I had worked with this kid since he was a Squirt in youth hockey. He was a hard worker way back then. At that age we worked on fundamentals a lot. One of the things I gave him to work on was actually something he could do at home. The fine art of poke checking. We worked on it from a standing position and we worked on it from standing and moving into it. We worked on it by having him dive into it. Because he wanted to work on something I told him to take three tennis balls, his gloves and his stick, and practice poke checking them in his basement. You got it, he's a goaltender and we called it homework.

When we would practice or he would come to clinics I would ask him how his homework was coming. "Great, Coach. I do it everyday." He played the District consolation championship game that year and it went to a shoot-out (even in youth hockey). Five kids from each side would shoot. The first kid on the other team scored on him. I yelled out to him one word, "HOMEWORK." He nodded his head. He poke checked the next four shooters and his team won the game. As he grew up we would always talk about his "homework."

Over the years my wife and I became friends with his parents. We still are. We go to dinner together and last year on spring break we went to Clearwater, FL to watch this kid play baseball with them. He was a three sport star in high school, Football, Baseball (his true sport) and Hockey. I am not in the habit of befriending the parents of athletes that play for me because it can create ugly situations for everyone involved. But this was, and to this day, is different. From his parents I could see where his work ethic, his desire to succeed and his respect for people and things came from.

When he was a sophomore in high school he became our starting goaltender. I appreciate hard work and a competitive spirit. He lost his first varsity start 6-5 on a shot with a second left, through a crowd and just inside the far post. He cried over it. I pulled him out of the locker room and told him there were going to be more losses and that while it hurts to lose a game like thst one we need to re-focus and keep working. I told him he had plenty of time, he was only a sophomore. At the end of that year we were leaving the arena after the State High School Hockey Tournament as spectators. He said to me as we were saying good-bye that night, "Coach, we are going to play here before I graduate." I smiled, slapped him on the shoulder and told him it wasn't going to be easy. It is hard to get there, especially since we play in, arguably, the toughest section in the state. He smiled, said he knew that and walked off with his dad.

We had talent in his group. Five kids from that group are playing college hockey today, 3 of them at the D1 level. But as juniors they were raw. They were skilled but they invented ways to lose hockey games. And through it all this kid became their leader, their stone wall, their "go to guy." It is pretty hard to be the go to guy as a goalie but with him in goal it changed their entire mentality. They knew the net was fine and they started to believe that they could do great things. In the section tournament that year we upset the favorite in the second round. This kid had 36 saves. In the semi-finals we lost 3-2 to the eventual state champion and this kid had 42 saves. The losses were going to turn into wins very soon.

Before his senior year in high school he was told by a respected member of the hockey community, USA hockey community, that they wanted him to go to Michigan for their development program. His comment was that he appreciated the offer but he wanted to stay home and play football and baseball and hockey with his buddies. In this day and age, when specialization and elite programs are taking kids away from home, I find what he did admirable. It didn't hurt our hockey program, either. We had a great year in his senior season. We won the holiday tournment we played in and he was the tournaments MVP. We beat two highly ranked teams in that tournament that we would have to go through at sections if we wanted to get to the state tournament. About three weeks before sections began he asked me, "Coach, what is it like to play in a section championship game?" I told him it was exciting. The arena is packed. They yell at everything. Standing room only. There is so much energy in the building. If you do it right there is just a constant buzz throughout the game. You hear things but nothing is clear. But to do it right I told him, "You have to play well enough to get there and we have a long way to go." He nodded and moved out onto the ice for practice.

