All World Hockey by T. Michael Travers

  Now that the All Star break is out of the way, all NHL teams change gears and race to the finish and hopefully secure a spot in the war that's called the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A Florida hockey buddy who's a Leaf fan asked ...  "what do you think of the chances for this year's Leaf team?" Don't go any further with this essay if you aren't a Leaf.  You won't understand. We don't want to admit to or share our angst with you. My buddy, had  "the look"   when he asked the question.  It's a  "Leaf Look"  that's hard to describe ... his face was scrunched. His look was hopeful but far-away, confident but confused. He needed, he desperately needed to have someone, anyone, confirm for him that this year's team is capable of going all the way. Y'know to win the Stanley Cup. I wish I could help. 1966-67 Stanley Cup Winning Toronto Maple Leafs My connection to the iconic Gardens and the four 1960s Leaf Cup wins and the 196...

  40+ years ago, I started a personal collection of sports memorabilia. My focus was collecting one-of-a-kind, unique and interesting-to-look-at stuff. Due to my interest in the sports collecting business, I was asked if I could source or create some sports-related items that could be used for sale at auction events to help finance the sports activities of the 29,000 athletes who make up Special Olympics Canada. Note : At one such Special Olympic auction, I created collectible items that were only for sale at the event. They were one-of-a-kind, uber-unique, and for that reason commanded top dollar with the bidders.  In the year before he was drafted by the New York Islanders, OHA teenage superstar John Tavares attended our black-tie dinner auction as one of our celebrity hosts, and his mother was his "date". John had his eyes on a very unusual Gretzky museum-framed presentation. He asked me what I thought the final price might be because he was interested in bidding. When...

"Don't look at me like that ... you know what you did and you're going to the box". 30 years ago, I was on a committee of four who presented NHL referee, Bruce Hood, for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was being presented as a candidate for the first time following his 21-year NHL career. We had a dedicated group but w e had no idea what we were doing. We needed a proper strategy because we thought Bruce had earned the Hall's consideration and we didn't want to make a mistake with our presentation. But before I describe our plan, I must give you a little backstory. I was at Maple Leaf Gardens for a Leaf home game in 1984 when, following the 1st period, the announcer introduced Bruce and his wife on the ice to accept recognition from the NHL for officiating his 1000th game - the first ref to do so. The crowd gave him an appreciative cheer. He and I didn't know each other.   Scotty Morrison is all smiles for now ... but "The Book" will b...

The City that's frozen in time. POMPEII was a vibrant city of 20,000 residents when the volcanic mountain, Vesuvius, from 5 miles away, erupted and dumped 13 to 20 feet of ash on the unsuspecting residents of the seaside town in 79 AD. We first visited the ruins of Pompeii about 15 years ago. Even though the site attracts 2.5 million paying visitors each year,  it needed better caretakers.  During our first visit, the place was covered in overgrown weeds and buildings that looked beyond repair. They didn't understand that visitors like me needed better visuals to have an understanding of how people lived there. That's all changed.  You gotta go. The 2024 version of the ruins at Pompeii doesn't resemble what we saw years ago. In fact, our 3-hour tour showed us a totally different place. A town of real homes with real 2,000-year-old frescos adorning the walls of everyday people's homes located on one-way streets. Grocery stores and delicatessens and public baths and b...

20 years ago, we visited Florence, Italy, the home of David. You know  David.   He's from the  Old Testament  ...  David and Goliath. The Bible states that the young, Jewish, shepherd challenged the evil giant, Goliath and won. His image of victory was the subject of the most famous sculpture in history by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni in 1504. You may know the artist as, simply,  Michelangelo because he also painted a few things.  It took him 3 years to put the finishing touches on his masterpiece that was originally destined to be placed on top of the Florence cathedral. The Art Council of Florence along with advice from Michelangelo's creative competition, Da Vinci and Botticelli changed its mind when they saw the final product and ordered to have the masterpiece placed at the Palazzo della Signoria where visitors could get a better look.  Michelangelo's unsigned, 17' tall statue was his calling card to announce that he was the m...