FanHouse AHL

In trying to fill the nigh-legendary shoes of the recently departed Randy Cunneyworth (I can't describe how hard my wife still laughs over the man's name... she's sometimes easily amused) for that hockey hotbed of Atlanta, the Buffalo Sabres today went with the next best thing in terms of organizational continuity in signing coach Kevin Dineen to continue in the role he performed while the club was affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks.

Dineen's been the coach since the start of the 2005-06 season overseeing the development of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, to name a couple of notables. This past season he led the Pirates to a 45-26-5-3 record and the Eastern Conference Finals of the Calder Cup Tournament losing in 7 games to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Overall, under his guidance Dineen led the Pirates to a very impressive 135-76-13-15 record with 2 ECF appearances. But, regardless of what else he ever does, Kevin Dineen will always be remembered as the guy what scored the last goal in Hartford Whalers history, before Pete Karmanos broke the collective hearts of the guys at ESPN.

One of the reasons that the Sabres did not renew their relationship with Rochester was due to disagreement with the management as to who should pay for veteran talent, which led to the ridiculous dual-affiliation with the Florida Panthers. Darth Regier has commented on many occasions that this sub-optimal situation has been detrimental to the development of many of their prospects. Now that the situation has been rectified with both affiliation and coach, the team moved quickly to fill in the Pirates roster with older AHL Veterans, having signed Matthieu Darche 2 weeks ago and today signing wingers Colton Fretter and Colin Murphy.

As with everything Sabres, the guys at HFBoards have an "All Things Portland Pirates" Thread going, including current roster and potential line combos (Hola! Chain and Co.).

Lastly, this just in over the wire, one of my co-conspirators in all things Sabres just let it be known that his family grew in size by one at 4:14pm today, signing the Lil tyke to a lifetime contract replete with no-trade clause and a generous meal per Diem.

Ta,

As if the Iowa Chops, the Anaheim Ducks AHL club, didn't make enough headlines with their goofy new name and delicious new logo, the hockey club has gone out and publicly tried to recruit Brett Favre, the indecisive Hall-of-Famer-to-be NFL QB, for a spot on the roster.

Could sports fans see Brett Favre in an Iowa Chops jersey? If Chops President Steve Nitzel has his way, Favre may be coming out of retirement to sign a playing contract with of all teams... the Iowa Chops. "Brett is one of the greatest American athletes of the past 50 years and deserves a place to play, so we are extending an offer to him to become the newest member of the Iowa Chops Hockey team of the American Hockey League," said Nitzel.

Over at his own site, FanHouse's Mirtle wonders what the hell the Chops are thinking with this crazy offer.

Well, just by blogging about the Chops' press release, it ought to be rather obvious that Mirtle gave the Chops exactly what they wanted: free publicity.

Even if Brett Favre never acknowledges the offer, which he isn't likely to do unless some reporter asks him about it, the Chops have gotten their name in the papers and on a few blogs with their attempt to sign a power play Quarterback.

And I say "Why the hell not?". Minor league baseball teams have long used such wacky gimmicks to increase attendance, so minor league hockey ought to follow suit more often.

With Iowa's AHL franchise now serving the Anaheim Ducks instead of the Dallas Stars, a new name change and uniform design was in order.

Instead of opting to go the easy route and become the Iowa Ducks or Iowa Mallards, the team went in a completely different direction and chose a baffling new name: The Iowa Chops.

"We really feel this name perfectly represents our vision of the new team," says team owner Kirby Schlegel. "It illustrates Iowa's agricultural heritage while also playing into the definition of 'chops', having nerve, resilience and staying power. The word 'chops' can mean continually defeating someone, and that is the reputation we expect Iowa's new team to gain in the league."

"We wanted a name that would catch people's attention and spark discussion, not just in Iowa but nationally as well," says Steve Nitzel, Iowa Chops President. "There is no doubt the name is unique. We're confident that the team will continue to gain respect in this community and in the league for years to come."

Well, the new name certainly captures your attention, much like the play-on-words Macon Whoopee once did.

That said, does anyone not think of delicious pork chops when they hear this name? Looking at the logo, I suddenly get the urge to fire up the BBQ. I can't help but think the Anaheim Ducks ought to change their name to the Peking Ducks. Then, the whole organization can be one delicious supper.

At the very least, the name and logo change has the fans talking, and given Iowan hockey a bit more of the mid-west sports spotlight.

A 14-year-old boy from Scituate, Mass. died at a minor league hockey game between the Portland Pirates and the Providence Bruins at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence on Friday night. It was "Revival Night," an annual promotion by the team that attracts more than a thousand church congregants to the arena. The Providence Journal reports that that boy, a member of the Word of Life Fellowship Christian outreach program, stayed for the night's postgame festivities -- and that's when an unbelievable tragedy occurred:

The boy - who did not participate in the after-game competitions - won the raffle's grand prize, a Nintendo Wii game console, according to [arena general manager Lawrence] Lepore. "He came down from the stands to get his prize and he either tripped or fell or collapsed," Lepore said yesterday. The boy was taken by New England Ambulance to Hasbro Children's Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The Journal doesn't offer a clear geography of where this fall took place, and none of the sources offer insight as to how his injuries could have ended up being fatal. The paper reports that the Providence Police Department is investigating the death pending results of an autopsy. The P-Bruins have released a statement, which indicates that the Wii was being awarded by The Word of Life and not the team, and the P-Bruins planned a moment of silence before Sunday's game.

The Dunkin' Donuts Center had just reopened earlier this month after being closed for six months during "phase two" of a three-phase, $80 million renovation. Lepore told The Journal in a Nov. 14 story that his arena was "the safest public building in the country" because of the advanced life-safety measures added during that renovation.
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