Well, before you know it the sections were upon us. We were lethargic in our first game but he was, again, our wall. It took a while for the guys to get their feet moving but he kept us in the game until they did. We rolled in the first one 4-1. In the next round we played very well from every aspect against a better team and still won 5-2. Because we had a bye in the first round we were going to play in the section final. This young man was going to find out what it was like. The energy was as I told him it would be. The place was packed and loud. To do this right I told him that he couldn't get caught up in it. "Be excited about it but focus on what is going on in the game, not around the game. If you can do that you will find the constant buzz I told you about." These were the words I told him before the game. He played great in the first period against the number one seed in the section. We were down 1-0 with 5 seconds to go in the first period when one of our defensemen sent a wrist shot toward the net. It found the upper corner, knocking the goalies water bottle off of the net, to tie the score going into the second period. We were down 2-1 with 35 seconds left in the second period when our leading scorer broke away and tied the score with a nice deke. Tied 2-2 going into the third period. He was as calm as I had ever seen him. His dad told me later that he knew we would win going into the third period because of how calm his son was in the net. As a matter of fact, when the referee was checking both ends before dropping the puck to start the third period he was standing up with his arms stretched out across the top of the net. Cocky or arrogant? No, just extremely relaxed. He stopped an early assault with a 4 save flurry that I have never seen out of a goaltender at that level before, or since. He made a stop on a breakaway and the trailing defensemen picked up the puck and lofted it toward the other end. One of our fastest players took off after it, scooped it up and backhanded it into the net to give us our first lead about half way through the third period. A couple of minutes later we scored again on a rebound to give us a 4-2 lead against the number one seed in the section.

We won the section championship that year. And true to his word as a sophomore we played in the state tournament before he graduated. He doesn't play hockey anymore except in a mens league with hs buddies. He is playing college baseball where he is a starting pitcher. He is going to become an orthopedic surgeon. I love my orthopedic surgeon. This is the guy that has repaired my knees, taken crap out of my knees, put my kneecap back in place,  done 3 ACL and MCL reconstructions on my knees. I, or should I say my insurance company, have built multiple additons to his home, upgraded his swimming pool from a pond to an Olympic size, and put his children through college. But you know what? He is getting ready to retire. And I am getting ready to give back.

I am getting ready to give something back to this young man. He has given me years of joy. He displays great character and respect for people and life everyday, even when he struggles with something. He has given me high moments and low moments. Hopefully he has learned from me as I have learned from him. He isn't sick and nobody in his family is ill that I know of. He just works hard and shows an old fashioned respect that I admire in such a young man. For everything that he as given me I am going to give back to him. I'll need these knees replaced one day. I've already had 10 knee surgeries. I am going to give him my knees when it is time to have them replaced. My insurance company and I are going to help him get his practice started. We are going to help him move from an apartment, into a home. We are going to watch him get married and start a family and then we are going to help him raise his family by referring any and all people I know who will need an orthopedic surgeon in the future to him. Such a little thing really.

I have a lot of these stotries as I am sure anyone who coaches or teaches does. With stories like these come stories of kids who walk a different path and I have taught and coached them as well. They are all why I do what I do and enjoy it as much as I do. I hope I can do this stuff forever!

I'm responding to a few headlines that are out there today, one on FoxSports. My kids are on a field trip of sorts and I am putting the finishing touches on another school year. I have to be here tomorrow doing more of the same so I have a little time on my hands.

The top 10 smack-downs in sports history. This article has to do with fights in sports. The picture accompanying the article is Nolan Ryan taking out Robin Ventura. Sweet! It also mentions as one of the top 10 Mike Tyson taking out Michael Spinks. I have seen this fight a dozen times and am still convinced that Spinks took the proverbial dive.  Either that or we have two heavyweight fights that have been decided by the "phantom" punch. Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay at the time, stopped Sonny Liston with a "phantom" punch way back in the early part of his professional career (do ya think?). Differences you may ask? The Liston fight went a few rounds before it was over. The Spinks fight went 91 seconds. Had I wanted to I could have put up a better fight than Michael Spinks. He didn't want to be there in the first place and it showed on his face and in the ring. This one doesn't deserve to be in the top 10 smack downs in sports. Unless of course it is in the top 10 embarrassing moments in boxing history. Let's replace it with something.

