How Would a Red Neck Go With Those Suits?

I have to confess that I haven't been watching much of the conference finals, as my new employment at an undisclosed media outlet (sorry folks, them's the rules) keeps me in the office in the evenings (I'm also becoming very well acquainted with the 24-hour New York Sports Club in the MetLife building), and I haven't checked to see if we get Versus at the office (maybe it's all that "No one can find Versus" propaganda emanating from The Mouse, but I'm not optimistic). However, the progression towards a Pittsburgh-Detroit final is cool with me.

What's also cool with me is seeing Don Cherry contributing to the Mouse. While I'm concerned that the wrong combination of suits from Don and Barry Melrose could cause a few TVs to go on the fritz, I love watching and listening to Don. Of course, he made a splash in his first ESPN appearance by calling Detroit a "redneck town" to explain why the current edition of the Red Wings isn't cleaning up at the box office. The comment didn't sit well in some quarters, but I do understand what Cherry was talking about.

I had a conversation a couple years ago with a scout from the Central Hockey League who's a regular at Princeton games. The first time I met him, we talked about Angela Ruggiero playing with her brother in the Central League, and a little bit about women's hockey in general, more specifically, why Angela's home state of Michigan has eight Division I men's programs (down to seven now, sadly) but only one women's program. The explanation given was that where folks in Minnesota appreciated the amateur/international style with its emphasis on speed, creativity, etc., folks in Michigan prefer the grittier, harder-hitting "old NHL" style. Seems to me like Don was saying the exact same thing, except that he used the word "redneck." And he may have a point.

Moving on, word is that Don Waddell has been asked to step down as GM of the Atlanta Thrashers. If this is the case, I'm sorry to see it. Don has been a great supporter of college hockey among NHL executives, with Dany Heatley being the one college player he signed early (and that Calder Trophy makes it look like that was a good move). I don't know who will take over in Atlanta, but I hope that policy is continued, and it'll be interesting to see if Don's reluctance to sign collegians before they graduate is blamed for Atlanta's lack of success. I hope not.

Finally, good luck to Sean Avery, who starts his career in publishing today as an intern at Vogue. I just want to know if he was in Crawford over the weekend, given the rumors linking him to First Daughter Barbara Bush.