Memorial Cup Express Lane: 6 Items or Less

That's right. No need to bog you down with any number of thoughts on the best junior hockey tournament in North America. It's the Memorial Cup, and the four-team, week-long event presents an opportunity to watch the future of the National Hockey League perform at a high level.

These players have already been through 70-plus regular season games; bus travel across Canada, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maine; all-star games; international tournaments; four rounds of league playoffs and now this. This is the show. The stage is Brandon, Manitoba.

You shouldn't miss it. It's on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS in Canada, but of course those of you up north know that already. For those in the United States, the games are on the NHL Network, starting Friday evening at 8 Eastern when the host Brandon Wheat Kings face the Windsor Spitfires, champions of the Ontario Hockey League and the defending Memorial Cup champions.

Also here to battle for the trophy are the Moncton Wildcats, chammpions of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and the Calgary Hitmen, champions of the Western Hockey League.

OK, got that? Now enter the express lane.

1. Patrick King of Sportsnet.ca has written previews of Moncton, Windsor, Calgary and Brandon.

2. The home site, which has a full schedule and a live scoreboard, is here. En français? Il est ici.

3. The Wiki watch. Wikipedia, for all its warts, remains a good place to visit for junior hockey. The 2010 tournament site on Wiki has rosters and the brackets on just how Calgary, Windsor and Moncton reached Brandon. As for Brandon, well, the host city gets a berth, and the Wheat Kings did reach the WHL's Western Conference finals before falling to the Hitmen.

4. Bonus Wiki. The Memorial Cup has been around since 1919, and the list of winners is a storied one. Wikipedia writers have attempted to break it down into digestible chunks.

5. The Brandon Sun will be your local newspaper of record for the tournament. You'll need to register to read all the articles. Easy to do. No charge.

6. First here and then off to Los Angeles: Yes, three of the top prospects for the 2010 NHL draft are in the tournament. Taylor Hall, Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley are just a few of the players to follow over the next 10 days or so. After the tournament, they will most likely be in Southern California, standing on the big stage while trying on your team's sweater after being selected in the first round of the draft.