There's something screwy around here...

Lord help us... Bob Williams is calling the Oklahoma-UNLV game tonight... The game is a 8:30 faceoff, so expect to see some midnight hockey. There's some buzz in the NAHL this week as the Blaine Showcase game between St. Louis and the U-18s was taken off the record books. Apparently the NAHL booked an extra game between the two teams somewhere in the season and as a result the first game between the two was changed to an exhibition. I'm not sure I understand the explanation, and I'm not sure if the change was made before or after the game was played (the grumbling by some teams makes me wonder if it's the former), but in any case the whole thing looks pretty screwy. For those following the North Dakota-NCAA mascot battle, it looks like the Fighting Sioux's lawsuit is just around the corner... Prince George Cougars turn down purchase offer... Chilly Bruins name first captain... The arena in Everett is soooo loud. (how loud is it?)... Billings ready for NorPac home debut... QMJHL comes up with a way to promote fan road trips... And finally... For those of you who thought my Homer Call last year was over the top... I can't hold a candle to this meltdown. The guy starts channelling Chris Farley about 3:45 into the clip, and for the record, doesn't become officially upset until the the 10:40 mark...

USHL Grand Island effort fails

Prospective USHL hockey team rejects lease... Can't say as I blame them. Sounds like Grand Island has some inexperienced folks managing their new arena. USHL efforts in Grand Island stalling out (includes video)... VIJHL team has some problems with their arena... Here's an interesting story about prairie province coach Leo MacDonald... Sudbury-born players spread across league (includes NOJHL week-in-review, though someone needs to tell the writer the Soo Indians aren't a new team, but the Black Bears in feathered clothing)...

Oldies but goodies

Since the season has started up, I'm getting emails about the standard educational and clearinghouse issues. So for those who might not have read these essays by my wife, Lindsay, here's some suggested reading: Clearinghouse Basics, Part I Clearinghouse Basics, Part II Mythbusters, Clearinghouse Style Your odds of playing at "x" level I'll be adding these as standard links to the right margin...

Warning, Hockey Content Below!

Here's a reminder for players to keep their focus on education... And here's a semi-complicated look at some of the issues facing the efforts to get an OHL team into Niagara Falls. Gee, if ya can't get a new barn built in Canada... For those keeping track of the Great Mahood-Law Debate... Round one goes to Phoenix, but not by much. I look forward to the rest of the series... San Antonio had their second rainout in hockey history this weekend. About a decade ago intense horizontal rain got under the louvered roof panels at the apex of Freeman Coliseum, forcing a CHL game between the Iguanas and Wichita Thunder to be called after two periods. The game this weekend was halted in the first period and will be continued at a later date.

STFU? I think not...

