Playing with Fire by Theo Fleury

Theo Fleury, at 5'6" made a name for himself in a game played by giants. A star in junior hockey, he became an integral part of the Calgary Flames’ Stanley Cup win in 1989. Fleury’s talent was such that despite a growing drug habit and erratic, inexplicable behaviour on and off the ice, Wayne Gretzky believed in him. He became a key member of the gold medal–winning men’s hockey team at the 2002 Olympics.

The Colorado Avalanche picked up Fleury for the playoffs, and when he signed with the New York Rangers, he was a kid in a candy store. After one season of his next multi-million-dollar deal, this time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Fleury suddenly called it quits and wouldn’t explain why.

In Playing with Fire, Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL player and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home. Dark personal issues haunted him, with drinking, drugs, gambling and girls ultimately derailing his Hall of Fame–calibre career.

BCS PlayoffPac "You Had a Great Season"--TV Ad

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Ilya Kovalchuk to the Blackhawks?

One Western Conference executive told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun that the Chicago Blackhawks may get involved in the Ilya Kovalchuk bidding. Of course, given the Blackhawks' money trouble, they'll have a lot of hoops to jump through, but Kovy may soon be suiting up with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

If Kovalchuk doesn't agree to a contract with the Thrashers, he will likely be traded during the draft weekend in June, according to the Hockey News.

Kovalchuk will be hoping to go to a stable franchise with a bright future -- something he doesn't think he has in Atlanta.

The Blackhawks will likely use Kovalchuk as a short-term rental to boost them to a Stanley Cup this season. They will likely try to get rid of some of their big contracts, like Cam Barker and Kris Versteeg, LeBrun writes.

LeBrun writes that other potentially interested teams include: Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston.

Bears to Make Announcement Tomorrow at 2:00 PM!

The Chicago Bears are expected to be a team in flux this offseason, as the hopes and dreams of the preseason were not even remotely approached. Head coach Lovie Smith could be fired. GM Jerry Angelo could be fired. Any number of assistants could be fired.

Well, we're going to find out something tomorrow afternoon. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune has tweeted the following: "The #Bears have called a press conference for 2 p.m. tomorrow at Halas Hall. No word on who, what, when, why or how. Stay tuned." We assume he means two o'clock central time, which makes it three o'clock for those on the east coast.

We'll have more on the fallout following the announcements Tuesday.

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Kansas Offensive Coordinator Ed Warinner Expected to Coach O-Line at Notre Dame

Former Kansas University offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, who was not retained following the arrival of new KU football coach Turner Gill, is expected to join the staff of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly in the coming days, a source close to the situation told the Journal-World on Friday.

Warinner, who helped transform the Jayhawks’ offense into one of the nation’s best during his three seasons as coordinator, will likely assume the role of offensive line coach with the Irish.

Under Warinner’s direction, Kansas enjoyed its top three passing and top three total offense seasons in school history, including a 2007 season in which the Jayhawks ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense (second), total offense (eighth) and passing offense (17th).

Following a 2009 campaign in which Kansas finished seventh in the NCAA in passing offense and 25th in total offense, meanwhile, Warinner was named a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association’s National Assistant Coach of the Year award and interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Akron, though the job eventually went to former Notre Dame assistant Rob Ianello.

Warinner will be stepping into a familiar position in South Bend, having served as offensive line coach at Army, Air Force, Illinois and during his first stint at Kansas, from 2003-’04.

His last experience in that role came at Illinois in ‘06, when the Illini finished the season ranked 10th nationally in rushing yards per game. Current NFL standouts Pierre Thomas and Rashard Mendenhall combined for 1,395 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns that season.

Notre Dame will represent the seventh stop in Warinner’s 26-year coaching career.

NHL Winter Classic Future Locations Proposed

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says he has heard from teams wanting to host a Winter Classic game, "even in places where we know the climate couldn't sustain it." "We could do lots of these," Bettman said. "But nobody is suggesting that is the right answer at this point."

