(Updated below)

Greetings.

Kent Youngblood here; we had to give Mike Russo at least one day off.

Today's practice was a short one. They were only on the ice for about 40 minutes. There was a brief assortment of breakout drills followed by some half-ice scrimmage action. Goaltender Jose Theodore, who did some skating with goaltending coach Bob Mason on Sunday, took part in his first practice with his new teammates.

The session ended with some hard skating that left a few of the players winded.

Defenseman Marek Zidlicky (groin muscle pull) didn't practice, but he did some skating alone beforehand. Meanwhile, winger Andrew Brunette was on the ice early but left with what coach Todd Richards said was mild hip-pointer pain. Richards called it precautionary.

That's about it. Have a good day.

Update: Good afternoon. I wanted to update Kent's blog from earlier this hour with a response I received from DISH Network this afternoon regarding the article that appeared on the web site yesterday.

In the interest of fairness, here's a statement I received from DISH Corporate Communications Manager Francie Bauer:

"Please know that FOX is not telling the truth. Negotiations have occurred even today between DISH Network and FOX. FOX is trying to scare viewers, a tactic they've been using in print ads. DISH Network has yet to receive a proposal from FOX that would equal anything but an overly excessive rate increase. The two sides are continuing to negotiate and we are hopeful we can reach a fair deal

On Oct. 1, FOX Networks blocked its regional sports channels from DISH Network satellite TV customers and is demanding an outrageous rate increase in order to restore the programming, depriving millions of viewers their regional sports.

Last week, public interest groups, including the American Television Alliance, Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance and the Sports Fans Coalition, have publicly voiced their support for DISH Network and are imploring FOX to consider what is best for consumers. The groups strongly urge FOX to discontinue its practice of blocking access to programming while negotiations continue after contracts expire."