Immediate impact: Heatley scores twice as Sens end skid

Dany Heatley made his return to the Senators lineup last night, and lit the lamp twice helping Ottawa end a 3-game skid by beating the Florida Panthers 5-4. The Heater, who potted his 26th and 27th goals, couldn't have come back at a better time.

With the Montreal Canadiens inching ever so close to the Sens' coveted 1st place spot in the East, Ottawa needed a boost from a player who has missed their last 11 games with a shoulder injury. During those 11 games, the Sens have gone an abismal 3-8, and have showcased how thin their lineup is without the back-to-back 50 goal scorer.

Let's not forget about the absence of captain Daniel Alfredsson. Without their feisty leader, the boys from O-Town have lost their double-digit lead in the conference making it clear that if this team is going to go deep in the postseason like last year, they will need Alfie and the other top guns to be healthy and firing on all cylinders.

There was some good news out of Montreal last night, as the Maple Leafs downed the surging Habs 4-2. The Senators' lead is now back to 3 points with what should be a fiery tilt against Montreal at Scotiabank Place on Saturday's Hockey Day in Canada.

There's a feeling around the nation's capital that another top-6 forward needs to be brought in to plug some holes up front. If Peter Forsberg becomes unavailable, Patrick Marleau might be another option. The San Jose Sharks are looking for an offensive defenceman, and Joe Corvo could be the right fit. If Wade Redden didn't have a no-trade clause in his ridiculous $6.5 million contract, he'd be out the door for the nearest bag of pucks. The same thing could be said about his defence partner Andrej Meszaros, unfortunately, nobody wants him.

NHL loosens the leash: Tocchet to rejoin Gretzky on the bench in PHX

It's hard to believe that it's been two years since Operation Slapshot went down, but it’s even harder to believe that certain individuals within the NHL had a hand in the illegal gambling ring.

Among those implicated in the fiasco that shocked the hockey world was Phoenix Coyotes associate coach and former NHLer, Rick Tocchet.

Tocchet was at first said to be the main financial backer of high-level, underground operation that involved a New Jersey State Trooper, among many others in the northeast.

But as details surfaced, Tocchet became less and less a target of the investigation and was named simply as a participant. He pled guilty to promotion of gambling and conspiracy to promote gambling. These were minor offenses, and when all was said and done Tocchet received just two years of probation and a three-month suspension from the NHL.

Speaking of participants, whatever happened to all the talk about Janet Gretzky betting up to $500,000 on games? I suppose those details were swept under a very large rug.

In any case, Tocchet's three-month suspension has been lifted and he will be reappearing in the NHL tonight as the Desert Dogs host the Columbus Blue Jackets. All this talk about gambling makes me want to go do a ProLine. Till next time...

Obscure Jersey Thursdays: Stephon Marbury

Who cares about Stephon Marbury, right? After all, he hangs out with Ja Rule and Fat Joe while playing for the ridiculously awful New York Knicks. I'm not sure what's worse.

'Starbury' was originally drafted 4th overall by Milwaukee in the '96 entry draft but traded immediately to Minnesota where he excelled with Kevin Garnett. He ended up leaving for New Jersey after a fall-out with management. Following 2 uneventful years in Joyzee, he was traded to Phoenix for Jason Kidd. Unfortunately for Stephon, the Suns weren't the run-and-gun powerhouse they are today and he was dealt to New York in early '04. Things didn't get any better under the heavy lights of NYC. After several public spats with coach Larry Brown, Marbury was labeled "the most reviled athlete in New York" by 2 Newsday reporters.

All-in-all, it's been a rocky but lucrative journey across the Association for Mr. Marbury. These days, the Knicks would like to trade his ass, but nobody wants him or the 2 years and $42 mill left on his scam...er...contract. (Straight Cash Homey.net)

Around the Horn: Mets welcome Johan Santana to Shea Stadium

Move over Doug Heffernan, Johan Santana is the new King of Queens. It's official. 2-time AL Cy Young Award winning hurler Johan Santana threw on the pinstripes of the New York Metropolitans today at Shea. Santana was all smiles as he was introduced. Of course he was. He just signed a $136.5 million 6-year deal to play with the Mets! No more small town, small wallet BS. He's hit the big stage. But hold your horses, though. Big questions still remain. What about Pedro Martinez? Will his arm fall off come opening day? Will he refuse to wait for another table? (Yes) What else do the Mets need to do to make sure they don't fall apart at the seams like last September? Will Santana continue to give up long bombs like it's his job? Will Twins fans miss him?

