Raisin' Kane in Buffalo: What Kind of Guy Hits a Cabbie?

So now, as quickly as it takes to make one phone call (wink-wink), the story flip-flops. Turns out the 62-year-old Buffalo taxi driver who allegedly was assaulted by young hockey star Patrick Kane, the homegrown pride of that parochial New York town, suddenly doesn't think it was so awful that Kane and his cousin grabbed his throat, "broke my glasses (and) ripped my clothes." The story has gained nationwide attention because: (a) Kane is known as a baby-faced angel; and (b) the baby-faced angel apparently wasn't happy that the cabbie didn't have 20 cents in change for a $15 fare, which trumps Scottie "No Tippin' " Pippen for lows in penny-pinching.

But now, perhaps swayed by Kane's cult status in Buffalo, Jan Radecki is having second thoughts about authorities pressing felony charges over the beating. His lawyer, Andrew LoTemplo, appeared Monday on WGN-AM in Chicago -- ahem, the flagship radio station of the Blackhawks, Kane's team -- and said the story was "blown out of proportion." Just a day before, Radecki had pleaded for prosecutors to swing the hammer at Kane and his cousin, saying, "What are you doing about it? He's hitting a 60-year-old man."

He added then that James Kane, the cousin, had "sucker-punched" him from the back seat. And that Patrick Kane "punched me in the head. He says, 'You don't know who you're [messing] with! You don't know who you're [messing] with, [expletive]!' And he kept pounding and pounding on me." Yet only hours later, Radecki was ready to make amends and "work things out" with the local hero, according to his lawyer. Hmmmm. Why the remarkable change of heart? Oh, if we're actually believing the story, it's because Radecki locked the doors of the cab on the two Raisin' Kanes, thinking they were local college students who tend not to pay fares, causing cab drivers to lock doors until they do. As spin-control explanations go, I must say that's a first for me, either an example of creative genius or too inane to be dismissed.

"It's a dispute over the cab fee, and, unfortunately, Mr. Radecki didn't recognize Mr. Kane and just thought they were a couple of college kids," said LoTemplo, who added that he wouldn't support a felony charge. "Some of the cab drivers here have a policy of not unlocking the doors until they get paid because they get beat on their fees by the college kids -- and that just kind of blew up."

And that's it? All's forgotten? A civic-friendly lawyer intercedes, someone agrees to send the pummeled cabbie four free tickets to a Blackhawks-Sabres game and a sizable cash settlement, and the brothers are forgiven at face value? Give me a friggin' break. The fact remains that no one is disputing an altercation occurred. Or that the Kanes were picked up by the cabbie at 4 a.m. after spending the night on Chippewa Street, in the middle of the city's nightlife district, though Kane is 20 and not of legal age to drink. So no matter how the story is spun, this still goes down as a public-relations issue for the NHL, the Blackhawks and anybody else banking on Kane's image as a vital part of hockey's future in America. Next Monday, when he is supposed to be attending a U.S. Olympic hockey orientation camp in suburban Chicago, he is due in court in Buffalo. "We are aware of the incident. We don't condone or approve of what has been suggested the facts are. We are looking into it ourselves," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday.

Sure, 20-year-olds do very stupid things. But I am not in the business of protecting Patrick Kane. If he is guilty of beating the cab driver, he should deal with the legal consequences as you or I would. And if he demanded 20 cents of change from a $15 fare, when he earned $875,000 last season from the Blackhawks, he should live with the resulting taunts in enemy arenas. Hey, we've all been frustrated by a cab driver a time or two -- the other day, I engaged in an argument with one who didn't know where Wrigley Field was. But did I hit him? Honestly, who hits a cab driver?

And what's wackiest of all is that Kane has shown exemplary character in his two seasons in Chicago, where he was the NHL's much-ballyhooed No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft and the league's Rookie of the Year in 2008. He and the 21-year-old captain, Jonathan Toews, have helped re-ignite a dead franchise in an Original Six city. Just last Thursday, Kane appeared at an event with Buffalo mayor Byron W. Brown announcing fund-raising to improve a hockey rink where he learned to play. He seemed like the perfect role model for a struggling city, a league always trying to forge an identity and a nation that needs more hockey heroes.

