A Special Thanks to Cory Conacher and the Tampa Bay Lightning

I have not written about hockey in a long time, but this is something that I felt I needed to share with everyone, because it shows there are still athletes out there who serve as class acts, and who want to do good things for their fans. A couple of weeks ago, when the New Jersey Devils were facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the announcers for the Devils remarked that Cory Conacher, a rookie center for the Lightning, is a type 1 diabetic, and how great it was for such a player to reach the NHL. Watching and hearing this, one of the players I coach, a 14-year-old named Jake from Middletown, New Jersey, who also has type 1 diabetes, said how awesome he thought that was, and that it was the first time he had ever heard of a player with the same condition as him actually making the NHL. I have known Jake for several years, and have seen him develop in front of my own eyes. He has a lot of skills and is one of the best players in our league, but coaching him also helped my development, because it served as a wake-up call of sorts to see a player have to keep track of his sugar levels, or maybe even pump insulin in the middle of a game, while on the bench. This might keep most people from playing such an intense sport, but it has not stopped him, and thankfully, did not stop Cory either.

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy 2013!

I’ve always felt that the “fresh start” and “clean slate” as promised by the start of a new year was a bit cliched, but given all that has happened in the past year, especially here in the northeast, with so much damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and most recently, the school shooting in Connecticut, there are many people in search of just that. I sincerely hope that all of those who had a disappointing 2012 will have a very happy and healthy 2013! There are so many wonderful people out there who have gotten the short end of the stick, and deserve much better.

Hockey Could Have Been There

As all the images and stories come in from those in our area affected by Hurricane Sandy, sometimes I wonder, “How many of these people are hockey fans?” In the chaos of trying to rebuild homes and mend fractured lives are people who need some happiness and something to enjoy, an escape, if you will. Hockey could have been there. In a larger sense, I think of the people who all they had to look forward to in their busy lives was what game would be on tonight. Hockey could have been there. I think of all the kids and young hockey players whose only dream is to lift the Stanley Cup above their heads one day. Hockey could have been there. Instead, we have millions of people who have found something else to fill the void with, as the sport of hockey once again has slipped into complete obscurity without so much as a mention. It was always a niche sport but was steadily gaining popularity, just like it was in 1994/95 when the first lockout took a half a season. Every time hockey seems to be on the rise, a dagger is thrust through its heart, dishearteningly enough, by those inside of the organization. What’s that old, famous saying? Something like, “All great civilizations fall from within“? I suppose that quote can apply to a business as well, with the NHL being a grand, tragic example.

Lundqvist, Richards, Other Rangers Remain Dashing During Lockout

Because I swore to not write one post on the NHL lockout last month, hockey has pretty much been invisible on this blog. That is going to change today, because I could not help but pass along these exquisite images of New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, Brad Richards, Brian Boyle, and restricted free agent Michael Del Zotto, as they recently posed for Esquire during their unfortunate elongated period of free time this fall. The images were just released today, so I thank DKC for sending them over to me. Enjoy!

My First and Last Post on the NHL Lockout

So, here we are yet again, in the midst of yet another NHL Lockout. Are you surprised it got this far? I certainly am not, because if there is one thing we have learned during Gary Bettman’s tenure as commissioner, it is that greed will always win out. I will spare you the sentimental “I want hockey back!” jargon  and get straight to the point: I am absolutely appalled and disgusted, not just that there is a lockout, but because both sides would not even meet on deadline day, apparently being so far apart that it would not have mattered. They did not even make a symbolic attempt to at least show us they were working down to the last second. You know what that says? They don’t care. They never have, and they never will, at least not about the people who aren’t raking in the millions and billions like they are. I am going to put the fans aside for a moment and tell you who I really feel sorry for. How about all the arena employees who are barely making $30,000 a year, trying to feed their families, who may have to be let go because of less events? How about all the part-time concessions workers and ushers just happy to have a job? And in smaller cities, what about the nearby restaurants and their owners and workers who depend on crowds coming in before and after 41 home games to fill a large part of their income? Those are the people I am saddened for.

On the Rink with Gootz: The Trickle Down Effect at its Finest

For those who know me, I am not a political kind of guy. But one thing that is debated over is the trickle down theory of economics and whether it is good or bad. Don’t worry…we are not going down that road in the way you might be thinking. I am not going to try and explain what the trickle down theory but here is a definition courtesy of our friends at Wikipedia:  ”…the idea that…economic benefits provided by government to businesses and the wealthy will benefit poorer members of society by improving the economy as a whole”.