I'll start with hockey... honestly, there's not been much to talk about. Yes, everyone is starting their seasons, but I don't do game reports unless there's some compelling reason, and events thus far have been pretty pedestrian. It's clear by the comments I'm getting that some people just don't get it. For the record, yes, I do have a connection to the university as an alumnus. I also know members of the hockey program, both on and off the ice. Also, since someone has brought up the OU Hockey ad... it is comp'ed as a showing of my support to their program. Perhaps some readers here haven't been around long enough, but I'm big on accountability. I bag on agencies for which I have no affiliation whatsoever, such as the USA Hockey Junior Council, for some of the foolish things they've done. Why do I have a right to do so? Because I'm a stakeholder, and if you disagree on that point then there's really no point in you reading this blog ever again. Below is a slightly edited and somewhat enhanced response to someone whom I consider a good friend, but like many others has been disturbed by my focus on the OU game this week. I told him we'll simply have to agree to disagree. [start] What OU did before and after the main play is irrelevant. They did what they had to do, on the road in a hostile environment against a ranked opponent, to be in a position to win a game. No team should be expected to win by 50 just to take the refs out of the equation. By the same argument, with 450 yards of offense to that point Oregon shouldn't have needed the onsides kick to win, but their offense committed four turnovers, an offense every bit as detrimental as Oklahoma's porous secondary. Make the right call and OU gets the ball, takes a couple of knees, and the media instead talks about Adrian Peterson stepping up in the 4th quarter, Paul Thompson's error-free game at QB, and OU's bend-but-not-break defense forcing four turnovers. Gordon Riese has been caught in a shifting lie since this whole thing started. His leave of absence is, in all likelihood, permanent. If he admits he blew the call, no excuses, then he's taken the appropriate responsibility and this all goes away. Unfortunately, with the assistance of John Canzano of The Oregonian and others in the media, he tried to become a victim, and his claims about not having all the feeds has been shot down by ABC like the ducks in the old Nintendo game. The media that everyone thinks I should let cover this seems to have missed it, too busy building the dogpile of outrage over official Oklahoma comments that are now several days old. Boren's letter came out late Monday and Stoop's last comments were at the weekly press junket on Tuesday. Lee Corso was on Gameday this morning telling Stoops to get over it, when Stoops hasn't said a word in four days. As for President David Boren... the old senator is still a calculating politician with more power in his pinky toe than any of us will ever enjoy in our lifetimes. Let the record show he's received his primary requests - the apology, the suspensions (defacto one-game and effective lifetimes for the replay pair), and now the Pac-10's consideration of the non-conference policy at their October meetings. The "result nullification" was a throwaway, Boren the politician being sure to ask for more than he expects. It was not, however, unprecedented... As reported in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in 1940, Cornell won its 19th consecutive game when its last-second touchdown pass secured a 7-3 victory over Dartmouth. The referee, however, had lost track of downs; he ruled Cornell's fourth-down incompletion as a third-down play, allowing the winning points to be scored on fifth down. The referee, Red Friesell, admitted his mistake. After reviewing the game films, Cornell sent a telegram to Dartmouth and conceded the victory. It is officially in the record books as a 3-0 victory for Dartmouth. I know that the Pac-10 is proud of their integrity. However, the phrase that has danced in my head all week has been "trust, but verify." To bury their head in the sand in their initial reaction was rather myopic. There is too much at stake in this game to not demand excellence in officiating. That is all Boren is doing. The Pac-10 doesn't have a problem, it has an opportunity for improvement. Curse Boren for pointing out such an opportunity. The national counter-reaction reminds me a lot of the international shift in attitude following the 9/11 attacks. The world was behind us until we started to react. We may disagree on the appropriateness of going into Afghanistan and/or Iraq, but I suspect international opinion was going to be against the USA/Bush regardless. Similarly, everyone agrees Oklahoma was screwed, but heaven forbid the University and fans actually demand changes to prevent such events in the future. Those who bash Boren for taking time out of his day have no idea 1) what he has accomplished in 12 years at OU or 2) what is the role of any university president. To address the first element, my degree is worth a million times more now than when it was granted, thanks entirely to Boren bringing excellence to the institution. When he started, he stated that OU's peers weren't Big 12 schools (although Texas and Texas A&M are clearly academically and financially above the rest), but Big 10 schools... and he immediately set forth to make it a reality. As someone who is chest-deep in university planning and strategy, I cannot begin to describe what a significant step and accomplishment that was. The second element revolves around what a president is supposed to be. Someone in the media mentioned that he looked more like a booster club president than a university president. When it comes to fundraising, that's exactly what he's supposed to be. Watch OU's promotional clip at halftime during OU-Texas in three weeks, and you'll see what I mean. Click here to see what Boren does when he's not demanding accountability and excellence in athletics. Every single one of those accomplishments is directly due to the vision he has brought to the university. His addressing the controversy of the game 1) sent a political statement and 2) played to the donor base. [end email response to my friend] Now, as for Riese. We have a man now caught in several lies and the one I discovered last night. Where's the media on that one? Where is the media, period? Oh that's right, it's the blogosphere that is doing all the work these days. So, for those who made it through this entire rant... no, I'm not backing down.

