The March to March

As I sit in my room in Williamsburg on Sunday night, I can’t decide how to start this week's newsletter. When I launched 5 For Writing, I certainly didn’t realize how overwhelming it would be to type out my emotions each week. So, I’m starting to get the feeling this newsletter thing is gonna be a bit all over the place.

Anyway, I’m no longer getting the “Sunday Scaries,” so at least there’s that. But that’s because Sunday is usually a work night for me (and my editor), which is why we’re likely gonna start sending these out on Tuesday mornings.

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On Monday, I chatted with two legends: Bruce Boudreau and Don La Greca. Boudreau is a former NHL player and coach, who now does some work with the NHL Network. La Greca, who hosts “The Michael Kay Show” and is the Rangers’ radio announcer, is a New York icon of sorts. I actually met both of them previously, but I had never formally interviewed either.

It’s always a bit of a challenge to prepare for these interviews when you already know a lot about the person. One thing I typically do is watch 2-3 recent interviews to make sure I don’t ask any repeat questions. Also, I usually try to text a mutual friend to find a funny story to bring up to break the ice a bit.

When bringing up a mutual friend, though, don’t overdo it. It always drives me crazy when I meet someone and they start asking if I know 10 different people.

Maybe that’s just a me thing.

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This past week was exhilarating. The Rangers tied their franchise record with 10 consecutive wins, and I created some major league-wide buzz by calling Alexis Lafreniere a future 100-point player. But all I really want to talk about right now is family. 

This weekend, my nephew Wyatt turned one. As I was driving back to my apartment from Long Island, I randomly got super emotional… for the most part, in a ~good~ way.

Wyatt is the first baby in our family. So I’ve heard people say that life flies by, but I don’t think I truly understood it until he came along. 

I’d say I’m a family-oriented guy (and certainly a mama’s boy), so while I love my career, one of the sacrifices that comes with it is not seeing my family as much as I’d like. So, whenever I go home and see Wyatt, he is a completely different baby. 

Seeing people you’ve known for a long time have babies is such a hard thing to get used to, but I feel like I’ve found some new parental instincts. No, I’m not saying I’m anywhere close to being fit to be a parent, especially after this weekend when I learned that you’re not supposed to check on a crying baby?

My family gave me shit for that one. But I don’t know, usually when someone is crying, you check on them.

Parenting aside, one of the weirdest things about getting older is having to make plans with your family. It’s one of the sad, harsh realities of the world, but that’s why everyone emphasizes how important it is to make time for family. It’s definitely something I need to work on. 

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I had no idea where this week’s newsletter was going to go, but these are some of the things on my mind right now.

This coming week, I’m really looking forward to talking to Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin about Alexis Lafreniere. I’m doing an exclusive interview with the two of them on Tuesday, so expect a story to come out around Wednesday on DailyFaceoff.com. As always, I’ll post it all over social media.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to send them my way!

Talk to you next week.

With love, 

Jonny

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