Jedi

Per Ansar KHAAAAANNN!!!, here are the lines the Wings are skating with at this morning's practice... Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Brunner Franzen-Filppula-Mursak Cleary-Abdelkader-Bertuzzi Miller-Emmerton-Tootoo Working in - Knuble, Eaves Kronwall-Ericsson Quincey-Smith Kindl-White Colaiacovo-Lashoff.

I think it's been said that Tom Renney is going to be handling the power play this year, which (if true) is a good sign. The Wings finished 22nd in PP% last season, so I'd imagine we'll see an improvement this upcoming year. Amato pretty much picked the lines I would roll with on the PP.

Another word on Journey. If you have a PS3 and you haven't played it yet, do yourself a favor and get it. Although it's the shortest game I've played in a long time, it's easily the best game I've played in a long time too. I've completed it twice now, and I'm close to my third (your character gets a visual upgrade with each completed playthrough), and I'll probably go through it once more to pick up the last few things I've missed. The music, the setting, the story, the visuals. All of it is absolutely superb, and it all culminates to make Journey a game you really get emotionally invested in. Can't recommend it enough. And, I decided Skyrim is my next game, again. Maybe if I'm lucky, the Dragonborn DLC will drop for PS3 while I'm still playing it.

Living in the Sky with Diamonds - Cobra Starship

I've read several of the books that take place after the events of Return of the Jedi. From the books that I've read, one character that stands out in that category would be Grand Admiral Thrawn... (Yes, he's blue with Red Eyes) The Thrawn Crisis takes place 5 years after the RotJ, where the Rebel Alliance has established the New Republic, and the remnants of the Empire are broken and scattered. Thrawn, an absolute military genius, begins to resurrect the Imperial forces and threatens to destroy the New Republic and reestablish the Empire. He fits the description of a powerful and memorable character, though he's not able to use the Force like Vader, the Emperor, etc. The only problem with the Thrawn Crisis, is that it takes place so soon after RotJ. Since it will be well over 30 years since RotJ was filmed, most of the original cast is too old to play the same characters as only 5 years older. So Disney would need to re-cast many (if not all) of the original cast, which is a VERY risky venture.

I likely won't be seeing any games this year. First off, I'm not so eager to give these guys my hard earned money at the moment. Especially since seats are so expensive. Plus, my fiancé is a Stars fan, so if I go then she goes, which means double the cost of going, as well as finding a babysitter for our 14 month old. So, for this season at least, I'll be stuck watching games on the TV, if I even do that.

Can't believe no one has said "Brunette".

Sam Carchidi, Flyers beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that the trade deadline will be April 9th.

A little early for the usual February injury bug...

Just remember, guys. "Little birdy" sources aren't reliable, and shouldn't be posted here on LGW unless you can substantiate it. From the Forum Rules...

Yeah, this will actually be my 2nd playthrough of Fable 3. First time around I played a character who chose the "good" choices at every opportunity. This time around, I think I'll go "evil", and be a ruthless dictator when made king.

It's now being reported (Dreger & LeBrun) that Burke is still an "Adviser" with the Leafs.

McKenzie's reporting that Dave Nonis is their choice for GM, though it's still unclear if that's "interim" or "permanent".

No, and for a multitude of reasons, I won't be getting it. I'm not a fan of MMO games, to start. It's only a PC game, and I'm a Mac user (but I prefer console gaming anyway). And I just don't have the kind of time to sink into a game like that (such is life with a 14 month old). And Blaze and I have already lamented about how LucasArts should have made Knights of the Old Republic 3, instead of TOR, so I'm a little bitter about the game to begin with... I've ruled out Red Dead for the time being, and I didn't realize that the Dragornborn DLC hasn't been released yet for the PS3 version of Skyrim, so that's out too. Currently leaning towards Fable 3. Cheesy RPG, but I've been a fan of the series since it's first entry on the old Xbox.

Journey for the PS3 was a fantastic game. Well worth the $15 download. It's only 3-4 hours long, but it's got a pretty decent replay value. Now it's time to decide what to play next...

Delaying Lidstrom's ceremony is the right thing to do. The lockout has cast a black shadow over everything the league and the teams will do this season, and you don't want that shadow to darken the most prestigious honor a Red Wings player can be given. 56 players in the Hockey Hall of Fame have played for the Red Wings at some point in their careers. Only 6 of them have had their numbers retired by the Wings. That's some pretty elite company. The more numbers you retire, the more you cheapen the honor. Like it or not, but the standard for number retirement has been set by the careers of Yzerman and Lidstrom. If a player doesn't have a career that even comes close to theirs (notably, entirely in a Red Wings sweater, with Stanley Cups and other hardware to match), then they don't deserve to have their jersey in the rafters. This is why I think the Wings need a "ring of honor" in the new arena. A place where they can recognize the great players (Fedorov, Shanahan), fan favorites (Grind Liners, Homer), etc, but still reserve the number retirement for the truly deserving players.

In case anyone wanted a refresher, this was the proposed realignment map...

NHL Goalies all around the country and world are breathing a sigh of relief this morning. Congratulations on a fantastic career, Homer! 1206 total games played, 289 total goals, 338 total assists, 1 Gold Medal, 4 Stanley Cups, and one hell of a set of brass balls.

Wait a second. Does this mean we actually get to discuss HOCKEY now, instead of who's fault the lockout/economic situation is? I'm confused.

Lebrun and Dreger are posting a series of tweets about a new offer made by the NHL to the PA. (Too many to post links to individual tweets, so these are just links to their twitter page). LeBrun... Dreger... Sounds like the league has made some interesting concessions, moving towards the players on the contracting issues. Also interesting to see that the league is offering each team one compliance buyout to get back under the cap.

No biggie on the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as those are already dominated by the NBA. New Year's Eve leaves the Wings without their traditional New Year's Eve game, which would make me a little sad. What they should do (IMO, of course) is leave New Year's Eve alone, and make the Wonter Classic the only game played on New Year's Day.

Puck Daddy's story on the "Bettman ready to cancel season" reports quotes a story by Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press. Sounds like the league is taking a page from last lockout, in that they are offering a much better deal to the players now (in the interest of saving a season) than one they would be offering if/when the season is scrapped...

Give Me What I Want and Give It to Me Now! - Rufus Wainwright

At the moment, the NHL is only proposing allowing 2 buyouts penalty free. So the Wings could (theoretically) buy out Eaves, Franzen, Emmerton and Kindl, they would still be on the hook cap-wise for 2 of their salaries.

Interesting tidbit from Pierre LeBrun...