The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

You know the NY Rangers are desperate when they ask Jaromir Jagr to captain the team. This guy has no leadership qualities, unless he's providing advice on how to cash a cheque. To his credit though, he turned it down (the captaincy, not the cheque)...Couldn't stop grinning from ear-to-ear when I heard the St Louis Blues suspended Keith Tkachuk for being a bloated, out-of-shape fat guy. Ok, a slight exaggeration, but he did show up to camp reportedly 30 lbs overweight. I've hated this guy ever since he thought he was too good to play for the Winnipeg Jets when they were around and wanted a trade out of there, so he can choke on all those donuts he's been eating for all I care...Eric Lindros might have liked the attention the Toronto media gave him once he signed on with the Leafs, but he was no doubt annoyed when reporters asked him about, gasp, getting bodychecked during practice. Imagine that, a guy is getting hit in a contact sport. Leafs media are no doubt desperate for a story...Speaking of the Big E, who would have thought Rick Nash would be out with an injury first? Luckily Jason Allison made up for that by sitting himself out with a hip flexor...Sportsnet is going to have a 1/2 hour Leafs show Monday to Friday during the entire NHL season. Woo-hoo...Every NHL pre-season game is going to have a shootout regardless of the score. I think introducing the shootout is a great idea. Some people think the game needs to be decided playing 5 on 5, but after regular time and then overtime, if it's so close why not have something exciting for the fans like that to decide a winner? We can still keep the status quo for the playoffs...You think fans aren't pumped for the return of the NHL? Friday night's Calgary vs Edmonton pre-season game was completely sold out, and not even all the star players were dressed to play...Not until I was putting together a hockey pool for my work did I realize Cory Stillman signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. The guy gets 80 points in 2003-2004 and the Lightning decide instead to give Vaclav Prospal another kick at the can in Tampa. He don't get no respect...Apparently Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley are finding great chemistry together and will likely play on the same line. If Martin Havlat can keep his pace playing left wing instead of right, and with Daniel Alfredsson back on D, that would be one sweet power play...The Ottawa Senators are considering pay-per-view games perhaps by next season. If this goes through, all that crap Bettman spewed about being the product more affordable for the average fan, well, it just makes him a liar...Is Sydney Crosby a class act not just on the ice but off it or what? He's cool, composed, articulate and an absolute pleasure when being interviewed by the media. Hopefully the NHL doesn't botch the mainstream potential this kid has.