Bill Foley is trying to bring an NHL expansion team to Las Vegas, and so far hes marching in step with Commissioner Gary Bettman. Paul Hornung Packers Jersey .Im an ex-Army guy. I follow orders, Foley told The Canadian Press by phone over the weekend from his home in Northern California. Weve been very careful in our meetings with the NHL administrative staff, just trying to make sure that we do things in the proper fashion. Were not pushy, were not demanding.So far, the 70-year-old millionaire businessman has received permission to run a season-ticket drive and isnt pressing for anything more.The league and its owners — and two-thirds would have to approve a bid — have many questions about a possible venture into the Las Vegas market. Foley points to the citys growing business community.Nevada and Las Vegas in particular are no longer what they were 50 years ago or 40 years ago: a gambling city, kind of a weigh station in the desert, Foley said. A number of software companies, development companies have located in Las Vegas. ... Those companies and those people who work for those companies, thats our target. Those are the people that we want to have come to these games.Foley said that after two days of an initial website launch that 1,500 people had expressed interest in buying season tickets.I think what the ownership group is looking for, and ultimately what I think what would be important to the board, is that local people in Las Vegas are going to support this franchise, not just the local businesses, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last week in Boca Raton, Florida. Because Im not sure its the same thing.In hockey circles, the prospect of a Las Vegas team adds a touch of glamor. Locally, the notion of finally attracting a team in one of North Americas major four sports leagues is enticing.To bring the NHL to Las Vegas, Foley could partner with the Las Vegas-based Maloof family, which previously owned the NBAs Sacramento Kings. Though he lives part-time in California and Whitefish, Montana, and has business ventures in Jacksonville, Florida, Foley and his associates seem well aware of the intricacies of the Las Vegas market.We feel like if we can demonstrate the strong local support for a team, that will go a long ways toward convincing the NHL or persuading the NHL that hockeys viable in Las Vegas, Foley said. Our mission is simply that.A 20,000-seat state-of-the-art arena is being built by AEG and MGM on the strip and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016.Itll be as good as it gets in terms of hockey visibility, Foley said. The arena is being designed around not just concerts and fights and so on. Its being designed around hockey.Another front-runner for expansion, Seattle, doesnt have an arena for an NHL team. Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the New York Islanders are moving next season, has an awkward setup for hockey. Quebec City has the sparkling Quebecor Arena set to open this fall, but Bettman stresses that the building is no guarantee of an NHL team.Were just focused on Las Vegas, Foley said. I cant help anybody else or worry about anybody else. Brett Favre Youth Jersey . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Jace Sternberger Womens Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings have claimed forward Travis Outlaw off waivers under the NBAs new amnesty provision, filling out the frontcourt with another veteran.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Bruins started last season strong only to disappoint at the end with a second-round playoff exit at the hands of the hated Montreal Canadiens. Claude Juliens club is hoping to do the opposite in 2014-15, a season that has been characterized by inconsistency, injuries and problems caused by a salary cap crunch. Until recently, it was easy to forget the Bruins entered this season as the reigning Presidents Trophy winners and a favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Lately, however, it seems Boston is trying to get our attention and remind us what makes the Bruins an intriguing choice to win it all when the chase for the Cup culminates later in 2015. Tuesday evening in Boston, the boys from Beantown will get a chance to see if the progress they have made of late is the sign of even better things to come, or if there is still more work to be done. The Bruins will host the Atlantic Division leaders and theyll carry some momentum into the showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boston enters the divisional battle on a three-game winning streak and also has managed to record a point in nine of its last 10 outings, sporting a 6-1-3 mark over the stretch. Although the Bruins have improved enough to get themselves into a playoff spot at the moment, the club hasnt given up on winning the division title. Winning Tuesdays clash at TD Garden would be a good step toward achieving the goal, but with eight points still separating the Bruins and Lightning, its going to take more than one victory to win the Atlantic. However, the meeting could serve as a message game for Boston, particularly if it goes the way recent encounters between the Bs and Bolts have gone. After all, Tuesdays tilt only marks the first of four scheduled meetings between the clubs during the 2014-15 season, giving Boston ample opportunities to make up ground on the division leaders between now and the end of the regular season. The fact that the final three meetings in 2014-15 will take place from March 12-April 11 means Tuesdays encounter is a tone setter for the entire season series. For the Bruins, it offers a chance to reintroduce themselves to the Lightning, a team that hasnt been competitive in the recent history of this series. The Bruins have taken eight straight from Tampa both overall and at home and the Lightning have been outscored 30-8 while losing their last eight trips to The Hub. Thats an awful lot of bad history for the Lightning to get over, and Boston hopes it can plant a seed of doubt by extending Tamppas miserable record in this series. Rashan Gary Youth Jersey. . The Bolts also lost a 7-3 decision Monday in Philadelphia, getting routed by a Flyers team which normally has trouble beating teams ahead of them in the standings. That was clearly not the case this time. Philly ran the Lighting out of the Wells Fargo Center despite there being a 19-point gap between the clubs in the standings before the puck dropped. Prior to the lopsided setback against the Flyers, Tampa Bay was being hailed in recent weeks as the Easts top team. With the Lightning knocked down one peg in Philadelphia, the Bruins hope to further tarnish Tampas reputation by continuing their dominance in this series. It probably isnt going to help the Lightning that neither star defenseman Victor Hedman nor leading scorer Tyler Johnson are expected to play tonight after getting injured in Mondays game. Hedmans absence could be particularly noticeable, as the big and talented physical defenseman is one of the few guys in the world worthy of garnering comparisons to Boston star blueliner Zdeno Chara. One complaint consistently hurled at the NHL is the regular season is too long and doesnt really matter. The critique works when you cherry pick certain matchups throughout the season, but its pretty clear a game like Tuesdays clash at the Garden is not one that can be dismissed as merely one part of an 82-game slog. There simply is too much for both the Bruins and Lightning to prove for this one to be a dud. On the practical side, Boston simply needs the points to get where it wants to go. You can bet the Bs also are tired of hearing how Tampa is the class of the East when only months ago it was Boston which was most commonly being singled out for that distinction. The Lightning, meanwhile, are the classic case of a young, talented team trying to get over the hump against a rival which was owned the recent battles between the clubs. In boxing, they say styles make fights. This one pits the speed and offensive talent of Tampa Bay against the physical play and defensive prowess of Juliens Bruins. Its obvious Boston has dictated the pace in recent encounters, but in light of the ups and downs the club has faced in 2014-15, this is a chance for the Bs to prove themselves all over. If they are able to impose their will on Tampa once again, then the spotlight will shift ever so slightly to the Boston side until the clubs meet again. We know the importance of this game ... for both teams, Julien said. A big challenge for us, and probably a big challenge for them. ' ' '
