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During his exceptional four-year career at the University of Maine, Scott King saved a school-record 2,463 shots.
Now he is saving careers and, in some cases, lives.
The Kamloops, British Columbia, native is in the third year of a five-year orthopedic residency through the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
His rotation involves several hospitals around Philadelphia and includes a trauma rotation in Camden, N.J., which he says is his busiest.
“If I’m going to practice osteopathic medicine for the rest of my life, I wanted to get the broadest exposure possible, so I can handle a little bit of everything. That’s why I chose Philadelphia,” said the 32-year-old King, who figures his average work week consists of 80 to 100 hours.
King, who was 66-26-4 at Maine and a three-time All-Hockey East pick, said he enjoys his vocation as much as he did his hockey career, which included two appearances for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
“When I did my first few rotations in orthopedics, it was nice to have found something in my life that I loved and wanted to commit myself to, similar to the way I had committed myself to hockey,” said King.
He said his love of the game, especially practices, eventually waned in the pros. He wound up taking 8-12 Advils on a game day for his aching hips.
“But after four years of medical school [at the University of New England in Biddeford Pool], I found that feeling again. I definitely made the right decision,” said King.
King said he has transferred the commitment to excellence and the team approach that have been trademarks of the Maine program into his medical career.
He spent parts of two summers as an intern at Orthopaedic Associates of Bangor and said doctors Jack Adams and John West proved to be excellent teachers.
“I can’t say enough good things about them,” said King, whose wife of a year and a half, the former Andrea Prats, is in her fourth year of residency in internal medicine.
King won a Calder Cup with Adirondack of the AHL and a Riley Cup with Toledo of the East Coast Hockey League before retiring in 1993 to pursue his medical career.
He marveled at the goaltending performances turned in by Maine’s Alfie Michaud and New Hampshire’s Ty Conklin in Maine’s 3-2 national championship game win, saying, “I was on the edge of my seat all night. I was amazed at their talent. I wondered if I ever came close to doing anything like that.”
“I realize with every year that passes that what we had at Maine was very special. I have so many good memories,” said King, who intends to go into general orthopedics including sports medicine and joint replacements.
Pokemon is big seller
Why are Beanie babies and Pokemon playing cards being carried in sports card shops?
“It’s a matter of survival,” said Skip Hawkes, owner of Sports Dreams in Bangor. “Most sports cards dealers have to carry Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards. Pokemon is the hottest thing in the market now. It’s also a means to get people in the store.”
Hawkes said the sports card trade isn’t bustling as it was in the early 1990s.
“Hockey card sales are pretty much non-existent. In this area, if the card doesn’t say Paul Kariya or another former University of Maine player, it doesn’t sell. Baseball is still pretty good because of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but it’s down a little. Football has been real strong because of the rookies,” said Hawkes, referring to 1998 rookies Randy Moss and Peyton Manning and 1999’s Tim Couch and Edgerrin James.
There is little interest in recent retirees John Elway and Wayne Gretzky.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” said Hawkes.
He said he sells most of his single cards through the Internet on ebay.com. He said the cards he would hang on to include Derek Jeter’s 1993 Upper Deck SP Rookie card, Alex Rodriguez’s 1994 Upper Deck SP Rookie card, any high end Peyton Manning rookie card, Nomar Garciaparra’s 1992 Topps Traded rookie card showing him in a Team USA uniform, and McGwire’s 1985 Topps card.
Jordan to work last tourney
Former University of Maine trainer Wes Jordan will be working his last Eastern Maine basketball tournament this winter.
Jordan, who is handling several jobs right now including trainer at Brewer High and teaching a course at Husson College, will be moving to Minnesota with a friend next year.
“We’ve prepared for this the last two or three years. We have a house on a lake. We’ll be leaving a lot of friends behind, but we’ll be back for five or six weeks during the holidays,” said the 61-year-old Jordan, who has worked at the tournament for more than 35 years and has been involved in sports for 47 years.
What are his fondest memories of the tournament?
“When Mike Thurston made his half-court shot to win a state title [for Caribou in 1969], that was certainly a special memory,” recalled Jordan. “Another memorable night was when Matt Rossignol scored 51 points [vs. Schenck for Van Buren in a Class B semi in 1985]. He put on a tremendous show. Another one was the five-overtime game between Rockland and Dexter [in 1986].”
Jordan added, “I’ve seen a lot of great games and individual performances. I’ll miss the people I’ve seen over the years at the tournament.
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