Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hockey

Make the hockey jersey soft

Silvertree — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:46 -0800

What is the best way to soften up a hockey jersey to make it comfortable to wear without ruining its appearance? I recently purchased a couple of authentic Penguins jerseys for Mrs. Silvertree and I. We were so excited when they arrived on Saturday we popped them out of the box and wore them that day. The fabric is pretty stiff and scratchy at this point. Presumably they will soften if and when I wash them, but does anyone have any other advice? I would guess washing them is going to take its toll on appearance. Is that correct?

It's dot com!

andrewcilento — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:12:41 -0800

Trying to find a hockey blog I came across during the last NHL season. I forgot to bookmark it, and Google is failing me. Hoping someone will read this description and know the one I'm talking about. At some point towards the end of the 2008-09 NHL season, I came across a blog that I think was titled "Old-Time Hockey," though I could be wrong. What stuck out to me about the site, and the reason I'm trying to find it again, is that in the sidebar, the person running the blog had the NHL standings as they'd be if there were no shootouts or overtime loss points; I think those standings maybe have even not included regular-season overtime (so, just wins, losses, and ties).

Some other fuzzy details: I think it was hosted on Blogspot, and I also vaguely remember the layout being light text on a dark background, perhaps with orange as one of the colors?

Barring anyone knowing the blog I'm talking about, if anyone knows of a website that shows the standings the way I described, that would be great too.

Hockey blogs of note?

xmutex — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:23:25 -0800

Are there any interesting hockey blogs out there? Like a Free Darko of hockey? Realizing Free Darko's a unique sort of genius.

Is there a comprehensive story written about the Phoenix Coyotes ownership saga?

AgentRocket — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:10:09 -0800

Is there a definitive write-up of the Phoenix Coyotes' recent ownership/bankruptcy saga? I have followed this story with one eyeball, and it makes no sense. From my understanding, here's the facts:

(1) The 'yotes moved to Phoenix and (surprise!) after a few years of not-great managment and playing in an arena that is not really anywhere near Phoenix they started losing lots of money;
(2) The owner prewired a deal to sell the team to super-rich BlackBerry guy Jim Balsillie for $212 Million + $17 Million in other fees. Balsillie planned to move the team near Toronto, where hockey is super-popular and where most agree a second team could flourish;
(3) The owner of the Coyotes filed bankruptcy and tried to connsumate the sale and the NHL freaked out and intervened to block it;
(4) After fighting in court, eventually the NHL's board unanimously rejected BlackBerry guy's deal and instead voted to sell the team to White Sox/Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who will pay only $148 Million.

I can't understand why the NHL would fight like hell to keep a team that is losing lots of money in a market that has proven that it can't support it in favor of moving it to a market that would be more successful, or why it would accept a bid that is less than 2/3 the value of the other bid, or why the commissioner seems to really really really not like the BlackBerry guy.

The story is ripe for a long-form behind the scenes type of writeup in a magazine, but I can't find anything other than news reporting and blog posts. Has there been any good quality journalism on this subject?

Johnnaroo has me in its grasp.

andrewcilento — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:39:39 -0800

Where can I buy an adult-sized, customized London Knights jersey? I'm a long-suffering fan of the New York Islanders, and John Tavares is the first thing I've been excited about re: the team in a long time. I have every intention of buying an Islanders jersey with his name and number on it, but I also really like the London Knights' jerseys (the team he played for most recently in the OHL), and I'd really like to get one of those with his name and number as well.

The problem I'm having is actually finding one. On the Knights' website, there is a merchandise section, but the jersey customizer at the bottom of that page only has youth sizes. The "jerseys" link in the sidebar has adult sizes, but only up to medium (I'd prefer a large), and there doesn't seem to be any way of customizing one.

Short of taking a trip to Ontario, is there a way I can get the jersey I want--a white Knights jersey, size large, with "Tavares" and "61" on the back?

Buries It.

ajackson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:14:01 -0800

Anyone know why "Buries It" is one of Mario Lemieux's nicknames, and the source of where it started?

Help me watch the Wings take Pittsburgh

razzamatazm — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:18:39 -0800

I know it's late but I'm trying to find a bar in Manhattan that's showing the Red Wings game... Anybody having a good time and want a couple Detroit fans to yell at tv's with them?

