GOOD NEWS: 17,500-SEAT ARENA WILL BE BUILT IN HENRICO AFTER ALL

 Briefly told … well, sort of anyway:

NOT TO WORRY, hockey fans. All systems remain 

“GO” for a 17,000-seat coliseum in Henrico County on 

the land where it was scheduled to be part of the $2.4 

billion multi-use GreenSpace project … that was 

scratched recently when rights holders failed to make the 

assigned payments … We’re told there should be an 

announcement “within 90 days” that the arena will be 

built by a nationally-known company … and “all that 

remains is coming up with a league to play in.” … 

Ideally, the local minor-league team would be associated 

with the Washington Capitals if for no other reason than 

proximity … which would seem to limit it to membership 

in the ECHL (formerly known as East Coast Hockey 

League) … because the Caps already have a solid 

working agreement with the Hershey Bears of the 

American Hockey League … Then again, it’s too early to 

discount anything. By the time the facility is finished, 

who knows? An existing National Hockey League team 

might be in the market for a new AHL (triple-A) or 

ECHL (double-A) partner … Also, the NHL has been 

discussing expansion by anywhere from two to four cities 

(Houston, Atlanta and Quebec City have been mentioned 

among others) … and the NHL requires each franchise to 

be affiliated with a team in the AHL … Stay tuned.

ON CBS, SETH DAVIS called out the 

Wisconsin/Brigham Young NCAA tournament game 

officials for a phantom foul that led to a technical called 

against BYU’s MAWOT MAG for pointing up at the 

screen showing a replay of ... driving the baseline and 

tripping over his own feet … Boy, if ever there was a case 

of bad officiating, start to finish, this was the poster child 

of a game … more about what wasn’t called … like 

constant traveling. No question … the Badgers’ JOHN 

MONJE (37 points) had a great game, shooting long 

threes as well as taking the ball to the basket – when, 

most of the time, he ran, didn’t “walk” … too quick for 

the over-matched whistle-tooters to notice as many as five 

steps (probably more) after picking up his dribble. 

MAYBE AARON RODGERS is waiting to sign with a 

team that has a young QB who would welcome him as a 

mentor … you know, like BRET FAVRE did with 

Rodgers in Green Bay? Oops! On second thought, never 

mind.

JOINING THE the chorus of “Laviolette’s gotta go” was 

noted hockey expert and historian BOOMER ESIASON

 … a forever New York Rangers’ fan … who called for 

the ouster of current coach PETER LAVIOLETTE 

during a three-game losing streak snapped by Saturday’s 

5-3 win over Vancouver … despite being outshot 39-13. 

The Broadway Blueshirts scored four goals in the final 

period on six shots, the last into an empty net.

Until next time ...