More lies by Gordon Riese

I'll keep this simple and to the point. There's another lie hanging around Gordon Riese's neck. This is his listing in the Portland State Hall of Fame Some of you know I have a history of sniffing out guys who make false claims about their playing records. This one was easy. I grew up in KC and never heard of this guy. My alarms are going off, so I checked out the records... He never played for the Royals. Based on his age, I checked the KC Athletics for good measure, thinking there might be some confusion... nothing there either. I'll lay out the data for everyone: Royals batting records Royals pitching records (Riese was a pitcher in college) Athletics batting records Athletics pitching record For final measure, I checked and sure enough, he never played major league ball anywhere. Having done this awhile, I can tell you there are two avenues of escape for Riese. I'm not going to say them here. If this part of the story gets into the mainstream media, I'd like to see him come up with the response himself. But I still think the man is a complete fraud, and believe at this point we have a reasonable suspicion to question the death threats he claims to have received.

Quick change

Sometimes that change comes quicker than one expects... WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- The instant replay official whose failure to overturn a bad call helped Oregon beat Oklahoma has been granted a leave of absence for the remainder of the football season by the Pac-10. The league announced Wednesday that official Gordon Riese, who has already been suspended for a game by the Pac-10, requested a leave of absence. Because Pac-10 replay officials work in crews, replay assistant Roger Judd also will not work any more games this season. "Gordon Riese had a distinguished 28-year career as a Pac-10 official and, with the exception of Saturday, had done a fine job as a replay official," Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said. "He is an individual with impeccable officiating credentials and unquestioned integrity. We look forward to his return next season." Riese has said he was "struggling" with missing the call. "I feel so bad I missed that call, it's driving me crazy," he said. In the final minutes of Oregon's 34-33 comeback victory over Oklahoma, the Ducks recovered an onside kick that set up what turned out to be the winning touchdown. Oregon's recovery of the onside kick should have been disallowed because the Ducks touched the ball before it went the required 10 yards. Riiiiight... They're both gone cause they work as a crew? What, are they married or something? No, they're both gone cause they were without a clue. That, or for lying their asses off with their claim they didn't have all the angles. Lying or stupid, either way they are done. Now all we need to do is pile on some extra time for this joker, the magician who awarded the ball to Oregon. Here is is searching frantically for his seeing eye dog. I don't know how I can keep away from awarding this entire performance five COME ONs... (For the uninitiated, roll your mouse over the images)

Why the Sooners' affair isn't over

Sorry folks, this ain't out of my brain yet. Lost in the media's apoplectic fit that David Boren demand high standards and accountability is the fact that the stories out of Oregon are contradictory. You have Pac-10 officials saying all the angles were available, while Gordon Riese, the replay official who is doing his best job possible of painting himself as a victim (memo to media: the Sooner fans who are making the death threats can't even find Oregon on a map), claims they weren't. If Riese doesn't shut up, the rest of the world is going to figure this out and the Pac-10 is going to hang him out to dry. As it is, I think he's called his last game. Also, if you go back to the first link, you'll see near the end of the Q&A a statement that best supports the Pac-10 officiating policy - they don't have enough crews. The Pac-10 has six officiating crews and some spare guys who can substitute. That's fine during the conference schedule (five games with a full slate), but not in September when a BCS conference has a heavy load of home games. Boren made his request to serve a constituency (ever the politician) demanding a lot more. He also asked for more than he was expecting. Still, if this incident doesn't force the Pac-10 to change their officiating policy (and I think they'll eventually do it, quietly, around March), nothing will.