Advice for the first time at a hockey game?

Silvertree — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:10:08 -0800

What advice to you have for long-time hockey fans at their first live game? Mrs. Silvertree was kind enough to buy us tickets for game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit. Despite watching a lot of hockey on TV, neither one of us has actually been to live hockey game. What kind of advice do you have for us? Anything we need to know?

Joe Lewis Arena advice is welcome too. As huge Pittsburgh fans, we will be pilgrims in an unholy land. :-)

Helmet-mounted Hockey Camera

Sully — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:22:01 -0800

I always wanted to watch a hockey game from the point of view of one of the players. I've seen cameras mounted on the helmets of like, F1 drivers, but never hockey players. Does anyone know if footage like this exists? I feel that if I were able to see what particular hockey players are looking at I would be able to better understand the second-to-second decisions they make. Thanks.

Bob Probert Knockout T-shirt

specialagentwebb — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:46:20 -0800

Help me find the Bob Probert knockout shirt sold at the Joe Louis arena many years ago. Here's the details I have about it:

On the front, was a cartoon picture of Bob Probert in the Red Wings home jersey. On the back was a list of his knockout dates, in black text. Probably sold in the mid-to-late 80s, at the arena.

I know it's a little vague, but if anyone has a picture of this shirt (or better yet, knows of anywhere to buy it), you'd make a nostalgic Red Wings fan very happy!

I want to play beer league hockey.

Herschel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:17:00 -0800

I want to play beer league hockey. I am starting from ground zero. I want to play hockey. I'm a 23 year old guy living outside Philly. I don't have any experience beyond playing some deck hockey when I was very young.

I have no equipment and very amateur skating skills. I am a fan and do love watching hockey, so I have a working knowledge of the game -- but I doubt I know much about strategy or proper player positioning or anything like that!

What steps should I take? I guess the first step is to get some gear and take some skating lessons. I'd love to take some adult hockey lessons, if they exist. I'm really having trouble finding any classes that are for beginners and aren't geared for kids. Should I just play a bunch of pickup games?

I don't have any friends who play, so that doesn't help. Have any of you successfully started playing a sport from zero experience as an adult? It's a little intimidating, because hockey seems to have a pretty high barrier of entry. It seems expected that you've learned most of this stuff as a kid.

Good Hockey Books

drezdn — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:35:29 -0800

What are some good books about hockey? I'm looking for recommendations for books that either give a good insight into the sport, are fun reads about the history of the game, or good player autobiographies (the hockey equiv. of "Ball Four" or "Me and the Spitter").

Help me cram for a sports proficiency test!

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:38:58 -0800

Help me cram for a sports proficiency test! I am interviewing for a tech job at a major sports network. Before I get my foot in the door for the tech interview, I have a phone interview for sports knowledge. I am qualified for the job, tech-wise, and have worked for a sports network before.

I am in the NY metro area and my favorite sport is hockey. I know basics--a touchdown is 6 points, I can describe icing, etc.; but I don't follow teams or stay current, know who was in the playoffs, or anything like that. I don't have a TV so watching sportscenter is out.

Anyone else been in this position? Any suggestions for websites, study strategies?

Or general tips for directing the conversation to my strengths...?

Thank you.

helpsports@gmail.com for more info

What DSLR + lens to shoot hockey (indoors)?

Monday, stony Monday — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:48:50 -0800

I want to shoot indoor hockey with a DSLR. What should I get for ~$1000-1500? I'm looking at Canon and Nikon. I have some extra money, and my brothers are playing in a hockey tournament in a few weeks. I'd like to buy a DSLR and a lens so I can get OK-quality pictures. I've used P&S digitals to shoot hockey before, but there really isn't much lighting in an arena, and hockey players move fast, so the photos tend to come out blurry and/or noisy beyond repair.

I'd like to get a DSLR with a lens. I'm willing to pay extra if that means I can get much better results, but my funds aren't unlimited. Given my $1000-1500 ($2000 max) budget, it seems that a DSLR with an APS-sized sensor + the best zoom I can get (low aperture + fast AF, not necessarilly a huge focal range -- the rink isn't that large) would be my best bet. Am I aiming in the right direction? Alternatively, could I realistically shoot hockey with a fixed lens (and a single body)?

