Over the last week, I have received the Americans media guide, the WHL media guide and Star-Spangled Hockey — Celebrating 75 years of USA Hockey.

It's like Christmas.

The WHL media guide features the 2011 WHL Champion Kootenay Ice on the front. Inside, within the 312 pages, you can find just about anything you want to know about all 22 teams, coaches past and present, regular-season and playoff records.

For instance, on page 201, you will find the 2010-11 WHL Scholastic Player of the Year, Colin Smith of the Kamloops Blazers.

On page 53, you will find that Shane Harper holds the record for most games played by an Everett player at 335.

You get the point. In the past, the Americans have sold these media guides for $5. I'm not sure if they are available at this time. Check the team store.

The Americans' media guide, the brainchild of Dan Mulhausen, gives you just about anything you ever wanted to know about the Americans. This, I'm sure, was a pain the butt to compile, but for people like me and the other WHL writers and radio personnel, it is an awesome tool to have. It weighs a million pounds, but it's worth its weight in gold.

The Star-Spangled Hockey book appeared in the mail this week. It too, weighs a million pounds, but a quick flip of the pages tempts me to read it instead of putting together the sports pages.

Did you know, the Hobey Baker award that goes to the top college player was named for a man who played football and hockey at Princeton before fighting for the U.S. in WWI. He was a pilot. He died in 1918 at the age of 26, shortly after the war ended. This all in the first 7 pages. I'm going to like this book.