I’ll admit, it’s been a while. Been a while since I felt passionate enough to take the time to assemble my thoughts, such as they are, into something I felt was worthy of sharing. I was busy, too busy. Busy with work, busy chirping about the lockout, busy grousing about my team’s absent sense of urgency, busy with the daily annoyances and busy taking things for granted. Then there was Monday, April 15th, Patriots’ Day, the best day. The day that as a kid signaled the official arrival of spring and a day that all of Massachusetts comes together to celebrate. It’s a day that, with the running of the historic Boston Marathon, mirrors the perseverance, courage, resiliency, fortitude and strength of community demonstrated by America’s “rebels with a cause” in the first battle of the American Revolution. America was built with the sweat and bowed but not broken backs of Patriots, determined to have freedom from tyranny and a country of their own governance. On Monday, people from around the world assembled in Boston to test the limits of the human spirit and to be celebrated by the community. Little did we know, we would all be tested.

What is most remarkable to me is for all the talk of a “small world” and the buzzword “global community”, the caring, compassion and support from around the world descended on Boston and the members of its proud community. People reaching out just to say they were there to listen, or writing words of support. The resolve of one city became the mantra of world wide community, Boston Strong. As I have seen firsthand, there truly is not a more generous group than the hockey community. There were moments of silence from heated rivals and a joint stick salute from a heavy-hearted opponent. There were messages from players, fans and teams; and the world watched and wept with us as 17,000 strong sang from the heart, showing what it means to be brave. We watched as our team fought back tears and took the ice to distract us for a moment and in game that transcended sport, endeavored to help us heal. The outcome did not matter, joining together in a singular voice, strong and proud, WE – all of us – had already won before the puck was dropped.

Our job is not done. There is a long and winding road in front of all of us. I am more certain than ever that finding the answer to the “why?” is not nearly as important as it is to remember how connected we all are in this small world. There have been too many reminders of late as to the fragility of life. The hockey community has seen this firsthand and is always quick to rally to the cause, making it a truly unique community of which I am a proud member.

Not so long ago, I challenged my followers, readers and hockey rivals to wager their team against mine with the defeated making a donation to the victor’s charitable foundation. This time I am challenging the entire hockey community to use their own team’s success to help the victims of this tragedy. The One Fund Boston will not erase the deep scars of April 15, 2013, but it will continue to help those most affected by this tragedy. I have made my initial donation to the One Fund Boston, but in my true hockey fandom, I cannot resist bringing my Bruins into the fold…

I pledge to donate $5.00 for every Bruins goal (beginning Wednesday night) until there aren’t any Bruins games left to play in 2013 campaign (including playoffs) and just because the thought of a Bruins Powerplay goal is a bit like a mythical unicorn (especially in the playoffs) I pledge to donate $26.00 for every PPG. Bring this challenge to your office, your classrooms, your favorite bar. Pledge a $0.05 for every goal, or whatever you choose, it is not the amount that is important, it is another way to unite hockey and healing, as has been done so many times before. I read today the LA Kings made a donation to the One Fund Boston and I am certain other organizations will follow.

It was more than fitting that the first sporting event in Boston after this tragedy was a Bruins game. Hockey fans, like runners, understand all too well the inherent need to do what others believe to be impossible. That grit and strength is what brings us to our feet to celebrate them and we know that it is more than a game. Whether we line the streets and stand and cheer, or raise our voices to the rafters, they, in turn, carry us on their shoulders to heights we could not reach alone. We are ALL, Boston Strong.

“Goal Cookies” is a periodic look at the little tricks or treats from around the NHL. The Pup (my loyal sidekick) has been well trained that goals scored by the “good guys” lead to treats. She is also becoming equally well versed in the tricks necessary to garner my attention for off-season goodies. With this spirit in mind, I’ll take a swing at the obvious (or maybe even the oblivious) happenings across the league. Each week I’ll find something worthy of goal cookies; and something else that could use a little obedience training. But really, how can any of us refuse a goal cookie??

Goal Cookies

It’s tough to give rewards, but if the pup is going to get her goal cookies watching old games on DVR and the B’s Stanley Cup DVD, I guess I can give a few out…

This week, the Goal Cookie goes out to the entire hockey community which once again rallied to support those facing tragedy. After the shooting in Aurora, CO earlier this summer, the hockey community learned we had lost one of our own. Jessica Redfield Ghawi became the face of the victims of a horrible event, but it was her life and her quest to chase a hockey dream that has inspired many. There is the Jessica Redfield Foundation and a Sports Journalism Scholarship in her name to which the LA Kings donated $10,000, and The Goalie Guild has established an internship in her name.

