The Anaheim Ducks announced on Wednesday that they signed veteran center Saku Koivu to a one-year contract. The deal is believed to be $3 million and does include incentives.

Koivu gets this contract despite the fact that he’s 37-years old and his production has steadily declined the last few years. He had 38 points last year, which isn’t very good.

Still, the Ducks want to keep him because he’s a two-way player who helps out on the penalty kill. It’s not always all about points scored, and here is proof.

The Philadelphia Flyers are already in a lousy situation against the New Jersey Devils. They are down 3-1 in the series, but it’s much worse than that. The Devils are killing the Flyers in most aspects of hockey. The Flyers can’t even carry it out of their own zone without a huge fight.

And Game 5 just got a lot tougher. According to the Flyers’ Facebook page, Claude Giroux will be suspended for one game following his hit to the head of Dainius Zubrus.

“BREAKING NEWS: Claude Giroux was given a 1 game suspension by the NHL for a hit on Dainius Zubrus during the 2nd period of last night’s game,” the post reads.

He did hit him well after the puck was gone, but he didn’t leave his feet. Still, the NHL obviously thinks he went after his head (which he did hit). What do you think?

The Philadelphia Flyers have gotten a ton of contributions from rookies this season. Guys like Matt Read, Braydon Schenn and Sean Couturier have all been phenomenal this year.

Couturier, in particular, has been just insane on defense. Not many 19-year old kids are told to shut down Evgeni Malkin…and then are able to go out and do it. So, when he went down with a leg injury last week in a game against the New Jersey Devils, there was cause for concern.

But, Sam Carchidi tweets that he could return on Sunday night for Game 4, which would be great news for Flyers fans.

“Center Sean Couturier is making a quick recovery from a leg injury and is expected to be in the Flyers’ lineup tonight. Officially, it’s a game-time decision. Mez will not play tonight and is possible for Tues,” he tweets.

Mez is Andrej Meszaros, who hasn’t played in forever. So that’s of no consequence. However, getting Couturier back would be a nice addition, even if it wouldn’t solve the Flyers’ problems with the Devils fore check.

New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk missed the team’s Game 2 victory on Tuesday night with a back issue. It probably helped the team win considering he was so god awful on defense in Game 1.

But, on Thursday, he says he’s healthy and ready for Thursday’s Game 3, which will be played on Thursday of this week.

“I feel good and I’m ready to go,” Kovalchuk said.

Head coach Pete DeBoer, however, says that Kovalchuk will be a “game-time decision.”

“I think with players, these guys know their bodies better than doctors, coaches, anybody else,” DeBoer said. “So, it’s not me seeing something. It’s him knowing what we need out of him and whether he feels his body is capable of giving us that. That’s where we’re at. Players have to make those decisions.”

It sounds like Ilya already made that decision then. Looks like he’ll be suiting up in New Jersey for a crucial game in the series tied at 1-1.

“Why would you sit there and rest if you feel better and you’re ready to go?” Kovalchuk asked. “Now, Pete, he will decide what he wants to see in the lineup tonight.”

Nothing sucks more than having to make an example out of a couple guys and punish the whole team. The Nashville Predators are down 2-0 to the Phoenix Coyotes in the best-of-seven second round series and could use all the help they can get. So, suspending a guy who is tied for team lead in goals and another guy who is plus-3 in the playoffs is not a good thing.

But, the Predators did what they felt they had to do. They said that Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexander Radulov were in violation of team rules and will be suspended for Game 3, according to Josh Cooper of The Tennessean.

“AK46 an Radulov out of Game 3 for a violation of team rules,” Cooper tweets.

The real story seems to be that they were out until 4 a.m. the night before Game 2. That’s pretty bad and you put the coaches and team in a bad position. They can’t let that behavior slide and now you are very close to helping your team to a 3-0 hole. Well done.

We first saw this on our buddy Cleveland’s Facebook page. He went to Game 1 of the series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. When I saw this picture, I just thought “that guy has some balls.”

If you haven’t figured it out, No. 17 Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers is black. And this guy thought it would be funny/endearing to get a Simmonds Flyers jersey with “The Black Guy” on the back of it.

