Anyone who really knows me realizes I have the attention span of a pre-school child. As a result if something catches me, more often than not it’s not necessarily the material containing the most substance but something that’s odd or quirky in some way. Simply put: I’m drawn to shiny things, amuse easily and tend to make random connections between topics.
I know I’m not unique in this, that there are others out there who operate the same way, and figured why not share my randomness! Something to fill the hockey-lacking days of summer at any rate. The aforementioned folks may draw some amusement from it, while others will at least have some fodder to direct their daily frustration at! So here are a few random thoughts from an attentionally-challenged hockey blogger/hack coming your way…
So the Nashville Predators are being hit with a $25,000 lawsuit by local radio station intern Adam Davis. Known as “Intern Adam” on 107.5 The River, Davis was invited on December 13, 2011, to take part in an intermission “human puck” game by the Predators which resulted in him suffering a broken ankle requiring surgery when instead of being sent toward the bowling pins on his sled he was propelled into the boards.
For those unfamiliar with the human puck stunt, here is an example:
Now, one has to assume this guy signed some sort of a waiver which would SEEMINGLY head off this action, but we all realize we don’t live in that world anymore, right? And look, for all we know this may not be Intern Adam taking the action himself, but rather an insurance company looking to recoup their losses. Regardless, here’s my question: Why didn’t he bail? You get a good sense from the video above of what the speeds of these things are, which is “a steady pace” at best. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he’s 100 pounds soaking wet so goes quicker, if you’re in your civies and are about to hit the boards feet first, you bail!!! I look at my three year old sledding down a steep hill. If she’s heading for something that would hurt her (i.e., tree, person, four lanes of rush hour highway traffic) she bails!!! And a 40 pound kid heading down a hill is picking up more speed than this guy was by a long shot.
So I don’t know. Getting your ankle busted and being on the hook for $25,000 does suck, and there may be a lot more to the story here. But Intern Adam, I hope you just bail next time. Better to look a little goofy in front of the fans and mess up the clothes a bit than to bust up the foot…
UPDATED: So someone sent me a link to the actual footage of the board hit. Check it out:
A few thoughts:
1) He was going quite fast to his credit!
2) The padding was a little chintsy at the end...
3) He's already thrown the leg out to brace himself by the top of the circles. If you know you're going to hit the boards at that point then bail off the sled!!!
4) As a commentor has rightfully pointed out, perhaps Preds staff should have brought him more up to speed on proper eject protocol!!!
and
5) Judging by the testosterone-ladden scream he let out as soon as the ride started, I'm surprised he either: a) didn't bail immediately; or b) have his ankle bone shattered by the shrill pitch of his voice!!!
Like I said before, we don't know what the full story is here. All I can guess is that irrespective of the outcome, Preds event staff will likely be giving a more detailed crash course (pardon the pun) in being a human puck for future participants!!!
Everyone would love their own hockey card, eh? So why not take it where you can get it, as Pat Sajack, longtime host of “Wheel of Fortune” and avid Capitals fan, recently has (credit to Barry Petchesky at Deadspin):
This O-Pee-Chee Crosby card, from the 11/12 set, was released last August. But apparently not until this weekend did someone notice that Pat Sajak is just chilling in the background—"someone" being Pat Himself.
"I can't believe that Sidney Crosby managed to squeeze himself onto my hockey card," Sajak wrote. What are the odds? Not so bad, actually. The Wheel of Fortune host is a big Capitals fan and has owned front row season tickets since 2006.
I get a big kick out of stuff like this, but my absolute fav in this category has to be the 94-95 Pinnacle Sylvain Turgeon card featuring a barely finished crapping in his own drawers Patrick Kane watching the action rinkside in his father’s lap:
One generation’s spectator is the next generation’s player!!!
If this isn’t the ultimate in cross-sport merchandising, I don’t know what is! I caught these in a post by Harrison Mooney at Puck Daddy (check it out here: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/feast-eyes-awesome-nhl-themed-luchador-masks-photo-200013904--nhl.html), as sent to him by a reader vacationing in Mexico:
Man, I don’t know about you guys but I WANT!!! Would be kind of a combination of:
And
…but with more class. And how great would it look to come flying over the boards on a line change with that on?!?!?
Attention all you hockey nuts out there: You have a piece of treasured memorabilia that has a great story behind it? Let me know and you can be featured in an article. Doesn't matter how big or small the piece is, how valuable it may be, or whether it's a common item or more oddball. If you think it has a story, contact me via the information below and we'll chat. In the meantime, check out some previous "Display Case" articles via the links below to see what others have submitted in the past...
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