Can you believe this?

One of the items I brought to the Tampa Bay Lightning's practice last week was a game-used Darryl Sydor stick.

As usual, Sydor was one of the first to leave the practice facility. As he drove toward us, I pointed at the stick, then at him and shook my paint pen. Though he looked and waved, I was disappointed that he didn't stop.

As he drove past, I stepped behind his car and repeated the hand signals. I could see that he was looking at me through his rear-view mirror. Still, he kept heading out of the parking lot.

In a poor attempt at spin, I told the other hounds that I can always wait until the next time and put the stick back in my trusty Taurus.

What I didn't notice, though, was that Sydor had turned around up the road and was headed back to the parking lot. Once someone told me, I grabbed the stick again and met up with Sydor.

"Sorry about that," Sydor said, as he signed the taped-up blade of the CCM Vector that had a handwritten "110%" high on the shaft. "I didn't know that was one of mine."

Pretty classy move, if you ask me.