NHL lockout: Negotiations provide hope, but no reason to stay
home  As the NHL and NHLPA spent Wednesday at a secret location
in New York for a second straight day of marathon talks, there
once again was little that hockey fans could do except watch,
wait, hope and look for any signs of progress—or lack thereof.
Shortly after the league and union adjourned for the evening,
with media contact limited to a two-sentence statement from
union chief Donald Fehr acknowledging that talks had taken place
and would continue Thursday, one of those signs came into view.
Sporting News learned that Dustin Brown, the captain of the
Stanley Cup champion Kings, made his flight from Los Angeles to
Switzerland, where he has signed with the Zurich Lions through
the end of a lockout that extends into its 54th day.  Dustin
Brown was prepared to stay home, not fly to Switzerland, if the
NHL lockout showed major progress on Wednesday. (AP Photo)  A
possibility had existed that significant progress in New York
might have kept Brown