re: NHL Winter Classic next year... At the Big House in Michigan

Says NBC. It's a made for American TV event to compete with American college football bowls on January 1. It's a non-traditional setting for hockey, which the NHL and NBC use to sell hockey to casual sports fan. For many Americans, this will be the only hockey game they watch all year.

This would be like American teams bitching that they aren't on Hockey Night in Canada enough.

I'd love to see the Leafs in the Heritage Classic, and it's a shame that there isn't one this year. A Toronto-Ottawa outdoor game would be suh-weet.

And I am happy the Leafs are playing the game. I said so. I'll certainly root for the Leafs against the Wings and I hope they wear the old school white-and-blue striped unis with the old school leaf. That would be awesome. I'm just saying, I don't think its a big deal that there haven't been any Canadian teams in the WC, and I hope this shuts up Canadian fans whining about it.

BTW - there's never been an American team in the Heritage Classic, for obvious reasons.