Simmonds claimed in the pre-season that he was used to the racism stuff. This was after a Canadian fan threw a banana on the ice as he prepared to take a penalty shot. But, whether he’s strong enough to deal with it or not, he shouldn’t have to be. While this isn’t the most offensive thing we’ve ever seen, it’s not remotely necessary.

Dude should have more class than that.

Wow. One one hand it’s kind of weird that Shea Weber didn’t get any punishment at all for his hit on Henrik Zetterberg, and now we see that the NHL is going to drop the hammer on Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres.

Torres has been suspended for 25 games for his hit on Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa. Brendan Shanahan felt that Torres knew that Hossa didn’t have puck and that he deliberately violated the rules of charging, check-to-the-head, interference, rape and gang rape.

We don’t know exactly how long Torres is out because we don’t know how long the Coyotes will be in the playoffs. He’ll serve whatever games in the playoffs and then it will carry over into next regular season. He will not be allowed to play in any preseason games either.

It’s estimated that this suspension will cost him $21,341 per game heading into next year. Ouch. Don’t think that doesn’t hurt.

Still…nothing for Shea Weber??

As if the defense of the Philadelphia Flyers just couldn’t get worse after they gave up 10 goals on Wednesday night to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they will now be without yet another key defensman. Nicklas Grossman was hit in the head twice in Game 4 and will miss Game 5 with a concussion.

This means that rookie Erik Gustafsson will make his playoff debut Friday night.

“Our team has done has an exceptional job this year,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “Guys moving up in their role.

“Guys coming into the lineup, who had been out of the lineup a little bit. Recalls we’ve used from our minor-league affiliate. I think our team has handled those situations well.

“The fact that we’ve lost another defenseman is hard to take. But in saying that, our team has filled this spot all year long. We had close to 450 man games to injury. This isn’t something new to us. We’d much rather have Grossmann in there … that’s not an option right now.”

The team traded for Grossman during the season and he’s been great in blocking shots and improving the overall defense. This is a huge loss for a team that umm…just gave up 10 goals in a single game.

This is hardly a shocker. I think we all knew something like this was coming the minute he opened his mouth. Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was absolutely livid following his team’s Game 3 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. And rightfully so.

It wasn’t just the loss. Raffi Torres absolutely leveled Marian Hossa to the point where he had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher and sent to the hospital. Oh, and he didn’t have the puck. And there was no penalty called.

So, yeah, he was pissed.

“I had a hard time. I saw exactly what happened,” he said. “How four guys missed it tonight, it was hard. The refereeing tonight was a disgrace.”

Yep, that last line is the one that did it. Professional sports leagues tend to not appreciate it when you publicly criticize officiating. And thusly, they have lightened Mr. Quenneville’s wallet by $10,000.

We all saw that one coming.

The NHL playoffs have been amazing this year so far. A lot of that could be due to the absolutely bloodbaths that a few of these series have become. There has been a lot of dirty play, and Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes has been one of the poster boys.

During Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, he decided that it would be a good idea to leave his feet and drive his shoulder into the head of Marian Hossa, who didn’t have the puck. Hossa had to be carted off and taken to the hospital.

And the NHL apparently didn’t appreciate the hit. They have suspended Torres indefinitely and he’ll need to have an in-person hearing on April 20th with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Here is the hit that landed him in hot water with the league:

Well this isn’t good. With less than a minute remaining in Game 1 on the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Nashville Predators held a 3-2 lead over the Detroit Red Wings.

After the puck was dropped, Nashville killed the time on the clock to hold on and take a commanding 1-0 lead in the series.

Except there was one big problem at the end: Defensman Shea Weber decided to viciously ram Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the boards a few times. It looks pretty awful and we’d have to think that the NHL league office won’t appreciate this.

If Weber is suspended, that’s a big hit to the Predators. Hope the incident was worth it for him.

The Philadelphia Flyers have some concerns heading into their playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Will Ilya Bryzgalov continue his stellar play in net? Will they get healthy quick enough? Can they minimize the defensive breakdowns?

Well, they got a bit of good news today when they found out that defensman Nicklas Grossman will be back for the start of the series.

