COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: Radio voice silenced
Blue Jackets radio play-by-play voice Bob McElligott woke to quite a surprise on Dec. 15, just hours after he’d flown with the club from Toronto to Columbus following a 6-5 overtime win by the Jackets.
“I felt fine all day Friday and on the flight home,” McElligott told The Athletic this week. “Talked to my son when I got home, went upstairs and laid there talking to my wife until I fell asleep.
“I woke up around 5:30 a.m. and my tongue was swollen. I didn’t know if I’d bitten it in my sleep or if I had an ulcer on the side of my tongue, or what. I tried talking and it was messing with my speech because it was so big on that one side.”
After trying a couple of home remedies — a saltwater gargle, ice cubes, etc. — McElligott looked in the mirror before heading back upstairs to his wife, Kathy.
“I told my wife, ‘Hey, I’ve got a problem.’”
The situation progressed quickly, McElligott said.
“I didn’t notice that it was getting worse until we got to the emergency room,” McElligott said. “By then, the whole thing was swollen, not just the one side.
“I’m laying there on…
