RE: Sad Commentary

[USAClinics1]

Everyone,

I just had to respond to the article and comments that I read on the thread about the Englishman's opinion and the Canadian author of the article, which stated that Inline Hockey is dying and falling away. Without getting too critical, and in an attempt to use words they would understand, that is total RUBBISH!!!

I was at NARCh coaching my Cincinnati Storm 91 PeeWee team and actually spent a lot of time speaking with people from England. They told me an absolute opposite story from what that article claims. In fact, we were fortunate to have won our division and I had the privilege of carrying around the cup a little. I had 2 English families stop me, take pictures, feel the weight of the medal and visit with one another for a few minutes. ALL of the people I spoke to from across the pond, spoke about how the game was BLOWING UP over there. And one of the families actually lived over an hour away from the Sheffield rink but it did not detract them from playing one bit. Inline was just the best game to them and they wanted to be a part of it. AND, the owner of the rink had put Sport Court down just for the NARCh event, but hasn't taken it up since the game is growing so rapidly.

Another point was how NARCh is going there in late October to launch the NARCh EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. Daryn and I have spoke about this at length and from his first hand experience and communication with the English, the sport is absolutely growing and reminds him of Roller Hockey in the mid to late 90's.

People can have their opinions and they can differ incredibly. But when NARCh is sold and putting out so much for the game in that country, it should speak much more loudly than what a couple of nay sayers have to say. You may not like NARCh, Daryn, me or Inline Hockey but you cannot argue that Daryn is a very good business man. If he didn't KNOW that England was a growing market with huge potential, would he be going there and making such a huge deal about it? Not only that, but we were speaking with some coaches and they want USA Clinics to come over and do several camps over there so I know they feel great about the growth of the game.

PLEASE, let's not get sidetracked and lose focus of this great game because of a few half empty people. The sport is actually very healthy right now. TORHS and NARCh were just awesome this year. Many of the 'less than committed' rinks and business owners have fallen away as well as people that just gave Inline a try or two. What we have left now are the people who love the game. People who realize this is not just the little step child of ice hockey. The amount of Ice Hockey people I talk to everyday who are realizing the benefits of the game, would just blow you away. 2Hot4Ice just had their largest and most successful season ever. I know that TORHS numbers were up from last year and the event was awesome. NARCh is in the middle of the largest HOCKEY, not just roller, but largest Hockey Tournament ever! We, at USA Clinics have never had as much interest about what we do than what we are currently experiencing. And can anyone forget about the AWESOME experience and success of STATE WARS? Are you kidding me? State Wars could not be more 'HOT' and it is also up about 10% in the number of teams and tryout participation was up over 20% from last year. Not to forget, AAU/USARS is currently running their largest event ever as well and from what I hear, it is going very well. The High School leagues in Colorado and Georgia, as well as Middle School leagues are also experiencing incredible stability and numbers. Plus, we all know what is going on in Detroit with very favorable participation numbers. Roller Hockey is starting to grow like crazy in the Washington DC, Virginia area as well. I could go on even more but......
Our sport is alive and well in 2006!

Cheers,

Ted Butler

[Alvare71]

Ted, YOU just backed me up with what I have been saying.We are talking about in house leagues and there growth. of course narch, torhs, and evry other tournament based inline hockey program is thriving. NO KID wants to skate in there 5 team in house league, when they are told that they can't score anymore, because he is to good and put back on defense. What I am asking is that instead of narch, torhs, growing by themselves. Is to give some kick backs. lets see $800 a team times 80 to 100 teams..... THAT IS ABOUT 72,000 THOUSAND a tournament. Minus rink time at $100 an hour, couple medals......Thats a pretty good profit and that is one tournament. Now I am not saying you guys don't deserve that because it is an awsome tournament. We are just asking for help and if someone wants to talk to me, I have the answer that will fix it all, a pro league with tv on FOX even, and the fans are already there. Thanks for listening TED, tell daryn I said Hi, I haven't seen him for a while and your right he is a smart guy. Tell him I helped him test his rocket puck up in Santa rosa.

Grinder

[johnny2suede]

Grinder, Your socialist ideas are really tongue in cheek right? I mean, are you actually serious? Would there be some type of "grant" application so that Daryn and Tony could dole out the bucks to those rinks which are most deserving?

