It's hard to imagine anyone, even the world's most devoted hockey fan, avoiding the news that Lebron James is "coming home" to Cleveland. It was everywhere on Friday – he almost took over the internet.

I only have a passing interest in Basketball. I'll follow when the playoffs are on or if there is a marquee star playing against the Raptors. I ask a lot of dumb questions and generally annoy people who actually understand the sport. I, like most of you reading this, am a hockey fan and spent 97 percent of my time reading up on shots per game totals, ice time trends…etc

But, I've been hearing more and more about these multi-league fantasy pools. Basically, it's a pool that includes players from all four major sports: NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Presumably, someone has come up with a standard system of measurement (which would take a lot of work to get right), that allows star players in one league to have comparable value to stars in another.

At first I was pretty skeptical. But the more I learn about it the more I'm at the very least intrigued. Imagine a first round draft that goes Crosby – Lebron James – Mike Trout – Ovechkin – Adrian Peterson – Aaron Rodgers – Kevin Love – Nichushkin (I may be placing Nichushkin a TAD high). It would be something to behold. I can imagine trades being even more outrageous; dealing goalies for starting pitchers, shooting guards for outfielders – my head starts to hurt just contemplating it.

I'm sure it's not for everyone. Heck it's probably not for me. However, if you've got a passing interest in any of the other sports it might be a unique way to fuse that with your love of fantasy hockey. If anyone already participates in something like this it would be great to read more in the comments.

On to the ramblings…

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The Blue Jackets signed Brandon Dubinsky to a 6 year, $35 million dollar extension.

He is 28 years old, and doesn't turn 29 until next April. My initial reaction is that this isn't a bad deal, especially considering the current market for centerman that can play top six minutes. Dubinsky's annual cap hit will be $5.85 million. In an ideal world he would be a couple years younger and Columbus would have been able to shave a year or two off the contract. I always worry about signing players through their dreaded 28 to 32 years, where decline can be, and often is, significant. Saying that, all signs point to another productive couple of seasons – he posted 16 goals, 34 assists, 98 penalty minutes, and 189 shots in 76 games last year. Columbus is improving as a team and the addition of Hartnell should provide even more offence for a squad that finished 12^th in the NHL for goals per game (2.76).

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Dobber had a great take on Heatley's one year deal in Anaheim that I tend to agree with (and not just because he's the boss!). The former Senator is now 33 years old and coming off of by far his worst season as a professional (12 goals and 28 points). There is no question he has been declining sharply in Minnesota – his skating has eroded and he's no longer able to effectively use his once-upon-a-time monstrous snap shot. The fancy stats were even less kind – he carried a 44.5% Cosri at 5v5 through 2013-14.

But (there's always a but)… I'll still be targeting him in the late round of my pool. And here's why:

Anaheim's top six has a number of question marks. Outside of Getzlaf, Perry, and Kesler there aren't really any guarantees for who will skate where. Sure, guys like Silfverberg, Cogliano, Palmieri, and Smith-Pelly are expected to challenge for those spots, but there is uncertainty. If Heatley, by some miracle, comes to camp and starts the season in a top six role with decent power play time – who knows. I don't for a second think he could maintain a spot like that for an extended period. That said, if over the first 15 games he has 6 goals and 12 points you'll have an OK asset on your hands.

There will be at least one manager in your pool who loves the back of hockey cards. You can point to Heatley's 2007 Upper Deck card and regale him with tales of past glory. Are you going to get a starting goalie or a top 50 player in a trade? No. But, if you can select a guy in the last few rounds of your pool and flip him into, say, Joffrey Lupul, isn't that a risk worth taking? Worst case scenario you carry Heatley for two weeks, he's atrocious, and you drop him to the wire. Or maybe he scores 50! (he probably won't score 50, but hey, if you're going to dream, dream big, dammit!)  

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Rumors are percolating around the possibility of Tyler Myers being shipped to Detroit to help solidify their defensive group.

I for one am a huge fan of Myers. I had the chance to watch a few Buffalo games last year (it wasn't easy, but I soldiered through), and was surprised by how well he's able to control a game. Playing with the Sabres the last couple years hasn't been a great place to display your skills, and he's somewhat unfairly lumped in with a team that has been historically bad. Offensively, Buffalo ranked last in goals per game (1.83), and second last in powerplay success rate (14.1%). Yes, Myers is part of the team, so I suppose he can't entirely escape blame. But even 1988 Paul Coffey may have had a tough time being fantasy relevant in that environment.

A change of uniform, especially to a team like Detroit, could provide an immediate boost to Myers' value and help us remember more of his rookie totals (11 goals, 48 points) and less of his minus 26 rating last year.

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Earlier in the week I wrote a post for McKeen's looking at seven noteworthy fantasy hockey stories. Also managed to shoehorn in a Curb Your Enthusiasm You Tube video, which always makes me happy.  

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Wes Lawrence over at SB Nations' Defending Big D opined about Dallas' top six and what it might look like in 2014-15. One part about their second line caught my eye:

Barring a trade, there's really not much else. Benn and Seguin aren't sneaking up on anybody this season. They'll get fits and starts from Eakin and Co, but true contention in a brutal Western Conference comes from the second unit. That's Spezza, sure, and Hemsky, but it's also a whole lot of Erik Cole. Either he finds quick chemistry and consistent production, or someone else gets a shot.

Eric Cole is three years removed from a 35 goal, 241 shot campaign with Montreal. Yes, three years is a long time when you're in your mid-thirties (he's 36 in November), but he can still produce in bunches. Much like Heatley he is someone I'd keep an eye on in the late rounds. There are worse places to find yourself than as the final piece to a Spezza-Hemsky line.

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A few days ago I came across Rocky IV on TV. It's cheesy, it's quintessential eighties movie making, but man do they have some sweet montages. I apologize that there really isn't a fantasy hockey point I'm trying to make here, I just felt we could all use a bit more Rocky in our lives… (Drago would have been a huge asset in PIM/Hit leagues)

Darren Kennedy (@fantasyhockeydk) is a contributor for Dobber and Mckeen's Hockey. He spent the better part of his childhood dodging blue plasma grenades in Halo and drinking far too much Mountain Dew. He doesn't regret a thing.