I have been using and playing with NHL GameCenter Live for about a month now and just wanted to throw down a quick post on my thoughts towards the service.
There are some areas on North America that lack decent NHL coverage and I feel for those people. My dad is a great example. He lives a few hours south of Chicago and lives 15 minutes outside of a city that is home to an AHL team. You would think that the coverage would be pretty decent considering his location and close proximity to an AHL team. Just the opposite. He is constantly struggling to find a game to catch on nights, usually he is stuck watching paintball tournaments or repeats of NCAA football games from 10 years ago. I think GameCenter is made for these types of fans.
On top of all my dad’s struggles with his local coverage he travels all around the States as well. This leads to even more issues especially if he is interesting in what Chicago is doing that night. Don’t get excited he loves his Leafs and will bleed blue and white till he kicks the can. GameCenter would be a life saver for him for that reason alone. The chances of him catching a Leaf game on a Tuesday night is going to be damn near nill. The service would be awesome for this type of hockey fan, the guy that is on the road but doesn’t want to miss a beatdown or goal.
Now I consider myself to be pretty lucky when it comes to the amount of NHL hockey I get to watch. Between TSN, TSN2, SportsNet, LeafsTV and CBC pretty much every night I can catch a live game. But being a Leafs fan I run into the problem of not always getting to watch “the best” hockey. That’s why I have been loving GameCenter for this month. There have been many nights were the Leafs are down 3 (after 10 mins) and I find myself looking for something better. Any game that is on that night I can watch. The quality is excellent and the added PVR features makes the experience awesome.
A great aspect of GameCenter is that all the games are archived, so say you are a Vancouver fan living in Florida (I dunno why, but you are) Not only can you watch all of your beloved Canuck games but say you don’t feel like staying up all night to watch you can catch it the next morning while eating your grapefruit. Or say you pass out drunk with 5 minutes left and wake up the next morning you can load up the game and skip right to the part where everything started to get fuzzy. Maybe you heard that there was the hit/goal/fight of the year and rather than hunting down shitty clips on YouTube you can load up GameCenter and see just how it went down.
When you take the archiving to the major level that the NHL has done you have a massive library (or Vault) of games to pick through. Dating back to the 60’s and going all the way up to the late 90’s there are “Classic” games you can watch, and yes Leaf fans Game 6 of the 1993 playoffs is in there. More current games are in the “Archive” area and they date back 3 years.
As with everything there are flaws but really the only thing that really bugs me is that if there is a game being broadcasted on local TV (TSN, CBC, etc) then you can’t watch that game live and you have to wait a bit longer to watch it archived. I don’t really blame the NHL for this one as it makes sorta sense that you should just flip on the damn TV if there is a game on you want to watch. But when you wife wants to see who will get the final rose and you want to see who is going to break 50 first…well you see where I am going.
As I have gone on at length, the service is awesome and seems to be well worth the cost. Another nice thing is that the price drops as the season goes on since obviously you are getting less and less for your money as the games get ticked off the schedule. Check it out if you haven’t you wont regret it!
Cheers,
Justin
P.S - I didn’t even tell you about the ability to watch 4 games at once, it’s mind blowing.
It’s back! Last year I whipped together some simple Bingo cards to make Trade Deadline Day that bit more interesting. There has been some requests this year for me to do the same so here it is.
Select a Bingo card, heck select a few and play along at home, if a player is traded then cross him off. If you happen to get a card with a player on it that has already been traded then you are a step ahead of the rest of us.
If you are playing and are on Twitter be sure to spread the word and also call out BINGO! if you get a line. Shoot me a reply and you will win a prize.
Here they are:
Card 1, Card 2, Card 3, Card 4, Card 5, Card 6, Card 7, Card 8, Card 9, Card 10, Card 11, Card 12, Card 13, Card 14, Card 15, Card 16, Card 17, Card 18, Card 19, Card 20, Card 21, Card 22, Card 23, Card 24, Card 25, Card 26, Card 27, Card 28, Card 29, Card 30, Card 31, Card 32, Card 33, Card 34, Card 35, Card 36, Card 37, Card 38, Card 39, Card 40
Have fun!
Justin
Over the past few weeks I have been heading out to a vacant piece of land where a beautiful ice rink has developed. It would likely measure 75’ by 25’, it’s not the most symetrical pad out there but for my skill level (half ass skilled guy that can’t stop on skates) it is perfect.
Last night was our most competitive game to date and was definitely the most fun. Playing just 2 on 2 with some home made 5’ W x 1’ H nets we laced them up and tried our best to not kill each other or ourselves.
The lineup read like a Toronto Maple Leafs tryout roster sheet.
