Doing Some Fiddling

If you've stopped by in the last couple of days, you may have noticed a change to the site. It's not completely obvious, and it certainly isn't eye-catching in terms of flashiness, but I have been fiddling around with some stuff on the site in order to have a better site. Again, it's nothing flashy and certainly isn't going to win me some web award, but HBIC is looking to make things better for you, the reader, as we move forward. And no, I didn't sell out to Walt Disney or hire Mickey Mouse or anything to help me promote the blog. The image to the left is more a less a ruse. But a picture has been added to the site in a permanent spot!

If you look up at your address bar or tab where this site is open, you'll see HBIC's new favicon! Yes, it's very simplistic, but I wanted it to be something that harkens back to HBIC. And what better way to harken back than to post the actual letters I use when referring to this website. HBIC is still proud to blog on the Blogger platform, but I wanted a little more personal touch than the Blogger "B".

Secondly, I am working on figuring out the coding for a news ticker that I can place just below the HBIC banner. I want a place where people can drop in and get the latest CBA news without having to wade through a ton of stories that have zero to do with the topic. With the reality of another lockout approaching, you're going to get bombarded with a ton of CBA news per day. I am looking to weed out the garbage and only bring you the latest news in one place. Once I figure out the coding to make it scroll properly, I'll post that as well!

I actually found a ticker I really like, but the scrolling just isn't working right. If anyone knows how to make the scrolling wrap around so that after Point X, Y, and Z are shown, Point X follows Point Z again. In all my trial-and-errors (more error than trial at this point), I can't seem to get my head around why it won't wrap. If anyone has any answers, email me here.

That's all for today, kids. Let's hope that the NHL and NHLPA can start getting their acts together for the sake of this season and future seasons.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

What Does $8 Million Get You?

A lot of people would be grinning ear-to-ear after receiving a raise like Gary Bettman received this past year. Bettman saw his salary jump nearly $500,000 to just under a cool $8 million for the work he put in this year. Honestly, that's more than I can make in one year working overtime for 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. But it got me to thinking: if I actually could make $8 million in one year (in some parallel universe, obviously), what the heck could I spend it on? I mean, I already get all the free tickets to NHL games I want, so what eccentric purchases could I make if I really wanted?

First off, I'm sure with all the hard work that Gary puts in day in and day out, he probably needs a quiet place to relax and collect his thoughts. My thought? How about buying Lake Winter Island in Wisconsin? How appropriate is the name - Lake Winter Island?!? It will only set Gary back $650,000 USD before closing costs, but it's practically a steal when you factor in the "[b]eautiful brand new (completely furnished) cedar chalet home with wrap-around deck" and "has electricity, phone, water and sewer and comes with its own private mainland access". And I'll bet Bill Daly would love CBA powwows up there where they can fish for "Muskies, Walleye, Bass and assorted Panfish" until the NHLPA comes to their senses.

But, honestly, what does the NHL Commissioner spend his cash on? Well, he appears to have a pretty swanky house in Saddle River, New York from what I discovered.

Not bad, right? Looks like a pretty nice place, and I assume it came with a fairly respectable price tag. That kind of privacy and seclusion, including the private driveway, would run up a decent-sized price tag, so you know Gary must be doing well.

For all that he does, though, does he really deserve an $8 million salary? Since the last lockout, Bettman's salary has gone from $3.7 million - when he literally staked credibility and reputation on the line in shutting down the league for a year - to $8 million when, once again, he is staking credibility and reputation on trying to prevent the owners from spending to oblivion and the players from demanding small countries as part of their contracts. While I'm not one to suggest that one doesn't earn the money one is paid, I'd like to know why my salary hasn't seen a 100% increase in the last seven years. The Board of Governors have to approve the salary increases, but it needs to be asked: what justification was provided for such a climb in dollars over such a short period of time?

If you ask me, it sounds like Gary Bettman's salary was tied to league revenues. All we've heard about is how the league continues to set records with the money they are making, and now we see that Bettman is reaping the benefits in a large way.

But, as we've seen with the owners, they're willing to throw bags of money at marginal players, so I guess it's nothing new to toss the guy representing the collective efforts of the thirty owners a bag or two. It just seems a little excessive for a guy preaching about controlling spending in a big way.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Flyers Rehabilitation Hospital Wing?

Ok, this is starting to get downright ridiculous. After losing Andrej Meszaros just a few days earlier, it was announced that Flyers defenceman Andreas Lilja had hip surgery last month that will sideline him until late October or November. At the rate that defencemen in Philadelphia are coming up injured, the Flyers might be better off sponsoring a hospital wing or a rehabilitation facility. That makes three significant defencemen out with injury in Chris Pronger, Andrej Meszaros, and Andreas Lilja - exactly one-half of the projected starting six blueliners for the Flyers!

While Lilja is older at 37, he played well last season in turning in six assists and a +9 rating. He was reliable and steady, but rarely did you find Lilja's name in the minuses at the end of the night. In short, he was a serviceable veteran defenceman, and it appeared he might be counted on more this season after Meszaros' injury.

The Flyers will still count on Kimmo Timonen, Luke Schenn, Brayden Coburn, and Nicklas Grossmann to do the heavy lifting this season, and getting Lilja back will take the burden off players such as Marc-Andre Bourdon and Bruno Gervais in the long run. While neither of those two players are bad players in any way, they don't exactly deliver the same quality of play as a Lilja or Meszaros.

