Frank J. Zamboni & Co. still cranks out over 200 Zamboni ice resurfacing machines a year and is the standards bearer for the ultra niche market of resurfacing ice skating rinks. The first Zamboni machine took ten years to build, but today they can crank out a custom ordered one every six months. For anyone who has skated, played or attended hockey games, the Zamboni machine is as much of the experience as throwing squids on the ice:
The Zamboni machine’s hypnotic mission and captivating name have made it a cultural icon, something the Zamboni family finds both gratifying and a bit puzzling. The first ice-resurfacing machine was built in 1949 and its form, function and sales output have remained consistent for decades.
You would think that this company, which is so synonymous with ice skating and winter sport, would be based in a town like Medicine Hat or Saskatoon, but the harsh reality is that they are based in, of all places, Los Angeles.
This is cool. The NHL’s Winter Classic (when they play a hockey game outdoors, most recently at Wrigley Field) is coming to Fenway Park. January 1, 2010…that could be a cold one.
Within the past six months, the city of Buffalo has born witness to two pretty horrific sports accidents. Back in September 2007, the Bills’ Kevin Everett suffered a spinal cord injury sustained during a game against the Broncos. As was well documented in Sports Illustrated, Everett is making nothing short of a miraculous recovery due in no small part to the decisions and swift action of the medical team from Buffalo’s Millard Filmore Gates Hospital. Then, this past week, Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers had his neck and coratid artery cut in a freak accident on the ice during the Panthers-Sabres game this past weekend. With Zednik’s injury, he was taken to Buffalo General Hospital.
Why am I bringing up these accidents? To call out the medical staffs in the city of Buffalo, NY. That’s right…Buffalo, NY. Not Seattle, not Boston, not Los Angeles…Buffalo, NY. Because in both of these cases, the medical staffs at these Buffalo hospitals performed and demonstrated their skill and professionalism at beyond the highest level. The sadness and horror of these two events were countered by the sheer brilliance of these two medical staffs. Kevin Everett may never play football again but he is walking and mobile, something no one thought could happen, because of the swift action of Dr. Andrew Cappuccino. Zednik appears to be on the road to recovery, and I can only hope that to be the case, and his recovery will be in no small measure to the work of Dr. Sonya Noor.
Buffalo, NY…a hot spot for all you burgeoning med students out there.
