Speaking of what's new in SQL 2005...
Local Regional Director Nick Grattan, who just so happens to be a SQL Server 2005 guru, has recently been posting a series of thoughtful and well-written gems deep-diving into SQL Server 2005, like this on PIVOT, this on the OUTPUT clause, this on UDFs, this on INSTEAD OF triggers, and this on DDL triggers. Definitely a great place to learn more about what's new and cool in SQL2k5!