Wednesday Wisdom...

And so here we are midweek, with more fun happening in the EIHL. Although we begin this round up with a mea culpa...

In my defence, I don't watch much TV...: I'm informed by Iowerth Jenkins that Rob Brydon, contrary to what I said yesterday in the lookalikes section, was not in fact involved in writing Gavin and Stacey-for some reason I was convinced he did have some part in it. But many thanks for the correction-if you spot any other factual errors on here (or indeed just want to debate any opinions I have) then feel free to let me know through the comments button or the email address at left...

...except when it's hockey: NHL hockey is back on our (terrestrial) screens-which means more late nights for me. Although I still gripe that they don't show my Pens enough, except if I get in from my traditional Wednesday night out early enough to catch the pre-game round-up.

Vychodil joins Basingstoke: Another change at the Silverdome, as David Vychodil makes the Bison (rather than the Capitals as rumoured) his third EIHL club in two seasons, replacing the concussed Dean Melanson, who leaves after playing injured the past few weeks. This is a good signing-Vych was just starting to find his feet in Coventry before being (unluckily) released for KC Timmons, and will get an almost immediate chance to prove he shouldn't have been when the Bison come to the Skydome this Sunday. If he gets that Biblically powerful shot of his on target, there'll be the odd anxious moment for the Blaze defence...

In Coventry, the end of the world is always just a loss away: Tonight's EIHL game sees Newcastle facing Edinburgh, both of whom beat Coventry last weekend despite being at opposite ends of the table. A Caps win and they pull off their second shock in three days-the Vipers win and they go top on their own with the chance to cement that lead as the Blaze make the return trip to the MRA on Saturday. Either way-if you read the reactions of some Blaze fans to the weekend, you'd think that the team were in serious trouble rather than having finally lost a game (or two) in regulation two-and-a-half months into the season. After, by the way, riding high at the top almost unchallenged since September. If Blaze suffer another winless weekend (or even if they only win one) then you get the feeling some fans with short memories will give themselves RSI from jabbing the panic button...

In other news, Blaze still have "no plans" to milk every cash cow for all its worth and then some: Despite saying they had no plans to appeal, the Blaze have today lost their attempt to be reinstated into the Challenge Cup at the expense of Belfast and Cardiff, both of who iced cup-tied players during the group stages, for which they were both fined. Thank heaven. The Blaze are unpopular enough already-had they gone on to win the cup despite being knocked out because they played badly, it would have really taken the gloss off the victory, and left a giant asterisk in the minds of many...

Hoch, hoher, Haie!: Just a quick DEL update-my Cologne team are doing a Belfast at the moment injury-wise...they always seem to have someone missing. Still, they're nicely settled in fourth, five points off the lead, despite losing to Mannheim 3-1 on Sunday.

In other news, press releases are just so much paper: If I were a Stingrays fan I'd begin to wonder about just where priorities lie in Hull...every day brings yet another player saying "we're nearly there" or "last weeks loss showed that there was something to build on", and yet still the team lose, and there's no real evidence of improvement out on the ice. If the league were decided on effort expended on PR then the Stingrays would be well up near the top, but it isn't...at the moment the Humbersiders can well be summed up just like Macbeth viewed life...
"It is tales told by an idiot-(they are) full of sound and fury, yet signifying nothing".
Although, saying that...having read a few of the Blaze press releases or views over the past few seasons, one could equally say that, at least in the game of getting your team noticed in the EIHL, the Witches had it right, or at least Macbeth did when commenting on them..."Fair is foul, and foul is fair"...
We will see this weekend, yet again, if the talking finally stops and the doing starts in the north-east...

And that's your Wednesday...I am working again tomorrow, so Round the Rinks will appear in time for Friday morning...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...