Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction
"It would have been worse if we hadn't blocked the kick after Toronto's second touchdown," quipped Detroit captain Alex Delvecchio on January 2, 1971. His team had just endured an embarrassing 13-0 shellacking by the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the midst of one of the Motor City franchise's bleakest seasons, Delvecchio's wisecrack showed the resiliency that helped him to a 24-season Hall of Fame career. He also used wit to put perspective on a hockey disaster, sending a message to his teammates and to their fans. More than thirty years later, Wayne Gretzky, the managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes, tried to give his struggling team similar advice: "It's time for them to stop feeling sorry for themselves, and time to go out and play. You play hard, you'll enjoy it. If you enjoy it, you're winning." The National Hockey League is a billion-dollar business, but the secret of success in hockey, even at its highest level, is to treat it like a game. This book takes that advice to heart.
Hockey Shoots from the Lip is full of the off-the-cuff comments that keep millions of fans not only watching the games, but also tuning in to see the highlight reels and reading the sports pages religiously. Most of these lines have burst out of the rumble and tumble of the daily grind, from the post-game scrum, the between-periods interview, or over a beer with an attentive scribe. They're fresh, they're frank, and they're all about hockey.
There are serious and earnest comments that bear repeating for their pithy accuracy and insight. Sarcasm, insult and downright trash talking also abound, for the tough, mean and nasty side of the game is as integral to the NHL as its grace and beauty. But colorful tributes and sincere praise are in the mix, too. Just as we all like to see the vain, greedy and lazy get their comeuppance, so too do we enjoy seeing the talented, dedicated and worthy get their due. Hockey players, coaches and management are no different, and the evidence is here.
Is there any athlete more self-deprecating than an NHL player? "It's nice to get a standing ovation in Montreal," noted Florida Panther Scott Mellanby, his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Mellanby got his round of applause while leaving the ice on a stretcher after crashing headfirst into the boards. There are plenty of other laughs here too, for humor is the glue that binds this compilation together. Of course, sometimes the funny remark is unintentional. "It's not so much maturity as it is growing up," responded Boston B ruins enforcer Jay Miller, when asked if his improved play could be attributed to maturity. Sorry to Jay and many others, but your verbal gaffes have been recorded for posterity.
Over 300 quotations are gathered here, arranged by topic. Speakers are identified by their affiliation at the time the lines were spoken. Unless it is critical to understanding the relevance of the quote, dates have been omitted. Most of these lines are of recent vintage, but some are fifty years old, proving that hockey remains hockey. Goalie Gump Worsley's blunt observation that champagne drunk from the Stanley Cup "tasted like horse pee from a tin cup" is as iconoclastic a comment today as it was in the 1960s. Likewise, Bobby Clarke's admission, "If I hadn't learned to lay on a two-hander once in a while, I'd never have left Flin Flon," resonates as strongly with those of us who know him only as the Philadelphia Flyers' general manager in 2004 as it does with those of us who watched him play in the 1970s.
Whether you're a hockey fan who'll dip into these pages for random nibbles or one who'll devour them in one sitting, cover to cover, you'll find plenty here to satisfy any desire. Bon appetit!
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction
"It would have been worse if we hadn't blocked the kick after Toronto's second touchdown," quipped Detroit captain Alex Delvecchio on January 2, 1971. His team had just endured an embarrassing 13-0 shellacking by the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the midst of one of the Motor City franchise's bleakest seasons, Delvecchio's wisecrack showed the resiliency that helped him to a 24-season Hall of Fame career. He also used wit to put perspective on a hockey disaster, sending a message to his teammates and to their fans. More than thirty years later, Wayne Gretzky, the managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes, tried to give his struggling team similar advice: "It's time for them to stop feeling sorry for themselves, and time to go out and play. You play hard, you'll enjoy it. If you enjoy it, you're winning." The National Hockey League is a billion-dollar business, but the secret of success in hockey, even at its highest level, is to treat it like a game. This book takes that advice to heart.
Hockey Shoots from the Lip is full of the off-the-cuff comments that keep millions of fans not only watching the games, but also tuning in to see the highlight reels and reading the sports pages religiously. Most of these lines have burst out of the rumble and tumble of the daily grind, from the post-game scrum, the between-periods interview, or over a beer with an attentive scribe. They're fresh, they're frank, and they're all about hockey.
There are serious and earnest comments that bear repeating for their pithy accuracy and insight. Sarcasm, insult and downright trash talking also abound, for the tough, mean and nasty side of the game is as integral to the NHL as its grace and beauty. But colorful tributes and sincere praise are in the mix, too. Just as we all like to see the vain, greedy and lazy get their comeuppance, so too do we enjoy seeing the talented, dedicated and worthy get their due. Hockey players, coaches and management are no different, and the evidence is here.
Is there any athlete more self-deprecating than an NHL player? "It's nice to get a standing ovation in Montreal," noted Florida Panther Scott Mellanby, his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Mellanby got his round of applause while leaving the ice on a stretcher after crashing headfirst into the boards. There are plenty of other laughs here too, for humor is the glue that binds this compilation together. Of course, sometimes the funny remark is unintentional. "It's not so much maturity as it is growing up," responded Boston B ruins enforcer Jay Miller, when asked if his improved play could be attributed to maturity. Sorry to Jay and many others, but your verbal gaffes have been recorded for posterity.
Over 300 quotations are gathered here, arranged by topic. Speakers are identified by their affiliation at the time the lines were spoken. Unless it is critical to understanding the relevance of the quote, dates have been omitted. Most of these lines are of recent vintage, but some are fifty years old, proving that hockey remains hockey. Goalie Gump Worsley's blunt observation that champagne drunk from the Stanley Cup "tasted like horse pee from a tin cup" is as iconoclastic a comment today as it was in the 1960s. Likewise, Bobby Clarke's admission, "If I hadn't learned to lay on a two-hander once in a while, I'd never have left Flin Flon," resonates as strongly with those of us who know him only as the Philadelphia Flyers' general manager in 2004 as it does with those of us who watched him play in the 1970s.
Whether you're a hockey fan who'll dip into these pages for random nibbles or one who'll devour them in one sitting, cover to cover, you'll find plenty here to satisfy any desire. Bon appetit!
