Know Thyself

Hockey fans will love this profile of Mel Angelstad, a career minor leaguer in the Washington Capitals farm system. He knows he'll never make the NHL, but he hangs around, doing his job, which consists mainly of fighting other teams' tough guys to protect the Caps' future superstars. This might seem pathetic if he didn't have such a finely-honed sense of self:

"One thing I know about myself is my ambition far exceeds my talent," Angelstad said. "So I'm happy to have gotten where I am, and I knew early on that I would have to take the role of a fighter if I wanted to play this game professionally. I was willing to do it and it allowed me to find a life for myself in hockey."

"My ambition far exceeds my talent" - what a great thing to know about yourself. I can only hope this guy ends up like the hero in the late Warren Zevon's "Hit Somebody":

In his final season on his final night
Buddy and a Finn whom were pegged for a fight
30 seconds left and the puck took a roll
And suddenly
Buddy had a shot on goal
The goalie committed
But he picked his spot
20 years of waiting went into that shot
The fans jumped up
And the Finn jumped to
He cold cocked Buddy on his follow through
The big man crumbled
But he felt alright
'Cause the last thing he saw was the flashing red light
he saw that heavenly light
- posted by Anonymous @ 9:10 AM