From:
jeand@t...
Date: Mon Mar 6, 2000 8:19 pm
Subject: The Jon Barrett Fantasy Hockey League
Although I'm posting this from a web portal, since my
computer is down, I
couldn't let time slip by without saying a few words...
Back
in 1993, it seems that all I did was read the newsgroups.
I hadn't
developed any email pals yet, so Usenet was my main 'net
presence. Reading Jon's posting on rec.sports.hockey and
quickly responding netted the Montreal franchise.
I
helped Jon a lot with the pre-season rules and came to
really like his
presence in the league. I found it disturbing that season
when he gave up the Kings
and now we are beginning to know why.
From
the FHL, I joined another league and then started running
a league of my
own. In the meantime, I met and corresponded with hundreds
of people on the
subject of hockey, baseball, and such. And a big part
of that was all due to Jon's creation.
I've
always felt silly that the FHL's top trophy was named
after me when all I did was the stats for the first two
years and did them quite late at that. I propose a rename
of the league to the Jon Barrett FHL or at least renaming
the trophy. (Actually, renaming the league and the trophy
would be better in my opinion!).
Mark,
if you could try contacting Claire on behalf of the FHL,
I'm sure that many of us would like to know what happened.
Goodbye
Jon, we will all miss you and think of you whenever the
Kings are in our respective hockey towns.
Jean
"Oh
man...
That's
a lousy way to start a week. Even worse when I consider
that one of
the saddest days in the lives of Jon's friends and family
was the day after
I got married.
I
will always remember Jon for being a fair and even handed
person who
demonstrated an incredible amount of passion for the sport
of hockey.
I
am usually not at a loss for words, but this news has
pretty much taken
the wind out of my writing sails today. Those of us who
knew you, Jon, will
always remember you for the impact you had on our lives,
as well as the
dedication you had to making a dream of yours come true,
all the more so
because you chose to share it with us.
You
will be missed..."
-
HotBranch! ( Paul Branchaud) FHL PIT
( Later FHL BUF)
"Reading
my e-mail for the first time in a couple of days, this
sad message is very numbing. I too can only praise Jon;
he was a great leader and friend. As an original r.s.h.
respondent and former Western Conference rival, I had
the pleasure of corresponding with Jon a lot during the
early years. I remember rushing over to the terminal screen
to read his messages; I admired Jon's wit, satirical commentary,
intelligence, and fairness. I remember The Jimmy Carson
Show, his taking of Kirk McLean from me on the last day
of the first ever auction, his pleasure from drafting
Marty Brodeur, his absolute disdain for Jaromir Jagr's
hair, and much, much more ... it's all coming back to
me. It is amazing how much I remember of Jon now; he really
did have an impact on each of us."
- S. Grivnow BUF
"Jon,
Many GMs in the
FHL have sorely missed your presence. You were the creator
of the league, the hard working builder who kept making
the league better, the glue who kept us all together and
you somehow found time after all of that to be a competitive
GM. Most of all, you were the spirit of the league. I
applaud you most for your sense of fair play. Your anti
no-bid agreements at auction time were infamous. We were
fierce competitors in our division who took turns thumping
each other all season and in the playoffs. Luckily, I
never had a problem competing for players with you since
you disliked everything about the Calgary Flames, including
having the players on your team.
As you look down
on us from Heaven, perhaps taking a short break from running
your fantasy league up there, I hope you're proud of the
way your original league has stayed running. As long as
the league continues to run season after season, your
presence will always be with us. You're the reason why
many of us will forever enforce the spirit of the league.
We all want to
thank you for your outstanding contribution to the FHL
and fantasy leagues on the Internet. Your legacy is also
indirectly responsible for the creation of other leagues
around the Internet, including other sports. Some GMs
come into this league, see what an exciting world it is,
and spawn new fantasy leagues based on the FHL.
I'll always be
proud to be a part of your league. It's been a pleasure
knowing you, Jon."
- Sam Lau
Calgary Flames GM since 1993 (where has the time gone?)
"I
must add my own shock and sombre regret that we did not
know sooner . if only to express our regret at his loss
to his family or to the kind ether above that surely harbour's
the soul of Jon Barrett.
It
was Jon who approved my entry into the league and when
I was given the chance to swap Dallas for Toronto franchises
only a day after being accepted, it was an extremely happy
day for me. I never really got to know Jon as I would
have liked, he was an enigma in some ways - rarely looking
to make deals and seemingly content with overseeing the
league for the rest of us. He was incredibly patient and
fair and quietly brilliant when it came to maintaining
a balance between the various factions. I know that I
always had a great respect for the way that he kept us
all pretty happy and skirmishes were often more humorous
than serious - in part I think because Jon knew quietly
how to let us know when things were getting silly and
could direct the emotions into a constructive resolution.
We
often tend to take the people in our lives a little for
granted when they only really fill a small part of our
day or week or year - such as e-mail pals do...but I don't
think any of us who went through a whole season with Jon
at the helm ever failed to see how lucky we were to have
an e-mail friend like the most learned Jon Barrett.
I
also would appreciate a renaming of the League, or at
very least a trophy to remember our friend.
A
memorial page on the site would be nice too, if anybody
knows how to locate a photo of Jon.
Tonight,
I'll certainly miss our good team-mate as he finally has
learned to handle those iceskates and hit the top corner
with a heavenly slapshot from the point. God bless Jon."
- Dave Moore FHL TOR