On the Rink with Gootz: Young Sports Professionals in Limbo if Lockout Occurs

Gary Bettman waving goodbye to a 2012/13 NHL season?

Hockey fans are trying to distract themselves by talking line combinations, depth charts, and where their favorite teams will finish this coming year. They are talking about trades that will never happen, which coach is on the hot seat, and who their team has in the prospect pipeline. All of this to try to distract themselves from the very real possibility of another lockout in the sport they love. Those who have been paying attention have seen the league present a first proposal and are awaiting response from the NHLPA. With just about a month left to go (September 15 is the deadline) before the collective bargaining agreement expires and the league imposes a lockout on the players, everyone is hoping both sides figure this thing out.

Is It Time for an “Occupy NHL” Movement?

An empty hockey rink…something we may be seeing this fall if an agreement cannot be reached soon.

I was not the biggest fan of the recent “Occupy Wall Street” movement, because to me, it was more about lazy people and entitlement than actually working to end corporate greed and unemployment. That said, to not shoot myself in the foot here, that is a generalization based on my own observations. I thought the movement was ridiculous in the sense that nothing anybody could say or do would change how the government operates. The movement was too broad with nothing specific to focus on. Much like the “Tea Party” movement, it started out with a common goal before branching to include many different things, thus lowering its effectiveness. However, if you were to apply the same type of movement to something on a smaller scale, such as an impending National Hockey League lockout, where all fans are united on the same purpose (unless there are fans out there who actually do want another season of hockey lost), then could it work? If a large group of protesting fans, wearing jerseys of all kinds stood outside the league office with signs and showed that they will not tolerate a loss of hockey, would it captivate any of the parties to sit down and try to work this out in a timely manner? I will not get into the specifics of what is being argued, because that would be fruitless and irrelevant—in the end, there is only one thing a fan cares about, and that is being able to watch his or her favorite team and not have to worry if there will be no sound of blades digging into the ice come September and October.

Should the New Jersey Devils Really Interested in Alexei Yashin?

With the New Jersey Devils already being the oldest team in the league (the only team whose average cracks 30), according to reports,  it appears that they may be willing to go a little bit older, with a reclamation project of sorts, in signing free agent Alexei Yashin, a player who has actually been a free agent in NHL terms for the last five seasons, as he has been playing in Russia ever since he was bought out by his then-current team, the New York Islanders. Though his play was not terrible, he was accused of not trying his hardest on a perpetually mediocre squad, and because of the buyout, will actually still be receiving payment from the Islanders another next three seasons, to the sum of more than $2 million per year. With the Ottawa Senators earlier in his career, he had put up superstar numbers before leaving for Long Island due to a contract dispute. From there, his totals went nowhere but down, which led to his eventual demise. He is now 37 years old and coming off his worst Russian season since he embarked on the journey in 2007.

A Commentary on Dodgeball and Its Importance to Child Development

“Speaking of child abuse, next stop grade school! Where he won’t be allowed to play tag because it encourages victimization. And he won’t be able to play dodgeball because it’s exclusionary and promotes aggression. Standing around is still okay. Standing around is still permitted but it won’t be for long because sooner or later some kid is gonna be standing around and his foot will fall asleep and his parents will sue the school and it will be goodbye [expletive] standing around!”- George Carlin

This past week, I was conducting a Civil War camp for students at a nearby school, the grade-levels ranging from entering fifth grade to entering high school. We took a lightning-tour through all the causes of war, and every major battle, person, and event that I could cram into the fifteen hours we spent together in those five days. Aside from me speaking to them using PowerPoints and showing battle scenes and clips from various movies, we had to pass the time in some other way, one which would be both educational and fun. The only thing that came to mind was dodgeball, a childhood favorite of…well…everyone. It also served as a way to reenact some of the battles we learned about. For Manassas, we split into two groups, North and South of course, and had to just march toward one another, firing off the dodgeballs. They had to stay shoulder to shoulder for two volleys before they were allowed to run around in the general insanity that would ensue in playing such a fun sport. For Fredericksburg, we set up a barricade using a giant gym mat, which one side, playing as the Confederates, had to hide behind while the Union attacked it. On the last day, we explored the trench warfare that developed in Petersburg, by giving barricades to both sides. There was one difference with our game, which we called “War Ball”, and that was if you got hit, you had to lay down like you were killed in battle. There were no sidelines and no catching the ball to make the thrower out. If you were hit anywhere, that was it, though sometimes we made an exception if someone got hit in the arm—they had to play the rest of the match with it behind their back as if it was amputated in a field hospital. Everyone had a blast, including myself, which makes the taboo surrounding this recreational activity all the more ridiculous.