News Around the Rink

    NHL camps have opened and the biggest news is the fact that Sidney Crosby has been cleared to return to the ice.  He hasn't played since January 5th of last year when he suffered a devastating concussion.  Crosby skated for 70 minutes at 100 percent during the Penguins' first training camp practice Saturday, wearing a white helmet which means no contact.  Unless symptoms return, Crosby will continue to skate until he is cleared for contact.

    Chris Pronger has been named the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers.  He was the captain of the St. Louis Blues for six years and was captain of the Anaheim Ducks for a year.  The Bruins tried to trade for Pronger a few seasons ago to help them on defense and lead their power play.  We landed Kaberle last year who was the closest thing we could get.  Glad to know that we won't see Kaberle in 2011.

    Keeping with the Flyers, they traded Jeff Carter and Mike Richards this offseason and have added Jaromir Jagr.  It will be interesting to see what Jagr still has in the tank, as his long, curly hair, days with Mario Lemieux are far behind him.  During the first training camp practice, Jagr played on a line with Claude Giroux and James Van Riemsdyk.  It will be interesting to see if this line stays in tact.  JVR is 17 years younger than Jagr and grew up watching him play.

    Future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur may be playing his final season this year as he is in the last year of his contract with the NJ Devils.  If it is in fact his final year, it will be sad to see him go.  Brodeur is one of the all-time great goaltenders and is a stand-up guy.  He has played in 1,132 games and has a career save percentage of .913 and a goals against of 2.22.  He holds many records for a goalie and has even scored a goal.

    Alexander Ovechkin threw out the first pitch at Camden Yards yesterday.  The strange part of it was he was wearing a number eight jersey with his name on the back.  I wonder what Cal Ripken thought about that.

    Zdeno Chara of the Bruins attended the memorial service in native Slovakia for Pavol Demitra, who died in the horrific plane crash that captured the lives of a Russian hockey team.  Chara said it was very emotional and will "take a lot of time to heal."  Such a sad story as too many hockey players have died recently including two overdoses.

    Great time of year despite the warm weather fading.  Football just started, NHL training camps have opened, and the MLB postseason is right around the corner.  Who cares that the NBA season is in jeopardy.