Hannah Storm in her first TV appearance since a grill accident on Dec. 11. (photo from ABC)

By Kathryn Tappen, She's Game Sports

There are many times in life when we find ourselves saying, “That could have happened to me.”

You all know what I’m talking about, and most of the time these words come off our lips upon hearing of tragic news. We breathe a sigh of relief, say a prayer and move on with our lives with a valuable lesson learned.

It was clear to me two days ago when I read an article about ESPN anchor Hannah Storm’s grill accident that this incident and scary near-encounter with death hits so close to home for so many of us.

Three weeks ago, Storm suffered first- and second-degree burns to her face, hands, chest and neck after a propane gas grill on the deck of her Connecticut home exploded. She lost roughly half her hair and her eyebrows and eyelashes were burned off in the accident. On Tuesday, I watched Storm return to the airwaves on ABC’s telecast of the Rose Parade.

I was amazed at how beautiful she looked. Aside from the bandage on her left hand, Storm appeared the way she usually does when I watch her on ESPN. However, she would reveal later in the broadcast that she was wearing hair and eyelash extensions, and a makeup artist drew on eyebrows. Pictures she posted also revealed an almost unrecognizable Storm.

But Storm’s inner beauty radiated, as it always does. She appeared to be incredibly relaxed and a bit relieved, having returned to her familiar setting alongside Josh Elliot for her fifth time hosting the Rose Parade.

I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Storm experienced in the days following her Dec. 11 accident — not to mention the daunting thoughts of never being able to return to her career and do what she loves and lives to do.

“It was like you see in a movie, it happened in a split-second,” Storm said. “A neighbor said he thought a tree had fallen through the roof, it was that loud. It blew the doors off the grill.”

It was Storm’s 15-year old daughter, also named Hannah, who remained calm and called 911.

This story hit home for me on many levels. Like Storm, my career in television is incredibly important to me. We all would also be naďve to think that it is not a vain business. Appearance is paramount, and any imperfections to such can be detrimental. Blemishes, dry skin in the winter months, peeling lips from an allergic reaction, irritated eyes and a red nose from a nasty head cold are just a few of the uncontrollable imperfections we tend to overreact to.

But I will never again worry about those minor flaws. What Storm had to overcome just to apply simple cream and TV makeup was an overwhelming feat. Seeing the pictures of her wounds following the accident would make anyone cringe.

She’s darn lucky to be alive.

While many would be left feeling sorry for themselves, Storm used her past experiences as a journalist to put her accident in perspective for herself, her family, and her fans.

“I didn’t see my face until the next day and you wonder how it’s going to look,” she said to the New York Post. “I was pretty shocked. But my over-arching thought was I’ve covered events with military members who have been through a lot worse than me, and they’ve come through. I kept thinking, ‘I can do this. I’m fortunate.”’

Another reason this story hit home for me is because I too prepare my family dinner on a grill outside of our home. My own mother lit the grill every night, and her mother did as well. There are millions of us, men and women, who turn that propane gas on and expect our meal to be ready within 25 minutes.

Never again will I take that big metal grill for granted.

I couldn’t quite figure out how the explosion occurred. After all, Storm said she turned the gas off before she reignited it. Isn’t that all you need to do? She later explained that because the gas is heavier than air, it sits in the area of the grill even after being turned off and especially in cold winter months. When she reignited the grill, it exploded.

Grill manufacturers advise to wait at least 15 minutes with the grill lid open to allow for any excess gas or fumes to vacate the area before you begin to reignite.

What we learned from Hannah Storm’s accident is a valuable lesson on how a simple household activity can turn deadly. As I said before, Storm is lucky to be alive.

She said she hopes to use her experience to educate people on how to properly operate and adhere to the safety precautions of propane gas grills.

It was wonderful to see Storm’s smiling face on New Year’s Day, and all of her fans look forward to her return on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” this Sunday.

And maybe we can all appreciate every single day a little bit more, because any one of us can say, “That could have happened to me.”

(Image from giants101.com)

By Tanya Ray Fox, She's Game Sports

I intended today to post my usual pregame cheat sheet for the upcoming Sunday Night Football battle between the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. It’s by far the biggest game of the day and one of the most anticipated games of the season. After last week’s rout of the mighty Texans, the Patriots are again establishing their dominance as Super Bowl favorites.

But that is the last I will write about the game.

I have had my TV tuned to CNN for over 48 hours now, watching unwavering coverage of the devastation in Newtown, Conn. In the wake of the murder of 20 innocent children and six brave women trying to protect them, I have found it hard to concentrate on sports.

As a sports writer and reporter, I have had the pleasure to share my passion for these games and a culture that unites fans around America and around the world. People ask me all the time why I write sports rather than something else, and my answer is always the same. I write sports because they bring us together and make us happy.

At the end of the day, despite the outrageous contracts, the isolated incidents of heartbreaking violence or injury, and the duels between rival teams and fans, sports are just sports. The rest of the world is so serious and full of truly meaningful and often painful debates. Sports are an escape from all that, and that’s why I love to share that with others.

Today though, there is no escape; most especially for a town that is less than a two-and-a-half hour drive from where I sit right now.

There are 27 families in New England today that are grieving for women and children who were sought out and murdered.

There are dozens more parents whose children saw their teacher and 6- and 7-year-old class mates brutally murdered, shot multiple times at close range by a man in black who is the very definition of evil. These babies had to flee for their lives from a place that they had always felt safe.

There are police officers, FBI agents, medics, medical examiners and other first responders and law enforcement that had to bear the unimaginable trauma of standing in a first grade classroom surrounded by dead children.

There are thousands of people in Newtown whose entire community is standing still with this gut-wrenching grief that is nearly impossible to assuage right now. It is a state of unnatural devastation unlike anything this country has ever seen, and something that surpasses any of our worst nightmares.

I know that the whole world will continue to go on, as it should. I know that we cannot all stop in our tracks when something tragic like this happens and that we must all push forward and live our lives to the fullest in honor of those who no longer can.

But I implore our entire sports community to stop for a moment today and just be grateful to have a night to ourselves to enjoy a football game. It is a simple pleasure. It is time to spend with family or friends, to bond with sons and daughters and enjoy good food and drink. For me it is a time that I get paid to do work that I love and watch a game that I love.

That is all that matters about tonight’s game. Just be happy to have it, and spread that happiness out in thought and prayer for the members of our New England community tonight to whom football means nothing right now.

Kevin Durant wrote Newtown, CT on his shoe as a memorial to the victims of a school shooting Friday. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

By Arielle Aronson, She's Game Sports

When something like this happens, it’s hard to know what to say.

When something like this happens, it’s hard to find a way to ease your own grief, to decide whether to follow the coverage religiously or attempt to distract yourself with something else.

When something like this happens, everything else seems insignificant.

On Friday, this world was changed when a gunman entered an elementary school and slaughtered 26 innocent people – 20 of them children — shortly after murdering his own mother. This is a crime that is unfathomable, making it that much harder to know how to react.

Think back to elementary school. It’s a place where you read stories, eat lunch together with your friends, play on the playground and the classroom, and learn in an environment where it is actually fun to learn in. It’s a place where you’re carefree. It’s a place of bright colors and laughter and smiles.

It shouldn’t be a place of gunshots, of blood, of terror, of death.

An elementary school should never experience something so tragic that our president cries when talking about it on live television.

But this is the reality this world is waking up to. This is what people across the world are now trying to fathom.

When something terrible happens, I turn to sports or music to comfort myself. On Friday, there was no escaping the tragedy by diving into the world of sports. Every team, every league, every athlete was talking about Newtown, Conn.

On Sunday, the NFL will hold a moment of silence before all of its games. On Friday night, NBA teams observed a moment of silence as well.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, a player whom the cameras are constantly trained on, wrote “Newtown, CT” on his sneakers, knowing the town’s name would get all kinds of TV time during the game. It was clear where his mind was on Friday night.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott was thinking of the same thing as Durant. “I think it affects everybody,” Scott said as he addressed the tragedy Friday night.

“It puts everything in the right perspective as well. As much as we love this game, this [game] doesn’t mean nothing.”

Even ESPN, the largest sports media conglomerate there is, was silenced by grief. Newtown is just 30 miles from the ESPN headquarters in Bristol. Many ESPN employees live in small, picturesque Connecticut towns just like Newtown. It undoubtedly hit very close to home there.

As a result, ESPN decided to show its grief and sensitivity by stopping all tweets reacting to sports, opening each segment with acknowledgement of the tragedy by coaches and athletes, refraining from using the word “shooter” or other sensitive verbiage, and eliminating inappropriate sales ploys and commercials for the rest of the weekend.

It’s surreal to see ESPN do something like this. I was nine years old when the Columbine massacre happened and 11 years old when the 9/11 attacks occurred. Maybe I was too young at the time, but I don’t remember ESPN ever going silent in this manner.

It speaks to the unprecedented horror of this crime, of the pure devastation that comes from the needless deaths of young children in a place where they are supposed to be safe and happy and starting their lives. It speaks to the horrific loss of brave teachers and administrators who threw themselves in front of a loaded gun in an attempt to protect the young children in their care.

In a way, it is comforting to see this, comforting to see the president cry and ESPN go silent. The deep loss and confusion and grief I feel is so clearly mirrored in everyone and everything around me, and knowing I’m not alone, knowing that the depth of my feelings is shared by others, helps.

Normally, I turn to sports as an escape. Now, I turn to sports as a part of a community. All of our worlds have been shattered. I can’t escape the horror of the Newtown massacre — nobody can – and so we grieve together. We grieve with our friends and family and sports teams and media outlets and president.

Because when something like this happens, it’s hard to know what to say. All we can do is come together and, as a community, acknowledge our pain.

Kathryn Tappen and Rose Mirakian-Wheeler with their cart full of goodies. (Photo from Kathryn Tappen)

By Kathryn Tappen, She's Game Sports

For all you moms out there, this post is for you!

After many years of reporting on the Boston Bruins players’ Annual Holiday Toy Shopping Event, I was fortunate enough to actually participate in it myself this year. Due to the circumstances of the NHL Lockout, players are not available to take part in team-sponsored events.

So, along with members of the Boston Bruins staff, including President Cam Neely, Assistant General Manager Don Sweeney, Head Coach Claude Julien, Bruins Hall of Famer John “Chief” Bucyk and other media personalities in Boston, I went to Target in Woburn to begin my shopping for the kids.

I received a clipboard with the details of the children I was buying gifts for and what their “wish list” was. Two boys and two girls in each of the following four categories: infant, toddler, small child, and teens. That totals 16 kids, and I had a budget of $699.

Off I went, along with Director of Boston Bruins hockey, Rose Mirakian-Wheeler, to collect our gifts in a shopping cart.

I was overwhelmed with gift ideas – up and down the aisles we went with discussions like “Do toddlers like glow worms or a “laugh and learn snail? Do boys prefer matchbox cars to a board game?” Decisions, decisions, 16 times over!

