Bush League Chronicle: Harlem Globetrotters to play on ice in support of ending NHL lockout

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Harlem Globetrotters to play on ice in support of ending NHL lockout

Rocket Rivers Rocket Rivers of the Harlem Globetrotters performs during a game against the Washington Generals at Lasker Rink in Central Park on February 9, 2010 in New York City. The Harlem Globetrotters are said to be the first professional basketball team in history to play a game of hoops on ice.

The Harlem Globetrotters are notorious for their success on the hardwood, but now the world's winningest basketball squad is scheduled to take their talents to the ice, at least for one game.

Feeling for hockey-deprived fans, the sporty entertainers will strap on custom cleats and hockey helmets Monday [Jan. 7] for a basketball game on ice against the Global Select at Millennium Park in western Michigan. They say Detroit Red Wings alum Kevin Miller will join them.

Admission will be free. The Globetrotters will play on a conventional court Tuesday at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo.

The frigid affair will take place in Portage, Mich., a small town just outside out of Kalamazoo.

“We hope the NHL can return to the ice as quickly as possible,” said Globetrotters CEO Kurt Schneider. “But in the meantime, we thought the Globetrotters could help fill the void of professional sporting events on an ice surface. And it’s only fitting we play this outdoor game in Michigan, as our tour continues in Kalamazoo the next day.”

Believe it or not, the Globetrotters actually played their first game on ice a couple of years ago in New York. Here is some video from that game.

Via USA Today.