Hi everyone! The NHL season is heating up! Some teams are already out of the playoff picture (cough, cough… Montreal), some contenders are hitting the skids and holding their hands over the panic button, and the media is speculating about everything, from that “lower body” injury with which Joe Fourth-liner missed last night’s game to why Auston Matthews decided to change deodorants. Yes, it’s the quarter-season mark, and things are starting to get crazy. It isn’t just this season either. Even way back in the California Golden Seals days, crazy rumours would spring up here and there. For instance, right around this time back in 1974, Seals broadcaster Joe Starkey had been told that coach Marshall Johnston had been fired and replaced by Bill McCreary (which actually did happen a few months later), and that captain Joey Johnston was on his way to New York. It turns out it was all a hoax, which I invite you to read about in my book. Starkey was kind enough to share this embarrassing story with me for the book, and to this day, he still has no idea how that rumour managed to make its way into the broadcast, considering only a select few could actually call in to report any hockey news during a game in progress. The “hoax” game itself was a letdown for the Seals – a 3-1 loss to Minnesota – even though the Golden Ones had played quite well. This week’s article, from the Oakland Tribune‘s John Porter is all about that fateful night, and you can find it right here.

That’s about it for this week. I’m about to dive into my “Best of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame” DVD which I received today from Amazon. It’s about 5 hours long, so considering my busy schedule I might have it done in three or four weeks, or more.

Until next time, stay gold!