“A pair of hop-along boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben;
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen”

We laughed along with the rest of the crew who were diligently filling up their carts as well. Our cart kept getting reactions such as “You guys are WAY over budget!” and “Holy Smokes! Who are you guys buying for!?”

Needless to say, Rose and I are both experienced shoppers. We learned early on that Fisher Price had a “Buy one, get one 50 percent off” and the Matchbox cars had the same promo.

“Ka-ching!”

Ipod shuffles for the teen girls, portable DVD players for the teen boys, Holiday Barbie for the young girls, along with glitter hats, gloves, and purses (my fave!). Rattles, stuffed animals, baby dolls that require feeding, board games, DVD’s, kittens that purr, and so on and so on.

What a fun day, and all for charity.

I was honored to be able to participate in such a festive and wonderful event. I look forward now to the delivery, where I can see the kids’ faces light up (hopefully) at our choices.

To participate in an event that exemplifies the true spirit of the holidays is unlike any other.

My thanks to the Bruins for inviting me to participate; to the Target staff for being so accommodating, and to Rose for carrying the calculator to make sure we stayed on budget.

We were only $15 over. Not bad.

“….And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.”

Here’s to a happy and healthy holiday season. And to all those moms, good luck!

The Boston Bruins Foundation, Delaware North Companies and Garden Neighborhood Charities fund $22,500 worth of toys, with each organization donating $7,500. The toys will be delivered to hospitals around Boston and given as gifts to children who are unable to celebrate
the holidays at home.

Last year, the Bruins donated an estimated total of more than $23,000 worth of toys.

Bruins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque started the holiday toy shopping and delivery tradition when he was captain, and the event has continued through the years.

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

Alice Cook and partner Bill Fauver perform a death spiral.

It seems like every week there is another headline story on sports concussions. The latest news had to do with a study conducted at Boston University. On Monday, the Boston Globe dedicated most of their front page to the results of the study. Later in the day it was all over network news. Basically, the researchers confirmed what many of us already believed to be true: Concussions cause brain damage – and brain damage causes all kinds of problems for years to come.

The study was based on the autopsies of 85 brain donors, most of the them professional athletes. Without getting too scientific, we learned more about the Alzheimer's-like symptoms that are caused by blows to the head. We discovered more about how concussions cause the destruction of brain cells, and can lead to death. What resonated most for me about the story was a remark made by the study's leader Dr. Anne McKee during a network news interview. "Would you allow your own son to play football now that we know the results of your study?" was the reporter's question.

Dr. McKee's answer was, "I would have to think very seriously about that."

I give credit to McKee for not blurting out a straight "no." Any parent with a kid that plays sports knows it's not that easy. Concussions happen in football and hockey. They also happen in non-helmet sports like soccer and basketball. They happen in cheerleading, diving, and figure skating, too.

We have come a long way in awareness, that is for sure. Ten years ago when my son started Pop Warner, our biggest worry as parents was not head injury. Our biggest concern at the time was how our son would manage playing in two hockey leagues and football at the same time. He still had homework to do after all.

As it turned out, our son dropped football after less than three weeks of practice. He was a 90-pound ten-year-old playing against kids that could weigh up to 140 pounds. He was getting killed out there – and had the welts on his arms and legs to prove it. My sister, visiting from California, saw his bruises and asked, "Isn't this kind of like child abuse?" That was it. We pulled him out, and he was more than okay with that. But he kept at the hockey, and again, the worry was not concussions. He broke a collar bone, spent a few months in a sling and went back at it. I can't remember one parent back then worried about concussions.

Now, with all the research and publicity, at least we are more aware.

The latest news out of the BU Center of Traumatic Encephalopathy had me thinking about something else.

What about me? As a figure skater, how many times did I hit my head on the ice? How many times did I see other skaters knocked out and feeling nauseous? The answer is too many. It could happen learning a double axel or it could happen just forgetting to take your skate guards off getting on to the ice. The feet go straight up from under you and the next thing you know you banged your head. We felt embarrassed, not worried about concussions.

Skating coaches and parents would sometimes do the "eye pupil" check. If the pupils in the skater's eyes didn't look dilated you were good to go.

Figure skaters, like gymnasts, cheerleaders, spring board and platform divers are never going to wear helmets. Maybe they should – but it will never happen.

When I switched from singles to pair skating at age 18 it was even worse. Learning a death spiral (what a name) should have required a helmet. Learning how to land throw doubles and triple twists should have required a helmet and full padding.

The death spiral requires the female to lean all the way back on one blade with one "free arm" and the other arm holding on to the partner's grip. The man leans back the other way in a pivot. Learning how to do it meant falling on your head ... a lot. Mastering a "throw" jump means many landings on your butt – which often continues with a slide into the boards. The force of the impact will sometimes result in the head being the last part of the body to hit the rink barrier.

Anyone who thinks figure skating isn't a sport, I invite you to watch a pairs training session. No costumes. No make-up. No guts, no glory. My own mother was so traumatized watching an early pairs practice she had to leave the rink. She wasn't the only parent who couldn't bear to watch.

Cheerleading injuries are big news now. It used to be waving pom poms, but now it's all about stunts. My daughter started as a "flyer" (the one up in the air), and now she is a base. With each twist, lift, and basket catch there is the danger of head injury whether you are flying or basing. It comes with the territory, and cheerleaders are not likely to ever put on a helmet like the players on the field behind them.

So now we know the facts. Some of us are hoping the undiagnosed concussions don't mean problems later. There isn't much we can do about it now.

Then there are the decisions we make as parents. How many kids are playing flag football instead of contact Pop Warner these days? Many more. When we hear five kids suffered concussions in one Pop Warner game, it's not just worrisome, it's sickening.

The bottom line is we can't all turn into chess players. There is a danger in sports, and there is a danger in getting into a car every day. I would not change a thing about spending my youth on the hard and unforgiving surface of ice. In the end, the kids are going to play, the kids are going to get bigger, and they are going to keep playing. The super talented athletes will go on to play in college – the elite will make it a career.

There are many cold hard facts about concussions, and some extremely sad stories. The games will go on, and thankfully, now when an athlete hits their head it's taken seriously. It's a very big step for a problem that is changing the fabric of sports at every level, helmet or not.

By Arielle Aronson, She's Game Sports

They’re calling it a Cinderella story: for the first time in school history, Sharon High School won a Super Bowl thanks to a 12-3 win over Wayland High. For me, this is no Cinderella story; this is a miracle.

I was born and raised in Sharon. As far as I can remember, Sharon never won a single football game during my four years at the high school. They didn’t win many games any other year for that matter. I don’t remember ever seeing Sharon football enjoy a winning season, but Google searches tell me it has happened. Still, a winning Sharon football team seems more to me like a Greek myth than a real thing.

I remember during my freshman year at Boston University, I excitedly boasted to my friends that my high school had finally won a football game – albeit by forfeit thanks to Mansfield’s use of an ineligible player. I thought that was the pinnacle for Sharon football. I was wrong.

This season, I’ve followed the team closely for the first time since I graduated five seasons ago. When I went home for the Jewish holidays in September, I learned that the football team was undefeated. The coach, Dave Morse, was awarded Patriots Coach of the Week honors by Sharon resident and former Patriot Andre Tippett. This honor alone was quite an achievement for the football team.

In Sharon, the head football coach position is typically a revolving door. The coach was not generally well-known around the school, and the only time I ever knew who the football coach was was when he was my math teacher and I was covering the team for the town paper. My biggest challenge that year was coming up with new and exciting ways to say that Sharon had lost yet again.

As I continued to follow the football team this season, I kept thinking about how exciting this must be for every student at the high school. Sharon High is a pressure-cooker. Academics are of utmost importance – we never had free periods or non-academic electives in high school.

Competition took place in the classroom, not on the athletic fields. Students would compete with others in terms of how many AP classes they took (if you didn’t get a 5 on an AP exam, you were a blemish on the Sharon High record), how many Ivy League schools they applied to and how many A’s they received on report cards.

Athletics were almost always just a peripheral part of high school. While many students played sports, an athletic culture never ruled Sharon High. We joked that Sharon was only good at “country club” sports: tennis, gymnastics, swimming and golf. The stereotypical “jocks and cheerleaders” clique was absent. We didn’t have homecoming. Students didn’t go to sporting events. We seldom had a chance to be normal teenagers under the crazy academic pressure we all faced.

I remember going to a football game as a fan just once (I was dating a player on the team and it was Thanksgiving – he begged me to go). I watched the game from the cozy interior of my car. It was a rainy November day, cold and wet, and there were no other students from Sharon there. Nobody cared. The team lost, and while I don’t remember the score, I’m pretty sure it was by a lot.

The only time I ever remember the school getting caught up in an athletic team’s success was in 2007 when our soccer team went to the Eastern Mass state final. A huge group of students went to the tournament games, and I remember cheering like crazy and rushing the field when the team topped Concord-Carlisle to win the state semifinal. They lost in the state final, but for Sharon, just making it there was a victory.

It was exhilarating to be at that game with my friends, to get away from the pressures of high school academics and college applications for just a few hours and cheer on my classmates. Since Sharon is a small town, I had known the players on the team since kindergarten. While I had always been a sports fan, I never knew the pleasure of coming together with your entire school to support people you have known since you were five years old. It’s a shame I only experienced that joy once.

One of the best photos I’ve seen from Sharon’s Super Bowl win was one of the sidelines. It appeared on the Hockomock sports Twitter account, and it showed an incredible crowd of Sharon residents clad in maroon and gold cheering on the football team. I’ve never seen anything like that in Sharon. Before the soccer game in 2007, I had to go out and buy a maroon shirt; I didn’t have any clothing in school colors.

I don’t know what the future has in store for Sharon football. I never could have imagined a Super Bowl championship in my town. I’m so excited for the team, their families, friends and the rest of the town. I hope this game serves as a reminder that there is more in life to be proud of than just academic success. I hope it reminds the town of the joy in coming together as a community to support each other. I hope it reminds Sharon that there’s more to high school than just academic success.

Congratulations one last time to Sharon football for making what once seemed impossible a reality. It was a great season, and I’m thrilled you all have been rewarded for the hard work and commitment it took to reach this point.

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

When I saw the report on Sunday about the death of Sasha McHale, I was shocked and saddened. My mind flashed back to the days I covered her dad, Kevin McHale, as a player with the Celtics. Those were the days of the original “Big Three.” Larry Bird did his talking on the court, Robert "Chief" Parish was silent, but deadly, and Kevin kept everyone in stitches.

When Kevin McHale held court after a practice or a game, you knew it was going to be good. The man had a way with words- and a genuine, personable nature. It was easy to see he came from the Midwest where everyone is just so darn friendly.

McHale was a proud family man too. He and his wife Lynn have been married for 30 years. They started their big family back in McHale’s basketball hey day. Five children is a good sized family by most standards; it's a huge family for a young professional athlete.

When I was pregnant with my first child in 1991, Sasha McHale was a one-year-old with a bunch of older siblings, and her dad was an expert on all things “baby.”

