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RIP Pat Burns...this time for real

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by JR, Nov 19, 2010.

  1. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Three time Jack Adams winner and Stanley Cup winning coach passed away earlier today

    http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=341947

    Great coach and a real character guy. It will be one helluva funeral
     
  2. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    And there's this great column by Burns' good friend Bob McKenzie 62 days ago when the reports of Burns' death were premature

    http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/bob_mckenzie/?id=334094


    I'll always remember him telling me that before you ever got to Xs or Os or any of that technical stuff, a good coach had to start by showing a commanding presence to his players, that the coach is the boss and you had to carry yourself like a man who is not to be trifled with. He talked about how intimidating it could have been for a once junior coach from the Hull Olympiques to walk into the Montreal Canadiens dressing room for his first NHL coaching job and how for a coach to be successful, he had to strut into the room like it was his domain, the same way a cop walks into a bar where there's been some trouble and is there to maintain order.
     
  3. KJIM

    KJIM Well-Known Member

    RIP to a tough ex-cop.
     
  4. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    And a tough ex coach. Took the Leafs to two conference finals
     
  5. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    I hope the rotten bastards on the HOF selection committee are proud of themselves.

    RIP, Coach. :(
     
  6. Ilmago

    Ilmago Guest

    Great coach, great person. He'll definitely be missed.

    I agree Double J, how he hasn't be inducted yet is beyond me.
     
  7. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    And a fitting tribute to Burns before the Leafs/Habs game at Le Centre Bell last night
    http://tinyurl.com/25y7z8k

    Very classy.

    As someone once said, the only organization that does pomp and ceremony better than Les Canadiens is the British Monarchy
     
  8. Ilmago

    Ilmago Guest

    He got a standing ovation afterwards, which was well deserved.
     
  9. KP

    KP Active Member

    Surely someone in here must have some good Burns stories.
    Can't find it anywhere, but remember him ripping on the curtin that closed off the upper deck in Greensboro during the '99 playoffs.
     
  10. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    In 1991 the Canadian team was holding its training camp for the Canada Cup at Maple Leaf Gardens. Burns was an assistant coach and one day I was in the Hard Rock Cafe at Yonge & Dundas having a beer with a buddy before heading off to a Jays game when Burns walked in, looking every inch the tough, ex-cop he used to be.

    He strolled in, took his shades off and carefully looked up and down every inch of the joint. Every eye in the place was on him and he knew it. He stopped in the middle of the place, looked around (I suspected he was there to meet someone) and strolled back out.
     
  11. Gold

    Gold Active Member

    Maybe the reason he wasn't in the Hall of Fame is because I didn't really think of him as being retired for a long time. Maybe I have lost track of him, but I would have expected him to be hired if he was healthy.
     
  12. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    awesome tribute. great song, In My Life. reminded me of my sister's wedding. they played it for my brother in law's dad who died a few years earlier and was kind of like Burns, old school blue collar type and a real good guy. R.I.P.
     
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