GQ finishes 2010 with an in depth look at Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, his gay son Brendan who died earlier this year, and his straight son Patrick who has become a strong advocate for Brendan’s legacy. The writer, Mary Rogan, also does a great job of painting the potential for homophobia lurking in hockey.

Less than a quarter of all NHL players come up through the NCAA. The best players are drafted into junior hockey when they're 15 or 16 and play for small-town teams across Canada and the United States. They live with local families and go to high school in town, but their job is hockey. By the time they lace up for an NHL game, they know that losing teeth is not a real injury, that backing away from a fight isn't an option, and that the worst thing you can call another player, the cluster bomb you drop to let a guy know just how soft you think he is, is cocksucker.

GQ finishes 2010 with an in depth look at Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, his gay son Brendan who died earlier this year, and his straight son Patrick who has become a strong advocate for Brendan’s legacy. The writer, Mary Rogan, also does a great job of painting the potential for homophobia lurking in hockey.

Less than a quarter of all NHL players come up through the NCAA. The best players are drafted into junior hockey when they're 15 or 16 and play for small-town teams across Canada and the United States. They live with local families and go to high school in town, but their job is hockey. By the time they lace up for an NHL game, they know that losing teeth is not a real injury, that backing away from a fight isn't an option, and that the worst thing you can call another player, the cluster bomb you drop to let a guy know just how soft you think he is, is cocksucker.

As we reflect on the year that was 2010, this article is a fitting reminder of the fragility of life and the need to not wait to make change in our lives and the lives of others.

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