Hockey team gets its minute of fame for killing bat

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Just when you thought the world learned an invaluable lesson from the Manu Ginobili’s bat-killing incident, a junior league hockey team in Wisconsin shows how sports arenas are still a dangerous place for the winged, nocturnal animals.

During a game on Dec. 15, players on the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL hacked to death a bat which flew onto the ice. The resulting ‘bat-gate’ controversy has resulted in the usual statement of condemnation from PETA and the typical hype that goes along with it (the Gamblers have dubbed this season, ‘The year of the bat’).

But, in true junior league form, the Gamblers are capitalizing on the incident. The team has already made T-shirts and has stolen a page from the 1996 Florida Panthers marketing guide by asking its fans to throw rubber bats on the ice after every goal. All the proceeds from the rubber bat sales are going to support a local wildlife sanctuary.

Oh, and here’s what started the whole thing:

-- Austin Knoblauch