Checking out the progress of work at Ralph Wilson Stadium this afternoon, there on the ice was Dan Craig, NHL Facilities Operations Manager and the guy in charge of this entire affair. But he wasn’t just on the ice - he laced up a pair of skates and was giving the surface he had built a whirl. “It felt good. We’re almost at the point we were in Edmonton four years ago at this time.”The place is really taking shape. Walking into the stadium today, I was absolutely amazed at how they got this place tidied up, a far contrast from the dreck and mess in the concourses, ramps and seating bowl the other day. Crews are still dashing around the building getting ready for the big event. Down on the field, the ice has been painted, the glass is up, the zamboni is applying water and smoothing the ice. And now they’re actually trucking IN snow to give the field a neat cosmetic appearance.

Today’s 2PM daily briefing was a more crowded affair - media from national outlets and from other cities were in attendance, and joining Craig and Don Renzulli was NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who was piped in to the briefing via teleconference from New York City.