Sad News from Two Sports

On a day in which we learned that Harmon Killebrew, the Hall of Famer who played for the Twins and Senators, is entering hospice care and has accepted that his esophageal cancer can no longer be treated (Richard Sandomir, New York Times), we have just learned of some more terrible news.

Rangers forward Derek Boogaard is dead at the age of 28 (Yahoo! Sports).  The cause of death is unknown.

At this point I am too stunned to even try to figure this one out.  Boogaard had just joined the Rangers this past season and had become an immediate hit at the Garden - which quickly would have become the "Boogaarden" because of his popularity.  He was strong on the ice - happy to drop the gloves and mix it up as an enforcer - but a concussion ended his season much too soon.  Off the ice he was equally popular, and very thoughtful, as the Rangers wrote in their statement:

Boogaard was a supporter of the Defending the Blue Line Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation whose mission is to ensure that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the great sport of hockey.

While with the Rangers, he created “Boogaard’s Booguardians,” hosting military members and their families at all New York Ranger home games. In addition, he made multiple appearances with partner organizations of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the non-profit charity that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, including the New York Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Media, MSG Entertainment and Fuse “to make dreams come true for kids facing obstacles”.

I join with fans across the world in mourning Boogaard's passing, along with the news of Harmon Killebrew's farewell.