Sayonara, Mark Messier, one of the greatest players of anything, of all time. He announced his retirement today.

The night the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, my family was attending Beauty and the Beast. With the deciding seventh game against the Vancouver Canucks happening, I had very little interest in the show and brought a portable radio to listen to the action. When the Rangers won, it was pure magic. The ticker tape parade down the "Canyon of Heroes" was remarkable (and nicely timed with my first visit to The Pipeline, whose office was on the parade route, and where I started working shortly after).

Messier is so much more than a winner. Since the championship, he has stuck through season after season of mediocrity, teaching younger players and still trying his best. He made hockey mean something again in the Big Apple.


(AP Photo/Kevin Larkin)