Unbelieveable

Apologies in advance for those looking for hockey content. Just when I start to allow myself to get calmed down, the football gods peel another layer from the onion. Football is just a game, until you're on the clock It's Riese's spleen the country wants. So let's give it to them. But first you should know that Riese didn't see the ABC television feed that viewers watched at home, which you, your spouse and your children know showed an Oregon player touching the ball before it traveled the required 10 yards. And you should know that Riese will not talk about specifics on the call, but said: "My supervisor knows what happened up there and that's all that matters." A source in the replay booth on Saturday said that Riese found himself crunched for time, pressured by television and the on-field referee for a rapid decision, and there was such a delay in getting the video feed to Riese that he never even got to properly review the play. The Pac-10's coordinator of football officiating confirmed that Riese didn't get all of the replays that ABC was providing. With all the cameras working the game that one half of the country was watching, Riese saw only a single frame of video, the source said. The angle was bad. But it appeared to show an Oklahoma player touching the ball with his helmet before it hit the Oregon player. (From other angles, clearly, it hits the Ducks player first.) With no other video immediately available, and television waiting, Riese did what he's told to do when he's out of time and has no conclusive evidence. He upheld the call on the field. At this point, I think most folks just want to know how this happened. I suspect this may now include Pac-10 commish Tom Hansen, who was quoted yesterday while suspending the officials one game that "on the kickoff play ample views were available." I guess he just took it for granted that the proper Pac-10 Conference policies/procedures were followed, specifically that the "Pac-10 will utilize a TiVo-based system developed by XOS Technology, one of the leading video technology companies in the nation." XOS confirms the policy, specifically that "Monitors in the booth can review each play and create bookmarks for each play without disrupting the game. This allows them to decide which plays should be reviewed, and already cue up several angles to expedite the process once it begins..." Most readers here know I don't suffer fools well. Maybe now hockey fools will understand it's not just in their game I hold to high standards...

Tuesday news

Not much to talk about other than the obligatory "season has started" stuff, although the Sooner Nation is waiting to see what gets published in The Oregonian Tuesday by columnist John Canzano. Scuttlebutt is that the Pac-10 replay officials never actually watched the onside kick replay. I can only imagine what David Boren will say if this turns out to be the case. Everett Silvertips coach Kevin Constantine fined and suspended for excessive discipline... Hartley Miller's comments on the BCHL remind me a lot of my thoughts upon learning the USHL's new playoff rules... Grand Island may not make it into the USHL after all... Latest from Niagara Falls on their OHL efforts... Dawn of a new era in Manitoba...

Off the hook

I spent most of Saturday trying to figure out how to write up the 100 penalty, 88 powerplay WSHL game Friday night between the Dallas Hawks and the Cajun Catahoulas. My brain got sore trying to work out the analysis of how much actual 5-on-5 time there was, but by most accounts it was limited to a few minutes, maybe three or so. I was going to talk about Bob Williams, I ref I've watched for several years, and rip into his most recent display of ineptitude. However, Bob can thank the Pac-10 refs for letting him off the hook. I have more stuff to blog than just this... but events of the day kept me off the computer and it's late. I'll try to get caught up Sunday afternoon.

Meltdown

Can anyone tell me the last time the Texas Tornado blew a lead and lost a game in the final 1:04? Wow... Until the final came in I was going to say the most surprising performance (in scale if not result) was Santa Fe's 8-0 decimation of Bismarck. But giving up two goals in six seconds in the last minute? Dang... Not a shock, given recent trends, was the average of 22 powerplays per game on the opening day of the Showcase. It didn't help scoring, however, as teams managed to covert only 10% of the time. I suspect some of that is due to fragmented powerplays thanks to a negating whistle, but am not going to review the data to verify it. Still... special teams is going to make or break teams this year, at least early on... only Alpena managed to win Wednesday without scoring a powerplay goal, going 0-12.

Drop the puck already

Well, the NAHL season starts Wednesday. While I'll enjoy listening to some games (like Alpena's on Wednesday and Friday afternoon) while at work the next few days, I'm not a fan of starting the season with a showcase. My main complaint is that teams have had little-to-no time to develop any chemistry, and that, combined with the rules changes, will lead to some very inconsistent play. I'm not sure the scouts are going to see the players at their full potential. Looks like the question of choosing a level for one's league isn't just an American phenomena... This will piss of my minor league friends, but these journalists shouldn't kid themselves - your odds of making the NHL from the ECHL or any other AA pro league are 100-1 at best (and you better be either a goalie or an enforcer for the odds to be that high)... First the NAHL, now the NOJHL gets a new commish... The former Empire Huskies open new season in Fitchburg...

