Ho! Ho! Ho! Mario!

Sports Illustrated for Kids Volume 5, Number 12 – December 1993

Sports Illustrated for Kids Volume 5, Number 12 - December 1993Even though I was a bit old to be perusing Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine back in December 1993, how could I pass this issue up? The cover photograph features Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins, dressed as Santa Claus and feeding fish to penguins – tell me that does not scream “buy this magazine now!!!” Never mind the fact that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, penguins live at the South Pole and Lemieux lives in Pittsburgh. Continue reading “Ho! Ho! Ho! Mario!”

When hype meets frostbite

Living in Chicago and being a Blackhawks fan, you would think that I would be dying to go to this season’s NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

To tell the truth, I did want to go to this game really bad. As my sister asked me, “How many times can you say you’ve seen a hockey game at Wrigley Field?” That raised a good point. Continue reading “When hype meets frostbite”

My 2nd article in Beckett Hockey

Beckett Hockey #209My geek joy continues! This month, my second article for Beckett Hockey Magazine was published.

Entitled Pro Set Story, it is a retro review of the 1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Set, as well as a short overview of the Pro Set Company. The article appears on pages 20-22 of issue 209, which just came out last week. Continue reading “My 2nd article in Beckett Hockey”

Bought some "Old Guns"

This weekend, I picked up several 2003-04 Upper Deck Young Guns cards. Seeing as how these cards are from five years ago, the players depicted aren’t necessarily “young” anymore – at least, not “Patrick Kane young”. Most of the YGs in the group were common, but here are the best of the lot:

Eric Staal
#206 – Eric Staal

Joffrey Lupul
#202 – Joffrey Lupul

Matt Stajan
#242 – Matt Stajan

Milan Michalek
#238 – Milan Michalek

Alexander Semin
#219 – Alexander Semin

Now I have most of the expensive Young Guns from this set. I don’t have the Marc-Andre Fleury card yet, which will be a bit of an expense. Otherwise, I think it’s pretty much downhill from here.

If anyone has Young Guns from this set for trade–especially commons–drop me a line.

Bush League

1991-92 Upper Deck card #47 – White House Welcome

George Bush & Mario LemieuxToday is Election Day in the United States. No matter who wins the vote for President of the United States – though I pray it is Barack Obama – at least it can no longer be George W. Bush. Needless to say, the last eight years under “W” were not the greatest of times – from the 9/11 Attacks in 2001 to the economy being in the worst shape since the Great Depression, to fighting wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Anyway, all this hatin’ on George W. Bush got me thinking about his dad, George H.W. Bush, who was President from 1989 to 1992. The elder Bush actually appears on a hockey card in the 1991-92 Upper Deck set. Continue reading “Bush League”

Thank you Martin!

I would like to thank Martin Van Olst of Edmonton, Alberta for generously sending some hockey cards my way, including this one…

Jets Sticker

Martin kindly sent me the last five 1987-88 Topps insert stickers I needed to complete my set, as well as some other random cards I needed for some of my sets-in-progress.

Martin–thank you for your generosity. I hope that I can locate some of the cards you need.

Card of the Week: I Has a Hot Dog

1995-96 Pinnacle card #134 – Olaf Kolzig

Olaf KolzigOlaf Kolzig was not what you’d call a “hot dog” during the early days of his long NHL tenure. The first five years of his pro career were mostly spent in the minor leagues, while the next three were spent playing second fiddle to former All-Star goaltender Jim Carey. Back then, “Olie the Goalie” spent more time riding the pine than stopping pucks.

During Kolzig’s time as a backup, he was shown on a Pinnacle hockey card, sitting on the bench and enjoying a hot dog – with his name spelled out in the mustard! Continue reading “Card of the Week: I Has a Hot Dog”