National Hockey League

Versus plans to televise an NHL doubleheader Thursday. First up is Washington, with reigning player of the year Alexander Ovechkin, against Boston at 4 p.m. PDT. Next is San Jose and Colorado at 7, featuring a retirement ceremony for Colorado's Joe Sakic. But an estimated 18 million DirecTV subscribers won't be able to watch unless the contract dispute that caused the satellite provider to pull Versus off its menu Sept. 1 is resolved. Besides the NHL, the network televises college football, Indy Racing League auto racing, cycling and bull riding.

The grumbling that started early in the season has gathered all the momentum of a 100-mile-an-hour slap shot. The Los Angeles Kings shelled out $57,000 more this year. The Minnesota Wild swallowed an additional $75,000. And the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who crushed the Wild on their run for the Stanley Cup, already have spent $100,000 more -- and counting.

As a physical education instructor at Archimbault prison, a correctional facility on the outskirts of Montreal, Luc Lachapelle spends his days working with criminals. Think he was intimidated by replacing striking NHL on-ice officials Monday at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens? Intent on proceeding as usual on the first day of a strike by referees and linesmen, the NHL trotted out its most imperturbable and experienced replacements to set a tone of calm.

In 1949, a 48-year-old would-be electrician in Paramount made a contraption out of a hydraulic cylinder from an A-20 attack plane, a chassis from an oil derrick and a Jeep engine. You know, of course, what happened next. Yes, that contraption revolutionized hockey. The machine was the Zamboni, named after its creator--Frank J.

Several years ago on a Boston ice rink, Jose Rojas stood between Bobby Orr and Willie O'Ree, blew up his chest and smiled. He doesn't have the photograph, but he remembers what it looks like. He remembers what the moment felt like. Now 17, and with a fairly recent plan to graduate from Gilbert East High in Anaheim and then attend college, he understands why he was there. "I believe in myself," said Rojas, who lives in Anaheim. "I believe I'll finish school.

The NHL, NHL Players Assn. and the International Ice Hockey Federation have scheduled a news conference Monday in New York to announce their agreement on a plan that allows NHL stars to represent their countries in the 1998 Olympics at Nagano, Japan. On Friday, the NHL's Board of Governors approved players' participation in the Games under a Dream Team format, which has been strongly backed by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The Cold War might be over for the rest of the Soviet Union, but not for Vladimir Krutov. His battle, however, is with one small segment of the Western world--the National Hockey League in general and the Vancouver Canucks in particular. Krutov has become a hockey player frozen out of his own sport, a Russian living in self-imposed exile from the ice.

The Toronto Maple Leafs went for broke. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers hope to avoid going broke. Tuesday's NHL trading deadline produced records for trades, 24, and players moved, 46, -- and left a deepening rift between the league's haves and have-nots. The Maple Leafs, a cash machine in the self-proclaimed capital of the hockey universe, added Doug Gilmour from Montreal and Phil Housley from Chicago for middle-round draft picks.

Kevin Sawyer, the Mighty Ducks' enforcer, wobbled off the ice after a fight with the Kings' Brad Norton on Dec. 19. He was so disorientated that he needed to be pointed toward the dressing room, then led by the hand. From there, he went to a hospital for tests. He arrived home later that evening, still wearing a tattered uniform, the whole ordeal a vague recollection. The following day, Sawyer told General Manager Bryan Murray that he was ready to play. He wasn't, and hasn't since.

Tim Taylor is waiting and watching, his coaching plans in a holding pattern. To use a hockey analogy, it's almost as if someone is icing the puck, and it's taking forever. The Yale coach, who fulfilled his career-long dream when he was chosen in May as coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, has stalled the preparation, out of necessity. That completely goes against the thorough nature of a most thorough man. But now, he waits. The future of U.S.

