I'm 34 today

As of today, I am now 34 years old. Twenty years ago on this day, my Aunt Gayle gave me tickets to the first live hockey game I'd see--the Chicago Blackhawks vs. the New York Islanders on February 10, 1989 at the old Chicago Stadium. (Note to self...find that ticket stub for my Feb. 10 blog post.) How the time flies! Back then, I was a wee 14-year old, not even in high school. I didn't quite understand the icing rule yet, and did not realize that there were so many Sutter brothers.

That 14th birthday also yielded me a hella-cool LEGO castle--the Black Monarch's Castle, to be specific. My Grandmother, knowing that I greatly enjoyed the medieval-themed Castle Lego building-block toys, bought me one of the most expensive sets to date. Unfortunately, by then I had pretty much outgrown Legos. I was too old to play with them, and not really into "collecting" them.

Last year, I commented on turning 33, and how 33 was the uniform number worn by Dirk Graham--who was one of my favorite Blackhawks when I was getting into hockey.

Thirty-four is not a uniform number you normally see in hockey. Most people in Chicago associate a 3 followed by a 4 with Chicago Bears football legend Walter Payton, who wore number 34 for 12 stellar seasons.

But a very famous Blackhawk broke into the NHL wearing number 34...



Oh yeah--that guy! Many people forget that Dominik Hasek started in the NHL as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. Sometimes, I think Hasek himself forgets that he played 25 games over two seasons (1990-91 & 1991-92) wearing the Indian head sweater. Hasek would wear number 34--a "scrub number", as I like to call it--during his five games in 1990-91, before switching to the more conventional "backup goalie number" of 31 for the 1991-92 season.



After that, he was traded in a three-way deal to Buffalo, and the rest is history. I think a lot of 'Hawks fans like to suppress the fact that Hasek was at one time with the Blackhawks, and could have been the final piece to make the Blackhawks the championship team they should have been in the 1990s.

Anyway, being an adult--there! I admitted it, okay--you really don't get much cool stuff for your birthday anymore...and I really don't expect anything. But my Dad gave me a little dough to spend on my birthday. Part of me wants to buy--you guessed it--LEGOs!

Ha! No, not really. Predictable as it sounds, I would not mind spending my birthday money on hockey cards. Perhaps a not too-expensive complete set, or a box of Legends Masterpieces, or at least a few boxes of 9-pocket pages.

The other part of me wants to put the money towards my gas bill. Old Man Winter has been cruel this season.

Hence the struggle of the Inner Child vs. the Responsible Adult, taking place in the mind of this 34-year old.

Thanks for nothin', NHL

Yesterday I would have loved to have watched the All-Star game. What's not to love about a 12-to-11 blowout that was settled in the shootout? The only problem was, the game was on VS.

VS, aka Versus. You know, that channel that has the national broadcast rights to the National Hockey League here in the U.S. of A. As far back as I can remember during my years of following this sport, the NHL All-Star game has been televised on NBC. Free TV, not cable.

But this year, the League--despite its hype and high ratings of the Winter Classic--felt that the annual game made up of the best hockey players in the world would best be served on a cable TV station that many people in the U.S. don't get.

Even the NHL circa-1990, with their caveman-like ways of yore, were smart enough not to bury the All-Star game on cable. At the time, their national broadcast partner in the United States was SportsChannel, which was not carried in many regions. But the All-Star Game, thankfully, was on NBC. It usually got piss-poor ratings, but it was the one hockey game that anyone in the U.S. could see.

So, I have to wonder, what gives? With "The NHL on NBC" having a "Game of the Week" each Sunday--as well as games three through seven of the Stanley Cup Finals--you'd think the freakin' All-Star Game would have been a killer time-slot filler. Sadly, that was not the case.

Now, don't get me wrong--I can get Versus in my area. For the past six years, I subscribed to ComCast Cable. ComCast owns Versus, and is trying to grow it to become a competitor for ESPN; hence Versus was part of even ComCast's most basic of channel lineups. As in, you always got it, and for no additional cost.

Since moving last June, I decided that I was damn tired of ComCast's overpriced cable. Sure, it was good, but is it eighty dollars a month good? My girlfriend Shellie previously subscribed to Dish Network, and I was easily swayed, as we could get most of the channels we wanted for $50 a month.

Most of the channels. Guess what channel is not included.

Yep, that one. A basic subscription to Dish Network would cost $40/month. For $10 more, Shellie can get all of her Animal Planet-type channels, and I would get ComCast SportsNet Chicago--which makes me ask, just how many "sports channels" does ComCast own? But CSN is a necessity to me, since they televise most of the Chicago Blackhawks games. But paying $60 a month (instead of $50) just to get Versus, seems like a waste of money.

