Andrew Ference Is Making A Difference

Joe Pelletier's Legends of Hockey is a website that is devoted to players from yesterday.

But every once in a while comes a story about an active player that is too important to not pass on.

Boston Herald sports reporter Steve Conroy has one of those stories. He features Bruins journeyman defenseman Andrew Ference and his life long quest to fight global warming, and his new quest to bring sport to the third world.

"Ference has been involved in the fight against global warming for years. He drives a hybrid vehicle, purchases wind power for his home and is closely aligned with the David Suzuki Foundation that combats climate change. More recently, Ference has also gotten involved in the Right To Play program, which brings sports to disadvantaged parts of the world such as Africa, Palestine and Asia. On June 28, Ference and fellow volunteer, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Georges Laraque, will head to Tanzania to establish athletic programs." Full Story

The global warming issue is front and center, thanks in large part to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.

Right To Play has certainly gotten a lot attention in the last couple of years. Other hockey players to jump on board include Jennifer Botterill, Lori Dupuis, Geraldine Heaney, Jayna Hefford, Caroline Oullette, Sami Jo Small, Hayley Wickenheiser, Angela Ruggeiro, Julie Chu, Alana Blahoski, Matt Pettinger, Alexander Ovechkin, Joe Thornton, Daniel Alfredsson, Alexander Steen, and Wayne Gretzky.