The camera would be used for general photography thereafter (which is why I'm looking mostly at Canon and Nikon), but hockey is likely to remain an important subject.

Also, if you have any tips or links to articles on shooting hockey, feel free to share.

Going to see the C's.

wolftrouble — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:53:28 -0800

Me, my boyfriend and a friend of ours are heading to Montreal at the end of this month. I've seen a number of other questions along these lines (and bookmarked them!) but still looking for a bit more info. Also, one stupid question. Aren't you curious? As avid SJ Sharks fans, we've started a mini-tradition of seeing a Sharks away game once a year. We're working our way through the original six to start, and this year it's off to the frozen north to watch Los Tiburones vs. Les Habitants.

A few simple questions:

Where to stay? We're only in town for the weekend so someplace with easy access to the Bell Centre is a must, although I'm told there's a great subway system. We're not going on the cheap, but $1000-a-night suites are probably out of the question. :) There's tons of hotels obviously, but I was hoping someone knew of a great find amongst the dozens of choices.

What to do? The other threads have some great advice for summer-y things and good restaurant ideas (I'm embarrassingly excited to try poutine someplace where it's not just a novelty... Or maybe it is still just a novelty in Quebec, I dunno!). But we're going in late February when things are cold, cold, cold, especially to our thin California blood. We don't mind braving it (read on) as long as it's for something fun.

Stupid question, and I told myself I wouldn't ask this, but... I have this secret dream, humble though it may be, of someday playing pond hockey - even if just for a few minutes, and even if just with a couple other guys. I grew up in Seattle (not exactly a hotbed of hockey excitement) and while San Jose has plenty of enthusiastic hockey fans, frozen lakes aren't exactly a common occurrence around here.

I don't even know what the specific question is rather than, man, it'd be really fun to whack a puck around a frozen lake for an hour. Obviously IN the city or anywhere in close proximity isn't an option, but... Hey, if any of my northern brethren have an idea of how I could make my dream come true I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

"You know my name, look up the number"

TheSecretDecoderRing — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:12:37 -0800

Sports jersey questions: Why is the baseball pitcher with a single-digit number such a rarity? Why do hockey goalies usually wear 1, or something in the 30s? And why are 2-7 usually worn by defensemen? Apparently only Josh Towers (#7) and Shawn Chacon (#1) wore single-digit numbers as late as last season. I can see the old traditional numbering system in baseball attributing to this in some way (when single digits were assigned to position players), but why would it still be virtually in effect? The only thing I can think of is how prominent a pitcher's back is in a televised game, and for whatever reason, seeing a pitcher alone on the mound with a low number just "looks" weird.

From what I can tell, the NHL used to have a strict numbering system, with forwards starting at 9 on up. But like with baseball, I'm not sure why the pattern would continue to this day. Is it a matter of each successive generation of hockey players picking numbers of their idols from previous generations? Or do they just want to stick to tradition, perhaps even subconsciously?

And since forwards are often smaller than D-men, you'd think you'd see more and more of the latter straying away from the low numbers for their bigger jerseys. And surely there'd be a lot of forwards (or pitchers) who grew up liking a low number (esp "lucky 7") and would want to wear it as long as possible?

Any insights on these (esp if you play in a league), or general numbering trends in baseball, hockey, or other sports?

Question about Pgh Penguins Throwback Jerseys.

Raichle — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:30:06 -0800

I am trying to settle a bet with a friend about the Pittsburgh Penguins throwback jerseys (blue). They were wearing them last night and apparently will wear them for select home games. How did they decide which games to wear them for? Is it when they play teams, like last night, that have black and gold on the away uniforms? If so, it's really distracting and hard to follow who to root for :)

hockey stick Filter

Amby72 — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:56:53 -0800

Can anyone personally recommend a one piece hockey stick that they had good luck with? I am 6'3 and every bit of 280. I am not easy on sticks. In fact, I still use aluminum shafts sleeved in carbon fiber (Easton A\C). I play a couple nights a week in a friendly but competative situation. I don't take too many slapshots anymore, as I don't want to kill my friends and fellow players. I really want to try one out, but I don't want to waste the money on something that I may not like, or break in a month.

I tried a wood one, and it feels like a club. so I am not asking for that.

"You never take advice. Someday, you'll pay the price, I know."

