Sports

The niche world of hockey romance novels is gaining public attention after the wife of an NHL player criticized fans of the books who she said had made comments and videos on social media about her husband as " predators and exploiters". Here's what happened when the worlds of professional sports, romance novels and TikTok collided. First there was BookTok. On TikTok, people share book recommendations and reviews under the hashtag #BookTok, and the community has become a powerful force in publishing: More than 100 authors with large followings on BookTok generated $760 million in sales in 2022, a up 60% from 2021, according to Circana BookScan, which tracks print sales. Romance is a big part of the BookTok universe, as is its popular subgenre of hockey romance, which falls under the broad...

There were streakers, kissers and wannabe prize fighters. There were arrests, threats and flying chairs. There were bruises, there was blood and there was beer. So, so much beer. There was plenty of blame to pass around: the fans, the umpires, the team officials, the managers, local broadcasters and radio hosts. Oh, and according to one Cleveland resident, the real instigator causing that evening’s mayhem? The moon. And that’s not a reference to the fans who yanked down their pants and showed Rangers players their backsides. Fifty years ago, chaos descended upon Municipal Stadium on 10-Cent Beer Night. Now, the infamous events of June 4, 1974, when an alcohol-fueled crowd spilled onto the field, confronted players and forced a forfeit, are often viewed in a light-hearted manner, ...