Game one of two on the road before Christmas

Boys are in Everett tonight to take on the Silvertips.

aaaaaaannnnddd ten minutes later, I'm wondering why this post can't write itself. Meanwhile, I'm stressing that I haven't come up with my list of what I would get the boys for Christmas this year, it's hard coming up with 25 different gifts. ::whines, pouts, stomps feet::

"We want to make our move before Christmas," said Tri-City veteran forward Johnny Lazo. "To sit atop the West at Christmas would be nice."

Tri-City will have a short holiday break -- Dec. 20-26, compared to last year when they had 10 days off.

"We need some rest," Lazo said. "But we got lazy during the break last year and we were rusty in Spokane. A shorter break may help us."

Tri-City coach Jim Hiller said the games this weekend can make a statement going into the break.

"This is a challenge for everyone," Hiller said. "Who wants to lay it on the line before they go home. We have to be focused. We've had a couple of bad games like everyone does, but I think we've shown teams thus far we are a team to be reckoned with." (Herald)

I was perusing the New York Times today (yay for morning rituals) and came across this article about brain damage in hockey players. I've discussed this issue before, it's a serious problem--not just in hockey. I'm not to say fighting should be eliminated or anything, just be careful with my boys' noggins. There's permanent damage occurring.

Once again, I can't get to CoverItLive from work (LAME!!!1) so I'll have liveblog up later this afternoon, hope to see y'all there. Lurkers, stop in and say hello! There may or may not be a lot of booze involved on my end this evening--YAY Christmas vacation!!