“Grossmann said he is 100 percent. #Flyers,” tweets beat writer Sam Carchidi.

Grossman was an in-season trade who has helped a ton on the back end. Recently signed to a thee-year extension, Grossman blocks a lot of shots, which was a huge key when the Flyers made their run in 2010.

Can’t wait for Wednesday! Should be an awesome series regardless of whether you care about either of these teams.

Jonathan Toews will not play for the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday when they take the ice to skate with the Nashville Predators. It’s the 16th consecutive game that he will miss due to a concussion.

However, he has skated with his teammates in practice for five straight days, so that’s a good sign. Still, Toews has gotten close before, so he’s dialing back expectations.

Toews is “being a little bit more realistic with myself,” he said. “Even if I do feel completely 100 percent you might need a day or two just to make sure it’s going to stay that way.”

Toews says he’s optimistic about returning to the ice.

“I getting back to that stage where I’m progressing and getting closer to feeling the right way,” Toews said. “I’m just staying positive and hoping this is the time we break through.”

There are seven games left in the regular season and then the playoffs. The Hawks currently have the 6th seed and are relatively safe with Phoenix a full five points behind them.

Toews isn’t overly concerned with his injury and says he “absolutely” believes he will play again this season.

“I’m positive and just telling myself I’ll get through this,” Toews said. “(And) not let those little setbacks that have happened weigh me down and find a way to get back to 100 percent.”

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has been a monster this season. He’s a contender for the Vezina Trophy, but he just hasn’t gotten much help from the rest of his teammates.

Basically, if he’s a stud and blanks his opponents, the Kings can find a way to net one to get the win. But, if Quick gives up a few like he did tonight, forget it. Game. Set. Match.

And that’s what happened this evening against the Boston Bruins. Bruins keeper Tim Thomas was brilliant, stopping 40 pucks on 42 saves, but Quick couldn’t match him, giving up three goals on 25 shots.

That’s not a disaster for Quick, but it is for the offensively challenged Kings. This 4-2 loss snaps his five-game win streak.

What’s crazy are his numbers. Quick has a .929 save percentage and a 1.98 goals against average. Great, right? Yeah, well he’s 32-30-11! Christ! Can this guy get some help?

Quick continues to be stellar and we hope he wins the Vezina, because the Kings any winning jack dong as long as they can’t put a couple goals in every night.

The Philadelphia Flyers have been playing very well lately, but that doesn’t mean they should have been looking forward to this weekend’s pair of games. Saturday afternoon, they had to take on the Boston Bruins, who seem to own them. Their reward for losing a tight game in a shootout to the B’s was to come back home and face the white-hot Pittsburgh Penguins

After getting down 2-0 in the second period and facing a Penguins defense that had little-to-no interest in letting any pucks get through to Marc-Andre Fleury, it looked like the Fly Guys were in for a long weekend.

But, they bounced back in the third period to tie the game and send it into overtime. And just as the game was headed to a shootout, the Flyers had one last drop at the Last Drink Saloon. A centering pass to Scott Hartnell was fired past Fleury with 0.9 seconds left on the clock and the Flyers got the two points.

In doing so, they snapped the Penguins 11-game winning streak and held Sidney Crosby without a point for the first time since he returned from a concussion.

Hartnell, meanwhile, scored his 34th and 35th goals of the season, making me have to shut up about all the other little stupid stuff he tends to do.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on fire. They have won nine straight games and have done so without their best player, Sidney Crosby. They are a recipe for disaster for anyone facing them in the playoffs.

And now? Yep, they get Crosby back tonight as they face the New York Rangers, in what should be a great battle between possibly the two best teams in the Eastern Conference.

Interestingly enough though, it seems like head coach Dan Bylsma is in the mood to tinker. He plans on having Crosby do some work at the point on the power play. Not his usual role, but when you’re that great, why not give it a shot?

“I think we’ve always felt,” Bylsma said, “and do feel and strongly feel — all of us — that having the two best players (on the ice) is the best thing for us to have success.”

