Hi everyone! As you can see by this week’s blog title, I have some good news and bad news to discuss. You can probably guess what the bad news is, if you’ve been following the playoffs. Yes, those dastardly Toronto Maple Leafs somehow managed to not screw things up and finally disposed of the Ottawa Senators, breaking the hearts of my adopted hometown. Booooo! And, of course, I wasn’t too thrilled to watch my Habs bow out in the first round, but I can’t be too bummed out about that since six months ago, I wouldn’t have given them a snowball’s chance in hell at making the playoffs. As one of my colleagues (and a fellow Habs fan) said this week, “I’m just happy they improved… the rest is candy.” Expectations were low this year, but they will be sky high next year, and I’m already looking forward to October.
Speaking of October, I have another reason to get excited about Halloween time. I’m happy to announce that I have secured a publishing deal to have my third book released, tentatively titled Mucking in the Corners: Unearthing the 1970s Quirkiest Hockey Tales. I still have to complete the manuscript so that it fits in with the vision of the publisher, but what I can tell you for sure is that the book will be a series of short stories under the common theme of “forgotten moments and personalities” and that there will be a few Seals tales included as well. I believe that every player — from the game’s legends to its journeymen — has a story to tell, and I hope that the tales I’ve written will tickle ribs and make readers smile. Since I will be on the lookout for photos I can include in the book, if anyone out there owns the rights to any photos featuring NHL or WHA players, and you would like to contribute to my book, I would love to see what you’ve got, and if the photos are a good fit, I will give you credit for your contribution to the finished work. I will keep you all posted on the progress of the book, so stay tuned!
That news was a little out of the blue, I must say. I was hoping to hear from potential publishers later in the spring, if at all. Much like the night Wayne Merrick pumped in a record three goals and three assists versus Washington in early January 1976, I was taken aback by this sudden turn of events. This week, I’ve added a piece published shortly after Merrick’s big night. It is another one of those wonderful fluff pieces that was included in Goal game programs at that time, and like the many of the others I’ve posted to this site, thanks goes out to Pete Manzolillo for not only hanging on to these articles for nearly 50 years, but for also sending them to me so that I could share them with you.
Until next time, stay gold!