The first thing that comes to mind about him is the pose. I can still see Ken Dryden standing there, leaning on both arms folded across the nob of his goalie stick, intently looking ahead while waiting for play to resume.

It was a way for the lanky 6-foot-4 Dryden to be at ease during respites in the games, and it became his trademark and certainly the most lasting image of a career that was brilliant and way too short.

Dryden played only seven full NHL seasons back in the 1970s, all of them with the Montreal Canadiens, and the organization will honor him tonight by retiring his No. 29. That's because Dryden played well enough to become a Hall of Famer, winning six Stanley Cups, five Vezina Trophies, a playoff MVP award and the rookie of the year prize.

His success was stunning, but it was enough for someone who had other life plans in mind. Of course Dryden was never a typical hockey player who lived and breathed the game, instead he was one who joined Ralph Nader's Raides, spent time learning about other cultures and always tried to put things into perspective.

"A lot of athletes give you the end-of-the-world story if they lose, but it isn't," Dryden once said. "It's trained into athletes to say something like that for public consumption. Sports is just like selling encylopedias, there shouldn't be this mythological aura surrounding it."

Dryden even took a non-traditional route to the NHL by plyaing in the Ivy League at Cornell. Later he turned down a Canadiens contract offer to join an amateur team that paid for his post-graduate law studies, but he still ended up in the Montreal system. Lucky too, because in the spring of 1971, Dryden wrote one of the great all-time playoffs tories as a rookie when he led the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup with only six regular-season games under his belt.

He went on to become one of the greatest goalies ever, a perfect counterbalance to those great, high-powered Montreal offensive machines. And then suddenly, at 31, he gave it all up to launch the next phase of his life. Dryden went on to become an author of critically-acclaimed best-sellers about hockey, a broadcaster, senior executive with the Toronto Maple Leafs and in 2004, he was elected to Parliament in Canada and became a cabinet minister.

And just like Frank Sinatra, he did it his way.

Lorne "Gump" Worsley was a character, the kind who would have reminded you of Norm on "Cheers" if you saw him on a bar stool, and sometimes even when you saw him on the ice.

The Gumper was a pretty good goalie too and an important part of the great Canadiens teams I grew up watching in Montreal.It never ceased to amaze me how a guy who was fat enough to look like a poor man's Santa Claus in his red Montreal jersey that always seemed a couple of sizes too small, could move as quickly as he did. But on the ice, Worsley was a rock, facing down the game's best shooters in a day when goalies didn't where masks.

Worsley played from the early 1950s to the early 1970s for three teams, the New York Rangers being the first and the Minnesota North Stars the last. His era was one when athletes were not the pampered prima donnas they are today, but regular working stiffs whose riches did not come from their salaries. And Worsley made the most of his time, both as the class clown on teams and the ultimate party organizer.

The bar cars on trains in those days were his true domain, and probably helped him deal with his first decade in the league in New York, where he often said the team that gave him the most trouble was the Rangers.

Of course it got better when he was traded to the powerful Canadiens in 1963. He won four Stanley Cups in the next five seasons and never lost the zest for life he needed to answer critics of his beer belly by saying "I only drink whisky."

It's going to happen in Oshawa, Ontario, on March 20, which is the birthday of city mayor John Grey. That's the payoff to the Comedy Central star for a bet he made with Grey on a hockey game involving Oshawa's junior team, the Generals.

Colbert won the wager because Oshawa was beaten Friday by the Saginaw Spirit, a team Colbert has adopted as his own. Or is it the other way around? Saginaw created the connection earlier this year by re-naming its mascot Steagle the Colbeagle Eagle after an online poll of fans. A good publicity stunt since it's been a running joke on Colbert's show, and one that took off when Colbert showed a clip of Generals fans littering the ice with stuffed animals.

Actually the animals were tossed as part of a pre-Christmas toy drive by the Generals, but still Colbert feigned indignation, claiming it as an affront by the fans of the team named for General Motors, the largest company in its home town. He encouraged fans of Saginaw to throw copies of GM's annual report on the ice after the Spirit scored.

Colbert backtracked from that dangerous idea when Grey suggested another avenue, a bet on the actual game. Grey proposed a 'Stephen Colbert Day' if the Spirit won in exchange for Colbert wearing a Generals jersey for an entire show if Saginaw lost.

So chalk one up for the t.v. guy. But he still hasn't told anyone whether he's actually ever seen a game.

It was one of those moments that threatened to take the luster away from Alex Ovechkin's shining star.