Back when the Philadelphia Flyers were wreaking havoc on the entire NHL on the way to winning back to back Stanley Cup Championships in 1974 and 1975 they had a guy on their roster named Dave "The Hammer" Schultz. He was a guy who showed some promise early in his minor league career with a minimal amount of skill. He realized quickly that people wanted to see fighting in the game. He changed his game at the request of team management and became, ultimately, the Flyers "Chief Enforcer" on a team loaded with enforcers. These players were necessary to protect their young center, Bobby Clarke, Who was chippy at best and downright dangerous with his stick on other occassions. This guy is now called Bob Clarke and he is the Flyer's GM. To offset the effect the "Hammer" had on the ice some teams called up their biggest and baddest "enforcers" to take their shots at Schultz. The Montreal Canadiens, the class of the NHL, had more skilled players than the Flyers but always ran into problems because of Schultz and his cronies! To offset the Flyers the Canadiens had a young defenseman in their farm system named John Van Boxmeer. He was the recognized "enforcer" of the Canadiens. In his book, "The Hammer", Schultz recalls that he was worried about Van Boxmeer and the reputation he had. He knew that they were going to drop the gloves and go the next time they played and the ramifications of Van Boxmeer beating Schultz were huge. It could mean the end of Schultz's career.

Sure enough, the next time the two played they were eyeing each other. Something was going to happen for sure. And when it did it was over almost as fast as it began. Schultz and the boys were all over the Canadiens and were making life difficult for the likes of Guy LaFleur, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire and all of the other Canadiens. Off of the bench jumps Van Boxmeer with one goal in mind. Stop the Flyers chief enforcer. They eye each other and off come the gloves. Schultz hit Van Boxmeer right between the eyes and as he said in his book, you could see Van Boxmeer's eyes roll up in the back of his head. His knees buckled and he crumbled to the ice. One shot and the legend and reputation of the Flyers "Chief Enforcer" grew. Van Boxmeer's fighting reputation was destroyed. He became the NHL's version of a one hit wonder. Fortunately for Van Boxmeer, he had some skill and had an adequate career with the Canadiens and later the Buffalo Sabres. Now that should be considered one of the top 10 smack downs in sports history.

From the PC file. Politically Correct or Incorrect file.

High school hockey in Minneapolis has a rich tradition. Guys like Mike Ramsey and Reed Larson played their high school hockey in the city of Minneapolis. Minneapolis teams have, in the past, been well represented in the State Tournament. But a number of things have changed all of that in the past several years. Urban sprawl, open enrollment, lack of funding and outrageous participation fees have led to the diminishing of High School hockey in Minneapolis. One of the great things about city hockey used to be the great rivalries. My brother went to Minneapolis West. Their rivals were Southwest. Regionally and geographicaly established territory. Perfect for a rivalry. What else was perfect was their names. West High was called the Cowboys. Southwest was called, you guessed it, the Indians. But some time ago it became politically incorrect to use nicknames that were offensive to the Native American Indian population in this country. In light of that, Southwest changed their nickname to the Lakers. It made sense as Minnesota is known as "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." Great for PC, not so great for a fierce rivalry.  But we moved past that. Until now.

Numbers have dwindled for high school players so much so that this next season, 2006 - 2007, the city of Minneapolis will put two teams on the ice. They will be cooperatives and one team will be made up of kids form 3 schools and one team will be made up of kids from 4 schools. As new programs they had to register with the Minnesota State High School League, the Board of Education and the City of Minneapolis. As part of their registration they had to give their programs nicknames. The chosen names were the Minneapolis West Cowboys and the Minneapolis South Pioneers. Great. Now the sport can continue in Minneapolis and kids have an outlet to play this sport in school. We stayed politically correct on the names, Cowboys and Pioneers, so we should...What do you mean, wait a minute?

Clyde Bellecourt, one of the founders of AIM, the American Indian Movement, has filed documents with the Minneapolis Board of Education and the City of Minneapolis demanding that these two cooperatives NOT be allowed to use these names as their nicknames.  What? Why? What do you mean, not allowed to use these names? Here is why. He considers these names, Cowboys and Pioneers, to be offensive to Native American Indian's because of the role they played in the genocide of the culture during the history of the United States. Clyde, I can see your point about names like "Redskin", "Braves", "Fighting Sioux" and even "Indians" being considered offensive and therefore not allowed to be used as nicknames for sports teams. No problems there. I can even see your logic in this connection, no matter how loosely it may be connected. But don't you think you are going a bit to the extreme here? You are making a loose connection at best into an argument to keep this issue in the very public eye.

