Sunday morning homily III

As a hockey dad, in games and through hounding, it's a rite of passage, I believe, to help your child bust open his first-ever box of hockey cards. Not only does it represent quality time together, but it's further cementing a bond that incorporates hockey.

In Colin's case, the passing of the torch came Thursday night with a 36-pack hobby box of 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Hockey.

As we all know, his favorite NHL player is Boston's Patrice Bergeron. That's why he likes the Bruins. And that's why he wears No. 37.

So, I knew that it would be pretty darn important that Colin find a Bergeron card in the box. Pack after pack, he carefully opened each one, looking for that special card. After the 35th pack, his voice still had a twinge of hope.

"Patrice will be in this pack," he told me.

I'll be honest. I had my doubts as well as visions of having to buy another box of what I perceive as a disappointing product. But, sure enough, right on top of the box's 36th pack, was Colin's best NHL buddy.

His smile lit up the living room.

"I told you," Colin said. "Didn't I?

All I could do was shake my head and chuckle. The hockey gods, or at least the ones I pray to, delivered. Really, I shouldn't have been surprised. Those two have always had a connection.

They'll be back

In case you're wondering what happened to the first two installments of Signing shows, the video feature showing NHL players signing autographs here in Hockey Bay, let's just say I'm erring on the side of caution.

Even though I'm afforded protection by shooting videos at and from a public place, meaning I didn't need anyone's permission to publish them, I still want to respect everyone's privacy.

I've reached out to some Hockey Bay Hounds who say they'll be more than happy to allow their images to be shown. As for the NHL players, well, it'll show them in a positive light. If they have an issue with that, we'll cross that bridge when it happens.

5 Big Sigs

With the San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres headed to Hockey Bay, I'm having a hard time picking just five. The Sharks are loaded with talent. The Sabres are my favorite team. I guess that's why I get paid the big bucks, making decisions like these:

~ San Jose's Dany Heatley on Sharks and Thrashers pucks;
~ San Jose's Rob Blake on Sharks and Kings pucks;
~ San Jose's Jody Shelley on Sharks and Blue Jackets pucks;
~ Buffalo's Tim Connolly and Mike Grier for the Threads project; and
~ Buffalo's Tyler Myers on Sabres and Kelowna Rockets pucks.