Sports Then and Now

The sport of Hockey has its roots on the frozen ponds and lakes of North America, and many of today’s top players grew up learning the sport on local canals and other outdoor rinks. Invented by Canadians in the late 1700’s, and first referenced in print in 1799, the game had always been an outdoor sport. It wasn’t for almost another hundred years that Ice Hockey would first move inside, where it has largely remained ever since.

The first indoor game was held on March 3^rd, 1875 in Montreal, Quebec at Victoria Skating Center, and was viewed as a novelty event. However, the indoor version of the game took off, and by 1920, Olympic Hockey was inside, although the 1924 Games were once again outdoors. International Championships would range between indoor and outdoor until the mid 1950’s, including an outdoor Gold Medal game in 1957 between Sweden and the Soviet Union, which boasted 55,000 people in attendance, a record that stood for 40 years.

The NHL has always been a strictly indoor league, but there have been a few notable exceptions. The first such game is probably the most curious, as the 1954 Detroit Red Wings accepted an invitation to play the inmates of the Marquette State Prison in a friendly scrimmage on a rink built by Warden’s mate Oakie Brumm. The Wings defeated the Marquette Prison Pirates soundly. So soundly no one remembers the final score, although it was 18-0 after the 1^st period. The Wings even swapped a few players with the inmates to even it up a bit.

Read the rest of this entry →

Hockey is a unique sport, in that the fans can get up close and personal with the game, separated by a mere inch of Plexiglas. This allows for all kinds of great fan/player interaction that you don’t get from other sports. There are two types of fans who sit behind the bench at a hockey game; Fans who like to see the intricacies of how the game works, and crazy weirdos who want to be on television. There’s no better way to ensure you’ll be on the broadcast than to do something wild behind the bench. Here’s how to make sure you get attention:

Insult a team by mocking what their state is famous for

Are any of them not in alcohol rehab yet?

Be an adorably feisty child

Read the rest of this entry →

“Do you believe in Miracles?!” Better question: Can you believe the United States Men’s Ice Hockey Team hasn’t won gold in 33 years? After coming heartbreakingly close to pulling an even bigger upset over Team Canada in 2010, Team USA may have assembled the strongest roster since its Gold Medal Lake Placid team from 1980. GMs David Polle, Ray Shero and Director of Player Personnel Brian Burke have a huge talent pool to choose from this time around, and the names of the 48 invitees to orientation camp reflect not only the proven NHL talent that the United States has built up, but also the youth that USA Hockey’s development program has been fostering. The caliber of this talent pool is a testament to the progress that USA Hockey has made in creating a youth development program that rivals that of our Neighbor to the North. With well-respected Jack Adams winner Dan Bylsma behind the bench, Team USA has high expectations not only from fans, but from the international hockey community.

Read the rest of this entry →

Even though he hasn’t won a major tournament in five years, Tiger Woods is still the richest golfer in the sport.

During 2013 we have seen a number of golfers hit the sports rich list keeping themselves amongst the world’s greatest footballer, basket ball stars and boxers. Express Golf has been through the Forbes rich list to pick out the 2013 top 5 richest golfers and a bit of background info on how they achieved these earnings.

5. Brandt Snedeker
The Nashville resident golfer Brandt Snedeker holds the fifth spot in our rankings after a great 2012 where he won the PGA Tour championship which left him at a record high world ranking position of 4 at the beginning of the year. Its estimated that his combined earnings left him with around $19m with $17m of that coming directly from tournament purses and the remainder coming from sponsorship deals.

4. Ernie Els
PGA Tour veteran Ernie Els is still keeping up his position in the rich list with an increase in the sports rich list from position 91 to 78. Ernie Els might not have collected as much in tournament purse as Snedeker but a thriving course design business as well as some high profile sponsorship deals including one with Breitling ensures that he estimated endorsement and sponsorship earnings of $16m take him above the Texan with a combined estimated earnings of $19.5m. Read the rest of this entry →

Dan Lauria

ST&N was lucky enough to sit down with actor Dan Lauria of “Lombardi“ and “The Wonder Years“ fame to talk sports and acting. Lauria is currently narrating the musical version of “A Christmas Story”.

We asked him about his latest project, his incredible resume and even his interactions with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick:

New York Islanders fans have uttered many a profane word in the last few decades regarding the failures of their beloved team, but none so vile as “Spano.” It is rare, in sports history, to find such a bizarre story of deceit, grandstanding and unabashed bravado as you’ll find in the saga of businessman John A. Spano Jr.’s attempt to purchase the New York Islanders. Recently ESPN has chronicled the tale in one of their incredible “30 for 30” documentaries entitled “Big Shot.” Let’s take a look back at one of the NHL’s most embarrassing follies.

In the 1990’s, there was nothing left of the brilliant Islanders dynasty teams of the 80’s save for the Stanley Cup banners in the rafters and the memories of depressed fans. At the start of the 1995-96 season, Mike Milbury (whose name also is used as a swear word by Islander faithful) had been placed behind the bench as the team’s head coach. It was also the year of the much maligned “Fish Sticks” jersey, which closely resembled the Gorton’s Fisherman logo.

Read the rest of this entry →