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  • Greg Wyshynski, ESPNMar 12, 2024, 04:08 PM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

The Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, fronted by former NHL player Anson Carter, has formally requested that the NHL commence with an expansion process aimed at bringing a franchise to the greater Atlanta area for a third time.

Atlanta was previously home to the Flames (1972-1980), who relocated to Calgary, and the Thrashers (1999-2011), who moved to Winnipeg.

The announcement, published on Tuesday by Sportsnet, states that the group is seeking an NHL team for a new arena designed by architect Frank Gehry that will be part of a larger development at the North Point Mall site in Alpharetta, located around 30 minutes from where the Thrashers used to play.

“I have no doubt that the best league in the world will thrive in its return to Metro Atlanta,” said Carter, currently an analyst for TNT broadcast, in a statement. “I have been in dialogue with NHL commissioner [Gary] Bettman since 2019 about an expansion team returning to the Fulton County Metro Atlanta market, knowing that franchise decisions are exclusively decided by the NHL Board of Governors.”

Among the partners mentioned in the announcement are Neil Leibman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports, Aaron Zeigler of Zeigler Automotive Group and New York Life Real Estate investors, who is a partner in the mixed-use land development.

In a statement on Tuesday, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league appreciated the enthusiasm from Carter’s group.

“The League appreciates Anson’s passion for bringing NHL hockey back to the Atlanta area, and he has certainly kept the subject on our radar screen for several years running,” Daly said. “While, as we have made clear, we have no expansion oriented process in place currently, it’s always good to know there is bona fide interest.”

Calls to Simon, Zeigler and Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin were not returned.

Carter is a part owner of the ECHL Atlanta Gladiators hockey team. Carter previously attempted to purchase the Atlanta Hawks, Thrashers and their arena in 2011 with a group called Atlanta Sports and Entertainment, but they were declined by Atlanta Spirit, which owned the teams.

There are other groups interested in bringing the NHL to Atlanta. Vernon Krause, a businessman who has proposed building an 18,000-seat arena in a mixed use development in Forsyth County, told WSB-TV that he met with Bettman in New York. Krause says he believes that if the NHL approves expansion, a team could play in its arena beginning in the 2027-28 season.

Daly told ESPN last September that he was optimistic the third time could be the charm for Atlanta.

“I think some of the challenges that we’ve seen in the past in Atlanta can be overcome,” he said.

“I think times have changed pretty dramatically and the market demographics have changed pretty dramatically since the first time we went there and then again in 1999,” he said. “I think a lot of bigger businesses are in Atlanta [now].”

Daly said the location of the rink will be a key to the success of any potential Atlanta franchise. The Thrashers played in what’s now known as State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Hawks, which is located in the city of Atlanta.

“I also think that rink location will be important with any decision to locate a franchise in Atlanta,” Daly said. “I think if you use the Braves as an example, they struggled, as I understand it, attendance-wise for years, even though they had a very successful team on the field. Their latest stadium is in a perfect location and sells out regularly.”

Bettman has said that expanding beyond 32 teams isn’t a priority for the NHL. But cities continue to show interest in joining the league.

Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and The Smith Entertainment Group announced in January that it has formally requested the NHL to start an expansion process for a potential Utah franchise.

“We have no formal expansion process set up. We’re listening to the expressions of interest and I think it’s fair to say that the Utah expression of interest has been the most aggressive and has carried a lot of energy with it,” Bettman said at the NHL All-Star Game last month.

Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, said he’s had discussions with the NHL about bringing a team there.

“We are talking to the NHL, but it’s got to be good for both of us,” Fertitta said during an interview with Bloomberg News last month.

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11-year-old rejects big haul for rare Skenes card

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January 24, 2025

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11-year-old rejects big haul for rare Skenes card

  • Associated Press

Jan 24, 2025, 06:28 PM ET

The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card — which features Skenes’ autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey — up for auction.

The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years’ worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.

Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card’s owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes’ starts.

While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a “dream come true,” that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.

The team posted on X after the decision that it was “bummed” but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.

Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it would donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.

The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting after an outstanding rookie season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was selected as the NL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game after only 11 starts and finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games.

Skenes said over the weekend he hasn’t thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.

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Notre Dame safety Watts to enter NFL draft

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4 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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Notre Dame safety Watts to enter NFL draft
Jan 24, 2025, 04:19 PM ET

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Two-time All-America safety Xavier Watts will enter the NFL draft rather than return to Notre Dame for a sixth season.

Watts made the announcement on social media Friday, four days after the Irish lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game in Atlanta.

Watts is the No. 4 draft-eligible safety in 2025, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

Watts began his college career as a receiver in 2020 and moved to defense his second season. He had 13 interceptions over the past two seasons, most by any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision. He picked off six passes this season, running one back 100 yards to help Notre Dame seal its win against Southern California. He was voted to the Associated Press All-America first team for two straight years.

Watts, whose hometown is Omaha, Nebraska, could have returned to Notre Dame to use the extra season granted by the NCAA to athletes who were active during the 2020 pandemic season. Most draft analysts project Watts to be selected late in the first round or in the second.

“As I embark on the next chapter of my football journey, I’m filled with pride as I look back on the many memories and people that I’ll forever cherish,” Watts wrote on X. “I hope that my time in the Irish uniform has helped continue the tradition of those that came before me.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

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4 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

  • Associated Press

Jan 24, 2025, 11:20 AM ET

OMAHA, Neb. — Calvin Jones, who rushed for more than 3,000 yards in three seasons at Nebraska and was with the Green Bay Packers when they won the Super Bowl after the 1996 season, has died. He was 54.

Police said Jones’ body was found in the basement of a house in north Omaha on Wednesday night. Police have not confirmed a cause of death pending an autopsy.

A friend of Jones, Jo Dusatko, told the Omaha World-Herald that carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected. She said the furnace in the home was not working and that Jones was using a generator in the basement.

Jones was a high school All-American at Central High School before he went to Nebraska, where he rushed for 3,166 yards and 40 touchdowns and was an All-Big Eight pick in 1992-93.

Jones and Derek Brown formed the tandem called the “We-Backs,” a nod to the Cornhuskers’ I-back position, with Jones the backup to Brown in 1991. Jones’ breakout that season came when he ran 27 times for a Big Eight freshman-record 294 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a 59-23 victory over Kansas. His rushing total against the Jayhawks ranks No. 2 on the Nebraska single-game rushing chart.

Jones declared for the NFL draft in 1994 and was a third-round selection of the Raiders. He appeared in 15 games over two seasons with the Raiders and had a total of 27 carries for 112 yards and two catches for 6 yards. He appeared in one game for the Packers in 1996 but had no carries.

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