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NEW YORK (January 25, 2012) — Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal has been added to the NHL All-Star roster for the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend in Ottawa Jan. 26-29, the National Hockey League announced today.

Neal replaces Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

Neal began the regular season with nine goals in his first 12 games and has ranked among NHL goal-scoring leaders since. The 24-year-old Whitby, Ont., native has 27 goals, tied with Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews for second place in the race for the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy. Neal tallied the 100th goal of his NHL career — and matched his single-season career high set with the Dallas Stars in 2009-10 — in the Penguins’ 3-2 shootout victory at St. Louis Tuesday. Neal leads the NHL with 210 shots and is tied for the League lead with 13 power-play goals. The Penguins have won nine consecutive games and are 17-3-2 overall when Neal scores a goal.
Neal earned his second invitation to NHL All-Star Weekend, having skated for the NHL Rookies against the Sophomores in the 2009 YoungStars game at Montreal. He will be making his NHL All-Star Game debut.

The 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft TM will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26 to divide the All-Stars and Rookies into two teams — Team Alfredsson, led by captain Daniel Alfredsson of the All-Star host Ottawa Senators and his assistant captain Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers; and Team Chara, featuring captain Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins and his assistant captain Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The draft will be televised live on TSN and RDS in Canada and NBC Sports Network in the United States at 8 p.m., ET, from the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau-Ottawa, Quebec.

Attached: All-Stars/Rookies available for selection by Team Alfredsson and Team Chara in the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft TM:

All-Stars/Rookies Available For Selection
In 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft TM

Forwards

Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins
Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers
Milan Michalek, Ottawa Senators
Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins
Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Goaltenders

Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues

Defensemen

Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers
Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Dan Girardi, New York Rangers
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers
Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Dion Phaneuf, Toronto Maple Leafs
Alex Edler, Vancouver Canucks
Dennis Wideman, Washington Capitals

Rookies

Luke Adam, Buffalo Sabres
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
Ryan Johansen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Nick Johnson, Minnesota Wild
Craig Smith, Nashville Predators
Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils
Adam Larsson, New Jersey Devils
Colin Greening, Ottawa Senators
Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
Matt Read, Philadelphia Flyers
Cody Hodgson, Vancouver Canucks

Selected but unable to participate:

Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets (All-Stars)
Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild (All-Stars)
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (All-Stars)
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks (All-Stars)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers (Rookies)

About 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend

The 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend comes to Ottawa, Canada’s capital, Jan. 26 through Jan. 29. The excitement begins with the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy DraftTM on Thursday, Jan. 26, televised live on TSN and RDS in Canada and NBC Sports Network in the United States at 8 p.m., ET, from the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau-Ottawa, Quebec.

The players take the ice in the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills CompetitionTM, at Scotiabank Place on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m., ET, and for the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game, at Scotiabank Place on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 4 p.m., ET. Live television coverage of both events will be provided by CBC and RDS in Canada and NBC Sports Network in the United States.

Fans in the Ottawa area are encouraged to take part in the festivities at the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fair™, a three-day fan festival at the Ottawa Convention Centre, Jan. 26-28.

For the latest NHL All-Star news and exclusive content, visit NHL.com and its dedicated microsite for the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend, NHL.com/allstar. Follow the NHL on Twitter (@NHL) and on Facebook (Facebook.com/NHL).

BOARD OF GOVERNORS APPROVES FOUR-CONFERENCE FORMAT

Authorizes Commissioner To Implement, Pending Input From NHL Players’ Association

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (Dec. 5, 2011) — The National Hockey League Board of Governors tonight approved a four-Conference alignment format and authorized Commissioner Gary Bettman to implement this proposal, pending input from the National Hockey League Players’ Association. The format would create two eight-team Conferences and two seven-team conferences.

Under the format, every team would play every other team outside its conference twice — once home, once away.

In the seven-team Conferences, teams would play six times — three home, three away. In the eight-team Conferences, teams would play either five or six times in a season on a rotating basis; three teams would play each other six times and four teams would play each other five times. This process would reverse each season: An eight-team Conference member that plays an opponent six times in one season would play it five times the following season.

The top four teams in each Conference qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The first-place team would play the fourth-place team; the second-place team would play the third-place team. The four respective Conference champions would meet in the third round of the Playoffs, with the survivors playing for the Stanley Cup.

The Conference format:

CONF. A CONF. B CONF. C CONF. D
Anaheim Chicago Boston Carolina
Calgary Columbus Buffalo NJ Devils
Colorado Dallas Florida NY Islanders
Edmonton Detroit Montreal NY Rangers
Los Angeles Minnesota Ottawa Philadelphia
Phoenix Nashville Tampa Bay Pittsburgh
San Jose St. Louis Toronto Washington
Vancouver Winnipeg

An Interview With:

EDDIE OLCZYK
JIMMY HOWARD
TIM THOMAS

DAVID KEON: Good afternoon, everyone. I’m David Keon of the National Hockey League’s public relations department, and I’d like to welcome you to today’s call. With us today we have Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard, and NBC analyst and retired NHL star Ed Olczyk. Thanks to all three of these gentlemen for taking the time to join us today and talk with you.

