Category: Penguins

Jim O’Brien: Larouche lucky to still be in step with Penguins

By Jim O’Brien, Columnnist, Pittsburgh Business Times

Pierre Larouche was one of the greatest scorers in the National Hockey League, as a high-flying forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens.  He scored 50 goals in a season twice, once with the Penguins and once with the Canadiens, and had 48 one winter with the Rangers.

He was the first player to score 50 goals for two different teams in the NHL, and the youngest (at 21) to do so until Wayne Gretzky broke his record in 1980.  Larouche was the first draft choice of the Penguins in 1974 and scored 53 goals a year later.

Sidney Crosby and Yvgeni Malkin have each scored 50 goals in a season, but only once.  Larouche was a gifted player with speed and elusiveness and a deft scoring touch.

Yet on this fall morning, Larouche was moving about the glistening hardwood floors of the family room in his home in Mt. Lebanon like a four-year-old skating on ice for the first time. He put his right hand at the base of his spine and complained, “It’s still stiff. I can’t play golf for awhile.”

He was on the mend from back surgery a few weeks earlier.  Larouche pulled up a gray Penguins’ sweatshirt and showed the 10-inch scar just above his buttocks.  “I’ll be 57 (on Nov. 16) and Mario is 47, and we were just talking about where the time has gone.”

Mario, of course, is Larouche’s boss, Mario Lemieux, one of the NHL greats and one of the principal owners of the Penguins. If Larouche were wearing a black and white tuxedo, as he does at fund-raising dinners, he could be an extra for the movie “March of the Penguins.”

Larouche says he’s been lucky – his nickname was “Lucky Pierre when he played in the NHL – to still be a part of the Penguins, marching stiffly or when he’s rehabilitated his back and is able to play golf again.  That’s his passion along with hockey these days.  He has a one stroke handicap at The Club at Nevillewood, and once came close to qualifying for the U.S, Open.

He’s a goodwill ambassador for the Penguins and he’s still on their payroll.  I suggested he worked hard during his playing days at being a good guy which led to his present position.          “It wasn’t work,” he said.  “I learned that from my mother.  Everybody is important. She taught me to treat people like I wanted to be treated. That’s easy for me.  I think you have to get up awfully early to be a jerk.”  He tried selling insurance after he retired as a player, “but that wasn’t me.”

Asked to explain his promotional role for the Penguins, Larouche allowed, “My first and foremost job that I do for Mario and the Penguins is to take care of the corporate sponsors.  Whether it be participating in any event or fund-raising effort the team is involved in, or making sure all their needs are met while they are at the games, or just playing a friendly round of golf.

“Along with Mario, I am host to any celebrity or government official, including those from Canada, that attend a Penguins’ game and sit in Mario’s box.

“As part of the All-Time Team, I support the Penguins by doing public relations events and attending community affairs.  This can range from going to Children’s Hospital to see the kids or signing autographs at The Regatta.  I am humbled by the fans that remember my playing days with the Penguins, and wish to share their memories with me.  In brief, I have the best job in the world and definitely the best boss in Mario.”

The NHL was in a lockout and the pre-season schedule had been canceled.  Larouche hoped the owners and players could settle on a new contract:  “There’s a lot of money out there, and you’d think they could figure out a way to share it equitably.”

Pierre and his wife Cindi and Mario and his wife Nathalie will host a fund-raising dinner – A Night of Hope for Mother’s Hope Foundation that supports children’s care around the world –at the Omni William Penn on Nov. 17.  Penguins Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang and former Penguin Mark Recchi will appear as well.

Larouche also has a special interest in cancer research because Cindi overcame a cancer scare in 1979, and Mario had two bouts with the Hodgkin’s lymphoma form of cancer, first diagnosed in 1993.  The Larouches have no children, yet Pierre will be hosting a golf outing for the 24^th year in New York to raise funds for the prevention of child abuse,

“I’ve been fortunate in my lifetime,” said Larouche.  “I like to give back.  I’m still Lucky Pierre.”

Pittsburgh sports author Jim O’Brien has a new book out called “Immaculate Reflections.”  Check his website at www.jimobriensportsauthor.com.  His e-mail address is jimmyo64@gmail.com

Mike Colligan is the Pittsburgh Penguins correspondent at TheHockeyWriters.com and a business of hockey analyst at Forbes SportsMoney.

