For the first time since the 2004-05 lockout, the NHL has increased both its attendance and ratings at the midpoint of a season, reports the Sports Business Journal. Through 628 games this season, average reported attendance is up 1.5 percent from 2007-08. The Winter Classic in Chicago at Wrigley Field was cited as a big success. We've said this before, and will keep saying it until someone gives us an award or something. There is no spectator sport which will benefit from the advent of HD more than the NHL. The wider aspect-ratio means you can see much more of the ice and the picture means even novice fans see the puck.People have been wondering all season what happened to Brenda Warner. In St. Louis, the wife of Kurt was famously see and heard everywhere. Broadcasters showed her in the stands after every play and she made the really bad decision to let her feeling about Rams management air on local radio. In Arizona, though, Brenda has been almost invisible. She also seems to have changed her look, oh, just a little. We couldn't bring ourselves to hunt down and post pics of Brenda before and after, like Deadspin did. But we do find it comforting to see Warner with a large-breasted blonde wife. Quarterbacks, even those as devoutly Christian as Warner, are supposed to have large-breasted blondes. It's the natural order.
Anyone who saw Anquan Boldin arguing with his offensive coordinator Todd Haley on the sidelines during the Cardinals/Eagles game probably wondered if the fight was a big deal or just a heat-of-the-moment thing. After all, Warner and Haley were shouting at each other on the sideline in the first half, but had no problem celebrating together after the game. What about Boldin? Nope. In what has got to be one of the most blatant and self-defeating acts of bad sportsmanship on record, Boldin showered quickly and left quickly, without celebrating the NFC championship with his teammates. Mike Freeman got the scoop and calls it the worst display of sportsmanship he has seen in 20 years of covering football.
This one is all over the web. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach. It's the Steelers' Ryan Clark making that late game hit on the Ravens' Willis McGahee. The clip is watchable only because McGahee is expected to make a full recovery.