This coming Friday the Red Wings will travel to Boston to take on the Bruins in the 2011 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown. So far this season Tim and Jimmy have very similar statistics. Tim is 9-4-0, second among goalies with a 1.77 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. Jimmy sports a 10-5-1 record, he’s third with a 1.85 goals against average and has a .930 save percentage.

Both are tied for the lead among goalies with three shutouts this season. The Bruins are first in the Northeast Division with 24 points while the Red Wings are third in the Central Division with 23. Jimmy has backstopped the Wings to a 6?2 record in the past eight games, while Tim has recorded shutouts in his last two starts, and Boston has an nine?game winning streak. In two meetings last season in early February, the Red Wings defeated the Bruins 6?1 in Boston and 4?2 in Detroit.

Thanks again to Tim and Jimmy and Ed for joining us today, and to start it off we’ll turn it over to Ed for a few comments. Eddie, go ahead.

ED OLCZYK: Thank you very much, Dave. Tim and Jimmy, thank you very much for being a part of this call. An historic day, something that has been going on in Boston for a long time, 20 plus seasons, the Bruins hosting a game on Black Friday obviously, the day after Thanksgiving, and for us at NBC, this will mark the earliest NHL regular season broadcast on national U.S. network television in more than 20 years, so we’re very proud to be a part of that.

Of course great Doc Emrick, Pierre McGuire, Liam McHugh and Mike Milbury and myself will be on hand in Boston to bring this game coast to coast at 1:00 eastern, 12:00 central, and looking forward to being a part of two original six franchises being a part of that game on Friday afternoon. It’s the only regular?season meeting between the Detroit Red Wings and the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, and looking very much forward to spending that day after Thanksgiving in the great city of Boston.

First off, I’d like to just ask Tim what this unbelievable winning streak that you guys are on, Tim, nine wins in a row, you’ve come off a shutout in Montreal last night, just talk about where your team is besides the wins, how you guys have come together and maybe what parts of the game that you’ve really been impressed with over this amazing nine?game winning streak.

TIM THOMAS: It started out, I think, you know, we got ourselves in such a hole at the beginning of the year, and I think what started our success is we got to the point where everybody was invested in each and every game. It was really hard at the beginning of the year with all the Stanley Cup hangovers. Say what you will about it, there’s something to be said about it.

And it just got to the point where things started clicking, and we were invested in each and every game when it was hard to do in the beginning of the year for some reason.

Probably coming off the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals where each and every game is so important, it was hard for us to recreate that kind of feeling in the locker room at the beginning of the year. But we got ourselves in such a big hole that effectively we made each and every game very important because we couldn’t afford to go any further down.

But that’s what I think started it, and then I was really impressed for quite a few games in a row there, I was really impressed with our offense. It just took off. We started scoring goals, and the whole team was just getting the job done offensively.

Recently over the past few games, it’s kind of well, I guess we scored six against the Islanders, but there’s been a couple of games that we haven’t scored as much but we found a way to win, so that’s impressive in its own right. We’re learning to win games in different manners.

ED OLCZYK: If I could follow up with that, one guy that I think maybe not a lot of people maybe recognize as one of the elite defensemen in the National Hockey League is Dennis Seidenberg. Can you just talk about from your position the importance of what he brings each and every night?

TIM THOMAS: Yeah, he’s a horse. He’s just so tough every night and does a great job. There’s a lot of nights where he doesn’t think he played his best game, and I’m sitting behind him in goal and telling him after the game, you played fine, you played great. We’ve learned to work together over the past two years where I think I can read off of him very well, and that’s important to be able to read off of your defensemen, and we’ve had that going for us.

But he blocks shots, he just shows up and battles every night. I know talking to him last night, he’s disappointed in his point output this year, his point production, but I was telling him, who cares, we’re winning. You’re playing good; don’t worry about it.

But I mean, I really love playing behind him. He made ?? when he came to our team, he made our whole team’s defense better.

ED OLCZYK: Jimmy, you guys are on a nice little run here. You’ve won a couple of games in a row, but in your last ten games you guys are 6-3-1. After getting out of the gates, you were a perfect five for five to start the season. Can you talk about your team coming off the West Coast and what you see to this point with the Detroit Red Wings?

JIMMY HOWARD: Yeah, it was a huge two victories for us over the course of the weekend back to back in LA and Anaheim. Sunday’s game was just a gutsy effort, got off to a 3?0 lead and Anaheim found a way to crawl back, but we stuck to it.

The season has been a little bit of a roller coaster for us so far this year. We started out of the gates great 5?0 and then the next thing you know we had a little hiccup and couldn’t score. We ran into some great goaltending and just couldn’t find the back of the net. It wasn’t because we weren’t working hard or weren’t doing anything like that out of the ordinary, it was just we weren’t finding ways to win.