For the record I think that the Native American Indian has every right to make demands on certain things based on the history between them and the government of the United States. Tribal sovereignty and treaty rights are key among them. Being appropriated for things taken from them illegally, morally, ethically or otherwise are all fine with me. I base this on what I learned while pursuing my BA in History. Expansionist and assimilationist policies of our government did lend to the genocide of their culture. Some of their issues are offensive nicknames and I can see that. I named a few that I would consider offensive. But I think Clyde is crossing a very fine line here.

Sorry about that? O.K., maybe that isn't enough. I wasn't there! Neither were any of these kids! Ancestors? Yes, my lineage is loaded with Cowboys and Pioneers. Hey, according to my mother there is a little Cherokee in there as well. By making a connection of these people, Cowboys and Pioneers, to the genocide of the Native American Indian culture and  therefore condsidered these offensive nicknames is a broad stroke of his brush. By demanding that these schools not be allowed to use these names as their nicknames he is demanding that a part of our history be denied. I'm sorry about that Clyde. I'll give you a lot because I think for a lot of things the United States needs to make amends. But you are asking us to deny a part of what we are. I think the Native American Indian is entitled to a lot, but, you can't have both. You can't demand that we make concessions based on the past and then demand that we deny that very past that makes us what we are, good or bad, sweet or evil, loving or hating, friend or foe.

How far will PC go? I know that one concern over the PC thing is that if we continue to change things to be politically correct then where will it go? If Bellecourt gets his way and these two schools have to change their names to something else, who is to say what will or will not offend any group of people. If we allow people to keep painting pictures with wide sweeping strokes that can contain any associations or logic then the end will never be in sight. Should there be a definitive line that can't be crossed? Maybe! But then who is going to draw it up? And when will it be crossed and by which group?

I just wish we could let the kids play.  Leave this portion of politics out of it. There is enough political lobbying out there in regard to both issues that it doesn't need anymore here. Projections for high school hockey in Minneapolis are that one of these teams will be gone next year and the other not long after that. PC is going to be around for a while. And with it will be all of the logical and illogical conceptions of what is right or what is wrong and who is it right or wrong for. Just more crap to argue about!

***I meant no disrespect to group of people or individuals in the writing of this piece. It is a potentially politically involved subject and therefore I expect a certain amount of disagreement. Hopefully we can keep it good.***

A FEEL GOOD MOMENT.

The last time we played they beat us 4-2. It was considered some kind of an upset. We had been unbeaten up to that point. They out-hit us, out-shot us, out-hustled us and generally out-played us. Our goaltender, me, had what would be considered an "off night." After getting beat this way, we lost one more game in the next 4 and were now considered beatable and not as good as people thought we were. Maybe not as good as we thought we were.

As the playoffs approached we read the doubting comments in the local papers. We were over rated. Our coach was too old to be competing with younger coaches. He didn't instill any sense of urgency in his players. We were going through the motions.  Gcoach was not as good as he had been the past two years. This was fine in the regular season, not so fine in regional play of the playoffs. We finished the year 23-2 but those two losses at the end of the year spelled doom for us. Certainly we would never get out of our region.

We were almost guilty of looking past our first regional opponent. Down 2-1 going into the third period our captain gave us a pep talk duing the second intermission. He finished his talk by quoting from the hot song of the day, "Let's go out there and, take it, to the limit, one more time." After throwing tape and water bottles at him we settled down and dismantled our opponent and skated away with a 6-2 victory. We could always score like that.

Our second round opponent had the league leading scorer on their roster. He was quick and speedy and as sly a player as we had seen. He put up huge numbers during the regular season and had 7 points in the first game of their playoffs this year. He was looking to take us out. He ended up with 4 shots, two on breakaways, and left the building that night with 0 points. We beat them 4-1 and they were actually never really in the game.

The semi-final game was against a team we had never lost to.  When the night was over, we still hadn't lost to them. We cruised to a 4-0 victory. We were playing like our old selves again. Methodically picking teams apart with a goaltender who didn't need to be spectacular, just solid, and he was doing that. Our forwards were working well together and our defensemen were moving the puck up and keeping the front of the net clear. Our confidence was back and we were getting primed. And we were getting primed for good reason. Our next opponent, for a regional championship, was the team that started our "downfall."