Not the Best blog post I've ever had...

Here's another Tim Best sighting... the caption with the pic should be "one of these things is not like the others." For those locals who want to bash me for posting this, here's the redemption... speak now or forever hold your trap. I'll probably make a regular news run tomorrow night. I just wanted to get this one out there.

Monday news

Not much here... just trying to clean out my inbox to start the week... Pentiction Vees looking for a better facility... Kamloops Storm blows in some real hockey... Junior A players gearing up for first-ever World Junior A Challenge... Billings Bulls not on ice as Centennial Arena without ice for at least 2 weeks...

Mail Call

My post from Tuesday has been generating a lot of comments... rather than continue to extend that thread, I'm going to post here to get a number of issues out on the table. This one came in this morning: I think you need to be unbiased and make a smart comment about the WSHL. Best coaches in the league? The Tilt? How dare you not mention Harry Mahood. His track record and reputation amongst the coaching fraternity is very good. He has put alot of players in college and true JR organizations. Jeremy Law has done nothing compared to him. Your a hockey guy! Now say the right things! Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not taking ANYTHING away from Hoody here. If you go back to the 5th & 6th comments, Phoenix is clearly on the table, and I said "you are talking about the two best coaches in the league"... As for which coach is better, last time I checked the head-to-head record is 1-1. With Tucson and Phoenix in the same division, there will actually be some very interesting regular season games this year, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity of watching some of them. Personally, I think having these two teams in the same division is the best thing that could have happened to both them and the league, because playing each other regularly will do a lot more to prepare these teams for Nationals than "running the table." Now, onto my friends that love all things Blue Line and Sanderson (I'll throw Mike's name in here because I believe the people badgering me about the delays have an axe to grind with him). ...Only Phoenix seems to operate on a business level... the rest seem to be garbage-- maybe this is the Tim Best syndrome. Garbage in, garbage out, and Tucson seem to be that way as well. Just like Blueline opening again in May, June, July, August, Tomorrow...Bramahs...Group Ice--that mess is... MARC, you seem to get the best people calling u.... Yes, I am getting frustrated with the delays in closing deal, as are the people involved. All I can tell you is what I'm being told by the people involved in the deal. Frankly, as I have expanded the scope of this blog, the Blue Line drama has become less and less important, and the only reason I continue to bring it up is because I have a small core of local readers who are interested. The other 95% probably don't care. Who calls me? That's my business, but I will say I do more consulting than is indicated by what you might read here. Unfortunately, I am somewhat a victim of geography where the Cavalry, Titans, and Texans are concerned. These were the teams in my neighborhood, and the circumstances that led to their demise were beyond my control. Of course, since the relocation of the Cavalry I've had a standing invitation from Alex Kyrias to do color at Tornado games (we partnered previously when the Tornado hosted Nationals in 2004). Since I was busy calling Titans and Texans games, I never really had a chance until this season to take him up on the offer. This year I probably will make it over to Frisco for a few games. Also, if you think that "Only Phoenix seems to operate on a business level" then you are unfamiliar with the league. El Paso and Lafayette have more season ticket holders than many NAHL teams, and combined probably more STHs than the rest of the WSHL combined. On the tuition issue, I'm already on the record as disagreeing with USA Hockey's corrupted justification (perhaps misinterpretation is a kinder word, but since there are political forces in place I believe corrupted is better) for outlawing tuition. Of course, they left loopholes as big as Manute Bol's five-hole in their language: ...no team scholarships/financial discounts shall be allowed to any individual player based upon his skill and ability or game performances, without that individual player performing meaningful, productive work in exchange therefor off the ice and away from team competition. So I've decided this is a non-issue. Like everything else in life, teams are going to invent ways around it, and other teams are going to whine and complain when they should be asking themselves why they aren't in a position to compete against other teams off the ice as well as on it. In other news... BCHL takes the lead in addressing the new rules confusion... UBC Thunderbirds to join the NCAA? Maybe. It's certainly being kicked around... Peoria Mustangs begin new era...

