Brooks Laich made waves here in D.C. when he got out of his SUV to change a tire on the Roosevelt Bridge just hours after the Capitals' Game 7 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. It was a remarkable, touching story. But we also thought it was one that only had local significance.
↵Apparently, it's become bigger than that. Sports Illustrated has just released their nominees for Sportsman of the Year (aka the "Derek Jeter Award"), and Laich is on the list. He was nominated by Michael Faber, who wrote up his reasons for choosing Laich here.
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↵↵↵Too often professional athletes seem to live by separate rules if not on completely different planets. They behave as if they are above us. But on a sad spring night in D.C., a small-town Saskatchewan guy lowered himself to the pavement.
↵Laich was a gentleman. This is something of which we never tire.
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This is a pleasant surprise. Laich is a great guy, and the tire story was touching, but that happened back in April. Either way, it'd be nice for a local athlete to get some good publicity like this. The other nominees are Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, golfer Lorena Ochoa, the Butler men's basketball team and Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy. Click here to formally advocate for Laich.
↵(HT: Katie Carrera).
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