winkyduck
TYVM Morgan William!!!
With word he is retiring today from the Rangers - and hockey - time to bring back an encounter I had with him when working for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, their first season in 1993-94
First win vs Edmonton:
Before every home game I would meet the Head of the Off Ice Officials in the hallway between the locker rooms. He would get the visiting team's lineup, hand me a copy and I made copies for the press and all then did the same for Ron Wilson's lineup (1993 - I am sure things are done different now - but back then........). After each period an Assistant Coach, who watched the game from the Press Box, and myself, had someone hold the elevator for us and we bypassed everything and the elevator took us straight down without any stops because we had work to do - Coach to give info to Wilson and me to copy stats for the media and teams. For the visiting team if the locker room was open I quietly walked inside and placed them on a table - if not I slid them under the door (MOST times the door was Unlocked so I could walk in). For Ron Wilson we worked out a system where I slid them under his door and knocked on the door letting him know they were there and then left and that was his signal stats were slid under his door. When it came time to get back to the Press Box we were both "on our own" and had to stop usually at every floor along the way.
3rd game of the year. Ducks are UP 3-0 after 1P. I take down the Stat Sheet and then as I said - I am on my own getting back up. So when I get in the elevator on the Lowest Level (Locker Rooms/Team Offices/Etc) so does then Oilers GM Glen Sather. There are 5 levels in the building, meaning 4 stops to make if we have to stop on every floor. We stop on the Main Level and pick up people so Sather and I go into the back of the elevator. The guy running the Elevator starts making nice small talk with the Ducks' fans and says how great it is the Ducks are up 3-0 and looks like they might get their first win. The guy has NO CLUE who Sather is but I do. I look over and I can see Sather's face getting redder and redder every second but he can't say anything with "normal" people in the elevator. We stop on EVERY LEVEL along the way - 4 stops and Sather is not very happy at this and makes a comment about it. After we drop people off at the last stop before the Press Box, now only the elevator guy, me, Sather and some other person from the Oilers are in the Elevator to take us to the Press Box. Sather once again expresses his disdain at stopping on every level. When he gets out I tell the elevator guy who that was and how angry he was and the guy has no clue and sheepishly apologizes to me for it. I NEVER forgot that - the Elevator Guy was trying to be nice and talk to the Ducks' fans and had no CLUE who Sather was and good thing there were people in the elevator the entire time until the end or else Sather would have lit him a new one..........
First win vs Edmonton:
Before every home game I would meet the Head of the Off Ice Officials in the hallway between the locker rooms. He would get the visiting team's lineup, hand me a copy and I made copies for the press and all then did the same for Ron Wilson's lineup (1993 - I am sure things are done different now - but back then........). After each period an Assistant Coach, who watched the game from the Press Box, and myself, had someone hold the elevator for us and we bypassed everything and the elevator took us straight down without any stops because we had work to do - Coach to give info to Wilson and me to copy stats for the media and teams. For the visiting team if the locker room was open I quietly walked inside and placed them on a table - if not I slid them under the door (MOST times the door was Unlocked so I could walk in). For Ron Wilson we worked out a system where I slid them under his door and knocked on the door letting him know they were there and then left and that was his signal stats were slid under his door. When it came time to get back to the Press Box we were both "on our own" and had to stop usually at every floor along the way.
3rd game of the year. Ducks are UP 3-0 after 1P. I take down the Stat Sheet and then as I said - I am on my own getting back up. So when I get in the elevator on the Lowest Level (Locker Rooms/Team Offices/Etc) so does then Oilers GM Glen Sather. There are 5 levels in the building, meaning 4 stops to make if we have to stop on every floor. We stop on the Main Level and pick up people so Sather and I go into the back of the elevator. The guy running the Elevator starts making nice small talk with the Ducks' fans and says how great it is the Ducks are up 3-0 and looks like they might get their first win. The guy has NO CLUE who Sather is but I do. I look over and I can see Sather's face getting redder and redder every second but he can't say anything with "normal" people in the elevator. We stop on EVERY LEVEL along the way - 4 stops and Sather is not very happy at this and makes a comment about it. After we drop people off at the last stop before the Press Box, now only the elevator guy, me, Sather and some other person from the Oilers are in the Elevator to take us to the Press Box. Sather once again expresses his disdain at stopping on every level. When he gets out I tell the elevator guy who that was and how angry he was and the guy has no clue and sheepishly apologizes to me for it. I NEVER forgot that - the Elevator Guy was trying to be nice and talk to the Ducks' fans and had no CLUE who Sather was and good thing there were people in the elevator the entire time until the end or else Sather would have lit him a new one..........