No poll or reader question this week, since the second half only just got underway. But there are a few interesting things that have happened around the league that bear mention:

– Former Silvertip Matt Ius decided not to report back to the Swift Current Broncos following the Christmas break. Ius, as you recall, left the Tips earlier this season, citing a dwindling passion for the game and a desire to play a more offensive role (he was primarily a third-line checking forward in Everett), and was subsequently traded. Ius told the Broncos he was remaining home for personal reasons. He had one assist in 11 games with the Broncos.

– The long talked-about deal between the U.S. Division and Fox Sports Northwest finally came to fruition as the WHL and FSN reached an agreement to televise six games that involve U.S. Division teams during the second half. Alas, Everett is not involved in any of those games, so the Tips won’t be hitting the local television dials, at least not this season. I’ve heard it suggested before that Comcast Arena isn’t particularly well suited for television, though Skate America seemed to work out fine. We’ll just have to see where Everett fits into the equation in the future.

– Here’s a cautionary tale regarding the World Junior Hockey Championships. It is, of course, a great honor for a WHL team to have a player or players selected to represent their countries at World Juniors. However, there’s also risk involved. Prince George is a team short on top-end talent, and that talent got even shorter when leading scorer Dana Tyrell suffered a season-ending knee injury playing for Canada in an exhibition game against Sweden. I’m sure the rest of the teams are crossing their fingers that they avoid a similar fate.