Early Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Mike Bayrack (Lethbridge/Medicine Hat/Prince George) signed a one-year contract with Ritten/Renon (Italy Serie A1). He had 21 goals and 39 assists in 60 games for Charlotte (ECHL) last season.
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Former WHL D Dean Arsene (Regina, Edmonton-Kootenay, 1996-2001) is leaving the Hershey Bears after playing there for five-plus seasons and winning two Calder Cups. He has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and is likely to open the season with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. . . .
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LW Jake Riddle, who played with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans, Saskatoon Blades and Lethbridge Hurricanes (2000-04), is returning for a second season with the Central league’s Tulsa Oilers. A knee injury limited him to 52 games last season, during which he had 39 points and 162 penalty minutes. . . .
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G Joel Martin (Lethbridge, Tri-City, Vancouver, Calgary, 2001-04) is returning to the Central league’s Odessa Jackalopes. He played 10 games there in 2003-04. Last season, he was with the IHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. . . .
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And now for something complete different . . .
Steve Lopez, a columnist with the Los Angeles Times, provides a good read on the hoopla surrounding the death of Michael Jackson. It’s right here. (It’s worth noting that Lopez wrote the book The Soloist. If you haven’t read it, you should.)
Here’s another view of the Jackson situation, this one from Margaret Wente of The Globe and Mail. You can find it right here . . . and it’s a good one.