Friends and strangers in the hockey community coming together, once again, to support one another and do what they do best: celebrate a life and help others realize dreams. It is only fitting that Jessica was a hockey fan; she was “good people.” She had begun the legwork to establish a used equipment drive to help those victimized by the Colorado wildfires this spring.

This goal will become a reality on September 8th.

Jessica’s life was cut tragically short, but through the love and support of the hockey community, she will live on through the work of the Foundation created in her memory, and the lives it will touch for many years to come.

In Need Of Obedience Training:

Ah, the places we could go with this! There are plenty in need of a Hockey Whisperer (apologies to Cesar Millan) but in the vein of Cesar’s “Pack Leader” there is one that I would like to get paper trained. Yes, the one and only, Count Bettman.

Before you start yanking at the leash, I am well aware that Bettman works at the behest of the owners. However, he is the face of the league and he could use some “media training.” Some of the owners have changed over the years, but one thing remains constant in the (soon to be 3) NHL work stoppages: Gary Bettman and his Napoleon Complex.

He has been condescending and unapologetic when it comes to the owner’s current money grab.

Has there ever been a Commissioner in the history of sport who is more of a vitriolic magnet? He’s not even polarizing—NO ONE LIKES HIM! He has a difficult job, no question, but it is his demeanor and acting like the fans of the game are an ignorant nuisance needs a sharp and quick correction.

He is the face of the owners in a difficult and tenuous negotiation, and yet it seems he is blissfully unaware that anyone except the owners are watching. This is a media age and the news cycle is Internet driven and hungry for sound bites. It would behoove the owners to either train the face of the league in the ways of public relations, or change the face outright.

There are plenty of reasons to blame the owners for this current debacle. No one is questioning that. Still, if Bettman were standing on media relations and labor negotiation manuals (instead of $8 million dollars) to see over the podium, there might feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Until then, all we see is an on-coming train.

Follow @Hawgs38

“Goal Cookies” is a periodic look at the little tricks or treats from around the NHL. The Pup (my loyal sidekick) has been well trained that goals scored by the “good guys” lead to treats. She is also becoming equally well versed in the tricks necessary to garner my attention for off-season goodies. With this spirit in mind, I’ll take a swing at the obvious (or maybe even the oblivious) happenings across the league. Each week I’ll find something worthy of goal cookies; and something else that could use a little obedience training. But really, how can any of us refuse a goal cookie??

The real losers in a lockout

So here we are.

The sun is setting on another summer and as a fall-o-holic, this is my favorite time of year. Not just because of the cool autumn weather, the colors, the comforting smells, or the food; but for the unmistakable sound of steel cutting through frozen water and the thwack of the puck as a crisp pass is received.

As a kid, the pain of returning to school was tempered by weekend trips to see my Bruins prepare for the coming season. My younger brother was afforded the extra trips during the school week, but I still have autograph books filled with scribblings of the likes of Brad Park, The Chief, Terry O’Reilly, Wayne Cashman and Raymond Bourque. The tradition of going to Twin Rinks and watching the guys up close was the official start to hockey season.

In my youth, kids were racing around the rink’s empty seats collecting every errant puck from a 3-on-2 drill, today fans old and young are faced with the unfathomable reality that this rite of fall may not come to pass until deep into the winter.

There’s no way you could have made me to bet a sandwich that we would be staring down another lockout—especially after the league’s record revenues, the television deal with NBCSports, increased national attention given the Winter Classic, and the clear disgust well earned by the NFL and NBA from a national audience. Thanks to events like the Olympics, the Winter Classic, and more nationally televised games in the US, the NHL was just starting to find solid footing.

The NHL was starting to see a growing popularity outside of its small niche. No, hockey is not the national sport of America, the way it is in Canada, but with the success of the NHL and the exposure of those players via the last two Olympics, the sport has grown in waves across the world.

If I were to choose sides it would not be the owners, the players, or the fans who would get my sympathies. In fact it is the same group that has been so negatively impacted by the decline in the US economy over the last 8 years. It’s the same people that were impacted by labor issues of the NBA and the NFL. It is the waitresses, restaurant owners, parking lot attendants, sidewalk vendors, ticket takers, and arena workers.

