I managed to finally catch a re-run of the Black Ice program on ESPN yesterday in the early morning. It was OK, and fun to watch. But the engineer in me really wanted something a little more substantial in terms of study. My main takeaways were: 1. Anson Carter is a much better skater than Mike Grier. I had seen them both on TV this year, but until one sees them back to back it isn't so obvious. And ... while Grier plays hard-nosed hockey, so does Carter. 2. If USA Hockey wanted to, it could probably do a survey of youth hockey players to determine if there are any serious social impediments to minorities getting into hockey. If so, the impediments could be easily quantified in the same survey. Just a passing thought as I watched ESPN's vignette-based piece.... Oh, btw, this isn't a subject we need to feel uncomfortable about discussing. Just come right out and ask the kids. 3. I had heard that John Saunders played in the summer men's A-check league in Hartford with a number of NHL'ers like Janney and Francis, etc. Guess that rumor that he played in college was true:-) 4. Very clever showing Ted Laviolette's goal and not explicitly remarking on it. I happen to remember that goal vividly as I almost "cried" when it happened. I knew it would mean that Tech would have to play Lake in Worcester -- then the hottest team in college hockey. Hope my observations aren't too superficial. -- Dick Tuthill