Walsh’s legacy evident

I know, hockey might be considered “just a game.” However, during the recent NCAA tournament, many attributed the emotional wave of the University of Maine hockey team’s success to something more, and by doing that the game took on a deeper purpose. It became a metaphor for a collective passage through loss and its accompanying grief. My father died of cancer when I was 19. I understand this journey. It is a difficult life lesson to learn. Many never do, but it seems this team did and it made them strong.

The team’s journey through shock and denial, anger, and sadness was reflected in the ups and downs of their success in the first half of the season. As the season drew to a close, they came to accept what was gone and to make the most of what they now had. Those we lose live on in our memories and the inspiration those memories provide. The team started to win, week after week.

Shawn Walsh would have been the first to admit he was far from perfect. Yet, that imperfection is what makes his gifts to his players more meaningful. He was a human being, and in spite of his weaknesses he developed his players’ inner strengths.

So, his players dedicated this year to him, wearing his name on their sleeves and carrying his fiery determination in their hearts. It was a fitting tribute to someone who made a difference to them. As the season progressed, the emotion of their loss became the fuel to make them better as a team, as players, and hopefully as people.

In his book, “Touching My Father’s Soul,” Jamling Tenzing Norgay quotes the Buddhist scholar, Jigme Lingpa:

“When the eagle soars up, high above the Earth,

“Its shadow for the while is nowhere to be seen;

“Yet bird and shadow still are linked. So too our actions:

“When conditions come together, their effects are clearly seen.”

In the cloud of loss, Shawn’s shadow seemed gone. However, coach Walsh’s legacy became evident when his players, united in grief, came together and utilized every ounce of their talents. His connection to them was clearly seen, and what was lost was found.

Patty Kenny

Old Town

Power to the underdogs

After reading thoroughly the BDN sports section, I looked again to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. Recalling some discussion last year from the commissioner’s office that there would be a few teams dissolved I began to wonder if Commissioner Bud Selig and his wise advisers had noticed that the Minnesota Twins are a top team in the American League Central and the Montreal Expos are leading the National League East.

Is there a hidden message here for the High Commissioner’s Office?

More power to the underdogs.

Jim Burks

Ellsworth