Congratulations to Sheila Lopez & Catholic Charities on receiving the $50k TB Lightning community award grant @ tonight’s game – well deserved for their work with the homeless et al. at Pinellas Hope!
Phil Esposito describes heartbreak
Tampa Bay Lightning founder Phil Esposito describes heartbreak of losing a child – by Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist, Thursday, March 1, 2012
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/hockey/lightning/tampa-bay-lightning-founder-phil-esposito-describes-heartbreak-of-losing-a/1217805
Air Pollution in an Unlikely Spot: An Indoor Hockey Rink
NPR
01 March 2012
Ah, hockey. Ice chips spray as a player skates to a stop and digs for a puck in the corner. A cool breeze wafts over the rink in the wake of opposing players rushing down the ice to stop him.
And then there’s the yellowish blanket of nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas that’s an ingredient in smog, hovering over the ice.
Say what?
Early last year, 31 people got sick after spending time at an unnamed indoor ice arena owned by a private school in New Hampshire.
Health officials said a 19-year-old man showed up at a local hospital emergency room shortly after hockey practice, according to an account in the latest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. He was hacking, short of breath and coughing up blood.
Other players on his team were having similar problems. Same, too, for the guys on another team. Many wound up in the hospital.
The problem? The ventilation system in the arena where they practices was on the fritz. So when workers at the arena spent an hour or so buffing up the ice with a propane-powered resurfacing machine, the exhaust, including nitrogen dioxide, stayed inside.
Nitrogen dioxide is heavier than air and, like smog, it can be trapped near the ice by a warmer layer of air on top.
Players, workers and spectators at the rink noticed a yellow haze over the ice during two separate practices. But the players played on. Almost all of them later got sick.
The arena had a monitor to check the air for carbon monoxide but not nitrogen dioxide. The health officials recommended that an nitrogen oxide monitor to be added and that the ice equipment be tested.
The best way to eliminate the potential problem, the report says, would be to use electric rather than propane-powered equipment.
The brand of ice-resurfacing machine wasn’t mentioned. But I asked Frank J. Zamboni & Co. — which pioneered the equipment and makes electric-, propane- and natural gas-powered models — for a comment on the report.
“All of our machine choices provide a clean option and they allow a ‘green’choice for arena operators, based on their specific needs,” a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “However, with respect to older machines, just as in the automobile industry, the responsibility for maintenance rightly belongs to the owner of the vehicle. Even with proper maintenance, there can never be an elimination of indoor air ventilation, and regular testing of the air quality inside all ice rinks is critical, no matter the age of the machine.”
Tim Hortons feels heat from animal rights group
Reuters
28 February 2012
TORONTO (Reuters) – Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee shop chain looking to make deeper inroads south of the border, is under mounting pressure by animal rights activists to assure that its U.S. pork and egg suppliers adopt more humane practices.
The Humane Society of America said on Tuesday it will propose a shareholder vote in May on whether the chain should work to stop the practice of confining hens in cages and sows in gestation crates.
“When it comes to addressing cruelty to animals, an issue that American consumers feel strongly about, Tim Hortons is severely lagging,” Matthew Prescott, food policy director at the Humane Society, said in a statement announcing the proposal.
In response, Tim Hortons said it was actively working with its suppliers to make “realistic long-term improvements” in animal welfare. It said it will provide an update on the initiative and address the shareholder proposal in the next month.
“While we are not directly involved in the raising or handling of animals, Tim Hortons has significant initiatives and procedures in place to make sure our supply chain practices are consistent with both regulatory and industry norms,” spokeswoman Alexandra Cygal said.
The Humane Society can claim a string of successes in persuading the U.S. food industry to treat its animals more humanely.
Fast food chain McDonald’s Corp said earlier this month it would work to phase out the use of gestation crates.
The Humane Society said 70 percent of the U.S. pork industry confines its pregnant pigs to the crates, which are banned in the European Union and eight U.S. states – including California, Ohio and Michigan.
Sows are often confined in the crates – which are typically too narrow to allow them to turn around – from just before the birth of their piglets until the young pigs are weaned months later.
Tim Hortons is focused on expanding in its “core” U.S. markets near its Canadian base, including Ohio and Michigan.
The Humane Society said it owns 130 Tim Hortons shares, just enough to submit the proposal at the chain’s annual meeting.
Named after Tim Horton, a Hall of Fame hockey player who was one of the founders, the chain dominates the coffee and light-lunch trade in its home market, blanketing the country with its Spartan yellow and red stores. It says it brews eight out of every 10 cups of coffee sold in Canada.
