First Game Of The Season

It's been a busy Sunday thus far with me watching the final games from the 2019 National Aboriginal Hockey Championship while trying to clean up HBIC Headquarters and do a little yard work around the compound. I have to say that the hockey action from Whitehorse, Yukon has been excellent over the last week, and I was lucky enough to catch Ontario win the women's bronze medal over Team BC while the Manitoba men captured the bronze medal over Team BC in that game. Aside from that, it's going to be a pretty quiet day on the hockey front for me as the first game of slo-pitch happens in a few hours time, and I'm excited to get back on the diamond and have some fun!

The man in the lede photo? I don't know if he ever played slo-pitch, but that's former Los Angeles Lings owner Bruce McNall who also owned the CFL's Toronto Argonauts for a short time and did a stint in prison for conspiracy and fraud. There's some debate about McNall's overall impact on the growth of the game in southern California versus his convictions of conspiracy and fraud as to whether he should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. After all, the explosion of the sunbelt teams started with McNall's pursuit to bring Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Here is a Sportsnet video that sums up McNall's work in and around the NHL before he was convicted of crimes that sent him to prison. Judge for yourself, and feel free to leave a comment below on whether you think McNall should be Hall-of-Fame bound after watching the 14-minute piece.

I'm off to play in the first game of the season. If I don't die, I'll come back and read any and all comments that have been left.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!