And if in fact you just might be serious (which I doubt), then I do think that this program would require someone to manage it, government style...sort of like welfare. Who would pay those "government type" fees?

OK, you fished me in, I bit, I know you was just foolin'.

UPdate: OK, if you are serious, how about an intelligent pro forma profit and loss statement from you that might prove you point that in fact there are windfall Torhs and NARCh profits which would support your theory of wealth distribution.

[Alvare71]

No, I did not say they were responsible, and we are not handning out goverment cheese here. I am talking about the growth of this sport. I am saying that hockey directors all over the country are struggling to keep in house teams. no in house teams, no profit. no profit, no league. Should we just keep the rinks that host tournaments open. I have been in this sport for along time, I have been a director, I have hosted tournamnets, My point is! What is our goal. Ice hockey has ONE governing body.....USA HOCKEY....Everyone has to go through them. We have how many...........Thats my point. And the pro league well I am not giving that up just yet. I am looking to play pro and the way we are going we will never see a packed arena. Johny2suede have you ever coached kids and had to tell them everyday that you don't know when you can start the next league because you don't have enough kids. I HAVE.....If a recreation league is good enough 4 you thats cool.

Grinder

[USAClinics1]

Alvare - I appreciate the sincerity in your posts and your opinion. I am not sold that our sport needs a good Pro League or TV Exposure in order to grow. Especially in the US and with kids today. Almost ALL the professional sports get little or no TV viewing from the kids. I mean ZERO! Way too many things on TV for a kid to watch a baseball game, hockey game or anything. That's not my opinion but from some STRONG research in the Entertainment industry. The people watching are Adults and you are NOT going to get 30-60 year old men to learn, study and appreciate roller hockey. They never played it or grew up with it so it will not happen. And then, please look at soccer in America. Not one kid plays soccer because he wants to be a Pro or looks up to those guys...but it is still the most popular sport played by kids. Sure price and availability are a big reason but it is not because they have a SuperStar Soccer Pro to look up or want to be on TV. A BIG reason is because it is offered at almost EVERY School in the country.

Here's my view for what it's worth. I have seen MANY kids leave the game as their parents don't encourage them to play because of there being no High School or College future. What I see happen time and time again, is that parents realize their kids not going to the NHL but think it'd be great for their baby to at least play a sport in College, even just at the club level, or at least get to play on a High School team...sometimes even the Middle School level. So many parents think that athletics around the school team is just a fantastic benefit. I tend to agree and think that is where we need the sport to grow. If parents were aware of the college opportunities, and if those opportunities increased, you would see a HUGE increase in the game.

There are currently over 200 colleges with Club teams. A couple, Lindenwood and Michigan State actually have teams RECOGNIZED by the school and I think it ends there, maybe I am missing a couple. But NO ONE knows about the college opportunities. And only a handful of states have good High School leagues.

There are a couple of things BREWING in Roller Hockey which is going to TRY and get the SCHOOL TEAM CONCEPT really going and thriving. It is early and I don't guarantee anything, but I feel real good it is where we need to go to legitimize our sport. When it is common knowledge that a roller hockey kid will have a very good chance to play some college hockey, even at the club level, and it is also clearly seen that MANY High Schools offer good, solid High School programs for Roller Hockey, that is when parents will easily make decisions to encourage their kids to play the game.

I may be totally wrong but that is our understanding. I do not think TV will work and no one has the money for a top dollar Pro League. At best, I like to look at Roller Hockey on the Pro Level just like Golf. It is not a league, but just big events that the Pro's can come and play and perform for money. Roller Hockey is a fantastic Tournament sport...not sure it is a League type of game except for the School levels.

Whether I am right or wrong, here's to Roller Hockey getting the credit and exposure it deserves! Peace,

Ted

[Alvare71]

No, I agree with you, and your right about the schools, not giving our sport a shot. I don't know if you agree with me, but like you said the college level has a couple hundred teams, and the echra does nothing to secure roller hockey as a team for these universities, as all of the leagues in the past, they give them a website and 3 minutes of fame. How much money does echra make, well I bet enough to make a dent at the university, and I am not talking about giving away there profit, because I know its a COMPANY but I do not see them fight for these guys. They pay a registration, travel, rink time, hotels, etc. It is amazing to me that with all of these teams and the most consistant league out there is no foundation. Just my thoughts.

