Not to say I’m not “puckbunnyish” or whatever but really the thing with him here was that you could always just feel the emotions/thoughts/everything pouring off him. No poker face he. When I would go to games he was always the most interesting player to watch, and those were the Lindros Prime years too.

What he meant to me was simply perserverance, a quality I often sadly lack, and I look to him for inspiration when things get rough and ruttish. For example, when you’re on your sixth IUI cycle and starting to think about how you’re going to afford IVF, and you have to stick yet another needle in your sore, raw skin, and you can barely function or even dare hope anymore . . . I would think to myself, Rod could do this, he would just do what has to be done, not whine about it. Hang in there, just keep at it.

My last IUI - was a failure. We took a break to save money, tried to stay positive. We got lucky on a natural cycle after FIVE YEARS of trying. I now have two lovely children, and I even have some remnant of a savings account, which isn’t too bad all things considered.

I know what it feels like to finally lose that weight off your shoulders.

I get all teared up when I watch game 7, and whenever I hear the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows. This did it too.

One hel of a tribute, AQ. Thank you very much and bless ya! You are one of the main reasons that this noob has taken a genuine interest in the sport. Your posts are a continuing education class for me, and I appreciate it very much.

I read an article about RB in a summer issue of Sports Illustrated talking about how he told his dad he was going to Kloten to see if he could skate with those guys, and if he couldn’t, then his career was over and he’d retire. You just gotta love his courage and commitment to the game. I can’t blame him for being disappointed initially - he was supposedly well-loved in Philly and to the uninitiated, Raleigh is still Mayberry to the rest of the country. But it is totally in Rod’s character to stick it out and work as hard as possible to make a situation work, and that’s why I consider him a hero.

Now you’ve gone and made me cry.