It's safe to say that the vast majority of us in the extended Tampa Bay Lightning family will not be in Ottawa this weekend, meaning we'll be focusing mostly on the break part of the All-Star break. Breaks in any endeavor are designed for you to stop, rest, get your bearings, re-assess your plans and go forward. If during this break, your re-assessment of plans doesn't include going forward with the Lightning, I'm here to tell you so long and good luck.

I honestly do so without malice or rancor. Look, passionately devoting yourself to a favorite team can be difficult. It requires demands on your time, emotions and bank account that can be strenuous. Especially if you're expecting some kind of return on those investments that may not be immediately forthcoming.

It's a busy world out there with lots of things going on to occupy our attention. I fully understand your predicament. Being a die-hard sports fan isn't for everyone. There's a reason bandwagons are slow-moving, low-to-the-ground conveyances; they're easy to get on and off of. If you feel like you need to get off of this one, even if you just climbed on less than a year ago, I say go in good health, no questions asked, no hard feelings and we'll happily welcome you back if you're so inclined in the future. I would just ask you to make sure you're not doing it because of undue influence from some of those in the media.

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One of the things about running a blog that people don't think about (because they're too busy reading and agreeing / disagreeing with the blog content) is that we're also supposed to promote ourselves through social media and pay attention to news as it breaks via Twitter.

You may already be following Raw Charge on Twitter, in which case we thank you. If not, we invite you to do so.

At any rate, during any given day, there's a gargantuan amount of conversation that goes on in the Twitterverse...in 140 characters or less, of course. You get fed breaking news, opinions, commentary, anecdotes, you may find people arguing, debating, or simply fooling around through the inanity of a Twitter hashtag like #DanEllisProblems .

There has been an award out there for the three years called the Shorty Awards. These are an attempt to recognize the best and most popular (Vox Populi) Twitter accounts / personalities out there. You can find out more about the Shorty Awards and its history here. While I could say this is an attempt to encourage you to vote for Raw Charge for the best hockey Twitter account, that's not the plan.

There are several accounts that we're supportive of, fans of, and rely on for news, information and entertainment. Accounts that need your vote to get them the proper recognition they deserve.

The only requirement to participate in the 2012 Shorty Awards is to have a Twitter account and follow certain Tweet-vote guidelines for your vote to register.

Got Twitter? Want to vote? Let's talk turkey below...

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Visualize a snowy land of gum drop trees and candy cane lanes, where toys are alive and snowmen and elves greet you with a happy, "Glad tidings to you and yours! Peace on earth, good will to men!". Now visualize a radio show on the internet where you can call in and talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Well, one of these things is completely real! The other one is our radio show and you can get there by going to SBNation Tampa Bay Live! tonight at 8 p.m.

That's where you'll find Blue Thunder, a live internet call-in radio show by and for fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Join me and Cassie McClellan of Raw Charge with Patti McDonald and host JC De La Torre of SBNation Tampa Bay as we celebrate the holiday season by making wishes and putting names on our naughty & nice lists, all while sitting in a hot tub filled with hot cocoa and mini marshmallows. Come open your gifts with us!

Join us (me and Cassie McClellan of Raw Charge with Patti McDonald and host JC De La Torre of SBNation Tampa Bay) tonight at 8 pm. We'll be discussing the recently announced realignment plan, the ongoing woes of our beloved Tampa Bay Lightning, previewing the upcoming schedule and sharing a fabulous recipe for butterscotch scones...also I will be giving away a horse (one or more of those things might not happen due to time constraints)!

http://sbnationtampabaylive.com/home/

Click the link, listen in, call up, join the chatter.

Blue Thunder Radio: It's like sticking a little bit of Raw Charge in your earhole!

Blue Thunder? Hey, is that the tv show with the awesome, heavily-armed police helicopter? No, it's the internet radio show where we talk with you about the Tampa Bay Lightning! Join us tonight at 8 p.m. at SB Nation Live, call in and share your opinions. We'll talk about the Lightning's next game against St. Louis and I have a funny feeling that last night's game against the Flyers might be mentioned too. Also, you may have a chance to win when we give away an awesome, heavily-armed police helicopter!

