Various odds and ends from the Old North State

Is there a copy of the CBA available for public perusal yet? I want some light bedtime reading, here.

Well OK, I really want something to poke through when I have to babysit the store while the floors are getting their annual strip-n-wax.

Anyway. I occasionally like to watch opposing teams' broadcasts of Hurricanes games on Center Ice, because I like to see how the "other half" lives, broadcastwise--and if I never have to watch an NESN feed of a Boston game again, it'll be too soon. My gods, does Jack Edwards ever pay attention to any other team? How can he call Gerber "Wildly inconsistent" when he's been nails for us (after a rough first game) this season? Whatever. I thought he was a boob when he worked for Bristol, and I still think he's a boob.

And I wish people would just STFU about people like Eric Bresee at KUTV in Salt Lake City, who called for the contraction of pretty much every team south of the Mason-Dixon Line and gave no justification at all for it. It's pretty obvious to anyone with half a braincell (which is more than Bresee has) that the guy just says what he says because he's an attention-whore. I really don't think the guy has watched a single NHL game this season, aside from the 239872498724 Red Wings/Rangers/Flyers/Avs/Devils games that OLN is showing. Therefore, he has no right to comment about anything as far as I'm concerned.

And then we have this very amateurishly-written (and spammed-to-Helheim-and-back) petition regarding the pending redesign of NHL team sweaters. Now, while I am no fan of the redesign, I am even less of a fan of a "petition" that is not only poorly-written but also spammed across 90% of the hockey boards in existence. Though I will say that I'll have a blast cracking Star Trek jokes at the practice jerseys for Team Canada.


"Warp Speed, Mr. Jovanovski!"

In other news, Bret Hedican is on Team USA for Turin 2006, thanks to Aaron Miller's wonky back, and Matt Cullen is on the taxi squad after a herculean recovery from a busted jaw--at least, according to a Canadian Press report and TSN. No official word yet, thus no official celebratory post from yours truly.

If I win the lottery, I'm opening a Tim Horton's down here just so I can have Timbits with my coffee. I think I've said this before. I also want Herr's ketchup-flavored potato chips (since Lay's doesn't market their ketchup chips south of 49, AFAIK). Damn they're good. I could eat them all day--better than shrimp chips.

Hurricanes still in first. Still in shock.

Scott Cullen still dissing the Hurricanes. Still not surprised.

I also know it's late, but "Gong xi fa cai" to all my readers. Xian nian quai le, and hope you didn't have too many dumplings.