So you know, we’ve just got to concentrate on going out there, and mistakes are going to happen, but just continue to play. The game is 60 minutes for a reason, and hockey is a game of mistakes, and when one happens, just don’t get down on ourselves and just continue to go out there and battle.

ED OLCZYK: On your team, Jimmy, you get a chance to watch them and face them every day in practice just like Timmy does in Boston, but one guy I’d like to ask you about, another defenseman that I don’t think maybe gets enough of the ink, people know he’s a tremendous hitter, but Niklas Kronwall really seems to in the last couple years have taken his game to another level. Can you just comment about him and obviously the importance of what he brings each and every night to your team?

JIMMY HOWARD: Kronner is great. Kronner is a true professional, everything he does, on and off the ice. He’s got everything down to repeat, what he’s having to eat at certain times of the day and everything like that. I mean, he’s a true specimen.

But he’s really taken off. He’s playing a lot of minutes for us, which is great. It allows Nick not to be out there as much, and he’s taken on more of a role this year with being assistant captain, too, which is a great sign for years to come for the Red Wings.

He’s just a hard worker. I mean, he’s constantly demanding more out of himself, and you can see it in practice. Every single day he comes to the rink ready to work and ready to learn and get better.

ED OLCZYK: I’d like to ask both of you guys before we turn it over to the media joining the conference call, I’m lucky enough to have played in a couple of original six cities myself, but can you just talk about the importance of that and maybe when you are taking on another original six team, is there that little extra special feeling, especially on a holiday weekend? Timmy, I’ll start with you.

TIM THOMAS: Yeah, every time we play an original six team, there’s an extra energy to the game. You know, before I experienced playing against other original six teams, I didn’t think I heard the talk about it before, but I didn’t think there was anything to it. But over the years, it’s true, there’s an extra energy to the game, and it just makes the game more important. For me to play against Detroit is always a big deal for me because I’m from Michigan, I don’t really look too far ahead on the schedule ever, hardly ever. I just try to keep it small, keep it focused, but I always know when the Red Wings game is because my family makes me aware of it basically. And I’m happy to be playing in Boston this time because it was a lot cheaper than playing in Detroit.

ED OLCZYK: Jimmy, how about you?

JIMMY HOWARD: Yeah, you can always tell when you’re playing an original six team, especially like when you’re pulling into the rink two hours before and there’s people, there’s crowds of people already outside the arena. I’ll give you an instance: We played Toronto in the preseason this year in Detroit, and it was like a playoff game atmosphere in the stands. It was crazy, between “Go, Leafs, Go” and the “Go, Red Wing, Go” chants, it was awesome. Whenever we play an original six team, you can definitely feel the energy that the crowd is giving off, and it hypes you up.

Q. As proud red-blooded Americans I wanted to ask you what you thought about the NHL trying to get a foothold on Thanksgiving holiday to try to make this an annual thing for people to kind of make this part of their schedule like the NFL on Thanksgiving, and then a second part to the question, your favorite Thanksgiving food item?

JIMMY HOWARD: I think it’s great. Growing up, Thanksgiving, not only was it always about getting together with family and enjoying time with family members and grandparents and aunts and uncles and everything like that, it was also about getting around the TV and watching football. So for us to be joining the festivities the day after Thanksgiving I think it’s great for the sport, and I always like playing the NBC games because I always feel like it’s our Monday Night Football game. I have a lot of fun in that aspect.
But I’d have to go with my favorite Thanksgiving food would have to be stuffing.

TIM THOMAS: Yeah, I had similar experience to Jim except for unfortunately growing up in Michigan I always had to watch the Lions play, although I’m very happy with the success they’re having now, but I can’t remember ever watching them win one game. I’m not sure if they ever won one of those.

But yeah, I think it’s a good thing to try to make an annual tradition out of the Thanksgiving time period there, and as a hockey fan, I would have enjoyed having an afternoon game the day after Thanksgiving as a kid, something to look forward to. It would have made the Thanksgiving vacation even more special.
My favorite Thanksgiving food is ham. I know it’s not a traditional food, but I really like ham and my mom always made me a ham on Thanksgiving and still does. So that’s my food.

Q. Assuming you get it from Honey Baked there in Michigan, huh, Tim?

TIM THOMAS: Yeah.

ED OLCZYK: I’d like to say just from the aspect of the NBC side, the television side, it is, I think it’s something that Sam Flood and our NBC people are looking at as the whole pre?graphic day and just a lot like the Winter Classic, people being able to tune in the day after Thanksgiving, the long holiday weekend, and be able to see some of the greatest athletes in all of sports and two of the better goaltenders in the entire National Hockey League in Tim Thomas and Jimmy Howard be able to play for their respective teams. So I think from our side of it, we’re thrilled to be a part of it, and hopefully this will be something that we continue to do to build up the game, build up the individuals and continue to sell our great game.