It makes perfect sense, even though some would like to split up Crosby and Malkin on two different power play shifts. But, think about it: The Penguins have five guys out there and you have four…and two of them are two of the best in the NHL? You have to like those odds.

“Our power play has been fairly successful this year,” Bylsma said. “A large part of that is due to how we bring the puck up the ice. That has solely been the responsibility of Steve Sullivan this year. At the beginning of the year, that assignment was Sidney Crosby and Steve Sullivan together.”

This, of course, all hinges on whether or not Crosby gets another concussion in the first period. So, there’s that.

The Philadelphia Flyers have had an up-and-down season. At times, they could choke you out and look like they’d never lose another game ever. Other times, they’ve showed poor defense combined with awful goaltending, which….yeah, you can imagine how that turned out.

But, the one constant seems to be injuries. They have them. A lot.

The biggest of course is the season-ending (possibly career-ending) concussion to Chris Pronger. But lately, the defense has taken on even more water. Kimmo Timonen has been out with a sore back, and Andrej Meszaros is dealing with what we think is a groin injury (if you’ve heard the Flyers’ injury reports, you’d know why we don’t know the specifics).

And now, it’s worse. Recently acquired defensman Pavel Kubina is now hurt too and missed last night’s pasting of the Florida Panthers. Kubina is sidelined with – GASP! – an undisclosed injury. So who the hell knows how long he’ll be out.

What’s funny is that despite all the injuries, they’ve gotten stellar play lately from Ilya Bryzgalov and actually the team as a whole.

So keep the injuries coming!

We mentioned a while ago that there was talk of the New York Rangers acquiring Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Rangers are looking to make something happen this season, and they have the cap room to absorb his roughly $7 million annual salary.

Well, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet.ca, the trade talk is heating up.

“Nash to NYR deal has advanced. CBJ gets 1 of Del Zotto or McDonagh, a 1st, & prospect (Tim Erixon). NYR feels offer bests #Leafs. #SNtrade,” he tweets.

So the Rangers would be parting with Michael Del Zotto or Ryan McDonagh, that’s not chump change. Del Zotto is a +25 as a defensman, while McDonagh is a +22. It’s nice to have defensman on the ice who are doing more good than bad. I’m sure Columbus could use those types of players.

And the Blue Jackets just shipped off Jeff Carter to reunite with Mike Richards in Los Angeles, so it’s not like they think they’re winning anything anytime soon.

After a great start to the 2011-12 season, the Philadelphia Flyers have fizzled as of late. Injuries have taken a toll and their poor defense has done nothing to hide their erratic (at best) goaltending.

But they recently traded for defensman Niklas Grossman and apparently they don’t think that solved the problem. They just sent a 2nd-round draft pick and a fifth to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Pavel Kubina, a veteran who should help the backend a bit.

This still will not remotely plug the hole left by Chris Pronger. There really are two Flyers defenses: One with Pronger and one without. And they aren’t even close in production. Remember, Pronger would play 30 minutes a game more often than not.

We’ll see how this affects the Flyers play on the ice. Lord knows they need help after a 6-3 shellacking today at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Boy, it can’t be fun to be a Columbus Blue Jackets fan these days. The team is terrible and there are rumors that they could be trading their two big names. We heard rumblings about a month ago that they were shopping their prized off-season acquisition Jeff Carter. And now, the talk has turned to Rick Nash.

A source tells the New York Post that the Blue Jackets have already had preliminary talks with the New York Rangers about the right wing captain. He plays right wing and he’s a captain. I didn’t mean he’s a captain and doesn’t think gays should be married.

However, someone familiar with the situation says that it’s a “long shot” that a deal will get done by the February 27th deadline. Ok…then why even report it?

Nash has 18 goals and 39 points this season and would only make the studly Rangers better. The Philadelphia Flyers have to be praying that this deal doesn’t get done because they can’t beat the Rangers as it is.

Nash is in the second season of a deal that runs through 2017-18, with a cap number of $7.8 million a season. That’s a huge cap number for the NHL, but the Rangers do have the space.