You have your Dominik Hasek (Darrin AKA Dink) - Dude played net growing up but after hanging up his skates he prefers to cruise through the neutral zone dangling a puck around the other team hoping that he can make someone sprawl on the ice like he once did in his prime. His skating and stick handling skills are far superior then anyone else’s, yet his passes to me (his teammate) consistently went through my legs. The next morning he will have just 2 smokes rather than 3, but other wise be fine.
Next up, you Steve ‘Stumpy’ Thomas (Ken AKA my boss) - Having not worn skates in over 15 years he decides that he was going to give it all he’s got and whatever happened, happened. He seems strong on his feet until he trips over our homemade nets and takes a few to get to his feet. He is confident when stick handling knowing that his money move (deke to the forehand) works every time because the defender (me) doesn’t see it coming…ever. The next morning he is eating Motrin like Skittles but saying he would do it again in a second.
Next we have your T.J. Oshie (Shane AKA the carpenter) - Never played hockey growing up but three weeks ago went to Canadian Tire bought a stick and borrowed some skates. He is now the quickest, scrappiest, most determined person on the ice. He blocks shots, he chases pucks and he doesn’t realize his own strength (just ask the bruise on my arm). He may not be able to stop on the ice but his signature spin-o-rama stop has put his opponents (me) to shame. The next morning his knees are swollen and is walking with a limp but if asked he will say he is fine and is ready to go again.
Lastly we have your Patrik Stefan (Justin AKA me) - Highly touted from his years of road and roller hockey growing up and incredible skill on NHL 94-10, he is often a desired teammate until moments before the puck drops he mutters “dude, just a heads up but I can’t stop on these things, but I can go like the wind”. He stick handles like a slower Max Talbot and can scoop up the puck lacrosse style 1 time out of 14. He can turn hard to the right (only) and man can he fly, however his stamina leaves something to be desired. Through the years he has matured and grown (about 20 lbs.) and will be looking for a new stick this weekend because of it. The next morning his left knee hurts from falling on it (repeatedly) and has a large bruise on his bicep from a cross check courtesy of Shane. However he will once again play the game he loves and will try harder not to miss the gaping 5’ x 1’ net which has no goalie in it…again.
(This is the aftermath of my stick after leaning on it digging for a puck, time to either lose weight or go with a higher stiffness)
A great night that certainly wont be the last, I love this game.
Cheers!
Justin
The Hockey Card Show Olympic Hockey Pool -
Who doesn’t love a good hockey pool right? With the Olympics right around the corner the show has decided to put together a hockey pool for the Olympics. We all have national pride and I know we will all be glued to the games once February 16th gets here. Just follow the link above and make your box selections, you will have until February 15th at 12:00 EST to make any changes after that the boxes will be locked and it is every man/woman for themselves!
Winner will get a box of In The Game: Heroes & Prospects, even if you are not into collecting cards I know we are all into bragging to our fellow co-workers, tweeters, friends etc. Anyone can enter, no Twitter or Facebook account needed so spread the word as much as you can.
I look forward to the coming games and wish everyone good luck!
Cheers, Justin
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Some key players from the Chicago Blackhawks hit to the streets on their recent trip to Vancouver and boy is there pictures to prove it.
Let’s have a close look at some of these beauties and see if we can really figure out what was going on.
Kris Versteeg here looks rather cautious of the entire goings on, while his George Michaels beard is screaming “I bought this shirt specifically so that I can look pimp, my mom bought me these glasses”. Blondie on the right clearly has something on her mind and I am thinking that it is Kris Jr.
John Madden, hey I remember you! You played with the Devils right, cool. Ahh why are you drinking champagne from an itsy bitsy glass? On the plus side it makes your bicep look HUGE! BTW you look prouder than a damn peacock.
Kaner! I figure you thought a Limo would be a safer bet this time eh, good call I guess. 1) Your pants are undone. 2) The chick on the left looks like she may be the one that is usually taking the pictures. 3) Nice smile.
Cool a group shot! Oh I see Kane was just undoing his pants so he could take them off, that makes sense now. Madden is doing the right thing by holding his beer (which by the way is hilarious that it is a Kokanee) while his lumber jack friend helps him with his. Kris seems to have lost his glasses, Mom is going to be pissed.
All in all looks like the boys had a great night of shirtless fun in the back of a limo in a road city. I’m sure this happens all the damn time but the pictures really make it fun for the rest of us :)
-Justin
[video]
“It was personal. It started in warm up before the anthem. The ref came over to me and said I made him look bad in Nashville on the [Jerred] Smithson hit. He said he was going to get me back tonight and he did his job in the third.” —
Alexandre Burrows
- This could be a big shit storm for the NHL, however I assume Bettman will just say that there is no issue with officiating and that they are not suspending Auger but Burrows has to pay $10,000 - fools.
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