It was unusual enough back in those days to see a female sports reporter covering an NBA team, but to see a “pregnant” female sports reporter was beyond. McHale just couldn’t help himself as he paraded around in front of me with a basketball stuck up his jersey after practice one day. It was hilarious. Even Marv Albert made mention of it on the next national telecast.

McHale offered unsolicited advice on how to calm a screaming baby. I’ll never forget the day he told me about the power of a pacifier. He said they were the best invention ever. Then he went on to say how first-time parents sterilize the pacifier when it falls of the floor, second-time parents just rinse them off, and by the third kid, you learn just to stick them in your ears so you don’t hear the crying. Spoken like a true expert, and now as a mother of three, I can say he was exactly right.

I worked 25 years covering pro athletes in every sport, and went through three pregnancies doing it. Kevin McHale was the only athlete to offer parental advice. I will admire him for it always.

My heart is breaking for a man that made me laugh so much. My prayers go out to Kevin, Lynn and their four children.

As parents, we just never know what lies around the bend, and how we would ever deal with the death of our child. It’s a sadness that no mother or father should have to bear, but so many do.

Kevin McHale made it clear his kids were his true pride and joy like every great father does.

By Kathryn Tappen, She's Game Sports

‘Tis the season to start reflecting on what we are most grateful for.

Thanksgiving is one week away, and while everyone is busy getting their grocery list items crossed off for the massive amount of family and friends who will invade the premises, I thought it would be appropriate to take a minute and reflect on what I am thankful for.

1. I’m thankful that I am not dead last in my weekly pick-‘em football pool. Bottom third? Yep! But not dead last. At least I have some sort of integrity to preserve.


2. I’m thankful that the election is over and I don’t have to listen to or watch campaign ads 24/7. Hey, I get it. But over a billion dollars spent? Come on!


3. I’m thankful that people actually find me somewhat interesting to follow me on Twitter. I was against the social media giant, but my colleagues and bosses felt it was necessary for me to join. Thankfully, people are there to support me. THANK YOU all, and I apologize if I’m not as interesting as you thought.


4. I’m thankful that my husband allows us to have the super duper cable package so we get Showtime. I am obsessed with Homeland.


5. I’m thankful that I never emailed a war general through Gmail.


6. I’m thankful Selena Gomez finally came to her senses and broke up with… what’s his name again?


7. I’m thankful that E.L. James took her talents to a publisher.


8. I’m thankful my “IPad2” looks like the latest “IPad with Retina Display” so I don’t look like I’m behind the times with technology (although I’m sure Apple will screw me over in another 6 months).


9. I’m thankful you can’t take the Jersey out of the Jersey Girl (thank you Bruce).

Okay, okay enough of that.

In all seriousness, I am thankful for so many things in my life. I have a wonderful family, awesome friends, an incredible job, and I am thrilled to be a part of She’s Game Sports.

I pray for everyone close to my hometown who was affected by Hurricane Sandy, and I wish them all well in the recovery process.

And I’m thankful that I only have to wait seven more days until the radio stations start playing Christmas songs around the clock!

Hallelujah!

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

I love Thanksgiving because it combines three of my favorite things in the world: food, family and football (although not necessarily in that order).

Growing up in Michigan, we always had the Lions to watch while the bird was cooking. My childhood memories consist of the smell of turkey in the oven and the Lions getting toasted.

I migrated to Boston as a college student and never left. It was then that I learned that Thanksgiving Day wasn’t just about the Lions and the Cowboys. New England embraced America’s best game by honoring it at the high school level.

My friends at Boston College who grew up in the area told me that their Thanksgiving Day always begins on a frozen field either home or away. Mom throws the turkey in the oven, and everyone heads off to “the game.”

How does the house not burn down? I wondered.

Rivalries. Community. High School Football. This doesn’t happen in Michigan on Thanksgiving or in a lot of other places. Tradition in New England isn’t just Harvard versus Yale. It’s Natick vs. Framingham, Winchester vs. Woburn, Matignon vs. Chelsea, English vs. Latin, and on and on and on.

As I moved on as a sports reporter, I quickly learned the importance of covering a game on Thanksgiving morning. I stood on fields from Brockton to Lynn year in and year out. I remember covering a game in 1990 after learning that morning I was pregnant with my first child. My feet were freezing and my heart was warm.

All these years later, I still love it when those high school scores scroll through on the local news. Alan Miller, an esteemed sports producer at WBZ always chose the music “Be True to Your School” by the Beach Boys. I imagined people from Malden to Masconomet just waiting  for the three seconds they would see their school’s name in lights.

Mike Lynch at WCVB has turned Thanksgiving Day high school football coverage into part of the holiday landscape. Nice touch wearing the sweatshirts from different schools throughout the football special. Kudos to all those photographers, producers and editors who make it all happen.

Then there is the pro game. There are two givens: Dallas and Detroit. Now we have a night game, this year featuring the Patriots and Jets. A few years ago when the Patriots played the Lions in the middle of the afternoon, it meant structuring the timing of the meal around the game.

“Nobody eats until the final whistle,” I told my guests.

It was a terrific display of clock management in the kitchen, impressive execution even by Bill Belichick standards.

Now I’m one of those moms throwing the turkey into the oven and heading off to watch high school football. Home from college, my son will go back to BC High. The rest of the family will watch the local game and my daughter will be cheering on the sidelines. Go Blue!

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for football, family and food. A perfect pie crust would be nice too.

By Meredith Perri, She's Game Sports

Just about every job has a stereotype associated with it – that picture we create in our heads as small children that we try to alter as we grow older. Many of these images we create and foster involve the gender of those in the occupation. People think firefighter and they imagine it being a man’s job. Meanwhile, many people associate being a nurse or a teacher with being a woman. We know that these stereotypes are wrong, but we still grow up believing them.

Out of all of those generalities, however specific they are to the gender of a person, very few have to do with the actual appearance of the person. That is what makes the stereotype about women in sports journalism so incredibly frustrating. When people think about sports writers and broadcasters, they assume that they are male – sports journalism is a male-dominated profession. But if female sports journalists are mentioned there is this assumption that they must look like models.

Male sports journalists are not held up to this standard, or at least the last time I checked they were not.

My frustration was reignited earlier this week when I read an interview that Sports Illustrated conducted with Charles Barkley, a former basketball star and current sports broadcaster. For the majority of the interview Barkley discussed different basketball players, his relationship with Michael Jordan and some of the storylines that will come out of the NBA this year. That was all fine, I have no problems there. Toward the end of the interview, however, Barkley started down a slippery slope.

The interviewer asked Barkley for his opinion on sideline reporters in a broadcast. Barkley responded that he is not a fan. He does not think that asking a coach questions during halftime is a good idea because a coach has not even digested the problems that the team has had. I have no problems with this – that is a completely legitimate opinion, and it was well argued in the interview.

“That’s why I love interviews with Gregg Popovich,” the interviewer said. “He’s great television when he makes reporters uncomfortable.”

“Oh, he’s great,” Barkley responded. “But I will tell you one form of discrimination no one ever talks about regarding sideline reporters.”

“What’s that?” the reporter asked.

“If you are an ugly woman, you have no chance of getting a TV job,” Barkley said.

This would be the point in the conversation that lit a fuse inside of me, but I had not become truly frustrated.

Yet.

“But if you dress like Craig Sager, you can still get hired, right?” the interviewer responded, referring to a sideline reporter known for wearing velvet suits and colorful ties as well as other unique clothing.

“Hey, I think you have to dress like Sager to get a job now. I will say this: They have hot, great-looking women on TV now. But if you are an ugly woman, you ain’t got no chance of getting a TV job.”

Good thing the interview abruptly ended there because I am pretty sure I would have become even more upset if the article continued.

Here is the problem with what Barkley said and how the interviewer reacted: Barkley referred to the situation as discrimination that what he calls “ugly” women are never hired as sideline reporters. Yet, at no point does he suggest a solution; rather, he continues to put down any prospect of a woman who is not “hot” getting a sideline job. Furthermore, the interviewer seems to take what Barkley said as a joke by bringing up Craig Sager.

“But if you are an ugly woman, you ain’t got no chance of getting a TV job.”

That last sentence needed repeating.

I did not enter into this field because I thought men would enjoy watching me talk about sports on their TV. I decided to become a sports journalist because I wanted to be the person delivering the news to people who look at sports as more than just a game. I want to be the person whose article gets clipped out of the newspaper and saved when a team wins the World Series. And 10 years later when that person finds that crinkled up piece of paper, browned with age and inevitably tattered on the edges, they will read that article one more time and remember a moment when they were truly happy.

I am not here so that you can look at me and judge my outward appearance. If that were the reason I was going into the field, I would not spend quite as much time and money on my education.

So here is what I have decided. I am not going to focus on breaking the stereotype, and I encourage other women in the sports field not to focus on it either. I think we should ignore it because I do not think we should become caught up in a battle of who is hot and who is not. Instead, let’s work on making our writing better, reporting better and leave the physical attributes behind. Then maybe, one day all of us can rest easy knowing that someone enjoyed our work because it was something we put effort into, and not because of how we appeared while we were creating it.

By Zoe Hayden, She's Game Sports

Monday, November 12th is the induction ceremony for the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2012, and amid the NHL lockout, it’s going to be a low profile event.

The latest meetings were popularized as the ones that could save the season, but instead, reports coming out of the latest negotiations are pessimistic and progress was negligible. So Pavel Bure, Adam Oates, Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin will more quietly slip into the annals of hockey history. The fanfare they might have received in the arenas of their former teams is moot.

This is just one example of how this lockout is cheapening the experience of the sport; so much of what the players and owners continue to disagree about has to do with money, and yet the feeling of watching your favorite team take the ice and compete, even streaming online over a bad Internet connection, is supposed to be invaluable. You can buy cheap thrills, but there’s no check to be written that can put a price on passion. At least, our idealistic sports fan souls say that this is true. Among the many lost moments of this NHL season are beautiful goals, controversial calls and heroic shot blocks. We’ll never get them back.

Here, then, are some short profiles of the 2012 Hall of Fame inductees.

Pavel Bure, the Russian Rocket, came to the NHL as a 20-year-old from Moscow and played for the Vancouver Canucks starting in the 1991-92 season. Prior to joining the most competitive league in the world, he already had the 1990 World Championship gold medal under his belt. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s best rookie that season, putting up a total of 60 points (34 goals, 26 assists).

After that, Bure pulled off two consecutive 60-goal seasons. He also was part of the team’s Stanley Cup Finals run in 1994 and remained with the Canucks until 1998. With the Florida Panthers, he had at least two more prodigious goal-scoring seasons in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, nearly reaching 60 twice and still having the most goals of anyone in the league. Competing for Russia, he also accrued two Olympic medals in his career: the 1998 silver medal in Nagano and the 2002 bronze medal in Salt Lake City. Bure's NHL career ended as a member of New York Rangers in 2003.

Adam Oates got his start as a junior lacrosse player in Ontario before switching to hockey in 1984. He played college hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but forewent his senior year to enter (undrafted) into the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings for the 1985-86 season.

