hockey

Evgeni Malkin could have begged off.

He could have let it be known that he simply wouldn't be able to participate in the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday in Ottawa, Ontario, because he had, say, a nagging groin injury lately, and resting it would be the right thing to do for his team and himself.

MINNEAPOLIS - The teenage visitors left the dimly lit hospital room quietly. Amid the sea of get-well balloons and autographed sports jerseys, it would soon be time for Jack Jablonski to work on strengthening his shoulders and maximizing the movement in his arms.

Pittsburgh Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby has left the team to see concussion specialist Ted Carrick in Atlanta.

From general manager Ray Shero's perspective, that and top defenseman Kris Letang being medically cleared to play after a concussion are equally welcome developments.

Shero calls Crosby's time with Carrick "a good thing."

Hal Tearse became a hockey coach for the usual reasons: He loves the game and he loves teaching it to kids. There was one other motive, however. When Tearse sat in the bleachers at youth games, he couldn't stand listening to otherwise sane people saying ridiculous things.

Two teenagers, both seriously injured a week apart while playing hockey, remain hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where their family members anxiously watched their every movement, hoping for signs of improvement.

Couldn't have been many NHL teams more opposed to a salary cap than the New York Rangers.

Can't be many who have benefited more from the league adopting one, either.

Not because it leveled the league's financial playing field -- that's precisely what New York didn't care much for -- but because it forced the Rangers to rethink their approach to putting together teams.

Minnesota high-school hockey player Jack Jablonski will "not be able to walk or skate" again because of spinal-cord injuries the 16-year-old suffered in a hockey collision last week, his family says.

Paralyzing injuries suffered by a 16-year-old Minneapolis-area hockey player last week are renewing calls to reduce the level of physical contact in youth hockey -- and to teach young skaters how to play without hurting themselves or others.

It doesn't appear as if Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby will return to the lineup anytime soon.

Crosby continues to do light workouts and still is experiencing some concussion symptoms, coach Dan Bylsma said Wednesday.

A co-worker who is a big New York Yankees fan once said, "I don't care if Saddam Hussein is our left fielder, if he hits .300 with 30 home runs."

His point clearly being, whoever and whatever it takes to win is all I care about.