Grinder

[MBurke]

In actuality, about 98% of NCRHA clubs are recognized by their schools. However, because it's a club sport, the funding comes almost exclusively out of the students' pockets. This is why it's been so difficult for the college league to market effectively.

Most tournament players are well aware of NCRHA's existence, but that doesn't really grow the sport - it just keeps kids who have already joined in.

I think the problem ultimately lies more in getting NEW players involved. You are correct, high school and other scholastic teams will help that - but we need to get to players earlier than their mid-teens.

NCRHA's (as well as ECRHA's) budget is publicly available. From a salary standpoint, there's currently no one making over $10k a year in NCRHA (most make under $5k), and ECRHA's not really any different.

Mike Burke<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by MikeBurke on 07/28/06 02:04 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

[Alvare71]

Ted were you ever up in santa rosa, I think we met I played in your league, any job openings at narch?

Grinder

[Alvare71]

I like the term club team, we know your here, but we can't help you, Don't get me wrong I love tournaments, they do help kids take it to the next level. And I love the friends that come with it.

Grinder

[MBurke]

I'm curious - because it's been brought up by a bunch of people.. where's does the assumption that college roller hockey is bringing in a lot of money come from?

This isn't to complain about anything - as an 'insider' I'm really curious about what our public perception is. It would be great if people knew a bit more about how we really operate.

Mike Burke

[Alvare71]

What if there is a way to do a pro league? With TV, fans already there. Joined a league that has a very solid foundation, Kinda share the spotlight tour. lets call it a 2 different sport that come together, I don't want to say a circus atmoshpere. But a legit league. what do you think.

Smarter than the puck

[Alvare71]

I have friends that play in the league, maybe they are talking out there %$%^. Thats what I was told. But can you agree it is a very solid league

Smarter than the puck

[RichardGraham]

Hi Ted,

You make some excellent points. I think the basic problem is that we're not getting as many young kids involved in the sport as we did in the past. There are many reasons for that, and most of them have already been mentioned by various posters.

One story that I remember from my childhood was when I was 12 years old and playing ice hockey. One day, my dad said, "Why don't you try soccer? It's only $10 a season, and I won't have to wake up at 5 a.m. on Sundays to take you to practice."

Since I was a pretty crummy skater and had never really learned to stop properly (I stopped by crosschecking people), I thought it was a decent idea. I began playing soccer in AYSO -- the American Youth Soccer League -- and I played until I graduated high school six years later.

What inline hockey needs is cheap entry into the sport for tons of kids. We can't sit and wait for the schools to do it, because they're concerned about liability issues.

USA Hockey InLine's summit was a good idea, but I wondered at the time which organizations would give up which portion of their business to grow the sport for all. I'm still wondering...

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[MBurke]

Rich,

I think by inaction, those organizations will ultimately let their own businesses shrivel and die.

Hockey will never be as cheap as soccer, but I know that I drive by the paved area where I used to play pickup several times a week, and I haven't seen a running game in well over a year.

I'm relatively young (compared to some of you on here!), and I didn't start out playing roller hockey by spending a couple thousand and playing indoors.

It just seems like the interest/opportunity/affordability needed to get all but the most privileged kids involved has disappeared, both from industry vendors and communities.

Mike Burke

[DannyG]

Our local optimist clubs organize the youoth football programs in many areas of the city...for the player fee, the player gets the use of the pads, helmet, uniform, etc...the equipment itself remains the property of the organizing club...

This is one way to reduce the cost of equipment, which is the main impediment to hockey being as cheap as soccer.

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[MBurke]

@DannyG - Sounds similar to what many community baseball programs do for catcher's equipment, bats, etc.

Mike Burke

[DannyG]

Guys/gals, I am giving this a try...

I find Mike's nostalgic comment, reminding us about the "street/playgriound" origin of the sport very interesting.

As some of you know, my job has transferred me away from directing the inline hockey programs any longer in my city.

The managers that have taken over the program have reduced the quality and operation to the point that barely 80 players play now, in three divisions, compared to over 300 players in eleven divisions only a year ago.

They have filled up the floor time with indoor soccer teams/leagues.

