Sunday morning homily XV

For some people, having a birthday around the holidays can be a bad thing. It can be easy to forget amid the excitement of Santa's arrival. The need to return ill-fitting sweaters and duplicate DVDs can sometimes overshadow the person's big day. And, for some reason, birthday cake tastes better during the summer.

Thankfully, though, I've yet to forget my wife's birthday.

Each year, there are always a couple extra presents under the tree, as well as a few other niceties, just for her. I suppose we could wait until the actual day for those, but it's hard not to get caught up in the spirit of gift-giving.

That's why, rather than daring the Kitchen Gods to whip up some scrambled eggs, bacon and bagels, we'll be going out for breakfast this morning. In less than an hour, we'll head out to stop at Lenny's, a culinary institution known for their big plates, great service and free baskets of danishes.

Sure, we could go to a fancier place, where we'd have to get all gussied up and talk in whispers, but that's not our style. We're a hockey family.

Hopefully, it'll be Colin who supplies the biggest gift of the day. After breakfast, we'll head to the rink for Colin's hockey game. Playing with his first one-piece stick -- a Bauer One50 Marty St. Louis model -- maybe he can give his Momma an extra-special present: the puck from his first-ever goal.

If not, though, there's no need to worry. Being able to spend some time together, enjoying each other's company as we always do, is what this family is all about.

Break up the Bolts

A couple of weeks ago, I spent considerable time and verbiage chastising the Tampa Bay Lightning for their poor play so far this season.

After last night's 6-4 victory over the Florida Panthers, though, the Lightning has its longest winning streak of the season -- three games.

Now, I'm not suggesting the team has solved its problems this season, but it's encouraging to see the team become competitive and play much harder than before.

5 Big Sigs

With another week of holiday vacation, Colin's hounding adventures will continue this week, with the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes headed to Hockey Bay. Here's what we're hoping to add:

~ at least 20 players and coaches on a Canadiens team helmet;
~ Montreal's Saku Koivu on the Canadiens legends jersey;
~ Montreal's Carey Price on the Team Canada goalie mask;
~ Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour on a Notre Dame Hounds puck; and
~ a full team sheet from the Hurricanes.