Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
As you know, my favorite hockey team won the Stanley Cup this year. I’m happy. Hell, I’m ecstatic. Patrick Kane scored the game-winning goal. Jonathan Toews won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. And Antti Niemi proved that he was the real deal.
Still, there are several ways that this year’s Cup victory could have been better for this longtime Blackhawks fan—6 ways, to be exact. Continue reading “6 ways ‘Hawks Cup win could have been better”
The Stanley Cup—the oldest freakin’ sports trophy in the world–was downtown in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon. Fans were able to get their picture taken with the almighty chalice.
I was one such fan, waiting about 1 1/2 hours for my photo opportunity. I think it came out pretty well.
Also, I was featured prominently on the CBS Channel 2 news in Chicago.. Here is a link to the video–that is me near the beginning (before I put my ‘Hawks jersey on), at the very end, and peppered throughout.
On Saturday, I received this form letter from Beckett Publications, encouraging me to re-subscribe to Beckett Hockey Magazine. This seems like a very strange thing for Beckett to do.
In summary, the letter states that I can receive 7 issues for $29.95–a savings of more than 50% off of the cover price.
It also outlines these key features:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the first two bullet points sound like the same thing–“valuations you can trust” and “reliable price guides”. The 2010 Olympics is old news by now. The show calendar is helpful, but what’s this about “insightful articles?”
In a 176-page magazine, such as the January 2010 issue here, 140 are dedicated to the price guide. Only 20 pages–less than 12 percent–are actual articles that you would read.
And as for the articles themselves, most are either capsules about forthcoming products, box breakdowns, or articles that outline a star player’s most valuable cards. Informative, but not very insightful.
Want information about upcoming hockey card releases? Just go to the websites of Upper Deck or In The Game, as Beckett just regurgitates their press releases, anyway.
Box breakdowns? You can find tons of those on blogs and on YouTube.
So, what’s my incentive to subscribe?
I suppose the price guide itself is a reason to subscribe. But other than adding prices for the new sets, and a few changes here and there, it is more or less the same information every issue.
What perplexes me about this special offer is that in the past few years Beckett has been really intent on selling access to their Online Price Guide (OPG). OPG access costs around $50 per year, requires no paper, no mailing and no need to write articles.
So, why the sudden push to sell magazines–at the low, low price of $4.28 per issue? The answer is obviously advertising dollars. The more subscriptions you sell, the easier it is to sell ad space…and the more you can charge per ad.
If Beckett wants to sell printed magazines, then lowering the subscription price is not the answer. Neither is publishing bullet-point lists of “what we got in a box of Champ’s” or “total value of every John Tavares card ever made” articles.
Instead, they should return their focus to printing quality, hobby-related articles that people would pay to read.
For the first time in their 55-year history, the Hockey Hall of Fame has inducted a woman–no, TWO women–into their clubhouse: Cammi Granato and Angela James.
Cammi Granato was the face of women’s hockey in the U.S. for over a decade. She was a part of the U.S. National Women’s Team from 1990 to 2006, and won numerous Gold and Silver medals at World Championships, Olympics and other international tournaments. (More about Cammi Granato)
Referred to as the “Wayne Gretzky of Women’s Hockey,” Angela James scored 34 points in 20 international contests, winning 7 gold medals in the process.
Both women have accomplished hockey careers. Granato is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, and James a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. The pair are also in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. Induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame is a fitting, well-deserved honor.
A few guys were inducted too:
Dino Ciccarelli – Dino scored 1232 points during his 19-year NHL career. And why did it take 11 years for him to get in the Hall?
Jimmy Devallano (builder category) – Longtime NHL executive most famously known as the General Manager that built the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings team of the 1990s and 2000s.
Daryl “Doc” Seaman (builder category) – One of the owners of the Calgary Flames, He passed away in 2009.
The fact that two women were inducted into the HHOF shows how much women’s hockey has grown–especially since becoming a medal sport in the Winter Olympics in 1998.
And as a Chicago native, it is extra special for me to see Granato–who is from the suburbs of Chicago–make it into the Hall.
What is disappointing is that two builders were a part of the 2010 HHOF class. One builder and four players would have been more appropriate. Just look at what players were overlooked this year:
Adam Oates (6th year of eligibility)- Oates is the highest scorer to not be in the Hall of Fame (341 goals, 1079 assists, 1420 points–that’s over a point-per-game during his 19-year NHL career.
