Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Back in March, I purchased a box of 2010-11 Artifacts. (Breakdown of that box here). It was a positive experience, and I like the look of the cards, so I decided to pick up 3 more boxes. Here are the results from the first of those 3 boxes (my 2nd box of Artifacts overall): Continue reading “2010-11 Artifacts Box Break #2”
A busy work wee has kept me from updating this blog lately, but I finally had some time to scan what I got in my second box of 2010-11 Pinnacle. Continue reading “2010-11 Pinnacle Box Break #2”
The Final Four of Hockey. No Blackhawks. No Penguins. No Capitals. And those pesky Canucks are still around.
The number 1 seed versus the number 2 seed. It’s actually refreshing to see the top two teams in the conference finals.
Series: Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. San Jose Sharks (2).
My Prediction: Sharks UPSET in 6 games.
Comments: If you haven’t guessed by now, I really don’t want the Canucks to win. Because let’s face it: if a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, every man, woman and child in the United States would forget that hockey ever existed. The consequences are dire.
Besides, the Sharks are long overdue for a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Fancy seeing you here, Bruins and Lightning.
Series: Boston Bruins (3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5).
My Prediction: Bruins win in 5 games.
Comments: Like the Sharks, the Bruins seem long overdue for a shot at The Cup, too.
And you know what would be the most awesomest thing ever? A Sharks-Bruins Stanley Cup Final where Joe Thornton is named the series MVP.
Ouch! I didn’t do too well in my predictions for Round 2…
Things played out pretty much as expected in the Western Conference.
Series: Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. Nashville Predators (5)
My Prediction: Predators UPSET in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Canucks won in 6 game.
Comments: I really wanted to see the Canucks get stomped on. Unfortunately, the Predators were not the team to do it. Well, there’s always the next round.
Series: San Jose Sharks (2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (3)
My Prediction: Sharks win in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Sharks won in 7 games.
Comments: This was a fun series. Best of all, I was in a sports bar for game 7, and people were cheering for the Sharks–not because of former ‘Hawk Antti Niemi, but because no one in Chicago wants to see Detroit win. Ever.
Upsets du jour in the Eastern Conference.
Series: Washington Capitals (1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5).
My Prediction: Capitals win in 4 games.
What Actually Happened: Lighting UPSET in 4 games.
Comments: Wow. Can I get a WTF? please? I guess Lightning coach Guy Boucher is due for a raise at the end of the season…and that Capitals coach Bruce Bodreau is due for his walking papers. But seriously, Caps…WTF?
Series: Philadelphia Flyers (2) vs. Boston Bruins (3).
My Prediction: Flyers in 7 games.
What Actually Happened: Bruins UPSET in 4 games.
Comments: I think we all kind of half-suspect the Capitals to sabotage themselves sooner or later. But the Flyers? They were a much improved squad over last year’s team that made it to the Finals. I was actually expecting them to make it to the Finals again this year…not roll over and die.
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OK, that didn’t go as I expected, so I guess I’ll stick to my day job. On to the next round.
I was iffy on buying any boxes of Pinnacle until I saw a box break over on DFG’s blog. That convinced me enough to pick up two boxes of the stuff. Maybe I’ll get a whole base set, some decent rookies and a few jersey cards that I can trade away.
For this box break, I decided to scan ALL of the insets, as well as some of my favorite base cards. Each box has 24 packs, and each pack has 8 cards.
Here’s what I got: Continue reading “2010-11 Pinnacle Box Break #1”
If a lottery ticket and a hockey card had a lovechild together, this would be the result: the 1974-75 Topps Hockey Scratch-Off Game card. Continue reading “Scratch and Score”
Yes, I know. Round 2 has already started. What’s up with that, NHL? Maybe some of us teach class on Thursday nights.
Anyway, here are my predictions–solely done for my own amusement (and most likely not yours).
Will we see another upset? I sure hope so.
Series: Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. Nashville Predators (5)
My Prediction: Predators UPSET in 6 games. .
Comments: Sure the Canucks beat the Blackhawks. No one likes losing, but it is sometimes perceived that it is OK to lose to the eventual winner.
I disagree. I want to see the Canucks get stomped on.
Series: San Jose Sharks (2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (3)
My Prediction: Sharks win in 6 games.
