Today, I've got a humongous big pile of links for your perusal, and they took me forever to gather. Now, you're going to sit at the table and read them until you're finished, or you're not getting any dessert. Also, it'll put hair on your chest, so that's a plus.

The link I'm serving as your appetizer comes to us from Jeff Arnold at Puck Daddy. It seems that weeks of kvetching about how Gary Bettman and his board of governors are only interested in putting teams from the Atlantic Division in the Winter Classic might finally pay off. That is, it's looking increasingly possible that the Toronto Maple Leafs meet the Detroit Red Wings at the University of Michigan's gigantic football stadium:

One source, who spoke on a condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the matter, said Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon wasn't initially sold on the idea of the NHL hosting an outdoor game at Michigan Stadium. But over a matter of a couple of weeks, the source said "something happened to make it go from looking like it could happen to [a point where] it probably will."

Oh boy. Brian Burke and Ron Wilson on 24/7? An outdoor game in a venue so gigantic we actually might stand a chance of getting tickets? Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy.

It's true that this has been rumored, so perhaps it's not all that shocking at this point, but the prospect of such an even is exciting nonetheless.

Leafs Links:

Brian Burke Wins At The Internet, Hockey, And Life In General
If you haven't seen this, see it now.

The Leafs and Sabres- Shift by Shift
Danny Gray picks back up with his Shift Chart series. Always worth a read. From Leafs Nation.

Maple Leafs Forward Scoring Rates
I'll give you one guess to figure out who is number one. From our benevolent leader PPP at The Leafs Nation.

Phaneuf over-rated? Let’s not lose our heads…
Michael Langlois of VLM muses about the ridiculous list.

Flyers and Leafs interesting trade partners
OK, so there are no specific players' names mentioned, but that's fine. Interesting tidbit. From Philly.com by Frank Seravalli.

Ryan Hamilton Leads the way as Marlies Defeat IceCaps 4-2
More good news from down on the farm via the digital pen of Kyle the Reporter.

Amazed Marlies Forget About Game After Neuber Scores Goal
Jeffler has a post on what appears to be a more recent game than the one Kyle has already posted about.

Leafs defencemen pulling their weight on offence
I had a post about this not too long ago at The Leafs Nation, and it seems everyone else is noticing the same trend. From Robert MacLeod at the Globe.

Wax Stain Rookie: Johnny Bower
Warning: this post may make you want to get those dusty hockey cards out from under your bed that you hide from your girlfriend like a secret porn collection. From Dirty Dangle. What a dirty intro.

Why Ryan Getzlaf Is The Answer For The Toronto Maple Leafs
Curt S has his say over at Blue Chip Prospects.

Today, Jonas Gustavsson Is An NHL Starter... Just Not A Good One
He ranks 29th in the league in SV%, and that's great news. I can't remember if he's ever been in the top 30 of the league before. Glove tap to Battle of Ontario for pointing this out, but their image was of an outdated stat board.

Other Hockey Links:

The Marchand of Venice
You should probably read this before you do anything else today.

Pancakes With Penner
Yes, it's really written by Dustin Penner.

Does the Momentum Boost From Fighting Help Teams Win Games?
Not so much. From Jonathan Willis at The Leafs Nation.

Weekly Fenwick Power Rankings
Hrm. From Hawerchuk at Arctic Ice Hockey.

Ducks GM Bob Murray patient on trade front, but not with team's performance
From the CP at the Hockey News.

On a Gay Hockey Blog, Posts About the Meaning of the Game
The New York Times' hockey blog Slap Shot has caught wind of the good work going on over at Puck Buddys. Story by Jeff Z. Klein.

Quebec junior hockey player suspended over racial taunt
Interesting that the CHL is often the one setting precedence for the NHL. From the CP via the Globe.

Mike Cammalleri with some choice words for his team. You make the jokes.
"We prepare for our games like losers. We play like losers. So it's no wonder why we lose." By QMI Agency at Canoe.ca. Normally, I don't like to these guys (Quebecor media generally = puke), but the Globe edited out the best part of this quote.

Could The Penguins And Capitals Both Miss The Playoffs?
Unlikely. From Dirty Dangle.

The 10 coaches with the most "beerability" in the NHL
I don't know why he doesn't just say "coaches I'd like to have a beer with", but whatever. From Justin Bourne at BS.

What "we" means for pro sports teams, fans and media
Again from JB at BS.

More Linkage!

SBN is setting up a Twitter feed - follow it! They're also setting up a Facebook page. Like it!

Here are a few of the stories they've conjured in the last 24 hours:

NHL Midseason Awards
Derek Zona has begun writing for SBN's hockey page. SBN is going to be attempting to grow this part of the site, so keep your eyes peeled for more from these guys.

NHL Power Rankings
Not much love for the Leafs in this one. Again from Derek Zona.

NHL Coach Firings
An update on how the teams with new coaches are fairing. From Dominik Jansky.

Brad Marchand Suspended: Peter Chiarelli, Bruins Try To Take Moral High Ground, Fail
This one again from SBN, but this time by Travis Hughes.

From The Branches