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Hard Headed
MONTREAL | December 20th, 2011
Autres articles
Head shots may be a hot topic around the NHL these days, but concussions are far from a new phenomenon in the sport. Although, as former Habs forward Sergio Momesso can attest, diagnosing those head injuries has come a long way since the ‘80s.
“I got my first concussion when I was 22 years old. We were playing in L.A. and I got into a fight with Ken Baumgartner, who was a pretty tough guy,” explained the 12-year NHL veteran-turned Habs radio commentator. “I thought I was doing pretty well for myself but he caught me with a really hard right hook and we both fell down. We skate over to the box and as I’m sitting in there, I kind of realized something was wrong.”
Momesso’s suspicions were quickly confirmed when he was joined in the box by Czech blue-liner Petr Svoboda, who didn’t need a medical degree – or even a full grasp of the English language – to know something was wrong with the head of his bruising teammate.
“Petr gets a penalty so he comes in and slams the door and is all mad about the call. So now I’m there confused and concussed next to Petr who barely speaks a word of English,” cracked Momesso of Svoboda, who remains the highest European player ever drafted by the Canadiens. “I look over at him and ask ‘Hey Pete, what’s the score?’
“The scoreboard is huge and it’s literally right in front of us. He looks at me and goes ‘What do you mean, man? It’s 5-2’,” laughed Momesso, who spent three seasons with Svoboda in Montreal. “He’s all annoyed and then like 15 seconds later, I turn back to him and ask, ‘Hey Pete, 5-2 for who?’ Now he’s really getting mad and busting out all his English swear words and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We lose 5-2!’ so I’m like, ‘Ohhhhh… that’s why he’s so mad – we’re losing.’”
Unfazed by Svoboda’s waning patience, Momesso decided to push his luck with one final, burning question for his fellow Stanley Cup-winning teammate.
“There’s maybe 10 seconds left in his penalty and I just look at him and go, ‘Last thing Pete – where are we?’” recalled the Montreal native. “He’s just freaking out now and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We in Los Angeles!’ All I could think was, ‘Awesome! I love L.A.!’”
“I got my first concussion when I was 22 years old. We were playing in L.A. and I got into a fight with Ken Baumgartner, who was a pretty tough guy,” explained the 12-year NHL veteran-turned Habs radio commentator. “I thought I was doing pretty well for myself but he caught me with a really hard right hook and we both fell down. We skate over to the box and as I’m sitting in there, I kind of realized something was wrong.”
Momesso’s suspicions were quickly confirmed when he was joined in the box by Czech blue-liner Petr Svoboda, who didn’t need a medical degree – or even a full grasp of the English language – to know something was wrong with the head of his bruising teammate.
“Petr gets a penalty so he comes in and slams the door and is all mad about the call. So now I’m there confused and concussed next to Petr who barely speaks a word of English,” cracked Momesso of Svoboda, who remains the highest European player ever drafted by the Canadiens. “I look over at him and ask ‘Hey Pete, what’s the score?’
“The scoreboard is huge and it’s literally right in front of us. He looks at me and goes ‘What do you mean, man? It’s 5-2’,” laughed Momesso, who spent three seasons with Svoboda in Montreal. “He’s all annoyed and then like 15 seconds later, I turn back to him and ask, ‘Hey Pete, 5-2 for who?’ Now he’s really getting mad and busting out all his English swear words and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We lose 5-2!’ so I’m like, ‘Ohhhhh… that’s why he’s so mad – we’re losing.’”
Unfazed by Svoboda’s waning patience, Momesso decided to push his luck with one final, burning question for his fellow Stanley Cup-winning teammate.
“There’s maybe 10 seconds left in his penalty and I just look at him and go, ‘Last thing Pete – where are we?’” recalled the Montreal native. “He’s just freaking out now and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We in Los Angeles!’ All I could think was, ‘Awesome! I love L.A.!’”