I was at the apartment, it was the time he told me to meet him, but no one is answering the door. Strange.

Our previous meetings have gone off without a hitch. He was actually early most of the time. Not this time. He won’t even answer his phone. Where the hell could he be.

My name is Jacob Blutarski. I’m an engineering student at Rensselaer polytechnic institute here in Troy, New York. I also write for the school paper. I have been writing a story on Joseph Fantobens, Star of hockey team and all around decent guy, but he doesn’t seem to be home.

The door is unlocked.

I turn the handle and open the door. There he is. Passed out on the floor and he seems to have shit his pants. Wonderful. I grab the jug of water next to him to dump on his head to wake him up.

He’s up!

He’s not happy.

That wasn’t water.

The smell of alcohol infused piss fills the air. I can’t hold it in. I’m going to vomit. I let loose and vomit all over Joe. He has the immediate and appropriate reaction and vomits all over himself.... I have entered the star of the hockey teams apartment, found him passed out covered in his own shit. Then, proceeded to wake him up by dumping his own piss on him, vomiting on him, making him puke on himself.

“Hey Jake.” He said as he wiped my bagel off of his face. “Is it 11 already. Let me get washed off.”

His lack of reaction surprised me. If I was shit and pissed on then puked on twice, I think more than “hey Jake.” Would cross my mind. He grabbed a towel and some clothes and walked towards the shower. “Be right back.” He said as he shut the door.

Fifteen minutes later he came out and you would never know what had just happened. “Let’s go down to the cafe, I’ll call Servpro or some shit about this......shit.”he decided.

Once we were down there maybe I could get the interview done. He had to make a call first. He calling the maintenance department at his apartment complex. Good to get it out of the way.

“Yeah, some crazy fan broke into my apartment while I was asleep. Yeah, and he shit on the floor and tried pissing on me. Yeah...yeah I know....it’s crazy that’s not even it, he threw up all over the living room. Yeah. Yeah. Ok. Thanks.”

“Well that’s taken care of, you got your questions ready?” He said as he hung up his phone.

Blutarski: ok, so. Sorry. Strange morning. So, after the college season was over you had the opportunity to play for the Detroit Falcons in the playoffs. How was that experience?

Fantobens: yeah, it was great. Getting to play where my brother played as a junior was kind of surreal. I had been there many times to watch David’s games but being on the ice was really cool

B: what kind of preparations are you taking for the upcoming draft?

F: preparations? Like for a hotel room? I think league is....

B: No no no I mean pertaining to training..

F: ohh, Im not doing too much different than usual. Hit the rink 5 times a week. Eat healthyish 6 days a week. I’ve been working with the coaches here a lot since the season ended and some of the other players. They reallly have me pumped for the draft.

B: where do you think you are going?

F: no where? I didn’t even make a move to get up...

B: in the draft where do you think you are going in the draft?

F: hmmmm. I don’t know. First round would be sweet but that’s not really important to me. More important would be going to Detroit. It’s where my brother played. It’s where I want to play.

B: what if a different team picks you?

F: I guess we would have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

B: well that’s the “what if” part of the question.

F: I don’t see a god damn bridge Jake.

B: ok.

F: do you see a bridge?

B: ok. We will move on. How do you feel about the rest of your draft class. You have had some time to skate with them? How do you measure up?

F: it’s a group of talented players. Of all kinds. It’s hard to get a grasp on their real skill set in a kind of practice setting. Once we are on the ice for real, then I can make a true comparison. But you want me to just say something like “near the top”. So, near the top.

B: you were talking about your brother earlier. How do you feel his career went and would you be happy with the same path?

F: I’m my own player. He was a wing. I play defense. He didn’t win any championships. He was snubbed for rookie of the year. I’d like to walk a different than him there, but he was a leader. Assistant captain in Detroit for two seasons and captain in Tampa for four. He may not have any hardware but he did win the heart of his teammates. That’s pretty dang important too.

B: what can we expect of you as professional hockey defense man?

F: effort. I will never give up on a play. When I have the puck I will go north south. Pass first overall team player. And I make a mean margarita.

B: I could tell by the shit in your pants.

F: fuck you jake. You didn’t have to puke on me.

B: I thought you said it was a crazed fan?

F: like I said, fuck you jake...





X2 draft media