Annual NFL game time!

Looks like I've gotten into the habit of seeing one NFL game per season, mid-November. (I hope I can fit in another this year, though.) Eagles-Bears in 2010 (my first NFL game), then in 2011 I took my St. Louis friend Darren to a Broncos-Chiefs game (as part of a roadtrip from StL-Kansas City). A postgame shot as we walked around the stadium complex:

This year, I noticed Jets-Rams was at a convenient time and not too pricey on StubHub, so I bought tickets and I'm off to St. Louis Saturday morning for a Sunday game (like 2011, also with Darren and also a home team vs a team with Tim Tebow on it). Alas, I'll miss the Bears game in San Francisco while I'm on the bus home Monday, but they don't seem to have their best games when on national TV (*cough*last Sunday's game I forgot to even mention here*cough*).

In lieu of a preview, of course all I've done is gone to the teams' NFL.com site and seen what the news is:

Healthy snacks? Switchfoot? "Desperate for a Win?" Ah well, it's still FOOTBALL.

Googling the NHL

Hadn't done this in a while. This was sad. And yes, I just had to visit NHL.com this week for the first time in months.

And the empty bar at the top where the games should be...that made it sink in.

National anthem brouhaha

Ahhhhh I DON'T WANT TO WRITE ABOUT THIS but I need something for today and it's in the news, so...

"High school hockey league nixes anthem to save time, money"

The story at Sporting News starts "A Pennsylvania high school league's attempt to save money on ice time is backfiring. Big time.

The PIHL, which governs competition in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, told the 183 schools in its purview to stop singing the national anthem before games as a means of saving time—and money."

Okay. I don't care about it one way or the other--taking the unpopular view that I don't even understand why national anthems are performed at anything other than international competitions anyway (I mean, even rollerderby does the anthem! Rollerderby! At all four of the different teams I've seen in Chicagoland this year)--but "backlash-guaranteeing" is right.

This story obviously got mentioned some places where the readers or listeners were ready to attack. I know at least one Fox News personality mentioned it, because a former Blackhawk who gets in Twitter arguments over his right-wing views (note: more than one fits that description) tweeted him mentioning it. A sample of comments...

"Boycat them!" Oh, there might not be a wacky internet comment I'll enjoy more this year. It actually gets worse with fears of losing guns getting thrown into this somehow (a story about high school hockey. HOW? WHY?).

Lockout eclairs?

I was awake early to catch a St. Louis friend's radio show live online, and thanks to that I got to see this happening on WGN Morning News in Chicago around 6:55. Steve Byrne, the comedian they were talking to, in a Blackhawks hoodie, starting to talk about the lockout...

And then there was some taunting of the NHL and Gary Bettman, and shirtlessness, and eating a chocolate eclair. The lockout is really getting to people...

I looked it up later via Twitter and found the link.

Then checked again on Twitter and I guess this guy knows Blackhawk Dave Bolland:

Yes, I looked all this up. And how many serious articles have I read about the lockout? Don't ask!

Hockey Hall of Fame

At least some of hockey's business is still going on. The Hockey Hall of Fame induction every year isn't just about the NHL, of course, but it's enough about the NHL to provide something new on their page. I was out in the evening and missed seeing anything live (if I could have accessed it anyway), but I did eventually check in on NHL.com. Ah, great players from the era of awful jerseys (at least the two jerseys on the right).

11/11

A quick look at 11/11/11 (oh, that was a cool date), then I can't do these year-ago pieces for a little bit even if I wanted to, because a year ago I was leaving for a St. Louis-Kansas City trip (with CHL hockey and NFL football) and didn't get to watch NHL and take screenshots for days.

Of course, it's Veterans Day.

And then this cute image.

I don't seem to have pun headlines for the day; maybe I left before the late-night headlines. And now, the standings. Nice to see teams I like climbing higher...oh damn I miss getting to watch that now.

