"I went to a fight the other night," Rodney Dangerfield famously joked, "and a hockey game broke out." For Dominic Moore (pictured, ponging), the fight is personal. In 2010, he married a woman Katie Urbanic. Three years later, he tragically lost her to liver cancer. Moore created the Katie Moore Foundation in her honor to support research in rare cancers. Moore was also concerned about the high incidence of concussions among his NHL brethren. He decided to unite the two very personal causes under one roof. The result is Smashfest, Moore's annual charity ping-pong tournament which has raised over $1 million to support research in both concussions and rare cancers. Now retired from the NHL, Moore can spend more time promoting his philanthropic causes. The previous eight incarnations of Smashfest were held in Toronto, close to Moore's hometown of Thornhill, Ontario. This Thursday, August 12, Smashfest makes its stateside debut at The Loading Dock in Stamford, Connecticut. Of course, concussions are not just a problem for hockey and football players. According to the Smashfest website, 10 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries every year. Moore also points out that rare cancers are a bit of a misnomer, given that a quarter of all cancers are classified as rare. "It's a disease that touches almost everyone one way or the other, whether they've gone through it or know someone that's had it," he explains. "It's an ongoing fight and we need to be diligent about continuing to learn and study about things like rare cancers." Now in its ninth incarnation, Smashfest is guaranteed to attract a fun-loving and generous crowd of NHL pros and the fans who love them. Given hockey players' well-deserved reputation for fighting, concussions and cancer had better be scared when Dominic Moore drops the gloves.

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