GAME 3 The past is your lesson, the present your gift, the future your motivation. -- Anonymous, internet hacker and quote machine Being a Leafs fan has never been easy. In fact, things weretough even before the Leafs were the Leafs. Take the team'svery first franchise owner, Eddie Livingstone, for example.He was a blustery renegade, whose o -ice antics would havegiven Harold Ballard a run for his embezzled money. Livingstone entered the picture in 1914. After a successfulstint in amateur sports -- his Toronto Rugby andAmateur Association team won the Ontario HockeyAssociation senior championships two years in a row --he bought the Toronto Ontarios of the National HockeyAssociation (NHA), precursor to the NHL. Livingstone gotrid of the Ontarios' gaudy orange sweater, dressed them inemerald green, and the Toronto Shamrocks were born.

Livingstone had a number of legendary battles withplayers, co-owners, and the press. One of his most famousfeuds involved the legendary Cy Denneny, the leading scoreron Livingstone's rechristened Toronto Blueshirts team. Aftergetting a civil service job in Ottawa, Denneny demanded atrade to the Senators. Livingstone first refused, then -- faced with Denneny'sthreat to sit out the season -- capitulated in Ballardian fashion,asking for either Frank Nighbor, the Senators' star player,or the unheard-of sum of $1,800 in return. Livingstone nally settled on a lesser player and $750 for Denneny, butthe damage was done. Livingstone lost his best player, andthe Senators gained a star who would help them win fourStanley Cups over the next dozen years. Livingstone followed this disaster by publicly badmouthingamateur star Lionel Conacher, one of the mostfamous athletes in the country, because the player refused tosign a pro contract with Toronto. After Livingstone questioned his character, Canada'sfuture Top Athlete of the Half Century successfully sued .

and then went on to enjoy a great NHL career, without everplaying a game for his hometown Toronto team. GAME DAY AFFIRMATION Today I will remind myself that for every HaroldBallard, there is an Eddie Livingstone waiting totake his place.