First, how important is it to the franchise and city to be able to host the draft this year?

Having the ability to host events like the Draft, Frozen Four (in 2013), and an All-Star Game (soon enough) is the reason the Penguins pushed so hard for a new arena.  It’s hard to believe that less than ten years ago the team was a consistent last place finisher and the future of the franchise was up in the air.

Hosting the draft is just another landmark in the Penguins’ impressive turnaround story.

What do you think would surprise readers most about this team as we head into the draft?

Jordan Staal (#2 pick in 2006) has played in 431 career NHL games, while all other players drafted in the Ray Shero era have combined for just 156 NHL games.  Recent draft classes aren’t expected to be contributing yet and the team has traded away a number of picks along the way, but drafting and player development are important keys to success in the salary cap era.

Can you break down the draft and let readers know what the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s draft class are?

This year’s draft class is an interesting one.  The chatter last summer was the Class of 2012 would be the strongest of the past decade.  It’s always tough to make those predictions and I’m not so sure that will be the case.  Regardless, this class is loaded with defensemen and even a number of second rounders seem poised to turn into solid Top four NHL defensemen.

Outside of the top few picks though, if you’re a team in need of an impact winger or goalie, this probably isn’t your year.

How does the scouting process work for the Penguins – especially as hockey is such an international sport with talent located all over the globe, how do the Penguins see prospects in action and who is involved in taking those evaluations and making player decisions?

There is certainly talent all over the globe but technology seems to be helping teams better locate and identify NHL-caliber talent.  The Penguins have a pretty standard sized amateur scouting staff situated across North America and Europe headed by Jay Heinbuck and Randy Sexton.

GM Ray Shero and his upper-level management team oversees the scouting process, but Shero feels that its dangerous for anyone to just dabble in amateur scouting.  The entire staff is part of the final decision-making process, but Shero leaves the heavy lifting to Heinbuck and his group.

What typically is the Penguins’ approach to the draft, and how does it differ from that of other teams?

The Penguins typically select the best player available, especially in earlier rounds.  They rarely find themselves in the Top 15 selections of the first round so most of their drafted players are still a number of years away from NHL action.  The team feels it doesn’t make sense to draft for today’s needs when it can be impossible to predict what the team will look like and need a few years down the road.  A number of teams have adopted this same philosophy, but it’s funny how you can still pinpoint exactly which team will select a certain player.

Also, coincidence or not, the Penguins have steered mostly clear of Europeans in the Shero era.

From your vantage point, who are some realistic targets you’d like to see the Penguins take in the first few rounds, and why?

The #22 spot would be great for a team in need of a puck-moving defenseman, but the Penguins don’t need another.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Penguins trade their pick, but I doubt they’ll move out of the first round entirely being that they’re the host team.  Therefore I’ll predict they’ll move up five to ten spots and grab a player like Zemgus Girgensons who fits the Penguins ideal mold of compete level, skating, and scoring ability.

There’s some speculation that the Vokoun trade was as much to push Fleury as it was to serve as a solid backup. What are your thoughts on this?

I think that’s exactly why Vokoun was acquired.  Capable backups could have been had for less than half the salary they are paying Vokoun.  Shero believes competition is a good thing and his hope is the challenge from a legitimate backup in Vokoun will bring out the best in Fleury.  I don’t think Coach Bylsma will hesitate to run with Vokoun next season if Fleury struggles.

What are the chances, in your opinion, of the Penguins trading Staal or a defenseman like Martin? And if done, what current NHL players or draft prospects can you see them targeting in such trades?

It seems inevitable than the Penguins won’t exist in their current form 18 months from now.  Big decisions will have to be made with regards to the futures of Sidney Crosby and Staal, among others.  The team has stated on numerous occasions that they want to keep Staal long-term but the salary cap might force them to part ways.  Paul Martin is a talented defenseman that hasn’t found a consistent groove in Pittsburgh yet.  I think they’ll give him another year to see if he can get back on track.

If either player does move, the Penguins will need at least one NHL-ready player in return to help them win now.

