NHL Hockey Winter Classic Details!

Details about the Winter Classic are practically on every site that I visit these days so I thought I better talk about it too!  In case you don’t know, the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing on an outdoor rink on January 1, 2008.  It should be really cool and exciting.  Here are the details and updates that I’ve come across:

When: January 1, 2008 at 1 p.m. EST on NBC, CBC, RDS and NHL Radio.

Where: Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New York.

How: Details are in this link!

Updates:  To nullify any advantages or adversities created by weather conditions, the Sabres and the Penguins will switch ends halfway through the third period – ensuring each team would spend the equivalent number of minutes attacking or defending each goal, the National Hockey League announced Saturday.  Yeah… there’s more:

If necessary, a five-minute overtime period also would be divided in half, with the teams switching ends after 2:30 of play.

Should a shootout be needed, each goaltender would be given the option of determining which goal to defend. Thus it is possible that both teams would shoot at the same goal. Once a goaltender has chosen the goal he wants to defend, he must defend that goal for every round of the shootout.

The League also announced that length of intermissions between – and timeouts during – periods may be subject to modification depending on weather and ice conditions, as may be determined by the Game Officials and/or Commissioner Gary Bettman, in consultation with representatives of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

It’s a tad excessive, isn’t it?  Or am I just missing something here?  I understand wanting to be fair but come on!!!

Apparently, fans are getting all "geared" up too!  People are just snatching up the Winter Classic apparel and getting ready to spend 3 hours outside watching the game.  I’m actually not sure I would do it – I’m happy watching it in my jammies as I contemplate my New Years resolutions…