In Louisville, Hayes Gardner notes USL club Louisville City FC has "unveiled a new crest." The club "moved away from its former logo, which was gold and purple and featured a partial skyline of Louisville." The new crest is "black and purple and is comprised of elements from the city of Louisville's flag." Club President Brad Estes said that the old logo read "Louisville City" but will now read "LouCity" because that is how the team is "more commonly and succinctly known." The new crest for the USL Championship club will "coincide with the opening of Lynn Family Stadium, a soccer-specific venue which will seat 11,700" (Louisville COURIER JOURNAL, 12/17).
TOUGH TIMES: In Chicago, Mike McGraw wrote crowds United Center are "dwindling, the Bulls are losing games they thought they could win, and fan frustration is mounting." McGraw: "Why did management choose to rebuild?" The Bulls' current state was "eminently predictable." But the Bulls "chose to be bad." They "asked for this." They "embraced this." Bulls Exec VP/Basketball Operations John Paxson said, "We went full in. I felt at that time we were doing it for the right reasons and we're trying to get back to where we want to be" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 12/16).
CREATING BUZZ: In Seattle, Scott Hanson notes the XFL Seattle Dragons were "unveiled to the public for the first time Saturday morning with an open practice at Memorial Stadium," and several hundred fans "showed up." Dragons President Ryan Gustafson said that the fan turnout was "indicative of the support the team is getting." He added that ticket sales are "going well, but was not allowed to give specific numbers as the league wants to announce tickets sales for all teams at a later date." XFL Commissioner & CEO Oliver Luck said the league expects Seattle to be one of its "most successful markets" (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/15).
