All articles by this author
May 5, 2017
NHL playoffs diary
A face-off: Two men glide to the dot doubled-over, resting their weight on sticks across their thighs. They choke down on these sticks, grab the haft above the blade, dip the blade like a garden trowel. Then, they make like guys fighting to take the first shovelful of dirt from a hole. Like they’re struggling to dig the other’s grave.
Every cheap shot, each subtle disrespect, any advantage unfairly taken—these have to be balanced out.
June 4, 2014
If you are meant to be a hockey fan, this will feel like kissing someone and having that kiss take. If you are meant to be a hockey fan, he will suddenly renovate your heart.
One enterprising juggalo asked if I’d like to touch his testicles for $5. I hastened my search for a campsite. Finally I picked a spot next to the parking lot in the “Lost Ninja Clan” area. (Ninja, I learned, is the diminutive form of juggalo, e.g., “What up, ninja?”) Having never camped before, I spent twenty minutes flexing tent poles and accidentally launching them like javelins. I heard a soft voice behind me ask, “Need any help?” I turned and met Adam.
June 13, 2011
This Stanley Cup Final is the first since the lockout to feature two veteran, salaried goaltenders.
My father had been a lieutenant in the Navy. He captained the swift boat that would later become John Kerry’s. His job was to stand apart and instead of a weapon wield his men like materiel. He’s a small man, about five four, thickly built. He likes to joke that they only let him into Vietnam because he’d stuck lollipops under his shoes to seem taller. He rarely wears a shirt, and the sun has cured his skin poreless. He’s horseshoe bald, my father, with one tendril of graying brown hair that lies across his head until he gets upset, whereupon it falls next to his face and flails, always a step behind, like a gymnast’s ribbon.
March 18, 2011
He was not allowed to have girls stay over. He played street hockey in the driveway with Lemieux’s children and ate dinner with them every night. If he performed well following the meal, Lemieux’s wife would make it again the next day. Crosby kept his paychecks in his sock drawer. He signed endorsement deals with Reebok, Gatorade, and Dempster’s, which makes white bread.
March 17, 2011
Ovechkin is the only Capital forward in the neutral zone. His job is to keep the puck from reaching Crosby.
May 28, 2010
Pardon me for fawning over the Blackhawks. It’s just that I really dislike the Flyers.
May 15, 2010
Calling a guy a “warrior” for playing playoff hockey while injured is a cliché.
February 22, 2010
Pulpy ice, anxious refs, and Sweden dominated this game. Finland couldn’t forecheck, couldn’t trap, couldn’t score.
February 18, 2010
There’s a shadow system of justice in hockey called “The Code,” or simply “showing up.”