While his time with the Red Wings was by no means poor, Oates really broke out when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 1989 and put on the top line as Brett Hull’s center. He scored 102 points during the 1989-90 season and 115 the following year even though he only played in 61 games.

After being traded to the Boston Bruins, Oates put up even more prolific seasons, including 142 points in 1992-93. While his scoring dropped off in later years, he still often averaged nearly or more than a point per game. His assist totals always exceeded his goal totals, and he was the principal playmaker to many legendary goal-scorers, including Peter Bondra and Cam Neely.

Oates later played for the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and the Edmonton Oilers, where he finished his NHL career in 2004. Oates has recently been assistant coach to the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils, and he will assume the head coaching position of the Washington Capitals when NHL hockey begins again.

Joe Sakic only ever played for one franchise--the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche. A British Columbia native, Sakic got his start in the WHL after becoming a standout player at Burnaby North Secondary School in his hometown. He was drafted by the Nordiques in 1987, and played his first season at the NHL level in 1988-89.

It took Sakic only until his second season to top 100 points, scoring 102 that year. He became captain of the Nordiques in the 1992-93 season and would remain the captain when the franchise relocated to Colorado in 1995.  That season, Sakic captained the team to its first Stanley Cup. He recorded 120 points in the regular season and 34 in the playoffs. Sakic would captain the team to a second Stanley Cup in 2001, and he famously did not hoist the Cup himself before first passing it to teammate Ray Bourque, who had himself played 22 seasons without winning a championship.

In 2002, Sakic took home the gold medal in the Salt Lake City Olympics and had four points in the medal match. Sakic would continue to have strong seasons, whether on the scoreboard or simply as a team leader, until his retirement in the 2009 offseason. After a short break from hockey, he joined the Avalanche front office in an advisory capacity in 2011.

Mats Sundin began his career in Swedish leagues and was 18 years old when he was selected first overall in the 1989 NHL Draft, the first European-born player ever to be taken first. He was picked up by the Quebec Nordiques, and he debuted with them in 1990-91 and scored 59 points that year, a point total second only to now-fellow-Hall-of-Famer Joe Sakic.

Sundin is iconic, however, for his time with his second team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was traded in 1994. His consistent scoring touch made him team captain within three years, following the departure of Doug Gilmour, and he led the Leafs to postseason success on multiple occasions, including the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999 and 2002. He broke multiple Maple Leafs team records during his thirteen seasons with the club, including most all-time goals and most all-time points. Sundin finished out his career with the Vancouver Canucks, signing as a free agent in 2008. He played for one year before announcing his retirement in 2009.

Other 2012 inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame include longtime Buffalo Sabres announcer Rick Jeanneret and Globe and Mail writer Roy MacGregor.

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too much longer to see more future-Hall-of-Famer seasons.

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

Like many Americans, I spent the better part of seven hours watching election coverage on Tuesday night. I’m one of those people who likes to flip around to see which network is doing what, who calls it first and who nailed the big interview.

On this night I settled in early with NBC. Not because of Brian Williams, David Gregory and Samantha Guthrie. Not because of Tom Brokaw or Chuck Todd.

It was the ice rink. I was hypnotized by that sheet of ice painted with the map of our country. An hour into the coverage I announced to my husband, “I really want to skate on that. How fun would that be?”

The remark was greeted by a blank stare at the crazy lady.

“You should be looking at the state of Florida, Alice, it’s important. So is Ohio,” I was told.

Of course I knew that. But that ice was great.

“Look at those guys spray painting the blue or the red for the winner.”

I thought of the bull gang at the Boston Garden. They could have rocked that.

Really, I thought. If a skater like Olympic champion Evan Lysacek took off for his triple lutz at North Carolina, he could land in Nevada…easily!

Like flights, skating jumps have a ‘take off’ and a ‘landing.’

I have skated at Rockefeller Center a number of times. It’s really small. It’s way too small to pull off throw double axels, that’s for sure. On Tuesday night it was huge.

Maybe it’s just that I needed to see an ice surface on television. Then I suddenly realized I had a bad case of hockey withdrawal.

If NBC was really on it, the network could have staged a hockey game instead of going back to “local coverage.” Give me a hip check, a kick save, and please give me a goal! I don’t care if it’s cheap or not. Just let me see a puck go into a net. "He shoots, he scores!"

The ice was being wasted. Nobody was skating on it.

I must say the reporter who stood on ice without skates was impressive. Imagine reporting on voting trends while using an iPad and not losing your balance once. She gets the gold medal.

A few hours into it, I realized the election coverage was being treated like a sporting event.

“It’s Romney’s offense versus Obama’s defense,” David Gregory declared.

Would Obama run the 4-3 or the 3-4, I wondered. What kinds of schemes does he have up his sleeve? Then I remembered the President is a hoops guy. Is he thinking zone or man-to-man?

I heard references to the ground game, a Hail Mary and a slam dunk. If running for office ever becomes a contact sport, I will truly have the best of both worlds.

Obama traditionally has played of game of pickup as a way to prepare for the big night. I wish there were video clips. Imagine the President throwing an elbow or flopping.

In 2010, Barack Obama challenged the newly elected Republican senator from Massachusetts to a little two-on-two. There was no network coverage, but according to Scott Brown, he and his daughter Ayla, a Boston College standout, kicked some serious butt. I never doubted it for a second.

Something tells me the President and Elizabeth Warren won’t meet on a basketball court any time soon. No matter how we voted, the professor proved she does have some game, just not that kind of game.

It's over now. The winners and losers are moving on, and NBC won the ratings.

It was all about the ice.

By Kathryn Tappen, She's Game Sports

There’s something special about rooting on your alma mater.

The passion that comes with the powerful cheers from the student body that now sits in the stands you once inhabited is unlike any other. It brings a feeling of nostalgia, excitement, and for me, satisfaction that, unlike during those four wonderful years, I no longer have to borrow money from my parents.

For the first time in a long time, I am returning to the “Banks of the Old Raritan”, as Howard N. Fuller affectionately wrote in 1873 in what became the Rutgers University alma mater.

The song is sung at the conclusion of athletic events on RU campus in New Jersey, and I cannot wait to hear its lyrics on Saturday afternoon.

The 7-and-1 Scarlet Knights will take on Army at High Point Solutions Stadium with over 52,000 fans sporting Scarlet pride.

I have fond memories of my days on the banks. As a member of the Rutgers Cross Country and Track & Field team, I was fortunate to attend many football games after my Saturday morning meets. The athletic department always honored the entire student-athlete body at one of the first home games of the season.

I remember my Junior year in particular. Gary Brackett (Super Bowl XLI champ), Shawn Seabrooks, and L.J. Smith (Eagles ’03-‘08/Ravens ‘09) were the captains. The team was not very good- go figure with those NFL guys leading the pack!

The third home game of the year was the first and only victory for that Scarlet Knights team, who went 1-11/ 0-7 in the Big East. It was a dominating 44-0 defeat of Army that gave the entire University and its fans hope that the season would turnaround. Such was not the case.

I remember four years later when Rutgers earned national recognition under then-head coach Greg Schiano in 2006 with the program going 11-2 and earning a bowl berth for the first time in the modern day era. I was a proud broadcaster in Boston at the time, forcing my producers to give me an extra 30 seconds to read the RU highlights from the games on the nightly sportscast. The story was not just about Rutgers football, but it was about passion and hope for sports fans across the nation. A feel-good story will get you every time, even if it occurs 250 miles south of Boston.

I remember the news ticker on October 16, 2010. RU defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffered a severe spinal injury during the Scarlet Knights game against the Army Black Knights in New Meadowlands Stadium . It was one of those moments in sports where you absolutely cringe, and wish you could rewind the tape and erase the tragedy.

But with personal strength and the nation behind him, LeGrand became an inspiration to all of us. In July 2011, LeGrand tweeted photos of himself standing upright and announced that he was steadily regaining movement in his arms. LeGrand believes he will walk again, and so do the rest of us.

I remember all of these memories, like so many other graduates who root for and follow their alma mater.

Throughout my career, I have always mentioned my roots as a Rutgers student athlete, because I truly believe the experience I had there and the many wonderful people I met along the way helped shape me. My journalism professors still reach out to me; my roommates and teammates are still my close friends.

And this post-college journey has allowed me to follow the wonderful school that I had the honor to attend for four years.

On Saturday, my mentor in the business and friend, Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, has invited my family and me to join him in the Athletic Director’s suite to watch the Scarlet Knights football team take on Army. Here’s to another defeat of the Black Knights like the one I witnessed in 2002.

I can’t wait to see the team charge the field, and hear the thunderous roars from the crowd. I’m excited to see how things have changed On the Banks since the last time I was on campus. I am going to enjoy seeing my proud parents once again take in an RU football game, as they did for the years I was enrolled and the many years following my graduation. And rumor has it that Eric LeGrand will also be at Rutgers on Saturday, the programs' second meeting since that fateful day he was injured more than two years ago.

But what I’m most looking forward to is seeing firsthand the outpouring of support that Rutgers Athletics has contributed to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. No region was devastated more by the storm than the New Jersey and New York coastline. As the State University of New Jersey, I know that the staff and student body at Rutgers have done their part in assisting those in need.

In the team’s first home game since the devastation, I have no doubt that I will be a part of a memorable weekend because there’s just something special about rooting on your alma mater.

By Shane O'Halloran, She's Game Sports

The freshman football player from Dedham, who we’ll call Joe (he wishes to remain anonymous), remembers the drill that left him with a concussion. It happened when his school team moved on to live hitting after practicing form tackles for weeks, and Joe was excited. He lined up opposite his drill partner, waited for the whistle, and went for the tackle just like he’d done hundreds of times before in Pop Warner—except this time, Joe led with his head.

First, he heard the crunch of his helmet against his teammates’, and then he felt it: Dizziness. Fogginess. A headache.

At first, Joe thought maybe he could shake it off, so he got back into line and practiced for a while longer. But when he realized that he’d never felt this way after a big hit before, he told his coach what happened. The school’s athletic trainer asked him a few questions before confirming that, yes: Joe had suffered a concussion.

Joe’s mom says she believes the school handled the incident appropriately, but she still worries about her son’s future on the football field. “Joe has very good technique and is a smart player with good skills but at some level, it really comes down to brute strength and this is a sport that encourages ferocious hits,” she told She’s Game Sports via email.

“I worry too about the cumulative effect if Joe were to suffer another concussion. The current research would suggest that multiple concussions have a cumulative damaging effect on the brain. That is something we’d like to help Joe avoid, as I’m sure any responsible parent would.”

Over the past several years, NFL fans have likely noticed a growing emphasis on concussion prevention and treatment. A 2011 policy requires teams to have a neurologist on the sidelines, and bars players who exhibit concussion-like symptoms from returning to games.

Following the pros’ lead, school sports and local youth leagues have tried to up the ante in preventing and diagnosing concussions: Pop Warner football leagues are required to have a minimum of one trained EMT on hand for all games, and coaches are required to have an ‘emergency plan’ for concussions.

High school athletes (and their parents) are now often required to complete concussion education programs before getting on the field.

