Which NHL markets tuned into the Winter Classic? Not a lot of surprises here, except for how Phoenix compared to some of the non-traditional markets. Maybe there's hope for the Yotes yet. Numbers courtesy of our pals at Puck The Media.
"Either Matthew Hulsizer is the greatest negotiator on the face of the earth or Glendale officials are extremely desperate to keep the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) at Jobing.com Arena, as the latest lease proposal pays Hulsizer $197 million over the next five years after he buys the Coyotes for $170 million."
Kobo books is auctioning off an ereader in memory of Pat Burn. All proceeds go to Prostate Cancer Canada. The ereader comes preloaded with the following books: The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys?: And Other Off-The-Wall Stories About Sports...And Life By James Duthie Hockey Dad: True Confessions Of A (Crazy) Hockey Parent By Bob McKenzie The Making Of Slap Shot: Behind The Scenes Of The Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made By Jonathon Jackson The Ovechkin Project: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Hockey’s Most Dangerous Player By Damien Cox and Gare Joyce If you're looking for a Kindle alternative, need some winter reading, and want to support a great cause, check out the auction. The Kobo ereader is autographed by all the authors.
SB Nation is an immense network across all sports, and we're all one big virtual blogging family. Because of that, I wanted to link over to Jeremy Mauss of Mountain West Connection (Mountain West college sports). He is fundraising to get a service dog for his three-year-old son who has Autism, Periventricular Leukomalacia and mild Cerebral Palsy. If you're interested in learning more or would like to donate, please visit the link below.
Mountain West Connection"It sells fans short if you make a deal just to avoid a work stoppage." Gary Bettman at the Ivy Sports Symposium talking lockouts -- not the NHL lockout, but his advice to David Stern regarding an NBA one. The Avslova Factor put together a detailed recap of Bettman and Bill Daly covering everything from lockouts to Olympics, very good stuff.
The Avslova FactorNHL fans will want to check the PlayStation Store right now. Sony and the NHL have just announced an exclusive partnership that enables PS3 owners to watch live hockey games through the NHL GameCenter Live app on the PlayStation Network. The app, which will exist under the Video section of the XMB, will be available for $10 or for free to PlayStation Plus members. The interface of the app should be familiar to anyone that's tried MLB.tv, released earlier this year on PS3. With the app installed, PS3 owners will be able to access features like post-game highlights, team schedules, standings, player stats and profiles, and the full NHL scoreboard. Fans that subscribe to the GameCenter Live service ($169 annually) will get additional features, most notably the ability to stream live out-of-market games and "select" playoff broadcasts. In addition to the live streams, subscribers will get access to full-length and condensed replays of games 48 hours after they air (no blackouts). Included with membership is access to the NHL Vault, which gives you instant access to full replays of classic NHL games, going as far back as the 1960s. NHL's Senior Director of Digital Business Development Alexandre G. Simon told us that the decision to partner with Sony exclusively was an easy one, after a successful experience selling content on the PlayStation Network's video service. According to Simon, the GameCenter app is a huge opportunity for the league to expand its reach to gamers who may be familiar with the NHL games, but haven't had the ability to regularly follow live games. With no ISP restrictions, and with "about half" of fans following out-of-market teams, the GameCenter app might just lure in some new followers -- especially for those who don't subscribe or have access to the Versus cable channel, where the NHL currently resides. -From Joystiq today. PS3 and hockey, two of my favorite things brought together!
Joystiq