Sports around Schaumburg

I put a lengthier post on my other blog describing the harrowing bicycling trip I had to get to all this, but here's two photos of a bike/Metra train excursion to the western/northwestern suburbs of Schaumburg, Bloomingdale, and Roselle.

Off-season at the Schaumburg Boomers baseball stadium, after a fairly successful (though not playoff-making) first season in the Frontier League. I don't think I have a similar shot from when the stadium sat vacant a year after the Flyers of the Northern League folded.

One of many photos from the Coachlite Skate Center in Roselle, my first visit to this roller rink with pleasantly outdated decor. I saw the final bout of the debut season for DuPage Derby Dames rollerderby. DuPage won both bouts (vs teams from Beloit and Chicago.) Many more rollerderby shots in my archives when I have time to sort through them...

Los IceHogs

Here's what the Rockford IceHogs are doing as promotions at their game November 16. I'd say presented without comment, but I have to link to other's comments, since this became a big story. (And since I haven't checked the IceHogs site as often as other teams', I learned of this first through Puck Daddy.)

Here's the Puck Daddy story that set this off, "Pass or Fail: AHL Rockford IceHogs' Mexican fiesta Los IceHogs jerseys." Hundreds of comments! I don't want to read more than a few!

Then Deadspin jumped in with the bluntly titled "AHL Team Will Wear Racist Jerseys In Celebration Of Hispanic Heritage Weekend." "Ham-handed gesture," heh. Some decent comments there, and thankfully the "Voted Rockford's #1 Mexican Restaurant" Taco Bell billboard photo turned up.

IceHogs blog response to this (for permalink purposes, I can't link to the individual piece but I linked to the November 2012 category).

And the reaction when this was the daily poll (!) (okay, not that big a !, as they do some pop culture/less serious news polls, but still I was surprised) on WGN's morning news in Chicago today:

But without much context presented on the show, I don't know if "too far" means people think it's just ugly, if it means they think it's an insensitive stereotype, or even if they're bothered by the idea of the team having a Latino-themed promotion. Stay tuned for part 2, I guess (especially if I end up at the game somehow).

A year ago (part 2)

I had so much "fun" looking at my NHL screenshots a year ago, I had to do it again. (Again when I'm too pressed for time for anything else/have nothing newsworthy for a daily post. This blog is admittedly really more for me than anyone else right now but I see it's getting a few hits, so thanks!)

Ah, classic headlines.

And the standings, still significantly different from how things ended up...

Well, a few of those on the bottom stayed there.

Yet more presidential bobbleheads

Okay, I admit I jumped back into this blog (and my other on Blogger, City of Destiny) for the challenge to post every day in November and I kinda don't have much the day after Election Day unless I wanted to look at pro athletes' tweets about election results (NO). Or of course I could post from my vast archives of photos, which I don't have time to search right now. So I googled "presidential bobbleheads hockey" and learned besides the Milwaukee and Rockford ones I mentioned the other day, at least two other AHL teams did them this year.

Peoria Rivermen

And Oklahoma City Barons, but there's no photo and I didn't find much more on the site. (Sure, if I look through everything I might...)

It's not just a hockey thing, although I find the idea of hockey player politician bobbleheads the most delightful. The Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals affiliate when this piece was written) did one this year too. Alas, not at the game of theirs I was able to attend this year.

A trip to the United Center

Well, not really. I haven't been in there in many, many months. Hope to soon for my first Chicago Bulls game (which is not a lockout-related thing; I'd meant to go to one anyway, as that's the only major Chicagoland pro team I haven't seen yet). But besides the obvious task on Election Day I had library books due, including some at the Manning branch of the Chicago Public Library, just a couple blocks from the UC. I should go there more often as it's a decent-sized library with Bulls and Blackhawks stuff on display. I believe it's officially sponsored by the former, but the "About" page on the CPL site is blank as of this post--sorry I can't give more info (and I didn't have time to go in this visit).

