A recent Bob Probert interview:
So how has it been going, clean and sober?
It's going good. I go to the meetings, probably not as much as I should, but I go. I've been through that stuff (rehab) before; it's not like I don't know what to do.
Why is this time going to work?
Well, you never know, right? But you get to a point where you just get tired of, you know, beating your head. I think, too, it's the responsibility of having kids. They're smart, they're busy, I've got to move 'em around. It's a lot easier when you're not sleeping in, know what I mean?
Why did things get as crazy as they got? Celebrity? Too much money too fast?
I'm sure all of those things are factors. Some people just like to drink more than others and, when you add a little bit of money to that, a little bit of fame, things can get pretty crazy pretty fast.
What do you like music-wise?
I was at a Pearl Jam concert in Toronto. Stuff like that, older rock and roll.
Television?
My wife's into Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, stuff like that. I'll watch but ... like the Discovery Channel. I like the forensic science detectives, not so much the CSI stuff but more the true stories like Cold Case Files.
The best present you ever got?
Probably my children. My oldest is Brogan, who's 12. Then there's my 9-year-old Tierney, then the twins, Jack and Declyn. They're 6. We tried for three and got four.
Interesting names, too.
Well, actually, Dudley Moore was married to a Brogan Lane and my wife saw that in a National Enquirer, so that's where she got that one. Jack was my grandfather's name and the other two were just, you know, out of a baby name book. My wife likes the Welsh names.
Are you worried what your kids might think about your past?
My wife and I have been totally honest and open with them and explained all the situations and stuff that have happened. You can't really get around it so you might as well be as honest and open as you can. They've been pretty good about it.
Do you think you could play in the new, improved NHL?
I think I could. ... (Georges) Laraque's still playing, he's a big guy, 250. It'd be nice standing in front of the net on a power play and not being touched.
Where would you like to take an all-expenses-paid vacation?
Funny, but I just got back from England. I went there for a week with that Hockey Stars for Hope, which raises money for kids who don't have the money to buy hockey equipment. We played five games in seven nights and it was an awesome time. It was also my first time ever in Europe and now I'd love to go and experience something else, something different. Maybe Germany, maybe France. I'm going to say Paris, France.
Do you collect things?
I do. When I was younger, coins, stamps. I've got some old football coins that my neighbour gave me. I've got some memorabilia not as much as I wish I would've collected, but some sticks, pictures, stuff like that. I collect old cars, too. I've got a '70 (see photo) and a '71 Chevelle, both ragtops, and a '70 and a '72 Monte Carlo. We've built a house with a garage big enough that I can have a workshop in there. I putt around. I still love riding motorcycles, too. I've got a '98 Roadglider, a '98 Springer, a '90 Fat Boy, a '93 Nostalgia and a cool-looking custom with a wild paint job.
And you've still got the puck from Feb. 13, 1999, the last goal scored at Maple Leaf Gardens?
Yep, got it at home. My son will probably get that one. I was playing on (Chicago's) fourth line with Reid Simpson and, I can't remember, (Mark) Janssens maybe. We didn't play much, but every time we went out we scored. Simpson got two. We won 5-3, I believe (6-2, actually) and since everybody knew it was the last game, soon as anyone scored you got the puck. I scored with about 11 minutes left and all of a sudden it's like five minutes left, four minutes, and I'm thinking, "Geez, I could actually get the last goal at the Gardens." So it came down to the last minute and a half and they called a penalty on us and now I'm thinking, "A--hole refs don't want me getting the last goal." So the Leafs get a power play for the last minute and a half, but they never scored. It was awesome.
What was your most memorable fight?
I think the second (Tie) Domi fight, the rematch in New York, because it was so hyped up.
Was there a certain honour among enforcers?
For the guys in that role, there was always a certain type of respect for one another. You knew you might have to go fight a guy that night but you still had the utmost respect for him because it's probably the toughest job in hockey to live that day in, day out and wondering who you're going to fight the next night, or if you're going to win or lose, or if you're going to be embarrassed.
What was the low point in your career?
Probably when I was arrested back in '89, when I got caught at the border and suspended for a while. That was pretty low.
And you were busted for bringing cocaine into Detroit?
Yeah, but actually I brought it into Canada and then brought it back. They charged me for importing but it was already imported. I just went over to Canada and partied a little bit so I'd actually exported it and was bringing it back.
A good friend of yours, Sheldon Kennedy, apparently has this story about you and the boys and some nude waterskiing.
Well, I don't know if it was nude but I lived on a lake in Michigan and we used to go out at night, like midnight, pitch dark. There'd be three or four of us and a big spotlight, sometimes just a flashlight. We'd just ski off the moonlight. There'd be ducks and birds flying around and I'm almost hitting them. What an awesome experience because the water was glass and it was so quiet. Of course, you know, we're half-jacked.
What was Delray Beach, Fla., all about two summers ago? All charges were eventually dropped, but the story was four cops, you resisting arrest, Taser guns.
Just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some guys were getting mouthy and I was getting mouthy and then the police arrived.
And what does a Taser feel like?
Yeah, wuffff, wow. The first one really didn't hurt, but the second and third one, you know nnnnggggg! nnnngggg! You're glad that's over.
Given all the craziness, given that a guy like John Kordic died at 27, that Bryan Fogarty was dead at 32, do you ever stop to consider you're lucky to be alive?
Absolutely. It's amazing. A car accident, a bike accident, just crazy stuff and I'm still here. I didn't think I'd make it to 40. I didn't think I'd make it to 30. I'm a firm believer that the big guy up there has a plan for every one of us and, you know, obviously there's a plan for me and that's why I'm still here.
:lol at some of his replies....