A few sports notes...

Well, fall is officially here, and in Philadelphia it feels like it today. As much as I dislike fall weather, there are a few things that make the cold weather bearable - photography, football and hockey. Normally, I dislike football commercials and I skip right over them, but I saw this one last night and I got a good, ahem, kick out of it. Good stuff.

I can't get too much into preseason hockey, but I saw some highlights from last night's action, and my favorite hockey team, the Edmonton Oilers, got bloodied during a preseason action last night vs. the Calgary Flames. The pic at left was a cheap shot on the Oiler Marc Pouliot (left) by Jim Vandermeer, after Pouliot scored a goal. Now that's classy. Vandermeer had best have his head on swivel when the two teams meet for the first time in the regular season on Oct. 17. Edmonton vs. Calgary is one of the best rivalries in the NHL (and even all of sports, in my humble opinion) - any hockey fan who has an opportunity to catch one of these games - there are seven meetings between the two per season - should definitely take advantage of it.

For my money, the best cash I spend on sports every year (besides NFL Sunday Ticket) is the NHL Center Ice Package, which allows me to see any and all Oiler games I want, for about $169 a season (it may have gone up this season, but hopefully not). Best of all, it can be paid for in installments - you can get it on satellite (DirecTV) or digital cable. To put it in perspective, I had the opportunity to get two lower-level tickets to the Flyers/Oilers game at the beginning of November, and it would have cost me $230. No thanks - we're on a budget - I'll catch it on TV.

GOILERS!