How do you narrow it down to five?

It’s quite an honor to be included in the Five Weird Things mania that’s been sweeping the hockey blog world lately. As a highly infrequent contributor to AHF, I’ve always felt a bit like Jamie McLennan to Ritch’s Roberto Luongo:



I would say the only differences are 1) our relationship is (slightly) less homoerotic, and 2) I didn’t just dream about running Ritch down with a zamboni...I actually got out there and did it.

But having said that, my name IS right there on the “Contributors” list (which I assume is listed not alphabetically, but in order of sheer awesomeness). And hell, I’m as weird as the next guy, as long as the next guy is Ritch, or maybe “Weird Al” Yankovic (new album in stores September 26). So here goes:

Weird Thing #1 - I’m the creator of the online cartoon Unleashed. It follows the trials and tribulations of struggling animal actors in Hollywood, and it’s quite funny according to my mom, who also confirms that I’m the handsomest guy in school. Thanks to the gift of modern technology, it’s now possible for 3 guys to put out 90 seconds worth of freshly animated comedy each and every Monday, on the web, MySpace, YouTube, and iTunes. Check it out…if you don’t laugh, I will cheerfully refund your purchase price (zero dollars, you cheap bastards).

Here, you can even watch the trailer right now:



Weird Thing #2 – Before working with animated dogs, I worked with real ones. For about half a year, I was in charge of booking Stupid Pet Tricks for the Late Show with David Letterman. Was I good at it? You tell me:



It was a fun job, with tons of great perks, but the stress of having to travel the country looking for animals who could do something besides sing along with the radio got to be too much. I think my heart finally broke for good when I flew a giant pig all the way to New York so he could knock down bowling pins on TV...and he didn’t make the cut. (Weird Thing #2A – In addition to working for Letterman, I’ve also worked at Conan and SNL...the New York late night television comedy trifecta).

Weird Thing #3 – In my senior year of high school, I was on the Homecoming Court. That may not seem that weird, but wait until you get to know me a little better.

Weird Thing #4 – I don’t know nearly enough about hockey to be writing on a hockey blog. I love the sport, but the first year I watched it was 2001. Through her job, my wife got offered a pair of seats in a “luxury” box at the Meadowlands to see the Devils home opener against the Islanders that year. The Devs lost 6-4, but I was hooked. I naturally root for underdogs, and in the tri-state area, no one is further under than the Devils. I swear, the frickin’ MetroStars (or Red Bulls or Dodge Stratuses or Dr. Scholl’s Medicated Wart Removers of Soccer or whatever they’re called) get more ink around here. So while I’ve been an avid fan ever since, I’m still learning about the history of the game and finding myself go strangely quiet when someone brings up Toe Blake or Eddie Shore or Boom Boom Geoffrion. Also, I can't skate.

Weird Thing #5 – I almost always run out of steam before I finish things.