Comments: It is against my mortal being to cheer for the Red Wings. Besides, the Sharks really are long overdue for a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.Go Sharkies!
I don’t predict an upset here in the East–the top seeds are just too good.
Series: Washington Capitals (1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5).
My Prediction: Capitals win in 4 games.
Comments: Winning in 7 games against the Crosby-and-Malkin-less-Penguins is not that admirable of a feat. I doubt that the Lightning (I refuse to call them the “Bolts”) will fare well against the Capitals. Besides, the Caps are long overdue to finally amount to something in the playoffs.
Series: Philadelphia Flyers (2) vs. Boston Bruins (3).
My Prediction: Flyers in 7 games.
Comments: Both of these teams needed 7 games to knock off their lower-seeded opponents in the first round. I think they’ll need 7 games to sort this one out too. Let’s hope for a good, physical (but clean) series.
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In summary, the Final Four I’d like to see are:
I’ll admit, it’s a bit hard to focus on the playoffs now that the ‘Hawks are eliminated. So I guess I’ll start cheering for the Sharks.
Well, not everything turned out as expected. But that is the beauty of the first round.
Here are my predictions again, and the actual results. :
Considering how tight the Western Conference standings were, you’d think there would have been a few upsets, right?
Series: Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8)
My Prediction: Blackhawks win in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Canucks won in 7 games.
Comments: Call me an idealist, but I really though the ‘Hawks could pull off an upset. And they almost did. But almost doesn’t count in hockey. At least the Blackhawks gave us a series.
So far, 0 for 1.
Series: San Jose Sharks (2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (7)
My Prediction: Sharks win in 5 games.
What Actually Happened: Sharks won in 6 games.
Comments: We all knew that the Kings wouldn’t go far without Anze Kopitar. Hah…that rhymed. Imagine what they could have done if that kid was in the lineup.
This puts me at 1 for 2 now.
Series: Detroit Red Wings (3) vs. Phoenix Coytoes
My Prediction: Red Wings win in 7 games.
What Actually Happened: Red Wings SWEEP in 4 games.
Comments: Sure, we knew the Wings would win. But I’m disappointed in Ilya Bryzgalov. I thought the Coytoes goaltender would steal at least ONE game in the series.
Now, I’m 2 for 3. Moving on…
Series: Anaheim Mighty Ducks (4) vs. Nashville Predators (5)
My Prediction: Ducks win in 5 games.
What Actually Happened: Nashville won in 6 games.
Comments: Well, here’s our Western Conference upset. Mad props to the Predators for winning their first playoff series in franchise history.
2 for 4 now. 50%.
Over in the East, things were a lot closer. At least in 3 of the series.
Series: Washington Capitals (1) vs. New York Rangers (8)
My Prediction: Captials sweep in 4.
What Actually Happened: Washington won in 5 games.
Comments: I think we all knew the Caps would power their way to Round 2.
3 for 5.
Series: Philadelphia Flyers (2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7)
My Prediction: Flyers win in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Flyers won in 7 games.
Comments: Tomas Vanek–the highest-paid Buffalo Sabre–was ineffectual in this series (just like he was in my fantasy hockey pool). Flyers have improved since their Stanley Cup run from last year, so I’m not surprised by the outcome.
4 for 6.
Series: Boston Bruins (3) vs. Montreal Canadiens (6)
My Prediction: Bruins win in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Boston won in 7 games.
Comments: Wow! Another Game 7. This series was tight, but it’s good to see the Bs get to the next round. Though I’m not a big follower of the Eastern Conference, I’ll always pull for Tim Thomas.
5 for 7.
Series: Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5)
My Prediction: Penguins win in 7.
What Actually Happened: Lightning win in 7.
Comments: No Crosby and no Malkin make Penguins go something something…
A shame we won’t get a Caps-Pens matchup in Round 2.
That puts me at 5 for 8.
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OK, let’s see if I can get my Round 2 predictions up before Round 2 is over…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Everyone enjoys the playoffs, but I really love Round 1. There are 3 or 4 games a night and they all mean something.
Plus, there’s always at least one first round upset.
So, without further ado, here are my somewhat biased and totally unscientific Round 1 playoff predictions:
Things got really tight in the Western Conference, especially at the end. A mere 2 points separated the 4th seed from the 8th seed(there were 3 teams with 99 points, 1 with 98 and 1 with 97). If anything, this shows how evenly-matched many of these teams are.
