One of the most notable changes with the NHL playoffs this year has been how far the league has been willing to go to appeal to an American audience and to cater to American broadcasters.

The decision to schedule so many weekend afternoon games, for example, comes largely at the request of NBC, who don’t even pay the NHL for broadcast rights to hockey games.

The Flames, who were Canada’s team two years ago, got dropped in the first round by Detroit. Perhaps the two matinee games in the Motor City were partially to blame?

Perhaps.

Read more in this week’s Channel Changer.

My column in the Straight this week stems from my conversation with Rory Armes, who is the group general manager of Electronic Arts’ Canadian studios.

I was curious to know how Rory planned to deal with the corporate objective – blatantly stated by new CEO John Riccitiello – of creating new intellectual property.

Rory had some interesting things to say. Go read them.

You can also hear Rory speak at the inaugural Vancouver International Game Summit. Also speaking is one of the creators of Halo, Alexander Seropian. Get more details about the event in my column and you can register here.

Special bonus in this issue of the Straight is an interview with ex-Radical executive Jay Balakrishnan by Vancouver writer Shawn Connor. Take that in over here.

My interview with Rahul Sood, of Voodoo PC, is the cover story in this week’s FFWD Weekly.

Also in the current FFWD is my take on the best games of 2006, based on what came out of the awards shows at the IAAs and GDC Awards.

Read the cover feature here, and find out about the best over here.

S and C were back in Vancouver for a week, and a group of us got together last Friday.

The two of them, coping with a move to Toronto, have been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes, and S asked if our Friday night get together could include a screening of “Once More With Feeling,” the brilliant musical episode from season 6. How could I possibly refuse?

I woke up a few times that night and every time a different ditty from the show was in my head. It’s now more than 48 hours later, and the songs are still paramount. All morning it’s been Buffy’s opening solo, “Going Through the Motions,” going through my mind.

Later today, I expect that “Walk Through the Fire” will make an encore appearance on the internal soundtrack. Or maybe it will be “Where Do We Go From Here?”

As noted by A on Friday, this Buffy episode is a significant achievement because removing any of the songs would destroy the plot. They are essential to the story.

This, C reasoned, is what makes musicals so great: singing and dancing are required of the story.

There ain’t nothing wrong with that.

EDIT

Turns out that the next song in the playlist of my mind was “What You Feel,” sung by the demon Sweet when he meets Dawn, and reprised at the end of the episode when he admits defeat at the hands (feet?) of the Slayer and her entourage.

This week’s Georgia Straight is the “Spring Books” special issue. In honour of that, my column looks at those who write video games.

I talk to Radical’s Eric Holmes, Action Pants’ Sean Smillie, and Anne Toole, of the Writers Cabal.

Get their take on how writers factor in to video game creation over here.

While you’re there, find out what I thought of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.