Ironic, because as a defenseman his job is tosit back, read the play and workconservatively--the exact opposite of his golfgame. If he ever carries over those trends togolf, his unbridled links potential mightovershadow even his hockey outlook.
"When I'm done with hockey--be that in one yearor ten--I'm going to sit back, evaluate things,and then make a decision on whether to enter thebusiness world or give the minitours a shot," hesays. "I don't know if I'll have the desire or thepatience to work on my game, but as they say,knowing is half the battle, and I know what myproblem is. I just need to go out and do it."
In the present, even though much of histhoughts are centered around hockey, Bodycontinues to find time in his "senior spring" toenjoy himself. His teammates call him "Fobber"--asin, "Friend Of Babes" (FOB), for Body is alwayspatrolling the dating waters--and Body isdetermined to savor his last days in Cambridge.
"No regrets," remains the Body mantra. "Thesemay not wind up being the four best years of mylife, but when I look back on them, I know they'vebeen a hell of a lot of fun."
That's something else that strikes you aboutthis team. "I was the school jock," says Body, buthe's not alone--in fact, Harvard's senior classcollectively lettered in high school hockey(hmmm...) football, track, volleyball, basketball,golf, baseball, lacrosse, soccer and at least twosports which we're not at liberty to name.
And at some point, they all had to be pushedaside to make way for weight training, bus trips,extra shifts in practice, or whatever else it tookto become an ace in the deck of Harvard hockey.Body has never made a formal choice between golfand hockey, but everyone else has. Always leftthere is always the passion of hockey. Best leftfor explanation by a Canadian, eh?...
Ottawa is in Ontario, Chris Baird wants toclarify. "Not many people here [in the U.S.] knowall of the provinces," he explains.
Ottawa is also the capital city of Canada. Muchsmaller than the larger cities of Toronto andMontreal, the passion for hockey nevertheless runsjust as strong, the inept NHL Senatorsnotwithstanding. And in a climate where skating isa life skill, it comes as no surprise to learnthat Baird began learning the tools his adoptedtrade at the ripe old age of three.
"They have this program called