Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“What’s going on, man? Are you okay?” he asks, sympathy bleeding through the receiver. I grind my teeth but force myself to not be an asshole right now.
“Yeah. I need any videos we can get of Onyx that night.” I look at the papers in my hand. “And I need a PI on Josslyn Santos and her family.”
“A PI on…” He pauses. “Who’s Josslyn Santos?”
“He’s a PI. He’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. I’m on it. If you need—”
I hang up before he can finish that sentence. I want answers, not sympathy.
8
JOSSLYN
Present
Fairview Owls Sign Finn Barlow to Three-Year, $37.8 Million Deal
The Athlete first reported on this a few years ago when Hat Trick Sports Group came to our attention. Read the original article here: (3 Stanley Cup Winners and 1 Super Bowl Champion: The Powerhouse Behind Hat Trick Sports Group).
A few years ago, when rumors swirled about who was behind Hat Trick Sports Group, the world seemed to stop. It’s not uncommon to hear about a group of former athletes doing business together, but three former Stanley Cup winners and one Super Bowl champion? That’s something we hadn’t seen before.
When Hat Trick Sports Group announced that they were building a brand-new NHL team from the ground up, it quickly turned into a media frenzy and speculations swirled about what city the team would belong to. No one expected Fairview. With a little less than half the population of Brooklyn, NY, it’s not where you’d expect to have an NHL team, though the city’s inhabitants would beg to differ.
“We live and breathe hockey,” one local said. When asked how they thought this would affect the turnout for Fairview University’s top-tier hockey team, they said, “It would be unfair to compare NHL and college, but I don’t think the Blaze have anything to worry about.”
“We’ll go to both, alternate if we have to,” his partner added with a laugh.
Needless to say, the Fairview Owls haven’t even played their first game and are already the most talked-about team in the league. It’s only been a few hours since it was confirmed that defenseman Finn Barlow—number one draft pick six years ago, Calder Memorial and Conn Smythe Trophy recipient, and Fairview native—is joining the team, but the team website already crashed due to the demand for pre-order jerseys.
When asked about his latest acquisition, Duke said, “It’s a brand-new team and we have a lot to prove. We know he’ll help us do that.”
“We’ve already signed talented guys from the AHL, and now that Barlow is on board, we’re starting off with arguably the most solid blue line in the league,” Fitzgerald added during their press conference this morning.
Also noted in attendance were Nolan Astor, David Banks, and billionaire mogul Henry Duke, who is rumored to be a silent investor in Hat Trick Sports Group. They’ve remained mum on whether or not this means Barlow is also part of their company, and Duke’s lawyer Prescott Sanders declined to comment.
With all of these ties to Fairview, the Owls are hopeful that…
My stomach coils so tight that I’m grateful to be sitting in a parked car. This information may be news to the world, but it isn’t to me. When my Aunt Nina married Lyla Marichal’s father, Albert, I gained a cousin who turned out to be the big sister I’d always wanted. Our families hit it off from the moment we met, and both Lyla and her husband Lachlan have been an integral part of my decision-making for all things basketball, including sponsorships. Lachlan and his friends own Hat Trick Sports Group, a sports entertainment firm in charge of many NIL deals. It was their primary focus until they decided to bring a professional hockey team to Fairview.
When they started talking about the team they wanted to put together, Finn’s name kept coming up, which is understandable. Who wouldn’t want the face of their brand-new team to be a Stanley Cup winner? That he’s a Fairview native is the icing on the cake. Every time his name comes up, I pretend not to hear it. Sometimes I leave the room altogether. My “if I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist” mentality is the only thing that gives me peace of mind. I’m not sure how to feel now that it’s come to an end and I’m being forced to accept that it’s actually happening.
On paper, it shouldn’t matter that he’s here. Fairview is big enough that we wouldn’t run into each other. It helps that hockey is on at the same time as basketball, which means we’ll be busy with our respective sports. But he’s playing for my cousin’s team, which increases the chance of us seeing each other. And worse, it’s summer, which means neither of us is currently playing, so we both have more free time than usual.