No, I’m not referring to this afternoon’s loss in the title. This is serious. Earlier today news broke that a charter flight carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (Russia) crashed shortly after takeoff this morning, killing 43 of 45 people on board. Included in those 45 people is the team’s entire roster, the coaching staff, the training staff, and four of the club’s top prospects. Several former and notable NHLers were on the flight, including former NY Rangers and NJ Devils.
Thankfully, we’ve never had a sports tragedy of this caliber happen here in the United States. The Marshall Football Team tragedy happened long before I was born, and stuff like this never really comes into our consciousness. Or at least my consciousness, I don’t want to speak for you. I mean, how many flights a year does a typical MLB club take a year? What happened today is just terrible, and I’m not sure how I’d react if something similar happened here, especially involving a team I follow. Obviously any kind of accident like this is horrible, but sports is such a big part of my life that it almost takes it to an entirely different level. It’s hard to think about. The entire team is just … gone.
Anyway, sorry for the morbid open thread. ESPN is showing two games tonight (Phillies-Braves at 7pm ET, Mariners-Angels at 10pm ET), and the NFL season starts as well. The Saints and Packers will kick off at 8:30pm ET on NBC. You all know what to do, so have at it. Anything goes.
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