The Islanders are coming home! Sort of.
As part of the run-up to the new arena the Isles and the state of New York are building at Belmont Park, the Isles will play 12 games a season from 2018 to 2021 at the Nassau Coliseum, their home for most of their existence. This doesn’t entirely solve the “Barclays Center is a terrible hockey venue” problem, but it will make the team’s fanbase happier and also frees up some dates at Barclays Center (whose owners are as unhappy with the Isles as the Isles are with the center). And as a bonus, this is most likely making Gary Bettman unhappy, since he continues to insist that the Coliseum is not a fit venue (aka it’s too small).
Oh, and John Tavares likes the Coliseum, so maybe this is another reason for him to re-sign with the Isles.
Beyond this, it’s been a very busy sports week, though most of the news is off the playing fields. And the sports story with the most importance, the scandals at Michigan State, is far more than a sports story. But if you want to talk about the more trivial end of sports, try these topics:
- Blake Griffin traded to the Pistons. Can both teams lose a trade?
- Boogie Cousins out for the season and beyond (ETA: And John Wall and Kevin Love out for two months!)
- The Brewers are making a run at the Cubs
- All hail Roger Federer!
- David Beckham finally gets his MLS team in Miami
- Goodbye, Chief Wahoo (sort of)
- ETA: Alex Smith traded. During Super Bowl Week. Weird timing. Big Trade
- ETA: All hail the Beard!
As ever, all topics are welcome. Even Media Day…sorry, I mean Opening Night…at Super Bowl Week.