Krupka Officially The Man...

Though I leaked his name Saturday, I'm sure some folks have been waiting for the official announcement on Eric Krupka's naming as the new NAHL commish. Well here it is... Nothing fancy here, but I hope to see some public disclosure of Krupka's plans and vision for the league shortly (sounds like a good excuse for another interview). MINNEAPOLIS - The North American Hockey League announced today the appointment of Eric H. Krupka as its new commissioner. He replaces Mark Frankenfeld, who was serving as interim commissioner after Michael Santos left the position in May to become the director of player personnel of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. "The entire North American Hockey League family is excited to welcome an individual with Eric’s business and hockey expertise to the fold," said NAHL Board of Governors chairperson Mark Motz. "His passion for developing young athletes, as well as the vast relationships he has developed throughout the entire hockey community, will also be tremendous assets to our league as we continue to enhance our product, both on and off the ice." "The NAHL is one of the most storied and successful leagues in all of North America, and I’m looking forward to being a part of its continued growth and success," said Krupka. "The league’s top priority has always been developing players, both athletically and academically, and I’m excited to help carry on such a great tradition." Krupka is the president and CEO of EHK Sports Enterprises, one of the most successful sports management companies in North America. EHK Sports, which Krupka founded in 2000, has quickly become known and respected for hosting such events as the 40-team USHN Challenge Cup and the International Pre-Draft Showcase. EHK Sports also publishes the largest subscription-based youth hockey Web site, U.S. Hockey News, as well as the scouting Web site, Amateur Hockey Report. Krupka is also a 12-year veteran of the commodities trading industry. He started his career at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in 1995 as a runner in the grain room, quickly worked his way up to broker’s assistant and then in 1997 set out on his own to trade in the 30-year treasury bond futures pit. Krupka resides in Vernon Hills, Ill., with his wife, Christie, and their 8-month-old daughter, Tierney. Frankenfeld will remain on as the NAHL’s deputy commissioner, while Brian McDonough will continue to serve as the league’s director of communications. David Lee will remain on as the league’s administrative assistant. In other NAHL news, here the league's confirmation that they are reinstating touch icing... Some creative composer needs to write a symphony for all these whistles I'm hearing... The sale of the Guelph Storm has been approved... Green Mountain Glades have 33 teams participating in the Woodchuck Classic this weekend... Bliss Littler signs a contract extention with Tri-City Storm... Edmonton's new WHL team needs a name... might I suggest the Wild Bills? Estevan Bruins make a couple of trades... New bench boss for Sudbury Junior Wolves...

Ohhhh, I'm a lumberjack....

Looks like the MnJHL is coming to St. Cloud in the form of the Granite City Lumberjacks... I wouldn't be surprised if one more Minnesota-based team is added before next season. One interesting comment to the story - How is a WSHL coach supposed to recruit a kid from Minnesota when the local MnJHL teams are undercutting tuition costs by $4,500? And the league wonders why half their rosters aren't full. Update CORRECTION to clarify the above point: WSHL tuition has been fixed for the entire league at $6000. However, I have been informed they can charge less (Tulsa, for example, is charging $5,500), but the rate still has to be even across the entire team, and of course they can't offer tuition waivers. It's a consumer market out there when it comes to players. You have a league in the form of the WSHL that has over-expanded, and so there's not enough local/regional talent to fill the rosters. However, because their tuition is four times that of what is found in other leagues (and for an inferior product, no less), they an incapable of effectively recruiting players from outside their footprint. My advice to Benjamin Rubin is to get to the NHL ASAP so that he can get more weeknight ice time... The BCHL has a new website for this season. I'm not sure I can tell much difference from the old, but it's yet another four-column site. Yeah, the NHL might look to Quebec for coaches, but what about for players? What's this? Another 15 year old Junior B player who makes it to Junior A?

And the winner is...

