Caden Clark

 

Once again, I haven't started collecting sports cards.  Once again, I am the type of person who picks up stuff off of the street.  And once again, something I found.  Quite a while ago, actually, but I knew the World Cup was coming to North America, and Los Angeles, my hometown, so I've been saving it for an appropriate time. Truthfully, I'm not much of a soccer fan. It's one of those sports that I can take or leave.  If a game is on TV, and I've nothing better to do, I may watch, but it's not something I'll make the time for.  Having said that, if a free World Cup ticket fell into my lap, I'd go. After all, the World Cup is an event that goes beyond the sport itself.   Anyway, I looked it up.  Caden Clark is not on the United States World Cup team, but he's only 23 years old, so maybe next time. 

Petri Skriko

 

Once again, I haven't started collecting sports cards.  Collecting is an addiction, less expensive and healthier than heroin, but it can take over your life, so no sports cards.  I am, however, the type of person who picks up things off of the street, and when I saw this hockey card, I decided to save it for the Stanley Cup finals.  Anyway, there are two types of sports fans.  Those who stay loyal to the teams they grew up with, and those who don't.  I've lived in Los Angles more than half of my life, but I still root for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins.  The Penguins didn't get into the finals, so the best I'm hoping for are good games.  Halfway through the first period, Carolina 2, Vegas 0.  

So, in honor of the Cup, Petri Skriko, born in Finland, drafted by the Vancouver Canucks and played for them from 1984 to 1990.  In 1990 he was traded to the Boston Bruins, and then to the Winnipeg Jets, and finally his NHL career ended in San Jose, playing for the Sharks in 1993.  He also played professionally in Finland, and Denmark, as well as for the Finnish national team.  He is tenth all time in goals scored for the Canucks.  A good career, but not hall of fame. 

Dale Ellis

 

I don't collect sports cards, but it was laying on the street, it had a photo on it, so I said, "What the hell, why not?" Dale Ellis was born on August 6, 1960.  He had a pretty good career. Not a Hall of Fame career, but quite respectable.  He played 19 years and averaged 15.7 points per game. 

Things Fall Apart

What would you do if your life suddenly fell apart?   Right now, at least in Los Angeles where I live, one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population is people who work, but don't make enough money to pay rent.  Most of us accumulate a certain amount of stuff.  If you suddenly found yourself living on the streets, which objects from your life would you try and save? 

I recently took a walk along the L.A. River after one of our periodic "clean-ups" a nice way of saying a force out of a local homeless encampment.   There, I found these two old football cards.  I have to wonder if some guy who had spent years on his sports card collection, making sure he had every card from 1990, was he carting them around in a box?  When the clean-up crews arrived,  with only a few minutes to gather up the few remaining bits from his old life, did he drop Mike Tomczak and Pete Mandley?