There is no youth inline hockey in El Paso, Texas, anymore. I have decided to do something about this.

Beginnning play in September, register in August, we are establishing the "El Paso Xtreet Hockey League" for kids ages 3-12 years old.

We are playing 3v3, on skates, with a ball, inside a "mini-rink," no goalies, goals one foot high by three feet wide. We will probably have "take it behind your net" rules to reduce or eliminate face-offs...in fact, we will probably evolve our own set of "Xtreet rules" that demand fair-play, sportsmanship, and allow the players to just have fun playing as much as possible.

I am going to go to every elementry school in the city. It will be different with every principal, some will take fliers for students, some will want only posters for information boards, still others will want me to communicate to students only through PTA presentations. No matter, I will go to five schools each week, til I hit 'em all.

I am going to buy a dozen sets of equipment, so any little kid just has to show up, he doesn't need to have any of his own stuff to start with...probably will need 30 pairs of skates or so...and I'm going to warn each parent that, if their little kid has as much fun as I bet he will, then they are going to want to buy him his own stuff...

I am gong to charge any little kid $20 for a three month season of organized play. There will be three days a week that a kid can come in and practice/play on his own, games will be organized on Saturday mornings.

Those that want to play tournaments, I will get rink time over at the inline hockey place for tournament team practices, then away they go...however, my objective is to make this such pure fun, that tournaments might be superflouous to the average player.

As we begin this, I'll let you know how it works...I'll give status reports on the good, the bad, the ugly...

If it does work like I envision, the objective is to have 100 kids playing Xtreet Hockey every week...

We'll see...

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[johnny2suede]

I would be willing to wager and give odds that you will be highly effective in the Xstreet Hockey League.

That is one simple, yet well thought out plan.

Good luck, looking forward to following your progress.

[USAClinics1]

I like the ideas, serious thought and consideration.

Just a few more things to add.

-I never heard anything about College Hockey players making any money so I have no idea on the origin of that.
-Alvare- I've only been to California a couple of times. I am an East Coast guy from New York so you must be thinking of someone else. Coach, teach and play mostly in Mid West nowadays.
-Of course Colleges recognize properly formed Club Level teams, but other than them being 'Official', the recognition ends. I know funds will be limited for a long time and possibly forever from the actual University, but schools that kind of rally around the team with other initiatives help make the sport much more healthy in any given school. MANY, MANY Club Ice teams get TONS of support from the schools. No real cash but lots of booster support and equipment seems to be readily available as well as gracious ice time. Plus favorable announcements or information exchanged throughout the school. Not that we need that in College Roller BUT it would be nice to FEEL like we weren't always fighting or having to defend our existence. Ya know what I mean?
-Cheap introductory Hockey is DEFINITELY the way to go in my opinion. I forget who brought that up but that is exactly what we are looking to do. For the record, we did this in a few public middle schools and the response was AWESOME! Actually, it starts with just floor hockey and then can lead into roller. We are looking at some partnerships with Equipment Companies(to supply affordable equipment), Affiliation with some Roller Hockey Industry power houses and some other Non-Industry Alliances that always promote anything keeping kids off the streets, healthy, has girls involved and is not just the same old, same old. We feel the model or beta is about to go very well and I am corssing my fingers we are on to some things. Let's hope so and I will report any positives...or negatives as well. By the way, we feel the companies in ROller love this because we can start building brand recognition EARLY!!!
-Yes, industry people know of the College programs but it ends there. Ask a typical person or ice hockey person if their is college roller hockey. Heck, ask students at any school other than the top 10 Roller Hockey schools if they have a roller hockey team. See what they say?

I like the mood when it is more of what can we do instead of beating the dead horse with all the ideas where we failed in the past. Yeah, kind of important so we don't do again, but we have heard and seen all those failures a million times. Just looking for new, strong ideas to get people to just TRY the game. If they don't like then, so be it....I just bet most will love it.

Cheers

[Alvare71]

Now thats what I am talking about, My point is we are never going to see narch on this site or any other big names chating here with us. I think there are enough brains here on this site to set our goals. All these cities have all of these out door rinks that are not being used. And I know for a fact that they can get grant money to help get equipment. I believe that we need to take the sport back outside and we will grow again. We all have our own experiances, lets work together. If I had to run a non-profit league I would do it in a heart beat.