Series: Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8)
My Prediction: Blackhawks win in 6 games.
Comments: Even though I am a Chicago Blackhawks fan, I have no delusions about them repeating as Stanley Cup Champions this season. Eighth place teams just don’t do that.
But at the same time, if we can count on one thing, it is that the best team in the league usually chokes sooner or later (the Sharks last year, the Capitals 2 years ago).
This is going to be the first-round upset in the Western Conference.
Series: San Jose Sharks (2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (7)
My Prediction: Sharks win in 5 games.
Comments: The Kings have had a decent year, but the Sharks are a better team. Plus, the Kings lost Anze Kopitar–their best player. Even with Kopitar in the lineup, there’s no guarantee that the Kings would win. But with him gone, they won’t stand a chance against the Sharks.
Series: Detroit Red Wings (3) vs. Phoenix Coytoes
My Prediction: Red Wings win in 7 games.
Comments: The Red Wings are too good to not make it to the second round. But the Coyotes–led by goalie Ilya Bryzgalov–have had a breakout year. The way Bryzgalov has played, I could see him single-handedly winning the series for the ‘Yotes. Win or lose, he will still make things miserable for Detroit.
Series: Anaheim Mighty Ducks (4) vs. Nashville Predators (5)
My Prediction: Ducks win in 5 games.
Comments: The Ducks would sweep the Predators if they had Jonas Hiller in net. But Hiller is still suffering from (all things) vertigo. Yes, the Preds have a darn good defensive corps, led by Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. But the Ducks have Huey, Duey and Luey….or make that Ryan, Corey and Bobby. And that Teemu guy ain’t too bad either, even at 40.
I usually don’t pay much attention to The East unless there’s a Pens-Flyers series. Maybe in Round 2. But first, Round 1. So…
Series: Washington Capitals (1) vs. New York Rangers (8)
My Prediction: Captials sweep in 4.
Comments: Ovechtrick! Ovechtrick! Ovechtrick!
Yeah, Alexander Ovechkin has been hot and cold this season, but either way the Capitals are good enough to sweep New York. And the Rangers are bad enough to be the team that gets swept.
Series: Philadelphia Flyers (2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7)
My Prediction: Flyers win in 6 games.
Comments: The Flyers were a good team this year, and they’ll probably make it to the Finals again. Not saying they’re gonna win it all–they might be like the Boston Bruins were in the late 1980s, a team good enough to get there but not good enough to win it all.
Other than Ryan Miller, the Sabres do little to impress me.
Series: Boston Bruins (3) vs. Montreal Canadiens (6)
My Prediction: Bruins win in 6 games.
Comments: I might watch this series–not to see great goal scoring and awesome saves by Tim Thomas and Carey Price.
Nope. I might watch it to see if the Canadians–or more specifically, the Canadiens fans–do or say anything about the whole Zdeno Chara / Max Pacioretty incident. Will the “Death to Chara!” signs be written in English or French? Will there be a 7-foot tall Zdeno Chara pinata hanging from the rafters of the Bell Center?
Series: Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5)
My Prediction: Penguins win in 7.
Comments: The Penguins won’t get far without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But they’ll make it at least to the next round.
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Two years ago, I was 12 for 15 in my playoff predictions (80%).
Last year, I was 10 for 15–down to 66%. But that’s OK, because the ‘Hawks won the Cup.
How will I do this year? Hopefully, well enough to win Captain Canuck’s playoff contest.
And if you really like playoff-themed contests, there’s one on the blog Drop the Gloves, too.
A few days ago, one of my students was wearing what I thought was a New York Rangers t-shirt.
“Rangers,” I said. “Nice. You a hockey fan?” Whenever a student of mine–I teach college–wears hockey apparel, I have to voice my approval.
“Huh?” she said. “This is a t-shirt for a band.”
Upon a closer look, I saw that the text that would normally read NEW YORK RANGERS was replaced with STRAY FROM THE PATH.
I thought that was stupid. Take a recognizable sports logo, and put your own text on it. It lacks creativity and is a cheap attempt at recognition. Continue reading “Band T-Shirt: Clever or Copycat?”