So why do we still hear horror stories like the five-concussion fiasco of a Pop Warner game that took place about six weeks ago in central Massachusetts?

The answer is complicated. But it involves a lack of awareness and a self-policed system of concussion reporting in contact sports, where athletes are judged in part on toughness. That nearly everyone contacted for this story wished to remain anonymous speaks volumes to that culture.

Increasing awareness should be the easier side of the equation to solve, and there’s anecdotal evidence that it’s already had a measurable effect on participation in youth sports:

“In my suburban town southwest of Boston, Pop Warner enrollment is down significantly,” said the father of a 9-year-old athlete.

“Traditionally, the league was able to field two or three teams per age group. This season, most age groups are down to one team, and one age group was disbanded altogether. The local flag football league has been the main beneficiary, growing from six teams of 9-to-11-year-olds last season to 10 teams this season.”

But swapping out youth sports’ culture of toughness for a less dangerous alternative won’t be so easy. After all, the coaches and parents at the now-infamous game between Southbridge and Tantasqua were aware of Pop Warner’s focus on preventing concussions.

Yet they failed to observe a score-induced mercy rule, even when Tantasqua couldn’t field a full team with its remaining healthy players. As a result, five children between the ages of 10 and 12 suffered brain trauma. Read that last sentence again:

Five children between the ages of 10 and 12 suffered brain trauma.

There’s obviously plenty of individual blame to go around here (not least of which to Southbridge’s website designer, who asks, without any sense of irony, “Are you tough enough?”). Both coaches have been suspended, and the parents in attendance that day presumably realize the monumental error they made in letting the game continue.

But the show goes on, full of overly competitive coaches and helicopter parents whose fervor for ensuring their kid’s athletic success borders on maniacal.

You’ve likely seen these parents at your town’s little league games berating referees, haranguing coaches and generally taking everything too seriously. They’re the exception, not the rule, and they operate under the mistaken assumption that the final score in youth rec league games actually matters.

When final scores do start to matter in high school, athletes often play with a different assumption in mind: report my concussion, and I’ll lose my playing time. Patrick (who wished to use only his first name for the story), a former lacrosse player at a large Boston prep school, stayed in a game with a concussion for that very reason.

“He got his concussion during a game, but like other kids, did not let the coach know,” his mother told She’s Game Sports via email. “He said his head was ringing and he knew something was wrong, but he didn’t have loss of consciousness so he was able to shrug it off to the coaches.”

“Patrick, like most kids I think, played through it as not to lose his place on the team. Afterwards, he suffered from headaches, inability to concentrate and photophobia (intolerance to light). I have to say, academics were so much more difficult for him for a long time after. Everything was just harder, and more difficult to finish.”

It’s not surprising that Patrick experienced such severe, long-lasting effects:

“The frontal regions of the brain are far more vulnerable to concussions. These areas oversee executive functions responsible for planning, organizing and managing information,” said Dr. Dave Ellemberg, a professor at the University of Montreal’s Department of Kinesiology. (via SportsConcussions.org) “During adolescence, these functions are developing rapidly which makes them more fragile to stress and trauma.”

Put simply, concussions are more dangerous for a teenager’s brain than that of an adult.

Sports equipment manufacturers are developing products with brain safety in mind, but concussion-sensing helmets and caps go for anywhere from $200 to $1,000—well outside most parents’ equipment budget.

Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Training, or ImPACT Testing has become more widespread, but it is still not mandatory in many high school athletic programs. Patrick’s school requires a test, for instance, while Joe’s doesn’t. Cognitive tests establish a baseline for neurological activity, and can help medical professionals determine when it’s safe for players to return to the field.

Until these technologies become more accessible, we’re likely to keep hearing stories like Joe’s and Patrick’s. In the meantime, concerned parents and coaches must continue to chip away at the culture of toughness that pervades youth sports.

It’s unrealistic to think that youth football, hockey or lacrosse could ever be 100 percent risk-free activities—and parents understand that. But it’s equally insane to think that we aren’t trying anything and everything to come as close to that standard as possible.

That includes increasing concussion awareness training for coaches, parents and players. It also means utilizing ImPACT Testing in every high school athletic program. And, most importantly, it means making sure that young athletes don’t have to think twice before reporting concussion symptoms.

After all, as Patrick’s mother points out, “It hasn’t been that long that such emphasis has been put on concussive syndrome. There was a time you were considered weak if you complained of it, and that was not long ago.”

There’s too much at risk—namely, our children’s health and well-being—to continue to sweep the epidemic of concussions in youth sports under the rug.

Mike and Rosemary O'Connell carry the Stanley Cup to their hometown beach. (Photo credit: Rosemary O'Connell)

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

It was a beautiful October morning in New England.  The plan was to get on the 9:05 train to Boston for a doctor’s appointment that I  canceled three times, then meet a friend for lunch.

With coffee in hand, I parked my car at the commuter rail lot, stuck my dollar bills in the parking station and hopped on the train.  Settling in, I was looking forward to reading the morning papers which included all the stories on the Patriots-Jets game the day before and the upcoming debate that evening.  I pulled the papers from my bag, and remembered to get my wallet out to pay the conductor who would be down the aisle any second.  Then it happened.  I had no wallet.  Not in the bag, not stuck between the papers, not on my seat, not under the seat. My heart raced as I tried to retrace in my mind how I lost it.  I had it when I was stuffing the bills into the parking pay station. Now it was gone.

The train was making its first stop, and I raced to get off.  The conductor, noticing my complete panic mode asked if he could help.  ”Lost my wallet at the previous stop,” I said.  He replied, “Hey, don’t worry about it, you can pay next time.”  As I jumped off the train I yelled back, “I have to find that wallet… now!”

So there I was, a good two miles from my car and hopefully my wallet. The tracks were fenced off, so it was impossible to walk along them, not that I would any way. “Never go near train tracks.” I’ve been telling my kids that for 15  years.

The only way back was to walk on the shoulder of a highway.  There I was with my huge tote bag, 10-pound laptop, and high heeled boots, (that were definitely ‘not’ made for walking.)  I was overheated in my leather jacket because of my fast pace, so that went in my bag too.  Now sweating through my sweater, I realized there was no chance that wallet would still be there.  Looking at my watch, I knew I could not hoof it back to the train station in time to drive to Boston and be on time for my appointment. My day would be spent on the phone, canceling credit cards and replacing identification.  I wanted to either cuss or cry.  I was starting to do both.

Next thing I know a guy in a pick-up truck pulls over and says, “Alice, do you want a ride?”  I looked over and said, ” Yes! ”  This guy could have been a serial killer.  I didn’t care. I was getting in that truck.  He said my name, but that didn’t necessarily mean I knew him.  After all those years on local TV people sometimes say hello with my name, which is nice, but doesn’t mean I should be jumping in cars with them.

So I’m in the truck and I look over and realize the good Samaritan is Mike O’Connell, the former Boston Bruin, former Bruins GM, and  a fellow resident of my town.  ”Wow, I didn’t recognize you Mike,” I said, a  little embarrassed.  O’Connell looked like the guy in the Ford truck commercials- baseball cap, three day beard, barn jacket.

I told Mike what happened.  He took me back to the train station and to my car.  ”Do you want to go see if it’s still there?”  he asked.  I said, “Sure, why not?”  I had less than zero confidence I would ever see it again.

We walked over to the pay station; it was not there.  Then Mike looked under the pay board, and there it was, in the deep grass.  He crawled under the board, grabbed the wallet and handed it to me. I gave him a hug, a huge thanks, ran to my car and made my appointment on time.

Even though we live in the same town, I had not seen Mike O’Connell in some time.  After the LA Kings won the Cup last spring I saw Mike and his wife Rosemary out for a morning walk. I was on a run and on the other side of the street.  I yelled over “hey Mike, way to go!” with a big thumbs up. O’Connell is now with the Kings organization and he was part of the 2012 Stanley Cup Championship.  The old mug was in our little town last month courtesy of Mike O’Connell who took it to the  village common for all to touch and photograph.

It didn’t work out with the Mike O’Connell as the Bruin’s GM.  He joined the Kings six seasons ago with the title Pro Development an Special Assignments. O’Connell  is now a grandfather and enjoying  life in the same town where he grew up and learned how to play hockey.

As a player, O’Connell was a solid blue-liner for the Bruins from 1980-86.   He became GM of the Bruins in 2000, and was left holding the bag of a team that was a shell of its former self.  A half a dozen players left as free agents in the wake of the 2004-2005 lockout, and the Bruins paid the price. O’Connell was the guy who took the heat for trading Joe Thornton.   All these years later, the Bruins have their Cup, Mike O’Connell has his Cup and Joe Thornton is still waiting.

There are plenty of Mike O’Connell fingerprints on the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Bruins.   Both David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron were drafted on O’Connell’s watch.  He acquired the draft pick that turned into Milan Lucic, and he was the only person in all of hockey that thought 29-year-old Tim Thomas wasn’t ready for the scrap heap.

One of my first stories as a reporter at WSBK, was a family feature on the O’Connell’s. It was 1982.  He wife Rose were proud parents of their first born- a baby girl.  That daughter has her own baby now, and Grandpa has his Cup.  Sometimes good guys do finish first.

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

I've been to London twice, most recently in the summer of 2010. My daughter talked me into it after her high school graduation. As we took in the sights, the museums and the pubs for ten days, we also discovered that British English is a language of its own. Amazing how it could sound so proper and be so hilarious at the same time.

The following is a list of British slang the Patriots should be familiar with as they travel across the pond for the second time. Bill Belichick has made it clear that this is strictly a "business trip," so we'll try to keep it football related, not to be confused with soccer, which is their version of football. You know what I mean.

1. Arse over elbow - Like when we say head over heels. "Brandon Spikes just sent the Rams' Chris Givens arse over elbow. What a play."

2. Belt up - This is the British version of our "shut up." It's what Tom Brady should have said to "U Mad Bro" Richard Sherman walking off the field in Seattle.

3. Bender - A heavy drinking session. Rest assured there will be no "benders" for Patriots players while in London ... we think.

4. Blimey - An expression of surprise. "That was a blimey good play, don't you think chap?"

5. Bloody - A very useful word (but considered a swear by the British) to emphasize almost anything. "The defensive backs were bloody awful today." This is also a word that Americans should avoid saying. It's just all wrong without the accent.

6. Bomb - This is not a pass completion over 60 yards, although the expression does work in this instance because the British version means something is going really well or really fast.

7.Cheerio - Here this a breakfast cereal, over there it's a friendly way of saying goodbye. Imagine Belichick saying "cheerio" at the conclusion of his post game news conference. Right.

8.Cock up - I know what you're thinking. In Britain, it means you made a mistake. Really. Look it up.

9.Clear off - Over there it means get lost. It could come in handy from the Patriots sideline when they have too many men on the field.

10. Dishy - Our word for attractive or good looking. "Many women agree Tom Brady is dishy." Synonym: fit.

11. Get stuffed - We think of it as an excellent defensive play on the ball carrier. It's the British not-so-polite was of saying "go away."

