CBS Sports Network has "committed to airing" the inaugural season of 3ICE, an independent 3-on-3 hockey league debuting next summer, according to Mike DeFabo of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. The nine-week season will air on CBSSN in the U.S., with the championship "slated for CBS." TSN and RDS also have "joined as Canadian broadcast partners." 3ICE Founder & CEO E.J. Johnston estimates that it will take about $10-20M to get the league "up and running, most of which is privately financed by Johnston himself, a team of investors, partnerships and the TV deals." Johnston said, "A 3ICE season is basically a reality TV show with nine episodes. The first eight episodes will be our regular season. Then our ninth is our finale, to use TV speak. That's our championship." To help build a fan base from scratch, Johnston "plans to involve the audience much more than a traditional sports league." He wants fans to "have a say in everything" from picking "tour cities, to selecting team names, to voting on second-round tournament matchups, to adding their voice for controversial on-ice decisions" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/21).
BIG NAMES: USA TODAY's Chris Bumbaca notes several big-name coaches (six of them Hockey HOFers) are "serving as the coaches" of the eight 3ICE teams. The eight coaches are Grant Fuhr, Bryan Trottier, Guy Carbonneau, John LeClair, Angela Ruggiero, Larry Murphy, Joe Mullen and Ed Johnston. Currently, the league has "whittled the list down to 15-20 metropolitan candidates, primarily in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, but also the Midwest" (USA TODAY, 5/21).
