I don't expect you to be interested in hockey but good writing entertains us no matter what its subject. For example, I'm reading a book about Babe Ruth I doubted would appeal but find it fascinating ("The Big Fella"). Written by brilliant female sports-writer Jane Leavy, the Babe book ensorcells me with detailed description of how celebrity emerged in this country a century ago. Babe was more than a baseball hero; he was America's first celebrity. He become as famous for his off-field persona as on-field play. This happened because of the emergence of mass communication in the 1920s. That is the real story in the book.
Back to hockey. After a promising start this season, my favorite team (NJ Devils) fell apart. Terrible mismanagement by GM Tom Fitzgerald has many fans demanding he be fired. Team owners are resisting that pressure, however, so we fans have a solution -- tell the White House there's oil under the Prudential Center (where the Devils play) and ask for regime change. 🙂
A second problem with the team is that a star-player, foolishly given a lavish contract, is under-performing. The team will lose lots of money when it trades the player for a used Zamboni and a box of Skittles. (Zambonis are machines that clean arena ice.)
Finally, some good news: the Devils' hated rivals, the NY Rangers, are also collapsing. Germans have a word for this -- Schadenfreude. (Taking pleasure from someone else's misfortune.) Last night the Rangers gave up ten goals to Boston. It was like watching your mother-in-law drop the tasteless casserole she brought for dinner.
