Hi everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful week and are taking full advantage of the weekend. I’m back from holidays and back for another round with you. We got to spend a few days at a campsite in a fully furnished camper, so we were fairly comfortable the whole time, and we got to toast a few marshmallows and have a few beers. No complaints on my end, but I’m still glad to be back and sleeping in my own bed.

And now down to business… this week, we’re going back to November 1972, just after the Seals have been humiliated 11-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in one of the most brutal contests the Seals had ever been a part of. This was the night when Jacques Plante was supposedly so bored that he pulled himself out of the net even though he was working on a shutout. The following night, however, the Seals were a completely different squad giving the Detroit Red Wings all they could handle. Thanks again to Bob Marceau for providing this week’s Seals article, which you can read right here.

On a closing note, I was approached by a writer who goes by the name “An Ashamed Leaf Fan” (I won’t reveal his real name) who has written a new book called 60 Years of Disappointment. If you are a Leafs fan, you may want to stay away from this one; there aren’t many mentions of 11-0 games in which the Leafs came out looking pretty. Then again, if you are a Leafs fan, you are probably a glutton for punishment, in which case, you will greatly enjoy the book. If you are NOT a Leafs fan, well, this book will definitely appeal to you, since it is a compact collection of all the Leafs’ greatest humiliations. No matter your position on Leaf matters, you will find it is both a creative and cathartic hockey history book, something which I don’t think I’ve ever read before. In some ways, the book is a Leafs version of my new book Mucking in the Corners in that it is a series of short stories, in this case the most infamous moments the Leafs have experienced since their last Stanley Cup triumph in 1967. There are even a few embarrassments which flew under the radar or have never really been explored in a larger historical context. The most distinguishing feature of the book is that after each story, there is a coloring activity, historical figure defacement, board game, alternate-reality activity, or Mad Lib (among other activities) to help ease the pain of incessant humiliation and exorcise a few decades-old demons. I thought the concept to be quite original. The book is not too long, so you can read it in a day or two, and if you have any other hockey fans in the house, you can print out activities (available at ALF’s website www.60yod.biz) and share the fun with them over and over. The Seals and Leafs didn’t have much in common, but one thing they did share was the complete inability to learn from their mistakes and put themselves on a winning track. Whether you are a Leafs fan or just a fan of hockey history, you will surely enjoy the stories, analyses, and activities in 60 Years of Disappointment, so be sure to check it out!

On that note, I wish you all a fantastic end of weekend, and I’ll see you all again in a week. Until next time, stay gold!