The Washington Capitals brilliant forward delivered a cheap shot from behind against Buffalo's Daniel Briere in an early December game. Ovechkin said it was unintentional, and fortunately, it did not cause a serious injury for the Sabres co-captain.

Still, it was the kind of thing players rarely forget. But Briere said it was all in the past after winning the MVP award in the All-Star Game in which he was voted by fans to start on a line with Ovechkin.

"It's part of the game," Briere said. "In the heat of the action, sometimes plays happen so fast you might regret things later on.

"I think the one thing both of us realized was that we didn't want to spend negative energy trying to get back at each other. It's not what we do best on the ice, so we put it to rest. I had a great time with him all week."

So good, Briere even set up a goal by Ovechkin in the All-Star title. And he even picked up one of his own, to go along with three other assists.

Ovechkin said earlier this week that he had put the incident behind him, even though the media won't let it go.

"Everything is okay," Ovechkin said to reporters. "I think everybody forget, but not you."

Maybe now, they will.

Maybe a little less would mean more during the NHL All-Star festivities.

Take the Young Stars game for example. The contest - - and I use the word loosely here - - was introduced for the 2002 All-Star event, with the intent of adding some value for those spending exorbitant prices on tickets for the skills competition that follows.

The Young Stars tilt features some of the league's top budding talent, players on their first contracts who are not quite ready for inclusion on the "real" All-Star team, in a four-on-four format with a running clock that is intended to showcase the kind of skill rarely exhibitied when the games count.

But after watching the latest version of the event, it may be time to re-think the Young Stars game and perhaps scrap it all together. It was that bad.

The final score was 9-8 for the East, but the traditional show one expects at All-Star time wasn't the problem. The obvious lack of interest by the players was. Maybe that's to be expected when you don't have veterans to direct you differently, but judging by the yawning effect they had on the American Airlines Center crowd, the kids should be ashamed.

They played at half speed at the best of times, with most players hanging around the other team's blue line looking for long breakaway passes. There were several of those, made easier because defending teams didn't really bother to chase down the skaters. And when teams were in their own end, they made it seem like too much trouble to put sticks in the passing lanes.

The guy I feel most sorry for though is the public address announcer, who struggled to keep up with the goals that came so often. For most of the night, he began his announcements by saying: "The previous goal was scored by" before getting to the most recent one.

Ultimately, it didn't seem worth the effort. And neither does this game.

Funny, they don't look any different. A little more tapered perhaps, apparently lighter and with a lot more stretch than in the past, but when you come right down to it, the big hullabaloo over the NHL's new uniforms seems to be much ado about nothing.

There was a lot of cynicism in the weeks leading up to today's introduction of the new outfits by the NHL and manufacturer Reebok, but the players trotted out for the news conference - - Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Lidstrom, Marty Turco and Jason Blake - - all swore by the new haberdashery that includes re-designed jerseys, pants and socks. Of course that really isn't surprising since they were designated as spokesmen for the league and all seemed to be using the talking points provided by Reebok when they answered questions.

Crosby et al insisted everyone will be better for wearing uniforms made of far different materials than those they currently use, but there are doubters. Some players like Atlanta's Marian Hossa have already expressed strong concerns about comfort levels and many in the media have viewed this change as simply a money grab by a league anxious to increase merchandising revenue.

But that won't stop the NHL from going ahead with the new product that was three years in the making by Reebok and involved input from players and extensive testing at MIT laboratories. The result is a uniform that uses technologically advanced synthentics and is supposed to improve performance and safety.The new look, which will be worn by players in the All-Star Game and by everyone in the league next season, is said to make players faster by generating nine percent less drag than today's outfits while retaining 76 percent less moisture thoughout the game, which makes the clothing feel lighter at the end of the night than the beginning.

So if clothes don't make the make the man, they may at least make NHL players better

"And they look pretty cool," Crosby said.

It is certainly not a traditional hockey market, but the city of Dallas and the state of Texas as a whole have actually embraced the sport to an impressive degree.

The game has roots in Texas going back to the 1940s when there were teams in a variety of minor leagues, and today between the NHL, AHL and Central Hockey League, there are 11 professional clubs here, more than any state in the nation.

Of course the interest is greatest in Dallas, which has been part of the NHL since 1993 when the Stars moved here from Dallas. When the Stars arrived theree were only a few hundred youth and adult hockey playes in the area, but these days, more than 10,000 locals are signed up in leagues that feature kid's travel teams and adul recreational circuits. And there are some 70 high school teams, up from just four a decade ago. According to USA Hockey, the national governing body, Texas is closing in on Ohio and Colorado in terms of registered players.

