More Limelight for the Miracle Boys

'Miracle' men of a lifetime

Twenty-five years later, the Boys of Winter are still just that in the American psyche. And every few years, it seems, we have to let them know. Although they have all grown up, raised families, and walked away from hockey, Eruzione, O'Callahan, Jim Craig, and Dave Silk don't mind being reminded that they were part of something great.

''I don't think there's ever been a day that I don't consider it a good fortune to have been a part of," Silk said.

The four guys from Boston University will receive a lifetime achievement award tonight at the FleetCenter during the Sports Museum's fourth Tradition ceremony. Other recipients have been Ted Williams, Red Auerbach, and the Kraft family. This kind of award, O'Callahan said, is the most precious of all.

Cool. I think the reason these guys never fade into the shadows is a confluence of the extraordinary effort they put in (not uncommon for Olympic sports, obviously), the total over-achievement of their result, and the highly charged political atmosphere for which their sporting endeavors became metaphor.

Take the power back (or not)

A tale of contrasts: The Simianistas in India raise a serious ruckus: Monkey bites cop

Three monkeys have wreaked havoc at Purbasthali here, biting and clawing almost 60 people in 10 days.

Among the victims were a dozen policemen.

But at least one monkey at the San Diego zoo know a good thing when it has one: Monkey escapes exhibit, then couldn't wait to get back in

Zookeepers say the were searching for Takala, when they opened an outside door to the monkey exhibit and he walked right in. Officials say Takala escaped through a hole in the netting around the enclosure.

You know what Kris Kristofferson (or Janis Joplin, if you prefer) said about freedom...

Rumspringa has sprung

For whatever reason, several of us at work are vaguely fascinated with the Amish rite of passage called Rumspringa. It seems to come up in conversation almost once a month -- especially between Matt and myself (usually referencing the documentary Devil's Playground, which I still haven't seen and which is probablty not exactly a representative depiction) -- so when Brandon saw this over the weekend he obviously had to pass it along: Amish woman looking for true love. - 22

Hi! I am a girl from a small town in Iowa, where I was raised Amish. I am currently on rumspringa, which is the time in every young person's life where he or she goes out into the English world to experience everything that is out there. The hope is that at the end of rumspringa, we will return to our communities and join the Amish church, but I'm still not sure if I'm ready for that! I really like living in a world with cars and electricity and computers!

I'm 22 years old and I like to go hiking and I love animals. I like listening to music because that's something else I could never do before, so it's very exciting! I'm looking for a guy who is honest and kind and good looking of course! I have blonde hair and I guess I'm cute and stuff, and I wear English clothes rather than Amish and I don't wear a bonnet or anything, I mean, I do sometimes but probably wouldn't if we went out!

This is just fascinating to me on so many levels...

At a very base and juvenile level, I think I just like how "rumspringa" (and the occasional wilding that goes along with it) reminds me of "Rump Shaker".

When it's high up in the sky it almost looks like it is white

Summer Moon Illusion

This week's full moon hangs lower in the sky than any full moon since June 1987, so the Moon Illusion is going to be extra strong.

What makes the moon so low? It's summer. Remember, the sun and the full Moon are on opposite sides of the sky. During summer the sun is high, which means the full moon must be low. This week’s full moon occurs on June 22nd, barely a day after the summer solstice on June 21st--perfect timing for the Moon Illusion.

There's a table of moonrise times for various cities. Check it out and step outside this week.

Links on Parade

  • Endangered Condors Soar Over Grand Canyon

    On some days, as many as 25 to 30 condors soar over the canyon area — more birds than were in existence a generation ago when officials decided to capture and breed them.

  • Agent: We'll see what options are out there

    Peter Forsberg wants to return to the Colorado Avalanche if a proposed salary cap doesn't make him too expensive for the club, his agent says.

    Well, it's been nice having him around...

  • In three fights recently, boxers have just quit. Is this a trend? Is it a self-preservation thing? Might be smart in the long run, though I really question Kostya Tszyu's choice in particular.
  • I don't care how much you love animals, don't go out in the highway!

    An Illinois woman who stopped to help a family of ducks cross Interstate 90/39 on Wednesday morning ended up in the hospital after she was hit by a car and thrown 60 feet.

  • German police can't catch record-breaking speeder

    A motorcyclist captured on film by German police racing at 251 km per hour (155 mph) on a road near Berlin has set a new unofficial national record for speeding, Bild newspaper reported on Monday.

