Tuesday 14 May 2013

Cam 'n Eggs: Bryn tells us why Randy Carlyle is grumpy


 For those of us lucky to have Bryn Griffiths in our lives, we know how much he enjoys sitting back in his chair, folding his right leg across the other, tilting his head back and telling a story.
We enjoy it, too.
Bryn Griffiths

That’s what happened Monday afternoon when Bryn shared a few hours.  A seasoned broadcaster — television and radio — Bryn also worked as press secretary for the Winnipeg Jets in the early 1990’s.
He was responsible for the team’s travel. He did the same job for the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-1990's.
The topic came up in light of the Boston Bruins’ travel challenges Sunday night in Toronto. After losing Game 6 to the Maple Leafs, the Bruins had to overnight in Toronto because of a malfunction with their charter aircraft.
Picture of the Bruin aircraft found on Google Images
Bryn said flight crews start preparing the aircraft to leave just as the third period starts. He says when he was with the Oilers the rule of thumb was 45 minutes: the amount of time between the end of the game and when the team departed for the airport by bus.
“So, if you can’t go because of mechanical trouble, the team would get word from the flight crew by the end of the game so they can make other arrangements,” says Bryn.
That’s when press secretaries really make their money. They have to find hotel rooms for an entourage  of 50 … at 11 p.m. at night.
The Bruins ended up leaving for Boston at 9 a.m. Monday, some nine hours after the Maple Leafs had landed in Boston — 10 hours before game time.
Didn’t hurt them. The Bruins clawed back from a 4-1 third period funk to pull off a 5-4 win in overtime to win Game 7.
Bryn tells the story of when he was the Jets and they could not travel one night. And no hotels.
“We ended up staying the whole night at the airport,” says Bryn.
There were a lot of unhappy people that night, but guess who was the grumpiest.
“Randy Carlyle,” Bryn smirks, talking about the former Winnipeg Jet, now head coach of the Maple Leafs.
Chances are, though, not as grumpy as this morning, following Toronto’s collapse.
Randy Carlyle with the Jets

(Bryn Griffiths is now an account manager for Capital FM and K-97. Follow him on Twitter @BrynMightyMouth)

No comments: