All World Hockey by T. Michael Travers

  For Matthew & Michael & Daniel & Jonathan: AND, most especially, Cian, Julian, Cosmo, Augie, Ariana, Sophia and Vanessa Please put this essay away (maybe in a family  time capsule) to give to each one of your children and maybe even their children. You know giants. Giants in sport, entertainment, politics and social media. Your grandparents and great-grandparents—my sister Loretto and her husband Emilio — were giants in our family and in our lives. I urge you. I strongly urge you to take a copy of this essay and pass it on to your children and their children. Everyone in your family should know them. Without them, you wouldn't be here. *They always gave more than they received. *They never, ever complained. *They worked hard. *They understood the difference between friends and family. They squeezed every ounce of fun out of every experience ... whether it was a trip to Fallsview Casino and a free dinner for two or viewing the icebergs at Glacier Bay on ...

Terrible Ted and Gentleman Ted Hockey is back. The 2026 Cup Playoffs are around the corner. Every player in today's NHL owes Ted Lindsay. Each one should sign over a personal cheque to him at the beginning of this New NHL in recognition for the stance he took on their behalf against the Original Six NHL owners. Al Waxman as Adams For all players, he demanded better pay and better working conditions. His pioneering work as the architect of the NHLPA was so important that the CBC filmed a movie about his life and the battle he had with team owners. The movie It is titled Net Worth. Incidentally, that money, if Ted were ever to receive it, would go to help others through his Ted Lindsay Foundation, as it provides important research funding for a cure for Autism. If you're an NHL player today and you earn 3 or 5 or 10 million dollars, it's because of what Lindsay did for you. I wonder how many of today's hockey-playing millionaires even know his name and th...

                                          It's been a long ride. Is this the year? Where was Boston's "Pasta" in the humiliating loss on Sunday?  And, the Bruins' #91 tough guy waited 57 minutes to show up? Is it just me, or does the Bruin coach, Marco Sturm, look out of place behind the bench? He is a veteran 17-year NHL player who has had only one year with more than 50 minutes in the penalty box. But the Bruins are noted for push-back. They look tough. Their home uni is black. I expect the Bruin coach to project the same image of toughness. He doesn't. He's way too animated (with his hands) during his late-game timeouts -- he ain't Italian, he's German. Bruin fans must be wondering ... where's Terry O'Reilly when you need him? Hey Sabres  ... as they say, "don't forget to put your foot on their neck when they're down". The late goal by Boston was an embarrassment to...

  In 1940, when Detroit Red Wing soon-to-be superstar, Ted Lindsay, was 15 years old and played for the Holy Name Irish "Juvenile" Kirkland Lake hockey team, he and his teammates travelled by train 230 miles to Port Colborne, Ontario, population 18,300, to face the local team for the province's division championship. Fun Fact: In the 1940's, the town of Kirkland Lake, Ontario had a population of approximately 25,000 -- yet 42 boys from that tiny mining town made it to the NHL. Lindsay was the first.  Lindsay's opponent team was led by the soon-to-be Toronto Maple Leaf superstar, Ted Kennedy. Following that championship game (won by Lindsay), both boys would move on to spectacular careers with their NHL clubs. Ted Lindsay #7 Lindsay would become captain of his Wings and earn four Stanley Cups, and Kennedy would captain his Leafs and be the first player in NHL history to earn five Stanley Cups. Ted "Teeder" Kennedy #9 Today, both players have bronze stat...