Who are some of the AHL prospects that you see contributing to this team next season?

Defensemen Simon Despres, Brian Strait, and Robert Bortuzzo all played well in limited action last season.  I think all three will be given the chance to make the Penguins out of training camp.  If one or multiple step up, that could open the door to trading one of the seven defensemen with NHL contracts.  If Strait or Bortuzzo can’t stick at the NHL level, I think they’ll be moved to another organization.

After losing again in the early rounds of the playoffs, what does this team need to do to get back to winning playoff hockey?

The ingredients are still in place for another Stanley Cup run.  Part of success in the playoffs comes down to luck and the Penguins got a tough first-round matchup in Philadelphia.  Fortunately, the shocking early exit will probably be a great motivator for next season and beyond.  If they can finally get Crosby back into the lineup and healthy, they will be a clear favorite once again.

The team seemingly lost self-control in the process during many of those games – how does that happen repeatedly to a playoff-veteran team?

Part of it is obviously the frustration that comes with the early playoff exits.  I also think the team lost focus down the stretch with a number of players (Malkin, Neal, Dupuis) chasing individual milestones.  It’s nice to reach the 40 or 50-goal plateau, but it can be difficult to flip the switch back to a team approach once the playoffs roll around.  I think the players and coaching staff recognize this in hindsight and I expect a focused and determined team next year.

Any last thoughts for readers?

Let’s hope this already lengthy Penguins offseason doesn’t extend even further with a lockout.  The NHL has made great strides in recent years and it would be great to see the league maintain that momentum.

Jim O’Brien: Recalling a strange story in hockey history

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

It was one of the strangest stories I encountered in my career as a journalist.  I never knew the full story.   I still don’t.  No one does.  No one really wanted me to know the full story.  It stays with me like one of those cold cases they feature on crime shows on television.

I have been watching the National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs and the National Basketball League playoffs on television, switching back and forth from the Pirates’ games.

With the Penguins’ unexpected early exit in the playoffs, I had to find other teams to root for and I found them in the New York Rangers in the East and the Los Angeles Kings in the West.

With the Los Angeles Lakers out of the NBA playoffs, I am now rooting for the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma Thunder to go all the way and claim the crown.

Seeing the Rangers reminds me of time spent at Madison Square Garden, and the days in the early ‘70s when I covered some of their games for The New York Post.  My main assignment back then was to cover the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association starting in 1970 and then the New York Islanders when they came into being as an expansion franchise in 1972.

I saw the Islanders put the pieces together that would win them four consecutive Stanley Cups in the early ‘80s.  Bill Torrey, whom I first met when he was the General Manager for the Pittsburgh Hornets, was the architect of those Islanders’ championship teams.  He is one of seven men associated with that team who is honored in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

I benefited from that Pittsburgh bond when I covered the Islanders.  I was, in fact, the first writer in New York to refer to the team as “the Islanders,” before the team chose its official nickname.  It seemed logical enough.

I lived on Long Island in a community called Baldwin about five miles from the Nassau Coliseum, still the home of the Islanders.  The Nets have been playing in New Jersey in recent years but will move to a new arena in Brooklyn next season.

Dr. J, Julius Erving, was the star of the Nets and the ABA back then, and now they show him from time to time sitting in a special suite at the 76ers’ games with the Boston Celtics.  Erving was traded by the Nets to the 76ers when the ABA was absorbed into the NBA in the late ‘70s.  He is now a Philly icon.

The other development that made me think about the strange story involving the Rangers was the death on St. Patrick’s Day of this year of former Rangers’ defenseman Ron Stewart. He was 79 when he died of cancer.

Stewart was one of the figures in the strange story I referred to in the first paragraph.

There’s been some rough play in the NHL and the NBA playoffs, sometimes to the extreme, but none of it compares to what happened in a drunken brawl between two teammates on the Rangers back in 1970.

I was relatively new to New York in April of 1970, having just moved there after a year’s stay at The Miami News.

         On the evening of April 29, 1970, Ron Stewart and Terry Sawchuk, a Hall of Fame goalie who was winding up his storied career as a backup goalie for the Rangers, got into a fight in the backyard of the house they were renting in East Atlantic Beach on Long Island, and Sawchuk died from a blood clot at a nearby hospital.