The NHL is planning to continue the tradition for now, and will begin next week to reviewing bids for next year's game. The league is also looking at the possibility of a second game between two Canadian teams. "But that's not even a done deal yet," Bettman said.

Here is a list of some of the American venues that USA TODAY hockey writer Kevin Allen would like to see given the opportunity to host Winter Classics.

Yankee Stadium: Baseball stadiums seem to provide a more picturesque setting and there are multiple matchup possibilities. With John Tavares now on Long Island, a New York Rangers vs. Islanders matchup has appeal, as does Rangers vs. any Original Six team or Rangers vs. Flyers.

Lambeau Field: There would be national appeal to playing on Green Bay's Frozen Tundra. With Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane signed long term, the Chicago Blackhawks could be an entertaining team for several years. A Chicago vs. Minnesota game would work in Green Bay, or even a rematch of Chicago vs. Detroit. Bring your ski mask to this game because it will be cold that day.

Michigan Stadium: Whenever the NHL wants to pack more than 100,000 into an arena for an outdoor game, they just have to announce the Toronto Maple Leafs will play the Red Wings in the Big House. There will be as many Maple Leafs fans as Red Wings fans. They will sell 110,000-plus tickets.

PNC Park in Pittsburgh: It's a newer stadium, but put the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh and have the Penguins play the Washington Capitals so we can have Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin. You know how they performed when they competed against each other in the playoffs. This would an opportunity to give a non-traditional hockey audience a chance to see the game's biggest stars.

Denver's Coors Field: Put the Winter Classic in the Mile High City and have the players huffing and puffing in the high altitude. Bring in Ray Bourque and Joe Sakic to drop the opening puck. Many choices for Avalanche opponents, although the Red Wings are Denver's favorite NHL team to hate.

Penn State's Beaver Stadium: A large, neutral site to play Penguins vs. Flyers. The rivalry of the cities is such that Flyers fans heckled the Penguins when they brought the Stanley Cup to the state capitol in Harrisburg last summer.

Vail, Colo., or any ski resort area: Build an NHL rink into a scenic mountainside venue and make it a made-for-TV event. Erect some temporary seating, but make it an intimate setting. Pick the previous season's Stanley Cup winner to play a big-market team, and then hope there is snowfall during the game. If you have it in Vail, it could become a major celebrity event.

Thanks to Kevin Allen

Sox Fest 2010 Packages

The Chicago White Sox have a limited number of two-night hotel reservations and weekend passes to SoxFest 2010 the Palmer House Hilton available to fans.

The special SoxFest hotel rate is $259 (plus tax and applicable charges) for a two-night stay.

White Sox fans have the opportunity to purchase up to two rooms per reservation and those who purchase a two-night stay are eligible to purchase up to four SoxFest weekend passes at $75 each.

SoxFest hotel packages and weekend passes together are available for purchase online at whitesox.com/SoxFest.

Weekend passes only are available for purchase by fans who book the two-night stay.

SoxFest 2010, presented by Comcast SportsNet, Miller Lite, the Palmer House Hilton and Pepsi, will feature appearances by the following White Sox players: Gordon Beckham, Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko, Mark Kotsay, Scott Linebrink, Jayson Nix, Juan Pierre, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, J.J. Putz, Alexei Ramirez, Mark Teahen and Matt Thornton, along with manager Ozzie Guillen.

They will joined by former White Sox stars Floyd Bannister, Roland Hemond, Kevin Hickey, Lance Johnson, Ron Kittle, Bill Melton, Minnie Minoso, Gary Peters, Billy Pierce and Bill “Moose” Skowron.

Coaches Harold Baines, Don Cooper, Jeff Cox, Juan Nieves, Mark Salas, and Greg Walker, along with broadcasters Ed Farmer, Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, Darrin Jackson and Steve Stone are all scheduled to appear at SoxFest this year.

SoxFest 2010 will be held Friday, Jan. 22, Saturday, Jan. 23 and Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010.

Days and times are: Friday, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.