The company is facing tough competition from McDonald’s, which has been renovating Canadian stores, promoting its coffee and introducing espresso drinks. For its part, Tims has beefed up its menu with items like lasagna casserole.
Ellenton Ice & Sports Complex Offer
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Head Coach Guy Boucher on His Team
Tampa Bay Lightning
February 2012
”Whether we’re the underdog or the team that’s supposed to win, our relentless attitude & our willingness to do more is our trademark”
“We’re doing it so that we have a community that’s proud of the type of individuals – not just the players – but the type of individuals in this room that represent them.”
( full interview: http://tbl.li/yO0BAT )
NHL Players Poll: League’s Nicest Players
NHL Players Poll: League’s Nicest Player
Sports Illustrated
February 2012
#5 (of 15)
Martin St Louis
Tampa Bay Lightning
(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1202/nhl.poll.nicest.player/content.5.html#ixzz1nNEJhhwe)
Lightning Launch Official Fantasy Hockey Game
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
February 2012
The Tampa Bay Lightning, in conjunction with Hotbox Sports, announced the official launch of the free Lightning Fantasy Challenge today, which allows Bolts fans to compete against each other, and against former Bolt Chris Dingman and radio personality Matt Sammon in fielding a competitive team comprised of their favorite Lightning players.
Manage your own team of Lightning players, and predict who will have the biggest games against upcoming opponents, as you compete to win prizes, weekly, monthly and even a grand prize of a trip to the NHL Draft in Pittsburgh.
Fans can start by logging on to TampaBayLightning.com/fantasy and selecting 11 different Bolts players each week, including six forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender.
The Fantasy Challenge starts Saturday in time for the Lightning at Penguins game, so register for free and set your lineup now.
Yup – great moments OFF the ice too …
When There’s More To Winning Than Winning
Frank Depford, NPR
February 22, 2012
When last we left the NCAA, it was February madness, colleges were jumping conferences, suing each other, coaches were claiming rivals had cheated in recruiting — the usual nobility of college sports.
And then, in the midst of all this, the men’s basketball team at Washington College of Chestertown, Md., journeyed to Pennsylvania to play Gettysburg College in a Division III Centennial Conference game.
It was senior night, and the loudest cheers went to Cory Weissman, No. 3, 5 feet 11 inches, a team captain — especially when he walked out onto the court as one of Gettysburg’s starting five.
Yes, he was a captain, but it was, you see, the first start of his college career. Cory had played a few minutes on the varsity as a freshman, never even scoring. But then, after that season, although he was only 18 years old, he suffered a major stroke. He was unable to walk for two weeks. His whole left side was paralyzed. He lost his memory, had seizures.
But by strenuously devoting himself to his rehabilitation, Cory slowly began to improve. He was able to return to college, and by this year, he could walk without a limp and even participated in the pre-game lay-up drills.
So for senior night, against Washington, his coach, George Petrie, made the decision to start Cory. Yes, he would only play a token few seconds, but it meant a great deal to Cory and to Gettysburg. All the more touching, the Washington players stood and cheered him.
That was supposed to be the end of it, but with Gettysburg ahead by a large margin and less than a minute left in the game, Coach Petrie sent Cory back in.
Nobody could understand, though, what happened next, why the Washington coach, Rob Nugent, bothered to call time out. The fans didn’t know what he told his players there in the huddle: that as quickly as they could, foul No. 3. And one of them did. And with 17 seconds left, Cory Weissman strode to the free-throw line. He had two shots.
Suddenly, the crowd understood what Coach Nugent had sought to do. There was not a sound in the gym. Cory took the ball and shot. It drifted to the left, missing disastrously. The crowd stirred. The referee gave Cory the ball back. He eyed the rim. He dipped and shot. The ball left his hand and flew true. Swish. All net.
The crowd cried as much as it cheered.
The assistant vice president for athletics at Gettysburg, David Wright, wrote to Washington College: “Your coach, Rob Nugent, along with his … staff and student-athletes, displayed a measure of compassion that I have never witnessed in over 30 years of involvement in intercollegiate athletics.”
Cory Weissman had made a point. Washington College had made an even larger one.
Downie in three-team trade with Avs, Red Wings
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings acquired defenseman Kyle Quincey on Tuesday in a three-team deal that sent forward Steve Downie from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Colorado Avalanche. The Lightning acquired a first-round pick in this year’s draft and minor league defenseman Sebastien Piche after exchanging Downie for Quincey with the Avalanche. Tampa Bay then dealt Quincey to the Red Wings for a first-round pick and Piche.
