Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sexualization of women’s sports continues with Bikini Hockey League

After the early success of the Lingerie Football League, entrepreneurs have tried to make other women’s sports sexy.
There have been at least five attempts recently to make women’s basketball sexy – the Lingerie Basketball League, Bikini Basketball League, Bikini Basketball Entertainment, Rick’s Basketball Association and Bikini Basketball Association.
Now some geniuses have decided to try the same formula with hockey and the result is: the Bikini Hockey League. (Check out their website and Facebook page.)
With the NHL season on lock out, the Bikini Hockey League has scheduled a Winter Classic exhibition game for Jan. 1 near Detroit. The event will be held at the Great Lakes Sports City Superior Arena in Fraser, Mich.
Yahoo Sports reports that the Bikini Hockey League was created as a reality TV show in which the players live together in a mansion. (Also, check out the article on the fledgling league by TruTV.com)
There’s no telling whether the Bikini Hockey League will make it. Judging from the sexy basketball leagues, it could be a tough sell.


Status of sexy women’s basketball leagues 

The Lingerie Basketball League finished its second season of 12 games on Oct. 12. It features four Los Angeles-based teams.
But the LBL still lists a 2012 championship game between the L.A. Divas and L.A. Glam as “TBA.” (See LBL website and Facebook page. Photo below is of the LBL’s 2011 “Hottie of the year” Nicole Hamilton.)


The Bikini Basketball League never got off the ground. It launched a website in February 2011 that said season one of the league was “coming soon.” As of today, the website remains unchanged. The group’s Twitter feed has been inactive since April 2011.
Bikini Basketball Entertainment is still active, but like the name states is more about entertainment than sport.
“We are not a sports league,” the group says. “BBE produces fun promotional games with our group of players, and play against other team groups. Our group mainly plays 3-on-3 basketball games at different types of venues such as playing street basketball or in small indoor venues.”
(See BBE website and Facebook page.)
Rick’s Basketball Association, formed during the NBA lockout in fall 2011, never got past the planning stages. It was to feature topless dancers from strip clubs owned by Rick’s Cabaret. But it shut down when the NBA players and teams ended their labor dispute, according to the New York Post.
When Rick’s ended its sports league plans, former NBA player Dennis Rodman announced his intention to start a topless basketball team. But he appeared to be all talk and that effort went nowhere.
And lastly there’s the Bikini Basketball Association, which has captured a flurry of media attention lately. (See articles by Forbes, NBC Sports and the Smoking Section.)
The BBA expects to start playing in spring 2013 with such teams as Miami Spice, New York Knockouts, Hollywood Hotties, Orlando Lady Cats, L.A. Ice, Minnesota Mist, Atlanta Peaches and Chicago Crave. (Check out the BBA website, Facebook page and Twitter account.)


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