San B

Tonight the Hershey Bears host the Texas Stars for Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals. Will Hershey win it all tonight for back-to-back Calder Cup Championships or will Texas force a Game 7?

Who wins tonight? Score predictions?

1. In the Pennsylvania House of Representatives a bill has been introduced aimed at enhancing concussion management in youth sports. At the heart of the bill measures have been laid out to protect interscholastic athletes from grades 7 to 12 restricting those young athletes who are suspected of having sustained a concussion or head injury until they have received written clearance from a licensed health professional to return to play. To date, PA teams representing MLB, NFL, NBA and the NHL have all chosen to support this bill save one, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/eagles/2010...

My question: what do you think the reasoning behind the Pens lack of support on this measure may be?

2. In recent weeks The Ohio State University has reached a deal to take over the management of non-sporting events at Columbus' Nationwide Arena, relieving the Blue Jackets of an estimated $1 million in operating costs.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/st...

My question: do you think this is just an honest effort to right the financial ship or should we expect to see more dramatic changes for the franchise in the not too distant future?

It's been a while since I've been a regular around here so I thought I'd throw out an old question for some of ya'll to pass the time.

What are your game day rituals and traditions? Do you have any superstitions regarding your habits and how they may relate to your favorite teams performance?

BQ*- In the "History Will Be Made" commercials, do you think they're actually playing the music backwards?

If a player from your teams' biggest rival plays for your home country during the Olympics, do you have any hesitation in rooting them on?

It would seem that in it's simplest form, a three-peat of a championship defines a Dynasty, but as with the case with the mid to late 80's Edmonton Oilers, a Dynasty can also be defined as time period of dominance. To further stretch the concept, taking an example from the NBA, some consider the San Antonio Spurs four Championships in nine years as a Dynasty.

My question is how would you define a Dynasty? What ratio of Championship wins to years would you apply? Where is the cut off?

Is there a player that you thought that you could never root for...until he was either traded to or signed with a team outside of your favorite teams' conference and then you found yourself cheering him on?

After nearly ten years of legal wrangling spear-headed by the NCAA, 79 years of tradition may soon be coming to an end. The University of North Dakota's school teams, most notably the hockey team, who have been known as the Fighting Sioux for nearly eight decades, may be forced to change their name and traditional logo as soon as October 1st.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=45004...

"The NCAA in 2005 listed 18 schools with American Indian mascots and images that it considered "hostile and abusive," and banned them from postseason play pending name changes."

The long-story-short version, through a settlement made by the state of North Dakota, the University has until Oct 1 to garner the support of the state's two Sioux tribes before the Board of Education demands the school drops the nickname, to be completed by April 1, 2010.

As of last week, one tribe has agreed to the school keeping the name, the other has voted against it.

My questions to you, good folks of the hockey section, are:

1. Do you think the U of ND should back away from their tradition and heritage and relent?

2. What future ramifications do you see for professional sports teams that sport either a Native American moniker or logo such as the Chicago Blackhawks?

The state of Pennsylvania currently offers two official automobile license plates that financially support their teams hockey charities.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/images/plates/mario_lem...

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/images/plates/Flyers%20...

If your state or provence offered a special edition license plate that both financially supported and showed support for your favorite hockey teams charitable organizations, would sign up for such a program?

Former Columbus defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen has signed a one year deal with the Flyers.

http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=457925

Thoughts?

Do you think or perceive that a team that has won a Pennant the previous year is more likely to get the benefit of a doubt on a close call more often than a sub .500 team?

Ironically, both times the horn was sounded it was in cities that also support NHL teams

His wants in life have always been pretty simple. Also, although my dad is in his 70's he still works and brings in a pretty decent salary so he really isn't in need, as some of his age are. Compounding my conundrum is the fact that we just celebrated his birthday three weeks ago and the gifts at that time were plentiful.

My only constraint is that I can only afford a top dollar amount of around $200. Any ideas? I thank you in advance for your help.

Which hockey players do you think would be the equivalent of these classic sitcom characters?

1. Ralph Kramden (Honeymooners)

2. Gilligan (Gilligan's Island)

3. Archie Bunker (All in the Family)

4. Hawkeye Pierce (MASH)

5. Oscar and Felix (The Odd Couple)

6. Jack Tripper (Three's Company)

7. Louie DePalma (Taxi)

8. Steve Urkel (Family Matters)

9. Norm Peterson (Cheers)

10. George Costanza (Seinfeld)

All of the hubbub regarding Brodeur and an earlier question asked by Bob it got me thinking: Is it a certain mentality that makes a goaltender or is it goaltending that creates the mentality? I've heard it said that once you've gone goalie you never go back. What do you think makes these guys tick?

If you're a fan of a team that plays in one conference, are you watching how the other conference playoff races are stacking up? Is there that ONE TEAM you're hoping doesn't make the cut? Which team in the opposite conference do you feel your team would have a rough time dealing with should they meet in the Finals?

I'm not looking for vindictive answers

Bonus: Are you rooting for Columbus to finally make the cut?

In honor of this being Friday the 13th...

Do you have Triskaidekaphobia (A fear of the number 13) or paraskevidekatriaphobia (the more specific fear of Friday the 13th)?

Currently, Pavel Datysuk of the Detroit Red Wings is probably the most popular/recognizable player in the NHL to wear the number 13. Who are your favorite players, current or all time to wear the lucky number 13?

Most of us are at least vaguely acquainted with the NHL's substance abuse testing and policies. That being said...JUST FOR FUN, which NHLer would you be LEAST surprised at finding in a Michael Phelps-like photo?

Do you think that coaches who are more likely to be stern and 'peel the paint off the walls' are more successful than the coaches who are regarded as players' coaches...or do you think the opposite is closer to the truth?

I know I've seen a variety of injured players from all sports returning to their respective games "sooner than expected". Last year much ado was made aboot NFL players often being pushed back into the game before sufficiently recovering from injuries.

The message from the NHL is that they are particularly conservative when it comes to players with concussions and post-concussion syndrome returning to play. But on the other hand, doesn't it seem as though many players with non-concussion related injuries are often rushing back, not allowing for sufficient recovery time?...sometimes possibly precipitating a relapse or chain of related injuries? What comes to mind is the frequent recurrence of groin, abdominal and hip injuries. Are the players being pushed too hard to return too soon?

If your hockey team could have its own theme song, what would it be? Is it indicative of their season, a season series or the teams history? Have some fun with it.