This young fellow you see in front if you is John Burnosky, 96 years old, playing in an oldtimers game with a bunch of whipper-snappin’ 60-year-olds. He’s played hockey in the minor leagues with Gordie Howe, dove off bridges in Canada, and is in the Guinness Book of World Records. So now comes the important question. Do we make fun of the old guy for being old? Would we, at 96 years old, have Wilson’s Fourteen Points of Gall to take to the ice? Will I, at 96, even be alive to make such a decision? (Why, of course not, bloggers work to the bone and die of heart attacks. All of them.)
OK, so who knows how much Burnosky can get behind a slap shot. Hell, if I was 96…and I certainly hope to be someday…I’d be happy just to be able to lace up my skates. I can’t help but wonder if he was on the ice during his shifts looking for someone to drop the gloves with. Imagine a 96-year-old enforcer in your face, yelling “D’YA WANNA GO??”
Most beer leagues have no-checking rules, which is probably just as well, If I was on the opposing team, I’m not sure I’d be wanting to put Burnosky into the boards. Lord only knows what I’d be held responsible for….
Now that the NHL’s regular season is over, I hear the New York Rangers are in need of some help on their blue line. Sure, he’s got a few miles on him, but I don’t think you find anyone more game than John Burnosky…and it’s not like the Rangers are suffering from a surfeit of competent defensemen.
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