I was told that Stewart had kicked Sawchuk in his groin with such force that he drove his plumbing deep into his stomach and injured his gallbladder and liver.  Sawchuk underwent surgery three times during his short stay in the hospital.

Sawchuk took the blame for the brawl.  He said, “It wasn’t Ron Stewart’s fault; don’t blame him.  I was the aggressor in the whole thing.”

Sawchuk was one of the greatest goalies in the NHL and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame a year after his death.  He held the record for most shutouts in NHL history (103) and his final one came against the Pittsburgh Penguins in New York during that 1969-70 season.

I was sent out to do a story on the Rangers at their practice rink at New Hyde Park on Long Island.  I stopped Stewart as he was coming out of the clubhouse and took him aside to interview him.  I wanted to get his side of the story.

No sooner did I start talking to him, alongside one end of the ice rink, than Emile “The Cat” Francis, the general manager and coach of the Rangers, came out of the clubhouse and caught me at work.

I can still picture that moment, just a snapshot in my life as a newspaperman, of Francis moving fast in my direction.  I see a lot of dark green (the color of the seats in the rink) behind Francis.  He positively pounced on me.  They didn’t call him “The Cat” for nothing.

Francis swore at me and told Stewart to get out of there in the same sentence.  Stewart seemed surprised by Francis’ facial expression and he left the building, leaving me behind with an empty notebook.  Francis was a little fellow, probably 150 pounds, but he looked fearsome to me that afternoon.

A week later, during a quarter-final Stanley Cup round with the Boston Bruins, I was standing at the back of a pack of reporters in the Rangers’ dressing room at Madison Square Garden.  We were interviewing Emile Francis.

One of the reporters, Gerald Eskenazi of The New York Times, turned to me and said, “I’m surprised to see you here after the way Francis treated you the other day.”

And I told Eskenazi, “I’m just doing my job.  The readers could care less if Francis gave me a hard time.  I have to write a story and I have to hear what he has to say about this game.”

Francis had created a community of sorts for his Rangers on East Atlantic Beach, near Long Beach on Long Island.  That was about a 20-minute car drive to the Rangers’ practice rink at a public facility in New Hyde Park.

The Rangers and the Knicks seldom had an opportunity to practice at Madison Square Garden because that building hosted so many different kinds of entertainment offerings.  The Knicks often practiced at high school gyms on Long Island.

Francis felt it was safer for his players if they didn’t have to drive in the demanding traffic that led in and out of Manhattan.  So he told players it would be better to live on Long Island than in the city.

It didn’t save Sawchuk.  Precisely how the fight started and how Sawchuk incurred his injuries remains murky, but a Nassau County grand jury found the death to be accidental, absolving Stewart of blame.

None of the news media in New York really dug into this story, which still seems unbelievable.  I don’t think that would be the case today.

Sawchuk, who had been a star mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, was known to be a moody sort, and was disclosed to have suffered from depression at times. Playing goalie in the NHL without a face mask might do that to an individual.

He was also known to be “a bad drunk.”

I visited my neighbor Eddie Johnston recently and asked him what he knew about the incident involving Stewart and Sawchuk.

Johnston, who has served in so many capacities with the Penguins, including stints as coach and general manager, said he didn’t know much more than what was in the newspapers at the time.

“I knew that Sawchuk could be a nasty sort when he got into one of his moods,” said Johnston, the last NHL goalie to play every game in a season and someone who once played the position without a protective face mask.  “Terry was a great one.”

Sawchuk and Stewart shared a home on Long Island during the hockey season.  They had been at a local bar that night and had gotten into an argument.  Sawchuk may have owed Stewart some of the rent money for the home they shared.  They started shoving one another.  And it carried over when they reached their home later.

The dispute resumed and they started pushing each other on the lawn by their home.  Witnesses said Sawchuk fell into a barbecue pit.

I came home to Pittsburgh in April of 1979, nine years later, and was determined to be a positive writer.  I had found that in stints in Miami and then New York that it wasn’t worth writing controversial stuff.

