What a terrible time for the TV to die

It was an about hour before Friday night's playoff action was set to go. I was getting ready myself, for a week anxiously awaiting the Capitals and Flyers series to get under way.

This series has got the word compelling written all over it. More specifically, the battle between Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Richards, pictured above, has the makings of a classic.

Ovechkin needs no introduction. He's the league's leading goal and point scorer. Not only is he the most exciting scorer in recent years, he is also the best player in regular season play. He makes his playoff debut tonight. Can he keep it going in post season battle?

Richards is an underrated forward who will thrive in playoff wars. His undeniable legacy will be that of a post-season warrior who did whatever it took to win.

There are a lot of similarities between the battles between the great Russian Valeri Kharlamov and gutsy Philadelphia Flyer Bobby Clarke back in the 1970s. Which is funny, since Ovechkin and Richards are commonly compared to those two. Undoubtedly each will be the key to each team's success or lack thereof.

As you can see, I'm hyped about this game. I planned on watching every minute, and switch over to the Pittsburgh-Ottawa game in commercial breaks. Then comes the west coast games! And the first weekend of playoff hockey will mean countless games on the tube! What a great time to be a hockey fan.

Only one problem. My television will not turn on.

I got this nice 36 inch Sony Trinitron. It's an archaic beast (200lbs or more) by today's fast-changing-technology standards, but I like it. But if I dare touch the power button all I get is this annoying flashing stand-by light. No picture. No sound.

I look up the symptoms online. Supposedly a power surge may have fried my circuit board. Something like that. I'm definitely not a techie geek. I had to wait for my brother to come over and hook my dvd player when I first got the TV. And my Xbox more or less collects dust.

I can't get anyone to come in and fix it. And lugging a 200lb TV down to a shop is not exactly easy. Thankfully I was able to go up to my Mom's house and steal her JVC from the bedroom, not that she was terribly thrilled with the idea. I'm not sure how big it is - my guess is 15 inches.

The game is almost on. I got the mini-tv set and ready to go. Given my afternoon of anguish, NHL hockey has never looked better.

Dinsmore Played For 11 Cents Per Game

Don't get me wrong. I like Mike Richards. A lot. But when news broke on Thursday that the Philadelphia Flyers signed their heart and soul player to a 12 year, 69 million dollar contract extension, I had to shake my head.

Now Richards will only be 34 when the contract ends, and if there ever was a sure bet to provide a solid return on that investment, it is Richards. But 12 years and $69 million are ridiculous numbers no matter who you are.

These big contracts always make me think back to players of the old days, who in many cases passed up higher paying "real" jobs in order to play the game that they love.

Case in point - Dinny Dinsmore.

Dinsmore was a spare player for the Montreal Maroons for three seasons from 1924-25 through 1926-27. He rarely saw ice time but did score 6 goals in 100 games and earned a Stanley Cup championship in 1926.

As you can imagine, hockey players in those days didn't make much money, and often quit in order to take on a better paying "real" job. That's exactly what Dinny did in 1927. He jumped at a lucrative offer to become a bond trader. Although he did some coaching in the Montreal senior leagues while he worked as a trader, Dinsmore missed playing the game of hockey terribly. So half way through the 1929-30 season he went back to Montreal Maroon management to inquire about getting his old job back.

The Maroons too were interested in Dinsmore's services. However the team was limited by a $35,000 salary budget in those days, and there was simply no money to spare. Dinsmore didn't care about the money though, and eventually signed a contract which paid him one dollar - ONE DOLLAR - for the remainder of the season. He played 9 games that year - that works out to 11 cents a game!

So there you have it - hockey's lowest paid player in history was just happy to be back on skates playing the game he loved. I wonder if Alexei Yashin knows about this story?

By the way, Dinsmore later returned to coaching, guiding Concordia University's hockey and football teams for most of the 1930s.