There are two things a true professional never does.

1. He never works in his underwear. There's something about underwear that makes any activity seem less professional, no matter how fine the final product is. I'm sure F. Scott Fitzgerald didn't write Great Gatsby in his underwear. That's why I'm writing this entry fully clothed. In this case, Speedos are also considered underwear.

2. He never goes to a meeting without a bag. A suitcase, a messenger bag or the like, but never a backpack. It doesn't matter what's in it. It can be a lunch sandwich, a newspaper, notes, even underwear (as long as it stays in the bag), it doesn't matter, but the bag has to be there or you might as well yell, "I don't know what I'm doing" when you enter the meeting room.

Now, go take over the world.

Here's this week's "I on Europe" from The Hockey News.

Here, that is.

I think I need an intern. It's not an easy job, but it may be a fun job. My previous assistant moved on in 2000 to pursue other challenges in the US collegiate world, and I have been looking for a replacement ever since. (He only lasted a week).

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There seems to be a lot of confusion about the current global economic disarray. The Chicago School says one thing, the Harvard people another, and the IMF analysts yet something else. Nobody seems to know what is going on, and why.

Not to mention the most important question: whose fault is this?

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Right above my desk there’s a photo of a hockey player flying through the air after he’s just scored the Stanley Cup winning goal. The player is Bobby Orr, of course, a Canadian and Boston Bruins’ hockey legend, and the photo itself, is a part of the hockey lore as well.

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I'm not much of a list maker, but I am married to one. So, this one's for the lady in the house: My Top 10 memorable movie quotes (in response to the Brits' list). My list consists of lines I actually use in real life, regularly, sad as it may seem.

10. "You're the doc, Doc", Back To The Future.
9. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", Gone With The Wind
8. "I broke the window again", A Night at the Roxbury
7. "Trade me right fucking now," Slapshot
6. "The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good", Wall Street

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Reading on buses and subway trains is one of my favorite pastimes. I used to take a bus that took 35 minutes to get to work, instead of the train that only took ten, for three reasons.

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Instead of calling myself a one-track mind, I just say that I’m focused. I’m very, very focused. I’m goal-oriented, I’m dedicated.

But between you and me? Yeah, I am a hockey nerd.

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Everybody was afraid of her. Just the sight of her on the balcony, shaking her fist at kids who dared play soccer on her lawn - technically, the lawn of the entire apartment building, but who's to argue with Mrs Hellgren - and making sure no garbage was ever left sticking out of the garbage cans.

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And here's my column that ran in the February issue of Scanorama. Wait, that's now. So, if you want it in print, fly with SAS.

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