Sports Car Picture

Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally gives retailers a significant sales boost - should wake up consumer's wallets with plenty of holiday shopping options this weekend.Greenwood Mall will begin its shopping blitz at 6 a.m., giving away shopping bags filled with goodies for the first 500 adult patrons who show up near the carousel entrance. Bags will be filled with retail discounts and randomly placed prizes, including a Nintendo Wii, and mall gift cards ranging from $50 to $250, according to Greenwood Mall marketing manager Shelli Rose."They typically go very fast," Rose said. "People have been known to line up as early as 4 a.m."Mall shoppers can also browse the mall's seasonal in-line stores, including Pet Dreams, which provides clothing, furniture and other trendy items for pets; Kitchen Collection, which specializes in gadgets for the kitchen; Quail Hollow Candles and Gifts, and Big Country Power Sports, Rose said.At Best Buy, product process manager Kyle Gerkins will accommodate those who flood the long lines at his store early Friday morning with port-a-potties."Last year, people started lining up on Thanksgiving morning," Gerkins said.Gerkins said the store has increased its stock to handle the crowds, especially those looking to stuff stockings with flat-panel, plasma or LCD TVs, MP3 players and video game systems.Gerkins expects the Nintendo Wii to garner considerable attention again this year, since shoppers are still hungry for the console because of supply shortcomings.Digital picture frames, which flash slideshows of snapshots loaded from a memory card, are also expected to be a huge seller.Doors will open at 5 a.m.

Everyone gets ice time: Special needs hockey program in Pembroke invites kids of all abilities to play

PEMBROKE - The players trickle out of the locker room, gliding across the milky surface of Hobomock Arena. As they cavort with teammates, their coaches gather at center ice to discuss the morning's practice.The scene is played out at dozens of other rinks on a frigid Saturday morning: Kids with boundless energy, watched by proud parents, up at dawn to indulge a passion for hockey.But what is unique about the Boston Bear Cubs is that this team is composed of special needs children. While their needs are special, their dreams are common: play a little hockey and have a lot of fun. Starting outJohn Quill lives and breathes the sport. The 37-year-old Norwell resident played at North Quincy High, still plays in a men's league, and coaches his 11-year-old daughter Megan's South Shore Seahawks team.Like other hockey parents, John and his wife, Julie, wanted to pass their love of the game to their three children.But there was a hurdle: John's son Sean, 10, is autistic.

Hockey Fix: The week in the NHL

There are scoring streaks, and then there's what Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier (right) did the last few weeks. Lecavalier had an eight-game streak during which he scored multiple points in every game. That run came to an end in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

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Youth movement spurs China's Olympic hopes

Spare a thought for Alex Hua Tian -- just 18 years old and the weight of a nation's expectations heaped high on his young shoulders. The Hong Kong-born event rider has yet to qualify for a place in the Equestrian competition of the XXIX Olympiad, but already he is being touted as one of China's gold medal hopefuls.

Harvard bends but won’t break

BOSTON - Statistics can always be analyzed and proved, but they don't always tell an accurate story.The numbers suggest that Harvard University's hockey team, for instance, must have left this year's trademark defense back at the Bright Center when it hopped the bus for Tuesday night's game at Boston University.The Crimson, who'd allowed only six goals in their first six games, were outshot, 16-4, in the first period, 12-4 in the third, 40-20 for the game.And they won on Doug Rogers' overtime goal, 2-1.��Certainly, there were periods in the game where we were under a lot of pressure,'' Harvard coach Ted Donato said after his team improved its record to 5-2 by winning its first game outside the ECAC. ��(But) our defense did a pretty good job. I thought a lot of their shots were from the perimeter, and we didn't allow them a lot of second and third opportunities, even when they did get shots.''Terriers coach Jack Parker, his team 3-7-2 this season, all but dismissed the statistics as a mirage - meaning he agreed with Donato.��This is phony stuff here,'' Parker said, peering at the final stats.