I arrived at the arena early and put my equipment in our assigned locker room. Goalies are said to be strange individuals. I left the locker room and walked for what seemed like an eternity around the arena. Imagery! I used imagery for the first time that I could recall to get up for this game. Since we had both qualified for this game my thoughts had been on nothing else. School. No way! My girlfriend! Definately, no way! Her brother played for our opponents! As a matter of fact, her dad told me my neck would be bright red at the end of the night from all the goals they were going to score on me. I don't even remember what my dad said to me on the way out of the house. I envisioned every part of this game. Upon my return to the locker room I began to dress.

Some goalies have weird habits. We call these habits superstitions. One professional goalie used to throw up before every game. One would completely undress and then get dressed again during the intermissions. Tonight I just wanted to make sure I got my cup on first. That done I took my time getting dressed. Garter belt. Socks. Breezers (hockey pants). Left skate then right skate. To this day I put my left shoe on before I put my right shoe on. Left pad then right pad. Leather pads. Shoulder and arm protectors. Then chest protector. Jersey with the bold #1 on the back of it. Sticks were ready. I walked around a little bit but said nothing to my teammates. The butterflies were churning. The nerves were high and my breathing was slow and shallow. Coach came in and told us to get up and at that time the buzzer sounded us to come out for warm-ups. I put on my mask, the Bernie Parent style mask that my dad got me to start the season. Looked just like Bernie's and I kept it white with a small school logo on it. His was white with a Flyers logo on his. As the starting goaltender I led the team out for the warm up. Before you knew it we were back in the locker room.

After the pre-game talks by coaches and captains I just wanted to play. The buzzer sounded and it was time to lead the guys out for the first period. As I bolted out of the locker room door I realized that the cheerleaders (and this began my questioning of the need for cheerleders at a hockey game) had put up some paper thing with our names and numbers on it right in front of the door to the ice. I went rambling full speed through this thing and the toe of my right skate hit the bottom part of the door opening and I became airborne. Head first and flat on my chest through the entrance to the ice. I slid to the middle of the faceoff circles and as I got up I noticed my teammates laughing as they began their skate around before the start of the first period. I don't know exactly what happened after that. I think that kind of put me in a zone.

I only remember one save from that night. It was a pad save, left pad, on a point blank shot. The rebound went off into a soft zone (corner) as we call it. I was in a zone. The kind of zone when you can't hear anyone in the crowd. The kind of zone where the puck looks like a huge saucer. The kind of zone where the other team takes pot shots at you but you don't realize it. You don't retaliate to them. The kind of zone where no matter how many people the other team gets in front of you, you can still find the puck. When it was over I had made 26 saves and we had absolutely throttled our nemesis scoring in double digits. And we didn't allow them on the board.

I never went out with my girlfriend again after that. I think her dad and her brother might have had something to do with that. Perhaps it was my remark to her dad after the game to go and check their goalie's neck for redness. My teammates and I were BMOC for a few days after that and, although we had been before, this was special. It was special for several reasons.

 It was special because for the first time I realized that our, and my abilities, had been called into question. We were in high school for crying out loud. People were writing things in the local papers about us, and they weren't good things. Writing that we were over rated and not very good. It was special because for at least one night, as no other team I have ever been a part of, as player or coach, worked together like we did on that night. Collectively we had something to prove. Third and fourth liners, when given their opportunity, played like first liners. My defensemen hit and moved people all night. One of them scored two goals. We scored in double digits and got goals from 6 different players. We were motivated.

I learned a few things that night about me and about people. I learned that people with a common goal working together are harder to beat than a minimal few working alone. I learned that humor can help us to overcome adversity if we let it. I learned that proper preparation can do wonders for success. I learned that you can take the negative and make it a positive. I learned that you can take what people say about you and enjoy it if positive and work hard to change it to a positive. And if you worked hard and they still didn't think much of you, move on. I also learned that it may not get any better than a certain moment.

