SUNDAY RAMBLINGS

Andy Murray became the second coaching casualty of the season when he was let go yesterday. Guiding the Blues to the worst home record in the league had something to do with it but maybe his decision to make young US Olympian defenseman Eric Johnson a healthy scratch was the last straw. Ultimately, his meeting fetish probably just became too mentally taxing for the group and he had to go…Question: If Roberto Luongo played goal for the Blackhawks would you hand them the Cup right now?...The Winter Classic was another rousing financial and marketing success. There are now rumblings that Dallas might be in line to host one in the near future. Really. JerryWorld is likely the target location (max dollars), although the Cotton Bowl is now empty New Years Day, or maybe the Trinity will freeze over? Just remember, its billed as a “Winter Classic” not an “outdoor game” - and anyway, I’ve seen an outdoor rink in the West End before, so…Mike Modano should have been named to Team USA. My god are they going to be young and inexperienced. It’s like GM Brian Burke disregarded the old maxim, “Yes, a new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows all the corners”. And that defense, its as robust as a picket fence made of balsam wood…The NHL can say all they want about the players adjusting to the “new game” and its rule enforcement coming out of the Lockout but there is little question that today’s refs aren’t calling games anywhere near as tight as they did even two years ago. They miss a lot, and ignore a lot. The Stars and Canucks don’t like one another, played that way yesterday, and yet there were less than a hand full of powerplays in the matinee affair. Curious…At mid season the Dallas Stars sit outside of the top 8 in the Western Conference. A major reason for that is their overtime record, (only 4 wins in their 15 appearances.) Just think, if they were merely average in overtime instead of awful they’d have 4 more points and would have entered Game 41 in fifth spot in the West, not ninth. And if they reversed the wins and losses (were 11-4 in OT) they’d have 7 more points, which would have them tied with, gulp, Phoenix for fourth – just five points back of the Sharks for top spot in the division and the conference…Back to the U.S. Olympic team to close. Did you, like me, think the announcement ceremony at the conclusion of the Winter Classic in Fenway Park seemed like it had been hurriedly mapped out that morning? Validation for this observation came in the form of Jamie Langenbrunner’s name being misspelled on the back of the minor hockey player who was part of the unveiling. The kid’s jersey had “Lagenbrunner” on the back. Whoops. At least the Americans tried to make a production of their picks. The Swedes found out they’d made the Three Crown squad on the internet, and I don’t mean by email. (Message to the rest of the world: When it comes to hockey and hockey team selection shows, copy Canada. They always get it right.)