At age 36, forward Derek Armstrong is at the stage where he can start appreciating some of the more refined things in life. Arian Foster Jersey. Classical music is not among them. The symphony tune you hear when his cell phone rings is more nuisance than preference. "I dont know how to change it. Im too old to change it around," he said. "It was on the phone when I got it. Im 36, man. The young guys on the team have to teach me to (get rid of it)." If Armstrong plays with Peoria this season, those life lessons likely will flow both ways. The veteran of 471 NHL games has signed a two-way deal with St. Louis, his first such contract since the start of this decade with the New York Rangers and Hartford. Hes seen regular action with the Kings the last several years, producing 5 goals and 4 assists in 56 games for Los Angeles in 2008-09. Armstrong was a dominant AHL player during his era. In 318 career AHL games, he posted 338 points, won the Calder Cup with Hartford in 1999-2000 and earned league MVP honors in 2000-01. But, save for two games with Manchester in 2002-03, he hasnt skated in the AHL since then. Armstrong hopes a re-connection with Blues coach Andy Murray helps him pull a career U-turn and keeps him an AHL stranger a little longer. Murray coached Armstrong in Los Angeles. AHL REPORT Aulin invited to camp by Blue Jackets Lindsay Kramer - NHL.com Correspondent Jared Aulin is trying to get back into hockey after an injury derailed his promising career. READ MORE › Chiodo facing uphill battle in Sens organization Miller getting fresh start with Lightning Morrison happy to be home ALL AHL REPORT STORIES › "Im young at heart," Armstrong said. "It is tough (in the marketplace). If I go to Peoria, I go to Peoria. I dont play for the money. Im a hockey player. My ability is still there. I can play a first-line center. I can fight. The economy is tough right now. Im fortunate to have the opportunity (to play) Ive had for a long time." Armstrongs chance this season will come with fewer peripheral perks than hes enjoyed in the past. The Wolf Pack team that won the Calder Cup was a rollicking group, one that captured national attention to the extent that it filmed a shaving commercial. In Los Angeles, Armstrong skated on the fringe of the entertainment scene by appearing on several outlets ranging from Carson Dalys TV show to "The Price is Right." "That stuff was fun," Armstrong said. "I just like hockey. Whatever comes with that comes with that. I just did that stuff because Im not shy around people." You think? Even when Armstrong is not actually available, he still leaves them laughing. Hes learned enough about his cell phone to record his own personal voice-mail message. Its him crooning the lyrics "I am Arm man, leave a message at the beep," to the heavy Black Sabbath classic, "Iron Man." "I just like to sing," he said. Whats in a name? -- Slightly different spelling, exactly the same pronunciation. There is no getting around that to the ear, at least, rookie forward Bryan Leitch shares the same name as Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch. It really hasnt bothered Leitch as a hockey player. As a fan, though, it tore him apart. Leitch, who has signed an AHL/ECHL contract with Milwaukee, grew up in a suburb of Vancouver as a huge Canucks fan. The potential shining moment of Leitchs fanhood was shredded when Leetchs Rangers beat the Canucks in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. "Im sure hes a very nice person. But he ruined my life in 1994," Leitch said. "Im still a little scarred." The 6-foot-3, 190-pound prospect seems to have rebounded quite nicely. A generation later, Leitch has a shot to make a name for himself for something else besides, well, his name. "It is tough (in the marketplace). If I go to Peoria, I go to Peoria. I dont play for the money. Im a hockey player. My ability is still there. I can play a first-line center. I can fight. The economy is tough right now. Im fortunate to have the opportunity (to play) Ive had for a long time." -- Derek Armstrong Leitch began that process at Quinnipiac, where he paced the NCAA in both scoring (59 points) and assists (47) as a senior in 2008-09. In four years at Quinnipiac he collected 53 goals and 116 assists in 157 career games. It was an ironic setting. Quinnipiac is located in Hamden, Conn., a short drive from where Leech grew up in nearby Cheshire. Folks around those parts all knew Leetch, naturally, and often were sparked to reminiscing by the stardom of Leitch. "You see all the old guys (say), Oh, I remember when I went to high school with him," Leitch said. "Its quite a small world." In a hockey sense, it took Leitch a little while to navigate it. He said he was lightly regarded coming out of junior, and that Quinnipiac was the only school that showed an interest in him. He made sure to milk that school for four years of hockey and a degree in history before going on the pro market. It gave him something of a late start on this level -- hes 25 -- but could provide a valuable maturity edge playing against other newcomers. "I developed late, I guess," Leitch said. "I highly doubt Im going to lead the AHL or ECHL in scoring this year. Hopefully I can score a goal or two this year. Milwaukee is a great place to play. Wisconsin, they love their hockey there. Hopefully I can find some snipers in Milwaukee and I can pass them the puck." Movin on up -- Forward Matt Beaudoins new hockey home is just about 165 miles away from the one where he ended last season. In his world, this is known as progress. Beaudoin, 25, has signed an AHL deal with the new Texas Stars, located near Austin. He finished last season with Houston, the fourth of four teams he skated with in 2008-09. In 2007-08, he played for five teams. There isnt the guarantee of any more stability this season, although he has a bit of an anchor because this is the first time hes started a season with a regular AHL pact. "Im hoping to stick around here all year, have a full season, be part of the team for once," Beaudoin said. "Its for me to prove what I can do. If I can do a good job, I hope they keep me around." Beaudoin should have an ally in Stars coach Glen Gulutzan, who was his coach with Las Vegas of the ECHL. He also has some self-esteem, pumped by 17 points in 20 playoff games with the Aeros last season, after posting just 19 in 41 regular-season games with that team. "Its always a good boost for your confidence to score at that level. I went into the summer knowing I was an American Hockey League player," he said. "Ive always been a goal-scorer wherever Ive been. Thats what the team in Austin is counting on me for." Working OT pays -- A lot of overtime work last season helped Albany River Rats defenseman Benn Olson earn the chance for some more regular pay in 2009-10. As a rookie project last year, Olson logged many an extra session skating and doing stick work with Rats assistant coach Geordie Kinnear. