The NHL on Thursday said that the decision to select Kid Rock to play at its All-Star Game in Tampa was "'purely based' on his entertainment value and history as a hockey fan," according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.com. NHL Exec VP & Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer acknowledged the ASG backlash from earlier this week and said that the league did "consider Kid Rock's recent controversies." But he added, "Our sole objective is to choose musical acts to perform at our events and entertain our fans." Mayer said that one reason Kid Rock was hired is "because he's a longtime Red Wings fan -- one who partied with players" after their '08 Stanley Cup victory. Wyshynski noted the Red Wings were also "criticized" for having Kid Rock open Little Caesar's Arena with a concert in August (ESPN.com, 1/18).
FIRE THE CANNONS: In Tampa Bay, Paul Guzzo notes the NHL will "share the spotlight in downtown" next weekend with the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates, which is the "first time the game with its Friday through Sunday activities has overlapped with an event as big as Gasparilla." Organizers have been "meeting for months to create synergy between the events." Mayer said, "We don’t want to infringe on their event and they don’t want to infringe on ours. Yet we want to complement each other." When the pirate ship José Gasparilla "docks at the Tampa Convention Center to kick off the parade Saturday, Jan. 27, it will carry" the Stanley Cup and the "trophy’s NHL custodians -- dressed as swashbucklers." The parade’s grand marshal will be former Lightning C Vincent Lecavalier and rather than "tossing foam cannonballs into the parade crowds as is tradition, the Krewe of Gasparilla will throw soft hockey pucks" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/19).
