Just Too Cool

From Puck Daddy:

Remember in street hockey how annoying it was to call timeout, grab the net, wait on the curb until a car passed by and then yell "game on"? Yeah, it doesn't seem all that agitating in comparison to games being delayed by Taliban rocket attacks, as players press themselves against wooden boards while sirens blare.

Christopher Torchia of Associated Press has a wonderful story today about hockey during wartime; specifically, the Kandahar Ball Hockey League that features soldiers from different nations playing some serious stick under incredible conditions. From the AP:

The five-a-side teams, including a goalie in helmet, leg pads, chest pads and gloves, battle with a rubber ball on a concrete-floored rink with wooden sidings in an open slab of desert surrounded by the "Boardwalk," a walkway lined with stores, coffee shops and restaurants. It's a social scene, humming with commerce, where soldiers go to relax after a day on duty in the desert. And maybe catch a little hockey.

There are more than two dozen teams drawn from different units in the league's two divisions, some of them coed and most of them Canadian. The U.S. Marines used to have a team. The Slovaks have one. Some team names are flamboyant - "Dust Devils" and "Desert Dogs" - while others are less so. One is called "Maintenance," after the Canadian military unit that fixes equipment.

As you can see, it's rather low-tech: The Canadian military gym donates equipment. The league runs through April, so there's still time for a major sports apparel company to see this story and do something both obvious and warranted: Giving these guys their own lightweight official sweaters with logos on them. (Get on it, Reebok; and you can contact them here.)

You should read the whole thing, coz there's a lot more.  We just forwarded Wyshynski's post in its entirety to SN1, asking the obvious question: "Are you involved in this?"  I don't expect a reply any time soon, given the time differential between here and there.  But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he answers in the affirmative.  There's history in this space.  OTOH, I also know Buck's busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, so mebbe not.