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Olson believes Kinnear, a former defensive defenseman, may have seen a bit of himself in the raw but rugged blueliner. Olson put up 140 penalty minutes to go along with 4 assists in his 36 games in Albany, earning him a new AHL/ECHL pact this season. "He took a liking to me. It paid off," Olson said. "He played the same way I do. He was a tough guy, always sticking up for teammates. I feel a lot more confident. I was pretty nervous going into camp (last year). There are a lot of big guys in the league. Now Ive seen them. Im ready to go." Darren Sproles Jersey. Greg Genske has asked the players union to investigate why Liriano remains in Rochester despite going 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his past nine starts. "I think that Francisco is dominating down there," Genske said Thursday. Authentic Deion Branch Jersey. While Brian McCann was caught in a rundown, Heyward charged in from third base and slid under the tag of Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez in the first inning Wednesday night. Ahmad Bradshaw Youth Jersey. Following a punt, Buffalo got the final possession of the game as the team started the drive with the ball at its own 34 with 2:29 left and trailing by two points. Trent Edwards connected on passes of 11 and 16 yards before the two-minute warning to get the ball past midfield. Randall Cobb Youth Jersey. At the two-day summit in the ROKs resort island of Jeju, the third of its kind, Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and ROK President Lee Myung-bak made rapid strides in efforts to elevate the trilateral relationship to a new level, improve the mechanism of, and deepen, regional cooperation. Jermichael Finley Jersey. The victory marked the third straight for Morehead State (9-6), which also received a double-double from Kenneth Faried, scoring 20 points while grabbing 13 boards in the decision. Charleston (9-5) fell for just the second time in its last seven battles while being led by Willis Halls 12 points. BERKELEY, Calif. -- The NCAA placed the California mens basketball program on two years probation Friday for making more than 300 impermissible recruiting phone calls. The Division I Committee on Infractions added only a few small penalties on top of what the school had already self-imposed after quickly reporting the 365 calls made shortly after coach Mike Montgomery and his staff were hired in April 2008. "I believe deeply in following NCAA rules and have always promoted an atmosphere of compliance within our program," said Montgomery, a former chair of the NABC Ethics Committee. "It is gratifying to know that during our NCAA hearing in Indianapolis that there was agreement among all parties that these violations were unintentional. However, that does not excuse them, and we need to remain diligent in our efforts to remain compliant. We strive to maintain a very high standard and take this situation very seriously." Montgomery, two assistants and other members of the athletic department met with the NCAA in December as part of the committees investigation. MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas, the chairman of the infractions committee, said the investigation determined the violations were a case of neglect more than "an intentional effort to circumvent the rules." He added that it is incumbent on coaches to know and follow the rules and praised Cal for the way it handled the situation. "Cal self-reported this violation and they caught it," Thomas said. "Thats a good thing. When they caught it, then they took the appropriate action of investigating it and determining what violations had occurred." One unidentified assistant coach made 212 impermissible calls and another made 107. Montgomery and a third assistant made a minimal amount of banned calls. The school said about 300 of the calls were "documentation violations," meaning they could have been allowed had they been logged correctly in a timely matter. The remaining calls violated rules about when and how often potential recruits can be contacted. Montgomery and the three assistants were already sanctioned by the school. Athletic director Sandy Barbour said she believes the discovery by the school of the violations shows that the compliance monitoring process works as intended. ";When Mike Montgomery joined our program in April 2008, we knew we were hiring a coach known for his integrity who cares deeply about this student-athletes college experience," Barbour said. B.J. Raji Jersey "He expects the same ethical behaviour from every member of his staff. The manner in which Coach Montgomery and his assistant coaches have responded to and engaged in this process has only confirmed our initial beliefs." Montgomery was banned by Cal from making recruiting calls for one week in October 2009. The only other additional penalty he received Friday was a requirement that he and two assistants must attend a NCAA rules seminar. The NCAA did not rule that he failed to monitor his staff adequately. The only other additional penalties handed out Friday were the probation that runs through Feb. 24, 2013, a public reprimand and censure, and a limit of five official paid visits for each of the next two academic years. The report said Cal paid for an average of 5 3/4 visits over the four-year period from 2006-07 through 2009-10. The first assistant had been banned from off-campus recruiting for nearly 10 months from 2008-09, was unable to evaluate potential recruits off campus for two months and was not allowed to place or receive recruiting calls for one year. No further penalties were added by the NCAA. Details in the infractions report make clear that the first assistant is Jay John, who acknowledged that he had not made many recruiting calls when he was head coach at Oregon State and that the rules regarding phone calls were different than when he was last an assistant in 2002. The other two assistants are Travis DeCuire and Gregg Gottlieb. One was not allowed to make phone calls to recruits for two weeks before the early signing period in November 2009. The NCAA ruled he will also not be allowed to make calls for 90 days, beginning March 12. The other was not allowed to make recruiting calls for two weeks in November 2009 and no further sanctions were imposed. "The committee was very pleased with the self-imposed penalties by the institution because we did only impose a limited amount of additional penalties," Thomas said. "We did feel the university was forthcoming and heading in the right direction in self-imposing penalties upon itself." ' ' '