[legendsport]

November 9, 1947: Detroit, MI:

The dimly lit restaurant provided the perfect ambiance for a conversation between brothers Jack and Rollie Barrell. As the waiter served Jack his sizzling ribeye, Rollie couldn't help but express his envy for the mouthwatering dish. "That looks good. I'd kill for a good steak," he remarked.

Chuckling, Jack raised an eyebrow and asked, "So why'd you get fish then?"

Rollie let out a sigh of frustration, "Francie's been on my back about what I eat. Apparently she spoke to our family doctor, and he filled her head full of nonsense about red meat being bad for you."

"Mankind's been eating red meat since the discovery of fire, if not before," Jack stated confidently, savoring a bite of his steak.

A familiar voice interrupted the brothers' banter from behind. "Revenge is a dish best served cold, eh, Jack?" Junior Connelly remarked, having overheard their conversation.

Rollie's reaction was immediate, and Jack realized he would have known who was standing behind him even without recognizing the voice. "Hello, Rollie," Junior greeted him, before turning back to Jack.

With a calm demeanor, Jack responded, "Revenge has nothing to do with it, Junior. Business is business, and my business is winning hockey games."

"Well, it's cold on the ice and your boys have beaten my team three times in a matter of weeks," Connelly pointed out.

This was true. Jack's Toronto Dukes had opened the season with a home-and-home with his former Detroit club and beaten them in both. And the reason he was in Detroit this night, enjoying a late dinner with his brother, was that the Dukes had beaten the Motors handily, 5-1, at the Thompson Palladium earlier that day.

Junior frowned a bit before adding, "Look, Jack, I'm sorry about the way things ended."

Jack figured this was true. The Motors were scuffling under the man who'd replaced him, Mark Moore. Ironically, and proving pro hockey was a small world, the man who replaced Jack in Detroit had come from Tacoma - which was where Jack's road back to the NAHC had begun. Moore had led the Motors to a fifth-place finish in his first year (the same slot Jack's last year with the Motors had yielded) then finished third in 1946-47 to make the playoffs but had lost in the first round. This year the club was off to a slow start - the 5-1 loss to Detroit had them at 0-9 to start the season. Thinking on it for a moment, Jack was certain he'd never had a nine-game losing streak as a player or as a coach.

"I bet," Rollie muttered. Junior, if he heard, pretended he hadn't. He and Rollie shared the Thompson Palladium because Rollie's Detroit Mustangs also played there. But Rollie, as Jack's brother, had no love for Junior Connelly, just as he wasn't the biggest fan of their shared landlord, Powell Thompson.

"I'm sorry it ended that way too," Jack said. He and Junior had been friends a long time and won championships together before things went south and the finger-pointing began.

"How's your family doing?" Junior asked.

Jack smiled at the change in topic. "They're doing well. Marie is Marie, of course. Aggie is dating Quinton Pollack of all people," he said, explaining how they'd met in Tacoma and that Pollack had helped her get past her lingering resentment and anger about losing her husband.

"Pollack... he's quite a player," Connelly said ruefully. "We would have grabbed him up if we could have," he added after a moment. Jack knew this was true - all six of the remaining NAHC teams had been salivating about Pollack as soon as the Brooklyn Eagles had folded. There had been other good players in the Eagles organization but no one with the talent and shining promise that Pollack possessed.

Jack nodded in reply before continuing, "Jean is working for an advertising agency, doing illustrations. She's quite talented. She went to art school and paints in her free time, but she's 24 now and wants to be an independent woman." Jack shook his head, but was smiling.

"And Vera?" Junior asked.

"She graduated high school this year and has enrolled at Detroit City College."

"Not one of the schools in Ontario?" Junior asked. He himself was born in Canada and though he held dual-citizenship he still considered Canada home. Though Aggie and Jean had been born in Canada, Vera had been born in Chicago and spent most of her formative years in Detroit. Jack explained this to Junior, who nodded as he remembered that detail.

Junior was ultimately invited to sit. Rollie talked about his family: Marty was living in New York where her husband was an assistant football coach for the New York Football Stars while Allie had one year of high school remaining and was determined to attend DCC just like her cousin, where she'd major in business and then take a front office job with the Detroit Maroons. "She has her future completely mapped out," Rollie said, only half-jokingly.

"A woman running a professional sports franchise?" Junior asked with raised eyebrows.

"Matilda Johnson is doing it in Philadelphia," Rollie pointed out, mentioning the Sailors owner.

"From what I hear, she owns the team, but doesn't involve herself with the business end, let alone the player-personnel side," Junior said.

"Probably a good idea for owners to stay out of player-personnel stuff anyway," Jack said. This was a jibe, and all three men at the table knew it - the hard feelings were still there and Junior's meddling in roster matters had been the main bone of contention between him and Jack.

"I've learned that lesson," Junior said.

Jack wondered if all this was legitimate. Junior would never admit he was the main reason for their falling out, but even admitting that he should have let his hockey men deal with the draft and roster construction? That was a big admission in itself.

"You know Jack," he said but Rollie held up a hand and said, "Whoa, Junior."

Connelly looked at him, frowning.

"Were you just about to say 'You can always come back to Detroit?' or something along those lines?" Rollie asked him.

Junior didn't answer but the look on his face said that was exactly what he was about to say.

"That would be tampering, wouldn't it?" Rollie asked, then added, "I don't know for sure about the NAHC but I know in both football and basketball, we have rules about that stuff."

Junior looked at Jack. "Is he serious?" he asked.

Jack chuckled and said, "Yeah, Rollie is running that new basketball league, you know, as league president until they get around to hiring a real boss," Rollie smiled at this as Jack continued, "and he's always been a stickler for the rules." Then Jack looked at his brother and said, "Yes, the NAHC has a tampering rule, Rollie."

Rollie nodded. Junior was wearing a rueful smile. "And you'd turn me in?" he asked Rollie.

Rollie shook his head and said, "No, I don't have a dog in that fight. But if an investigation ever happened and they asked me about it, I'd tell them the truth."

Junior shook his head. "You Barrells and your morality," he said with a light laugh. "Well... I didn't actually make an offer, but I think you know where I stand, so we'll leave it unsaid."

Now Rollie laughed and said, "So now if Jack or I are asked we can say that such an offer was never made."

Junior winked and said, "Exactly."

Jack laughed too and said, "Well, David Welcombe would have a heart attack if I marched into his office and told him I'm leaving."

Junior's drink arrived and he raised his glass, said, "Heaven forbid," and took a long gulp.

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