Tommy's #1 SHANIA TWAIN SuperSite Message Board

I've had a few readers ask me to update the condition of Steve Sullivan, so I will do just that. After all, Sullivan is a fellow northern Ontario native, so how can I not? (He's from a place called Timmins, which is also the hometown of country music star Shania Twain. "Canadian trivia for $500, Alex!")

The Timmins Tornado has been grounded since injuring his back in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 22, 2007. A year and a half is a long time to be away from the game, but there finally might be some positive developments.

"It's coming along," the 34-year-old Sullivan told ESPN.com Friday. "The workouts we have designed now are working better than the rehab I had before, so I'm optimistic."

Steve Sullivan has been out of the Predators' lineup since Feb. 22, 2007.

It's been a long road, and it's not over. Sullivan has had two separate back surgeries and several setbacks in rehab. And although he's had a recent stretch with no major setbacks, there's still no way of knowing for sure just yet.

"That's the thing, the unknown," Sullivan said. "We still haven't really loaded the back yet for any kind of exercises for any extended periods of time."

He's done lots of riding on the stationary bike and some core weight training that has minimal impact on his back. Lately, however, he has begun to test the back more in his workouts -- with success.

"I think that's why everyone is starting to get more optimistic, because the more we're testing it, we haven't had any setbacks," Sullivan said. "I'm hoping to continue that, hopefully get back into pretty close to game shape as possible and try to hit the ice.

"Anybody who is out 18 months, you're not going to be in the best physical shape than you've been. So if we can get back close to game shape as possible and back on the ice at some point it's going to be a long process, but at least now there's some glimmer of hope."

Hope. That's a feeling Sullivan has been trying to cling to.

"It's been difficult," he said. "We've had some dark times. It's been a roller coaster, if you ask my wife, where I go into some stretches where I'm probably best not to be around. But I think overall I've kept a pretty good attitude about it, and I've just tried to stay optimistic. I really believe that there's not one time I really thought, deep, deep down inside, that I wouldn't play again. And I still don't believe that."

He says his family has been a huge support for him.

"I've got a lot of support from my family. I've made the best of a bad situation. I've spent a lot more time with my kids. A lot of players don't have that time. They're at a young age right now, and they're getting into sports and hockey, and I've been able to support them in that and watch them grow as little hockey players. So, they're benefiting from this."

Sullivan went down at a time when he had never been more prolific in the NHL. He was a solid 60- to 70-point player for most of his career, but in Nashville, he put up 158 points (62-96) in 150 games before the injury.

"In my career, I had never been a point-a-game player, but as the new NHL rules came in [after the lockout] and with the opportunity I got here in Nashville, I was just coming into my own, and I think I was playing the best hockey I had ever played," Sullivan said.

"Everything was coming together, and then this happens. Right after we had traded for Peter Forsberg and we were making our run for the Cup, I get injured. The timing wasn't very good.

"I thought I had my best years ahead of me still," he added after a pause. "So, I'm hoping this is just a slight setback. Looking at it positively, maybe I gave my body some time to rest, and I can heal up and still have a few years ahead of me."

We're definitely hoping, Sully.

And what about Chelly?
A fractured right tibia has delayed Chris Chelios from officially beginning his 25th NHL season. Mr. Quarter Century got hurt blocking a shot in a preseason game Sept. 30 and was told he'd be out three to six weeks.

"I guess a broken bone is a broken bone," Chelios told ESPN.com Thursday night. "It was wishful thinking to think it would be healed in three weeks, and the CAT scan showed it wasn't. I got another week before I get another CAT scan, and hopefully, two weeks from now, I can resume skating and try and get back in this lineup.

"It's just a nagging injury, nothing that's going to last forever like a ligament. There's nothing I can do; the bone's got to heal, and I don't want to take a chance cracking it and having to put a post in there. So that's where I stand right now."

Problem is, getting back into the starting lineup with the Stanley Cup champions isn't exactly an automatic thing. We asked him whether he made sure to run into Wings coach Mike Bab**** a few times this week.

"I think he's seen me once or twice," Chelios said. "But he's got a pretty good machine going on here right now. My problem is, I'm a 46-year-old guy on a great team. Nothing you can do about it. I have to work my way back into shape and earn a spot again. That's my goal."

Chelios enters the season sixth on the all-time games-played list with 1,616. And counting.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/...=lebrun_pierre