Kira

There is a Howe Arena in Traverse City...why not one in Detroit? What would be the problem with that? Non-commercial, honoring a Detroit sports legend. I see nothing wrong with it.

Well, thank God it's only the traveling copy and not the real thing.

Amway IS a pyramid scheme. I don't like this at all.

Geez, let those Boston guys have it, and see what happens??? Can't take care of anything!

I'm having a real hard time comprehending all this. What in the hell is going on????

A: Could be Darren Helm. B,C,D: Not sure. E: Kris Draper F: Not sure. G: Tomas Holmstrom H: Looks like Jason Williams. I,J: Not sure. K: Chris Osgood L: Looks like Jim Howard. M: Not sure N: Valtteri Filppula O,P: Not sure. Q: Possibly Brad Stuart. R: Not sure. S: Possibly Jonathan Ericsson T: Almost reminds me of Matt Ellis. U: Not sure V: Evan McGrath. The rest I'm not sure of. If I had a date of what year you were there that might clue me in on some of them. But I'd know Draper, Holmstrom, Jason, Valtteri and Evan's signatures in a heartbeat.

Take the time to go out to Sleeping Bear Dunes. It's a nice little drive out to Empire, and the park has just been named the most beautiful spot in America by one of the travel mags. You can climb the dunes (if you're energetic), and it gives you a great view of both Lake Michigan and Glen Lake. There is also the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, where if you're lucky you might see wildlife of various kinds cross in front of you. I'll warn you, there is a 450 foot dune along the scenic drive...they say it takes 5 minutes to get down to the bottom, but an hour to get back up. My 12-year-old great niece did it, and it took everything she had to get back to the top. DON'T DO IT!!!! Just take your camera and shoot from the top. It's a very nice journey.

Sounds good...make the Hershey bars special dark, 'cause they actually have more antioxidants and are better for you.

Jeanie, you and Dale are DEFINITELY invited to our camp...we try to get site #215 every year, and most likely we'll get it again. I'll call you and let you know for sure. Dimaline, that invite is open to you as well. We'd like to try to get our friends together and have a cookout night where it's pretty much potluck. Art and Kathy will be there and some other friends as well hopefully. So if you wanna stick your head in the door, do so!

I'll second that totally. We love Sleeping Bear and the peninsulas. It's a beautiful area. I know my other half would love to take his boat up and go out on the bay fishing, but we haven't done that yet. Me personally, I simply love vegetating under a tree in the State Park with a good book to read. Downtown TC is always nice to wander as well

I ended up giving Johan directions to Mabel's. We've even run into players in the grocery store. A couple years ago we missed a bunch of the younger guys who had gone to Subway, and my friend Brit ran into some of the guys at Don's. So you never, ever know what will happen or who you'll run into. You're bringing Hank with you??? I can't wait to see him! You'll have to try and get Patrick to see him too - he'll love him!

Okay, as a veteran of training camp (every year since '05), here's a bit of what happens. I usually go up the day before camp opens and wander over to the arena to see who is around. I have talked to Ozzie, Raffi, Andreas Lilja and Paul MacLean over the years...even ended up giving Johan Franzen directions to one of the local restaurants. You never know who will be around. There are a lot less people around the day before, and the guys are a lot more relaxed. Practices start at 9AM. There are usually three teams; Lindsay, Delveccio and Howe. They have a listing of who is on what team. The day starts out on one of the rinks with one of the teams having skating drills, which last about 45 minutes. About 11AM, things switch over to the other rink and there is a scrimmage game between the two squads who didn't do morning drills. Those who did do the drills are pretty much done when the drills are over. The game is 2 30-minute periods, with one minute penalties. Continuous clock. Losing team has to do drills after the game. That's when everyone goes out and waits for whoever is coming out to sign and pose for pics. Most of the guys will pretty much go down the line, but if they think you're just getting their autographs to sell on ebay or whatever, they'll walk away. They know who's sincere, and who's selling. Mike Babcock is one who really can sense them. If he even thinks you're out for selling the stuff, he'll avoid you like the plague. The younger guys will really open up to you, and they're really nice. I have found out over the years that if you call them simply by their last names, it seems kinda rude. If you talk to them and say hi, they seem to like it when you call them by their first names. Don't be rude, don't be pushy. Be patient and kind and they will come to you eventually. Ask politely if you can have a picture taken with them, and you usually aren't disappointed. The only one I haven't met (besides the new guys, of course) is Todd Bertuzzi. I'm hoping to remedy that this year. For those of you who will be there, look for a dog with service animal tags on him. Ten to one it will be my Loki, and I'll be close by. I would love to meet any of my fellow LGW posters!

The infamous "Two Kids and a Goat" line. Pasha and Boyd Devereaux feeding Hullie and just killing the opposition. They may have been a third or fourth-tier line, but damn, they could do some serious damage when they wanted to.

They have added two extra days to training camp in Traverse City. It will now run from September 17-22. The two extra days are morning skates, with the starting time to be determined. Tickets each day are $10 per person. I've no idea why the two extra days have been added, but I don't care. I'll be there. If anyone else is, that would be nice to get together.

Same here. If I knew I was going to be down that way, I'd make sure you were able to find your way around. Alas, not able to. But I really hope you have a wonderful time.

I certainly didn't need to see this first thing this morning. How sad. Rest in peace, Rick, and walk with angels.

That's true. My hubby and I spent a couple days on our boat this summer at Milliken Marina downtown, and it was great. No problems with people, everyone was nice. Hockeytown Authentics is very cool. Caters to Red Wings and Tigers fans, but the things they have are very neat. Game worn jerseys, game used sticks (I almost got a stick of Pasha's for $100), great pictures, etc. Definitely worth a trip. I've also heard recommendations for Slow's BBQ on Michigan Ave. I hear it's great, though I haven't eaten there yet. I will recommend, however, a little hole in the wall place in Hamtramck called Maine Street Cafe. Great breakfasts, and their chicken Alfredo is good too.

Best thing to do on tickets is to either go to the website or call (313) 396-7575. Check with somewhere like hotels.com or Travelocity on hotel rooms. Most of the reasonably priced hotels/motels are in the suburbs. Fun hockey related stuff to do? Dinner at Hockeytown Cafe - there is a lot of memorabilia on the walls, pictures, jerseys, etc. And the food is good - I'll vouch for that. If you're coming in the day before, maybe Michigan will be playing at home in Ann Arbor. Their games are great fun, and Yost Arena is quite the barn. Bring skates and you can skate at Campus Martius downtown. I know this isn't much help, but take it for what it's worth.

May it never happen again!

Sorry, I'm a little short on sympathy this week.

Well, you have to understand, Loki is a service dog, so that's why he's there with us. He kinda has a special purpose in being there. Over the years, the guys have come to know him, and quite a few of them make a point of stopping to visit and pet him (he even has a bandanna signed by Henrik). Even though he's working, however, there's never a problem with giving him some attention - he loves it. What kind of dog is Regina?

Don't make us choose.

Thanks for the backup, dear.

In a word, no.

At this point in time, I'd have to say yes.