I biked past the UC, a few hours before a Magic-Bulls game, and thought as long as I'm making this several-mile trip in cold and drizzly weather, I should reward myself by finally seeing the new-ish Dunkin Donuts location east of the stadium. A new Dunkin store wouldn't be much of a big deal (in a city that has scores of them; I know St. Louis-area friends would be excited to get more), except there's virtually no place to grab coffee or food in the vicinity. It'll be nice to hit this before or after a game, someday.

It's a small store with signed Bulls and Blackhawks items. Took me an embarrassingly long time to realize why Duncan Keith would be the jersey up there.

Hockey under $5

So I have to start thinking about getting to more hockey games this season. I've seen Chicago Wolves at home once, Chicago Steel at home once, and the Blackhawks-related charity game. The early-season schedule's been a bit sparse for those teams, and I haven't yet started planning visits to Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and other cities I try to hit at least once a season.

Bloomington, IL is on my list as a hockey city I haven't visited yet. In the time I've been wondering about the best way to get there (going on my own to some cities means finding day games because there often aren't options to get back late at night--also why I never go by myself to Rockford), the team has changed from Bloomington Prairie Thunder to Bloomington Blaze, still in the CHL. I would be all over this deal if I lived there! Best I can do in Chicagoland is 12 Steel ticket vouchers for $70 (and I might, if I can find people to bring along to some games).

Sunday football

I noted yesterday I haven't looked at the NHL.com site in months, after checking it multiple times a day during an actual season. And while I'll get into NFL football a bit more with no NHL going on now (and the Bears being the biggest sports hope in Chicago currently), it's not really my sport, and the sites just don't have the NHL.com-type puns and bad headlines.

Seeing the Bears get FOUR touchdowns in the first quarter--a team record--before I headed out for a sunny afternoon of biking was fun, at least. Just like my previous Sunday, I didn't learn the final results of the Bears' noon game until 5:30 pm while in a great independent coffeeshop after a day of biking Chicago neighborhoods (different coffeeshops and neighborhoods each week, but out with the same friend, less of a football/Bears fan than I). 51-20?!!!!

I do love charts and tables, so I looked at the NFL site's version. I was saddened to learn there's still no team that hasn't won a game this far in. But there is still one that's won every game, and Chicago comes in pretty nicely on here:

Hockey results for November 3

 ...2011. I said I wasn't really missing the NHL season and it's still true while I have many other things to occupy me this fall (...winter? ...spring?), a random look through what was happening exactly a year ago in the NHL does hurt a bit. I'd grab a few screenshots from every game I watched online, and the NHL.com posts at the end of the night. I haven't looked at NHL.com in months now.

Chicago Blackhawks were at Tampa Bay Lightning, and it was an uneventful game until the second:

Then...too eventful. Damn, I'd forgotten this one. Eight goals in one period, including a hat trick for Steven Stamkos:

And Lightning won in overtime, 5-4. Wait, no goals in the third either? That doesn't sound like a good game exactly, but it's the kind of ridiculous one I miss.

Meanwhile in St. Louis, it was the game with an appearance by recent World Series champion Cardinals (a World Series that was actually exciting, unlike the final series in 2012):

The NHL.com headlines. There was a 7-6 OT game too? Damn.

And the little thing showing the top video highlights. There's a typo, not uncommon, but I was always impressed everything was up so fast on the site:

I'd always screenshot the three stars of the night. Two hat tricks!

I also liked getting screenshots of the standings at the end of the night. Yeah, 2011 started off very strangely. The top of the table shows many teams that didn't make the playoffs, and defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston off to a rough start:

And this was from the night before and concerns the offense struggles of Islanders and Red Wings, but I winced. I'm sure those fans would prefer that to the extremely dead NHL October we just had.