12. Knees up - In England, if they are having a knees up, they are going to a party, as a opposed to a kneel down in football- a play designed to run out the clock

13. Leg it - A British term for run for it. Will the Patriots pass or leg it more?

14. Mate - Another word for friend. The Patriots have "team mates." Same kind of thing- we hope.

15. Mind the gap  - This expression has nothing to do with the 2-gap or 3-gap defense. The gap in England is that space between the train or tube platform and the train car. Our equivalent expression is "watch your step." Mind the gap is just so proper.

16. Piss poor - No explanation needed here.

17. Piss Up - A drinking session. Patriots fans making the trip are likely to have one of these.

18.Sack/sacked - In England it means getting fired. Same thing here. The fine fans in London will learn it also means flattening a quarterback.

19.Skive - What someone does to avoid something, like Tom Brady evading a sack. "Nice skive there by Brady."

20.Chuffed - Proud. Belichick will be so "chuffed" if his team plays well. Coach may wrap it up by saying something like this after the game (imagine Belichick saying this in a British accent):

"Coming here to London was the bee's knees (awesome). I fancied (liked) our approach, especially considering everyone was so knackered (tired) after the long flight. There are bits and bobs (various things) that we still have to work on. Nothing is easy peasy (easy) in this league. So we'll get back to Boston, try to get our batteries re-charged during the bye week and we'll see all you chaps again in a fortnight (two weeks). Cheers."

What would you ask Bobby Valentine if given the chance? (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

By Arielle Aronson, She's Game Sports

In case you missed it Tuesday night, Bobby Valentine spoke openly about the worst Red Sox season in nearly half a century for the first time since being fired as Red Sox manager. Valentine chose to voice his opinions on The Season Gone Wrong in typical Valentinian fashion: he appeared on national television as a guest on Bob Costas's "Costas Tonight" show.

The interview itself was a letdown. Costas failed to bring the heat. He asked questions in a way that made it seem as if Valentine was nothing more than a victim, and he was quite gentle on the former Sox manager. Instead of asking what the coaching staff could have done better, Costas asked if Valentine felt undermined or supported. He didn't press Valentine about his relationship with ownership or Ben Cherington, even after Valentine hinted that the relationship with Cherington was not ideal.

And so, since we were hoping for a bit more juicy details in the interview, we've come up with a list -- both serious and facetious -- of questions we would have asked Valentine if we were in Costas's shoes.

1. In your opinion, what ultimately doomed the Red Sox in 2012?


2. How many times did you play cribbage/trash-talk with Dustin Pedroia?


3. Have you ever heard of suspending a player for throwing a temper tantrum and why did Alfredo Aceves' behavior reach the point that he required that type of punishment?


4. Who has more swag, David Ortiz or his son?


5. What happened between you and Kevin Youkilis, and what is the current state of your relationship?


6. Which brand of antacid did you require during the season and at what point did you have to switch to the extra-strength version?


7. When you say that David Ortiz gave up on the season, do you feel like any other players also gave up on the team/season? If so, who and when? We want names.


8. Does John Henry always speak in that quiet, subdued voice? What does John Henry yelling sound like?


9. What was managing Josh Beckett like and why did it not work out for him in Boston?


10. WEEI or 98.5 The Sports Hub?


11. Considering the amount of injuries the team had, would it have been possible/how could the team have finished better than last in the AL East?


12. How hilarious would it have been to have you, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez in the same clubhouse?


13. What is it like to manage a losing, crabby team knowing you'll be fired? What helped you finish out the season?


14. Which players sent you text messages that made you cry? Which players never spoke to you again after the end of the season? We want names. And phone numbers. Possibly addresses as well.


15. How close is this Red Sox team to making the necessary attitude changes needed before becoming a winning organization once again?


16. Would you consider doing a duet with Taylor Swift about your break-up with the Red Sox? We hear she's good at writing break-up songs.


17. How much of the drama reported by the media this season actually happened? What can you flat out confirm and flat out deny?


18. Since you claim to have invented the wrap sandwiches, do you ask for free wraps when you go to restaurants that are not your own?


19. Would you still have applied to be the manager of the Boston Red Sox last season had you known then what you know now about the organization and the players on the Red Sox?


20. Obama or Romney?

That's our list. If you could have asked Bobby Valentine a question last night, what would you have asked? Or, how do you think Bobby Valentine would have answered some of these questions?

By Kathryn Tappen, She's Game Sports

There's a bottomless mug that sits on one very important desk at the TD Garden which reads "It's all good."

The slogan is actually the motto that colleagues, friends, and family know Amy Latimer, newly appointed president of the TD Garden, lives by and is the reason it's on prominent display on her office desk in Boston.

On September 20th, Latimer's new title became official and very public.

"The outpouring of support was amazing," Latimer said. "It's exciting! My family is really proud. I was really touched by the Sports Business Journal and the lead story, "Chasing Amy." I got hundreds of emails, and I don't usually get shocked, but that shocked me."

But the fact of the matter is, Latimer shouldn't be shocked. She has worked for the TD Garden, one of the top sports and entertainment venues in the world, since its opening in 1995 and has now assumed the venue's top post -- not to the surprise of her colleagues.

NHL Hall of Famer and Boston Bruins President Cam Neely occupies the office next to Latimer at TD Garden and spends countless hours in meetings with her.

"Amy will do a fantastic job as President of the TD Garden as she has a great understanding of what it takes to be in this position to help run a building with two professional sports teams, as well as the numerous other events that the TD Garden hosts," said Neely. "Amy also has a wonderful working relationship with both TD Garden and Boston Bruins associates which will help make this transition for her much smoother."

The transition to her current role came about a year ago. Latimer, then Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the TD Garden and Boston Bruins, began to take on more responsibility, as former President John Wentzell transitioned into his role as President of Delaware North Companies Boston and Delaware North's operations in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Latimer, along with Hugh Lombardi, TD Garden's Sr. Vice President/General Manager, were co-leading the operation of the TD Garden.

"We got to be more involved with the human resources aspect of the business, gained more insight into the budgeting side, and had more communications with Delaware North from a global standpoint," Latimer said.

Latimer's day to day responsibility has certainly changed as she calls it, "shedding some of my Bruins." She recently spent three days visiting other venues to see how the TD Garden can make improvements for future opportunities in her own venue down the road.

"I'm taking care of the house now, more so than before."

And that house gets pretty busy. Home to the NHL's Boston Bruins and the NBA's Boston Celtics along with numerous concerts, sporting and entertainment events, the TD Garden facilitates showbiz for millions of people on a yearly basis.

But the fondest memories for Latimer in her 17 years on Causeway Street were the two championships won in a three-year span (Celtics - 2008, Bruins - 2011).

"I don't know what event matches the energy of the playoffs and in particular the Finals," she said. "It was electric. You start every season thinking this is the year for your team, and to see it come through and happen is an amazing ride. I wouldn't trade that experience or energy rush for the world.

"It was so important for us to capitalize on those playoffs, from a fan perspective and a business standpoint."

Her rise to the top in a male dominated industry is familiar territory for Latimer. A mother of three boys (Jackson, 14, Grant, 12, Harrison, almost 11), Latimer credits her supportive husband of 17 years, Jody, with helping to keep things in order in their life.

"He's a saint! Good husband," she said. "It's more of a partnership these days. There are people who have traditional roles in their marriage but if you have two parents who are working it is a balance. I take doctor appointments, Jody has dentists. There are responsibilities we both have, and that is really important.

"I try not to miss anything in my sons' lives. My kids get it. There are very few times where I have said to them, 'I'm not going to be there,' and they understand."

Despite making breakfast for her kids every day, baking on the weekend in her newly renovated kitchen, dusting off her antique collection of fine china and playing for her town's women's softball team 'Luscious Ladies' on Tuesday nights, the self-proclaimed "wanna-be Martha Stewart" doesn't try to pretend for a minute that she has it all.

In fact, she doesn't think that "having it all" exists.

"What exactly does that mean? I don't even know," Latimer said. "I'm tossed salad sometimes, like I didn't charge the camcorder or I can't find the camera and I need to ask a friend to take a picture of my kid. I've done that more than I care to, but really? My kid is not going to end up in therapy because of it."

With three active boys and her nephew all living under the same roof, getting everyone off to school is perhaps a more difficult task than the day to day grind of her job at the TD Garden.

"Oh my gosh, organized chaos!" she said. "Well the good news is there's not a lot of drama about clothing. The best thing about boys is it's food, ball and a roof over their head.

"I am such a fan of kids enjoying sports. In a team sport you learn very early that you can't pick your coach, which means you can't pick your boss. Most of the time you can't pick the other kids on the team so you have to learn to work with all these personalities for that same goal. Work-life balance early on in life is the best thing you can do for a kid, giving them all those tools to succeed in life."

So how did this Maryland gal and former University of Rhode Island basketball star do it?

"You work hard, and do your job, and it shines through," she said. "I have always believed that nice things happen to nice people."

Latimer's sense of humor, combined with her "It's all good" attitude is what makes people feel at ease around her. She approaches every day with a lighthearted mentality.

"There's an openness when people realize you are truly dedicated to your job, you want to do the best for the organization and have their best interest at hand," she said. "No one is going to stand in the way of that. It would be pretty tough."

Latimer sees the female role in team management increasing, especially with women occupying an analytical role within the business. She believes a woman can most certainly handle the operation on the team side and business side.

"I see many doors opening up in the future," she said. "It's exciting! I think there will be more and more women, I don't know when and I don't know who the next ones are, but I see women who are very bright and will be very successful in this industry."

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman posted this photo on Twitter, then deleted it, with the caption "U mad bro?" after Sunday's game. (Elaine Thompson-Associated Press)

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

Anyone can have a bad day - even Tom Brady. Two interceptions, two intentional groundings, and a bunch of bad passes made for one of Brady's worst outings in quite some time.

The Patriots had more problems than Brady last week. The secondary got burned to a crisp, coaching decisions were suspect and the running game hit a brick wall. There were issues across the board.

Somewhat surprisingly, a good portion of the Monday morning quarterbacking revolved around the quarterback.

The sports talk lines were lighting up - and this is what they were saying:
"Getting old." "Worn down." "Less arm strength." "Ducking under pressure." "Mental mistakes." "Throws into the dirt."

Wow. Brady bashing. That's something new around here - and totally ridiculous.

There is no question Brady's 395 yards were tarnished by the team's one for six in the red zone, and most importantly the final score. It was an uncharacteristic performance for sure, but let's not put the two-time Super Bowl MVP out to pasture just yet.

We have been spoiled through the years. People in New England have come to expect the miracles down the stretch, sticking the nail in the coffin, and the Patriots walking off with another win.

Brady can't do it all. His career-high 58 pass attempts meant nothing without a running game. 87 rushing yards on 26 carries won't cut it. If Brady is throwing it close to 60 times a game it can't be a good thing - no matter how many yards he's racking up.