Here's why Versus *is* a waste of money if you are not a ComCast Cable subscriber. Versus shows two games a week, usually involving one or more of the following teams per game: the New York Rangers, the New Jersey Devils, the Detroit Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals and/or the Buffalo Sabres. For $10 a month, you can get your fill of the Patrick Division, and then some. But you'll never get to see, say, the Phoenix Coyotes take on the San Jose Sharks.

After some thought, I decided--with urging from Shellie--to take the extra $10 that I'd be spending each month for Versus and apply it to the Center Ice package.

OMG! Now, instead of seeing two games per week, I can see all the games *except* the two that are on Versus. Because unbeknown to Versus, hockey games occur on Tuesdays through Sundays too. Either Versus does not know that "hockey happens" seven days a week, or they're too busy televising quail hunting or bull riding or swamp boat racing.

Except that, yesterday Versus put aside their bull riding and televised the All-Star Game instead. Damn.

Canadians are lucky that they don't have to put up with this.

Sal on "The War Room" 1-20-2009

Today, I was a guest on the satellite radio show "The War Room", hosted by Mick Kern and Dan Blakeley on NHL Home Ice on Sirius-XM 204. We discussed what it's like being a hockey fan here in Chicago, how hard it was to collect hockey cards in the pre-internet days and the state of the hockey card collecting hobby nowadays.

For those of you (like me) who don't have satellite radio, here is the segment (so you can enjoy hearing my girly-man voice for 20 minutes):

Thanks to Michael Trigiani of XM 204 for providing me with the MP3 of the segment.

Me and my shadow

Canadian-based card manufacturer Seventh Inning Sketch is best known for their trading card sets featuring major junior hockey players from the early 1990s. Whereas "police sets" from that era relied on posed portrait shots, Seventh Inning Sketch instead utilized action photography on the majority of the cards. This made for a more exciting set of cards, although a stinker did slip through the cracks every now and then. This is one such card. (Full story)

Sal on XM Radio this Tuesday

This Tuesday, I will be on "The War Room", a Sirius-XM satellite radio program hosted by Mick Kern and Dan Blakeley. For those of you who have satellite radio, here is the information if you want to tune in:

Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Time: 11 am Eastern / 10 am Central
Channel: NHL Home Ice - Xm 204

The show is an hour long. I'm not sure how long the guys will talk to me, but I do know that we'll discuss hockey card collecting, as well as what it's been like being a Blackhawks fan for the past 20 years.

I don't have satellite radio, but if you do, tune in so you can hear my high-pitched girly-man voice :)

Oh, and here's the link to their website.

UPDATE: You can listen to the segment here.

1983 Canadian National Junior Team

The 1983 Canadian National Junior Team set was one of my "Holy Grails" as a hockey card collector. I first laid eyes upon this set at a sports card show way back in 1991, when $100 for a set of cards was a "lot of money" for me. Hell, that's still a lot of money, but it's worth it. This amazing postcard-sized set, which was released during the 1983 World Junior Championships, features most of the young men who played for Canada's Junior Team - including 17-year olds and future Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman. (Full story)

20th anniversary of "first contact"

Today is the 20th anniversary of my "first contact" with hockey. I must thank comedian John Candy, civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and former Chicago Blackhawks centerman Troy Murray for my first real exposure to the sport. Perhaps I also owe thanks to my sometimes short attention span.

The day was January 12, 1989. I was 13 years old and we recently got cable television. I was flipping channels back and forth between an old episode of the sketch-comedy show SCTV and a biopic about MLK Jr. Both were interesting, and we had no VCR to record one of them, so I would change the channel from one program to another during commercial, or during a lull in either program.

Then a funny thing happened. I accidentally changed to the wrong channel--SportsChannel, actually-- and some guy named Troy Murray was being penalized for tripping...or maybe it was interference; the infraction I do not remember, but that's besides the point.

"This must be the Blackhawks," I thought to myself. "That team that I've heard about, but never saw on TV before." I watched the last two minutes of the game, as the Blackhawks lost to the Buffalo Sabres 6 to 5.

And that is how I discovered for myself the sport of ice hockey. All because I did not have the attention span to watch one show at a time, and because I mis-keyed on the remote control. Was it an accident...or the intervention of a higher power?

Only Slapshoticus, lord of the Hockey Gods, knows for sure.

I tuned in two nights later to watch the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New York Islanders 5 to 3. At that point, I was hooked.

Now, this wasn't the first time I ever saw a hockey game. I vaguely remember watching 1988 Olympic Hockey. I remember Mike Richter standing on his head during the few games I saw here and there. But that really did not impress upon me. It was not until I watched an NHL game that I knew that this was the sport for me.

Well, as it turned out, both my Mother and my Aunt were Blackhawks fans in the 1960s and 1970s. My Mom gave me her old hockey scrapbooks and 70s 'Hawks memorabilia. A few weeks later in February, my Aunt took me to a Blackhawks game for my 14th birthday.