Topical hockey bobbleheads

I have nothing to say about the latest NHL news of another major cancellation (except damn, I couldn't have gone to the Winter Classic, but I could have taken a Megabus or something to Ann Arbor and milled around and taken photos while it was going on, at least!) so here's a bit of AHL. And here is why I like minor league sports, regardless of what's going with major leagues...silly stuff like this:

Wow. I knew about the Milwaukee Admirals giveaway and seriously considered going--I'd love to have both bobbleheads, but would be fine with just getting the Obama one to go with the president I already have (Washington), from an Ads game earlier this year. I found out about the Rockford IceHogs giveaway too late to be able to make plans. Results are in are in from Milwaukee.

And an odd bit on Facebook hours before the game. I see the dig at Chicago, I see it!

Oh, hi again.

I'm sure I'm not the only hockey fan blogger who's been somewhat inactive...more than usual...with the NHL lockout going on. All I'll say about it is I feel awful for the people whose income depends on the NHL games happening...but personally I'm mostly doing fine without it. At least for a while. I have other things (and not just other hockey, or even other sports, imagine that) to occupy the fall (and winter if need be). And without the lockout, would NHL players be tweeting about things like THIS?

Devils-Kings Game 6

Apologies for vanishing during the NHL playoffs (and the start of various other seasons); I was even out of the country for an entire round's worth of time, to a country that today won its first game in another championship going on, the Euro Cup 2012. This is working out to be a fantastic sports day. I don't want to jinx the game, but it's looking like all those Kings-in-6 predictions may be coming true. Will the list of NHL teams that have never won the Stanley Cup go from a ridiculous 13-of-30 to a slightly more tolerable 12 of 30?! (And if my favorite--or second favorite--team isn't playing, that's basically what I'm rooting for, a first-time winner.)

It's looking good...

PLAYOFFS

This is my obligatory post to pop in during a fairly exciting NHL playoff season (though the only hockey playoff game I've gotten to see live was Abbotsford in Milwaukee yesterday) and say I'M NOT READY FOR HOCKEY TO BE OVER IN CHICAGO. (Or in the Midwest generally, aside from Kalamazoo and St. Louis, and that's how it's looking now.)

Chicago Steel: didn't make the USHL playoffs, though they did better than their previous season record of winning...9 games.

Chicago Express: missed making the ECHL playoffs because of a tiebreaker. Oh, and then folded after their first season. (I need to break my blog silence to post about THAT. Sigh.)

Chicago Wolves: down 2-0 in a best-of-5 (new playoff format this year) to San Antonio in the AHL playoffs.

And Chicago Blackhawks...arrrgghhh....well, c'mon. I'm not ready to (not) post about other NHL teams, or NBA playoffs, or soccer or baseball...

Hockey Leap Day!

I can't resist posting on this admittedly inactive blog (I save my hockey insights, such as they are, for Twitter, at least the 2 or 3 sports-related tweets I think my non-sports-fan followers can handle per day; I need to restart the Twitter account with this blog's name) on Leap Day (which is also my half-birthday, not that anyone over the age of 5 talks about their half-birthday).

Because, well, last Leap Day, Feb. 29, 2008, I was not a sports fan at all, much less following hockey. I'd lived in Chicago for many years without ever going to any game. In spring 2008 I went to my first baseball games while living in Chicago, and in early 2009 my first hockey game ever. Rest is history, blah, blah.

I have nothing special to offer today except a quick look at screenshots captured from the 4 NHL games on today. (I was barely a minute too late on Twitter to get a chance to go to the Maple Leafs at Blackhawks game free, and didn't go out to the San Antonio Rampage-Chicago Wolves game, so I've still never been to a hockey game on Leap Day.)

(Not just hockey, UPDATED TO ADD late news tidbit I found irresistible: in San Antonio, the Chicago Bulls got their 29th win of the season with 29 points from Derrick Rose, on the 29th, and I believe they have 29 games left in the season.)

(Besides Maple Leafs at Blackhawks, there's Penguins at Stars, Sabres at Ducks, and Blues at Oilers.)