"It's becoming a passion," says Ed Reusch, vice president of StarsCEnters, which runs several arenas in the area.

And a good excuse for an outsize party. They do things big in Texas and hosting an NHL All-Star event is no exception. The series of events here during the break inlcude a concert, a street hockey tournament, several charity event, a players' welcome home for returning military, a salute to the Stars 1999 Stanley Cup-winning team, memorabilia shows and numerous opportunities for fans to get a picture with sport's most famous trophy and big-name. There are hockey celebrities like Mark Messier and Gordie Howe on hand, and many from the entertainment world like Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Dennis Leary, Cuba Gooding Jr., Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.

Oh yeah, there's a game too on Wednesday. And with temperatures hovering in the low 30s, it even feels like hockey weather here. Texas wouldn't have it any other way, it seems.

Assuming the xenophobic tone was not intentional, Brett Hull delivered as promised right off the bat in his broadcasting debut. Even brought cohort Ray Ferraro along for the ride

The two of the them -- Hull joined Ferraro and Bill Clement on the studio team for NBC's games of the week -- were reviewing a scuffle involving Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu after the first period, and decided simply that the Penguins forward should be run out of the league. Their reasoning, in so many words, was that Ruutu brings no value to a team other than being a pest.

"Here's a typical play by a typical NHLer," said Hull, who is getting first crack at a new television career because of his reputation for speaking his mind during his storied playing career.

"Jarkko Ruutu won't drop his gloves, all he does is cause trouble. He's got like one goal in 40 games. Guys like that, we need to try to weed out of the league."

Ferraro, who has had time to get polished because he began as a studio analyst before ending his 18-year career in 2002, followed suit.

"I don't know what a player like Ruutu is doing in the league," Ferraro said.

The exchange led them to a discussion about the instigator rule in which Ruutu took several more direct shots. Actually it seemed unusually vicious for a national broadcast crew and reminded me of things Don Cherry has said over the years. Cherry's targers have generally been European players and some from Quebec, and it just came across as though Hull and Ferraro figured they wouldn't rile too many old buddies by going after Ruutu.

They're probably right. Ruutu's reputation for agitating does not come by accident. Neither did Hull's.

NBC wants Hull to stir things up and he did in his debut. Hull was more measured after the second period, but after a stiff debate segment with Ferraro, he showed his wit as the two ad-libbed with Clement. A nice start.

Mark Recchi is his third tour of duty with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and this time his role is to mentor as much as to play.

Recchi began with Pittsburgh in 1988, won a Stanley Cup there three years later and then spent time with Philadelphia and Montreal, before rejoining the Penguins prior to last season.The team 'rented' him to Carolina for their Stanley Cup run last spring and he returned to the Steel City this season to find a big change in the dynamics of a locker room he's twice as old as some of his teammates.

"It's been very unique," Recchi said. "These young guys are the future of the league and for me it's neat to be around them and watch."

Certainly things are different here. As a general rule, visiting teams, especially after they lose, tend to disappear after games into locker room areas off limits to media, but after losing their third in a row, the Penguins were all sitting around waiting, waiting, for them.

In fact Sidney Crosby, the 19-year-old wonder kid who is now the league's biggest star and in demand everywhere he goes, looked a little surprised that he wasn't the first player reporters approached. But he patiently sat around his stall for the minions to arrive, and then showed how advanced for his years with bland politically-correct comments.

For example, after answering obligatory questions about the game, he was when asked if he finds it easier in a place like South Florida where he can blend in than in Toronto where he can't exit a hotel without being recognized. Crosby responded: "I guess so, but I don't think about that much, I only worry about playing."

And when he said something he though might be construed as controversial, Crosby immediately checked himself.

"From here on in, every team is playing hard," he said before adding the qualifier, "not that they aren't in the first half, but there's more on the line now."

No words to get excited about, but certainly nothing to cause any trouble. That's why he's became the face of the league despite being only 19.

"I really like the way he handles things," Recchi said. "You gotta be impressed."

Whew, that was close for the folks at NHL headquarters. Could have been really embarrassing, but Vancouver journeyman Rory Fitzpatrick failed to get the votes he needed but didn't deserve for an All-Star start and won't require any explaining by the league heading into its showcase Jan. 24 in Dallas.

Fitzpatrick did pick up more than half a million votes as a write-in candidate though, and only fell 23,000 short of claiming a spot.

