Flashback: Chain of success for MSU star

This article originally appeared in the Kalamazoo Gazette on February 15, 2008
BY RICK SHANLEY
Special to the Gazette
KALAMAZOO – You scroll through the Michigan State University hockey media guide and look at all of Justin Abdelkader’s credentials.
– Mr. Hockey in Michigan.
– Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round.
– Scored goal — with 18.9 [...]

Being happy II

I took a blowtorch to the fabric of American society yesterday and, predictably, the feedback includes:

People who agree
People who agree, sort of
People who wonder why I’ve suddenly become an arrogant prick

One comment asked how I might describe my worldview in terms that would “give the common man a glimmer of hope.”  This assumes I think [...]

Being happy

I know life is more complex than how I’m about to describe it, but for the sake of making my point in the shortest amount of time possible, I’m going to make a gross generalization about people so it illustrates my observation of western, particularly American, culture.  Take from it what you will.
……………
I notice, as [...]

Beer marketing

There’s a shitload of beer in my refrigerator right now: Miller Lite, Labatt Blue, Labatt Blue Light, Blue Moon, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat…
This is due to Memorial Day leftovers and the fact our softball team, Pen Island Liquor Store (read the name very carefully again), had its game rained out last [...]

The Wings — through the eyes of a Hawks lover

Tom Gearen is a dear hockey friend and mentor of mine.
He’s one of the smartest, brightest and most generous people I know.  He was a former state’s attorney in Chicago, commercial real estate broker and, last year, raised millions of dollars as a member of Barack Obama’s National Campaign Finance Committee.  He’s also a die-hard [...]

Facebook

I played 27 holes of golf yesterday with four very interesting people:

John Koch, my State Farm agent who used to be the sports anchor on WWMT
Julie Bradfield, a newly-minted personal injury attorney who passed the bar a year ago while also raising four children
Brian Burke, a driver of heavy machinery for a farm in Mendon [...]

The minor league baseball life

The Kalamazoo Kings deliver their first pitch of the season tomorrow night.
It makes me think about last year and, particularly, the road trip home from St. Louis after the team beat Gateway to reach the Frontier League championship series.
::The mini TV screens mounted to the overhead luggage bins and the faint glow of the driver’s [...]

Patrick Kane

Hands a surgeon would kill for.
Speed reserved only for the gifted.
More moves than Mayflower.
Patrick Kane, at 20 years-old, has done a lot to make the Chicago Blackhawks relevant again.  He was the first-overall pick two years ago.  He won NHL Rookie of the Year.  When he pulled off that ri-DIC-ulous backhanded [...]

The Acme Hockey Team

The Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup again because they are masters at dangling the carrot in front of opponents — letting them, in some cases, get close enough to be within a lucky bounce from stealing it, only to yank the game, the series, the season away and cast challenger after challenger as [...]

Interviewing 101

Keeping in mind that interviews with athletes (and, for that matter, entertainers and politicians) are cliches filled with cliches filled with cliches of cliches, the crew from Versus has taken this practice to a sad new low during its coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bless Christine Simpson.  She seems like a nice lady.  And considering [...]