Smarter than the puck

[Muzza_77]

hey the same kind of thing has been happening in Australia with rinks closing down everywhere. The sport in Australia is dying. The rink I played at closed, and the closest one is around 1hr. There are probably only around 3-4 rinks left in NSW.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Muzza,

I just did a search of Australian Web sites in IHC's Links section, and the first five were defunct. That's a downer.

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[MDE3]

Danny's idea is right on...go back to the cheap ball hockey pick up type games..slightly organized...get the young kids back in...go back to the disco rinks who gave it up, and get ball hockey started again..at the beginner levels....that's where the sport really began to get organised, but it became too expensive to operate a full grown puck league...where the rink had to foot the costs of too many renovations to accomodate a sport that paid less than an hour of public skating...

Also contrary to one opinion on here, I think the growth of the sport really was helped by kids seeing the sport on tv...I know all the kids I coached always wanted to watch RHI whenever it came on..however that was 10 years ago, and maybe those demographics have changed.

But the outdoor rec stuff was usually a supplement to the indoor leagues, where kids wanted more playing time than the rinks would or could give them, so they began to look for outdoor places to play....however it was because they got a taste at the local roller rink of ball hockey, and that was all they knew. It was from these little rec leagues that they wanted more...again all were cheap entries, with K-mart skates, gloves, sticks and shins...to start with. Many of the rinks had a supply of cheap &quot;Mylec&quot; helmets, and gloves for the kids who had no equipment, but wanted to try after a session skate. What kid who has played even 3 - 4 games in a current sport court rec league would ever show up wearing a &quot;Mylec&quot; helmet today???

The introduction of Sport court, with customised wheels, plus all that exotic gear is what largely killed the outdoor sport. Players now needed two sets of equipment to protect their &quot;tournament gear&quot; from getting chewed up on the asphalt...plus they were now used to the puck game and the ball game was considered an &quot;inferior&quot; version..so many distained playing it, and of course the puck game does not work outdoors on the asphalt very well.

Got to get the sport back to it's roots to make it cheap enough for it to be a fun pastime that does not scare the parents away.

Plus in Europe and Australia...the cost of equipment in recent years was insanely priced whether due to excise and sales taxes, or just greed...making the sport truly that of the elite..this pricing of equipment in these countries almost insures the sport cannot grow.

after spewing out all that sanctimonious stuff..let it be said....I was one of the parents who led the charge to better equipment (my son's first of course) and puck hockey and ice hockey too...even though a little niggling voice spoke to me saying "do you really want to trash ball hockey?"...

[DannyG]

...we're even thinking toward specifying a playing rule that you must wear baggy jeans to play (not Hyper Titanium-Carborundum-Platinum hockey pants).

I'll send some pictures when we get it going...I was hammering the little (wooden!) rink together this afternoon...found my bag of twelve little orange hockey balls...

Can't tell you how exciting this is...the waves of nostalgia are really affecting me...I'm having fun just setting it up, can't wait til we get to playing...hopefully in September...



<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[ephockeydude]

Hi,

Your comments on Daniel Guard were pretty much a straightforward personal attack. I find it ironic and sad when a first-time poster attacks someone who has been working hard for the sport of inline hockey for many years, and makes that attack anonymously, as well.

Dan decided to answer your comments rather than to ask me to delete them, which I find gutsy and classy -- the exact opposite of your post.

Posts like yours comprise the only negative aspect of running a Message Board like this one -- it's no surprise that many other of our great sports' message boards have been taken down.

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by RichardGraham on 08/01/06 12:32 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

[DannyG]

Wow...let's see...it is difficult to address a "rant," but I'll try.

1. Every year, for ten in a row, enrolled membership in the Nations-Tobin program with USA Hockey InLine grew. The League (USAHIL #TX10017) had 305 members in 2004/2005. In terms of players playing in multiple divisions, and counting them duplicativly, there were usually 375-475 "player-slots" occupied in any given three-month season. You, or anybody else, can verify the "300+" members for last year with USA Hockey InLine any time.

2. I only proposed to inaugurate Xtreet Hockey, together with the promotion and operation of the activity at the Veterans Recreation Center, after the current management informed me that they would not be able to schedule youth inline hockey at the Nations-Tobin Center for the coming fall season/hockey year. Perhaps EPhockeydude can tell us when the 5-12 year olds are playing presently, or when they are scheduled to play this fall...they aren't.

