Only days away

Only two more days of waiting until the first puck drops for the 2006-07 season. It's almost upon us.

Are you ready? Here's a few ways to find out:

~ Have you busted open your first box of cards yet? Did you get any Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin cards? Or did you get Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien (pronounced, according to his Victory rookie card, as bigh-FEWG-lehn) or the Islanders' Masi Marjamaki (pronounced MAH-see MAR-YAH-MAK-EE)?

~ Is your hounding bag -- complete with pucks, cards and new pens -- set for your first trip of the season? Mine's not. I still have to dig out cards for Boston's Wade Brookbank and Petr Tenkrat and an old Vancouver Canucks puck just in case Hall of Famer Cam Neely makes the trip down to Florida.

~ Are your game tickets in chronological order and have they been checked against your child's sports league schedule?

If you've given an emphatic "yes" to these questions, clicking here will help you pass the time. Remember, too, the games will be shown on Versus, not OLN.