People who have come to make their livelihood via the traffic generated by 40 home games, road game viewing parties, and visiting fan traffic to their cities. The fans are not the concern of the owners or the players, this is about the money.

As @Speakofthedevs wrote so well last week, we all have decisions to make regarding our spending. Since I know my meager contributions and team loyalty do not resonate in these negotiations, I will only say that while I may be making fewer 4.5 hour trips to see my beloved Bruins play. But when I do make my trips north, I will be visiting my favorite pre-game restaurant and tipping very well. I will not be buying NHL13 or any B’s gear for the little B’s fans in my life. I will try to explain the reason they won’t be able to watch and cheer on Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara (their favorites). I’m certain they will move on to other interests, probably with much greater ease than I would have managed in the days of my youth, so the NHL can kiss good-bye that future revenue.

I was skeptical after the last lockout; in fact I stayed away for a whole year, and then gave my heart back slowly. I would much rather have my hockey heart broken by a team giving back a 3-0 series lead than have it trampled by another lockout. I am just old school enough to still have a problem swallowing that this is a business, but more than self-aware to understand that there is a reality to the fact that a player’s career is often wrought with injury. Their careers may in fact be short lived, despite the hours of preparation and financial sacrifice that went into their early years.

I am also painfully aware that owners did not become billionaires by accident and their desire is not to have league parity, but to make the greatest return on their individual investment possible. All of which is chronicled far better by the “experts,” leaving me only to wonder what will become of the game I treasure and share with those I love. Hockey has always been more than “a game,” but the tango that the players and owners are doing could indeed spell the beginning of the end of the NHL in North America.

The NHL should recognize they are not in the same position of strength they were when they forced the players’ hand in negotiations last time. They are no longer the world’s only destination for players and fans will still have access to the game if the league’s best elect to play elsewhere.

Let there be no doubt, the fans will indeed follow.

What the owners have failed to recognize is the “old school” fans of my generation have been marginalized just enough, and the new age fans will follow the name on the back of jersey—regardless of the name on the front. This may not matter to the NHL this year, or next, but it will erode the league and its revenue over time. The NFL and NBA did not face this same challenge and perhaps I am over amplifying it (or oversimplifying it), but I cannot imagine that owners of multi-billion dollar entities can possibly ignore the risk.

So the revenue pie ballooned and instead of conceding that it would be best for all involved to continue along the path of growth, we are again reversing track. I am fairly certain that that NHL revenue growth was due to the product on the ice created by the players. Not the ice girls. Not an atmosphere enhanced by arena’s $8 beers.

But I guess reinvesting in the product that has paid such a strong dividend is no longer considered “good business.” That’s the way the cookie crumbles.

Follow @Hawgs38

“Goal Cookies” is a weekly look at the little tricks or treats from around the NHL. The Pup (my loyal sidekick) has been well trained that goals scored by the “good guys” lead to treats. She is also becoming equally well versed in the tricks necessary to garner my attention for off-season goodies. With this spirit in mind, I’ll take a swing at the obvious (or maybe even the oblivious) happenings across the league. Each week I’ll find something worthy of goal cookies; and something else that could use a little obedience training. But really, how can any of us refuse a goal cookie??

Goal Cookies: If you can play, you can play

“If you can play, you can play.”

It seems so simple; yet the culture of casual homophobia permeates almost every aspect of our culture, often none crueler than in the arena of sport. In the words of Patrick Burke on NHL Live, “we have reached a tipping point,” yet the fact remains it is not a matter of tolerance, but one of acceptance and creating an open and accepting environment to support each individual.

General Managing the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the second most important thing Brian Burke does this week...

The Burke family isn’t merely giving lip service to the notion that one person can make a difference. Their grassroots effort has utilized their NHL network and personal resources to organize an effort truly emblematic of Brendan’s courage. Their goal is to assemble a unified and collective voice for the GLBT rights of the individual in the world of sport. Given the response of the NHL players who have responded to the call from the Burkes, there can be no doubt that hockey once again is stepping forwards as a unified community, and leaders for this cultural change.

Now is the time for the entire hockey community: parents, players, fans, coaches, officials, and owners to set the standard for acceptance. Each person is accountable for their voice and needs to have the courage to step forward and end the environment of hate, which exists in our society today. This is our moment to make lasting change and to leave our culture better than we found it.