So I am in Pittsburgh about a month and I hear that Jack Lambert of the Steelers has been assaulted at a downtown night club.  Someone slammed a beer mug against his ear and cut Lambert badly, causing him to bleed quite a bit.  At least two guys jumped him.

I attempted to find out what happened. Lambert, after all, was the star linebacker for the Steelers, who had won their third Super Bowl the previous season.  Lambert was regarded as one of the toughest players in the NFL.  Who’d jump Jack Lambert?

I called Lambert on the telephone at his home three times but he never returned my calls.  I went to Chuck Noll to discuss the incident, but he was not happy with me for wanting to talk about it.  He offered little help or direction.  He didn’t want me to deal with the subject.

I would later learn that the editor of my paper was aware of what happened at The Happy Landing – that was the name of the night club, interestingly enough – and the police reporter on both newspapers knew about it.  A police report had been filed on the skirmish.  The beat reporter on the rival daily knew about it.

No one wanted to write the story.

I wrote the story, or what I could piece together, and I lived to regret writing the story.  I didn’t receive a pat on the back at the office or from any readers, and it got me off to a bad start with Lambert.  He snarled at me, breathing flames I swear, when I encountered him at St. Vincent College at the team’s summer training camp.

I went to his room and we worked out a peace pact.  If I wrote something like that again, he warned me, I would pay the consequences.

I later learned that the guys who jumped Jack Lambert that night were bad news.  They intended to hurt him.  They had said they were going to cut the ligaments in his legs.

There was a third guy at the bar that night who was reluctant to take on Jack Lambert.  He stayed back when his buddies jumped Lambert.  He was later shot and killed by one of the combatants because of his failure to join in the fray.

I told you these guys were bad news.  The killer was sent to prison and had quite a rap sheet to show for his history of misbehavior.

Martin Brodeur, the goalie for the New Jersey Devils, broke Sawchuk’s record for the most shutouts (103) in an NHL career.  Brodeur is still the backstop for the Devils and continues to add to his record.  He’s had 24 shutouts in the playoffs alone.

I saw Brodeur and the Devils play at Consol Energy Center this past season, and I asked my friend Ken Codeluppi, who has season tickets for the Penguins, if he had ever heard of Terry Sawchuk.  He was not familiar with the name.  Our seats were three rows behind one of the goalie nets, and I ducked at least a dozen times when a puck struck the protective glass in front of us.

I scolded him, saying that if you were going to call yourself a hockey fan, you had to know about Terry Sawchuk.  He was one of the greats of the game.

Stewart bounced back from that dark night on Long Island to continue playing for the Rangers.  That fight on the lawn was called “a tragic, senseless, bizarre” incident, in the words of the Nassau County district attorney, William Cahn.

Stewart would later, strangely enough, be named the coach of the Rangers.  He’d enjoyed quite a career until he retired as a player in 1973.  His heyday had been during his 13 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was Emile Francis, by the way, who hired Stewart to succeed him as coach of the Rangers, the same Emile Francis who chased Stewart from the rink at New Hyde Park when I was trying to interview him.

Here’s another note about Emile Francis:  back in 1945, when he was a professional goalie, he was the first goalie to use a first baseman’s glove with a cuff added to protect his hand and wrist.  Before that, goalies wore the same kind of gloves as their teammates.  It had to be difficult to catch a flying puck with those regular gloves.

If you’re going to call yourself a hockey fan you need to know that sort of stuff.

By the way, when I was in Los Angeles this past February, we went to see the Kings play the Boston Bruins at the Staples Center.  The Kings were in last place in their division at the time.  “They can’t be very good,” I said on the day of the game.

That night we watched the Kings defeat the Bruins, who had won the Stanley Cup a year earlier.  Afterward, I observed, “Hey, the Kings look pretty good.”

Lo and behold, the Kings won the West and are in the Stanley Cup championship round.  And most Pittsburgh hockey fans thought the Penguins would be playing for the Cup once again.

Pittsburgh sports author and historian Jim O’Brien has written about the Penguins and other local sports stars in his “Pittsburgh Proud” series of books.  His website is www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

O’Brien: It ain’t over till it’s over

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

It was possible.  I did not give up hope for the Penguins after they lost the first three games in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers.

