4:30 pm
San Jose vs St. Louis 5 pm
Detroit vs Nashville (GO PREDS!) 5 pm
Vancouver vs Chicago 5:30 pm
Los Angeles vs Edmonton 7 pm

Next Tuesday, February 19th! Save the date! I'll see you then!

No one will beat this...

If you're not near a TV or in a bar and you'd like to watch the Super Bowl, CBS is streaming it on their site, starting at 3 pm. I guess I should live-Slog the Super Bowl, but I'm busy watching other things right now. Enjoy your sport, Slog.

Almost a third of all Americans believe that God decides the winners of sporting events.

...a new survey from Public Religion Research Institute finds 27% of Americans overall...believe God has a stake in the outcome of sports games — although two-thirds of the nation (66%) say they'll tune in to see what the Almighty decides.

This varies by where people live and what faith, if any, they profess. According to PRRI: 36% of Southerners say that God plays a role in who wins; 28% of Midwesterners; 20% in the Northeast; 15% of Westerners.

This maps to the distribution of religious denominations in the USA. The strongest votes for God's role come from 40% of minority Christians and white evangelical Protestants, 29% from Catholics, 19% from main-line Protestants and 12% of those who claim no denominational identity.

I'd love to see the loser of the Superbowl this year denounce God and swear revenge on Him for tipping the scales in the other team's favor.

Did you watch last night's LA Kings/Edmonton Oilers game? HOLY SHIT. What a fucking roller coaster! With 30 seconds left in the third period, the Kings are up by one and hoping to get their first win of the season. I don't even want to explain what happened... just watch:

Then...

And finally...

Continue reading »

Look, we've established that I'm not a sports guy. But with the second sports scandal this month culminating in a shame-faced tell-all interview, I have to ask: Do sports fans really enjoy having these bullshit narratives slapped on top of their sporting events? Were Te'o's games really more magical because you thought he had a dead girlfriend? Do you enjoy the Olympics more when you find out that the gymnast's mom had cancer, or that the figure skater's whole family was wiped out in a tragic car accident? When the backstories are true, they still feel exploitative and phony when the TV sports reporters relay them over a slow-motion montage of the player looking sad. When these stories aren't true, fans generally feel taken advantage of, and outraged as the sports celebrity goes on a sadfaced apology tour.

Or is the outrage part of the experience? Does getting pissed off at Lance Armstrong count as part of the whole sporting narrative now? Is that something you just count on happening now, as a sports fan? Why isn't it enough that this young person practices all the time, every day, and has become really, really good at the game? Why do we care if they're upstanding moral figures (SPOILER ALERT: they're not really upstanding moral figures) or if they have some tragedy in their past? Why isn't the competition enough?

USA Today:

ESPN and The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday night the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has come to a purchase agreement with a group spearheaded by billionaire Chris Hansen, which would move the team to Seattle. The agreement now requires league approval.

If you don't get NBC, which is supposedly broadcasting three games back-to-back tomorrow, and if you can't make it to the Angry Beaver, which will surely be showing hockey tomorrow, then you could always sign up for NHL's Game Center which is only $50 this year, due to the shortened season.

$50 for almost any game you could ever want to watch! (Some blackouts happen in the playoffs, if a game is being shown on cable in your specific market, which is lame, but even then $50 is still a good deal because then you can watch the games on any computer—even your phone! Just don't cheer or boo on the bus... which I've done.)

Now it's time to talk hockey! How do you feel about your team this year? What are your predictions for the playoffs? I am still mad that Jordin Tootoo is a Red Wing. While Luongo's still with the Canucks (for now), Ryan Kessler is out! He hurt his back diving. Will that fuck up their chances? Will Luongo even play? I miss Ryan Suter already.

HOCKEY!

Sports—especially football—hold the same appeal to me as choking on a hunk of poisoned caramel corn dipped in molten lead. However! I love football a wee bit more when they are lampooned by the geniuses over at Bad Lip Reading. Check it out! (Especially the ref at the 1:03 mark. HILARIOUS!)