I keep reading that Versus randomly decided to cover New Year's Eve(????) with an extra year-end segment. This is great news for people ... wait, what? Who would watch Brian Engblom, Keith Jones and Bland Straight Man without hockey being involved?

Why would you EVER want to see them for their merit alone?

How about this idea, for New Years and beyond: fire your entire "team" of voices. They do nothing but make people change the channel (OK, to be fair, maybe people leave the room and wash dishes while Versus fails at being ESPN).

Look, I'm a big hockey fan. I read blogs daily. I write a blog close-to daily. Despite all these damning factors, I will NOT watch this telecast. There's no way I'll be that bored.

So, instead of bland analysis and might-as-well-be-canned laughter, why not steal TNT's formula? Get former players who just need a little coaxing to say something interesting. Jeremy Roenick has been profoundly boring in his little broadcasting tryouts, but maybe that's because he's surrounded by a boring cast of characters.

What if you put a camera in front of, say, John Buccigross, Don Cherry, Roenick and Brett Hull? Honestly, you don't think one of those last three wouldn't say something buzz-worthy? Why wouldn't the instinct of competition make them say something bold and refreshing?

Oh well, asking Versus to improve is akin to asking Alexei Yashin to earn his paycheck.

Let's see what's going around the Central Division.

Of course, the most notable thing that happened was the trade with Washington sending Milan Jurcina and Chris Clark to Columbus in exchange for Jason Chimera.

The Blackhawks are trying to convince themselves that Brian Campbell was worth that contract.  Good luck. If all else fails, just start selling your kidneys to help pay for it.

Dirk over on On the Forecheck wants to know what the top Preds moment of 2009 was, and he's got quite a list to choose from.

Kyle on Babcock's Death Stare has a scary, scary stat regarding the Wings last 8 games.  You've been warned.

The Blues are looking to "get cooking" at home against the Preds.  As long as they don't start dying their hair bleach blonde and saying everything's "money," I could care less how they cook.

For all the negativity about Team USA's talent base, I found it stunning just how much talent came through the ranks since America bombed out of the '06 Olympics. Both USA and Canada made some awful decisions last time around (No Crosby? No Miller?), so hopefully the real-life programs will learn from past mistakes.

Check out my (still somewhat odd) picks for the American hockey team.

You might not like this if you're a one-dimensional player for the Montreal Canadiens ...

(jump!)

If you are like me, you may have had a little overload from your family right now. So I escaped from the dessert baking (which is in full force right now) and decided to peruse the Internet to put together some stuff you might find interesting while you try to seek sanity.

Dallas blogger Cole from The Other 6 Seconds proposes that the next Winter Classic should be in Minnesota with the Wild facing off against the Stars at Target Field. It's worth a look just to see the jerseys he's proposed.

Jibblescribbits plays Flo the insurance agent and evaluates the Wild's Wild Fire Insurance Claims

Ryan Classic attempted to attend the Canucks/Capitals game in Vancouver and learns that the price of a scalped ticket  was going at $150 each and that's with the game a full period in! Yeesh. He also looks at the two M. Brodeur's who were in play last Saturday.

The Kurtenblog had some of the first photographic proof of green men at a Canuck game to his the Internet, for a video see here.

And to end it off, a 'Twas the night before Oilers Christmas....

"Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war ..." - Aristophanes

It wasn't a shock to hear the not-quite-denied rumors that 2KSports might pull the plug on the NHL 2K series. After all, the perpetually best-selling EA series gradually won the hearts of video game critics in the PS3/Xbox 360 era as well, while the 2K series failed to counter EA's next-gen control scheme.

The NHL2K series might not have produced much of a polygonal forecheck since game companies made the undeniably expensive jump from PS2/X-Box hardware to the "next-gen" but that doesn't keep its death from being a bummer. After the jump, we'll look at the history of the EA Sports-Take Two/Visual Concepts rivalry and how those battles arguably doomed a once-great hockey game franchise.

***

Every week, CLS will run with the best Bloguin NHL posts sent into our Inbox. If there is a glaring omission (whether you own the blog in question or are simply a big fan), feel free to send us suggestions at cyclelikesedins[at]gmail.com.