Q. I wanted to ask both of you what kind of memories you have from playing ?? obviously lots of guys play football on Thanksgiving weekend, but what do you have hockey memories of? I know that’s kind of a time for travel tournaments and things like that whenever you’re a kid. What was it like playing hockey around Thanksgiving and whether it was trying to get in a family meal around traveling or whatever it was?

JIMMY HOWARD: I enjoyed it because growing up we always played in a Thanksgiving tournament in Oswego, New York, which is just north of Syracuse, and that’s where all my family is from, like my parents grew up, and aunts and uncles and cousins, they all live in Oswego, New York. So we would go down for Thanksgiving and we’d have a tournament Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so it was easy travel for us. We’d already be there, and we were still able to have the normal Thanksgiving atmosphere at both grandparents’ house and then got to play some hockey on top of that, so that’s what I remember growing up.

TIM THOMAS: I don’t remember playing any Thanksgiving tournaments. I’m sure I did, but I’m 37, and that was so long ago I don’t remember.

Q. I guess I should ask you, Tim, since this is kind of a Bruins’ tradition to play this Black Friday game, what has it been like and what have your experiences been like? Do guys worry about eating too much the day before, or just what is it like playing in this Friday matinee game?
TIM THOMAS: Yeah, they do. I’ve already heard talk about it this year from some of the guys on the team, about you can’t eat turkey. I think that’s an old wives’ tale. I think any of the tryptophan or anything that’s in turkey I think would be wore off by the next day.

I’ve played in a few of these games the day after Thanksgiving, and I’ve never felt slowed down by the Thanksgiving meal. Personally I don’t put too much thought into it. I’m going to try to enjoy it Thursday, eat as much as I like or don’t like and just get ready to play the game. But it’ll be it’s a bigger deal this year being on NBC, and we happen to be playing against the Detroit Red Wings, another team that’s had success in recent years, and with our success last year it should be set up for a real good game.

Q. I guess lastly, I guess one of the referees is going to be mic’d up for this game, and I just want to know what it’s like to be what kind of conversations do you have with the referee during the game, and if you know the guy is mic’d up does that change things or not?

JIMMY HOWARD: I don’t think it’ll change much. Usually when I’m talking to referees, it might involve some foul language once in a while. But no, for the most part I find when I’m talking to the referees it’s just usually about stuff that’s going on around the crease and making sure that they’re aware of it so that the goaltenders can do our jobs, because the way Tim and I play, we’re both aggressive, want to be at the top of the crease, and we don’t want to be getting interfered with. We want to be allowed to do our job.

TIM THOMAS: Yeah, I don’t think it’ll change the way that I talk to the ref. I don’t talk to the refs that much. I’m just too busy doing my own job for the most part. There are times when I’ll have short conversations. If I had a question on whether he saw something, or sometimes I just have questions about the rules and I just want to learn, so I’m asking questions about that.

But I don’t think it’ll change anything, but having said that, from past experience, whenever you know a guy has got a mic on, you’re less likely to talk to him for whatever reason.

DAVID KEON: Thanks very much, Tim and Jimmy and Ed. Have a great Thanksgiving and a great game on Friday.

Via Press Release:

Results from Saturday, Sept. 10
Auburn 41, Mississippi State 34 (87,451 at Auburn)
South Carolina 45, Georgia 42 (92,746 at Athens)
Ole Miss 42, Southern Illinois 24 (58,504 at Oxford)
Vanderbilt 24, Connecticut 21 (32,119 at Nashville)
LSU 49, Northwestern State (92,405 at Baton Rouge)
Tennessee 45, Cincinnati 23 (94,207 at Knoxville)
Arkansas 52, New Mexico 3 (52,606 at Little Rock)
Alabama 27, Penn State 11 (107,846 at University Park, Pa.)
Florida 39, UAB 0 (87,473 at Gainesville)
Kentucky 27, Central Michigan 13 (58,022 at Lexington)

Top Performances from Saturday, Sept. 10
Rushing
176 yards (27 carries, 1 TD) – Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina vs. Georgia
150 yards (18 carries, 2 TDs) – Michael Dyer, Auburn vs. Mississippi State
135 yards (21 carries, 1 TD) – Vick Ballard, Mississippi State vs. Auburn
126 yards (14 carries, 1 TD) – Josh Clemons, Kentucky vs. Central Michigan
119 yards (16 carries, 1 TD) – Chris Rainey, Florida vs. UAB
118 yards (16 carries, 1 TD) – Isaiah Crowell, Georgia vs. South Carolina
118 yards (16 carries, 3 TDs) – Jeff Scott, Ole Miss vs. Southern Illinois

Passing
405 yards (34-of-41, 4 TDs, 0 INT) – Tyler Bray, Tennessee vs. Cincinnati
259 yards (18-of-26, 1 TD, 1 INT) – Tyler Wilson, Arkansas vs. New Mexico
248 yards (19-of-29, 4 TDs, 1 INT) – Aaron Murray, Georgia vs. South Carolina
195 yards (20-of-33, 1 TD, 1 INT) – Chris Relf, Mississippi State vs. Auburn
195 yards (12-of-19, 0 TD, 0 INT) – Jeff Brantley, Florida vs. UAB