         If you have covered sports as long as I have, for more than 55 years, you have seen some strange things occur in sports.  You know the history.

         It was 37 years ago – on April 26, 1975 – that I witnessed one of the greatest comebacks in National Hockey League history when the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in the seventh game of the second round of the playoffs.

         The Islanders lost the first three games of that series, but they never quit competing.  The Islanders were in only their third season in the NHL and had never won a regular season game during that span against the Penguins at the Civic Arena.  They were 0-for-Pittsburgh before the series got underway.

         At the 14:42 mark in the third period, Eddie Westfall, the Islanders’ captain who had played for two Stanley Cup winners with the Boston Bruins, took a pass from defenseman Bert Marshall and scored on a high backhand shot past Penguins’ goalie Gary Inness. 

         I was covering the Islanders for The New York Post.  I was still a fan of all the Pittsburgh sports teams, and continued to root for them from afar, but I was happy that the Islanders won the series. It makes sense for you to root for the team where you live.

         That’s why I was pleased to read last week that Larry Fitzgerald, the former Pitt wide receiver who is the face of the Arizona Cardinals, told a Pittsburgh reporter that he’d be rooting for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

         “I still root for the Pirates most of the time,” offered Fitzgerald, “but now I’m an Arizona guy.”

         The 1975 New York Islanders moved on to play the Philadelphia Flyers in the next round of the playoffs.  The Islanders lost the first three games of that series as well, and then, amazingly enough, came back to win the next three, forcing a seventh game again. 

         This time they lost the seventh game, but they remain the only team ever to be down three games to none to rally and force a seventh game twice.  Five years later, the Islanders got even with the Flyers by defeating them in the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to win the first of four consecutive Stanley Cups.

         I covered the Islanders in their first season – 1972-1973 – when they won only 12 games the entire season.  I believe I was the first sportswriter in New York to refer to the team as “the Islanders.”  The team had not yet announced its nickname when I suggested “Islanders” in a column in The New York Post.

         I had moved from Miami to New York in 1970 and bought a home on Long Island because I knew I was going to be covering the New York Nets of the American Basketball League.  I lived about five miles from the Nassau Coliseum and would cover both the Nets and the Islanders there.

         I was also five miles from the only 24-hour Western Union office on Long Island and that was critical.  I had to drive there late at night too many evenings to have them transmit my copy to the Manhattan office of The New York Post.

         Bill Torrey was the general manager of the Islanders and was responsible for putting the team together that would eventually win four consecutive Stanley Cups.  I knew him from his days as “Bowtie Billy” when he headed the Hornets’ organization in Pittsburgh.

         Even after he left Pittsburgh, Torrey continued to book the Harlem Globetrotters for an annual holiday season game at the Civic Arena.   The Globetrotters still come to Pittsburgh every Christmas.

         I became friends with Bert Marshall who, at 31, fed the puck to Westfall for that game-winner in the seventh game in Pittsburgh.  Marshall had played for the Pittsburgh Hornets in the American Hockey League.  He had lived upstairs of the Pleasure Bar in Bloomfield for a brief spell when he first joined the Hornets.

         I knew Spotty LeDonne, a huge fan of the Hornets, who had found Marshall and so many of the Hornets a place to stay when they first came to Pittsburgh. The players didn’t make much money in those days, and often slept in spare rooms at the homes of hockey fans. I played tennis with Marshall and several of the Penguins at a tennis club near my home on Long Island.

         Gerry Hart, Bob Nystrom, Garry Howatt, Lorne Henning were some of the Penguins who liked to play tennis with us at the Baldwin (N.Y.) Tennis Club.  My best friend, attorney Bill Hodges, himself a season ticket holder of the Islanders, often joined us on the courts.

         The teams the Penguins play are always viewed as the enemy, and fans at the Civic Arena and now the Consol Energy Center like to boo them.  They say they hate this guy and that guy.

         All I can tell you is that the Islanders that beat the Penguins in that 1975 series were some of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet.

         The same can be said, of course, for Sidney Crosby and I hate to hear fans on the road booing him and questioning his courage.  I didn’t care for fans booing Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe and great players like that when they skated at the Civic Arena.  Only someone with a short memory would boo Jaromir Jagr.

