In 1999, Katie Baker was a thoroughly self-possessed, hockey-loving 18-year-old headed for Harvard. Or so the older men she met online — and offline — believed.

Our puckhead has returned from Pittsburgh with inside information on Dan Bylsma's hat, an autographed photo of Styx, and the lasting image of Barry Melrose waiting in beerless frustration at the bar.

Our puckhead Katie Bakes is dicking around scenic Pittsburgh for the NHL Winter Classic. She has filed the following icy report.

Last night was the second of four HBO 24/7: Penguins/Capitals: The Road to the Winter Classic episodes. Here, a few thoughts more disjointed than Matt Hendricks's face.

The Giants broke me yesterday in much the same way Ernest Hemingway described going broke: Slowly, then all at once. I can't read any papers today or turn on the radio. I've been snippy with coworkers who dared share their sympathies.

If you missed any of the films in ESPN's 30 for 30 series, this collection of on-point one-sentence reviews is a handy guide. (On Without Bias: "The Vitamin C of the 1980s did not prevent scurvy.") [Hellafied Gangsta Lean]

Former collegiate goaltender Tom Fenton (2008-2009 record: 1-12-1, 3.60 GAA) was plucked from a barber's chair yesterday and whisked to Madison Square Garden to play emergency backup for the Coyotes. "Kinda thought my friends were pulling a prank," he said.

Tonight is the premiere of HBO's straightforwardly-titled series 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic. Want to know exactly which expletives Bruce Boudreau spat at his Caps during their 7-0 loss to the Rangers on Sunday? Now you will.

Hey, this is funnnn! It spits out customized scouting reports and everything. (My chosen ones, The Stars of David Stern, have "terrible" chemistry thanks to the "notoriously testy" Art Heyman.) Gregg Easterbrook should make one for the entertainment industry. [Tablet/FreeDarko]

Before Jenna releases us all to the wilds of this still-holiday-ish weekend, here are a few motley dribs and drabs and odds and ends. Consider this a delicious sandwich made from the leftovers of a cornucopia of Thanksgiving delights!

A trio of teenagers adrift for two months in the South Pacific were found yesterday by a New Zealand fishing boat "in a lonely part of the ocean." They'd subsisted on rainwater, coconuts, and the meat of a single bird.

AFGHANISTAN - Lance Corporal Luz Lopez, 21, a USMarine with the FET (Female Engagement Team) holds an Afghan baby. There are 48 women presently working along the volatile front lines of the war in Afghanistan. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Mine, Citrus County by John Brandon, did not make the cut :( But the annual release of the year's "100 Notable Books" list remains a beloved Thanksgivingtime tradition. Which have you loved, and which should be avoided? [New York Times]

Lotsa stuff going on over the river and through the Lincoln: Bravo reportedly inked Real Housewives' Caroline Manzo's sons to a reality deal, while a Jersey Shore lawyer lays the smack down with the best legal letter you'll read today.

The NFL's Chris Henry died last year after falling from a pickup truck during a fight with his fianceé. His mother Carolyn Glaspy opted to donate his organs, and recently met the recipients, reports CBS Sports. Grab your tissues.

A study by The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation has found, just in time for the holidays, that the smell of pumpkin pie "increas[ed] median penile blood flow by 40%." Ladies: to your kitchens! There's one catch...

NOVEMBER 24: HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrive for a visit at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque accompanied by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (Photo via Bauer Griffin)

I was bummed to miss the mall today (no I wasn't) but this is SO much better: RueLaLa is having a Hanky Panky sale! I've spent $70 and counting. (The WSJ approves!) Aren't these fun? [RueLaLa]

Oh, hello! My name is Katie Baker and I'll be here today attempting to assist the wondrous Jenna Sauers. I just thought I'd tell you a lil bit about myself. For starters, I am actually blogging from my mother's basement.

Sandra Lee, whose Sandra Dee-Sara Lee mashup of a name I've always felt to be perfect for her perky brand of from-package-to-arterial-plaque-age "cooking," says that she will never leave her boyfriend and New York governor-elect Andrew Cuomo's side.