Receptions
10 catches (156 yards, 1 TD) – Justin Hunter, Tennessee vs. Cincinnati
10 catches (100 yards, 2 TDs) – Da’Rick Rogers, Tennessee vs. Cincinnati
7 catches (108 yards, 1 TD) – Emory Blake, Auburn vs. Mississippi State
6 catches (78 yards) – Joe Adams, Arkansas vs. New Mexico
6 catches (54 yards) – Mychal Rivera, Tennessee vs. Cincinnati

Defense
14 tackles (12 UT, 2 AT, 1 Sack -10, 3.5 TFL -16, 1 FF) – Cameron Lawrence, Mississippi State vs. Auburn
13 tackles (5 UT, 8 AT, 3.5 TFL -3, 1 INT, 1 PBU) – Danny Trevathan, Kentucky vs. Central Michigan
13 tackles (2 UT, 11 AT) – Winston Guy, Kentucky vs. Central Michigan
12 tackles (4 UT, 8 AT, 0.5 TFL -2) – Daren Bates, Auburn vs. Mississippi State
11 tackles (4 UT, 7 AT, 0.5 TFL -1) – Neiko Thorpe, Auburn vs. Mississippi State
10 tackles (5 UT, 5 AT) — Martavius Neloms, Kentucky vs. Central Michigan

Schedule of Saturday, Sept. 17 Games
GAMES OF SATURDAY, SEPT. 15

LSU (2-0) at Mississippi State (1-1)
7 p.m. CT • ESPN
Starkville, Miss. • Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (55,082)
Series Record: LSU leads, 68-33-3 • Last Meeting; Sept. 18, 2010 (LSU, 29-7)

GAMES OF SATURDAY, SEPT. 17

Auburn (2-0) at Clemson (2-0)
12 p.m. ET • ABC Sports
Clemson, S.C. • Clemson Memorial Stadium (81,500)
Series Record: AU leads, 34-11-2 • Last Meeting: Sept. 18, 2010 (AU, 27-24, OT)

Ole Miss (1-1) at Vanderbilt (2-0)
11:21 a.m. CT • SEC Network / ESPN3.com
Nashville, Tenn. • Vanderbilt Stadium (39,773)
Series Record: UM leads, 47-36-2 • Last Meeting: Sept. 18, 2010 (VU, 28-14)

Coastal Carolina (2-0) at Georgia (0-2)
1 p.m. ET • Georgia PPV / ESPN3.com
Athens, Ga. • Sanford Stadium (92,746)
Series Record: First Meeting

Tennessee (2-0) at Florida (2-0)
3:30 p.m. ET • CBS Sports
Gainesville, Fla. • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (88,548)
Series Record: UF leads, 21-19 • Last Meeting: Sept. 18, 2010 (UF, 31-17)

Navy (2-0) at South Carolina (2-0)
6 p.m. ET • ESPN2
Columbia, S.C. • Williams-Brice Stadium (80,250)
Series Record: USC leads, 4-3 • Last Meeting: Nov. 12, 1988 (USC, 19-7)

Louisville (1-1) at Kentucky (2-0)
7 p.m. ET • ESPNU
Lexington, Ky. • Commonwealth Stadium (67,942)
Series Record: UK leads, 14-9 • Last Meeting: Sept. 4, 2010 (UK, 23-16)

North Texas (0-2) at Alabama (2-0)
6:30 p.m. CT • FS South / ESPN3.com
Tuscaloosa, Ala. • Bryant-Denny Stadium (101,821)
Series Record: UA leads, 3-0 • Last Meeting: Sept. 19, 2009 (UA, 53-7)

Troy (0-1) at Arkansas (2-0)
6:30 p.m. CT • CSS / ESPN3.com
Fayetteville, Ark. • Reynolds Razorback Stadium (72,000)
Series Record: UA leads, 3-0 • Last Meeting: Nov. 14, 2009 (UA, 56-20)

* – The SEC leads the nation with seven teams ranked in this week’s AP and USA Today Polls. Alabama is second, LSU is third and South Carolina 11th in both polls. Arkansas is 14th in AP and 13th in USA Today, Florida is 16th in AP and 17th in USA Today and Auburn is 21st in AP and 19th in USA Today. Mississippi State is 25th in both polls.

* – After two weeks, the SEC is 18-2 (.900) against non-conference competition. The SEC went 8-0 this weekend against non-conference foes. It is the first time since Sept. 11, 1999 that the SEC went undefeated against non-conference competition in at least eight games.

* – After two weeks of games, 16 SEC games have had a total of 1,179,298 fans, an average of 73,706 fans per game. The games have a 95.6 percentage of capacity so far this season.

* – Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt has moved into a tie for 17th for wins as an SEC head coach with 98. He ties Harry Mehre, who had 98 wins during his tenure as head coach at Georgia (1928-37) and Ole Miss (1938-45).