(Also: there may or may not be one next week, as the holidays may present a snag)

"Both the Senators and the Sharks are Original 26 franchises, and what better way to pay tribute to our storied histories than an indoor game?  And what's better, we've already got a venue!"  General Manager Doug Wilson announced. (Melt Your Face Off)

Hip Checks takes a look at what each Phoenix Coyotes player should receive for Christmas.

Uhhh ... what else is there to say? (The Royal Half)

Something's Bruin has a nice piece about the lack of Bruins coverage in Boston, although I must say that their complaints could be applied to just about any American hockey team with 2-3 other sports competing in a given market.

Babcock's Death Stare makes a case for Jimmy Howard to be Team USA's third goalie and advances a pro-Bertuzzi viewpoint. I'd protest, but with a name as awesome as Babock's Death Stare it's difficult to complain.

Finally, The Other 6 Seconds looks back at the career of "The Little Ball of Hate" Pat Verbeek, including this rather stunning anecdote:

"One of my favorite “Razorisms” of all time revolves around the life of our beloved Beeker. “They say that opposable thumbs are what separate humans from wild animals. I guess that explains Pat Verbeek.” You see, in the off-season after the 1984-85 campaign, Verbeek returned home to his family's farm in Ontario. While was out doing farm stuff for his family, something got caught in the auger. When Verbeek went to dislodge said item, the auger sliced his thumb off. His brother rushed him to the hospital, while his father stayed on the farm to try and find the thumb. 6 or so hours later, they had as much of it stitched back on as they could. Being the hockey player that he is, he didn't miss a step in the continuation of his career. In the summer of 1999, he used that nub to lift Lord Stanley's Cup in Marine Midland Arena in the worst city on earth, Buffalo, NY. God bless him."

Whenever egos, clashing styles and regional loyalties play a key role in a medium, it's natural for there to be some conflict. Greed and fame (or worse, pride) can turn people who would normally be buddies into lethal enemies.

Obviously, one of the great modern examples is the West Coast/East Coast rivalry, which culminated in the deaths of two famous rappers with Tyler Myers-sized egos.

While hockey bloggers and rappers share little beyond an interest in words (and booties, perhaps), the hockey blogosphere is responsible for some pretty entertaining skirmishes. Even if some of them are probably more like nerdy slap-fights.

Let's take a look at some of the young medium's most memorable feuds ... it's up to your own judgment whether these battles were closer to Tupac/Biggie (legitimate hatred and bloodshed) or Jay-Z/Nas (probable hatred with more than a dash of commercial opportunism).

Jump!

Poking around teh interwebz, I've managed to dig up a few things of interest pertaining to everyone's favorite division.

The Game Time Prospect Department gives us an update on the mid-year stats of the Baby Blues.

Second City's blocked at work because it's in the weapons/military category... is there something that you guys aren't telling us?

Apparently the Preds might have worked themselves into a country music video.  I would make a smartass "Yee HAW" joke here, but any exposure's good exposure.

Awww, Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard like each other!  Yeah, that was the press between Legace and Mason, too.

The Preds might be getting new primary jerseys next season.  But... they just got new thirds!  These jerseys are turning into a ponsi scheme, aren't they?

I'll add stuff from Second City when I get home and people don't get the impression I'm looking up how to make a pipe bomb.

There isn't much to this list, yet I think that it might be particularly useful for those who are bored at work on Tuesday. If you like them, just say that you do in the comments. If a few people say that like it, I'll make it a regular thing. Encourage me to provide you entertainment by providing me with rare, elusive attention! Or I'll start using exclamation points!!!

(Note: Not all of these are hockey related. You know where to go for that fix, silly heads.)

• I've become a big fan of Drew "Balls Deep" Margary lately, particularly his stuff on Deadspin. His Open Mailbag Tuesday posts and "Asshole Coach Digest" posts might make it difficult when switching between your work software and an internet browser (with weed and masturbating references in the headlines) but if you can manage to print them out, they're a GREAT time waster. Warning: you will probably laugh out loud at work, which might make you seem like a weirdo.