Video: Photo with Stanley

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.

(Screen shot from the news video.)

(Another screen shot from the news video.)

NHL Awards Contest Winners

Thirteen hockey fans entered the Puck Junk NHL Awards Contest, where they had to correctly guess who would win each award.

First Place - Tony
Tony did an amazing thing; he correctly predicted 8 out of the 10 trophy winners. Since he guessed the most award winners correctly, he got first crack at the prizes and picked the 1984-85 Wayne Gretzky card as his prize. Though I'm not sure anyone can be that lucky...maybe Tony knows someone who works for the NHL :)

Second and Third Place - ???
After Tony, 5 contestants correctly guessed 6 award winners. A five-way tie! 

So, I used Random.org to fairly pick 2nd and 3rd place winners.

I pressed the "Randomize" button 10 times, since 10 awards were given out. The top two names in the list would get 2nd and 3rd place.

Dean chose the autographed Ted Lindsay card as the prize he wanted.

And Paul picked the Peter Stastny Rookie Card. 

Congratulations to Tony, Dean and Paul. And thanks to everyone who entered the contest.

Wayne Gretzky - World Cup Soccer Captain

When the United States hosted the 1994 World Cup, Wayne Gretzky appeared on not one...

..but on TWO different soccer cards.

Yes, The Great One himself was an Upper Deck "Honorary Captain" in two of their World Cup Soccer sets. The top cards is from 1993, while the bottom card is from 1994.

You can read about these cards here in an article I wrote in 2008. I figured this would be of interest to some readers now, given that the 2010 World Cup is in progress.

War Room - May 31, 2010

This clip of "Got 'Em! Need 'Em!" aired on May 31, 2010--and is about the "Blackhawks Mania" that swept Chicago during the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals. 

Check this post while listening to the clip, as it has pictures to a lot of what Mick Kern and I are discussing.


This week's clip is just over 14 minutes long.

If the above player does not work, you can get the clip here. Just right click on the link, and select either "Save As..." or open it in a new tab or window.

Thanks to Mick and Pete at XM Home Ice for providing me with the clip.

A letter from Beckett

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. 

(Click to see bigger)

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:

• Unparalleled coverage and card valuations you can trust
• Tips on hockey card collecting with reliable price guides
• Card stock winners and losers from the 2010 Olympics
• Insightful articles and fantastic action on most celebrated stars on the ice
• Hockey show calendar

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.

War Room - May 17, 2010

I'm finally getting around to posting my last 3 appearances on The War Room. This clip of "Got 'Em! Need 'Em!" aired on May 17, 2010.

Mick Kern and I discussed TWO topics that day. First, we talked about my complaint letter to Upper Deck and the mis-matched jersey cards they put in hockey packs (see this post for more information on the topic as well as some images).

We also discuss card trading websites--specifically Sports Card Forum and Freedom Cardboard.

This week's clip is a 12 minutes long.

If the above player does not work, you can get the clip here. Just right click on the link, and select either "Save As..." or open it in a new tab or window.

Thanks to the guys at XM Home Ice for providing me with the clip.

2010 Hall of Fame Inductees

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.

(Treehouse illustration by Shellie Lewis)

********
Contest: Enter the Puck Junk NHL Awards Contest.

Card of the Week: Horrible 'Hawk

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? (Full story)

Video: Hawks & Cup on Leno - Part 2

Last week, several Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

After the show, Leno sat down with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to give them a full interview. NBC posted the video, which can be seen below and on their website.



********
Contest: Enter the Puck Junk NHL Awards Contest.

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)

It is interesting to note that Toews is in the Blackhawks third jersey--the black throwback style jersey that debuted in the 2009 Winter Classic. As partial as I am to their red home jerseys, EA probably decided against showing Toews in that sweater so that it would not look too similar to the "NHL '10" cover, that featured Kane wearing red.

Also of interest is the promo video for "NHL '11". Looks pretty cool. Makes me wish I had an XBOX 360.



Thanks to Jim for the heads-up on this. Image and story credit here.

********
Contest: Enter the Puck Junk NHL Awards Contest.

Puck Junk NHL Awards Contest

 Since the "Pick the Game-Winning Goal Scorer" contest I held a few weeks ago was so popular, I am throwing another contest--a "thinking" contest, as DFG likes to call it. This one has to do with the NHL Awards Show, airing on June 23, 2010.

How to Play:

Step One:. Copy and paste the following text into a reply to this post, filling out your name, email, website/blog URL and who you think will win each award:

Name -
Email -
Blog / Website -
Masterton Trophy winner -
Calder Trophy winner -
Selke Trophy winner -
Hart Trophy winner -
Lindsay Award winner -
Adams Award winner -
Norris Trophy winner -
Byng Trophy winner -
Vezina Trophy winner -
NHL Foundation Award winner -

The Deadline for entering this contest is Wednesday, June 23 at 5 PM Central Time.

Step Two: Follow this blog (optional, but feeds my ego. And I'm thinking of doing a "followers only" giveaway next month, so it couldn't hurt...)

And that's it. Pretty easy.

For your convenience, here are the nominees for each of the 10 Trophies:

Masterton Memorial Trophy
Kurtis Foster, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jed Ortmeyer, San Jose Sharks
Jose Theodore, Washington Capitals

Calder Memorial Trophy
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres

Selke Trophy
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins

Hart Memorial Trophy
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Ted Lindsay Award
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Jack Adams Award
Joe Sacco, Colorado Avalanche
Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes
Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators

James Norris Memorial Trophy
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Brad Richards, Dallas Stars
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

Georges Vezina Trophy
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

NHL Foundation Player Award
Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

Prizes
After the Awards Show, I'll total up how many award winners each contestant correctly guessed.