Starting QB Nuggets
* – Tennessee QB Tyler Bray is 6-1 as a starting quarterback. In his six wins, he has 19 TDs to 4 INTs.
* – South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia is 18-13 as a starting quarterback. In his 18 wins, he has 27 TDs to 11 INTs. In his 13 losses, he has 14 TDs to 20 INTs.
* – Georgia QB Aaron Murray is 6-9 as a starting quarterback. He has 13 TDs to 1 INT in his six wins and 17 TDs and nine INTs in his nine losses.

* – The Georgia-South Carolina contest lived up to its recent series record. Since 2000, the game has been decided by nine-points-or-less 8 times. The average scoring margin of the 12 games since 2000 is 8.25, which is the most competitive of any SEC series. Second most competitive by scoring margin is South Carolina-Tennessee at 9.00 per game (11 games).

* – Auburn PK Cody Parkey leads the SEC with 8 touchbacks while Arkansas’ Zach Hocker is second with 7.

* – Florida’s defense recorded the SEC’s first shutout of the year in a 39-0 win against UAB. It was the Gators’ first defensive shutout since a 62-0 win against Western Carolina on Nov. 18, 2006.

* – SEC defenses allowed just 8 offensive touchdowns in 8 non-conference games this weekend.

* – Vanderbilt is 2-0 for the first time since 2008. Coach James Franklin is the first, first-year coach at Vanderbilt to start 2-0 since Fred Pancoast in 1975.

* – LSU win streaks extended with its 49-3 win over Northwestern State: non-conference regular season (35), September (19), home games (12), home openers (6), vs. Louisiana schools (28).

* – Tyler Bray’s 405 passing yards marked the first time a Vol quarterback eclipsed with 400-yard mark since Peyton Manning threw for 523 yards against Kentucky on Nov. 22, 1997.

* – Arkansas has scored 103 points in the first two games of the season, the second most in school history and the most in the first two games of a season since the 1911 squad scored 165.

* – Alabama opponents have not scored a touchdown in the first quarter for seven straight games. The last time an opponent scored a TD in the opening stanza against the Tide was against Tennessee on Oct. 23, 2010.

* – Kentucky freshman RB Josh Clemons’ 87-yard TD run was the longest for a Wildcat since Bernie Scruggs went 88-yards against Georgia in 1970. It is the longest rush by a UK freshman ever.

* – The 45-42 score in South Carolina’s win over Georgia is the most combined points between the two schools in the history of the series (previous high was 86 points, 52-34 Georgia in 1970). Carolina’s 45 points is the most points the Gamecocks have scored in the history of the series.

* – Six players in the Auburn-Mississippi State game each had more than 100 all-purpose yards in the contest. For Mississippi State, Vick Ballard had 199 (135 rush, 64 receiving), LaDarius Perkins had 117 (78 rush, 2 receiving, 37 kickoff returns) and Chris Relf had 109 (106 rush, 3 receiving). For Auburn, Tre Mason had 186 (14 rush, 172 kickoff return), Michael Dyer had 150 (all rushing) and Emory Blake had 108 (all receiving).

* – Ole Miss RB/RS Jeff Scott leads the nation in punt returns, averaging 35.67 yards per return. He returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown against Southern Illinois (and also scored three other rushing TDs against the Salukis).

Via Press Release:

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox, Fenway Sports Management (FSM) and the Hockey East Association announced today that tickets for the January 7th Hockey East doubleheader will go on sale to the general public beginning today, Tuesday, September 13 at noon. The outdoor men’s college hockey doubleheader will feature the University of Vermont (UVM) Catamounts against the University of Massachusetts (UMass)
Minutemen at 4:00 p.m., and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats against the University of Maine (UMaine) Black Bears at 7:30 p.m. The back-to-back college hockey games are part of Frozen Fenway 2012, a two week series of ice events at Fenway Park.

Tickets are available at redsox.com/frozenfenway or by calling (877) RED-SOX9. Fans with disabilities may also call (877) RED-SOX9 to purchase accessible seating. The Red Sox’ TTY number for hearing-impaired fans is (617) 226-6644. Prices start as low as $5 and tickets will be valid for both games.

While the UNH and UMaine hockey rivalry has often been referred to as the “Border War,” the upcoming doubleheader will create a four-way border war between the four competing state schools. The hockey games at Fenway Park will be the 56th and 111th all-time meeting between UVM/UMass and UNH/UMaine respectively.
In the all-time series history, UVM leads the series with UMass, 33-15-6 in 54 meetings. UMaine leads the series with UNH, 56-48-5 in 109 meetings. Both UNH and Maine were nationally ranked last year with UNH finishing second in the Hockey East standings and Maine finishing fifth.

