Krista and.......MR KENNEDY!!!!KENNEDY!!!!!
Mako and the God of Thunder!
Ali and Talbot!
We had the privilege of taking our family and another to a great charity event last night, involving the Penguins players, and again we were reminded what good guys these folks are. Each lane had a Penguins player as the captain of their team, and this was drawn in a random manner. We were lucky enough to get Matt Cooke, one of our favorite players, and even more so after getting to know him a bit. Not only is he very entertaining on the ice, but man is he a great guy and family man off the ice. His Cooke Family Foundation of Hope contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to various charities, just as he and his wife Michelle contribute time and effort to the local chapter of Make A Wish. Matt, has two children, five year old Jackson, 8 year old Reece Lynn, and 17 year old Gabby. We all enjoyed the chance to meet him, and learn more about he and his family, while watching him interact with all of the kids. That demon like on ice persona gives way to a very engaging, sincere and family oriented guy. During the event all of the players interact with the participants, and all were EXTREMELY nice to talk to. The most engaging personalities that we met included Matt Cooke, Max Talbot, Craig Adams, Marc Andre Fleury, Mike Rupp, Jordan Staal, Brent Johnson, Sidney Crosby, bill Guerin, Mark Eaton, Chris Kunitz, and Tyler Kennedy. TK was particularly fond of the ink on my arm, and I got the impression he may call Steve Morris for some kind of Pens ink for himself. Some other highlights were a long conversation with Tony Granato about the night I got engaged. We stayed at what was then the Hyatt Hotel in Chatham Center on a game day when the Pens played the Rangers in 1988. On my back from parking the car, I got in the elevator with Tony Granato who was a winger for the Rangers at that time, and Rudy Poeschek, a VERY nasty enforcer. Poeschek made a comment about me jingling my keys, I of course made a very nasty remark back in the hopes that the mangling which could result would retire me from the work force early. Instead, Rudy allowed me to exit the elevator with my life! Granato seemed to get a kick out of the story, not really recalling it, but acknowledging that it sounded legit given the fact that 1988 was the only year he played with Rudy, and knowing Rudys personality!
In the end, lots of money was raised for the cause, and I got my HOSEBAG jersey signed by the whole team by telling Matt that if the team signed it, I would buy it by way of auction for a very nice sum as a way of making a contribution. In addition, we won a signed Malkin stick and were able to give it to a young Malkin fan with a life threatening illness. The excitement that he and his father showed when he got the stick made our night! Enjoy it Jared, and we are thinking about you! It was all in all a very memorable evening, so thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins, their wives and girlfriends, and most especially Cookie! I will enjoy his agitation of our foes just a bit more after last night! PS, John if you are out there Mad Max Talbot loves that you wore his jersey over your tux for part of your wedding reception and wants photos!!
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