It's not just fans and media picking on Brady, opposing players are getting into the fray. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, well known for his trash talking, posted a picture on his Twitter, which has since been deleted. The photo showed Sherman yapping at Brady as they walked off the field after the game. The caption said, "U mad bro?"

According to Sherman, Brady told him and a teammate to 'come see me after the game.' The Patriots were winning at the time.

On WEEI radio Tuesday, Brady said he didn't see Sherman after the game. (In the photo it looks like Brady's eyes are closed, so this could be true.)

Brady, as usual, took the high road.

"That's part of football," Brady told Dennis and Callahan. "Everyone is entitled to what they say and their behavior. We as Patriots have always handled it in a different way. But when you win, you can do whatever you want."

Sherman didn't stop with the Twitter comment. In the post game he had some words to say about Brady and the no huddle offense.

"Anytime you run a gimmick offense, you're a little bit afraid - you're not sound in what you are doing in your base stuff. There is a reason it's not effective, because there are great defenses out there who will stuff it."

A little bit afraid? Tom Brady... AFRAID? Right buddy. And who are you again? I never heard of Richard Sherman until he started flapping his mouth off.

So listen up people. No badmouthing Tom Brady. Especially if you have been paying attention the last 11 years.

Brady is a leader, he's a fighter, he's a winner and he still has his fastball. I like that he told Sherman to come see him after the game. It shows that he's cocky too - and there's nothing wrong with that.

With Rex Ryan and the Jets coming to town, maybe somebody should ask the Jets coach who he would rather have, Mark Sanchez or Tom Brady? Truth or dare.

I am picking the Patriots this week in a rout. "U mad?" Yeah, Brady is probably heated. And if anyone out there wants to talk about once great players who can't get it done -take a look at A-Rod. Now, that one is worth a discussion.

Pete Carroll will face his former team Sunday. (Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE)

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

If opposites attract, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick would be bosom buddies.

About the only thing that the two head coaches have in common is the New England Patriots. One has famously taken the team to the top three times and is considered a coaching genius. The other left town with a 27-21 record over three seasons, one playoff appearance and the same smile he arrived with.

Carroll and Belichick will face each other Sunday as opposing head coaches for the first time since 1994 when Coach Belichick was with the Browns and Coach Carroll was with the Jets. For the record, Belichick's team won that game, 27-7.

Pete Carroll's time with the Patriots was sandwiched between the imposing presence of Bill Parcells and the dour but effective nature of Bill Belichick.

I was there when each of these coaches was introduced, and it was Carroll's first presser that holds the big memory. As Carroll stood at the podium in the crowded room, a member of the media sneezed. Carroll looked over at the writer and said, "God bless you."

Right then I knew we weren't in Big Tunaville anymore.

Carroll is said to be the perfect college coach. At Southern Cal, his high fives, player hugging, and Heisman winners led him to national championships. It all worked perfectly in the world of boola boola, bowl games, and beautiful beaches. But when Carroll sensed the foul smell of an NCAA investigation, it was time to go. Pete left USC faster than you could shake a pom pom.

He took over as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2010.

From the day he gushed the words "I am pumped and jacked" back with the Jets, Carroll has been viewed as a coach whose enthusiasm is maybe a bit over the top. He is definitely a guy who always sees the glass half full - even if the liquid it holds is toxic.

Carroll is not the type to strike fear into the hearts of his players or the media. There is a hesitancy to ask Bill Belichick the tough question- especially after a game- win or lose. Anyone who watches the Patriots 5th Quarter postgame show knows how awkward and brief those Q & A sessions can be.

No question was too inane for California Pete. I remember a writer asking Carroll about the dynamics of the coin toss. The question was, "Are you a heads guy or a tails guy?" And there was Pete, with his boyish grin answering, "Hmmm. I am definitely a tails guy." Everyone laughed, including Carroll.

On the day he was let go from the Patriots, the news vans were lined up in the Foxboro Stadium parking lot. Local TV stations figured they could at least get a shot of him walking out of the team offices for the final time. Instead of walking hastily to his car on one of the worst days of his life, Carroll approached the throng of reporters, photographers and cameramen. He shook each and everyone's hand and said thanks for everything.

Carroll owns the second-highest winning percentage among all Patriots coaches (.549). No need to tell anyone who leads the pack.

In 2007, Carroll was asked by Sports Illustrated about his experience with the Patriots. He said, "I was there for three years, and it was the hardest 10 years I ever had."

Carroll had some tough times in New England, but his memories aren't all bad.

"I loved living there and representing those fans. I thought they were awesome," said Carroll in a press conference earlier this week. "They were so intense and loved the team so much in all the sports, not just football. Whether it was basketball, hockey, baseball, this is a great fan base, and I loved being connected with them. And I appreciated it more the tougher they got on us, because I knew how much they loved it and how much they cared about it."

Pete Carroll did not work out for the Patriots. It doesn't make him a bad guy- just not the right guy. Two years after Carroll was fired, the Patriots were Super Bowl champions, and no team in football has had more success since.

The Patriots have the right guy to thank for it- Bill Belichick.

Recent revelations about Lance Armstrong and doping create more doubts about his innocence. (photo from lancearmstrong.com)

By Kathryn Tappen, She's Game Sports

I was on the golf course Wednesday when the "Breaking News" update came in on my phone.

Mistake number one on my part was checking my phone on the course. Mistake number two was wanting to believe Lance Armstrong back in August when he announced that he was giving up his fight against the latest wave of charges by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Like many others who watched history as Armstrong went on to win a record seven Tour de France titles, I felt sorry for the athlete we grew to love. I wanted to believe that he was telling the truth all along, but had given up on the legal war in his life.

After all, if Armstrong could fight the biggest battle of his life against cancer and win, why then could he not take on the agency who accused him of cheating?

The answer became abundantly clear on Wednesday.

As it turns out, a sports fan's worst nightmare came true. The New York Times reported, "The United States Anti-Doping Agency released details of its investigation of Lance Armstrong, calling it the most sophisticated doping program in recent sports history -- a program in which it said Armstrong played a key role by doping, supplying doping products and demanding that his top teammates dope so he could be successful."

And so the story goes. Another larger than life athlete bites the dust.

I grew up watching Lance Armstrong and his Tour de France greatness. I wasn't a fan of cycling, and I knew little about the sport. But he was compelling, a true competitor in every sense of the word, and a champion over, and over, and over again.

So now what? Armstrong's name becomes part of the ABC's of professional athletes who cheated their way to the top. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, and so on and so on. I cringe to think of who might be next.

But the sad reality is that no one wins in this awful revelation. Millions of dollars were spent by the antidoping agency, as they've been gathering evidence on Armstrong for the past several years. What if that money was donated to charity? Let's for argument sake stick with Lance. In the past 15 years, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the largest athlete-named charity in the world, has raised $480 million.

What's left? Whether you believed Lance or not, we all have to accept the grim reality of the details released on Wednesday.

Lance wasn't superhuman after all.

I do not feel sorry for Lance Armstrong anymore. Rather now, I cannot begin to imagine the pain that Armstrong's fierce competitors, who missed out on the Tour de France title after decades of training and regime, are suffering. His former teammates, who risked greatness themselves in an effort to let a bonafide champ take the prize. The children who dreamed of being Lance Armstrong one day were duped. The fans no longer care to recall the memories and images of a dominant champion clad in yellow.

And the world is once again left to wonder: Are we witnessing greatness, or simply a mirage that is neither real nor honorable?

Oakland Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy smiles in the dugout during last night's game. (Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE)

By Meredith Perri, She's Game Sports

With the Red Sox season having mercifully ended nearly a week ago, it may seem like time for some to pretend that all of baseball has ended for a few months. It may seem like time to throw all of one’s passion into the Patriots, or into being vehemently angry over not having the ability to watch the Bruins.

But baseball is still here, and even though it is not in Boston, there is still a reason to watch this October. The drama of postseason play is universal as the story lines go further than just wins and loses. It’s about character, grit and everything that baseball fans love about the game.

It would be easy to say that Red Sox fans should automatically root for the team playing against the New York Yankees. The Baltimore Orioles are the underdog story of the postseason, and not just because they are playing against the so-called Evil Empire. Baltimore is making its first appearance in the postseason since 1997.

“Hey, this lineup here is a lineup that is a bunch of guys that are angry, want to play, want to win and ain’t taking no for an answer,” Baltimore’s center fielder Adam Jones told the media after the team defeated the Yankees on Monday.

That unbridled determination built the game. It is the reason why viewers become so emotionally attached to teams and players.

Yet, as much as the underdog story resonates with nearly everyone, and as much as every Red Sox fan would like to see the Yankees lose, there is a different team – one in the other American League series – that deserves some attention.

While the Red Sox season was continuing to crumble more than anyone could have predicted, the Oakland Athletics were going through something worse and on a more personal level. The A’s story goes further than baseball.

Just over a month ago, Oakland pitcher Brandon McCarthy suffered a life-threatening injury when he was hit in the head by a line drive. A mere three weeks after having brain surgery to save his life, while receiving the A’s nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award, McCarthy announced he would resume throwing the very next day.

Even after being there put him in a near-death situation, McCarthy will return to the mound.

That is true grit.

Last week, another A’s pitcher experienced a horrific life-altering experience when his newborn son suddenly passed away less than a day after he was born. Pat Neshek received the call from his wife during Oakland’s last regular season game that his son Gehrig had stopped breathing.

Neshek did not think he would return to baseball this season, but on Saturday he pitched in the seventh inning. Like the rest of his teammates, he wore a black patch on his sleeve with his son’s initials: GJN. After he retired the only two batters he faced, he patted the patch on his arm, and after looking to the sky found his wife in the crowd.

Neshek broke down in the dugout after pitching, but he did not regret going back to the game.

“I was hoping we’d win this game, but it will be a game I’ll remember forever,” Neshek said to the media after the A’s lost. “It was the right choice, it definitely was, being here.”

That is true heart.

While some might say that Neshek returned to the field too soon, baseball appears to be a part of his healing process, just like it can be for any fan going through a challenging time. The sport presents an opportunity to throw everything into a single pitch and remember what it is like to feel good about something.

Baseball is not perfect, and it is just a game. But these stories are real, human pieces to the larger puzzle that makes up the postseason. Winning the ALDS, or the American League or even the World Series will not stop McCarthy from remembering that moment when he was hit, nor will it heal the pain that Neshek and his wife feel.

But for a brief amount of time, a win can mean something more for them. It is not just another ring to add to the collection. It is a feel-good moment in a month of pain and heartache.

More than an underdog, the Athletics present an opportunity to support a team that needs some love as it heals.

Before you shut baseball out of your mind until the spring, think about those players that are a part of a larger cause. Remember the reasons why you fell in love with baseball, and consider, even for just one second, that maybe a win can be more than just defeating one’s opponent.

FULL ENTRY

Ilya Bryzgalov of the Philadelphia Flyers is one of many Russian players who has chosen to move to North America to play for the National Hockey League. Bryzgalov implied recently in an interview that NHLers might be tempted to remain in the Kontinental Hockey League overseas regardless of NHL labor disputes. (Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE)

By Zoe Hayden, She's Game Sports

Bobby Ryan is right: it's not really possible to pencil in lengthy CBA negotiations when you are busy scoring goals or blocking shots in Kladno, Magnitogorsk, or Geneva.

