Feel Like a Number...

Bubba's top 7 reasons "Iron Mike" Keenan quit, (was fired):

7. Wanted to change the name of the Florida "Panthers" to the Florida "GeriHat-tricks".

6. Gary Roberts, Marty Gelinas, and Joe Nieuwendyk kicked him out of their daily golf foursome and replaced him with Eddie Belfour.

5. Was offered the job of Dictator of Cuba after Castro kicks the bucket.

4. Wife demanded to leave the area claiming that Miami nightlife was "too boring".

3. Flipped a coin with Jacques Martin to see who would leave town. Won the toss and elected to bail.

2. Lost his swagger in the Panthers boardroom after "Iron Mike" Tyson filed a lawsuit claiming "defamation of nickname".Â

 and the number one reason?

1. Owner Alan Cohen finally returned from vacation, (or awoke from a semi-coma) and realized he traded away the best goalie in the league. SNAP! Â

In other news a local sportswriter for the News and Observer, (Ned Barnett) recently wrote a nice article about exCane and present Rangers defenseman Aaron Ward and how he loved the area and was still here practicing with the Canes and how it would be a bit tough for him and his family to move to NY and play for the Rangers. It was a nice enough article, but the bad part about it was that he started off saying that Ward "was traded" to the Rangers instead of stating the fact that Ward chose to sign with NY as a free agent.Â

Am I being too fussy here about not letting this mistake go unnoticed? Shouldn't a paid professional sportswriter be expected to get his facts straight? I mean, he's got a press pass, he's rubbing elbows with the players and management, he has the opportunity and resources to get all his information correct, but still messes up.  After reading the recent intelligent articles about how some bloggers feel that they should be accredited, I must admit that most of what I learn about what is going on in the hockey world comes from reading the posts of unpaid bloggers online. They are certainly more insightful, knowledgeable, and humorous than most of the "professional" articles I read daily in the Raleigh papers.      Keep on blogging, bloggers!

Bob Seger Â