Thank god, it's not Friday's

Feel free to drop by the TGI Friday’s in Wilton for a round of Extreme Margaritas, Potato Skinny Dippers and maybe a heaping portion of their trademark Jack Daniel’s Glazed Ribs. Then when the bill comes, feel free to get up and walk out; just make sure to tell the overly peppy candy-cane clad waitress that the check’s in the mail.

While this might spur some protests and maybe even some not-so-idle threats of arrest from the restaurant’s management, just simply tell them you’re working off Friday’s past-due account balance with the Saratoga Adult Hockey League.

For years now, the Saratoga league has flourished in the city, drawing many former college and semi-professional hockey players from around the region. Each of the teams is monetarily “sponsored” by an areas business, which then get their name and logo on the players’ jerseys throughout the season.

And if a given team wins the championship, the name of the sponsor is emblazoned on the cup trophy and then posted on a banner hanging at the Weible Avenue rink. Not a bad amount of advertising for a $500-per-annum fee.

True, the league has witnessed many changes in sponsorship in the past, with organizers having an especially difficult time soliciting businesses over the last two years ago. Recently, one of the six teams in the league started the season lacking a sponsor altogether, starting out as the “grey team” before picking up a sponsor midway through the year.

Enter TGI Friday’s, one of the many chains that has recently descended upon the region promising to be a good corporate neighbor. Agreeing to sponsor a team, Friday’s had their tacky logo and heinous lime-green jerseys on the ice all season long. They also had the added bonus of players’ drinking at their nearby bar after the games.

But when it came time to pay the piper, Friday’s decided to walk out on the bill. Invoices sent to the restaurant haven’t been paid and attempts to collect the outstanding balance were unsuccessful, league organizers maintain.

Sadly, five C-notes is a paltry sum that this corporate restaurant probably makes during the first few minutes of happy hour each weekend and could easily afford without detriment. Even sadder is the fact that Friday’s is still listed as a sponsor on the league’s Web site and will likely have their jerseys used as play starts up again this month while teams wait for their new uniforms to come in.