The on-ice news last season was great for the NHL. The quality of play was high, the Winter Classic became a must-see annual event, the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins played a memorable seven-game Stanley Cup final, and the TV ratings were good (for the NHL, anyway). Then came the Phoenix Coyotes' bankruptcy and the ongoing fight over their ownership, Chicago Blackhawks standout Patrick Kane's arrest in a dispute over a taxi fare, and the NHL Players' Assn. firing its executive director, Paul Kelly, amid whispers that players thought he would be too soft in collective-bargaining talks.

Versus plans to televise an NHL doubleheader Thursday. First up is Washington, with reigning player of the year Alexander Ovechkin, against Boston at 4 p.m. PDT. Next is San Jose and Colorado at 7, featuring a retirement ceremony for Colorado's Joe Sakic. But an estimated 18 million DirecTV subscribers won't be able to watch unless the contract dispute that caused the satellite provider to pull Versus off its menu Sept. 1 is resolved. Besides the NHL, the network televises college football, Indy Racing League auto racing, cycling and bull riding.

With today's NHL entry draft hours away, the Kings were holding on to the fifth pick, the Ducks' plans were on hold while Scott Niedermayer decided his future, and New York Islanders fans held on to hope their downtrodden team could rebuild around consensus No. 1 pick John Tavares. Tavares, a prolific center from the Ontario Hockey League, has long been projected as the top choice in this year's draft, which begins today in Montreal and continues Saturday with the second through seventh rounds.

Go ahead and ask Dean Lombardi if fighting has a place in the NHL. Then settle in for a passionate defense of conduct that's applauded in rinks around North America but forbidden in other major professional sports leagues here and in Europe. "If you want to throw a fastball at somebody's head, you can get away with it and not be held accountable," the Kings' general manager said. "If you want to crackback block and break somebody's leg, you can get away with it.

The NHL's Eastern Conference produced many of last season's major award winners, but Western Conference teams have won the last two Stanley Cup championships -- the Ducks in 2007 and Detroit last season. The most prolific teams were from the East: Montreal (262 goals) and Ottawa (261). West teams, however, ranked 1-2-3 in team goals-against and 1-5 in penalty killing. East is east and west is west and the twain will meet more often, thanks to a long-overdue schedule reconfiguration.

Sidney Crosby is the NHL's best hope for retaining loyal fans and attracting casual fans who still wonder what offside means. He reached the Stanley Cup finals in only his third NHL season, one season faster than the great Wayne Gretzky. Crosby is a photogenic, humble kid who is accustomed to attention -- he was singled out in Canada as a phenom while still in grade school -- and he has proved to be a capable leader.

ATLANTA -- A decent game broke out here Sunday, a surprising turn of events that made the NHL's 56th All-Star game one of its most entertaining in recent years. Competitive All-Star games are rare in hockey because these extravaganzas tend to lack urgency or oomph, and hockey loses much of its attraction when physical play is replaced by the matador defense that usually prevails. Too many goals, and it becomes an exercise in higher math. Too few, and it becomes boring.

Perhaps the best example of parity in sports can be found in the NHL standings listed in order of records against the spread. After 10 weeks of the 2007-08 season, 23 of the league's 30 teams have won at least 13 times against the spread and 23 have lost at least 13 times against the spread. That's betting balance at its best, and it's what has made wagering on hockey so risky this season. Just check out the Central Division.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The NHL's board of governors believes the league's scoring downturn is temporary. The league's owners and top executives adjourned their two-day meeting Friday by agreeing to leave their game alone for the time being. Though they discussed nearly every aspect of the league, Commissioner Gary Bettman and many governors believe the extensive rule changes after the lockout deserve more time to grow.

It is akin to "man bites dog" when the owner of a sports team files an antitrust lawsuit against the very league he has spent millions of dollars to join. So eyebrows understandably were raised in sports business circles last month when Madison Square Garden, which owns the New York Rangers, alleged in a federal lawsuit that its fellow NHL franchise owners were acting "like an illegal cartel." The league's alleged offense?