FanHouse WillaFord

Here at FanHouse, we never need an excuse to write about Willa Ford, aka Mrs. Mike Modano. Whether she's opening up to a reporter in a manner that would cause nothing but heartburn for the Dallas Stars or furthering her budding acting career, it's always a good day when Ford shows up in the news.

So what's today's excuse? It turns out that Ford is appearing in a new pictorial in Maximal, better known as the international edition of Maxim. What's the news hook there? Apparently, somebody is trying to talk up Ford's portrayal of Anna Nicole Smith in a biopic of the same name.

But as near as I can tell, though the movie was slated for release last weekend, there isn't any evidence that you can actually see it anywhere in the U.S. I guess that's just par for the course for Ford, as her last movie, Impulse, was another direct-to-DVD special.

With Jeremy Roenick recently signing on for another season, another American hockey legend, Mike Modano, also decided to stick around for at least one more season.

Despite the fact that Modano has two years left on a five-year deal, it wouldn't have surprised many if the 38-year old heartthrob decided to call it career after 1300 NHL games. It seems that the Stars' semi-successful playoff run helped shape Modano's decision.

"I've thought about it some, but Brett [Hull] wouldn't let me retire," Modano said.

"To be completely honest, I'm sure there will be some tough times," he said. "It's not as easy as it used to be, but the playoffs were so much fun, and I just think there's more that we can accomplish. I just have a really good feeling about that."

Modano spent time as a wing alongside Brad Richards as well as seeing action as a checking line center during the playoffs, so it remains to be seen what his role in 2008-09 will be. Will he be asked to play primarily on the third line, ala Roenick, or will Mikey be expected to carry a heavy offensive load once again?

Despite Modano's advanced age, the guy can skill skate and the guy can still play. Averaging over 19 minutes per game this season, Modano finished with a respectable 57 points and played in every game. Certainly, Modano can provide value for the $2.5mil he'll be paid next season.

Like him or not, Modano is one of the best Americans to ever play the game, and it's good to see one of the NHL's bigger names stay around for another go-around, especially if we get to see more of his hot wife.

Mike Modano, a.k.a. Mr. Willa Ford, enters tonight's Dallas Stars game against the Phoenix Coyotes needing one point to tie the record for most points by an American-Born player (1,232). I'm rooting for Modano to get the record, because the guy is having, like, the worst week ever. Here's a quick glimpse into the poopie life of the Dallas star these days:

• In order to motivate Modano, and the rest of the struggling team, Dallas coach Dave Tippett dropped the 37-year-old to the fourth line. "Too much circling and not enough stopping and starting, which is what it takes to get the puck in tough areas and score goals," writes Jean-Jacques Taylor, a sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News who opined on the matter this week.
• As Jes Golbez reported on FanHouse, Modano appeared to have tied the record on Wednesday night only to have the assist taken away by the official scorer. Cat and the Untypical Girls have had enough of this emotional roller coaster:

  They interviewed Modano on the post-game show, and the Untypical Girls all almost started crying, because he looked so sad. We all exclaimed that we wanted to give the poor guy a hug and reassure him that he's still great, and that we want it over with too, but we still love him.

• Oh yeah, about that record: No one gives a damn about it, according to Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Stars Blog. "I'm really wondering if anybody around these parts gives a fig that Mike Modano is about to become the all-time leading American-born scorer," he writes. "A fig?" Sounds like one of those faux-expletives you hear when they try and show "The Breakfast Club" or "Beverly Hills Cop" on commercial television.
• Finally, the indispensable KB reports that Sportsnet's Bill Watters made some allusion that Modano's "relationship with the organization deteriorated this past summer, when he failed to invite any of his Dallas teammates, coaches or front-office personnel to his wedding." That wedding being to singer/actress Ms. Ford, pictured right, so life can't be all that bad for Mikey.

Things could be turning around for Modano. The Stars are expected to start 23-year-old minor league reinforcement Chris Conner on Modano's line -- an energy player who matched well with him during the preseason, according to The Dallas Morning News. So the record could be coming soon, and when it does I believe that's a reason to celebrate Modano -- no matter what those bastards in Nashville think.

Over at ESPN.com, David Amber is developing a reputation for getting folks inside of hockey to open up like never before. The latest subject to give the inside dish to Amber is Willa Ford, actress, model, singer and the soon-to-be Mrs. Mike Modano. That's her showing off her engagement ring last November.

Needless to say, Ford's comments were not cleared by the Dallas Stars PR operation. Here's what she had to say about Modano being stripped of his captaincy before the start of the season:

I was completely flabbergasted and pissed off to be quite honest with you. I mean, how rude. He is a franchise player who has given his all to his team. It was like somebody didn't want to lose their job -- nobody wants to lose their job. "Let's just blame it on this and maybe this will fix it." Clearly, that didn't fix it.

[...]

I think the staff and the GM [Doug Armstrong] have a different idea of what a captain should be. They think a captain should be yelling at their team. They think a captain should be absolutely as verbal as possible. I know from running a household with Mike how he can be quiet; but when he says something, it can be very powerful.

I can only imagine. As it turns out, Willa was also unhappy about how the Nashville Predators ignored the new scoring record Modano set for American-born players this season.

Later on during the interview, it becomes quite apparent that Modano is hanging around in the background listening in on the phone call with Amber. That led me to wonder, what the heck was Modano thinking as the call progressed?

I know I'd be thinking I was a very lucky guy.