The wiggity wiggity whack hockey playing rapper

I'll admit it, I don't know much about rap. If we're not talking about some old school NWA or perhaps some Kris Kross - I'm a tad clueless. Not that I don't like it. I'm just much more of a Foo Fighters/Boston/Avett Brothers/Led Zep kinda guy. But I caught myself jamming out to some new rap tonight.


^This is Brett McConnachie, who plays for the Tulsa Oilers in the Central Hockey League. He's from the Toronto area. He went to college in Alabama. All in all, Brett seems like a well-rounded young man who happens to play minor league hockey for a living.

Brett may not be an unknown puck-ster for long, however. Turns out that while in college he started dabbling in the hip-hop scene. Next thing you know, he's busting out a funky fresh flow on his freestyles (is that what the kids call it these days?) and slinging a demo tape around the Southeast - all the while trying to follow his childhood dream of being a pro hockey player.

I know what you're saying here. How could a rapper have a better name than Brett McConnachie? The answer - he couldn't. But he settled for the next best thing: "The BowX". Apparently he racked up the PIMs during hockey games and earned the nickname "Penalty Box" - which then was shortened to just "Box" - and with the Alabama drawl it became "Bowx".

Check out "The BowX" at his MySpace page and get nice with the ice that PBowX is spillin'. Or something.

So BowX is now playing for Tulsa in the CHL. But according to a local OK news write-up - he's sold 80,000 copies of his CD while being unsigned. Not bad. 3 goals / 3 assists in 20 games? Meh. I'm thinking he should stick to rapping.

In all seriousness - he's actually a good rapper! Good luck to you where ever you may end up, The BowX!

Big time chest bump to Cousins of Ron Mexico @ The Big Lead

You Can Be the Proud Owner of This Arena

(click to zoom)

Many times when a major piece of real estate is bought and sold, it is done so behind closed doors. Many times, the Average Joes out there like you and me don't have an opportunity to purchase some of the great arenas that come up for sale in this great nation.

This is not one of those times.

The Steel Ice Center in Bethlehem, PA is up for auction. And they're advertising it in the New York Times because, well, they're probably desperate. For only $6.75 million you can be the proud owner of this five year old facility in the heart of steel country, Pennsylvania. It's got two NHL-sized rink but, sadly, no minor league or pro hockey teams. It's up to you to bring that in.

All bids must be in by July 1st at 3PM. I'll be giving it a shot, assuming I can convince a bank that I'm worthy of a $7 million loan. In other words, it's all yours.

Happy bidding!

Punctuation Mark Signed to Minor League Contract

Check out the recent transactions box on the front page of Yahoo! Sports' NHL section.

Things must not be too good up there in Binghamton if they have to resort to signing periods to fill roster spots. I hear the price of an exclamation point was too steep, so they had to settle for the period.

And here's some ice girls cause it's Friday and there's nothing else to post.

(C) New York Islanders