However his teammate, goalie Roberto Luongo will get to go to Dallas as the people's choice for the Western Conference, part of a starting lineup that includes Scott Niedermayer and Nick Lidstrom on defense, and Joe Thornton, Joe Sakic and Jonathan Cheechoo up front. Pretty good choices, although the spot for Cheechoo, who is in because of last season, might have been a better fit for Anaheim's Teemu Selanne.

Have no complaints with the East choices either, although it's too bad that Marian Hossa didn't get enough votes. But Buffalo's trio of Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell and Ryan Miller are all having great seasons, and Sheldon Souray is putting up big numbers on Montreal's defense.

The big thing though is that wunderkinds Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were voted in and can now be the focus of the NHL marketing campaign. That's a lot better than Rory Fitzpatrick.

It will become academic if Vancouver Canucks defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick fails to win a fan vote for an All-Star Game start, but even if he gets there, the two coaches have a similar view of how they'd use him.

Very little.

"I'm a traditionalist," said Anaheim's Randy Carlyle, who will coach the Western Conference. "I don't think the player shouldn't be there because if the fans - - if that's the format that's put in place - - if he gets the vote, he's going to be there. How much he plays is a coaching decision."

Fitzpatrick, for the uninitiated, has been the beneficiary of a fan-based internet campaign that started as a joke. It took on a life of its own and had Fitzpatrick among the top vote-getters this season despite being a seldom-used journeyman with only one point so far.

He played in Buffalo last season for Eastern Conference coach Lindy Ruff, who said the player wouldn't get any extra time on his team either.

"Rory is a great guy, a great competitor (but) the All-Star voting wasn't meant to go that way," Ruff said. "I guess if he was in, as a coach you would probably limit his ice time in lieu of the guys it was meant to be for."

The Ottawa Senators may have received a blessing in disguise with the acquisition of Mike Comrie from Phoenix this morning.

Comrie wasn't the Senators first choice to fill the big voids injuries to Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher has left them with at center, but when Edmonton stepped in Monday and plucked vetern Petr Nedved off the waiver wire, Ottawa was left scrambling for a Plan B.

That turned out to be Comrie, who at 26 is nearly a decade younger than Nedved, and more important, far more productive. Nedved was dumped earlier this year by the lowly Flyers, but he was a cheap gamble for the Oilers because Philadelphia will pay half of what's left on his $2.3 millon contract this season.

Ottawa wanted to take that chance as well, but Edmonton was ahead on the waiver picking order, so the Senators turned to the Coyotes, who wanted to get something for a player they expect to lose to free agency next summer. And Ottawa ended up with a pretty good offensive player who has scored nine points in 11 games since returning from a broken foot. Comrie was a 30-goal scorer last season in Phoenix and he'll have better wingers to play with in Ottawa.

The risk is that Comrie, who is being paid $3 million this season, may end up leaving Ottawa as well in July, but he only cost the Senators prospect Alexei Kaigorodov, a disgruntled Russian who went home earlier this season because he was unhappy with his playing time. Of course the Senators weren't thrilled with what Kaigorodov did with his playing time, and chances are he wouldn't have been back in their uniform any time soon.

Who knows, maybe Comrie will end up staying in Ottawa? If he does, it will be because he had a strong finish to the season, which will make finishing second in the Nedved sweepstakes a win for the Senators.

The first NHL game I covered was back in late 1983 at the old Montreal Forum and it happened to be the first time a kid named Steve Yzerman was playing there.

He was 18 at the time, although he looked younger, and he arrived with a fair amount of hyped even though the Red Wings were not a particularly good team and had a winger named John Ogrodnick who was their biggest star.

The Canadiens were a powerhouse team in those days and easily beat Detroit 5-1, but Yzerman had an assist, showed off some dazzling moves and left an impression not only on me, but on the jaded veterans of the Montreal press corps, many of whom believed the Wings missed out by not getting to draft a Detroit-born kid named Pat Lafontaine.

Lafontaine, who eventually became a Hall of Famer despite a career cut short by injuries, played his junior hockey in the Montreal area and had wowed the locals with his scoring exploits. But he went to the Stanley Cup-champion New York Islanders, who had the third pick in the draft thanks to a trade. So Detroit, choosing fourth, settled on Yzerman after much internal organizational debate, and as the saying goes, never looked back.

Yzerman produced 87 points as a rookie and helped the Red Wings make the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, then continued on a brilliant career that reached closure when Detroit retired his No. 19 jersey on Tuesday night. If was a fitting tribute to an exceptional athlete, one of the rare breed who spent an entire long career with one organization and was a valuable asset right to the end.

And it brought back memories of that first time I saw him play. I thought he was pretty good then, I just didn't realize how special he would turn out to be.