Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Both sides of the story

It should come as no surprise that NHL players, especially those who are established and pulling in multimillion dollar contracts, drive pretty nice and pricey cars. And, as a hound, part of the drill is recognizing those cars as well as the players inside.

The point was driven home yesterday while I was hounding the Tampa Bay Lightning following the team's morning skate at the St. Pete Times Forum.

As a player headed home from the skate, behind the wheel of a black luxury car, for some reason I believed it was Tampa Bay's Andreas Karlsson. I waved and nodded as the driver looked toward me, telling him there was no need to stop. Boy, was that a mistake.

It turns out that the driver wasn't Karlsson, but one of Tampa Bay's Big Three -- Brad Richards. It wasn't until he rolled past, and I took a closer look, did I realize my error. Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed at my oversight.

For all of the bragging I do when I score autographs from top-shelf players, the objective journalist in me dictates that I also share my mistakes. Going forward, I'll take a little more time and be certain who's behind the wheel.

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