Stories From Everywhere

I am far from resembling anything even close to Christian Bale, but news is news and it must be told. I doubt this blog will ever be a full-length musical feature either, but a guy can dream, right? In any case, I will not be dressing as Batman, and I doubt that Christian Bale will be blogging about hockey on this site, so I'm comfortable being me for the time being. I'm not going on strike for a ten-cent raise, nor am I looking to leave New York City. Heck, I'd simply like to visit New York City once. However, like the movie Newsies, I am here to deliver the news. Let's get to it.

• A couple of updates have been added to the Patch It Up series of articles that I've written. Both Edmonton and Columbus have been seen wearing patches, so they've been added to the list. You can find the updates here.
• Jean-Sebastien Aubin has found a new home in the NHL as he'll be donning the orange of the Flyers this season. Aubin appeared in 19 regular season games for the Los Angeles Kings, compiling a record of 5-6-1 with a 3.19 GAA. He also spent some time toiling for the AHL's Manchester Monarchs and Portland Pirates after he was traded from the Kings to the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline last season.
• Sami Kapanen's reign as owner/player of Finnish Elite League team KalPa Kuopio appears to be going well. The team has struggled out of the gate, earning 3 points in four matches thus far, but the return of the fans is impressive. For a team that was bailed out of bankruptcy by Kapanen, the return to the Elite division seemed to be a dream after being relegated twice. Congrats to Kapanen, and good luck with your team! Just as an aside, that jersey will probably make its way on to the next You're Wearing That? article. Lots to talk about there.
• It's been a long time coming, but you can finally get Ontario Reign gear. The site is nowhere close to being done yet, but if you want to cheer for the newest ECHL franchise, you can now wear their colours proudly. Jerseys still aren't available online, though, so you'll have to be patient if you want what the players wear on the ice.
• Wayne Fleming, assistant coach of the Calgary Flames, has stepped down from his position to take over the head coaching duties for the KHL's Avangard Omsk franchise. Fleming will bring some immediate stability with his style to a volatile Omsk club. Jaromir Jagr is second in team scoring with four points, but is far off the pace of the leaders in the KHL. Omsk is 21st out of 24 teams right now, and they desperately require someone to right the ship. With Fleming's NHL and international experience, this hiring should help.
• Berlin's German Elite League team, the Eisbären, opened a brand-new arena in the downtown Berlin area this past week. The O2 World arena saw 14,200 people turn out to watch the Eisbären thrash previously undefeated Augsburger 11-0. For those of you who like history, former NHLer Deron Quint scored the first goal at the O2 World arena. The 11-0 victory is impressive, considering that the Eisbären will be playing in the IIHF Champions League later this month.
• The qualifying tournament for the Champions League took place last week, and the qualifier is Swiss team SC Bern. SC Bern defeated the Sinupret Ice Tigers by a 4-1 score in the first game, and then defeated Kosice 5-4 to win the three-team tournament with a 2-0 record. SC Bern will join Group B as the 12th team in the big tournament. They'll be playing against the Espoo Blues (Finland) and HV71 Jönköping (Sweden). By the way, the first goal ever scored in Champions League play was scored by former NHLer Ramzi Abid for SC Bern.
• The Buffalo Sabres re-signed forward Jason Pominville to a five-year, $26.5 million contract yesterday. The new deal will keep Pominville as a Barney Rubble Hairpiece until the end of the 2013-14 season. Pominville will need to have a similar season as last year when he netted 27 goals and added 53 assists for a career-high of 80 points. Buffalo finally signs one of the guys they've groomed since his AHL days. Maybe this is a turning of the corner for the Sabres front office?
• The waiving of defenceman Mathieu Schneider by the Anaheim Ducks means one of two things: he will be traded before training camps get underway, or he will be bought out. Considering that GM Brian Burke hardly has any cap space to play with, my guess is he will be traded so that the Ducks can rid themselves of his salary and re-sign sniper Teemu Selanne. With so many teams close to the cap already, it seems that Schneider may be headed to either Los Angeles or Atlanta. He has not reported to the Ducks' camp, and is awaiting a move by the team. This one should be interesting.
• Luc Robitaille is suing William "Boots" Del Biaggio after claiming he was defrauded. Apparently, Robitaille co-signed for a $2 million line of credit which Del Biaggio maxed out. Now, I'm not going to cut down Luc Robitaille for any reason, but just how much credit did Del Biaggio have to his name? Does no one do credit checks? Here's an idea for investors looking to co-sign for credit: freecreditreport.com. Have your potential business partners get a credit report, and bring it with you when you sign the documents. The banker might even be kind enough to explain what the terms means.
• Can the Hurricanes' Justin Williams catch a break before he's too old to play? Williams missed 43 games last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, and will now miss four-to-six months after tearing his Achilles' tendon. He was a big contributor in the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship in 2006, but has suffered some serious injuries since signing a five-year deal in the 2006 off-season. Get well soon, Justin!

Ok, there's a quick update of the major stories in the hockey world lately. More good stuff coming up before Sunday, including another Teebz's Book Club entry. By the way, with hockey season upon us, if you're searching for reasonably-priced gear, I suggest checking out SportsDiamond. They have all the latest gear, and the pricing is quite decent. Hit them up if you're hunting for something specific to put you on top of your game!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!