Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: Maple Leafs Fans Belt Out Canadian National Anthem After Toronto Tragedy

This never gets old.

This is one of the coolest things in sports

I never get tired of seeing a stadium full of people join together to sing the national anthem.

After the tragic van attack in Toronto yesterday, the Maple Leafs held a moment of silence before their Game 6 against the Bruins, followed by the anthem. The singer deserves major props for realizing the crowd was ready to take over and just stepping out of the way. 

(UPDATE: A reader emailed me to say that this is typical for Leafs playoff games. Still, it’s extra poignant after what happened in the city earlier that day.)

It’s always heartening to see this happen after a tragedy, like Bruins fans did after the Boston Marathon bombing or hockey fans across Canada did following the Parliament Hill shooting.

Hockey fans really do this all the time, and not just after terror attacks. Devils fans did it after a technical glitch last season and Penguins fans did it before Game 5 of last year’s Stanley Cup final, just to name a few examples. Canadians can even sing the U.S. anthem if they need to, as fans in Toronto showed in 2014 and Edmonton demonstrated last playoffs. 

Gronkowski on the injury report

Gronkowski the horse, that is. 

The horse was slated to be in the field at the Kentucky Derby on May 5 but was forced to withdraw on Monday due to a “slight infection.”

Gronkowski the man, no stranger to landing on the shelf due to infections, offered up some words of encouragement for his equine namesake. 

It’s unfortunate Gronkowski the horse will not be able to race in the upcoming Kentucky Derby due to an illness. I fully support what is best for the horse. I know he will come back strong and healthy and I am excited to see him race again very soon.

— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) April 23, 2018

At least there’s still the Preakness and Belmont. 

This is a weird Mike Francesa interview

Famed WFAN radio host Mike Francesa has been off the air since Dec. 15. After exploring a variety of landing spots, Francesa tells Newsday he’s likely going to be back on WFAN soon. That’s not that interesting. The interesting part is Mike alleging there’s some kind of conspiracy at the station to keep him away. 

“This is for those who started this campaign in recent days. I didn’t decide to go back to WFAN until I was told I better not go back. For those behind it, that was the moment I decided to return.”

Ominous!

Bits & Pieces

An Australian kid got mad at his parents, stole his mom’s credit card, scootered to the airport and got on a flight to Indonesia. ... P.K. Subban is rumored to be dating Lindsey Vonn. ... A San Francisco TV anchor was sent home from Saturday’s Warriors game after he was seen on security footage stealing an employee’s jacket. ... Brace yourselves for this one: Pete Rose’s estranged wife says he’s deep in gambling debt. ... If your Amazon device that constantly listens to you didn’t quench your thirst for corporate surveillance, Amazon is now making a robot that will follow you around your house. 

That extremely normal way we all love to wear a basketball jersey

pic.twitter.com/w6v43N9vIu

— Jon Bois (@jon_bois) April 24, 2018

Uncanny

God bless this photographer

You learn something new every day

What about those squeamish about eating bugs?

Is there a delivery fee for that?

I don’t think the garlic bread would survive out here

That celebration!

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.