But, what does this say about the Blue Jackets management? You trade Jakub Voracek (who is a nice player), the 8th-overall pick in last year’s draft (that the Flyers used to get Sean Couturier, who is very good early on at 18 years of age) and another third-round pick for Jeff Carter, who halfway through the season you’re willing to trade. Now, we hear the rumors that Nash (who you just signed to a huge-ass contract is on the block too. Oh, and you fired your coach last month too.

I think there is a reason there is a Fire Scott Howson Facebook page.

When will people learn? I just don’t get it. Does no one have a television or the internet? How many athletes and celebrities have uttered gay slurs and had the hammer come down on them for it? How many times do you have to see this happen and see their BS apologies before you realize that it’s just not an appropriate word to use?

Minnesota Wild prospect Justin Fontaine is the latest to learn this lesson. The Wild have suspended the AHL Houston Aeros forward for two games for using a gay slur on Sunday in an exchange with a teammate regarding the Grammy Awards. OTR is going to go ahead and guess what that word was. Just not sure why people think that word is acceptable to use in this day and age. He’s probably a Rick Santorum supporter.

And of course…here comes the apology.

“My apologies to everyone, it was wrong. Twitter rookie and it came out totally wrong. It was a roommate battle, nothing more. #sorry,” Fontaine tweeted.

Was it wrong the other million times you used that word? Or is it wrong because this time it pissed people off and you got in trouble? Seriously, why do they even issue these apologies? Please don’t pretend that we’ll think that this was the one and only time you said it.

“Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (MSE) apologizes for the offensive slur that was posted by Justin Fontaine on Twitter last night,” the Wild said in a statement. “Fontaine has been suspended from playing in the next two games for the Houston Aeros.”

Fontaine went on to say that it was “awful” and “it’s a word I’ll never use again.”

I might believe he won’t use it again, if only because it got him in so much hot water this time. But, I just don’t believe that in his heart he thinks it’s that bad. If he did, he’d have never put it on Twitter.

Philadelphia Flyers budding young star James van Riemsdyk hasn’t played hockey since January 14th. He was concussed during a game and it doesn’t sound like he’s any closer to returning.

According to beat writer Sam Carchidi, JVR still feels like he’s in a fog in terms of his mental state.

“JVR , battling post-concussion syndrome, says he still feels like he is in a fog. He isn’t likely to return for a while. #Flyers,” Carchidi tweets.

This ain’t good. It doesn’t sound like van Riemsdyk is even close to returning to the ice for the Flyers.

Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been worried now for quite some time about star Sidney Crosby and his concussion issues. There were reports earlier that he would be doing some on-ice workouts in Los Angeles, but the latest news kind of cancels that out.

Bob McCown of SportsNet 590 is reporting that Crosby saw a specialist in Utah who found abnormalities in his C1 and C2 vertebrae.

Yikes!

Crosby is supposed to meet with team doctors this week to get an update on his post-concussion symptoms, and I’m not sure if this news will affect any of that.

But, this can’t be good. He’s only 24, but concussion and neck problems aren’t a good thing. While many people hate the guy, the fact remains that the NHL as a whole is better off when this hero/villian is on the ice.

Last night there were a series of trade rumors that cropped up involving the Philadelphia Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk. With Chris Pronger out for the season and the defense not exactly keeping their goalies clean, the Flyers could use some help in the back. It was floated that GM Paul Holmgren would be speaking with the Nashville Predators when the two teams this meet this weekend regarding Ryan Suter. There was also the Toronto Maple Leafs rumor that would have them sending the Flyers Luke Schenn in exchange for JVR.

But, you can probably squash all that talk for now. JVR has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely.

“James was hit in the head in each of our last two games,” Holmgren said in a statement. “He reported yesterday not feeling like himself. He will be out indefinitely with a concussion.”

That sucks. JVR had 11 goals this year even though his play is down from the level of last season. He’s only 22-years old and hopefully the Flyers don’t just ship him out for a few Mac Miller CD’s.

“It’s unfortunate it happened, I actually like the way he was moving on that line,” said coach Peter Laviolette. “I like the way it was moving. When guys come out, it’s a setback for them and a setback for the team. Now, Zac [Rinaldo] comes back in the lineup and brings his energy. We’ll move other lines around a bit. We’ve been through it before and we’ll get through this.”

