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RENTON, Wash. -- Quarterback Russell Wilson announced Monday that he is joining an ownership group led by investor Chris Hansen that is working on building an NBA/NHL arena in Seattles SODO neighborhood.The groups aim is to bring the Sonics back to Seattle.Wilson wrote in The Players Tribune that he became a fan of the Sonics by playing as the team in the video game NBA Jam.I became a SuperSonics fan by playing NBA Jam and watching them on SportsCenter and NBA Inside Stuff, he wrote. I loved their name. I loved their colors. I loved [Shawn] Kemp and [Gary] Payton, and then in later years, I loved watching Ray Allen swish corner threes with that perfect form.Even though we lived in Virginia, I got a Sonics jersey one Christmas and I used to put it on and go play hoops out in front of the house, pretending I was Gary Payton.Wilson also released a statement to The Associated Press.Im blessed and excited to partner with Chris, Wally [Walker], Pete [Nordstrom] and Erik [Nordstrom] and the greatest fans in all of sports to bring the SODO arena to our beloved city, Wilson said. There is no place like the Emerald City. The positive impact sports has on our kids and many generations to come and bringing different cultures and people together is what motivates and inspires me.Hansen and his investment group announced last month that they would pay for the arena with private funds.We couldnt be more thrilled that Russell is joining our partnership and continued efforts to bring the NBA and NHL back to Seattle, Hansen said in a statement to the AP.As you are all aware, we have always kept our focus on doing this for the right reasons -- our love for our city, our love of basketball and our belief that pro sports has the ability to positively influence our youth and bring communities together in a way very few things in this world can. It is with this shared view that we welcome Russell, a young, smart and passionate entrepreneur, as our business partner. We know that his enthusiasm, positivity and never give up attitude will make a huge difference in our effort.The Sonics left Seattle for Oklahoma City before the 2008-09 season.Its crazy to me that kids growing up in Seattle now turn on NBA 2K and they cant even play as the Sonics. It doesnt seem right that theyre gone, Wilson wrote in The Players Tribune. They were a part of my childhood, and I grew up 2,840 miles away.The NBA needs that green and gold back. Seattle needs basketball back. And hockey, too. (The Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917, in case you didnt know.)Pete Carroll was asked Monday about Wilsons involvement.He loves his community, and I think hes interested in being a part of something thats really special here, Carroll said. We all are aware of how dear it is in the hearts of the people around here, and Russell would love to be a part of something like that. I dont know any of the details. I dont know who its with or anything like that, but sounds like fun. Joe Crede Jersey Large . LOUIS -- St. Bo Jackson Jersey Large . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.customwhitesoxjersey.com/custom-luis-aparicio-jersey-large-251p.html . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Cheap Custom White Sox Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Custom Harold Baines Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. NEW YORK -- Dan Bylsma was in a restaurant at a hockey rink when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. His sons game over, he settled in to watch the Canada-U.S. final. "When the puck spun off the boards and Sidney broke from the (faceoff) dot to the net, I got up from my chair," the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach recalled. "I had a pretty good notion that he was going to put that (puck) home for the win." "Mixed emotions, thats for sure," he added. On Saturday, Bylsma was introduced as coach of the U.S. hockey team at the Sochi Olympics, giving him 220 days to scheme against his Penguins captain, not to mention Russian superstar Evgeni Malkin. The participation of NHL players at the 2014 Winter Games has yet to be confirmed. But NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is slated to meet Monday with the NHL Players Association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation to finalize a deal. Other candidates for the Sochi Team USA coaching job were reportedly John Tortorella of the Vancouver Canucks and Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers. Ron Wilson coached the Americans in 2010 at Vancouver. On Friday, USA Hockey named Nashville Predators president and GM David Poile as general manager of the American team. Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero will serve as associate general manager and Anaheim Ducks consultant Brian Burke will be director of player personnel. Bylsma did not hide his lack of international coaching experience. When a reporter referred to him as not having "much experience coaching internationally," Bylsma was quick to correct him. "I dont have any experience," he said. "So very littles wrong." But he said he has already started educating himself and plans to continue consulting others to gain more experience. Bylsma will no doubt be surrounded by experienced assistant coaches and USA Hockey has already made some recommendations. "Its a little bit in Dans court right now to filter through that and well be back together in a few days to see where that takes us," said Poile. The 42-year-old Bylsma noted he was following in the footsteps of 17 U.S. Olympic head coaches. "And what an honour and privilege that is. And a responsibility. I feel the legacy even that runs through Pittsburgh in (Badger) Bob Johnson in 76 and Herb Brooks in 1980," he said. Poile said the U.S. pool of talent may have caught people by surprise in 2010. But while that group will be even more talented in 2014, the Americans will have to face the challenge of playing on bigger ice in Russia. "Weve got to tune up our thinking a little bit and the type of players were going to choose," he said. And while veterans of the 2010 silver-medal squad will form the core of the Sochi roster, Poile said expect "some new and some different typee of players on that team.dddddddddddd" The U.S. team plans an orientation camp for Aug. 25-29 in Washington, D.C. "Hockey in our country has come to a point where winning gold medals is not a miracle, its an expectation," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. Bylsma also referenced the 1980 Miracle on Ice, when an unheralded U.S. team won Olympic gold in Lake Placid. "I think I dreamt about winning an Olympic gold medal longer than Ive dreamed about winning the Stanley Cup," said Bylsma, who won the Cup in 2009 with Pittsburgh. "It dates back to that 1980 team." Asked about the film "Miracle," which tells the story of that 1980 Olympic squad, Bylsma confessed he had watched part of it a few days ago with his son and his sons cousin at the family cottage in Michigan. He knew he was going to be named coach, but had been sworn to secrecy at the time so only his wife knew in the family. "The scene where Herbs in the kitchen and hes having kind of a conversation with his wife, Im like Thats me and thats Mary Beth," he said with a laugh. "I watched half of that movie, just really freshly knowing I was going to be head coach of the team, it was kind of a surreal little moment." Bylsma, winner of the 2011 Jack Adams Award as the NHLs Most Outstanding Coach, as a career NHL coaching record of 201-93-25. As a forward, he played 429 career games from 1995 to 2004 with Los Angeles and Anaheim. "A guy that any player would want to play for, any parent would want their kid playing for," said Flyers right-winger Mike Knuble, who comes from the same area in Michigan and was a workout partner when Bylsma was a player. "Hes an up-and-coming guy. Hes proven that he can win. He coaches in a high-profile city with high-profile players and has shown that he can handle them and handle some of the egos. "When you get those teams together in the Olympics, there are a ton of them. You get 20 different egos going. Guys are used to being the man, so its how youre going to handle that. And I seem to think that he has a good grasp on how to handle egos and keep everyone pulling in the same direction." Shero called Bylsma "a great leader of athletes and players." Bylsma said while he understands the responsibility of his Olympic role, he doesnt see it as taking on the weight of a nation. "I wouldnt use the word weight but it does feel completely different," he said. USA Hockey has once again assembled an impressive braintrust for its national team, with an advisory committee featuring GMs Stan Bowman of Chicago, Paul Holmgren of Philadelphia, Dean Lombardi of Los Angeles, and Dale Tallon of Florida, as well as Pittsburgh scout Don Waddell, a former GM. The group has more than 150 years of NHL GM experience and six Stanley Cups, according to USA Hockey. ' ' '