George Plimpton - Open Net: A Professional Amateur in the World of Big-Time Hockey

H aving been born and raised in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, I was a Boston Bruins fan from the moment I arrived on this earth.

Hockey is in my DNA.

I bleed the black and gold of my beloved Bs. I flunked math in high schooltwicebut I can still recite Bobby Orrs biggest record-breaking stats like a speed-reader on eight cups of espresso.

But its not just the Bruins. Its the game itself. When it comes to sports, I have a rooting interest in football, baseball, and hoops, but I eat, sleep, and breathe hockey almost 24-7. Im an animal for everything on ice. On a slow Tuesday TV night I will stop ticking through channels and turn to rewatching a DVRd Detroit Red Wings versus Colorado Avalanche classic that was rebroadcast by some fine people over at the NHL Network.

Ive spent more time on skates than I have in almost any other form of footwear, and as a rabid reader devoured what has to be considered an Olympian number of hockey books. Biographies, tell-alls, as-told-tos, team histories ofyou name it, I own it.

But this book has always been one of my favorites.

Not just because it deals with my hometown teamthat was the reason I bought it in the first place. But I fell in love with it because of George Plimpton. No other author in the history of sports has ever been able to match his unique angle on athletics, but he really outdid himself when he decided to tackle the fastest game on earth.

His first-person, hands-on, hold-it-now-cause-here-I-come, heady but heartfelt approach to playing goalie for the Boston Bruins puts you inside the places a hockey fan always wishes he could be: practice sessions, the locker room, the dinner table, the hotel bareverywhere the info you never get to witness flies around the room or rink in funny, informative rapids.

In Open Net, some of the National Hockey Leagues most famous faces of the late 1970s come alive, but they do so with dollops of personality we otherwise would not have known and that remain just as riveting today: from the surprisingly sweet and caring approach of Don Cherry to the comically philosophical goaltender Gerry Cheevers to the antique-collecting tough guy Terry OReilly, not to mention a side order of brainy Bobby Clarke and the Broad Street Bullies. Plus time spent playing against and hanging out with budding young superstar Wayne The Great One Gretzky.

As always with George, you go deep inside the game. That alone would make it worthwhile because he had such an original way with words and a detailed interest in all aspects of any given sport. What it really all comes down to is his personality and perspective: the way he saw the world.

George Plimpton was many things: author, journalist, literary editor, and cofounder of the Paris Review. Quite a life, right? Its more than slightly intimidating. He was also a father, grandfather, husband, uncle, and World War II demolitions expert.

Whatever pride I might have in being a multi-hyphenate myself I write, I act, and I sing (or occasionally bellow comedy tunes somewhat on key). I also direct and still perform at least two live comedy concerts a year. Which keeps me pretty busy, as you might imagine. Im also a dad and an uncle and a husband and a godfather and a son. And I still play street hockey and outdoor ice hockey throughout the four seasons we suffer and savor in my favorite northeast American states.

OkayIm starting to pad my rsum here a bit. Why?

Because I almost forgot to mention the rest of Georges rsum: PGA golfer, heavyweight boxer, NBA forward, NFL quarterback, Vegas comedian, Hollywood actor, professional bridge player, high-wire trapeze artist, and professional tennis player.