The calendar today informs of our arrival home. On this early autumn Friday night we'll return home from work, kick off our shoes, open up a cold one, and settle in for the opening of the most highly anticipated hockey season in Washington Capitals' history.

This autumn, it doesn't suck to be us.

And we'll actually have two remarkably talented hockey teams to follow -- the Caps and their American League affiliate the Bears. Hershey opened its season this past Wednesday night, on the road in Wilkes Barre, and the scoring summary from the game attests to the farm club's potency (five for seven with the extra man!).

How will OFB cover what is forecast to be an exceptionally special hockey season in D.C.? It's a question we grappled with all offseason, and some clarity in the matter has arrived of late. The 'Web is fundamentally dynamic, ever evolving, and we feel that OFB should reflect this. We know that we don't want to "blog in place," if you will; we want to pursue fresh coverage challenges and angles. Because OFB is distinctly reader participatory, we welcome coverage suggestions from you.

Three of us will be attending virtually every Caps' home game this season, and we'll all be well equipped to capture and record what strikes our fancy. A couple of things won't change, however. First and foremost, we do what we do here because it's fun for us, and because it's an outlet for our collective passion for the planet's greatest sport. We believe that there's long been vast under-reportage of hockey's passion in these parts, and we want to play a small role in remedying that.

We're aided in our endeavor by a partnership with the most pro- new media sports organization in all of professional sports in North America -- and maybe the world. We couldn't do what we do without the support of the Washington Capitals, and that support starts with the majority owner and extends down through the entirety of the team's communications staff and includes men and women even within the team's sales staff.

It can't be overstated: to the extent that the Capitals enjoy a robust on line profile -- and we agree with Mr. Leonsis, who this week told us that the team is a greater global and national story than they are in their home city -- they've reaped what they've sowed for some years now in taking a bold leap of coverage faith with their new-media relations. We hope its a relationship in its mere infancy, and we'd like to see other fresh blogging voices emerge and join the party. We're particularly excited to follow our friend Pepper and his first full season of blogging coverage of the Caps from New York, with the Red Skate. Pepper's already doing a great job of keeping an eye on things down on the farm.

Speaking of that farm club, following the Hershey Bears this season will be easier than ever thanks to some big technical upgrades courtesy of the club's communications pro and play-by-play voice, John Walton. Walton will, on a weekly bassis, host the first-ever podcast for Hershey hockey, "The Old Barn Hockey Show." And the audio for every Bears' game will be streamed thanks to a new partnership with SportsJuice.com. Archives of Bears' games will even be available to fans with the agreement.

Of course, at OFB, we're planning on following the Bears a bit live in person on a handful of occasions, again. We're also hoping that one trip up north is of the novel variety.