HOCKEY LAST NIGHT: HARLEY REVS UP FALSE HOPE FOR QUEBEC, WINNIPEG

Patrick Roy took his rightful place in the Hockey Hall of Fame last night, but what enquiring minds want to know was is how sincere was fellow inductee Harley Hotchkiss being when he told the Toronto Sun that the league will re-visit Quebec City and Winnipeg and wouldn't "rule it out totally" that there will be a second team in southern Ontario?

This Leafs fan is all for the latter. As for Quebec City and Winnipeg, no more dreaming. The Nordiques and Jets are long gone, they ain't coming back, and neither city has the corporate base that the NHL savours. Neither city is a wealthy city, and Winnipeggers in particular are known for having a "warehouse mentality" when it comes to their buying tastes. Lastly, both were World Hockey Association teams first, and believe it or not, that matters among the NHL powers-that-be. Why do you think Hartford's not still in the league?

Then again, with the attendance problems in several NHL cities south of the border, Winnipeg might start looking pretty attractive.

Habs 6 Senators 3: Here is the Hockey Country take on the latest Sens debacle:

"The city of Ottawa went to the polls tonight and made it clear they want a
change. A fatcat politician was booted out in favor of someone who, hopefully,
has new ideas and new vision. I can’t help but think that if such an election
was held amongst the fanbase of this team, there wouldn’t be a single person
within the organization left standing, from the President to the kid who rips
tickets."

Oilers 2 Avs 1: John-Michael Liles could catch some heat for his takedown on Ryan Smyth in a last-minute empty-net situation.

Sabres 7 Hurricanes 4: That guy in your office who just ran down the hall in his underwear with a blue-and-gold hockey sock pulled over his head? Safe bet he's a Sabres fan. He's going to be doing crazy things all week, until the next time the Buffalo Bills play agian.

Something else this enquiring mind wants to know is: Why did The Canadian Press not cover the Hall of Fame induction ceremony?

The wire service put out an advisory last night saying due to "access restrictions," it would not be covering the ceremony and would not use "handout photos." Not that it's a huge deal, but did the Hall of Fame people get a little heavy-handed (as is known to happen) and prompt CP to take the high road by pulling coverage.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.