Tochi's Hut

The home opener of Toronto Rock was on TSN tonight.  I hardly ever watch lacrosse, but the sport is close enough to hockey that we decided to tune in.  Five minutes into the telecast, we see this fight break out between a Rock and a Minnesota Swarm player. 

After watching that, I must say, fights in lacrosse are more hardcore than in hockey.  The players seem to wear less protective gear and since they are not on skates, the players can get more traction and leverage to land better punches.  In this particular fight, one guy earned a giant welt on his forehead.

After the fight, the referees begin to assess the penalties.  The camera zooms onto chief referee #2.... hey, I recognize that guy!  He was one of the guys I met on my flight from Toronto to Denver who also had a ticket to the Colorado and Detroit hockey game that night.  He was in Denver for a National Lacrosse League referee conference.  We had thought that the NLL season was cancelled due to failed collective bargaining talks, but Mr. referee kindly informed us that the NLL season has been reinstated.  If I remember correctly, he has a son who was drafted to the San Jose Sharks.

He was the only one out of the 10 of us with hockey tickets, who did not need to collect skis/snowboards from the flight.  He decided to take a taxi (30-40 minute ride) to Pepsi Center, while the rest of us foolishly waited for baggage that won't be arriving that night.  I bet he made it for the second period.

6.6 billion people in the world.  The people you run into, the people you meet, the people you see again.  Kind of a small world.  Quite amazing if you think about it.