ThunderBug Book Series Continues At UCH

   So what would happen if Thunderbug got injured playing street hockey and had to go to the University Community Hospital pediatric emergency room?

   You can find out in Thunderbug's Great Adventure at University Community Hospital. The second in a series of children's books being developed by the Lightning will help kids gain a better understanding of what to expect in a hospital setting. The book simplifies experiences such as an MRI, x-rays and even a surgical procedure.

   Lightning and hospital officials unveiled the book at a media conference at UCH Monday. Forward Jeff Halpern helped distribute the book, which was written by Robin Gonzalez and illustrated by Peter Bajohr of Pop Design Group. Thunderbug made an appearance in a wheelchair to illustrate the story's theme.

   The series' first book debuted last year and helped kids learn more about the sights and landmarks in downtown Tampa.

-- Ernest Hooper, Times Metro Columnist

Preseason tickets on sale Monday

(You'll have to wait a while for these, however)

Condensed from a Lightning release:

Individual tickets for the Lightning’s two preseason home games – Monday, Sept. 22 vs. Pittsburgh and Tuesday, Sept. 23 vs. the New York Rangers - will go on sale Monday, August 11 at 10 a.m.

Priority seating for the Lightning’s 2008-09 regular season games is available now through full-season, half-season and 10-game plans. Individual game tickets will go on sale at a later date.

Tampa Bay opens its preseason on Saturday, Sept. 20 when the Lightning travel to face the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team’s final North American preseason game will take place on Thursday, Sept. 25 at the New York Rangers. The Lightning will then travel to Europe and face Eisbaren Berlin on Sunday, Sept. 28 in another preseason tune-up before opening the regular season with a two-game series against the Rangers in Prague, Czech Republic on Oct. 4-5.

            Tickets can be purchased at the McDonald’s Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum and all Ticketmaster outlets.

To order tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at 813.287.8844 or 727.898.2100. Also, fans can go online to tampabaylightning.com.

-- BRANT JAMES

If you want to destroy my sweater .... whoa whoa whoa

The boltosphere was humming today after a report by HockeyBuzz.com detailing - in great detail - a supposed alternate jersey the Lightning would utilize this season. The Lightning would neither confirm nor deny said mythic Bolts sweater. (So they'll probably be available at Champ's by Saturday).

A blogger posted this find.

I'm no sweater-designer, but I have occasional ideas, and if I was designing one, I'd go outside the realm a little bit with an homage to the new ownership group, specifically Oren Koules. How cool would a set of black jerseys with one of these babies on the front be?

-- BRANT JAMES

Lightning announces preseason schedule

The Lightning's just-announced five-game pre-season slate includes two games at The Forum: Sept. 22 against the Eastern Conference champion Penguins and Sept. 23 against the Rangers.

The complete schedule:

Date                                     Opponent                     Location                                             Time
Sat. Sept. 20                        Pittsburgh                    Mellon Arena                                       7:30 p.m.
Mon. Sept. 22                      Pittsburgh                      St. Pete Times Forum                           7:30 p.m.
Tue. Sept. 23                      NY Rangers                    St. Pete Times Forum                           7:30 p.m.
Thur. Sept. 25                      NY Rangers                   Madison Square Garden                        7:00 p.m.
Sun. Sept. 28                       Eisbaren Berlin              Berlin, Germany                                   10:00 p.m.
*all times EST and subject to change

Summer on the ice

Sean Miles, 8, from Sarasota, gets some advice from Lightning owner Oren Koules at the team's Summer Hockey Camp at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum.

The Lightning Summer Camp has about 250 kids, ages 4-15. The team also offers a holiday hockey camp in December.

[Times photo | Dirk Shadd]

Lightning's new logo

Filip Kuba slaps hands with fans while walking down the red carpet in the new Lighting jersey with the redesigned logo during Ice Fest at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa on Saturday.

[Dirk Shadd | Times photo]

Send us your Lightning photos

We have lots of great  Lightning photos by Times photojournalists, but we'd like yours, too.

We'll be creating a photo gallery of fans' Lightning photos, from games or wherever you watch the team play (at parties, bars, in your living room). Have any great photos from last season or the 2004 Stanley Cup celebration? Send them along.

Here's how to get them to us: E-mail your photo to sptimes.photo@tamw.com. Your subject line becomes the title of the photo and the body of your message becomes the caption.

(Above, Chris Cook of Lakeland, with his daughter, sent us this photo from the St. Pete Times Forum on the 1-year anniversary of winning the Stanley Cup. Click to go to gallery)