After three years, the Columbus Blue Jackets finally have a captain. On Wednesday, the club named Nick Foligno as its new captain, the first since its previous captain Rick Nash was traded to the New York Rangers following the 2011-12 season.
Foligno was a one of two captains during the NHL All-Star Game, which was held in Columbus in January. He is the sixth captain in Blue Jackets history. For more on this news we talked with Aaron Potrzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
Graham Rahal Looking To Spark Indy 500 Revival
Columbus' Graham Rahal is racing in this weekend's Indianapolis 500 and is hoping to help bring a resurgence to open wheel racing. The son of the 1986 Indy 500 winner, Bobby Rahal, races for Hilliard-based Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Rahal, who enters the race with two straight second place finishes, talked with Thomas Bradley about Sunday's race and safety concerns at Indy over the last month.
Shorthanded Cavs Banding Together in Eastern Conference Finals
LeBron James and the rest Cleveland Cavs captured the first game of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. They enter Friday's game two with a chance to take the series back to Cleveland in good shape. With injuries starting to impact the Cavs, their role players are helping them at the right time.
For some insight, we talked with Zach Meisel of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Village Project Update
Plans for the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a “destination attraction” were center-stage in Canton earlier this week as a feasibility study for the Hall of Fame Village was released.
Tim Rudell of Ohio Public Radio member station WKSU was on hand for the release of a feasibility study on the Hall of Fame Village.
The numbers were eye-popping and the sales pitch impressive for how the Hall of Fame Village could transform the region. Fifteen billion dollars and 10,000 jobs could be created during 25 years of economic growth in northeast Ohio, according to project leaders.
Re-development specialist Stuart Lichter, who’s adding this to the more than 140 projects he has guided, including the new Goodyear Headquarters in Akron and the Hoover remake in North Canton said the numbers in the report are big.
“Those numbers are really, really, big. We have our game plan. We have financing sources identified. We’ve got the timing set," he said. "There’ll be pieces over probably the next five years. And hopefully, by the 100th anniversary (of the NFL), you’ll have a new jewel here in Canton.”
Proponents of the project are hoping to have it completed in the next five years in time for the NFL's centennial celebration.