Tonight's 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will commence when the Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Obama, throws out the first pitch in front of a sold-out Busch Stadium with St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols on the receiving end.

The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding tradition with presidents, actors, singers, athletes and others from all walks of life showing the baseball world either their world-class arms or interest in things other than baseball growing up.

Hockey players have been part of the celebrated tradition, as seen recently with two-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bill Guerin(notes) doing his part before a Pittsburgh Pirates game; as well as now-former Detroit Red Wing Chris Chelios(notes) dusting off his autographed Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown glove to kick things off before a Detroit Tigers matinee.

In honor of the US of A's "First Fan" doing tonight's first pitch honors, we take a look back at NHL'ers trying their best

It was just one summer ago when the hockey media hung on to every word coming out of either Mats Sundin(notes) or his agent, J.P. Barry's mouth about the star center's future. There was the August 1st deadline when Sundin was supposed to make his final decision. That turned into a "soft deadline" and no decision was made of course. Then, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos flew all the way to Sweden to talk to Mats and try and get the inside scoop. That was fruitless, of course. It wasn't until mid-December when Sundin finally decided to sign with the Vancouver Canucks in a pro-rated one-year deal.

Today, Sundin sits in the same position he did a year ago: a man without a team still deciding on his future. The big Swede has said he will make his decision at the end of July (Hey, just like last year!) as he's getting married in August and would like nothing to distract him from that moment in his life. The big difference from a year ago? The lack of media coverage. Maybe writers and talk radio

Let's face it, this is about the time of the calendar year when hockey news comes to a crawl and everyone refreshes the batteries until training camps open in September. There's still plenty of big names available on the free agent market which will fill the dead spaces in the hockey news coverage for the next few weeks, but now is the time where puckheads begin enjoying their summer. Even Bob McKenzie's on vacation!

To try and keep the hockey debates and discussion alive, Sports Illustrated compiled a "thrill list" for every sport not listing the best players, but those that are the "...all-time bests at quickening the pulse and evoking a visceral response from those fortunate enough to have witnessed their artistry."

Hall of Fame writer Michael Farber's list for hockey is sure to engage debate, most notably because of one "great" exception:

10. Mario Lemieux
9. Dominik Hasek(notes)
8. Paul Coffey
7. Pavel Bure
6. Guy LaFleur
5. Gilbert Perreault
4. Bobby Hull
3. Alexander Ovechkin(notes)
2.

Over the next 24 hours, the words "classy" and "respected" will be the two most used words in describing Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic(notes). A few hours from now, Sakic will announce his retirement as Adrian Dater confirmed on Tuesday, hanging up his skates after an illustrious 20 year National Hockey League career that includes two Stanley Cup titles, a Conn Smythe, Hart, Lady Byng, and Pearson Trophy, an Olympic gold medal, twelve All-Star Games, and 625 goals. He will get the call for the Hockey Hall of Fame three years from now and probably wind up with a front office position with the Avalanche.

He was a true gentleman in the sport, never putting himself above the team and one of the few remaining athletes that have spent their entire careers with a single franchise. He assumed co-captain duties during the 1990-91 season and took over the role on a full-time basis at the start of the 1992-93 campaign.

Whether or not the next Colorado captain is someone like Adam Foote

"Our goal is to make the playoffs next year, we're going to have to make some changes to do it. We're going to be a different team.'

"I like a lot of hitting. I like a lot of fighting. We have a passive group. All year long, when a trainer was on the ice - it was always our trainer- that really bothered me.

"It will be a more hostile group in the fall."

Brian Burke, June 24

When he took over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of November, Brian Burke promised to rebuild the franchise his way. His way, of course, being a team that will win every physical battle, intimidate and wear down an opponent. It was the blueprint he used when he led the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup in 2007. And for the moment, Burke is putting his fingerprints all over the current Toronto team, one that he believes should be a contender within the first few seasons of his reign.

There was the first move bringing Brad May(notes) in. Then the deals that sent Nik Antropov(notes) to New York and Dominic

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

-Adrian Dater confirms that the "special" announcement to be made by the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday will be that Joe Sakic(notes) will hang up the skates after a 20 year career. Farewell Burnaby Joe, you'll always be the only Quebec Nordique in my McFarlane collection. [Denver Post]

-Mile High Hockey begins the numerous good-bye pieces we'll see over the new few days. [MHH]

-Those cries you heard from the West Coast this morning wasn't Wysh attending the Michael Jackson memorial service. It was his reaction to hearing that the American Hockey League has suspended the operations of our beloved Iowa Chops. Apparently the club was "unable to remedy certain violations of the provisions of the league’s Constitution and By-Laws." Not good times. Farewell Baby Backs, you shall be missed. [Iowa Chops]

-The AHL was busy

Those "Battle of Pennsylvania" match-ups are going to be fun for close to the next decade, eh? The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that Chris Pronger(notes) has signed a multi-year extension with the club. Sportsnet originally reported that it's for seven years, $35 million and is front-loaded to ease the salary cap hit. Pronger had one more year left on his contract and according to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, an extension had been coming since the two former members of the Hartford Whalers organization reunited on June 27th:

“We are pleased to have one of the NHL’s premier defensemen in our organization and under contract long term,” said Holmgren in making the announcement. ”When we made the trade for Chris, it was our intention to get him signed to an extension and we are glad we could come to this agreement today.”

Pronger will be a few months shy of his 42nd birthday at the end of the new deal and he said he doesn't plan on following in Chris Chelios'(notes)

While his brother Bobby and nephew Brett are known as the outspoken members of the Hull family, Dennis was the comedian. A five-time All-Star, Dennis has a pretty decent career in his 14 years in the National Hockey League, compiling 303 goals and 654 points while playing alongside Bobby for eight of those seasons.

Today, Hull is a celebrity emcee and traveling to various banquets and events doing speaking engagements. Thanks to the glory that is YouTube, his three and a half minute routine during the CBC's "Don Cherry Celebrity Roast" has been preserved for our enjoyment.

A couple of observations:

-Is Ron McLean Canada's version of Dick Clark? Despite the hair gaining a bit of white, the man's look doesn't change over time.

-Laughing at your own jokes? I'd expect more out of a professional comedian, sir. Though nothing beats self-deprecating humor.

-There's no reason these hockey roasts couldn't be held today. How large of a rating do you think the "Gary Bettman Celebrity Roast"