Mike Modano has done it all. He's a Hockey Hall of Famer. He won the Stanley Cup in 1999. He's the all-time goals and points leader amongst American-born NHL players. But when it comes to golf, he can't quite best his wife.
The former NHL great is married to Allison Micheletti, daughter of former NHL defenseman and current Rangers television analyst Joe Micheletti. Allison is also a professional golfer, who constantly gets the better of her husband on the course.
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The stakes are high in the Modano house, as instead of betting money or strokes, the happy couple wagers household chores.
"Well, it's usually dish duty at night," Modano said Wednesday on a conference call. "Whoever cooks has to clean, but whoever loses has to do both. But she's about as competitive as I am. And she comes from a long list of big hockey families. So it's part of her makeup as well. ... We have some good matches. But when she's in midform, I'm kind of odd man out on that one."
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Modano will get to practice his golf game from Jan. 14-16 at the inaugural Diamond Resorts Invitational in Florida, which will be televised on the Golf Channel.
The Hall of Famer is one of 70 sports and entertainment personalities taking part in the three-day tournament, which includes 1980 U.S. hockey team's "Miracle on Ice" hero and captain Mike Eruzione and former NHL forward Pierre Larouche, who were also a part of the conference call to hype the event and discuss the upcoming Winter Classic.
None of the three former athletes believe they'll do too well in the tournament, which is for $500,000 in prize money. Eruzione said he's a "suspect 8" in his handicap, while Larouche added it's tough for hockey players to adjust to the slower speed of golf.
As for Modano, being married to a professional golfer hasn't helped as much as he thought it would, but Allison has tipped in some pointers.
"It hasn't worked up to this point," he said. "So I don't know. She's a lot more mentally tough than I am and a lot more patient on the course than I am."
While Modano isn't as comfortable hitting the links as he is on the ice, he'll get to lace up the skates again on Feb. 20. After finishing his 20-year NHL career with 557 goals and 1,359 points, Modano will play in an alumni game, which will pit Northstars and Wild legends against Blackhawks legends at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
"I love it," Modano said of being able to don the Northstars jersey again on the eve of the Blackhawks-Wild Stadium Series game. " I think a lot of people miss that logo. They love those jerseys. It's one of the more classic ones in the game. So I look forward to it. It was a big part of my life when I was first starting out, and that jersey was a big part of it too and the people and the fans there, too.
"So I wore it my last game of the season in Minnesota, threw it on for a little twirl around for the last game of my career. So it was funny how it went full circle. But along with a lot of guys we're looking forward to it."
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