Doug Gilmour (7th year of eligibility)- Though Gilmour was lauded for his defensive play–he won the Selke Trophy in 1993–he scored 1414 points in 1474 games over 20 years.
Joe Nieuwendyk (1st year of eligibility) – 19 seasons in the NHL, and over 1100 points. Brian Costello at The Hockey News had me convinced that Nieuwendyk was a shoo-in for the Hall. Well, there’s always next year.
With all due respect to Devallano and Seaman, I think only one builder should be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame each year. Sure, builder’s “build” the sport in both apparent and intangible ways. But it is the players themselves who are the lifeblood of the sport.
No, Gary Nylund was not horrible–but this card sure was. That slack-jawed look of disgust on Nylund’s face says it all about this awfully airbrushed card. After 4 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nylund was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on September 6, 1986–giving O-Pee-Chee just enough time to alter the photo on this card to make it look like he was with his new team. So, what’s wrong with this picture? Where to even start? Continue reading “Horrible ‘Hawk”
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)
On June 11, I went to the Chicago Blackhawks victory parade. It was awesome! Around 2 million people showed up to cheer the ‘Hawks on their Stanley Cup victory. I’ve finally had the time to edit together the photos and video I shot at the parade into a short film. Enjoy!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
The best of times because my team is in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The worst of times because I am in Grad School Finals.
You would think that I would be blogging 24/7, considering how elated I am about the Blackhawks.
But “Stanley Cup Finals” is not a legitimate reason for getting an extension on my final projects (due Friday), regardless of the teams playing in them.
Since this may be the last game of the Finals, here are a few thoughts about the series:
Coach Joel Quenneville has been dubbed “Coach Q” or sometimes just “Q” by Chicago media and fans. I’m wondering if Philadelphia has a nickname for Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette? If not, may I suggest “P-Lav”?
Speaking of P-Lav, when asked which of his two goalies would start Game 6, Laviolette snapped back at reporters, asking them if they inquired about who Chicago was going to start in net. A tad defensive, no?
TSN Analyst Ray Ferraro thinks that the Blackhawks will win Game 6 tonight.
Ed Olczyk–who is a TV color commentator for the Blackhawks–has said all along that the series will go 7 games.
Perhaps the ‘Hawks should pretend that they are playing the San Jose Sharks. Then they’ll win for sure. Maybe someone could slip a little teal dye in the Flyers laundry…
Since Dave Bolland, Adam Burish and Nick Boynton each appeared in at least one game during the Finals, they are all eligible to get their names engraved on the Stanley Cup if the Blackhawks win. None of them appeared in 40 regular season games for the ‘Hawks, which is the other criteria for eligibility.
Bryan Bickell played 16 games with the Blackhawks during the regular season, and 4 in the playoffs. He has yet to see any time in the Finals, though. If Andrew Ladd sits out again due to injury (as was rumored today), then it would be great to see Bickell in the lineup so that he can get his name engraved on the Cup if the Hawks win tonight.
The Coach Q graffiti you see at the top of this article was swiped from a friend’s Facebook page. Not sure where she found it, but it’s pretty awesome.
Those of you not from Chicago are probably unaware of the overwhelming–almost oppressive–amount of attention the Blackhawks have been getting during the playoffs. Especially during the Stanley Cup Finals. Continue reading “Blackhawks Mania Sweeps Chicago”
And now, the series we’ve all been waiting for…
Series: Chicago Blackhawsks (2-West) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7-East)
My Prediction: Blackhawks in 5 games to win the Stanley Cup
Comments: Sweeps were rare in this year’s playoffs. Only the top-seeded Sharks got swept, being beaten in 4 straight by the Blackhawks.
Yes, the ‘Hawks certainly bring their “Eh Game” when playing great teams. They did sweep the Sharks, but needed 6 games to beat the Canucks and 6 to beat the Predators.
And the Blackhawks will need 5 to beat the Flyers.
No, it won’t be a sweep. The Flyers are good enough to steal a game from the Blackhawks, but not good enough to steal the series.
FYI, there’s still time to enter my Stanley Cup Contest.