Some local media in today's Stargazing are starting to ask the question: "Where are all the Stars fans?"
To which all the Stars fans might reply "Where has the local media been?"
The answers aren't important. What's important is that people are starting to talk about the team, even if the abysmal attendance figures figure heavily in the conversation, because they are winning games and appear to be on track to grab a playoff seed.
That last part is probably not what the Canadian media was hoping to write about in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver this week because it means that Brad Richards is not quite as on the market as they hoped, much to our delight.
- Mac Engel of the FWST writes a column that calls attention to the team, praises them, and then kind of disparages the fan base. If you're reading this blog, you're not the kind of people to whom he is speaking, but it feels mildly like a kick in the crotch anyway. He talks about the Stars like they're something the city was pleasantly surprised to find in a dusty old box in the back of it's closet... Some of us have been here the whole time. Just saying. [FWST]
- Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer offers up a slightly more cheerful rendition of "Hey look, there's a hockey team here, did you know they were still here?" while still delivering a few too many references to what happened 11 years ago for our taste, as if that's the only thing a sports fan in Dallas can relate to when talking about the Stars. [Dallas Observer]. Nice to have all this pub, though.
- Things are changing at the Morning News. Here you click on a story about Trevor Daley, only to find that the pay wall is going up, brick by brick. Will you pay? Newspapers are not going to give their product away for free forever. And why should they? [DMN]
Much more after the jump...
- Fox Sports Southwest thinks the Stars want to give Vancouver a little payback for New Years Eve. Easier said than done, unfortunately. [FS SW]
- The Oilers lose Ales Hemsky for tonight but are bolstered by the return of veteran Shawn Horcoff. [TSN]
- FSSW personality John Rhadigan is the new play by play man for the Texas Rangers, meaning that he will no longer be hosting Stars Live pre and post game shows with Craig Ludwig, and this makes me sad, because I love Rhads. We wish him good luck with the Rangers, who he will join full time in March, so enjoy him on FSSW until then. [FS SW]
- SB Nation's Derek Zona writes about the Stars success against the Eastern Conference this morning, then goes on to show statistically why the Stars are pretty lucky to be having the success they are this year. It's essentially the same thing we've been saying all season long. "They can't keep starting games like this! They can't keep getting outshot like this!!! etc, etc..." but we gave it up this month because their record indicates that, yeah, maybe they can keep doing those things. [The Copper & Blue]
- Wysh at Puck Daddy tries to paint the NHL's "Guardian Project " in a better light, even if he doesn't really believe it. [Puck Daddy]
- The Red Wings are working on acquiring Evgeni Nabokov because, we can only presume, they want to exit the playoffs in the second round. [TSN]
- And finally, Razor says... I can't even hardly repeat it. He angers the hockey gods and brazenly declares the Stars will be in the playoffs. He has doomed us all. [Razor @ dallas stars.com]