TheSecretDecoderRing — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:18:04 -0800

How can I watch hockey on TV more "actively"? I know everyone says how you have to see a game in person to really enjoy it, but that's not an option for me geographically, and even then, it's not like I could go to every game. I do get some HD games on Versus and the regional cable channel though, which is nice.

I've been a fan of the sport for several years, but while I follow my team as much as I can, I'm more of a "passive" viewer of games on TV, and don't find games involving other teams as interesting as I used to (although I guess that goes for a lot of people these days).

So, I'd like to develop a better idea of what to look for in terms of player positioning, preset plays, offensive/defensive strategies, etc. What sorts of little "game within the game" things do diehard fans notice? What made things click for you as a hockey viewer, and help you go beyond just following the puck around? Or what have you done to successfully help an acquaintance find the game more captivating? General or specific, I'll take whatever I can.

Sports summary: does it exist?

Towelie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:36:47 -0800

Is there a sports summary website? Where I can get quickly and simply up to date on any team? I don't want to be an expert in sports (in general.) But when I go to an event (like my local baseball/football game with friends), I'd like to have some general 'home team' and 'competitor team' knowledge; who is playing really well, things to watch for....etc.

Is there anything like this on the net; Ideally, I'm looking to read 2-3 paragraphs of where a team is right now (and possible a separate 2-3 paragraph 'summary' of any current crises/problems.)

In Seattle and need to watch the Penguins!

punkrockrat — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:25:28 -0800

I am staying in Seattle for a few days at the lovely Warwick hotel. However, I really would like to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins-Ottawa Senators playoff game tonight. Does anyone know somewhere close that I may be able to see it at?!?

NHL hockey shown in Oxford?

Fat Charlie the Archangel — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:00:07 -0800

Is there anywhere to watch live NHL hockey in Oxford? On Saturday there are afternoon NHL games in North America, which means during standard pub opening hours in the UK. Anywhere that shows some of the games? Alternately, does some Canadian/American expat group organize a screening?

Free NHL stats??

cgg — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:49:57 -0800

I want NHL (2007/08) stats. I want as much data as I can get my hands on, in a nice, easily parsed format. But I don't really want to pay for it. Can you help me find this data on the cheap? The downloadable stats here look like they'd be perfect. I'm not so keen on paying $89/year for them, however.

I don't suppose anyone knows where I could find this data for free?

My goal is to get these stats in a MySQL database, and I want to get them in there with as little effort as possible. As the season progress, I'll be updating the database, most likely on a daily basis. Obviously, NHL stats are available from every major sports news source, but they're usually buried in individual site pages.

If it comes down to it, I'll probably just either pony up the $$ to get them in .csv, or write something up that will scrape the boxscores/logs available on tsn.ca for every game. I am a software developer, so that's within my talents, but it just seems like... work. I'm also lazy, and I figure someone, somewhere has already done this work, and has made it publicly available... but where? Google is failing me. Unless someone else has a better idea...

On a related note, in case I'm going to have to do it myself - anyone have any strategies for easy page scraping? Any specific Perl or Python libraries I should look into?

Irish song played during sporting events

rorycberger — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:35:49 -0800

I'm looking for an irish/punk-sounding song that often gets played on TV during sporting events. It was played multiple times during the Patriots-Giants game (usually right before commercial breaks) the other day, and I just heard it during the Winter Classic Hockey game too. Best-guess description of how it goes after the jump. Ok, so it sounds like this: Boom-Boom dee-dee-deedle-e-dum, Boom-Boom dee-dee-deedle-e-dee, Boom-Boom dee-dee-deedle-e-dee dee deedle dee dum dee dee dee.
[Where the Booms are drum beats (bass drum, I think?) and the deedles are a fiddle/violin/other string instrument, I think (sorry, not a musician)]

Thanks in advance for any help.

Where can I buy good iceskates in Chicago?

moooshy — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:17:20 -0800

Can anyone recommend a place in the Chicago area to purchase ice skates? And do you know if I should go for figure or hockey if I'm planning to use them for exercise purposes? I plan on skating 5-6 nights a week as my aerobic workout, and would like to purchase my own pair of skates. Right now, I rent the skates -- but that's expensive, gross, and they're not very sharp.

Are there any benefits to getting hockey vs. figure? I'm a girl with size 7 very wide feet, if that matters.

Thanks in advance for your help.