Cleaning Up

I received an email on Sunday morning from a reader who asked if I had missed a day. The answer is technically yes and no. The problem is that I wrote this article on Saturday, but I never published it. I have this bad habit of clicking "Save Now" at the bottom as I'm working so I don't lose my work. I do it at least once every 10 minutes just in case my browser crashes or something like that. I apologize for being over-zealous in my saving and not hitting publish when I have a chance. This was done, I was rushing to leave, and I hit "Save Now" instead of "Publish Post". Anyway, this is Saturday's post that should have been up. I needed to clean up the old inbox, so here's all the stuff I've been holding on to. Enjoy!

• The KHL has announced that five men have been suspended and denied any right to hold a position in the KHL as a result of Alexei Cherepanov's death. Konstantin Potapov (former President of HC Avangard), Mikhail Denisov (former Director of HC Vityaz), Anatoly Bardin (former General Manager of HC Avangard), Sergei Belkin (currently a doctor of HC Avangard), and Dmitry Batushenko (currently a doctor of HC Avangard) are no longer to hold any position in the KHL. What really bothered me was the last line of the press release where Nikolai Durmanov, head of the KHL medical team, stated, "What the press described as systematic doping, was an attempt to cure Alexei’s heart condition." Do they not know that kordiamin has no positive effect for someone suffering from chronic myocarditis?
• The KHL also announced that goaltender John Grahame's appeal to restore his status to active player has been denied. Grahame had been playing with Avangard Omsk this season before management of the club suspended him and terminated his contract in December "for repeated violations of professional discipline". Rumours have swirled about Grahame being drunk and injuring his ankle by falling off a curb, but no reasons were given in the press release. The KHL upheld the club's decision to terminate Grahame's contract, making him a free agent.
• I need to draw some attention to a few blogs. Connie, from A Queen Among Kings, has been posting some beauty game recaps for the Kings. Her last couple of posts have some comedy gold in them, and she deserves a read.
• Kevin, the head honcho at Barry Melrose Rocks, finds out that Al Strachan knows nothing about hockey. I've stated this time and time again, and I'm glad that others are taking notice. We need Al Strachan out of hockey.
• Cassie from Bolts Blog puts a little emotion on the line by letting everyone know that she's not a fan of the Lightning, and never has been. While this was a little startling in terms of the news, she makes some very good points with which I agree. Good for her for stating exactly what she thinks. It's a good read.
• Jibblescribbits does some excellent work in trying to explain why people can't seem to accept that Peter Budaj is a solid goaltender for the Avalanche. He has his haters, like all players do, but that camp seems significantly offside, and Jibble does a great job in discussing the two sides of the yin and yang towards Budaj.
• Rick sent me a link to his blog entitled Penguins Experience. Solid blog with lots of good Penguins news. If you're a Penguins fan, here's another solid site to spend some time on.
• In terms of the announcement I promised, I have been contacted by Uni Watch Blog again for some help in looking at the NHL All-Star Game throughout the years. I'm excited to work with Paul and Phil again, and I'll feature a piece on my site as well. Thanks for the opportunity again, gentlemen!
• In a rather startling turn of events, I emailed Hockey Canada two weeks ago to see if there was any way to purchase a Spengler Cup Team Canada jersey. They're unique and different, and they are from a tournament that happens for a week every year. The response from Hockey Canada was a little surprising: "those jerseys are not available here - only at venue in SUI". A jersey with the old Hockey Canada logo isn't available through Hockey Canada? That seems a little weird.
• A couple of notes if you're leaving a comment on my blog. First off, don't leave me a blog entry as a comment. It's a comment, not your personal blog. One or two lines, maybe a paragraph or two, but not a 3000-word essay. Secondly, don't advertise in my blog. If I see an advertisement for anything that doesn't deal with the topic at hand or if you leave a URL for a site, it's automatically deleted. Link it in your name if you want people to visit, or email me the site and I'll check it out. Third, I don't care if you want to post anonymously. That's your call. But if you advertise your site and post anonymously, don't waste your time. Thanks.

That is all for now. My email box is somewhat cleaner, so I feel a little better. I'm working on a TBC entry for tomorrow, so the post might be a little later as I work to finish reading the book I am currently paging through. Hopefully, I won't encounter too many interruptions.

Until tomorrow, keep your sticks on the ice!