Although you can see from other articles and books I’ve written that I use anonymous sources very rarely, in this case it was unavoidable because I learned about that particular scene during a private conversation with someone who did not want to be quoted. I’ve shared the source – as reliable as they come — with Mary Morgan, the publisher of The Ann Arbor Chronicle. But a promise of anonymity is a promise, and I’m honor-bound to keep it.

Second, if Jack Johnson’s demand seems out of character to you, you probably did not read Johnson’s widely quoted response to his general manager’s statements. It appeared in The L.A. Times, among other outlets.

“[Berenson] is one of the finest coaches and men that I’ve met. For my general manager to rip me as a person and criticize me as a person and as a player and call me an awful hockey player is irresponsible and unprofessional.”

As for your tone in general, and your barb about “local yokels” in particular – referring, apparently, to Ann Arbor readers, among the best educated in the country – I’ll take a page from Red Berenson’s playbook: When faced with a critic who’s firing bullets into his own foot, don’t grab the gun.

-John U. Bacon

Carol Hutchins is also cut from the same cloth. It’s truly inspiring to watch these three do their jobs, year after year.

I hope Mr. Brandon keeps them on as long as they want to stay.

You are, of course, correct! Serves me right for spending too much time with my nose in the Hockey Encyclopedia, and not enough with my eyes on Hockey Night in Canada.

Thanks for the fix.

-JUB