The Art of Everyday Communication

Word up. I've been crazy busy this week, which sort of explains the lack of communiques. Please forgive me.

Lily celebrated her second birthday on Wednesday. She's kind of aware of what it means, although I think the bottom line for her is it means she gets cake. The big bash is happening tomorrow, which meant Deb and I were in housecleaning mode last night. The theme is Dora the Explorer, so it should be a noisy good time.

Some quick hits to the head:

• The NHL trade deadline came and went yesterday and the Leafs sat on their proverbial hands. They made a couple of moves Wednesday, including reacquiring aging d-man Luke Richardson, who was a Leaf draft pick way back in '87, and trading much better defenseman Ken Klee for a prospect. Just seems like a waste of a few draft picks. Besides, they're eight points behind Montreal for the last playoff spot and they're playing terribly, so these moves make little sense. Another lost year in Toronto.
• Kirby Puckett died Monday after suffering a stroke. He had some problems after his career ended, but I'll always remember him as a great ballplayer who seemed to have a lot of fun out there. And his homer to win game 6 of the 1991 World Series was unforgettable.

I'm running late. More later.