Sunday morning homily X

Longtime readers of my Hound Central blogs know how much I stress the importance of preparation when it comes to hounding NHL teams. From prepping cards to ordering pucks to recognizing players beyond the stars (any chimp with half a brain, like myself, can do that), it's incumbent upon hounds to do their homework.

But when hounds don't take the time to do this, and come to expect a free ride of my knowledge, well, they quickly learn just how wrong they are. To me, knowledge is valued currency. If you do your homework, your efforts are rewarded. If you don't, you go home emptyhanded.

The empty excuse of not having enough time doesn't cut it, either. Beyond the demands of hounding, I work a fulltime job, help out with household chores, try to be a good husband and, most importantly, an even better father. And despite this welcome workload, I still find the time to get my homework done, even if it means a week of 18-hour days.

Now, I don't mind dispensing some goodwill, in the form of identifying players or snagging an autograph from one of the game's top stars. In my world, though, you need to bring something to the table, rather than another day of "Who's that?" questions, in return.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but sharing has to be a two-way street. I'm not talking about photos, cards, or gas money. No, I'm talking about loyalty, returning favors by offering to lend the occasional hand and, like most of Humidity Bay's hounds, doing things the right way.

Sorry, folks, but I'm only being honest. That's the way it is.

Feeding a reputation

When Oren Koules and Len Barrie bought the Tampa Bay Lightning, I was willing to give them a chance to prove themselves as responsible NHL owners. Being new to the game, so to speak, they deserved at least a season before I would be willing to pass judgment.

After sending coach Barry Melrose back to the boob tube, though, I'm beginning to wonder whether they have a clue to just what the Sam Hell Houston they're doing at 400 Channelside Drive in Tampa.

Okay, so maybe Melrose wasn't the best man for the job. But giving him less than three months to try to correct last season's problems was hardly enough time, especially given the revolving player-only door on the Lightning's roster.

As it stands, I'm afraid Koules and Barrie have adopted a free fantasy-league approach to running the team, where players and coaches are added or dropped on whims. For an organization desperate for consistency, that's no way to run a team.

5 Big Sigs

With both the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators coming to town this week, Hound Central 4.0 is looking to add these items to the collection:

~ Florida's Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan Horton, Cory Stillman, Stephen Weiss and Richard Zednik, at the least, on the Panthers team helmet;
~ Hall of Famer Denis Potvin, who does color commentary for the Panthers' TV broadcasts, on a Team Canada puck;
~ Florida's Tomas Vokoun on the right-handed goalie glove;
~ Nashville's Ryan Suter and Shea Weber on Predators pucks; and
~ Nashville's Jason Arnott on Dallas, Edmonton, Nashville and New Jersey pucks.