Ever since I was old enough to stay up late to watch all three periods of a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game there has been one burning question that has never been answered to my satisfaction. OK, before we go any further, I should make clear that this particular question is not limited to hockey. In fact it is something of an oddity in all professional team sports. And I must confess that it’s all really quite trivial, to the extent that I’m so…