Since it's one of the worst-kept secrets in recent history, I'll go ahead and state it for the rest of the hockey world that's out of the loop... The winner of the NAHL Commissioner Sweepstakes is Eric Krupka. Who is Eric Krupka, you may ask? Look at my ads over in the right margin (consider this my disclosure, since it's obvious I do business with him) - Krupka is the EHK of EHK Sports. Having discussed my assessment of the NAHL to Krupka and what is needed, I think he's a pretty good choice. As I've mentioned in the past, the league faces a serious lack of organizational alignment, with perhaps a dozen or more different missions and visions depending on which owner you ask. Krupka needs to take these different messages and mold them into a single voice. At the same time, he needs to improve the perception of the league by stakeholders - players, parents, fans, and other hockey administrative officials. But clearly, I think Krupka's biggest strength will be in targeting corporate sponsors. Krupka is a businessman first and a hockey fan second, and I believe this paradigm shift is needed by the NAHL. In any case, I wish him luck. Topeka Boos Next on the agenda, we have a group in Topeka that's asked for my advice on getting a new junior hockey team. While the group is exploring the potential of going USHL or NAHL, they are keeping their options open and looking at Junior B as well. The group asked for my opinon of the WSHL, with which they've been in discussions. I explained that I could not recommend the WSHL to the group for a variety of reasons, and offered that the Minnesota or CSHL would be better choices. I'll talk about travel in a moment, but the real reason to prefer the MnJHL or CSHL is that they are simply much better leagues, both on the ice and organizationally. Comparing the leagues from top to bottom, there can be little controversy in making such a statement. In comparing travel in the WSHL and MnJHL, other than losing a potential rivalry with Tulsa and maybe Wichita (were they to also join the WSHL, as has been rumored), travel would either be a wash or perhaps even in favor of the MnJHL. You'd have games against St. Louis (5 hours), Rochester (7 hours), the core of teams in the Twin Cities (8 hours), and Spooner is your worst at 9.5 hours. In comparison, Dallas is 7.5, and San Antonio (11.5), Lafayette (13), and El Paso (15.5) are all a heck of a lot further, and that's not to mention the West Division. Looking at the western CSHL teams, Chicago is the worst at 9 hours, and Dubuque, Peoria, Quad Cities, and St. Louis are all well within 8 hours. Throw in Kansas City and/or Srpingfield (MO), and you've got a fairly compact CSHL Western Division. Going further east, Cleveland would be the longest trip at 13.5 hours. Anyway, the Topeka folks are serious and exploring their options. It'll be interesting to see which way they might go. In other news... Former Texarkana Bandit Kerry Bence has landed in Alpena, completing the Icediggers' roster... In case anyone wasn't paying attention, here's a story about the growing issues between Russia and North America... For fight fans, in my experience nothing beats an exhibition game. The picture alone is worth checking out on this one... New buildings being polished up for OHL action... In Pentiction, a partisan voice insists Campese was snubbed... Giants camp boosts local economy... Former Sudbury Wolf Stefan Blaho dies in car accident... US NTDP's Patrick Kane snubs college for London Knights... London also has a habit of keeping the roster in the family... Here's the MJHL trade wire... What a novel concept, using your alumni as ambassadors for the league... It doesn't happen often, so it's nice to see the Jr. Cyclones get some ink (electrons?) from the Cincy Enquirer (scroll down past Don "I'm not ready to retire yet" Nelson)... The South Saskatchewan Hockey League has renamed itself the Prairie Junior Hockey League, complete with a shiny new website... The Sudbury Wolves got a new website as well, though I'm not sure about this trend I'm seeing towards pages having four columns... Is it just me, or is Garry Unger hockey's bad penny? The only reason I'm mentioning this article is that it's a good example of someone who as a 15-year-old who played Junior B before going on to not only Tier II Juniro A, but Major Juniors. Remember parents, Junior B is cheaper than Midgets. Thrashers sign former US Nat/Gambler... Here's a look at Brian Kilrea of the Ottawa 67's, just about the only thing that's been stable on the Ottawa sports scene...