We didn't win a state championship that year. Didn't come close, other than getting there. And even though there was disappointment with that, I will always fondly remember that team from 1976. I will always remember the guys who made up that team. I will always remember what we accomplished on one night together. They are part of the reason I went into coaching. They are a part of the stories I tell my hockey players today. This is why I am a hockey guy. I played junior hockey. I've won local championships playing ball, finished high at state tournaments playing ball and been on some extremely poor teams. But never, ever, did I enjoy one team as much as I enjoyed this one from my senior year in high school. I have been to the Minnesota State Tournament as a coach and have had great teams and great kids but nothing compares to that team and the lessons I learned in one night so many years ago.

DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER ANYTHING LIKE THIS? I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY. IF YOU WANT TO SHARE THEM FEEL FREE. I AM IN FEEL GOOD MODE TODAY.

I AM A HOCKEY GUY!!!

I love the game of hockey. When people ask me what my favorite sport is I tell them with unequaled passion and enthusiasm - HOCKEY! I coach the sport at the high school level in Minnesota. When I was playing the sport on a competitive level (not like the mens league I play in now) I was a goaltender. Who am I trying to kid. Once a goaltender ALWAYS a goaltender. Even though 10 knee surgeries ended my playing time in the net, I utilize my knowledge of the position to help me score some nasty goals in the aformentioned mens league of huffers and puffers! When I am running clinics for young goalies I tell them that hockey is the greatest game in the world and goalie is the greatest position to play in that game.

O.K. Some of you will dispute that.  There are some of you out there who will tell me hockey sucks! Some would say I am crazy for encouraging kids to play goaltender. There are mothers of young men and a few young women out there who look at me with haughty disdain because of the encouragement I rendered to their children as goaltenders. Some of these mothers have said I ruined the game for them because they couldn't watch their children in goal. Sorry! What can I say? This is my game and I want kids to play it and enjoy it!

At any rate this is really not so much about my love of the game, although, it kind of spurred me into this. I am not angry and I am not po'd so for those of you who are used to that from me, I hate to disappoint you and hope you will continue reading. While I am not angry and po'd there is still an issue here. It is an issue with ESPN. It is not the standard issue with ESPN and hockey. It is not the old ESPN putting their spin on things. It is not that there is NOT enough hockey on ESPN or that ESPN has it out for hockey. No, this is a research and broadcasting issue with ESPN. Here is the issue.

I was watching the Texas vs. Arizona St. womens softball game last night on ESPN2. As we all know, ESPN runs, under the screen, highlights or scores and other happenings in sports so you can see that information and watch the game. No problem so far. But when the NHL frame came up the header was that the Buffalo Sabres and Carolia Hurricane were playing game 7 in an attempt to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. All good until they mentioned that Buffalo was trying to get to their SECOND Stanley Cup Final. No date since their first or last just that they were trying to get to their SECOND final. I figured it was a misprint and they would eventually correct it. Wrong! At midnight they were still running that information. It is wrong!

The Buffalo Sabres have had a long life. They were welcoomed into the NHL in 1970. Thy originally played in the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium - "The AUD." They have had owners and players enter into the NHL Hall of Fame. In the 1970's they had the "French Connection" line. This was comprised of Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert.Players who have worn the uniform of the Buffalo Sabres include names like, Dany Gare, Mike Foligno, Phil Housley, Lindy Ruff, Tom Barrasso, Dave Andreychuk, Dale Hawerchuk, Alexander Mogliny, Pat Lafontaine, Dominik Hasek, Brad May, Rob Ray, Matt Barnaby, Miroslav Satan, Michael Pecca, Stu Barnes and one of my personal favorites who is now with the NJ Devils, Erik Rassmussen. Why Erik? He played high school hockey for me and my fellow coaches.

They have retired jerseys and had many individual award winners. Perreault was the Calder Cup winner as Rookie of the Year in 1970. Barrasso was the Calder winner and the Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender) winner in 1983-84. Mogilny scored 76 goals one year. Gare was a 50 goal scorer.  They have had team success. They were perrenial division winners and playoff contenders through out the '80s. And they have played in the Stanley Cup finals before. Yes, before trying to get to their SECOND Stanley Cup final according to ESPN, they had been there. TWICE as a matter of fact.