Up until this point, I watched baseball because my friends watched baseball. I watched football because the Chicago Bears were a pretty cool team back in the 1980s. But I did not watch either of those sports because I actually liked them. As a kid, you're prone to either watch what other people watch, or you just put on the TV watch whatever is on. But this was the first time that I watched a particular sport because I wanted to--and I really wanted to.

Hockey is an awesome sport, for reasons that most of you already know, and it is a shame that while Wayne Gretzky was breaking records and while the Islanders and Oilers were establishing dynasties, the NHL was "buried" on cable TV here in America.

Sad, really. My neighborhood in Chicago did not have access to cable TV until 1988; I guess I wasn't "meant" to see hockey until after then. Mind you, the Blackhawks were also only on cable TV--and just the road games.

Nevertheless, I had found my sport, and there would be no looking back. Twenty years later, and hockey still holds my attention.

Steve Swap

Everyone makes mistakes, but for some reason trading card companies seem to make them in droves. Who can keep track of all those names and numbers, teams, logos and statistics? Back in 1983, O-Pee-Chee made what I still consider two of the most annoying error cards ever. (Full story)

My article in Beckett Sports Card Monthly

Most of you know that I have articles published in last months'(208) and this months' (209) issue of Beckett Hockey Magazine. This month, I also have a hockey-related article printed in Beckett Sports Collectors Monthly, issue 286.


The article can be found in the magazine's hockey section on pages 138 and 139. It is about the classic video game NHL '94 and the NHL '94 trading card set that was released "back in the day". It also talks about how the game continues to thrive today, despite being 15 years old.


The magazine just came out at the tail-end of December, and can be found right now at newsstands and at your local card shop. Purchase (or borrow) an issue to check out my review/retrospective of this ground-breaking video game and cool hockey card set.

I must extend my thanks to Evan Eldredge, webmaster of the site NHL94.com, for taking the time to answer a few questions for me in regards to this game. His website is an online community that is the be-all, end all when it comes to NHL '94.

Wall calendars suck

First of, a belated Happy New Year to all. A computer problem has kept me away from the internets the past few days, but I'm back online.



Anyway, with the first of the year now come and gone, my girlfriend Shellie and I decided to purchase calendars at a local bookstore. The best time to buy a calendar is right after New Year's Day--they become more and more obsolete as the days go by, and you can usually find them marked down at least 50%.

But calendar selections are pretty lame; it's mostly puppies or flowers or puppies frolicking in flowers. You have your dogs, kittens, horses, Camp Rock, farm equipment, Playboy Playmates, muscle cars, etc. etc. Stuff that I normally don't like enough to want to hang on my wall (with the exception of a Playboy calendar--but only single guys hang up "naked lady pictures" in their place).

In Chicago, you will find sports calendars of the Cubs, the White Sox, the Bulls (even though they suck), the Bears (ditto), NASCAR, Notre Dame Football, college basketball...and if you are lucky, a hockey calendar. I found this Blackhawks calendar and purchased it, which brings me to the first reason why calendars suck:

1. They are overpriced.

Who in their right mind pays $14.99 for a calendar? The answer is no one. We all just wait and wait until January 2 and then get one at half price. I think the bookstores and calendar-making companies have finally figured this out, and inflated their prices accordingly. Before we know it, calendars will cost $29.99, and get "marked down" to $15. I'm sure some person who knows all about publishing and/or distribution channels can prove me wrong on this, but I don't care. I have my suspicions.

Paging through the calendar, I notice that Mr. January is Robert Lang. Lang was traded to Montreal before training camp. This brings me to my second reason why calendars suck:

2. The player selection is lame.



Lang was traded on September 12, 2008. Even worse, Rene Bourque--who graces the month of August 2009--was traded to Calgary on July 1, 2008. Which makes me wonder who picked these players? Most of the players in the calendar (Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp) make sense. But these two? Why not also include Jim Vandermeer and Patrick Lalime as long as we're at it?



I know that, like everything else that is published, there are deadlines. But there's no flipping way that these stupid calendars were printed before Bourque's trade on July 1. Didn't someone at Turner Licensing--the fine folks who made this calendar--realize or even care that Lang and Bourque were gone?

Why aren't our two big free agent acquisitions--Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet--somewhere in this calendar? What is this, an old Topps hockey card set? Do they have to play a full season in Chicago before appearing in a lousy, overpriced calendar?

Sigh.



Other questionable inclusions are Nikolai Khabibulin (March) and Martin Havlat (May). Most likely, those two guys will be long gone by the time their months roll around.



Maybe I'm just bitter because I didn't get a free calendar at a 'Hawks game this year, or my local gas station didn't give me a crappy "gas station calendar". My favorite Chinese restaurant gave me a wall scroll-type calendar, but you can't really write on those.

Oh well. I guess I can't expect too much, considering that this cost me around $8 and will get the job done. And it still beats that "puppies frolicking in flowers" calendar.