Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
• Yes, Carolina Hurricanes rookie defenseman Jamie McBain has his own sandwich at Harris Teeter which he designed: Turkey and ham with banana peppers, green peppers, pickles, lettuce and chipotle sauce on a wheat sub roll. Just $3.99! And now, in the comments, please suggest other sandwiches for NHL players … [Canes, via the Badgers]
• The Y! Sports NHL playoff matchup page is up and running. [Y! Sports]
• The Patrick Sharp diagnosis: Three weeks with a bum knee, as Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville expects to have him back by the end of the regular season. [Sun Times]
• Good lord: No Datsyuk, no Hudler, no Franzen and now no Bertuzzi? [Winging It]
• Jody Shelley of the Philadelphia Flyers will miss four weeks after a puck struck him in practice; he'll undergo surgery on Thursday on his orbital bone around his left eye. [Flyers]
• "HBO 24/7 Penguins/Capitals" received three Sports Emmy nominations: Outstanding Edited Sports Special; Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound; and Most Profanity by an Obese … oh, wait: The Dick Schaap Writing Award. VERSUS received one nomination … for the Tour de France. [Emmy]
• The Goldwater Institute was pleased to see potential Phoenix Coyotes owner Matthew Hulsizer make some guarantees to the city of Glendale about payments but still feels the overall deal for the team is in violation of state law. "We hope Glendale will put a deal on the table that doesn't expose taxpayers to unnecessary risk," said Darcy Olsen, president of the Goldwater Institute. [Goldwater]
• According to Darren Dreger, Hulsizer feels he's done all he can to appease the Goldwater critics and "sources close to Hulsizer say the Chicago businessman has passed his limit in terms of what he's comfortable doing financially to close the sale." That said, he's battling on. [TSN]
• Pittsburgh Sports and Mini-Ponies' "Great Moments in Unlicensed Pittsburgh Sports Merch" turns its attention to a strange Irish-themed Sidney Crosby "Crybaby" shirt available in Detroit. "Just because there's a c, r, y and b in both CROSBY and CRYBABY, doesn't mean to take the easy joke and continually beat it into the ground. Show some expansion to your humor, or else you fall into the same kind of rut that you claim Sid has never grown out of." [PSAMP]
• Nebraska AD Tom Osborne said his school won't be adding a hockey team to compete in a new Big Ten league, citing Title IX compliance. "I don't really see where right now we could very well add a men's sport without adding a women's sport and maybe two," Osborne said. "That does make the issue, from a fiscal standpoint, more difficult." [Husker Extra]
• How the CHL is dealing with the concussion conundrum. [Buzzing The Net]
• Kent Wilson on the Matt Cooke suspension: "If the NHL is more interested in appearing to be concerned about headshots rather than actually changing behavior, we should expect them to get some mileage out of the draconian Cooke sentence and then return to business as usual in short order." [HOTH]
• Down Goes Brown's Matt Cooke suspension transcript is friggin' hilarious. Please do read it. [DGB]
• Former Detroit Red Wings enforcer Joey Kocur is accused of drunk driving. [9&10 News, via Tom B]
• The great Ian Walker gets Columbus Blue Jackets brawler Jared Boll to discuss his love of "Saved By The Bell." [Sun]
• Ten reasons why Edmonton Oilers fans should give a damn about the final 10 games of the season. [Copper & Blue]
• How do the Washington Capitals react to a big game minus Alex Ovechkin on Tuesday night? [Capitals Insider]
• Freaky Joker hockey mask. Why So Serious? [Hockey In Art]
• Here's a time lapse of what Pierre McGuire would see every game if he was wearing a neckbrace.
• Marty Reasoner's brother filled in as an emergency goalie during Florida Panthers practice Tuesday at MSG. [Lozo]
• Interesting post on rink safety issues, and practical solutions. [Blackhawk Up]
• Don't sleep on the San Jose Sharks as a Cup contender this season. [THN]
• Is there still time for the Calgary Flames to make a playoff push? "The gap between the No. 6 Chicago Blackhawks and the No. 10 Flames is just a single point, with three teams including Calgary bunched at 85 points, two others at 86, the Kings at 88 and Phoenix all alone in fourth at 89. The problem, as has been stated over and over, is that Calgary has just seven games remaining to be played, while Dallas, Nashville and Chicago all have 10, Anaheim and L.A. have nine and Phoenix has eight." [Globe & Mail]
• Nicklas Grossman is out for "a bit" with a sprained MCL for the Dallas Stars. [Defending Big D]
• Oh, this is cool: You can purchase NHL All-Star Game banners in Raleigh. [Canes]
• Digital immersion and sitting by the glass at a hockey game and our heads hurt. [Electric Archaeology]
• Finally, we're suckers for old NHL commercials and how the game has been promoted on TV through the years. Here's former New Jersey Devils forward Sergei Brylin and his family, turning the Cup into a baby bath. We suspect this may have been a VHS transfer.