The Players Tribune

[CarltonTheBear]

Perhaps not this one, but yeah I'm pretty sure most of their long feature articles are ghosted.

It's been confirmed that they are, yeah. Someone interviews the player and basically turns the interview into an article for them.

The Whitney/Rupp stuff do seem more like just a transcript of two guys talking. Maybe there's a bit of editing there but probably not much.

 

[hockeyfan1]

An emotional "heartfelt" letter written by Senators' forward Bobby Ryan to his late mother.  Ryan was left fatherless at a young age, leaving his struggling mother to be the sole breadwinner of the family.

Click here:
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/bobby-ryan-dear-mom/

 

[Kin]

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/we-need-to-talk-about-concussions-right-now/

Good article from Gabriel Landeskog about dealing with post-concussion syndrome and the way hockey culture contributes to players feeling pressure to return before they're ready. Definitely highlights the need for people other than hyper-competitive athletes making calls about game readiness with regards to brain injuries.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Great John Scott piece.

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/john-scott-retirement/

That weekend in Nashville was simply amazing. People talk about goose bumps all the time as a figure of speech, but I legit had goose bumps a dozen times over the course of that game. It felt like the entire building was on my side. The best part of the experience was that my daughters were there to feel all the good energy. For one day, their dad was a superstar.

To top it all off, my wife gave birth a few days later to twin daughters back home in Michigan. It was incredible.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Former Stanley Cup Champion & Chicago Blackhawk now-turned Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Scott Darling, writes a genuinely personal moving 'letter' to his hometown team (Chicago) & it's fans, and talks of his struggles throughout his entire hockey career, from his youth to his ascent to the big leagues.

Darling shares the story of his struggle with anxiety and alcoholism, which took him from being a Phoenix Coyotes prospect at the University of Maine to getting cut from the Louisiana IceGators of Southern Professional Hockey League.

"I drank to forget it...At that point, drinking wasn?t a choice. It wasn?t enjoying it, if that makes sense. It wasn?t something I was looking forward to, like an exciting Friday night with the boys. It was a physical necessity. My life revolved around it.

More:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/scott-darling-pens-powerful-letter-chicago-players-tribune/

 

[hockeyfan1]

For those of you who are American, this article will make you proud.  Team USA's Jocelyn-Lamoureux Davidson, whose squad won Gold over Team Canada in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games Women's Ice Hockey event, chronicles what the gold medal really means to her and to the US Women's Ice Hockey program -- twenty years in waiting.

...it was so much more than gold. It was validation for every woman that had worn the red, white and blue over the last 20 years. It was a moment for everyone who?s been a part of this program to enjoy. That medal ? the one I can?t stop looking at right now ? really symbolizes a lot more than just two weeks of hockey.


https://www.theplayerstribune.com/jocelyne-lamoureux-davidson-olympic-gold/

 

[Coco-puffs]

Brad Marchand is the most polarizing person on the planet for me.

He's the typical "love him on your team, hate him on other teams".  Worked so hard to go from 4th line agitator to 1st line winger.  Always plays on the line, and crosses it way too often (and seems to slip getting his due from DOPS too often). 

Of course, in the middle of a series where I would have preferred Kadri had hit him instead of Wingels he's putting something out on Player Tribune:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/brad-marchand-built-for-boston-bruins

And this is my favourite part, and makes it almost impossible to hate him as much as I should:

We had to get ourselves pumped up, so we?d always play that song by Sir Mix-a-Lot and sing along. You remember the one. Picture four little kids in full hockey gear and one grown man, all alone on the road at 4:15 in the morning, screaming out, ?I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE. YOU OTHER BROTHERS CAN?T DENY.?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JphDdGV2TU