Boston Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward has a weekly segment with WBCN morning guys "The Toucher and Rich Show" that's become pretty darn popular. We know this thanks to Aaron Ward's Wikipedia entry, which says so and hence it must be true.
Also found on Ward's Wiki is this curious fact: "He also made headlines in the early 90s for popularizing the sports term 'wham.'" As Evan from Stanley Cup of Chowder brought to our attention, Ward addressed the invention of "wham" on his radio segment today ... and then things went into a surreal direction. From the interview, which you can listen to here:
WARD: "I have no idea what that is. You know what? My attention is brought to that page because my sister, just messin' around ... if you see on there, I think she put that I give credit to my younger sister -- when she's actually in fact older -- for learning how to body check. She was messing with me because she knew she could manipulate a few things on the page. At one point, someone put that my nickname on there was 'Farva' from ['Super Troopers']. ... One time Shanahan called me that, so I'm starting to wonder if Shanny actually got on the page and wrote it."
"You think the future Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan went on your Wikipedia page?"
WARD: "It's one of two guys, and the two guys have the right personality for it. I sat beside Shanahan and Matt Cullen. (Ed. Note: With the New York Rangers, we're guessing.) I fully think Cully could have done it. Cully's in Carolina now. Shanahan's the one that came up with the terminology; now Cullen ran with it."
Uh ... the hell? We understand less than nothing about Wikipedia -- which is probably why Puck Daddy returns zero hits -- but we do know this: You can track the edits made to a Wiki page.
In the 10 or so minutes of research we did, it would appear this is the "Farva" edit, (Ed. Note: Thanks to Mojo for the update, and this would appear to be an active Wiki editor) while this is the "wham" edit and, just for giggles, here's the edit that claimed Ward "also credits his confidence on the ice to rap battle sensation Eli Porter, with quotes like 'I deeed it,' and 'I'm the best mayne.'" Ah, Wikipedia.
Are Brendan Shanahan of the New Jersey Devils and Matt Cullen of the Carolina Hurricanes tech savvy enough to vandalize Aaron Ward's Wikipedia page? Who knows, but listening to Ward, it's honestly hard to tell if he's goofing or not. As far as Wiki-vandalism, Ward's got nothing on Colton Orr (whom, it should be noted, played with Shanny and Cullen as well).
Sports
But seriously: Did Aaron Ward actually popularize the sports term "wham" or not? How are we supposed to enjoy the "Top Chef" finale with such lingering questions?
