BETTER THEY MOVE TO RICHMOND ... ?

 Sticking the old, old neck way, way out … but it says here you can forget the over-priced ($2.2 BILLION) plan to move the NHL Capitals and NBA Wizards from D.C., to a new home base in Alexandria. Ain’t gonna happen. Surely state lawmakers will recognize the folly of the whole thing. Sorry, governor. Nice try … but it WILL cost tax payers a lot … and few of Virginia’s roughly 5.5 million care about either team much less attend their games. To call the woeful Wizards “big league” is a stretch of major proportions … If TED LEONSIS must move the hockey team, why not to the 17,000-seat arena expected to be built in Henrico County by 2026? That would be two years before re-location anywhere can happen (according to The Washington Post) … I know, I know … it sounds silly to expect hockey to succeed here on any level, much less the highest, after six previous failures …. yet, stranger things have happened. All it takes is someone (someones?) with deep, DEEP pockets, hockey expertise, a modicum of sense and a commitment heretofore not seen in these parts. A really good team would help, of course … On second thought …

Speaking of which … we are writing a book on the history of hockey 

in Richmond … for a limited audience, no doubt. There are no 

illusions of this becoming a money-maker. Nevertheless, it comes with 

a guarantee that the reader will be entertained … The goal was to find 

stories that even old-time fans of the Robins should find interesting. 

We covered the city’s first team home and away, start (1971) to finish 

(1976) … and still learned a lot from recent interviews with such 

players as DAVE SCHULTZ, STEVE COATES, MICHEL 

BELHUMEUR and JOHN GARRETT ... not to mention owner E. 

CLAIBORNE ROBINS JR., and other non-playing types who 

provided valuable insight regarding the successes ... and ultimate 

failure of the American Hockey League franchise after five exciting 

but costly campaigns … Did you know, for example, that Claiborne, 

Sr., did not want his son to get into the hockey business? Or that E.C. 

Jr., more than 60 years later, insists he remembers little about the 

team?

If you get the idea the Robins will be dissected, inside and out. Youare 

correct … But that doesn’t mean the rest of hockey’s lineup here …\ 

from the short-term Wildcats, which followed the Robins and lasted 

less than a season (barely beating the demise of the league), to the 

Rifles, Renegades I, RiverDogs to Renegades II … will be dismissed 

with perfunctory coverage … There simply are too many good stories 

out there … that require additional scrutiny. Like … why did NHL 

Hall of Fame defenseman ROD LANGWAY play for the Renegades 

after he ostensibly retired? Or, about DAVID LITTMAN, the 

goaltender who joined the Renegades late and led them to a 

championship. Or, TREVOR SENN, who relished his role as an 

enforcer. How is he doing now? … Then there’s ALLAN HARVIE, 

who started Renegades I, sold them after three years, then returned 

more than 10 years later to create Renegades II. He lives not far from 

Williamsburg … in Toano and, at 76, still talks (cliché alert) a mile a 

minute. Oh, the tales he can tell – and does. There’s no holding back 

with the Canadian who, when he was 60, suited up with the Renegades 

and played one shift … for charity.

Until next time ...

Sticking the old, old neck way, way out … but it says here you can forget the over-priced ($2.2 BILLION) plan to move the NHL Capitals and NBA Wizards from D.C., to a new home base in Alexandria. Ain’t gonna happen. Surely state lawmakers will recognize the folly of the whole thing. Sorry, governor. Nice try … but it WILL cost tax payers a lot … and few of Virginia’s roughly 5.5 million care about either team much less attend their games. To call the woeful Wizards “big league” is a stretch of major proportions … If TED LEONSIS must move the hockey team, why not to the 17,000-seat arena expected to be built in Henrico County by 2026? That would be two years before re-location anywhere can happen (according to The Washington Post) … I know, I know … it sounds silly to expect hockey to succeed here on any level, much less the highest, after six previous failures …. yet, stranger things have happened. All it takes is someone (someones?) with deep, DEEP pockets, hockey expertise, a modicum of sense and a commitment heretofore not seen in these parts. A really good team would help, of course … On second thought …

Speaking of which … we are writing a book on the history of hockey in Richmond … for a limited audience, no doubt. There are no illusions of this becoming a money-maker. Nevertheless, it comes with a guarantee that the reader will be entertained … The goal was to find stories that even old-time fans of the Robins should find interesting. We covered the city’s first team home and away, start (1971) to finish (1976) … and still learned a lot from recent interviews with such players as DAVE SCHULTZ, STEVE COATES,MICHEL BELHUMEUR and JOHN GARRETT not to mention owner E. CLAIBORNE ROBINS JR., and other non-playing types who provided valuable insight regarding the successes ... and ultimate failure of the American Hockey League franchise after five exciting but costly campaigns … Did you know, for example, that Claiborne, Sr., did not want his son to get into the hockey business? Or that E.C. Jr., more than 60 years later, insists he remembers little about the team?

If you get the idea the Robins will be dissected, inside and out. You are correct … But that doesn’t mean the rest of hockey’s lineup here … from the short-term Wildcats, which followed the Robins and lasted less than a season (barely beating the demise of the league), to the Rifles, Renegades I, RiverDogs to Renegades II … will be dismissed with perfunctory coverage … There simply are too many good stories out there … that require additional scrutiny. Like … why did NHL Hall of Fame defenseman ROD LANGWAY play for the Renegades after he ostensibly retired? Or, about DAVID LITTMAN, the goaltender who joined the Renegades late and led them to a championship. Or, TREVOR SENN, who relished his role as an enforcer. How is he doing now? … Then there’s ALLAN HARVIE, who started Renegades I, sold them after three years, then returned more than 10 years later to create Renegades II. He lives not far from Williamsburg … in Toano and, at 76, still talks (cliché alert) a mile a minute. Oh, the tales he can tell – and does. There’s no holding back with the Canadian who, when he was 60, suited up with the Renegades and played one shift … for charity.

Until next time ...