In 1999 the Buffalo Sabres played in their second Stanley Cup Final. They played against the Dallas Stars. They were denied the Stanley Cup championship when Brett Hul scored a controversial goal to win the Cup for the Stars. It was controversial because Hull was in the crease when the original shot was taken. In the NHL a player cannot proceed the puck into the crease to increase a scoring opportunity. It is questionable because it appeared that Hull had a skate in the crease illegally and therefore the goal should not have been allowed. Long story short, it was allowed and Buffalo lost the 1999 Stanley Cup final to the Dallas Stars.

But the Sabres graced the Stanley Cup Finals another time before 1999, which ESPN reseachers apparently forgot.  In 1975, the Buffalo Sabres ran up against the Philadelphis Flyers who were led by Bobby Clarke, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, Andre "Moose" Dupont, and a goaltender who was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as PLayoff MVP in '74 and '75, Bernie Parent. The Flyers won the Cup that year 4 games to 2 against the Sabres but two things make this Stanley Cup unforgettable, and therefore unforgivable to ESPN researchers! The "FOG" game occurred during this Stanley Cup final. It was not called this because Flyers coach Fred Shero was known as "Freddie the Fog." It was called this because an extremely warm May in Buffalo created a fog over the ice at the old "AUD" that made parts of the game virtually unviewable from either the stands or the television. I can still see players silhouettes lining up for faceoffs. It was one of the wildest games I haver seen. They would line up and you could see the players down to their knees only and the rest of their legs disappeared into the fog. This was the first thing that made this game so unforgettable. The second is that it is the first and, I am assuming, only time an animal was killed by a hockey player in the middle of a hockey game. Jim Lorentz, who is now a Sabre broadcaster, noticed a bat flying over the ice. He reached up and killed it with his hockey stick.

Yea, I know it isn't much. I know that research errors are made all the time. That is alright with me. It is cool if they catch it and correct it. But when they continue to let it run throughout the night with no correction then I think that is wrong. Again, it didn't hurt anybody. It had no role in the outcome of the game which Carolina won. Sabres players and fans can suffer with the loss and then celebrate the year they had. All is good. But if I were Perreault, Robert, Martin, Don Luce, Craig Ramsay or some of the guys that played on that team I might be a bit chapped. Or if I were guys off of the 1999 team I might be a bit miffed as well. Getting to the Stanley Cup Finals is a huge career accomplishment. To not have it recognized by a sports network and saying the current team is trying to accomplish something that has already been done is kind of tacky. Kind of like arguing over second place on certain lists (I couldn't resist) is kind of tacky! My six year old grandson is cognitively advanced to the point where he could enter Buffalo Sabres on a search engine and get the right information. Maybe I can get him a job at ESPN!

True story - Erik Rasmussen told me that Dominik Hasek is crazy. If you scored a bad goal on him in practice he would literally chase you around the ice screaming things at you. Crazy or major competitor?

You all have a good day and a great weekend!

I spent a litle time this past weekend just kind of touching base here with this blogging community. I commented on a few posts and read a few others but didn't really devote too much time to this site. But in doing this I was struck with the very real fact that blogging and sports in general have to be kept in a certain context and perspective. For me, this past weekend, this community and sports proved to be a touch of fantasy in context to the real world.

Andy Roddick has a bum ankle and had to "retire" in the third set of his first round match at the French Open. He "retired" makes it sound so proper. He was hurt and couldn't continue so he withdrew. You see, perspective and context. We need to keep them straight.

In that vein we need to keep in perspective ad context what is important. This bloggin community has served another purpose for me this weekend. A respite!

PERSPECTIVE/ CONTEXT

The Sabres won game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals and have forced a game 7 to be played Thursday in Ralegh, N.C. against the Hurricanes. Great for Sabres, not so good for the Hurricanes.

Wayne Gretzky will stay on as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Good for Wayne, maybe not so good for Coyotes. Or, vice versa.

Edmonton is back in the Finals. Good for Edmonton, not so good for Anaheim.