    He'd better watch out for ducks at that speed!

  • Naked Bike Ride shocks London — Warning: British body parts in full view. ;) See also (if you dare!)
  • So the Senate can't manage to pass a bill outlawing lynching, but they can probably agree to apologize for that fact...?!
  • Smooth move: If you're the President of a nation, it's best not to publish your cell phone number. Jackass.

Cringely on Apple + Intel

Going for Broke

This scenario works well for everyone except Microsoft. If Intel was able to own the Mac OS and make it available to all the OEMs, it could break the back of Microsoft. And if they tuned the OS to take advantage of unique features that only Intel had, they would put AMD back in the box, too. Apple could return Intel to its traditional role of being where all the value was in the PC world. And Apple/Intel could easily extend this to the consumer electronics world. How much would it cost Intel to buy Apple? Not much. And if they paid in stock it would cost nothing at all since investors would drive shares through the roof on a huge swell of user enthusiasm.

Man, I love it when he gets all kooky with the far out speculation! I kind of hope he's right, too.

Good Hockey News!

First: Neely among Hall of Fame inductees — Yessssss!

Neely, a power forward, played for Vancouver and Boston between 1984 and 1996, scoring 395 goals, assisting on 299 and serving 1,241 penalty minutes in 726 regular-season games. His 55 playoff goals are a Boston club record. The six-foot-one right-winger was a five-time all-star and made such an impression in Boston that his No. 8 sweater was retired last year.

But what about hockey's future? Well, there is finally some positive movement there, too: Report: NHL, NHLPA agree on cap formula

According to the Globe's league and player sources, a salary floor and cap will be based on a percentage of each NHL team's revenue. The paper adds that in the first year - based on revenue projections by both sides - the salary cap will range from $34 million to $36 million US, with the floor from $22 million to $24 million US.

Interestingly, though, the outside bid to buy the entire NHL is still alive, too: Bain, Game Plan try to entice owners with buyout plan

The equity provision says team owners can apply a portion of their team's agreed upon value to a pro rata share of the equity of the new entity under Bain and Game Plan, according to people familiar with the deal.

Personally, I'm still in favor of this kind of buyout. Single entity ownership would increase the chances of success for small market teams like the Calgary Flames. It would also lessen the frustration for fans of teams currently saddled with insane ownership (Blackhawks).

Of course, both the salary cap and the buyout idea probably hurt my Avalanche in the short term, since they had kind of become the Rangers of the West, but I'd be willing to take that hit as a fan.

It's like the joke about the dog named Lucky...

Don't Stand By Me: Surviving a lightning strike.

Jerry LeDoux is a guy you don't really want to interview, because interviewing him means having to be near him, and that's like planting yourself by a dartboard. The stone claw hanging from his neck attests to his grisly encounter with a bear's jaw at a roadside park in August 1990. (His wife, Bee, brandishes a photo album that documents the mauling before he's done telling the story.) The Purple Heart on his Navy Seals sniper hat testifies to the three bullets he took in Vietnam. The ugly black mark on his finger is evidence that he once air-nailed it to a floorboard. The scar on his left arm is proof that he accidentally screwed his flesh to the wall. The long knife wound on his hand? "Things happen," he says. The most improbable of his many accidents is the one that left the least visible evidence—just a few white splotches on his arms and a discoloration near his hairline. But that doesn't mean it's easily forgotten. LeDoux rolls up his sleeve to show off a tattoo of a man getting struck by lightning engraved on his left bicep.

I had no idea there were international conferences for lightning strike and electric shock victims.

I'm just happy that my own lightning experience was so mild that it had no lasting physical effect. I can live without those few seconds of memory. ;)

Cameron Michael Neely

It's good to see that, in spite of the current turmoil in the hockey world, John Buccigross still managed to roll out his annual "Put Cam in the Hall of Fame!!!" column.

Neely (Whenever I see Neely I think Nelly and whenever I see Nelly, I think Neely. Help me.) had a game that was intoxicating to those who watched it. He won his fights, scored more goals per game than almost every player who ever played, and got the girls. He also had one of the strongest list of Hollywood friends in NHL history: Michael J. Fox, Glenn Close, Denis Leary and the Farrelly Brothers are just some who were and are fans of No. 8, and they have embellished Neely's legend with characters like Seabass. Neely even has one of the all time best ESPN ad lines of all time: "Why don't you kick my dog while you're here?"

That commercial, by the way, is one of the best things I have ever seen on television.

Talk about a slippery slope!

Today, I learned the basics of riding a motorcycle. My buddy Erik took me out in a field and put me on his 250 Honda dual-sport. It's such a forgiving bike that it managed to compensate for all but my worst starts, and once I was going, there was no problem keeping it steady, even when I double-shifted from first to third (something I need to work on, it seems).

I rode it back and forth for an hour or two, getting as high as third gear on the little dirt trail. I only managed to scare Erik once as I came around a turn slightly hot, fishtailing just the littlest bit. I thought it was good fun, of course, but he didn't want to explain to Heather if I ended up on my face.

I would still do the multi-day training course before I actually got the "M" added to my license and started riding on the streets, but man was it fun!

The Wife, afterward, asked "Was it fun, feeling the wind through your hair?" My answer: "Well, I had a helmet on..." "Good answer!" Tricky woman. ;)

So here's the kicker: I'm adopting Erik's basket case project bike.

Here's the first load of parts:

Honda parts

Rollergirl Update

Just FYI, I've added a listing for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Rollergirl event on Upcoming.org. (You should all sign up and use Andy's rocking event calendar site.) I've also been in contact with Jayne Manslaughter of the Sugar Kill Gang... This fact alone excites me tremendously.

Meanwhile, The Wife took a kickboxing class last night and loved it, so maybe she's not as far from rollergirl fame as she thinks... ;)

Pry it from my cold, dead hands

British Medical Experts Campaign for Long, Pointy Knife Control

The researchers noted that the rate of violent crime in Britain rose nearly 18 percent from 2003 to 2004, and that in the first two weeks of 2005, 15 killings and 16 nonfatal attacks involved stabbings. In an unusual move for a scholarly work, the researchers cited a January headline from The Daily Express, a London tabloid: "Britain is in the grip of knives terror - third of murder victims are now stabbed to death." Dr. Hern said that "we came up with the idea and tossed it into the pot" to get people talking about crime reduction. "Whether it's a sensible solution to this problem or not, I'm not sure."

While I am generally on the more "liberal" side of the gun control issue than some of my friends (because guns scare the boogers out of me), start talking about grinding the tip off my Wüstofs and I'll start talking about a revolution. Nevermind the knives I own that are actually meant to be considered "weapons"...

This quote succinctly sums up the total amount of silliness, I think:

Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which supports gun control, joked, "Can sharp stick control be far behind?"

Yes, that's a gun control advocate making fun of the idea of restricting freedoms. Go ahead and bask in that for a while.

Mark Your Calendar

The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls are finally getting down to bidness:

Don't miss our first bout! July 16, 2005 Bladium Sports Center The Red Ridin' Hoods versus The Sugar Kill Gang

Matt tells me the Bladium stinks to high heaven, but I'm not positive that's going to be enough to dissuade me from persuing my first roller derby experience.

Meanwhile, Matt and I are already daydreaming about being roller derby emcees (since it doesn't look like our significant others are going to sign up to skate anytime soon... Boo!):

How can I help? Know a band who'll work gratis for one of our events or bouts? Got a neighbor who can donate chairs or beer? Have a rich uncle whose company would sponsor the Roller Girls? Wanna be a referee or MC? Feel the burning need to adopt a roller girl? E-mail rmrollergirls@yahoo.com And of course, you can always attend our events!

Skunk Works

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, best known for his time with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, is now a counterterrorism consultant.

The guitarist-turned-defense-consultant does regular work for the Department of Defense and the nation's intelligence community, chairs a congressional advisory board on missile defense, and has lucrative consulting contracts with companies like Science Applications International Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. He says he is in increasing demand for his unconventional views of counterterrorism.

"We thought turntables were for playing records until rappers began to use them as instruments, and we thought airplanes were for carrying passengers until terrorists realized they could be used as missiles," says Mr. Baxter, who sports a ponytail and handlebar mustache. "My big thing is to look at existing technologies and try to see other ways they can be used, which happens in music all the time and happens to be what terrorists are incredibly good at."

He's also on the list of Boston University dropouts to go on to fame and fortune -- though I doubt the conservative Baxter would care to talk politics with many of the others (Rosie O'Donnel, Jason Alexander, Peewee Herman).

[This list of "notable" BU people is interesting, if incomplete. Lots of hockey players on there, of course.]