(NOTE: Some, or all, contest prizes may not be available as they never existed in the first place and the person who mentioned anything about giving away prizes has no authority whatsoever to do so and should be dismissed as, at best, less than credible and possibly dangerously unstable.)

So Comcast has set the media narrative, as we've seen it on Versus since the 2011 NHL Playoffs when the Tampa Bay Lightning kept surprising the big-shots of the NHL: Guy Boucher is the villain, the 1-3-1 system is evil and bad for the game of hockey. Last night, the Philadelphia Flyers "stood up" for the NHL by avoiding playing hockey at times in order to make a statement against the 1-3-1. The Flyers are heroes!

Right, and Mike Milbury was a great General Manager... And Pierre McGuire is a highly sought after "monster" of a commentator who fans universally adore.

Just like Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin was a manufactured rivalry, the powers-that-be have decided to make a statement that the Tampa Bay Lightning are the bad guys, and must be stopped. Last night was their opportunity to  reinforce the narrative with a national audience on a national cable network that is coincidentally owned by the same media entity that owns the Philadelphia Flyers hockey franchise.

While plenty of teams - both this season and last season - have been able to keep their offense going (in bucket loads, in some instances) while playing against the Lightning, the Flyers (who lead the league in goals scored) somehow couldn't handle the malicious 1-3-1, even while they knew full well that the Lightning were playing without two of their key defensemen in Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund. Some, Milbury for one, suggested Philly was standing up for hockey by stalling.

What kind of twisted logic is this? You toss the dice, you play the game your way against their way and you do the best you can. You don't congratulate a team, especially of the offensive caliber as Flyers, for turtling.

Now what if this same shit had transpired in a Flyers-Devils game? Or any other rivalry game for that matter? "The opposing system must be stopped" narrative would never surface. You'd more likely hear something more along the lines of, "what the bloody hell are you doing? Play hockey!"

But it's convenient that the Flyers were playing against the Bondian Villain in Guy Boucher. He and his evil, indomitable, just-over-.500, Bolts have to be stopped. For the greater good of marketing, the 1-3-1 must be stopped! Who better to do it than the benevolent Flyers?

During the Rangers' Western Canada swing, John Tortorella made me remember why I miss him as a coach. His sound bites can be a gift. Tortorella had a 16 second postgame press conference after the loss to the Oilers. It consisted with him saying "We sucked from head to toe."

And Torts was not the only one giving this weekend, Jay Feaster reflects on his time spent with Tortorella to the Calgary Herald. Best line? "I can't count how many guys I had in my office, complaining: 'He hates me.' And my standard response was 'Don't flatter yourself, he hates us all. Equally.'

Here are your links for the week:

Your Lightning links:

• Marty makes it into Puck Daddy's 7 players they'd pay to watch in an NHL shootout
• Sons of Andreychuk weigh in on whether Brett Connolly will make it past tonight
• The St. Petersburg Times on Brett Connolly and a golden tidbit on the Lightning dressing room: "Meanwhile, in the hallway in the Lightning locker room, someone has tacked an ad from ESPN Magazine on a bulletin board. It's a picture of the Geico caveman playing horseshoes, with Connolly's name written above it in an apparent nod to his furry chest. Alongside the picture is a message of congratulations for making the magazine so quickly."
• Don't Trade Vinny has this gem of a post as he compares the Lightning to Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Wondering what Oren Koules is up to? He's involved in the Hulsizer bid to buy the St. Louis Blues. Yes, he's looking to buy another NHL team (Lightning Hockey Blog)
• The Province editorial department decided to be hfboards for a day instead of writing about politics and suggested that the Vancouver Canucks should trade Roberto Luongo for Vincent Lecavalier
• Though he hasn't started the last few games, Roloson's struggles were not his fault alone (St. Petersburg Times)
  

The rest of your links after the jump...

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Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sun Sports TV announced the 2011-12 broadcast schedule for the Bolts.  The team will air on Sun Sports 68 times this season, Paired up with the national exposure through Versus / NBC Sports Net and the NHL Network, the Lightning will have 79 of 82 games televised this season.

The complete schedule and team press release is below the jump.

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