Watch the Player, Not the Play - When the hockey player you're taking off is nearing the end of their shift, keep a close eye on him. Watch him wherever he goes on the ice. Don't take your eyes off him. When your player makes his move to change on the fly, it is up to you to be ready. Not having a drink of water, not tying your skate, and not watching the play at the other end of the hockey rink. Be ready........

We are quickly approaching the face-off of the 2007-08 NHL season and as a Pittsburgh Penguins fan I have hopes for an even better season than last year. But a better season is certainly not assured. I’ve already been through my season tickets and thought about each game on them and how the teams they will be facing this year in pursuit of Lord Stanley’s Cup have changed. For the Pens, there will be no sneaking up on people this year. There will be no surprising our opponents. They know what the team can do and they will be ready. So I wanted to sit down and put together my thoughts about the upcoming season and what it is going to take from individual players and the team as a whole in order to make it back to the playoffs and not get bounced in the first round again.

Sidney Crosby: He put together another stellar performance last year and is on his way to becoming the most dominant player on the ice but must do so again this year to keep people from scratching their heads and wondering if he can continue. I personally believe that he can. But there are other players that certainly could eclipse him if he doesn’t keep the pedal to the metal during the 07-08 season. One of those? None other than ...

What discussion of the great game of ice hockey does not begin and end with Wayne Gretzky? You may or may not be a fan of the Great One, but you can no easier deny his dominance and the impact he had on the game than you can convince Rosie O'Donnell that subtle is better. Growing up as a huge NBA enthusiast (my tenure as a fan began when I was about 8-10 years old with Julius Erving and ended with the retirement of Sir Charles Barkley), I was no Chicago Bulls fan, but once Michael Jordan entered the scene, you just knew you were seeing something special. And like Gretzky (indeed perhaps the only viable similarity to Gretzky), whether you loved him or hated him, you certainly had to grant the man his place in sports history.