I tried posting a message last week but Deron informs me that it did
not get through.  The one time I don't save a copy of a message
and it doesn't make it through - that figures.  I have attempted
to rewrite it...
 
 
What I write will likely upset some people, but I also think it will
strike a chord with others who perhaps feel the same but don't want
to say anything.  I bear no ill-will towards any player who leaves
the University of Maine Hockey Program.  If anything, it only
proves that they were good students after all:  They have learned
the lesson of the 80's and 90's - look out for #1.
 
That is not to say I am pleased that they are leaving.  I am sorry
to see them go, but realize the opportunities they have, and the
short period of time in which they have to fulfill them.
I was sorry to see players leave in 1992 and 94 to play with
Team USA and Team Canada; and I am sorry to see these
players leave now.  But as I recall, it was seen at that time
as a great opportunity when those players left.
It was a chance for the University of Maine to send athletes to
star in international competition, bringing fame to themselves and
to the institution.   I was personally heart-broken when Jean-Yves
left to sign with the Rangers.  I was there when his contract
came, and I joked he should tell them he had reconsidered -
then I saw all the 000's.  It was his opportunity to do what
he loved, and get paid at the same time.  How many people are
fortunate enough to have that chance?   These players do not have
long to prove their talent and earn that living before their
chance has passed.  If a person has a chance to improve his
life, I wish him all the best.
 
As for Tim Lovell..most people, in this group
and elsewhere, have assumed that he left to gain exposure for
a hopeful pro career.  They have suggested that going to UMass
was not the best move for such exposure.  While that may be true,
I have a different premise for his departure from UM, which has
nothing to do with his prospects.  I have not spoken with him, and
I have heard him say nothing to this effect, but I do know a
little of what those players are going through.  I think that
a possible reason for Tim's transfer from Orono is nothing more
than his way of escaping a bad situation.  Having UM Hockey
associated with your name is no longer the positive it once
was.  People no longer ask me how the team looks this season,
they ask how much I knew and why didn't I do something to stop it.
No one ever talks about what was possibly the greatest hockey team
to ever step into a college arena, they say we cheated
and didn't deserve to win.  Having worked in the hockey office is
now like saying you - sorry for the comparison, especially since
Jack Parker was the first to make it, but its the way I feel -
worked in the Nixon White House.  I think Tim saw a way to escape
an environment where lies, deceptions, half-truths and cover-ups
had become a way of life; where the focus was no longer on what
you did on the ice, but what the coach had done for the previous
decade off the ice; where the media threw around words like
"scandal," "sanctions" and "death penalty" in nearly every
story featuring the program and the school.  It is not pleasant
to have your name associated with such characteristics, and could
be potentially damaging to a person's prospects, not to mention
their psyche.
 
And a message for our temp. head coach.  As I recall, Shawn
always managed to have a printout of anything I wrote on hockey-l
shortly after I posted it, so I trust this will pass before
Greg's eyes at some point.
 
Please stop whining.  You whined after a small turnout at a
home game last season, neglecting the fact that one of the
winter's worst storms was raging outside.  You have whined
about the NCAA investigation, the subsequent sanctions,
and now you are whining about loyalty to (your quote)
"my program."  I must have missed the press release where
you were named permanent head coach.  That aside, you have
no right to complain about loyalty.  These players owe you,
Shawn and the school nothing.  For every dime in scholarships
they have earned, they have brought back ten-fold in the form
of merchandising, TV rights and alumni and corporate donations
to the school and program.  For every day you, Shawn and Grant
spent recruiting them, they have brought you wins and glory.
 
If the coaches want to see who is responsible for breaking
the bond of loyalty, use a mirror.  It was not the players who
broke the rules.  They did not get caught with their hands
in the cookie jar.  They did not try to cover their actions
by lying and tampering with witnesses.  They did not go crying
to the media about how unfair it all was.  They went out, worked
their butts off and had a damned good season, when it would have
been very easy to throw in the towel.  I have said it before,
and I'll say it until I am blue in the face (or have writer's
cramp in this case)  They are the ones who have suffered despite
the fact that they did absolutely nothing wrong.  While those
who destroyed the university's image and reduced the program
to ashes with their actions remain employed, earning some of the
top salaries to come out of the taxpayer's pockets.
Who betrayed whom?
 
One last message:  I trust Grant's skill at recruiting
players. He has brought some of the best to Alfond.  While they may
only be freshmen, and weren't expected to play much this season,
some of these kids might surprise you.  Rather than sitting in the
stands watching, they'll have a chance to play.  Someone might
even step up and lead the team.  It wouldn't be the first time
Maine found a diamond in the rough (see: Mike McHugh).  So please,
no more whining.  Pull yourself up and try to carry yourself
the way the university believes you can.  Do the best with what
you've got and get on with it.  Expectations couldn't be much lower,
so you have nothing to lose.  Win or lose, if we see effort,
you'll earn our respect. If we pick up the paper or turn on the
news and hear you complaining, you'll start to see even more
empty seats - and not because of blizzards.
 
I don't know when I'll be in to read my mail again, but I'm sure
I'll have a lot to read....
 
John Forsyth
 
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth -
because I wear Super Shoes"  Lou Gehrig, as told by Keith Olbermann
in protest of classic movies being re-touched for use in commercials.