I'm back!

And a happily married man.

(Sorry, Manon Reheume!)

Thanks to Ben for picking up the slack, and thanks to Gary Bettman for scheduling the All Star weekend during my honeymoon, leaving me completely able to enjoy my trip without missing even a half decent hockey game.

I had a wonderful time seeing highlights of the game come on while seated at a blackjack table with my beautiful bride in a casino in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and thinking "hmm- I wonder who's winning," then instantly remembering "oh yeah- I don't give a shit."

I will tell you that if you are a hockey fan, the Turks and Caicos Islands aren't a bad place to vacation in the Caribbean. There are tons of Canadian ex-pats, and I saw two different TV stations showing hockey highlights, one in English and one in French. If you're a fan of horseback riding on the other hand, it's not the best place in the world, seeing as apparently when horses hear the word "whoh" down there, they think, "I guess it's time to gallop uncontrollably down an abandoned beach."

It's a long story, but I'm still alive, and the good news is, it looks like the wife won't be dragging me off to go horseback riding again. I also visited a spirited youth roller hockey program, which I'll write about later this week, when I've had a chance to take a breath and get my act together.

I started my January at the largest NHL game ever played, and wrapped it up on vacation in the Caribbean.

So far, 2008 ain't bad.