Finally, it's October.

The Tigers are playing postseason baseball. The Lions are undefeated. Hell, even my Eastern Michigan Eagles have a winning record. Todd Bertuzzi is pissed because he's never had to winterize his cabin on Hell's Lake of Fire before.

Nonetheless, Red Wings hockey is right around the corner. The preseason is done. No longer must we endure the pain and agony of the absolute cocktease that is pretend hockey. Soon the puck will drop and we'll get to the business of destroying the hopes and dreams of 29 other teams. The business of capturing #12. The business of Red Wings Hockey.

Also marked by the start of the regular season: the end of the Winged Wheel Who's Got The Biggest Charity Boner Contest. Up for grabs is a jersey signed by Hank Z, 3 months of your design for the banner of this site, and if you want it, a Winged Wheel original song, topic decided by you. There's still time remaining, and it's down to the wire. Donate to a damn good cause, and show up the Hawks fans who are doing a pretty good job themselves. At the very least, put the cash down to save this hallowed ground from being sullied by the likes of The Bandwagon.

Need a reminder on how to demonstrate your throbbing charity boner? Allow me:

• Go to the Learning Through Giving Cause Page, join the cause through Facebook, and donate to your heart's content. As the administrator, Mike will record your donation, and secure your entry.
• If you aren't all hip with the Facebooks, or you just don't want to use it for some reason, you can make a direct donation through the Learning Through Giving Cause Page, without signing in. If you do that, however, you'll need to send your information and the amount you donated to me at  so that we can record your entry.
• You can also send a check made out to Genesis Therapy Center (put Schools Program in the Memo line) at the following address: