Jimmy Fox, Voice of Reason

From Inside the Kings:


7. Which former player was the most challenging to deal with off the ice, and why?

Jim Fox: In a different kind of way, Jeremy Roenick was the most challenging, and this is very difficult for me to explain, but I'll give it a try. Not because he was hard to get along with - nothing could be further than the truth - JR was always willing to help and answer questions at any time, it was challenging because so much was expected of him and he did not deliver. He came to camp out of shape and that affected him the whole season. He also started to complain about his "skates" and the way they were sharpened. There is no doubt that a player's skates are the most important part of equipment, and I would have put more credence into this, if only he had been in shape to start out with. It was "challenging" to deal with his situation because he was not very effective on-the-ice. I want to be clear: At no time did JR ever shy away from the media and was always accessible. I just felt very uncomfortable covering the situation because JR is such a good guy to be around. But he was unprepared as a professional to give his all for the team.

I just nodded so hard I nearly broke my neck.

Stars suck!