Well, even though I am red-headed and had a short fuse in my younger years, my name is not about throwing tamtrums in the traditional sense. It is, however, the name of the trick in wakeboarding for a heel side backflip. In 2000, I was working on this trick when my left binding came off and the board did a 360 with my right foot still in it. The result was a spiral fracture of the lower tibia, a spiral fracture of the upper fibula, and a pulmonary embolism nearly resulting in death.

Anyway, after getting home from the hospital and lying around for days, I started playing online Yahoo games (mainly Spades). I needed a screen name, and “Mr. Tantrum” came to mind as homage to this time in my life.

I ended up being is some form of a cast for a full year - full let, 1/2 leg, boot. By the time I started rehab my calf was about the size of my wrist. Anyway, got back to myself not soon after, and no lingering effects. Although, my orthopedic told me I lost about 1/4" in my right leg. I still cycle and run occasionally, but never really noticed the difference.

As far as my card playing, quite the opposite - Oklahoma Baptist University spades champion 1990. That and sneaking up to the boys dorm attic for our Friday night poker tournaments (I was an R.A., so I had a key )