QUICK NOTES

Big Hairy American Scoring Machine
Modano was toasted by his teammates on the Stars luxurious new plane en route to Phoenix last night. (Fitting huh) The boys gathered in the back mid-flight and sipped a plastic glass of fine bubbly with the greatest American ever. Next up is a phone conversation sometime today with "W" himself, President George Bush. I'm not sure about Moe's politics (he strikes me as a liberal) but when it comes to one on one time with the sitting President, I don't think it matters. Although I am urging Mike to ask the former Rangers owner to do something about petrol prices. Ridiculous!

Leaders of the Pack
The more the league tries to change, the more it stays the same. Remember how everyone thought a cap-system NHL would be the death of the big-spending powers in the West - Dallas, Detroit and Colorado? Well checking the standings this morning they lead their respective divisions, ranking 1,2,3 in Western Conference standings. Hmmph! Nice try little-market pee-ons.

Big E
Eric Lindros is announcing his retirement from hockey today. (The Eric Lindros that was named league MVP in 1995 actually stopped playing 5 or 6 years ago, but that's another story) Big E played his final NHL game as a Dallas Star in that Game 7 at Vancouver. For a guy who came in with such a bang he went out on a wimper. His stats in that 4-1 loss were: 8:40 played, no shots, no pims, -2, 3 hits and a couple face-off wins. We wish Eric and that Pee-wee Herman bike he rode to morning skates in Dallas all the best in the next chapter...