Further, you can easily observe that the Xtreet Hockey program is not the usual inline hockey porgram. This is a departure from the norm, a different approach toward making roller hockey accessible and enticing to a new generation of players.

Fact is, for the past decade, every little kid had skates under the bed or in the closet, from the "rollerblade boom" of the 90's. Every little kid had roller blades. To get a little kid to think, "Hey, I've got skates, I could play hockey" was easy...

Without the skates, to get kids to consider playing hockey is tremendously more difficult.

To characterize the sport as an "xtreme" sport has appeal, and lends itself toward a whole new promotional approach.

That is the whole point.

2. quote: "It is ironic how DannyG is suddenly interested in growing the sport."
My interest in growing the sport extends back to 1987, there is nothing "sudden" about this.

3. quote: "...why don't you work with the current management."
The list of things I have currently volunteered to do at Nations-Tobin, on my own time, is very long. I have been told over and over that my services are not wanted.

4. quote: "Your so called "experiment" should be played in a hockey facility."
At my present Center, we have a small wooden-box set of dasher boards, which by coincidence, I built for them in '94. This set of equipment has been used for little kids' indoor soccer over the past decade. It is perfect for ball hockey, it is perfect for wheelchair hockey, and we are also using it for our blind lacrosse program. Our current little kids' indoor soccer season begins August 7th.

5. quote: "...BS...DannyG's wrongdoings...save his hide...his course attitude...he was transferred (booted)...his inability (unwillingness) to grow the inline program..."
Dude, this negative flame-out does a pretty good job of demonstrating to all what your attitude toward me is. You make it obvious to all concerned that this is personal. I will not enter into a personal argument with you on an internet message board.

Our new Xtreet Hockey program is one of eight youth sports that we are initiating at the newly re-constructed Veterans Recreation Center. It is my job to offer as many recreation services as I can to kids and adults. So, if doing this is "saving my hide," by simply doing my job well, then yeah, okay...

Nations-Tobin no longer has youth (under-12) hockey. Players are welcome to contact me regarding the program at Veterans. I look forward to skating with everybody.

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[Defense1st]

Danny,

Even though you are a USAHIL guy and I prefer AAU, building the sport is what I am about, and I know that is what is in your heart also.

I do not know much about the politics behind your situation, but I truly hope your X program works.

To have ruined what you built in El Paso is a shame.

Good Luck.

Phil Steur

[DannyG]

Phil, thank you for the kind words. I, too appreciate all the effort, time, and money that you have spent on developing opportunities for players, particularly girls. As you know we have had several players common to both our programs over the years, and everybody speaks very highly of you. The Team Gear Mid-America program is one that every girl I know would like to continue with.

Keep up the great work, I believe that all of this will indeed pay off in the end...

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[DannyG]

Interestingly enough (to me anyway)...

I am betting that our new Xtreet Hockey program doesn't even get five kids from the now inoperative Nations-Tobin program.

We have seen from the past three years a general lack of understanding of the value of a small floor game. Players (coaches and parents) largely abandoned the little rink at Tobin in favor of gaining all their playing time on the big floor.

Apparently all these people have forgotten how the little floor produces better players...without going into the concept, which is for another thread, there is a reason that almost every national governing organization in every sport lauds small-sided games on a smaller playing surface. That guy in Phoenix that runs three 3v3 rinks has the right idea...I wonder how many of those Arizona ice guys that did so well as the USA Hockey Youth ice nationals this year play on that "little-ice" facility, even if only for fun?

Well, Veterans Recreation Center now has the consumate small floor rink...I just finished painting the faces of the boards. Need to put 'em together tomorrow for little kids indoor soccer on Mon-Tues, then we'll put the stripes on 'em for next week...then we'll be ready to rock 'n' roll...

See you all next week with the next Xtreet Report...


<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[RichardGraham]

Hey Danny,

Good luck with your new program.

Hope you don't mind if I share an article you wrote in 2004 that I discovered online tonight -- I think it's still appropriate:

<A HREF="http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1145/is_8_39/ai_n6165625" target="_new">http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1145/is_8_39/ai_n6165625</A>

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central