However, it's also not easy to tell over 1,000 active players to not work or stay active when the jobs they have committed to will not ask them back. There is always room on a European team's depth chart for a skilled player since the best of the best usually end up in North America. When North America won't have them, choosing Europe seems as easy as picking the ripest apple out of the basket. The play won't be quite as hard, the competition won't be quite as tough, but they're still going to make some money and stay conditioned.

The players don't need the NHL to make their livings, but they certainly want to base their careers there. It's the culture, the sheer amount of money, the stardom and the atmosphere of North American hockey that players aspired to become a part of before they ended up hearing their names called on draft day. The management and ownership of the League strives to maintain that in tandem with the NHLPA. And there's no bigger reminder that there are other fish in the sea than seeing your best talent continue to live their lives without the most competitive and popular hockey league in the world.

If it weren't just business, I'd say it was a bargaining chip. As if everyone who has left for Europe just said, "We don't need you. We can, in fact, get on without you." Unfortunately, it is just business, and most of the players know they will be back once all of this blows over - whether that's this month or next July.

It has been said that the fans have no stake in this because regardless of how many of us decide to not give the NHL our money or how loudly we voice our annoyance at the lack of hockey, the NHL will still be a multi-billion dollar business when the new CBA is negotiated. But both the fan involvement and the fact that the players don't necessarily need the NHL are worth considering in terms of the league's long-term viability. If every CBA negotiation is going to be like this, it might not even be worth it to hold up the National Hockey League as something great to aspire to -- not to mention that the business side of it will eventually begin to suffer.

So, when Bobby Ryan says that players defecting to Europe are "running from the problem", he kind of has a point. One can infer that Ryan and others who share his opinion still uphold the NHL and being an NHL player as things worth fighting for, and they see leaving for Europe as potentially endangering the League itself, not just, say, the first half of this season.

After all, while the players don't necessarily need this league, the league certainly needs them. The coexistence of a management and a players' union that so deeply, deeply lack trust between them is yet another red flag of an unhealthy business being sustained on poor practices.

In the meantime: the most solid, up-to-date news we actually have about the negotiations is the fact that deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA general counsel Steve Fehr actually spoke on the phone to discuss speaking again in order to schedule a time to speak this week. So they had a phone conversation to schedule a phone conversation to schedule a meeting, if we're to believe the press. These are the salient tidbits of gossip that we are hanging onto in early October.

And, even worse for North American hockey: Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is stirring up controversy of his own by saying that Russian players might just stay in the KHL after the lockout is over, citing, in addition to the heartwarming prospect of playing in front of their hometowns as superstars, the fact that there is a great deal of money in corporate sponsorship in Russia, perhaps more than players might make in the NHL.

The various labor disputes on our side of the pond could certainly make the KHL an attractive destination for talented players, since the neither the KHL nor its predecessor, the Russian Superleague, suffered any notable labor dispute. While the RSL did not have a union, the Kontinental Hockey League Players Trade Union was formed upon the creation of the KHL in 2008. The KHL, it should be noted, has stricter rules in place than the NHL in some aspects, including a history of "forced" RFA contracts wherein players under 28 have been legally bound to sign offer sheets whether they want to or not, and such decisions were upheld by Russian courts. Maybe having a labor dispute in Russia is more trouble than it's worth, regardless of whether players are happy with the KHLPTU's end of the deal.

All of this speculation notwithstanding: the season was supposed to begin this week, and there is still no end in sight.

Bobby Valentine has had his final bike ride to Fenway Park. (Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

After the final game of the Red Sox's sorry 2012 season, Bobby Valentine was asked what he planned to do next. He said, "My plan now is to wake up and have a long bike ride."

Bobby Valentine is riding out of town the same way he rode in - on his bike.

Every morning during spring training Bobby would cruise in on his bike before the sun came up. The Red Sox equipment staff had to take the bike apart and put it back together in each city the team visited. Valentine lives less than a mile from Fenway Park, and he rode his bike to work every day. He stayed so late after a game one night that he got locked into the ballpark and couldn't get out. It was just Bobby and his bike trapped like rats.

We would be hard-pressed to every find another personality like Bobby V, and his unusual mode of transportation is just one of many things that makes the man completely unique. Love him or hate him, Valentine is anything but boring.

Here was a baseball manager that performed as a ballroom dancer at the 1964 World's Fair at age 14. He can salsa, he can cha cha, and he can do the sock hop. He claims to have invented the wrap sandwich. Unfortunately, Valentine is also really good at putting his foot in his mouth.

As Boston bids farewell to Bobby Valentine, let's take one more look at the 'best of Bobby.'

April 15

Valentine says he doesn't think Kevin Youkilis is "as physically or emotionally into the game." Youk was dumbfounded, and his team mate Dustin Pedroia famously said, "That's not how we do things around here" in response to Valentine publicly calling out Youk. Valentine apologized for the comment and reiterated his regret on the final day day of the season.

April 21

After the Red Sox blew a 9-0 lead and lost to the Yankees 15-9, Valentine said, "I think we've hit bottom, if this isn't the bottom, we'll find some new ends of the earth, I guess."

Be careful what you wish for- the Red Sox were not even close to the abyss.

July 30

After Red Sox outfielder Ryan Sweeney punched a door and broke his pinkie finger, Valentine says, "boys will be boys." Instead of leaving it there, Bobby added that the door had other dents from a number of players who smashed their fist into it. "He must have went at it in the wrong direction," Valentine said of Sweeney.

August 1

It is revealed that earlier in the season, Valentine chided Will Middlebrooks after the rookie misplayed a couple of balls. Valentine's "nice inning, kid" remark went back to the owners and Valentine was left to explain to his bosses that he offered Middlebrooks words of support after the game. It was never revealed what player, coach or employee threw the manager under the bus in that situation.

September 5

A few days earlier, Valentine was late to the ballpark in Oakland after a 20-2 loss the night before. Valentine got stuck in Bay Area traffic after going to pick his son up in traffic. WEEI talk show host Glenn Ordway asked Bobby if he had checked out for the season, and Valentine (jokingly) said he would like to punch Ordway in the face.

September 12

Fresh off a suspension for slamming the door of the manager's office, pitcher Alfredo Aceves did not hand the ball to Valentine during a pitching change. Aceves took the "long way" back to the dugout in a sign of defiance to the manager. After the game Valentine said, "who cares if he showed me up? If I have to explain Aceves' actions, I'll wind up going across the river and work for Harvard."

September 14

With the Red Sox clearly on their way to their worst record since 1965, Valentine told the media, "This is the weakest roster we've ever had in September in the history of baseball."

Ouch.

It's been a tough and trying year for anyone associated with the Red Sox. Say this about Bobby Valentine: he is not boring. He said some stupid things, but the burden of this horrible team should not be put squarely on his shoulders. The blame pie is shared with the owners, the front office, the players, the coaches, which reminds me ...

October 3

Valentine is asked if he felt undermined by his coaches. "Yes," he said, "just what I feel."

Several days before the season ended, Valentine crashed his bike in Central Park while trying to read a text sent by Dustin Pedroia.

Fitting that his first ever bike accident would put a cap on this train wreck of a season.

Bobby Valentine has had his final bike ride to Fenway Park. (Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

By Alice Cook, She's Game Sports

After the final game of the Red Sox's sorry 2012 season, Bobby Valentine was asked what he planned to do next. He said, "My plan now is to wake up and have a long bike ride."

Bobby Valentine is riding out of town the same way he rode in - on his bike.

Every morning during spring training Bobby would cruise in on his bike before the sun came up. The Red Sox equipment staff had to take the bike apart and put it back together in each city the team visited. Valentine lives less than a mile from Fenway Park, and he rode his bike to work every day. He stayed so late after a game one night that he got locked into the ballpark and couldn't get out. It was just Bobby and his bike trapped like rats.

We would be hard-pressed to every find another personality like Bobby V, and his unusual mode of transportation is just one of many things that makes the man completely unique. Love him or hate him, Valentine is anything but boring.

Here was a baseball manager that performed as a ballroom dancer at the 1964 World's Fair at age 14. He can salsa, he can cha cha, and he can do the sock hop. He claims to have invented the wrap sandwich. Unfortunately, Valentine is also really good at putting his foot in his mouth.

As Boston bids farewell to Bobby Valentine, let's take one more look at the 'best of Bobby.'

April 15

Valentine says he doesn't think Kevin Youkilis is "as physically or emotionally into the game." Youk was dumbfounded, and his team mate Dustin Pedroia famously said, "That's not how we do things around here" in response to Valentine publicly calling out Youk. Valentine apologized for the comment and reiterated his regret on the final day day of the season.

April 21

After the Red Sox blew a 9-0 lead and lost to the Yankees 15-9, Valentine said, "I think we've hit bottom, if this isn't the bottom, we'll find some new ends of the earth, I guess."

Be careful what you wish for- the Red Sox were not even close to the abyss.

July 30

After Red Sox outfielder Ryan Sweeney punched a door and broke his pinkie finger, Valentine says, "boys will be boys." Instead of leaving it there, Bobby added that the door had other dents from a number of players who smashed their fist into it. "He must have went at it in the wrong direction," Valentine said of Sweeney.

August 1

It is revealed that earlier in the season, Valentine chided Will Middlebrooks after the rookie misplayed a couple of balls. Valentine's "nice inning, kid" remark went back to the owners and Valentine was left to explain to his bosses that he offered Middlebrooks words of support after the game. It was never revealed what player, coach or employee threw the manager under the bus in that situation.

September 5

A few days earlier, Valentine was late to the ballpark in Oakland after a 20-2 loss the night before. Valentine got stuck in Bay Area traffic after going to pick his son up in traffic. WEEI talk show host Glenn Ordway asked Bobby if he had checked out for the season, and Valentine (jokingly) said he would like to punch Ordway in the face.

September 12

Fresh off a suspension for slamming the door of the manager's office, pitcher Alfredo Aceves did not hand the ball to Valentine during a pitching change. Aceves took the "long way" back to the dugout in a sign of defiance to the manager. After the game Valentine said, "who cares if he showed me up? If I have to explain Aceves' actions, I'll wind up going across the river and work for Harvard."

September 14

With the Red Sox clearly on their way to their worst record since 1965, Valentine told the media, "This is the weakest roster we've ever had in September in the history of baseball."

Ouch.

It's been a tough and trying year for anyone associated with the Red Sox. Say this about Bobby Valentine: he is not boring. He said some stupid things, but the burden of this horrible team should not be put squarely on his shoulders. The blame pie is shared with the owners, the front office, the players, the coaches, which reminds me ...

October 3

Valentine is asked if he felt undermined by his coaches. "Yes," he said, "just what I feel."

Several days before the season ended, Valentine crashed his bike in Central Park while trying to read a text sent by Dustin Pedroia.

Fitting that his first ever bike accident would put a cap on this train wreck of a season.