New England Sports Network (NESN) is scheduled to broadcast the college hockey doubleheader in addition to the Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks game on January 7. This special broadcast of the “Hockey Day in New England” tripleheader begins at 1 p.m. when the Bruins take on the Canucks for the first time since the team’s epic 7-game victory in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals. The network will then move to Fenway Park
where it will showcase the two great Hockey East matchups at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Via Press Release:

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled its ‘Be The Thunder’ marketing campaign for the 2011-12 regular season today, calling on all hockey fans throughout the Bay Area to come together and be loud in support of the Bolts all season long as the highly-anticipated start of the regular campaign quickly approaches.

Launched as the direct result of countless interviews with the same raucous crowds which packed the St. Pete Times Forum each night during an exciting and improbable playoff run, the ‘Be The Thunder’ campaign features a refreshed focus on the team’s identity and its brand, highlighting and paying tribute to the Lightning’s passionate fan base. Both the exterior and interior of the St. Pete Times Forum are being transformed to offer guests the best fan experience possible, presenting signage consistent with the campaign throughout various parts of the building.

“The new campaign calls on our dedicated, passionate fans to ‘Be the Thunder’ behind the Lightning,” said Chief Operating Officer Steve Griggs. “Through strength in numbers, our fans are encouraged to serve as that force of nature as we implore them to create a raucous atmosphere in our building for every home game and provide unwavering support in the community.”

The vision for the campaign is being brought to life through several traditional advertising mediums, along with a newly-placed emphasis on social media across multiple platforms; cultivating Lightning fans for life with interactive fan outreach initiatives and online contests. The campaign will also recognize the diversity of Tampa Bay Lightning fans, assisting in reaching the numerous demographics that encompass the fan base.

“Last season we placed great emphasis on our ownership and management’s commitment to the team’s long term success and to the community,” Vice President of Brand Management Lynn Wittenburg said. “Now, we’re turning our attention to the fans, the most integral players on our team. We encourage them to come together, be loud and share with us a one-of-a-kind experience as we continue to proudly cement our presence in Tampa Bay.”

~BE THE THUNDER~

Via Press Release:

Highly-Anticipated Feature-Length Documentary “THE LOVE WE MAKE” Chronicles Paul McCartney’s Cathartic Journey
Through New York City In The Aftermath of 9/11.
To Debut on SHOWTIME September 10th At 9:00 ET/PT

LOS ANGELES, CA (September 6, 2011) – As the country prepares to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, SHOWTIME will premiere the highly-anticipated feature documentary THE LOVE WE MAKE, which chronicles Paul McCartney’s poignant and cathartic journey through the streets of New York City in the aftermath of the World Trade Center’s destruction. It also traces the planning and performance of the monumental benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, “The Concert for New York City,” which took place less than six weeks after the terrorist attacks. Directed by iconic documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Salesman, Grey Gardens) and his award-winning filmmaking partner, Bradley Kaplan (Muhammad and Larry, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, Sand and Sorrow), THE LOVE WE MAKE was shot in the signature cinéma vérité style that Maysles pioneered and made famous when he filmed the Beatles’ first visit to America in the legendary 1964 documentary What’s Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. Shooting once again in 16mm black & white, Maysles’ camera intimately captures McCartney’s personal journey to help heal the city that welcomed him with open arms in 1964. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.
On the morning of September 11, 2001 McCartney was on a plane on the tarmac in New York City, scheduled to leave the country when the attacks took place. Grounded, he returned to the city and witnessed first-hand the shock and devastation that overtook the United States. Directors Maysles and Kaplan, along with Editor Ian Markiewicz (The Beales of Grey Gardens) assembled extraordinary, intimate, never-before-seen footage of McCartney rehearsing for the benefit concert, connecting with New Yorkers on the city streets, and storytelling behind-the-scenes at interviews with Dan Rather, Howard Stern and others. Additionally, the film features performances from the benefit concert itself and unparalleled access backstage with McCartney and luminaries from the worlds of music, Hollywood and politics, including David Bowie, Steve Buscemi, Eric Clapton, President Bill Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Mick Jagger, Jay Z, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stella McCartney, Governor George Pataki, Keith Richards, James Taylor, Pete Townsend, and many more.
Says McCartney, “It was an honor to be able to help New York and America at that time in its history. There was a feeling of shock and fear in the air that I thought we could help alleviate with music. And the fact that so many people stepped up to join us made for a very uplifting evening for us all.”
“Paul McCartney and Albert Maysles are each, in their own fields, iconic artists whose collaboration goes back more than 40 years,” said Nevins. “In the days following 9/11, they joined forces once again to make a very personal film that is a real testament to the spirit and resiliency of New York City. We are very proud to be able to premiere this film.”
Filmmaker Maysles adds, “There was so much suffering as a result of 9/11 it’s hard to imagine how one might bring relief to those who were impacted by the attacks, and honor those firefighters, police officers and rescue workers who lost their lives in their heroic attempt to help others. But Paul had the answer: music and a film that would tell the full story.”
THE LOVE WE MAKE is a Maysles Films, Inc. Production. A Film by Albert Maysles, Bradley Kaplan, and Ian Markiewicz. Directed by Bradley Kaplan and Albert Maysles. Edited by Ian Markiewicz. Cinematography by Albert Maysles. Produced by Bradley Kaplan.
###
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, SHOWTIME 2 HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™ and FLIX ON DEMAND®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution which includes the SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