The best part is that we can do it through a shared passion—our love for hockey.

The future plans for YouCanPlayProject.org are to extend their message to other sports—Patrick Burke made it explicitly clear the message also includes women. After the message has taken root, the final piece of the comprehensive effort is to roll out a “playbook” to help coaches, educators, parents, schools, fans, media, youth programs and athletes help to spread the message and make for a safer environment.

If you can play, you can play…

Obedience Training: Fans in the nosebleeds

Up in the nosebleeds of the TD Garden, you can often hear gems like “LUCY, take off your skirt you (expletive) faggot” or of course the Ole refrain, “you’re gay, you’re gay, you’re gay.” It’s all in good fun, right?

A woman at a game? She’s either a “puck slut” or a dyke. It’s all part of the game, right?

I know that NO ONE is as obtuse to think these are isolated issues or not rampant in all 30 NHL arenas. Sadly, these are exactly the examples of acceptable and casual homophobia which exists in our society’s sporting experience. Most won’t dare to speak out about or challenge it for fear of being shouted down—or worse.

It’s time to grow up boys and girls. Not only is it a travesty that this behavior is found amusing or chalked up to “one too many,” it is just as damning to remain a silent observer. I am not saying anyone needs to jump into a fray of bombed fans with fists flying, but I have seen the power of a disapproving head shake, a simple “knock it off,” or even a call to the in arena a fan services number. Take some ownership for your fan experience—stop enabling the ignorance and condoning the behavior.

For those of you who think the comments are hysterical (or it’s your go to material to call a player – or anyone else – gay, a faggot, or a dyke), do us all a favor and stay at home so you can spout that trash to your family in your living room. At least that way you’ll reap what you sow; and I am willing to bet at some point your much more intelligent daughter, and far more compassionate son, will tell you to wake up and join the human race. Because it’s likely that some of their friends are gay or lesbian, and they are far more open, accepting, and compassionate than you could possibly imagine.

So if you can’t manage to open your mind to what it takes to play in the NH, do us all a favor and shut your damn mouth.

Follow @Hawgs38

Follow @Hawgs38

“Goal Cookies” is a weekly look at the little tricks or treats from around the NHL. The Pup (my loyal sidekick) has been well trained that goals scored by the “good guys” lead to treats. She is also becoming equally well versed in the tricks necessary to garner my attention for off-season goodies. With this spirit in mind, I’ll take a swing at the obvious (or maybe even the oblivious) happenings across the league. Each week I’ll find something worthy of goal cookies; and something else that could use a little obedience training. But really, how can any of us refuse a goal cookie??Where to begin? The last month has certainly been an adventure! A visit from a less than welcome visitor, Hurricane Irene, turned my life upside down. My house gutted, appliances, furniture, clothing and priceless personal items covered in 27″ of river water and sludge. Heartbreaking to see a bucket loader pull up to the curb and haul your “life” away in a dump truck. But the Pup and I are safe and well, and the rebuilding effort begins in earnest, thanks to the help and support of hockey fans. People I have never met opening their generous hearts with words, thoughts, deeds and more. I have written here and in ore places of the generosity of hockey fans and how I believe them to be a special breed. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be in a position to be a beneficiary of such kindness, but there I was… emails and tweets from friends near and far and others who I only know via Twitter and our shared passion for the game of hockey. I will never be able to thank you all properly, but once things are back in order I promise to “pay it forward!” A stick tap to all of you who have reached out to me over the last month, I deeply appreciate being a part of such a special and tight knit hockey community.

Goal Cookie – The Shanny Effect

I have been waiting. Waiting for the moment when the message was sent to (and received by) the players of the NHL that the culture of disrespect and disregard for the health and safety of their fellow players needed to change. It wasn’t going to come from the owners or GM’s, as there continues to be an ample appetite for enforcers in the draft, trade, and free agent markets. Despite the summer of tragedy which saw the untimely passing of young men who played the role they were cast, there seemed to be little change in the prevailing attitude of among players regarding the on-ice respect of their peers. The pre-season can be one of the most dangerous times to be an NHL’er. Fifty plus players per team, desperate to find a way tom prove their worth, make a name for themselves or leave a lasting impression.

One of these men is a bad ass. The other is just an ass.