Finally some good news: Heatley to return Thursday

Senators forward Dany Heatley is expected to play Thursday against the Florida Panthers. Jason Spezza, his offensive partner in crime, must be breathing a little easier. The Sens have been nothing short of awful since the Heater went down with a shoulder injury in the 3-2 win over Detroit a month ago. Compounded with the absence of captain Daniel Alfredsson, the Sens have lost a lot of ground in the Eastern Conference. With their 4-3 win last night, the Montreal Canadiens are within 1 point of top spot. It's safe to say that those 3 individuals dictate the success of the team. Here's hoping GM Bryan Murray gets on the horn and fills a couple holes up front and on the blueline...Peter Forsberg could be coming to Ottawa. Peter the Gimp has reportedly turned down Dallas, Nashville, Detroit, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and San Jose...with all of his recent shenanigans, who would want Ray Emery?

Reality sets in: The New York Football Giants are Super Bowl Champs

First and foremost, I do not want to discredit any part of the New York Giants, including Eli Manning. They played the best game of their collective lives on Sunday, and they deserved to win the Super Bowl. Eli's drive in the final minutes of SB42 was nothing short of miraculous. Nobody expected him to march 80 yards down the field, eating up the Patriots secondary and defensive line along the way. Who would've expected Eli to elude 4 defenders and hurl the ball downfield to David Tyree, who made an absolutely unbelievable catch which put them in position to score. He caught it with one hand and held the ball against his helmet while falling backwards over Rodney Harrison. Unreal.

I think it's finally setting in that the New York Giants are the Super Bowl champions. It was an upset for the ages. Quite possibly the biggest in the history of the NFL. New England Patriot haters out there can say all they want about spygate or how Bill Belichick and his players have no class. Whatever. They were an unbelievable team this year even without the New York Jets practice tapes. I mean, com'on. A CFL team coulda beaten the Jets. Ok, well maybe not. But they'd probably cover the spread! The fact of the matter is that a better team won the game on Sunday. The Patriots will be back, and hungrier than ever next year. Enjoy this for now G-Men, well done.

Tiger loves Dubai

I would be lying if I told you that I'm getting tired of writing about Tiger Woods and his (worldwide) domination of whatever golf tournament he's playing in. Truth is, it's absolutely unreal how good of a golfer he is. He's already done so much, with so many more outstanding years ahead of him. He seems to have kicked this season off on the right foot. 2 for 2 in 2K-ocho. After winning the Buick Invitational, he disappeared like a batman smoke grenade went off and ended up in Dubai. After a couple half-decent rounds to start the week off (probably because he just flew 6,000 miles), he capped a ridiculous final round off with a beauty roll on 18 for a 7-under 65. Proving once again that he remains the standard for perfect performance. But what was Ernie thinkin' trying to reach the lake-guarded green with a 5-wood?! Not only did he plunk his approach in the water from 240ish, he didn't even come close. Ho-hum, another W for Tiger. Did you know that he's got 34 European Tour wins, and he barely plays over there. On top of the Dubai tourney he just won, the only other logical choice for him on the Euro circuit would be the British Open (technically, it's a Euro sanctioned event but also counts towards the USPGA money list). And, he'll probably win that too. According to his website, Tiger's next even has yet to be confirmed, but he will likely be kickin' ass and takin' names at the Accenture Match Play in Tuscon at the end of February.

Bud Light: Suck one

One of the best ads from Super Bowl 42. By the way, I want a Flint Tropics jersey.

18 and 1 Giant upset

There were very few people who believed the New York Giants could win the Super Bowl. After all, they started the season 0-2. They weren't supposed to beat Tampa Bay at Raymond James on wild card weekend. They weren't supposed to beat Dallas one week later at Texas Stadium. Well done Giants, but now it's time for you to go away. Oh wait, they then beat Green Bay at Lambeau in a blizzard to go to the Super Bowl. I'm still in shock over what happened last night. Not only did they win 3 tough playoff games on the road, they end up beating the unbeatable New England Patriots.

This what not supposed to happen.

I don't know about you, but I would have preferred to have seen a truly historical 19-0 season than see another friggin' Manning win a Super Bowl. I'm gonna steer clear of going over the details and what I think about how poorly the Pats' offensive line played, but what's the point. Plaxico still made the catch and shed a tear, Eli's still the MVP, and New England's magical season has come to an abrupt end. Just like this post.

Let's take it outdoors

Does anybody else want to see the Super Bowl played in anywhere other than a dome or the southern states? They're calling for moderate temps in PHX this Sunday. Last time I checked, 60 degrees and sunshine is a helluva lot better than 4 feet of snow. But after the Pack/Giants game a couple weeks ago, I figured a good ol' fashioned snow bowl would make for some great TV, and it would also make for some good surfing.