This is my brave face.

So Darren McCarty--see him, there, hugging his linemate and grinning in my icon?--Darren McCarty is leaving the Red Wings. They bought out his contract yesterday, to make room under the shiny-new salary cap.

Darren. McCarty. Hero of March 26, scorer of the beautiful goal that won the Wings the final game of the 1997 Stanley Cup (the following day's papers included diagrams of his deke), pupil of Bob Probert and Joe Kocur, the nearest thing the Wings have had to a native son in recent memory. Darren McCarty.

But he said not to cry, so I won't.

Have I mentioned that I love hockey players?

paging Benton Fraser

via Fark:

Somebody's been stirring up trouble in Inuvik...

meep! and also, huh.

Just finished reading HBP, well behind the rest of the civilized world, and, yep, it turns out I was spoiled. Damn you, guy on a random Fark thread!

( It did make for an interesting reading experience, though. Spoilers ahoy, if there's anybody left who hasn't read it. )