密歇根新闻广播 纪念"冰球先生"Gordie Howe

 Gordie Howe lived so long that most Americans don't know that he set just about every record there is, he helped the sport expand, he got hundreds of thousands of Americans playing the game, and millions more watching.

Howe was one of nine kids born in a farmhouse¹ in Floral, Sasketchewan—a town so tiny, their post office closed in 1923. During the Great Depression, a neighbor brought over a gunnysack full of used things, including a beat-up pair of skates.

Howe's mom gave her a few bucks², and Gordie the skates. "I put those on," Howe recalled, "and I never took 'em off."

Howe was skilled, smart, and tough—the most complete player the sport ever produced. He was even ambidextrous³, with the ability to switch from a right-handed shot to a left-handed shot while barreling down on the goalie.

Put it all together, and you get what they called "The Gordie Howe Hat Trick," consisting of a goal, an assist, and a fight, all in the same game.

During Howe's 26-year career, he set records for most goals, most points, most games, most ...almost everything. He finished in the top ten in scoring for 21 straight years, which is impossible. No one else, in any team sport, has come close.

But his impact was greater than a bunch of records. What Arnold Palmer and Pele did for their sports in America, Gordie Howe did for hockey: he served as his sport's greatest ambassador, the man they called, "Mr. Hockey,"

Howe inspired just about every town in Michigan to build an ice rink. The Pittsburgh Penguins⁴ just won the Stanley Cup with seven players who played on those rinks, in little league, high school or college.

The head coach at the University of Michigan, Red Berenson, left Canada for Ann Arbor⁵ in 1958, in part so he could watch Gordie Howe play in Detroit.

Usually it's a mistake to meet your heroes, but not Howe. He remained humble⁶, and always took the time for his fans. As fellow Hall of Famer Bill Gadsby said, "The only guy in the locker⁷ room who didn't know Mr.

Hockey was Mr. Hockey, was Mr. Hockey."

When Wayne Gretzky was only eleven, Howe attended a banquet to celebrate the budding star. But when Gretzky got to the podium, he couldn't speak.

Howe rescued him by saying, "When someone has done what this kid has done, he doesn't have to say anything."

Gretzky never forgot Howe's graciousness when he needed it most.

If Gretzky was the alpha, I was the omega: a third-line right-winger for the Ann Arbor Huron High School River Rats. When I was a junior, in 1980, I recognized Howe at an airport counter. I couldn't resist: "Excuse me, but you're Gordie Howe, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," he said softly, and thanked me for not making a scene. I quietly praised him, then added—for reasons I still cannot fathom—that my favorite player was his longtime linemate, Alex Delvecchio, an amazing passer who set up hundreds of Howe's goals.

When Howe stared at me, I thought I might've offended him. But then he gave me a wink⁸ and a nod, and said, "Mine, too, sonny. Mine, too."

And that was Mr. Hockey.

John U. Bacon is the author of four New York Times bestsellers. His most recent book, "Endzone: The Rise, Fall and Return of Michigan Football," is on the list now. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or its license⁹ holder¹⁰, the University of Michigan.

1 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

2 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ambidextrous   

adj.双手很灵巧的，熟练的，两面派的

参考例句：

• I'm neither left-handed nor right-handed;I'm ambidextrous.我不是只用左手或右手，我是双手并用。
• Jack is an ambidextrous hitter;he can bat right-handed or left-handed.杰克是一位双手都很灵巧的打击手，他可以用右手或左手打击。

4 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

6 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

7 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

8 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

10 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。