Kopitar and Kings on the Rise

Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar (photo left) and his teammates may not have been able to celebrate the last two nights following road losses to the Rangers and Red Wings, but there already has been---and will be---plenty to celebrate this season for one of the league's youngest and most exciting teams.

The Kings are 4-3-0 to start the season, but the somewhat-unexciting record should not overshadow the good things taking place with the Kings. They are a gifted offensive team, backstopped by an emerging young goaltender in Jonathan Quick, and with a strong defense featuring a nice blend of veterans---headed by 38 year-old Sean O'Donnell and Stanley Cup winner Rob Scuderi---and youngsters---including the talented threesome of Drew Doughty (19), Davis Drewiske (24), and Jack Johnson (22).

(Continue to Jim Cerny's Rink Rap)

K.C. Hockey Fans M.I.A

The city of Kansas City seems to be a little confused right now. Maybe people play head games in relationships by trying to make it seem as though they aren't TOO interested even though they really like somebody, but that won't work when trying to attract a professional sports franchise.

Last night, hockey fans in Kansas City had a chance to show how badly they wanted an NHL team. The Islanders and Kings were staging an exhibition game and only 9,792 fans showed up in an 18,000 seat arena.

That's barely more than half of capacity. And guess what? Tickets were cheap. If you went to the ticket window and mentioned the name of a local sports talk radio station, you could get into the arena for $10 per ticket. There weren't too many takers. In fact, there were so few takers that the upper bowl was completely closed off.

(Continue to Brad's Barbs)