Ulmer on Maurice

Below is an excerpt from Mike Ulmer's Nov.7/06 post 'Deconstructing the Presser..'. I don't get to see post-game press conferences, as Center Ice cuts out abruptly after the broadcast team signs off, so reading this was insightful and entertaining. Nice work Mike; very bloggish.

“There’s no sense hanging over the boards, screaming like a fool with 20 seconds left. There’s already one guy in the building doing that, we don’t need both.”

The reporter wants more. But Maurice has already given him a juicy quote and he is not above pointing that out. Maurice is also reminding him that in this game, thank you, he is the cat, not the mouse.

“You are getting nothing, just so you understand,” he says pleasantly. “I give you a gift. This is not a re-gifting party here. You get one. Take it, do what you want. There are no re-gifters.” The re-gifting is a reference to a January 1995 episode of Seinfeld called The Label maker.

“Did you not expect someone…”

Maurice shuts him down.

“No I did not. Mike Peca is fine. The game is over.” Of course, that can be taken two ways, the hockey game or the game between reporter and coach. It sounds like Maurice is referring to the hockey game but with him, you never know.