Dad at work
So the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing and, with it, some surprises and shakeups within the game.
Dad always enjoyed this time of the year. He’d crack on my Philadelphia Flyers, particularly if the Rangers were involved, but it was also a fun time to just kick back and watch the games on television. I’m also a tremendous NFL fan but there’s nothing quite like the excitement that comes with playoff hockey.
Playoff games weren’t as easy to access back then as they are now with the way the NBC Network and NHL.com’s Game Center have helped hockey fans enjoy the NHL’s second season with televised and streaming video of games all the way through the Cup Final.
I remember prior to a playoff game, me and dad would go down into the basement of our Roselle home and shoot pucks at a small net I had purchased. I’d play goal, wearing the plastic goalie pads, and he’d pick up the 2-foot long stick and start slamming one-handing slap shots in my direction. I’d wear that Bernie Parent white goalie mask and we usually used a hockey ball or that blue Peter Puck that I got as a gift in one of those stick-hockey table-top sets. It was always a fun time … and we’d keep score.
Every so often, mom would yell down to the two of us, “What the heck is going on down there?” Dad’s response would always be, “We’re fine.” When my sister Lorin was old enough to hold a stick, she’d join us as well and she’d hold her own until the one day I knocked her in the eye with a shot – damn I thought I’d get hell for that one.
A few times, dad would invite over the cousins — Freddy, Sammy, Frankie — and we’d all go downstairs and take turns hitting the upper corners of the cage. There were some many memorable and fun times with the cousins – we rented ice in the early-morning hours to go skating in Totowa. I remember one morning dad decided to give it a shot. Imagine, here’s a guy who never skated before, never mind the fact he never even held a hockey stick — there’s always a first time! We had a ball, and got him the puck in the slot for a one-timer that crossed the line while he was tumbling to the ice.
I also remember one year when cousins Ken and Mike were over to watch a Flyers-Rangers playoff game in April, 1985, at Madison Square Garden; it was a time when the MSG Network was just available in certain regions of the state. Tim Kerr scored four goals in the game to lead the Flyers to victory. Dad was returning home from work late and asked that we wouldn’t give away the score – yeah like that would happen pop.
We didn’t give away the score, but he later said he could tell in our faces that the Flyers had won the game. I guess it was pretty obvious.
Since joining the NHL as a writer, it was an annual thing where I would call dad during my road trips while covering the playoffs. I vividly recall the phone conversations I had with dad regarding my trip and how things were going. I’d give him the top stories of the day and, perhaps, the funniest moment.
He’d give me an update on what was going on back home and, perhaps, the latest goings-on in the UFC and WWE.
Moments and conversations I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I feel it’s important to mention how special a day it was for dad to show mom just how much he appreciated all she had done for him.
I’ll never forget a phone conversation we had when he was in the hospital last summer. He kept repeating, “Your mother has been so good. It’s so tough to do anything and I’m upset that I’m not able to help more, but she’s just been so good helping me.”
I know dad would want to say to mom, “Happy Mother’s Day to my No. 1.” I know he’ll be looking down on her this weekend, as he always does, but he’ll do so with a wider grin. May was always a big month in our household since mom and me celebrated birthdays and Mother’s Day was also in the mix.
So I’m speaking for dad when I say, “Happy Mother’s Day” mom. Thank you for being there and for your unconditional love!
Family Focus 