Competition is generally a healthy thing in sport. This pre-season new NHL disciplinary guru, Brendan Shanahan has retired the Wheel of Justice for shiny new educational videos as means of maintaining order. The punishments have been swift, justified and possess a clarity long missing from decisions of the recent past. The message is clear, the game remains one to be played by men, the toughest on the planet, but they will skate with respect for the game and their fellow players. Reckless play is not to be tolerated and while a moment of recklessness does necessarily mean the player is “dirty”, repeated issues with self-control will clearly result in accountability to a higher order.

Make no mistake, this is not the “wussifcation” of hockey that many fear; instead Shanahan is doing what owners, GM’s and players seem unwilling or unable to accomplish – helping the game evolve and ensuring that speed, toughness and skill all remain critical elements of the game the fans adore. By setting the bar high for the players there becomes a standard to aspire to, instead of the game slipping into the deepest, darkest shadows when no one one was watching. There will still be hitting, injuries and fights, but I truly believe the game was a tipping point, and Shanahan will wear the black hat in the dressing room of all 30 franchises before things are said and done this season. However, he goal is for the game to grow and evolve, and in doing so have fewer players suffer the kinds of severe, and career threatening head injuries which have marred the game in the post strike era.

In Need of Obedience Training – Where is the respect? Is Sport Imitating Life?

So this week was an interesting one. A “fan” (term used loosely, as is human being) tosses a banana at Wayne Simmonds and the social media and interwebz explode. Rightfully so, after all is is 2011, as a society shouldn’t we have been able to move past the old and tired prejudices of our ancestors? There was understandable and justifiable outrage over the incident, long gone are the days of segregation and misconception of racial supremacy. I mean honestly, it’s 2011 we are all equals, right?

Well, not exactly!

See a funny thing happened to Mr. Simmonds, a New York minute after having been on the receiving end of an unconscionable slur, he levied one of his own. Despite his denial many fans watching in disappointment and disgust as Simmonds was chirped by the notorious NHL villain, Sean Avery and responded with a homophobic slur.

What Would Willie Do?

Believe me when I say I am not here to pretend such language is never used on the ice, field, or locker rooms across all of professional sport, and has been for generations; however, that in no way makes it acceptable nor tolerable. My guess is that taunt wasn’t even the first (nor last) time that (or worse) was uttered on the ice that game! Yet the same people who were calling for the head of the banana wielding fan were shrugging off Simmonds folly.

As a society we have become so desensitize to language to the extent that nearly everything is dripping with hyperbole and oozes hate. Further complicating things is the issue of the machismo that has existed in sport since the days of the gladiators. Sport is in itself a demonstration of one’s manhood, and sacred value as a protector, a hunter, a warrior. So of course it is “natural” to insult the opponent’s manhood with the the kind of language that tends to cause “snappage” in the most level headed competitor. Aren’t there plenty of ways to get under the skin or verbally taunt an opponent without going to the areas of race or sexual orientation?

To say this issue has, “been part of the game forever” is nothing but a COPOUT! There was a time, in the not so distant past where blacks and whites did not eat together, go to school together, or play in the same same league, never mind on a team with white players. Did that make it right? When, as a society, are we going to draw the line against ignorance and hate? Who will be the brave soul to take the all-important step into the fray to set an example for respect.

Hockey a violent sport, the clash is what draws so many like a moth to a flame. However can the game survive the demonstrated lack of respect amongst its competitors? The tradition of the handshake following the conclusion of each playoff series is steeped in the appreciation of the mutual sacrifice during the fierce battle, and signaling that there is mutual respect between the combatants. Would it be so terrible to bring that respect to the ice for 60 minutes? Or maybe even into the locker room? If sport is truly imitating life, and I believe that it is, then will we ever see a day when the insults hurled are laced with profanity, but not rooted in hate? Because slurs which latch onto the images of race, sexual orientation, physical or mental challenge are nothing but ignorance and raw hate.

Time to clean up your act fellas and not because there are little ones watching, but because it is time for life to imitate sport. Athletes capture the attention and imagination of the masses, and while I know professional athletes didn’t “ask” to be role models, it only takes a few to effect a positive change. Ask Willie O’Ree, Jackie Robinson, or Arthur Ashe… it started with one. I wish that Simmonds had been the one and perhaps next time he will think twice before barking those words of hate. However, it is clear there is a defining moment on the horizon and I am hopeful that hockey players will find the strength and the necessary courage to be leaders for positive change.