Get the puck out of here

Linda Sinrod, of Lorton, Virginia, was a former college figure skater who in her late 30s when she helped found the first women’s ice hockey team in the Washington, DC area. Linda played for 10 years — until she decided it was time to hang up her skates. In 1975, she visited a pond near her home and noticed people were playing hockey. Somebody asked if Linda would like to give the game a try. Sure, she said — and was instantly hooked. She became so enamored with the sport that she wanted to start playing competitively. However, women’s hockey wasn’t much of a thing at the time. So, when she couldn’t find a team to join, she started one. Sinrod was a founding member of the first ladies’ ice hockey team in the Washington, D.C. area. All the other women on the team were 10 years’ Linda’s junior — at the minimum. But so what? She had a great time and played with the team for a decade. After many, many games, she finally decided that she was getting too old for hockey. That’s how Linda retired, kind of. But she insisted she was only taking a break and would return to hockey for one season after she turned 50.

“After retiring from my job, I looked up what my old teammates were doing and found one was coaching the Prince William Wildcats team. So, at age 67, I decided to join them.” “She [the coach] tried to discourage me, as the others were at least 20 years younger. But I’m not easily discouraged.” Linda got back into the game. And initially, she wasn’t doing badly at all. “When I played with my first team, I shot 23,250 pucks. When I came back to play at age 67, I shot 21,923 pucks.” For the next eight years, Sinrod played hockey in the Wildcats’ colors. But at 75, the team decided it was time for Linda to sit down. Some may have seen that as a betrayal. But Linda took it in stride — and found a new team to play with. She discovered an ice rink with an active women’s hockey league. Teams were picked twice a year and they play against each other in the rink — strictly for fun. She fit right in. And so, the octogenarian is still on the ice. Linda may not be as nimble as she was back in the day, but she plays hockey nonetheless. Miraculously, she doesn’t attend hockey practice anymore. Instead, she has her own training routine. She lifts weights twice a week and rides an exercise bike three times a week. She is a living testament to the fact that if you want to do something, age shouldn’t stop you. So 82-year-old Linda Sinrod is the world’s oldest female hockey player, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Holy Hockey Heroes

Where does a majority of a hockey player’s salary come from?
The tooth fairy.

After I took the Olympic job, my wife said to me, ‘You love hockey more than you love me.’
I told her, ‘Yes, dear, but I love you more than hunting and fishing.’

Q: What’s the difference between a hockey game and a boxing match?
A: In a hockey game, the fights are real.

I was just watching the Oscars…
And a hockey game broke out.

March 21st Birthdays

1986 – Sonequa Martin-Green, 1965 – Cynthia Geary, 1979 – Rani Mukevji, 1979 – Melissa Gorga

1910 – Julio Gallo, 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach,  1962 – Matthew Broderick, 1987 – Scott Eastwood

Morning Motivator:

God helps those who help themselves.

Never give up