NBC SPORTS GROUP CONTINUES
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF ITS ASSETS
VERSUS to be re-branded as NBC Sports Network
NBC Sports to adopt redesigned logo
NEW YORK – August 1, 2011 – As part of a new strategy to bring all four tiers of its assets (broadcast network, two national cable networks, 11 regional sports networks and digital) into a consistent framework of branding, the NBC Sports Group today announced that VERSUS will be re-named the NBC Sports Network. In addition, the NBC Sports Group will implement a redesigned NBC Sports logo. Both changes take effect January 2, 2012. Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group, made the announcement today at the Television Critics Association (TCA) conference in Los Angeles.
The NBC Sports Network will serve as a 24/7 cable platform for NBC Sports’ rich heritage of unmatched storytelling, best-in-class production and broad promotional power. Many NBC Sports production and programming elements have already been introduced on VERSUS since the merger – such as adopting the “Inside the Glass” production philosophy for all its NHL games, and adding horse racing and Notre Dame Football-related programming. Viewers can expect to see even more changes in the future.
“This effort is a major step towards a complete strategic alignment of all our platforms and businesses,” said Lazarus. “This is more than just a name change for VERSUS. It’s a complete repositioning of the brand to provide value for marketers, consumers as well as all our affiliates and distributors. We want anyone who comes into contact with any of our assets to immediately connect with the NBC Sports brand promise.”
A new NBC Sports logo will also be implemented on January 2. The new logo features an evolutionary design that maintains the equity of the classic NBC Sports logo, while signaling something new. Changes include:

Cont.
• The Peacock is slightly larger.
• The letters “NBC” are still bold, but have a new font which puts them in balance with the Peacock.
• “Sports” maintains its scripted feel, but features a new hand-lettered font exclusively created for NBC Sports.
• Previously “Sports” was on an angle, but it has been straightened to allow for “Network” to fit easily beneath it and to accommodate the on-air design of commonly used sports tickers.
“The re-brand effort afforded us the opportunity to modernize the NBC Sports logo,” said John Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, NBCUniversal Television Group and head of the NBC Sports Agency. “The changes are subtle, but signal a big change: a new beginning for the NBC Sports Group.”
January 2 was chosen as the re-brand date for several reasons, including the number of strategic events with large viewing audiences on NBC within a short timeframe that can be used to call attention to the re-branding efforts:
• On Sunday, January 1, the NFL’s regular-season will conclude with the Week 17 Sunday Night Football matchup just hours prior to the re-brand.
• On re-brand day, Monday, January 2, the NHL Winter Classic on NBC will allow for significant cross-promotion with the newly-named NBC Sports Network.
• On Saturday, January 7, the NBC Sports Group will utilize its NFL Wild Card doubleheader coverage to drive re-brand awareness.
• On Sunday, February 5, Super Bowl XLVI, the most-watched program of the year, will provide an unprecedented opportunity for cross-promotion between NBC and the NBC Sports Network.
The January 2 re-brand efforts are a continuation of branding initiatives that began as soon as the NBC Sports Group was formed. In February it was announced that all golf broadcasts on NBC would be re-branded as “Golf Channel on NBC.” In April, NBCSports.com absorbed VERSUS.com to create a single, robust online destination for fans.
NBC Sports Group’s regional sports networks are not currently scheduled to be re-branded, however, Lazarus said “many will evolve to have the look and feel of our NBC Sports brand and production values.”

Darryl’s Dispatch

2011-12 Top 300 NHL Prospects

By Darryl Houston Smith
NHL Prospect Analyst

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The goal of this list is to place a raw ranking or value on a given young player’s ability to adapt and mature his game during those crucial first few seasons after he is drafted or signed by an NHL team.  There were 214 prospects who reached the NHL this past season, with fully thirty-six percent of those surpassing the 25-game milestone.  Every NHL team has a similar list of prospects but the exact makeup of each one is a well guarded secret.  While it is true that no one has access to all 30 complete lists, after talking with scouts and front office personnel from across the NHL, it is safe to say that there are not a lot of secrets where the top prospects are concerned (a couple of hundred of these names would likely be found on every team’s list).  The key differences would lie in the myriad of opinions held by each team about these players.

Each of these elite prospects is considered by industry consensus to be the best of the best, the order is my own.  Think of it as a very early post-draft snapshot of an emerging talent pool.  But realistically, almost all of these players are several years away from being effective NHL regulars and only a few will ever reach true NHL stardom.   A list of this sort is by nature very fluid and one that is perpetually in motion. Complicating matters further are the recent additions of those players selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.  Thus is the imperfect nature of talent evaluation and development.

Prospect Criteria: Players under 26 years old who have appeared in no more than 25 NHL games are considered prospects. A player’s current ranking combines two grades; the first is his current state of NHL preparedness and the second measures his long-term potential.

Top 300