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Domi's most memorable moment |
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I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
I was sitting in the press box near the end of my first season working hockey games as a quote runner for the Associated Press.
I was sitting there, bored out of my mind because the Flyers and Leafs were playing one of the more boring games I had seen in a long while.
Anyway, I had the responsibility of calling into the AP sports desk in New York every five minutes to give scoring updates from the game, or to provide them with any breaking news.
I was in the middle of providing the update during a stoppage in play as Tie Domi was being escorted to the penalty box.
For some reason I was focused on him. Maybe it was the fans behind the glass giving him a typical Philadelphia welcome. Whatever the reason, I was looking for a reaction - and boy did I ever get one.
Domi started yapping back. And then, after a quick moment, he squirted his water bottle over his shoulder, hitting a couple of folks in the second row.
A hefty guy in the third row stood up and started shouting at him. So Domi turned around and squirted him too.
That's when it happened. And that's when the AP agate clerk on the other end of the phone heard me yell "Holy (bleep)."
The chubby guy had just leaned over two rows of fans, reached over the glass in a lame attempt at grabbing Domi, and fell through the glass and into the box.
For a few seconds, I was the only person in the press box who saw what was happening. It became more surreal when the guy tried to get up and take a swing at Domi, but couldn't seem to get on his feet, his beer belly getting in the way.
Making matters worse, Wachovia Center security (Sorry, it was the First Union Center back then, or as we liked to say, the F.U. Center) just stood there with mouths agape not knowing what to do.
Not until linesman Kevin Collins charged the sin bin to bearhug the fan did the madness come to an end in the penalty box, but it was just the beginning of the craziness for me.
Being an enterprising reporter, I needed to find out more about the bozo who hurtled himself at Domi.
Taking advantage of an arena source who was familiar with the dealings of the overly imbibed, I learned not only the guy's name - Chris Falcone - but that he was a concrete worker from Havertown, a municipality about five minutes from where i live in Delaware County, Pa.
I immediately called a relative to look him up in the phone book, and I got his home phone number.
Knowing he was still at the arena, I called the number anyway in hopes I could get hold of a family member. Luckily for me, I got hold of his wife.
I don't remember her name, but when I told her I was calling from the AP and I wanted to see if her husband had a cell phone number I could call, she said, "What's he done this time?"
I sort of chuckled and replied, "You won't believe it, but he got into a fight with one of the Toronto Maple Leafs players inside the penalty box. He sort of jumped over the glass - well, through it really, to get after the guy."
And rather then get an astonished reaction from the woman, especially since I was the one breaking the news to her, she took me by surprise by saying, "Yeah, that sounds like Chris. Here, let me get you his cell phone number."
In the world of reporting, this is about a lucky a break as you can get.
My first few tries went unanswered, probably because he was talking to security directors in a holding cell at the arena, so I had to wait until after the game to give it another shot.
In the meantime, I needed to talk to Domi. And you know what, he was great.
Not only did he have great things to say, but his facial expressions were priceless. It was almost as if he was doing standup on open mic nite.
First he claimed stuff was thrown at him - like beer and such - but he was smililing when he said it, which let you know that he really wasn't hit with anything but a few unpleasant words from unruly fans.
But then he got comical...
"That's my work. Nobody is going to come into my work," said Domi, "If he wants to come in here, he's going to have to pay the price.
"He leaned over and went through the glass. When he got in there, he started swinging. I'm not going to let anybody swing at me. I don't care who it is."
He was at his best, staring into the television cameras that surrounded him and showcasing bravado like a WWE wrestler. His eyes were wild. It was priceless.
"Hey that's old time hockey, it was perfect," Domi continued. "Hey, he comes into my territory, that's what happens."
Finally, I got a hold of Falcone on the cell phone. He was excited to hear from me. I was the second reporter to contact him (I gave his number to my predecessor at the Delaware County Times, who is now working with Tim Panaccio at the Inquirer. But, I digress...)
When I told him I wanted to interview him about the incident he was all too happy to give his side of the story.
"I paid good money to sit in those seats," he said. "I'm not going to let some hockey punk get me all wet and have nothing be done about it."
He was getting fired up. It was a bit scary. He was enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame a bit too much.
"If I would have poured water on his head, what would have happened to me," he asked me.
"They'd throw you the hell out," I said.
"Damn right they would," he replied, full of vim and vigor. "So since nothing was being done about it, I needed to do what I had to do."
Then I asked, "you felt that you needed to climb into the penalty box?"
And he said, "Yep. That's Philly pride baby. Philly Pride."
I was cracking up. I was wishing like mad that I was actually writing the story, and not just getting quotes. It was too perfect.
I sent the quotes to the AP writer that night, but she only used one or two of them, and none of the good ones. Go figure.
But, from then on, I made a point to interview Domi at any chance I could get. He was just one of those guys who you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth, but you knew whatever it was, it'd make the papers.
He'll be missed in the locker rooms, that's for sure, especially by us, the print media.
Luckily for my Canadian brethren, you'll get him on TSN all the time. We here in the States could only be so lucky.
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