Friday thoughts

Some good, some bad, and your mama has the ugly covered off!

• The curse is lifted! The J-man scored once (and almost notched a couple of others), as the Atom Blackhawks skated to a 5-1 win over the Pirates last night. That ends a 13 game winless skid for the Hawks.
• The New Jersey Devils traded for Ilya Kovalchuk. I guess the Devils are planning to take the playoffs off too?
• The Regina Pats take on Saskatoon and Kootenay tonight and tomorrow at the Brandt Centre. If the Pats lose both, they can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
• However, if they win both - tell the fat lady to hold off on warming up her singing voice for a while.
• Does this officially constitute an exodus from the Saskatchewan Roughriders?
• Paul LaPolice may very well be the biggest offseason departure, even bigger than Stevie Baggs and John Chick.
• Someone made an interesting point yesterday. You don't suppose Brendan Taman's ascension to the general manager's position had anything to do with LaPo's desire to leave Riderville, do you?
• You may recall that Taman was the assistant GM in Winnipeg when LaPolice was unceremoniously dumped as the Bombers offensive coordinator in 2003.
• In light of that, I suppose it wouldn't be out of the question for LaPo to feel a little uneasy with the Riders new management structure.
• Or maybe the Bombers just made him a really good offer!
• I should get bonus points for even trying to work out with a head cold. I figure that should shave five pounds off me, just for effort.
• I have nothing against the Colts, but I'll be cheering for the Saints on Sunday. How about you?