There are actually some positive signs for the organization and a few players — rookie Anze Kopitar and youngsters Alexander Frolov and Michael Cammalleri — having good years on a bad team. But Sports Illustrated online humor columnist Steve Hofstetter has some fun with the Kings' billboards using a hot babe to try to sell hockey in L.A. Excerpt:
If you drive around L.A., you will see many billboards that simply say "Kings Hockey" with a picture of an attractive blonde in a Kings uniform. The good news is that it's Los Angeles, so you can look at the billboard at three miles an hour.I have nothing against a hot blonde. Hey, I spent much of my high school years hoping I could have something against a hot blonde. Anyway, my point is not that hot blondes are bad. They just shouldn't embody Kings hockey.
The idea must be to attract fans by selling sex, something that beer commercials and the LPGA have done for years. But this is not what the Kings need right now. Yes, Elisha Cuthbert is a Kings fan -- but that's the only thing hot and blonde about the team...
I'm not sure what the Kings should advertise instead. Perhaps their family pack, which actually allows you to go to a game with your family for under $100. Maybe their current non-losing streak (though that will end before the glue dries). But certainly not a random hot chick.
How about this -- a billboard with a picture of Wayne Gretzky above the phrase, "Hey, we couldn't win a cup with him, either."