by Gail Moore (Apologia pro scriptis meis)

My words are nearly always an offense I don’t know how to speak of anything So as to please you... . - Robert Frost ‘Home Burial’’ 11.44-46.

much. I am using it to say that I never

intended for the ‘‘Offsider’’ to please anyone save myself. Over the past two years I tried to write about hockey. My subjects have been the Panthers, the NHL, the AHL, hockey cards, and certain women. I did not have either time or room to write about everything so | wrote about what I thought was important. My only personal rule was to avoid writing about superstars. They get enough press anyway and certain non-stars deserve media attention, too. | broke that rule when Mario Lemieux told the world about his Hodgkin’s Disease, but that was

O kay, maybe the Frost quotation is too

special. My sole goal was to write about hockey.

I did that.

I avoided signing my name for several rea- Sons. At first I was scared of people not liking me because of what I had written. After | outgrew that reason, I contemplated Signing the articles. Then one day in the Pit last year, a guy completely ignored me when I was talking about hockey. Since heresponded to my friends’ comments and their reiterations of my com- Ments, I decided that he was ignoring me be- Cause I am a female. If Mr. Regular Guy did that, would everyone else? I decided that it was hot necessary for people to know who I am in order to read the “‘Offsider’’. Liking or not liking the ‘*Offsider’’ has nothing to do with ne. I was not trying to please anyone.

I know I annoyed some people, but I had to do it. It does not befit me to apologize to ‘tyone. I tried to be honest. I know at times I “as too hard on the Panthers but I did not want '0 be accused of writing nice things about them ‘ll of the time simply because I g0 to school With them. Sometimes they deserved it.

My only promise was to ‘‘go public’’ at the “td of this year. Sol did. This is my last article for | shall be graduating in May (I feel this “cites more people than it upsets). I have had fn for the past two years and that is what I

wanted. Thanks to all who helped and encour- aged me. :

The NHL playoffs look ike they could be more exciting this season than they have been in a few years. The Adams Division is the only division to have all of its playoff openings filled; Montreal, Quebec, Boston, and Buffalo are all guaranteed post-season play. Montreal probably has the best potential of these teams, but the Bruins might turn out to be a threat, especially if Cam Neely is healthy enough to last the playoffs.

I like Toronto in the Norris. The Leafs are getting more impressive as each game goes by. The Chicago Blackhawks might be the only

team in the Leafs’ way.

I doubt the Pittsburgh Penguins will win a third-consecutive League championship, but they look better right now than any other Patrick Division team. The Rangers may surprise a lot of people once Brian Leetch is back to normal.

The Smythe is a hard division about which to make any predictions. Calgary and Vancouver both look good, but the Winnipeg Jets, with record-setting rookie Teemu Selanne, may cause problems for the other teams.

The last few weeks of the ’92-’93 season will be very interestingf as teams fight for the playoffs. @

Gigolos on top

On Sunday, March 28th the Gigolos won U.P.E.I.’s intramural basketball league, cruis- ing to an easy 56-55 victory over Wreckers. The Gigolos finished the round-robin 6-1 then went on to exterminate play-off opponents at ran-

dom. The Gigolos are: team captain George Anderson, ex-Panther. Mark Mullally, Kylie Gavard, Josh Weale, Andrew Walsh, Kirby Ferguson and Don Pendergast.

L'ARCHE CAPE BRETON HAS OPENINGS FOR LIVE-IN ASSISTANTS. BENEFITS: LOTS OF WORK, LITTLE PAY, AND THE RICHNESS OF LIFE WITH MENTALLY CHALLENGED PEOPLE. FREE ROOM AND BOARD AND A MONTHLY STIPEND. IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT LOAN WE WILL CONSIDER COVERING THAT AS WELL. WE ALSO HAVE AN INTER- NATIONAL PROGRAM WITH L'ARCHE

IN EUROPE, AND THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: TOM GUNN, L'ARCHE, WHYCOCOMAGH, N.S. BOE 2K0

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