We're Talking about Practice.

I'm taking a short break from my story of the Week in Portland to bring you this funny and sad story at the same time.  This player you see is Rick DiPietro, and during a practice on Wednesday, he took a puck off of his mask (yes, the same one you see in the pic) and suffered a concussion.  Now, the reason why he was wearing this style of mask stemmed from the fight with Brent Johnson last year, which as you will also remember, was what set off the February 11 fight night between the Islanders and Penguins.  It's been a star crossed career for DiPietro, who was a former first overall pick in 2000, and was actually a good player for a stretch in the mid-2000's.  What many will remember him for however, is the fact that he was the first player signed to a double digit year deal.  It would be roughly about that time that he began to experience a litany of injuries, with this concussion on Wednesday being the latest in the long line of injuries.

As for a lighter side to this most recent health issue, well, here's my excuse to put this up: