Greetings from the Stockton Thunder

You may recall that about a month back, I created a video making fun of the Score hockey card of Edmonton Oilers prospect Bryan Pitton.

Well, the video has caught on with the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, Pitton's current team. I recently received this email:

PuckJunk,

I work with the team that Bryan Pitton plays for and we have not laughed that hard in awhile. Guys went nuts over it. Of course this morning we had to cut out lettuce heads and paste them all over his locker!

Great video.

Kevin

It is nice to hear that my short video has inspired some good natured tomfoolery in the Stockton Thunder's locker room.

Video Game Art Show = No Free Time for Me

Allow me to explain the lack of quality hockey card-related content over the past week. All my free time has gone to Art of Play 4, an art show at Columbia College that I am curating, organizing and promoting. I teach at Columbia College, and the show is about video games, toys, fun and play.

Most of the work is made by students. However, a few faculty members (including myself) have pieces in the show. 

For those who live in or near Chicago and want to check it out, here is the information:

DATE: Wednesday, February 23, 2011
TIME: 5pm to 9pm
LOCATION: Columbia College, 916 S. Wabash Ave.
       Room 111 - Chicago, IL 60605

You can also check out the website or the poster for the show.

After the show opens, I'll be back to having some free time for blogging. But until then, enjoy the animated Mario picture above.

Today is National Hockey Card Day

Today is National Hockey Card Day. If you are in Canada, you can get free packs of exclusive trading cards.

You can get a pack of cards at large retailers like Jean Coutu, PharmaPlus and Rexall.

Hobby shops will be carrying the free packs too. Here is a list of participating card and hobby shops.

There are 16 different cards in the set. The first 15 will come in the free packs (usually 5 per pack). The 16th card, which is of Jonathan Toews (above) is only available if you make a purchase at one of the participating card/hobby stores.

So, what are you waiting for? Go get some free cards. And if anyone gets an extra complete set for trade (including the Toews card and a wrapper), I will gladly trade you for it.

War Room - January 25, 2011

Got 'Em! Need 'Em! 

Season 2, Episode10

Broadcast Date: Jan. 25, 2011

Time: 14 minutes, 22 seconds

Note: This episode was intended to air on January 19, 2011--the 20th anniversary of the 1991 NHL All-Star Game. But due to a scheduling conflict, this did not air until the following Wednesday.

Topic Discussed

• Remembering the 1991 NHL All-Star Game (0:01 to 1:21)
• National Hockey Card Day in 2011 (1:22 to 2:38)
• Tom Fenton in the upcoming BTP set (2:39 to 3:43)
• In the Game's new Decades - 1980 set (3:44 to 5:02)
• 2010-11 Donruss Hockey (5:03 to 9:20)
• We go off on a tangent about redemption cards, decoy cards and pack searching (9:20 - 13:42)
• 2010-11 Donruss Hockey continued (13:43 - 14:02)

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.

As always, thanks to Mick Kern of  Home Ice (XM 204) for providing me with the audio clip.

2010-11 Donruss box break #4

My 4th and final box of 2010-11 Donrus Hockey.

Results for Box #4

222 Base Card - I completed 2 base sets, and am only a few cards away from completing a third. I also have many doubles available for  trade.

6 Rated Rookies - Grant Clitsome, Brandon Yip, Arturs Kulda, Bryan Pitton, Nazem Kadri and Dustin Tokarski.

Hits

Boys of Winter Teddy Purcell jersey card

Tough Times Paul Baxter autograph - Awesome! Baxter led the NHL in penalty minutes during the 1981-82 season. He later got into coaching, and was an Assistant Coach with the Chicago Blackhawks for a few seasons. The signature here is on-card and in blue Sharpie marker.

I guess if you get an autograph, then you only get 1 jersey card. Works for me.

Inserts

1 Fans of the Game - I got a duplicate of Pamela Anderson. It sucks when there are only 5 different cards and I get 2 of the same.

1 Tough Times - Now that I think about it, this card of Tim Hunter looks kind of empty without an autograph at the bottom.

2 Ultimate Draft - I am out of insults for these Ultimate Draft cards.

3 Boys of Winter - Lame.

2 Les Gardiens - Jonas Gustavsson and Patrick Roy. I have 7 of these now, so I will try to pick up the other 8.

Parallels

Brian Gionta "proof" card - Numbered 040 / 100. Any Habs fans want to trade for this?

Although it took me some time to get these box breakdowns posted, I actually opened all 4 boxes in one sitting. Opening this year's Donruss cards was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Sure, I have my gripes. What collector doesn't? Opening and putting together this set is more fun than Certified, Score and Victory as far as I'm concerned.

All-Star MVP gets 27th goal

Patrick Sharp--who was the MVP of this year's All-Star Game--finally scored his 27th goal of the season in Wednesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers.

He is now 6th overall in the league for goals scored--13 goals back from 1st place, but only 5 away from 2nd.

Most likely, Sharp will overtake his highest goal output, which was 36 tallies in 2007-08.

War Room - January 12, 2011

Got 'Em! Need 'Em! 

Season 2, Episode 9

Broadcast Date: Jan. 12, 2011

Time: 12 minutes, 3 seconds

Topic Discussed
We talk about the martial arts action movie "Sudden Death"?  In the film, terrorists take over the Pittsburgh Civic Arena during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and only Jean-Claude Van Damme can stop them.

"Sudden Death" recently celebrated it's 15 anniversary. Well, I celebrated it, much to Mick Kern's chagrin. One day, I will write a doctoral thesis on "Sudden Death.". In the meantime, enjoy this audio clip where we discuss the finer points of the 1995 film.

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.

Yes, this is an actual scene from the movie. 

As always, thanks to Mick Kern of  XM Home Ice for providing me with the audio clip.

2010-11 Donruss box break #3

So far, I've been averaging 3 jersey cards per box. Would my luck hold out on my third box of Donruss?

Results for Box #3

223 Base Cards - Base cards! Yay! Without base cards, there'd be no set to collect, right?

6 Rated Rookies - Darn it! I got some duplicates. I pulled cards of Corey Elkins, Marc-Andre Cliche, Justin Mercier and duplicates of Jeff Skinner, Zach Hamill and Eric Tangradi.

Hits

Dallas Stars "Line of the Times" jersey card - This has jersey swatches from Brad Richards, James Neal and Loui Ericksson. I will admit that this is nicer than the average jersey card.

Boys of Winter Brian Elliott jersey card - A two-color swatch. Decent! 

Boys of Winter Matt Moulson jersey card - The dreaded white swatch. I don't mind white swatches so much--unless they're put against a white background.

Inserts

2 Tough Times - Basil McRae and Lyndon Byers. Yep, definitely liking these.

2 Ultimate Draft - Hate these.

3 Boys of Winter - Ditto.

1 Ice Kings - It's hard to read the name due to the (unnecessary) silver foil text. This card is of Darryl Sittler. I wish there were 10 of these per box!

2 Les Gardiens - Jimmy Howard and Craig Anderson.

Parallels

Corey Perry "proof" card - Numbered 27 / 100. These would have been better if the logo was gold foil, and not just the word "PROOF" in the upper-left corner.

Three boxes in, and that's 9 jersey cards, 3 proof cards, 3 Ice Kings and 3 Fans of the Game.

War Room - December 21, 2010

Got 'Em! Need 'Em! 

Season 2, Episode 8

Broadcast Date: Dec. 21, 2010

Time: 15 minutes, 36 seconds

Topics Discussed

• Intro / shout out to War Room listener Joe Doherty / 1993-94 Stadium Club (0:01 to 1:10)
• Panini Hockey Sticker Collection (1:11 to 3:50)
• Buying cards on eBay (3:51 to 11:16)
• Beckett Online Store (11:17 to 14:40 )
• A "secret" tip for buying on eBay (14:41 to 15:36)

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 Mick Kern! Thanks XM Home Ice! 

Bad officiating makes Baby Jesus cry

Last night's Canucks-Blackhawks game was the worst example of officiating I've ever seen.

Am I mad that the Blackhawks lost? No. The Canucks are a damn good team. 

I am mad that the Blackhawks did not lose fair and square, but because of some very questionable calls.

Consider the following:

• What should have been the first goal by the Blackhawks--and the game--was waived off due to goaltender interference.But there was no goalie interference, other than a Canucks defender getting in Roberto Luongo's way. Why was this call not video reviewed? 

•  The Canucks first goal was actually an offside play. The puck left the zone before defenseman Christan Ernhoff slap shot it past 'Hawks goalie Marty Turco. What was the linesman doing? I know hockey is fast, but linesmen have one job to do--they should do it right.

• Roberto Luongo got tangled up with one of his teammates in the third period, resulting in a goal mouth scramble that could have led to a goal for the Blackhawks. That is until the ref whistled the play dead, claiming that the net was dislodged. But the net wasn't even touched.

• Again in the third, Patrick Sharp was tripped while shooting on the Canucks goal. His feet were taken from underneath him with a stick, causing Sharp to crash headlong into the boards. Why no tripping call or penalty shot? Taking the puck carrier out by knocking his feet from under him is a penalty in EVERY version of hockey (ice, roller, floor).

•  Brent Seabrook got a holding penalty in the third period that was total b.s. Normally, I'd concede a bad penalty call here and there, but at this point it seemed the refs would do whatever it took to make the Blackhawks lose.

Waving off a good goal, whistling a play dead due to a dislodged net that wasn't dislodged and blatantly ignoring a flagrant trip were 3 calls that clearly cost the Blackhawks the game that could have--and should have--been theirs.

Head of NHL Officiating Terry Gregson should demote referees  Eric Furlatt and Chris Rooney to the AHL immediately. Those are the 2 clowns who were officiating the 'Hawks-'Nucks game. Obviously, they were watching some other game.

Card of the Week: The Worst Card of 2010

Here is a video I made about The Worst Hockey Card of 2010.  It is 2 minutes long. Enjoy! (Full story)

2010-11 Donruss box break #2

With the All-Star game and my collection of 1991 All-Star memorabilia taking up the majority of this blog's focus, my box breaks have been put on the backburner.

Time off from work due to the Chicago Snowpocalypse has changed that. On to my next box of 2010-11 Donruss Hockey.

Results for Box #2

223 Base Cards - I think I got a few doubles within the same box (e.g. 2 Toews in the same box).

6 Rated Rookies - Nick Spaling, Zach Hamill, Brayden Schenn, Eric Tangradi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jeff Skinner. I've heard of a few of these guys. I seem to get cards of Hamill and Spaling in every product I've bought this year.

Hits

Rookie Showcase Threads Zach Hamill - See! There's Zach Hamill again. I hope this guy is good (or gets good). This card is serial-numbered 065 / 250.

Boys of Winter Jamie Benn jersey card - I've heard of Benn and this is a multi-colored swatch. This is what I'd deem a nice jersey card. Still not a fan of these things, though.

Boys of Winter Johan Backlund jersey card - What's with these Flyers prospect goalies I keep getting? In my last box, I got a card of Philly prospect goalie Jeremy Duchesne.

Inserts

Fans of the Game - I only got 1 Fans of the Game card this time. It is of model/actress/singer/dancer Willa Ford, who is married to Mike Modano. Of course she'd be a fan of hockey if she married a hockey player, right?

1 Tough Times - I'm going to try to get all of these.

2 Ultimate Draft - A boring, uninspired, insert set.

3 Boys of Winter - Yawn. I'd rather have more of the Tough Times cards instead of these.

2 Ice Kings - I knew something was missing from my last box. I didn't get any Ice Kings. In this box, I got Ice Kings cards of Bobby Hull...

...and Brett Hull. What are the odds of getting these two guys in the same box. FYI, I love the original Ice Kings inserts from the 1993-94 Donruss set.

2 Les Gardiens - These are those clear plastic cards. I got Jaroslav Halak and Jonathan Quick.

Parallels

Alexander Ovechkin "Proof" card - I'm not a fan of parallels. This Ovie is numbered 031 / 100, and is available for trade.

So far, so good. Two boxes in, and I'm still liking this year's Donruss. Tough Times, Les Gardiens and Ice Kings are great insert sets. I just wish I could get more of them per box. I'm not a fan of jersey cards, but at least these jersey cards are nice enough that I should be able to trade them.

Toronto Waffle Leafs & Contest Update

Click to enlarge.

Being snowed in the past 2 days, I've found myself with a lot of extra free time to sleep, blog and make graphics like the one you see above. 

Abuse of Photoshop comes as no surprise, but abuse of waffles is inexcusable. Hopefully, my friends in Toronto have a good sense of humor.

I've watched quite a few Maple Leafs games this season--pretty much every Saturday night game on Hockey Night in Canada. Painful. The idea of adding a second team in Toronto sounds better and better all the time.

All-Star Contest Update
First Place went to Casey correctly guessed that Loui Ericksson would score the game-winning goal in the All-Star Game. 

Slammin' Sammy won Second Place, since he picked Jonathan Toews, who assisted on the GWG.

Third Place will be picked at random on Friday morning.

Those who don't "win" still get a consolation prize--like pee wee soccer, where everyone gets a trophy for just showing up.

I need addresses from the following people:

• Dan
• Davey
• Doomm 
• LeNouz 
• Matt
• Michael
• Paul 
• Skroeker
• Slammin' Sammy

Please email me at sjb44 AT hotmail DOT com with your mailing address.

Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest.

Video: Patrick Kane - I'm in Chicago Trick

Year: 2010
Length: 1:39

This hilarious video came out in December! How did this fly under my radar? Anyway, Kane's flaming mullet is the best. Do yourself a favor and spend a minute-and-a-half enjoying this clip.

Fresh from The Onion

The Onion newspaper doesn't riff on hockey too much, but this was in last Thursday's issue:

Senators Accuse Thrashers Of Pouring It On After 3-1 Loss

OTTAWA—Following their 3-1 loss Wednesday, Senators players accused the visiting Thrashers of poor sportsmanship for keeping up the intensity long after the game was out of reach. "At the end of the second period it was 2-1, meaning the game was basically over," said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, who called the Thrashers' behavior in tallying the gaudy score a violation of the hockey code. "What's going to happen? We're somehow going to score a goal and tie it? Maybe. Flukes happen, miracles happen. But are we going to score twice? This is hockey we're talking about, after all." Alfredsson would not rule out his team attempting to score three goals on the Thrashers in their next meeting regardless of whether the Thrashers score at all.

The archive of The Onion's hockey articles can be seen here.