The contestant who correctly guesses the most award winners will get first pick of the prizes below. 

Second and Third place winners will also get to pick a prize from below.

I will use Random.org to settle ties.

Anyway, on to the prizes:

1984-85 Topps Wayne Gretzky - if I remember correctly, Gretzky won an award or two during his playing days.

Autographed Ted Lindsay card - "Terrible" Ted Lindsay won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950 and later pushed to form the NHL Players' Association. This year, the Lester B. Pearson Award was renamed as the Ted Lindsay Award to honor Lindsay's efforts.

2008-09 SPx Alexander Ovechkin - Ovie has won 5 trophies in his 5 year career, 4 of them coming in the 2007-08 season.

1981-82 Topps Peter Stastny rookie card - Stastny won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year in 1981.

Finally...
If you have a blog, please let others know about this contest. 

OK, now let's see those predictions.

Video: Blackhawks Parade

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!

Blackhawks & Stanley Cup Visit Jay Leno

Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith--and the Stanley Cup--were on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. Here's the video from the NBC website.



EDIT: The video does not seem to be working; try this link here.


Some of you may remember when the Blackhawks were on The Tonight Show back in March, right after the Olympics. For those of you who missed that appearance, here is the video.

Puck Junk Contest Winners

The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup. It feels great to say that. And while I have much to discuss about the Blackhawks, first I need to tend to some unfinished business: the winners of the first annual Puck Junk Stanley Cup Contest.

First Place - Brian
Brian runs the baseball card blog Play at the Plate. Ironic that a baseball card guy would win a hockey card contest. He was the first to enter, selecting Patrick Kane almost immediately after the contest went live. And as we all know, Kane did score the winner in Game 6. Brian has selected the 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Leaders Set as the prize he wanted.

Second Place - Aubrey
Aubrey has a hockey blog called Buckeyes are Deadly Nuts. One of the very last people to enter the contest, she selected 'Hawks d-man Brian Campbell.  Since "Soupy" assisted on "Kaner's" goal, she won second place, and has picked the 1969-70 Topps Tim Horton card as her prize.

Third Place - ???
Since there was only one assist on the goal,  for Third Place I had to pick someone at random, using the website Random.org.

I entered the names of all the non-winning contestants--regardless of whether they picked a Blackhawks or Flyers player.

Then I clicked RANDOMIZE 47 times--since there were 47 goals scored in the Finals.Whatever name appeared at the top was the winner.

And the winner is... B. Wags, a.k.a. Brandon

Brandon has a hockey card blog called Cardboard Hockey, ETC. He has won this Champ's Jersey card of Hall of Fame winger and 6-time Cup winner Glenn Anderson.

What makes this so funny to me is that Brandon jokingly picked Blackhawks backup goalie Christobal Huet. There was NO WAY Huet was going to get an assist--never mind a goal--while sitting on the bench.

Congratulations to Brian, Aubrey and Brandon. And thanks to everyone else who played my silly little game.

This summer, I will throw another contest and a giveaway.

Game 6 - Pregame Thoughts...

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.

Commercials Will Be Made...

This has got to be one of the best "commercials" that I've seen during the playoffs...



I can't stop watching it. Man, I love YouTube! Special thanks to Daniel Carcillo for making the dumbest play I have ever seen.

Contest Update

 26 hockey enthusiasts have entered Puck Junk's Stanley Cup Contest. Below is the final list of contestants, broken down by team. Many are bloggers too, so I've linked to their blogs.

These 17 contestants like to play it safe, color between the lines, and have picked Blackhawks players. And I can't really blame them, either.

• Brian (Play at the Plate) - Patrick Kane
• Captain Canuck (Waxaholic) - Dustin Byfuglien
• Jeremy (Blog for Hockey Cards) - Jonathan Toews
• G $MONEY$ - Patrick Sharp
• herringtond (Slave's TTM and IP Autographs) - Andrew Ladd
• dogfacedgremlin (The Real DFG) - Marian Hossa
• Per - Duncan Keith
• Al K - Dave Bolland
• Casey (Drop the Gloves) - Nick Boynton
• gt2590 - Brent Seabrook
• Skroeker - Nick Hjalmarsson
• Will Hipwell (MSG.com) - Kris Versteeg
• yankeesjetsfan (NYC Cards) - John Madden
• B. Wags (Cardboard Hockey, ETC.) - Christobal Huet (!!!???)
• LETSGOPENS2925 (An Avalanche of Penguins) - Tomas Kopecky
• Aubrey (Buckeyes are Deadly Nuts) - Brian Campbell
• Paul - Troy Brouwer

On the other hand, these 9 people like to live on the edge, cross in the middle of the street, and thus have picked Flyers players. More power to 'em.

• Tricia (Cards on Ice) - Aaron Asham
• Maine Mariner- Claude Giroux
• oreofan10 - Mike Richards
• Dan (The Other World) - Daniele Briere
• shanediaz82 (Shoebox Legends) - Chris Pronger
• Dean Ralph - Scott Hartnell
• Chuck (Chuck's Used Cards) - Simon Gagne
• rick rossi - Jeff Carter
• Lenny Ruben (Philly Phan in New York) - Ville Leino

I'm no longer accepting entries, but don't worry--I've got another contest AND a giveaway planned for the summer months.

Good luck to everyone who entered.