Ride the Men in Teel Tonight
It's the first day of hockey season, so now that the strike is over and we've all had a year of counseling to work through the trauma of the Sharks' loss to Calgary in the Conference Final, it is time to hunker down, gear up and get high for six months of Teel victories. The rule changes (no red line, meaning no prohibition on two-line passes; stricter penalties on holding and interfering in the neutral zone; shootouts instead of ties) could favor the Sharks, who feature a very young and very fast roster. Thuggish defensive traps are out (sorry Red Devils!) says the commissioner; up and down, European-styled skills-on-display, high-scoring action is in, and all the experts in hockey-land are looking to the South Bay and nodding affirmatively before dragging on their Molsons. There is no better way to get over this year's Bay Area baseball fiasco than to hop right back on that Zamboni and ride. Action starts tonight at 5:00 in Nashville on FSNBA- that's channel 40 on your digital cable dial, so get a pack of Mooseheads and come on over. I'll be the guy in the Patrick Marleau jersey on the couch with a supersized bag of Funyons between my legs and a stupid smile on my face.