Pat Kane – Victim of Buffalo cabbies? Probably.
Read the headline. I said it. Mark it.
I’ve taken plenty of cabs in cites across North America. Too many checkered yellow fares to count in metropolises like NYC and Toronto along with ones from places like Quebec City and Cleveland; Austin and Los Angeles.
The only time I’ve EVER felt rooked, taken, possibly afraid for my life and certainly skeevy were on the rare cab rides I had to take in my own hometown. In Buffalo. My city. The City of Good Neighbors maybe, but avoid calling a taxi if you can.
There were times when I was ripped off, taken out of the way and when I had to argue with driver. Oddly, it’s never happened anywhere else.
Taxis are not a common place thing in the Queen City. It’s a commuting town, easy enough to get around and to park. Most of us drive.
I honestly think that these things have taken the accountability away from WNY cab drivers. I’ve worked at hotels and been at enough bars and venues where concerts happen to see some foul things go down with cabs in this city.
I’m sure there’s plenty of good cab drivers in Buffalo, I’ve just never had one.
When I heard the homegrown Chicago Blackhawks star and NHL rookie of the year Pat Kane was arrested after an altercation with a cab driver, I immediately thought: The cab driver probably tried to rip him off.
Pat Kane might not be an absolute angel in this situation, but I’ll bet an NHL season’s worth of beers that he was cheated, provoked and/or somehow wronged in this instance which drove him to react.
Again: I said it here and you can mark it down.
Also… Hey: Mike Grier!!! GREAT SIGNING, SABRES!
congrats for trying to steer the attention away from Pats wrong doings. however, bottom line, this hot head punks cocky attitude finally caught up with him. I am willing to wager money that this will not be the last we see our “hometown hero” in the news. How dare you try and justify a 62 year old man being assaulted because of your bad cab experiences. I have never had a bad cab ride in this city. this kid is an embarrassment, to his family, his friends, his teammates, and his great city.
Comment by d — August 11, 2009 @ 12:01 am
It is about time someone spoke up for millionaire athletes!
The way cab drivers run rough shod over defenseless boys like the Kanes is a National Disgrace! Picture the Kanes: far from South Buffalo, scared, overwhelmed by the lights of Chippewa Street! And now picture the cabdriver: a villain! A man determined to keep 20 cents that Patrick Kane had worked so hard to save, hoping against hope that he could treat his cousin to a cherry phosphate and a cookie while sight seeing in an evil and corrupt city.
Well done ArtVoice! And well done “Donny Kutzbach”! Donny Kutzbach, btw, is NOT an asshole. Really. Really.
Comment by tjproudamerican — August 11, 2009 @ 1:39 am
Honestly speaks, punish him. thank god he don’t have his hockey… otherwise he kill him.
Comment by sweets — August 11, 2009 @ 3:00 am
Wait a minute: You admit you don’t know what happened, but you’re willing to call the taxi driver a liar and worse? This says more about you than it says about Mr. Kane or the driver.
Have you written a column before about the horrid cab experiences you’ve had in Buffalo? I’m sure it would be entertaining. No doubt it would be instructive and inspirational as well. But just because you may have had what sounds like a series of unpleasant experiences with taxi drivers in Buffalo doesn’t mean the same applies in this situation, and a responsible adult would realize this.
Note I’m not criticizing Mr. Kane. I don’t have all the fact, either, and wouldn’t think of calling into question someone’s veracity or value as a citizen without either knowing them personally or seeing all the evidence from an investigation.
Comment by Lynn McCrell — August 11, 2009 @ 9:26 am
Let’s see. 20 year old out at 5am. He was too young to drink, so why not be the DD? Oh, maybe he was being served beer at local bars excited about an NHL star in the house. So, the 20 year old in a cab at 5am used his good judgement and fought over 20 cents. Much smarter than calling a cop on his cell phone to report his abduction by the cab driver.
Could it be that the NHL star was out drinking under age until the wee hours of the morning. He then used bad judgement and got into a fight with the cab driver over 20 cents. After he was arrested, his lawyer got the cab driver to back off, and a few hundred bucks will mysterously turn up in his wallet later. Game, set, match.
The moral of the story is that 20 year olds should be at home after hours and not hanging around in bars on Chippowa Street. Why aren’t the Buffalo Police Carding these punks. When Kane grows up, he can go to bars legally. But, Kane is a white boy so he gets the benefit of the doubt from AV and the cops.
Comment by Cabmania — August 11, 2009 @ 11:31 am
There is a great possibility he was provoked, I too have had horrible experiences with cab drivers… and have seen more than a few smoking in their vehicles or snorting coke. I don’t doubt that he was being ripped off or provoked in some manner, but unless the cabbie hit him there is no reason to hit the cabbie.
Comment by This is Stupid — August 11, 2009 @ 12:19 pm
One can only imagine how poor the tips are from 20 Cents when he dines in restaurants.
Comment by John Q Blogger — August 11, 2009 @ 11:43 pm
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/news/story?id=4391488&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines
Cambria:
“It’s been revealed today that the cab driver admitted he locked these two guys in the car and wouldn’t permit the one guy to stand up and simply reach for his wallet. There’s more and more being developed about this.”
Comment by Donny Kutzbach — August 12, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
So the cab driver attacked the twenty cents crew and they fought back?
Comment by John Q Blogger — August 12, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
“and wouldn’t permit the one guy to stand up and simply reach for his wallet”
If that’s all Kane’s superstar lawyer Paul Cambria can come up with as an attempt to justify assaulting a taxi driver’s face… well, it’s not much.
It’s B.S. on two counts:
1. Who needs to stand up to be able to reach for a wallet?
2. Reportedly the $10 and $5 bills were found as evidence, so that means somehow those magically left somebody’s wallet without needing to exit the taxi and stand up.
Artvoice continues its pro-Kane coverage in its Aug 20 week in review:
“Who’d have thought a 20-year-old might lose his judment on the Chippewa Strip at 4am? Isn’t that what it’s there for?”
http://artvoice.com/issues/v8n34/news_briefly/week_in_review
Comment by Broken Nose = Assault Charge — August 20, 2009 @ 4:40 pm