         (By the way, how come the Penguins never dumped Jagr or slammed Max Talbot into the boards in any of the six games?  Maybe I missed that…) 

         I have covered teams in every major sport and hockey players were always among my favorites. They were down-to-earth guys and pleasant company for the most part.

         The Islanders and the Nets both conducted free clinics for the kids in my neighborhood on Saturday afternoons in the cul-de-sac where I lived.  It was a different era.

         The Islanders weren’t even supposed to get as far as the second round of the playoffs in 1975.  They started off with a best-of-three series against the rival New York Rangers who were heavily favored to win.  The Islanders won the third and decisive game at Madison Square Garden in what Torrey said was “the most important victory” in the team’s three-year history.

         After the Islanders lost the first three games to Pittsburgh, Coach Al Arbour benched goalie Billy Smith in favor of Glenn “Chico” Resch.  Resch was a delightful guy, much easier to deal with than the somber Smith, and he said he had a lot of help from the goal posts to prevent the Penguins from scoring too many goals.  For the record, Smith is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

         I don’t understand why fans in all sports leave the building or the ballpark early whenever their team is trailing.  Are they only fans as long as their team wins the game?

         I covered the New York Mets when Yogi Berra became the manager and it was Berra who is supposed to have said “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

         When I talked to Eddie Johnston, the former coach and general manager of the Penguins, after the Penguins had lost the first three games to the Flyers in this year’s playoff, he said, “You gotta win four!”  Johnston was still hopeful the Penguins could pull it off.

         Fans in Philadelphia booed and left the building midway through the third period in the fourth game that the Penguins won by 10-3.  They gave a Bronx cheer whenever one of their goalies brushed aside a slow floater in front of the net.  Hey, how often are you going to see 13 goals scored in a game?

         I want to see how my team is going to handle adversity.  I want to see if they keep trying, or if they simply quit? 

         I have always said that you never know what you are going to see when you attend a sports event, or watch one on television.

         You might see something you have never seen before.

         This past weekend provided perfect examples of what I mean.

         I saw Phil Humber, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, face the final three batters from the Seattle Mariners to complete a perfect game on Saturday.  It was the first no-hitter of this season. Humber had undergone Tommy John surgery – shoulder surgery – seven years earlier and bounced around the major leagues most of his career.  He didn’t become a full-time starter until last season.

         I had been watching the Yankees against the Red Sox when coverage shifted to Seattle for the bottom of the ninth inning.

         The Red Sox were ahead 9-0 when coverage shifted to Seattle.  When the coverage returned to Boston the Red Sox were ahead by 9-5.  The Yankees scored seven runs in both the sixth and seventh innings and won the game 15-9.

         I have never witnessed a baseball game in my life that turned around like this one.  I never saw a game in which a team scored seven runs in each of consecutive innings.  Some guys batted three times in the same inning.

         It was the fifth straight loss for the Red Sox.  I have never cared for Bobby Valentine, the new manager of the Red Sox, so I was glad to see his team lose.  I thought the Red Sox made a big mistake when they fired Terry Francona at the end of last season.

         I love to watch games when the Red Sox and Yankees are playing each other. I have a good friend, Rich Corson, who loves baseball, but he only watches National League games.  I don’t understand that.  It doesn’t get any better in baseball than the Yankees against the Red Sox, especially at Fenway Park.

         The Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi was interviewed during the game, when his team trailed by 9-0 and he was asked how he’d feel if he was managing the team that was ahead 9-0.

         He said that he knew that strange things have happened at Fenway Park, and with that Green Monster wall in short left field, runs could be scored in a hurry.  He was right about that.

         On Sunday I watched an NBA game featuring Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder taking on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staple Center in Los Angeles.

         The Thunder led by as many as 17 points and seemed to have the game in the bag when Bryant led a comeback.  The Lakers won the game in double overtime.  This was a game that was truly not over until it was over.

          Now I have to find another team to root for in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and a team to root for in the NBA playoffs.

          Pittsburgh sports author Jim O’Brien has a series of “Pittsburgh Proud” books available at his website www.jimobriensportsauthor.com.  He can be found on Facebook.