The death of his son Brendan in a traffic accident still haunts U.S. hockey team general manager Brian Burke before Sunday's huge face-off with Canada.
"It's like that Jackson Browne song: Here comes those tears again," Burke told the Toronto Globe and Mail after attending another service for his son, who died a few weeks ago.
"It's like constantly getting hit over the head with a two-by-four. I just didn't stop crying all day."
At the service, his son's former college teammates wore their old hockey jerseys with shamrocks patched on to show their love for him. It caused his father to break down again.
"It is part of the therapy," said Burke. "All of the experts have told me what to expect and how to handle it. Stay busy. Watch your health. And that's what I'm trying to do.
Burke is in Vancouver with his wife and their children, Gracie, Mairin, Molly and Katie from Burke's first marriage. His family continues to get over his son's tragic death.
"You never get over losing a child but you learn to live with it," he said. "That's what I'm trying to do."
Meanwhile he has to take care of the day job. He expects Canada Hockey House to be filled to the rafters Sunday's game.
"It will be a rabid, pro-Canadian crowd like it should be," said. Burke. "Look, there is no comparison anywhere to the place that hockey occupies in Canada. It will be impossible to even think in that building it will be so loud."
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