New Rules, New Dynasties & Multiple Obscene Gestures. Who Needs the NHL?

We all know where things stand with the NHL - deep coma, little hope of change. But if you're interested in leagues that play hockey instead of bitching about it, there are plenty of great stories.

At the junior and minor pro levels, the game is humming along with undefeated teams, international rivalries, progressive rule changes and players dropping their pants.

• The American Hockey League has declared its new rules a success. Changes introduced this season include a wider red line and blue lines, no-touch icing, "tag-up" offsides, a shootout to decide tie games and a restriction on goaltenders handling the puck.

  Speaking to The Score TV network, AHL president Dave Andrews said the result is a more exciting game, and suggested the NHL should adopt all the new rules when it resumes play.

  The AHL is loving the NHL lockout, which has meant more media attention and more tickets sold for many minor league teams. But the big winners so far are the Philadelphia Phantoms, who are chasing the longest winning streak in league history.

• The Phantoms' streak won't impress anyone in London, Ontario. That's the home of the London Knights, currently ranked as the top junior team in Canada. A 23-game undefeated streak (and counting) will earn you that sort of respect. The Knights have not lost a game this season in the Ontario Hockey League.

  Meanwhile, the fiercest rivalry in junior hockey has resumed, with the Canada-Russia Challenge. The Russians are 2-and-1 so far on their Canadian tour. Both countries use the series as a warm-up for the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, which begins Christmas Day in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

• Finally, news from the ECHL reveals that dropping your drawers and pointing your rear end to the fans does not fit the Reading Royals' standard of "class and dignity."

  Dan Sullivan has been suspended by the league and cut by the Royals for showing his butt to the crowd during a game in Wheeling, West Virginia. Sullivan, who was sitting out the game with an injury, was apparently trying to show his appreciation for the warm welcome he received from Wheeling fans.