A day after missing out on the U.S. Olympic team, Ryan had his chance to vent — specifically, about Burke's comments about him. They came in an all-access piece by ESPN.com's Scott Burnside about the selection, and they were not pretty.

Ryan, understandably, is angry.

"They were direct quotes. It's unfortunate they feel that way. They've got to form a team," Ryan said, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. "I guess to a certain degree you have to respect it. You don't have to agree with it, right? I certainly don't. They could have just cut me (laughs).

"Actually I almost feel degraded when it comes out like that. It is what it is. That's their decision and that's how they feel about me. I will remember it and use it as motivation. That's all you can really do."

Garrioch tweeted that Ryan felt Burke was "gutless" in his comments about Ryan's intensity. Ryan also said that he had yet to return a phone call from Burke.

Burke, the director of player personnel for Team USA, was Ryan's most vocal detractor in Burnside's piece. The nicest thing he had to say about the four-time 30-goal scorer — who he drafted with the Anaheim Ducks, by the way — was that "he won't be intimidated."

Here was the other stuff:

— "He's a passive guy."

— "He is not intense. That word is not in his vocabulary. It's never going to be in his vocabulary. He can't spell intense."

— "I should have taken (Jack Johnson in the 2005 draft). No way he lets us down for 12 days."

That's not quite gutless; it's just weird. Bobby Ryan is one of the best few American-born goal-scorers on the planet. He should be on the Olympic team, full stop, and he's not.


FULL SPEED AHEAD FOR STAMKOS 


Steven Stamkos' encouragingly offputting, Wolverine-esque recovery from a broken leg continues.

On Thursday, Stamkos skated in full gear.

Stamkos broke his tibia on Nov. 11. The Lightning have actually been quite good without him, which makes his potential return even more interesting.

"He's healing, the bone is healing, he's getting stronger, he's getting more aggressive in his rehab. He's doing well," Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said on Dec. 31 at the Winter Classic alumni game in Detroit.

"They told us it's a three-to-six-month process. He's gonna fall somewhere in there. We're hoping it's closer to three months than six months, but he's a motivated guy. He's in tremendous shape. He's young. He's got everything working in his favor to heal on the quicker side."


PANTHERS TARP, NOT PAPER, HOUSE


It's easy to watch Panthers home games and think, "Boy, that place doesn't look 86 percent full." That's the number ESPN pegs the Panthers at on its attendance numbers.

The reason BB&T Center doesn't look 86 percent full is because it's not 86 percent full. In a story detailing the Panthers' attendance issues, The Miami Herald noted that the team has put tarps over upper-level seats to reduce the arena's official capacity. They're operating at 76 percent capacity based on the actual, non-tarp figure of 19,250.

From the Herald:

"Through 21 home dates this season, the Panthers are averaging 2,334 less per game than they announced in 24 home games last season.

Last season was different not only because the team was coming off its first division title in franchise history, but also started playing in the middle of the winter once the lockout ended. October and November are traditionally hard sells not only for the Panthers, but for a good number of NHL and NBA teams."

The entire story is worth a read; Florida's reasoning for the drop in attendance make enough sense, and the team tends to draw crowds when it's competitive. Still, it helps explain the dissonance between the reported percentages and the actual amount of people in the building.


FAKE CLASSIC GEAR ABOUNDS


The Winter Classic numbers are in. Not those ones. From The Associated Press:

"U.S. officials say Homeland Security agents seized about 6,100 pieces of counterfeit hockey merchandise and other sportswear valued at more than $723,000 during a three-month initiative leading up to NHL Winter Classic events.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that jerseys, hats, T-shirts and other items worth more than $32,500 were seized in the Detroit area.

Homeland Security agent Marlon Miller says makers use "inferior materials" for look-alikes that don't benefit the teams, players or the associations with trademarked sports gear."

That's top-notch police work considering that guys were walking up and down Main Street in Ann Arbor, knocking on the windows of cars stuck in a traffic jam, and trying to sell them knock-off gear. Hopefully, Homeland Security got this guy's supplier.

Contributor: Sean Gentille

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