The Lost 10 Point Night: Searching for My Hockey Hero, Jim Harrison is not your typical biography. Instead of the usual formula — early days, career and post-career with current reflections woven throughout — this is a story about both the subject and the chronicler, liberally flip-flopping between past and present. The result is a book that, in many ways, is more about the journey than the destination.
Category: Culture
Book Review: Hockey Card Stories
Have you ever looked at an old hockey card and wanted to know what the story was behind the photograph? Or wondered what the player thought of their own card? That is exactly what author Ken Reid thought when he wrote his new book, “Hockey Card Stories: True Tales from 59 of Your Favorite Players.” Reid, an anchor for Sportnet Central, interviewed former NHL and WHA players, picking key cards from each player’s career — sometimes their rookie card, other times just a card of interest — and talked about them. His book is a page-turner for anyone who grew up loving hockey cards. Continue reading “Book Review: Hockey Card Stories”
Five-Photo Friday: June 20, 2014
Five-Photo Friday is a way for me to share some of the more interesting hockey images that I have collected throughout the years. Some of these I took myself, while others are curated from various sources. Read on to see a sidewalk art from a defunct TV station, a scoreboard like you’ve never seen and a table hockey game for girls.
Five-Photo Friday: May 23, 2014
Happy Friday! Hope you are enjoying the playoffs — even if your favorite team has already been eliminated. Here are five interesting, odd or irrelevant hockey pictures to tide you over until tomorrow night’s game. Continue reading “Five-Photo Friday: May 23, 2014”
Five-Photo Friday: April 4, 2014
Happy Friday! Here are five interesting, odd or irrelevant hockey pictures for the week. Enjoy! Continue reading “Five-Photo Friday: April 4, 2014”
Gamers’ fondest memories of NHL ’94
The classic-era video game NHL ’94 celebrates its 20th anniversary this season, and remains as popular as ever. Originally released for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD and PC computers, NHL ’94 is still enjoyed by gamers today. This year’s release by Electronic Arts, NHL ’14, even included an “NHL ’94 Mode” that let’s players experience the run-and-gun style of the old game.
But some gamers still seek out the old-school, pixelated experience. Using emulation software, many play head-to-head via the internet in online leagues hosted by the website NHL94.com. Several of these gamers who still live and breathe NHL ’94 today share their fondest memories of the game. Continue reading “Gamers’ fondest memories of NHL ’94”
Movie Review: Goon
NOTE: This review is spoiler-free.
I knew all along that Goon was going to be a great movie for two reasons:
1. It had a hard time getting a theatrical release in the United States
2. Everyone who saw it made comparisons to Slap Shot.
You might think that any movie that had trouble finding a mainstream release is a bad movie. And in most cases, you would be right.
But I knew Goon would be great because of that. Hockey is a tough sell in the United States. A hockey movie is even a tougher sell, and yet Goon does not sell-out, pander, cater or kowtow to help reach a wider audience. No dumbing down or awkward, “after the fact” edits to make it more commercial.
After watching Goon, you can tell that director Michael Dowse and screenwriters Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg made the picture that they wanted to make: a film that is violent, funny and has a good story. The “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” of hockey movies, one that is truly worthy of Slap Shot comparisons.
Speaking of which, no one would dare compare a bad movie to Slap Shot, except for Universal when releasing a bad Slap Shot sequel. If other fans who have seen both movies say Goon is the Slap Shot for this generation, then Goon must have a lot going for it.
And it does. Continue reading “Movie Review: Goon”
Some Video Games Are NOT for Kids
The last week has been a steady mix of hanging out with friends–including an awesome New Year’s Eve party (thanks, Phil)–and the usual boring “teacher stuff” I do to get prepared for the semester (which started Tuesday). Yes, friends and work are my excuses for not blogging the past 6 days.
Anyway, I found this brochure, starring Patrick Sharp and Bryan Campbell to warn you that…
“Some video games are for kids. Some aren’t.”
That’s right, kids…the Blackhawks are here to warn your parents about the new Call of Duty game. Perhaps you’d rather play something less violent, like NHL ’12 instead? Continue reading “Some Video Games Are NOT for Kids”
Photo Purchases
I have a weakness for 8″x10″ photos.
No, they aren’t collectible, nor are they “worth” anything.
But there is something so immersive about their relatively large size (compared to hockey cards), their ease of storage (just throw ’em in a binder) and their endless varieties. Whenever I see a dealer who sells photos, I try and find offbeat images that I don’t see everyday.
Here are some 8″x10″ goodies I got…a while ago. I meant to put these up sooner, but they’ve been in a pile of stuff on my floor the past 3 months. Either way, enjoy these pics! Continue reading “Photo Purchases”
Jonathan Toews on "NHL ’11" cover
A few days ago, this image started circulating around the internet:
Yep, from the looks of it, Stanley Cup MVP Jonathan Toews will grace the cover of “NHL ’11”. This is the second year in a row that a Chicago Blackhawks player will be on the cover of the popular hockey video game. For those who don’t follow the Blackhawks or video games, Patrick Kane was on the cover of “NHL ’10”. (Picture here)