The Heat are getting ready to deposit the Pistons into "seasons over" population. Good for Heat bad for Pistons.

Nowitzki can't decide if he wants to be a 30 pt. man or 11 pt. man at most crucial time of year when consistency is key. Good for Suns bad for Dallas.

Barry Bonds finally moved into second place on the all time homerun list in MLB. Good for Barry, Ruth was still great and Aaron is still the man. Bad for Bonds bashers, Ruth admirers and any Aaron fans who are worried about Bonds passing him on the all time list.

Roger Clemens has or has not  (depending on who you listen to) signed a one year deal to pitch for the Astro's. Good for Roger, good for Astro's, or maybe not!

A Dutch report has cleared Lance Armstrong of doping charges in the 1999 Tour de France. Good for Lance bad for his accusers and any who finished behind him.

Citing these examples will help me to explain why these things have to be taken in perspective and context. They have to be taken that way based on their importance and the effect they have on their participants. These effects are very real to those involved. How involved are we, the fan, the spectator, the audience that we should feel the effects like the participants? Really, in context, we aren't so involved with  these kinds of things that our daily schedules should be altered or our perspectives should matter to the participants in these events. And yet we place a high level of importance on things like this and on our viewpoint of them.

And that is why my perspective of our blogging community changed a litle bit this past weekend. I enjoy it because it is a venue for us to share those opinions and debate them if we must. I enjoy it because there are so many people out there who either share our viewpoints or disagree with them and that prompts healthy (for the most part) discussion. I enjoy it because I have been inroduced to a different world of people who can write and communicate their views intelligently and, in some cases, not so intelligently. I enjoy it because it now serves as a respite. When I am feeling kind of down or troubled I have another place where I can go to step out of the real world for a while. A place where I can pop in if I wish or stay out if I wish. A place where my opinion is just that, an opinion, and its relevance to the real world is probably important to me and probably not so important to those involved and for that I should keep it in perspective and context. My opinion doesn't change lives dramatically or alter facts as they happen which is so much real world. Therefore, in keeping blogging and sports in the proper perspective I am allowed my little space to go to when I don't want to face things.

A very good friend of mine lost his father this weekend to Alzheimer's. As if that weren't bad enough, two of my nieces and a nephew lost their father in an industrial accident this weekend. My sister and he were divorced but he was always a great guy. Great to his children and great to my mom and dad, even after their divorce. Whenever I went back home I made a point to go and visit him, if only for a short time, just to keep in touch. He will be greatly missed. His children, like others before them, now have to learn to live in a world without their father. My nephew just graduated from high school. My nieces are in the 9th grade. This is real world. The perspective and context I place on this are of greater importance than any sports opinions, mine or others, or any blogging site we can go to.

Does it de-value the enjoyment I get from this site and those who blog here? 

NO!  As I said before, I enjoy this little community and the majority of those who blog here.

 Does it de-value the enjoyment I get out of sports as either a fan or a participant?

 NO!  I have always been an athlete and strive for competiton. I coach and have found great enjoyment in that.

The loss of my friends father and my brother-in-law fell on the weekend when we remember those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of freedom. Of those who died so that we may live in a free world. My friend and my nieces and nephew are unique to me for their personalities, not for the tragedy that be-fell them this weekend. They are no more unique in that regard than anyone else who has lost a parent or a child or any family member. But all of them are unique in reminding me that there is a proper perspective and context for everything depending on their importance and how people are effected. And in that respect, my opinion on sports and blogging take a back seat to the real world. But this little community of bloggers has become a blessing, a respite from the real world, where things are so much more important on the whole.

I don't want to offend the 12 of you who are still chasing the NGS dream. That has importance for you and in that context blogging holds a high importance to you. I wish you all well in that pursuit. As for me, I needed my perspective arranged a little bit. It is unfortunate what it took to do that. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain the proper perspective on things. I will still probably get edgy on some things and get a bit po'd about a few other things as will most of us. I don't write posts often and am a much more frequent commentor. I hope that doesn't offend most of you because, as you are now one my respites from the real world, I intend to keep up with that practice.

I just need to remember PERSPECTIVE and CONTEXT and their IMPORTANCE.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.