I’ll be curious to see what happens to those trade rumors now.

People in Philadelphia knew that there were going to be some fairly serious changes to their Flyers team this past offseason. Sure, it was shocking that they traded both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, but you knew one was going to be moved and it was most likely the latter. The Flyers had grown tired of his partying ways, questionable attitude and injuries that routinely keep him out of the playoffs.

And now, the Columbus Blue Jackets are finding out why the Flyers would part with such a prolific goal scorer. The Jackets sent the No. 8-overall pick (used to get Sean Couturier) and Jakub Voracek to the Flyers in exchange for Carter, and we’re guessing that now they are sorry that they did.

Carter separated his shoulder on a hit by Anaheim’s Francois Beauchemin on Sunday and will definitely miss the next two games. Not sure exactly the timetable for his return after that, but it’s not like the team needs him. They are flailing about with 27 points at the bottom of the Western Conference’s Central Division and are already playing under an interim head coach.

Plus, Carter has been a steaming heap for the Blue Jackets. He has 10 goals and 17 points in 30 games, which is not what they traded for. Maybe he needs to be surrounded by more talent. If that’s the case, Columbus should be working on trade offers as we speak.

Jaromir Jagr has flat-out been one of the best players on the Philadelphia Flyers this season. He’s got 12 goals and 31 points in 33 games and has been absolute dynamite with Claude Giroux.

So, when he gingerly walked off the ice during the Winter Classic, Flyers fans weren’t thrilled. He’ll be 40-years old in February, so nagging injuries are a concern. Initially projected to be out 7-10 days with a groin injury, Jagr could be ahead of schedule, according to Sam Carchidi.

“Jagr said he probably won’t play Sat., but “hopefully” Sun. #Flyers,” the Flyers beat man tweeted.

The Flyers have a home-and-home with the Ottawa Senators this weekend.

On December 20th, Pittsburgh Penguins defensman Deryk Engelland thought he could make Jello out of the head of Chicago Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger. The big man launched himself into his head and pasted him up against the boards. It was pretty nasty.

And the NHL would tend to agree with that last sentence. Its Department of Player Safety came down on Engelland today, levying a three-game suspension.

This is precisely the kind of crap the NHL wants to get rid of. So, Engelland will sit for a while and will be eligible to return against the New Jersey Devils on December 31st.

Thanks to Ben Pavlovic for passing this along, it’s one of the sickest hockey goals we’ve ever seen. Based in Chicago, Ben says that there’s been a lot of talk about this goal in his Vinesprout offices, but maybe too much talk.

Regardless, some talk is required of Chicago Blackhawks super stud Patrick Kane’s shootout goal two days ago against the Minnesota Wild. How much is too much? We’ll let Ben decide.

But seriously, someone counted 14 dekes? This is pretty insane, take a look.

Do you remember Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks? If you’re a Canucks fan you surely do. You may also know him as the guy who got folded like a birthday card along the boards in the Stanley Cup Finals last year against the Boston Bruins.

Photo Caption: Yeah, that guy.

Raymond suffered a pretty serious back injury that night and it’s kind of amazing, but he’s going to return to the ice Sunday night against the Calgary Flames.

Supposedly, his return was delayed by some paperwork issues and the fact that his back hurt a lot. But, good for him, that was a nasty play that could have theoretically (or non-theoretically) ended his career.

You thought Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was mum on injuries? He might have nothing on the Philadelphia Flyers. We kept hearing how defensman Chris Pronger has been out with some mysterious illness. Now? They’re telling us that he will miss four weeks after undergoing knee surgery to clean out some loose bodies.

So, was he really sick?

“He’s been playing through it up until this recent bout with the virus,” GM Paul Holmgren said through a translator.

I’m not saying he wasn’t sick, but I’m sorry if I don’t trust the Flyers when it comes to injuries. They are always telling us someone has an “upper body injury.” What is that? Head? Arm? Ribs? Could be anything.

The Flyers have had up-and-down goaltending play this season, so losing Pronger is a pretty big blow.