Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:45 pm EST
Happy ending for stolen Winter Classic stick story
This is Bobby and Lori Pappert, pictured with the Henrik Zetterberg stick that Bobby purchased in a Wrigley Field bathroom after the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks battled in the Winter Classic.
As we reported last Friday, after reading about how 14-year-old hockey fan Kalan Plew was tricked out of the game-used stick by someone dressed like a security guard, Bobby Pappert of North Carolina went on a mission to get the Zetterberg stick back to its rightful owner.
According to the Chicago Tribune, which broke the original story, it's mission:accomplished as of yesterday. Calling it the "Miracle of Nice" (and we thought the "Funeral Burgers" was lame), Plew was reunited with the Zetterberg lumber, which actually arrived in the mail before the replacement stick the Red Wings promised him did.
Two important footnotes. First, and just to finally clear up this lingering doubt, the Tribune's Problem Sover column showed a photo of Bobby Pappert to Plew, and "the teenager said categorically he was not the man who approached him and took the stick." Which of course means that the jerkwad that stole the kid's keepsake in the first place still hasn't 'fessed up.
Finally, our twisted minds prevent us from ignoring this line from Tribune writer Jon Yates: "Pappert, a Blackhawks fan, left the bathroom and proudly handed the stick to his wife." Did he, now?
Thanks to Puck Daddy reader Julie for the photo and the info.
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Greg Wyshynski
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64 Comments
1 - 25 of 64
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And a plus to Wysh for covering this story throughout...Good job Greg.
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Shame we can't all use those S17s. They're pure beauty twigs.
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Good news to hear the kid got his stick back. It's a shame that some jerk of a security guard can do that.
This shal provide a lesson to us all regarding hockey security:
If you smell bacon, hide the stick.
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The kid says the stick was taken while he was *outside* the stadium, but Pappert says he bought the stick in a bathroom *inside* the stadium.
How do you just waltz *in* to Wrigley field with a hockey stick *after* the game is over. I can't walk back in to the Sommet Center 30 minutes after a game between the Preds and Coyotes on a Tuesday night. Ticket stub or not.
And one more point... Would you ever buy a hockey stick from someone in a bathroom? Seriously?
...and i thought the guys selling cotton candy for $1 from the back of a van outside Preds games were sketchy.
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LOL!...At least I know I am not all alone in that opinion about Yates' comment.
Was he suggesting she forcefully took the stick from him?...If so,that would be nothing more than a 2 minute minor. :)
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WINGS TIL DEATH B!TCHES!! HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!!
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I'm here to help you make sense of this.
The security guard(since he was obviously in uniform) had special access to the stadium grounds and could leave the grounds at any time and return to it,all because he was in uniform.A normal person couldn't do this.
I hope that helps. :)
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I was at the game, the exits are giant wide open spaces that you can walk in or out of after the game. As the herd of people was going out there was NO ONE to stop anyone coming back in. This is a totally plausible account of what happened. Especially given that it has cooberating evidence from a guy that lives 6 states away. Do you really question that the stick did not go from Zetterberg to the kid to the FAKE security guard to Bobby Pappert? If so, then you aren't too smart, or maybe you think aliens are circling above your house right now.
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go wings!!!
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The answer...YES! :)
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"but the future of the Redwings in Detroit is quite questionable"
ROTFLMAO!!!
Please don't quit whatever day job you have now. :O
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Don't look at me, look at the empty playoff seats last year, granted the Joe is one of the biggest arenas around.
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One, a true hockey fan wouldn't wish any movement of any team for the city that it is in.
Two, You are not a fan.
Three, As a hockey fan second and a Wings fan First, Go to Hell and Do everyone here a favor, go **ll yourself please.
GO WINGS!!!!
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"Hey, it's the only northern team that has some serious problems with its finances. I would love for the team to stay in Detroit, but with the serious problem the city is having, I'm not sure if it will be able to hold out with its hockey team too long if the recession really turns south."
You don't know where they are really going.They have one strong owner right now,and both the Red Wings and the Tigers will thrive from the fan base here....and they will weather the storm.
We always support our teams here...and we will be backing them...Trust me. :)
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dude redwings aren't going anywhere....they're the last winning franchise detroit has left...
now the sorry-ass lions on the other hand........wouldn't shed a tear if they left town this very minute and they imploded ford field tomorrow morning........then again there is a strange sense of pride in having the best team in hockey and the worst team in football located in the same city....oh well.......lions can move out to LA or something and stink up the joint over there.....hey maybe detroit won't smell as bad haha....
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1 - 25 of 64