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Why Nelly thinks NHL 3-on-3 OT is dope, happy Cubs won

Greg Wyshynski
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Getty Images

ST. LOUIS – As Nelly sang “Hot In Herre,” it was wet out there.

“St. Louis … figure it out. Fifty somethin’ in January. Who would have thunk it? You figure it would have snowed,” he said.

The local hip-hop star and St. Louis Blues fan performed at the NHL Winter Classic PreGame fan fest, as a steady rain fell on the fans about 30 minutes before puck drop against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nelly repped the Blues in his “Country Grammar” video 16 years ago, joining the long line of hip-hop artists rocking NHL sweaters. (See also: Lil Jon and the Thrashers, Snoop and the Ducks, Kriss Kross and the Devils.) What does he think of the new Winter Classic gear?

“I love the color. Soft, snowy blues,” he said. “I got mine. I don’t know about you, but you better get one.”

Getty Images
Getty Images

There were plenty of those jerseys in the crowd at the Winter Classic, where the Blues and Blackhawks took their rivalry outside at Busch Stadium. A die-hard Cardinals fan as well, Nelly said loves the Chicago-St. Louis sports rivalry, because there’s as much respect as there is heat.

“You know what’s so funny: In what I do, St. Louis and Chicago are like brothers. Everybody’s real cool. I’m really cool with [Kanye] and with Twista, and they’re cool with me. But when it comes to sports, it’s the exact opposite. There’s a respect, a mutual respect, though. That’s why I wasn’t totally bummed out that the Cubs won,” he said.

“Because it can’t be a rivalry if one side never wins anything, you know what I’m saying? At least we got something to take from them next year.”

He was bummed he missed the alumni game, where plenty of his childhood favorites were playing for the Blues, because of New Year’s Eve commitments. But he did recently catch an NHL game saw something life-altering: 3-on-3 overtime.

As he tweeted:

“That was sick. When you actually get a chance to see it in action, you see how tired those guys have to be. It’s so fast,” he said, snapping his fingers for emphasis, “they go back and forth, switching lines. It’s dope.”

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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