"Today is special for me," Kane said at the ceremony. "This is where I grew up playing hockey. This is the first rink I probably skated in when I was 6 years old. The best part is coming back and hanging out with your buddies and your family. I'll tell you one thing: It's a lot of fun playing in the NHL and playing on the ice and playoffs and certain things, and being part of an Original Six organization with the Blackhawks.

Sure, 20-year-olds do very stupid things. But I am not in the business of protecting Patrick Kane."But to come back home and drive in the driveway for the first time for summer, and realize that you have a long time to hang out back home in Buffalo is a great feeling. The best thing about it is my friends treat me like I'm a regular kid. They don't treat me like a celebrity or whatever they might treat me like in Chicago."

Since then, we've learned that Kane loves to party. Which is fine as long as he does so responsibly and realizes he's not an average 20-year-old. Once upon a time, in the same party-happy city, Jeremy Roenick was the late-night king of Chicago. Now retired from the sport after a 20-year career, he offered some insight on ESPN Radio. "I was really surprised, because it's very much out of Patrick's character from what I know of him," Roenick said. "From the times I've talked to him, I know he likes the fast lane. He likes to go out and enjoy himself. That's what all kids should be doing. He should experience a lot of fun things at a young age and live his life as a professional athlete. I was surprised, but then again, kids make mistakes. And sometimes they become better people because of that, and I hope that happens with Pat.

"I mean, it's one thing to realize that there are people out there that are going to take advantage of you. There are going to be people out there that are going to try to make a name for themselves, or at least get money in their own pocket because of fame. And if he doesn't watch his back, and if he doesn't prepare himself for all situations, he's not invincible. I think this is a going to be a very big lesson learned for him."

It's also another tough blow for the Blackhawks, who executed a stunning turnaround as an organization over a blurry two-year period, only to lose their minds with a series of negative and bizarre episodes this offseason. Seems the strength of their front office also is their problem. John McDonough, the p.r. guru behind the Wrigley Field mystique, was hired away from the Cubs as team president by owner Rocky Wirtz, who made every right marketing move after his late father, Bill, had made every self-destructive marketing move for decades. But McDonough is so hard-driving in his zeal to win the team's first Stanley Cup since 1961, he has created a pressure-cooker environment.

Ever hear of any business in 2009 failing to get paperwork out in time because it used snail mail? That was the problem with the Hawks, who didn't send qualifying offers to restricted free agents in time -- what can Brown do for you, guys? -- and cost themselves millions in extra compensation to the players, who all eventually re-signed. That put the team in a salary-cap bind and helped cost general manager Dale Tallon his job, though he drafted Kane and Toews and helped assemble a roster that lost to Detroit in the Western Conference finals last spring. Tallon was replaced by Stan Bowman, son of coaching great Scottie Bowman, who is rumored to mastermind the hockey operation for McDonough and was pushing for his son to ascend to GM all along. It didn't help that Tallon had signed 30-year-old Marian Hossa to a 12-year, $62.8 million deal, though Hossa has a shoulder injury that required surgery and will sideline him for the start of the season. Turns out the huge contract also may lead to a salary-cap violation, all for a player who lost in the Stanley Cup finals the last two seasons for separate organizations.

Suddenly, a team that was ignored in Chicago just a few seasons ago is buzzworthy for all the wrong reasons. Is it any wonder McDonough, hailed as a miracle maker only months before, was booed recently at the team's fan convention? Kane's bust was splashed across the front page of the city's two newspapers Monday, not the way the Blackhawks want to grab attention from the Cubs, White Sox and Jay Cutler.

"I didn't know he was a hockey player," Radecki said of the kid who allegedly beat him. "I heard on the news ... the new hockey rink, they raised a lot of money."

That was the Patrick Kane we thought we knew. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, long past his bedtime, another Patrick Kane reared his ugly head. A public apology would be a good idea, kid.