Of course, if the FLyers are looking to add more offence, Pavel Kubina did play out the season in Philadelphia last season. While Kubina isn't a Norris Trophy candidate by any means, he is another veteran player that can come in and play if necessary. Let's just hope that the Flyers' blueline doesn't take any additional setbacks this off-season. So far, it's been pretty brutal for Flyers fans.

Hang in there, Flyers fans. Once you get some of these guys back, your defensive unit is second-to-none.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A New OHL Look And Name

The history of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors in the Ontario Hockey League is actually a long and storied tale. The franchise that you see to the left, however, was revived in 1996 to play again after ceasing operations in 1962. The team was brought back by St. Michael's College School as an expansion club into the OHL, and, in 2006-07, the team was bought by Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators, and moved to Mississauga. And that brings us to today where new owner, Elliott Kerr, bought the team on May 14, 2012 and wanted to re-brand the franchise. Therefore, the picture above is now nothing more than a footnote as the St. Mike's Majors are no more.

The former Majors are now the Mississauga Steelheads. I know we have other fish that play hockey - the San Jose Sharks, for example - but how did the Mississauga team decide on the name "Steelheads"? City of Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion said, "The new Steelhead logo is a great representation of Mississauga's heritage, the importance of the Credit River and one of its prized inhabitants, the Steelhead Trout, whose strength, determination and prowess will be brought to life by the skilled and dedicated players as they compete and help create a renewed energy and enthusiasm for the sport of hockey in our community."

I'm alright with that reasoning, I suppose. I mean, I can't really rain on anyone's parade for bringing forth heritage, a vital tributary to the city, and one of the main inhabitants of that tributary. I'm just not sold that this was the best name available. I will say this, though: it's already better than "IceDogs".

Of course, I was anticipating the release of their new look. Anytime new uniforms are introduced, there is an anticipation that teams will play it smart and keep things simple. Otherwise, there have been some unfathomable designs introduced over the years, and we don't really need to see any of those again, right? However, junior hockey has always been pretty conservative in their uniform approach, and good teams are sensible enough to know that simple is good.

I was a little shocked when the press release on June 4, 2012 had this snippet of information included on it:

"Following an approval process with the National Hockey League (NHL), the team is proud to announce that the Toronto Maple Leafs have approved the use of their iconic Blue and White uniforms for the Steelhead sweater. The team is excited to release their highly anticipated new look to their fans.

"'The Leafs have been an iconic brand for close to 85 years and one of the most recognized sport franchises in North America and we are absolutely honoured to be wearing the Blue and White as we head into our inaugural season,' said Steelheads owner Elliott Kerr.

Toronto has always been held as one of the better designs in the NHL with their classy stripes and crisp white-and-blue look. If the Steelheads were going to wear what the Leafs wear, that can't be bad, right?

There was also some info on a secondary logo in the press release. It reads, "[T]he Steelheads will also introduce a secondary logo which will be the uniform shoulder patch for the upcoming season. The 'M' which will be worn on both home and away jerseys, depicts the Port Credit lighthouse with protruding beams of light and pays homage to one of the City’s most recognizable landmarks."

On July 27, Reebok finally delivered the product, and I must say that these uniforms look pretty good. Check them out below, and click the picture to see it bigger if need be:

Pretty solid jerseys, right? I like them, and the secondary logo isn't that bad. I have to admit that I like these uniforms, and the logo on the chest is growing on me. Thumbs-up to the Steelheads for their design!

While it remains to be seen how good the former St. Michael's Majors are on the ice this season, they will look like a professional team when they step out on the ice. I think this is one of the better looks in the entire OHL at this point, and they actually don't remind me of the Leafs at all thanks to their logo and shoulder logos. Good job, Steelheads, on creating an excellent uniform!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Germany Conquors The Dutch

In what some would call an upset, Germany has captured the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic men's field hockey event over the Netherlands! Despite Germany being ranked ahead of the Netherlands in the world rankings, the Dutch men seemed to cruise through the preliminaries before walloping Great Britain 9-2 in the semi-final. Needless to say, the Dutch men looked like they may put the hurt on Germany, but it was the Germans who played a very controlled, very patient game as they waited for their chance. And they capitalized once they were given the opportunity!

Germany came into the game after defeating the top-ranked team on the planet in Australia by a 4-2 score. The team standing before them was no pushover as the Netherlands were 6-0-0 up to that point. The game was a tight-checking affair until just before halftime when 25 year-old Jan Philipp Rabente struck a beautiful goal at the 32:55 mark to put Germany up 1-0. Mink van der Weerden drew the Dutch squad even, though, as he put away a penalty corner at 53:40 to tie the game at 1-1. It looked like we might be headed towards extra time, but Jan Philipp Rabente struck his second excellent ball that found its way past goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann at the 65:08 mark. With less than five minutes to play, the Dutch men sent wave after wave of attackers into the German end, but the Germans held strong. The picture above is what was seen at the final whistle as Germany knocked off the Netherlands to capture the gold medal! Congratulations, Germany!

The Netherlands earned the silver medal based on their performance throughout the tournament, and there were some standout players on this squad. Mink van der Weerden led the tournament in goals as he converted seven penalty corners and one penalty stroke. He was also tops for the tournament in penalty corner goals. Both Billy Bakker and Roderick Weusthof had six goals apiece in the tournament, and Weusthof tied for the tournament lead with two goals off penalty strokes. Needless to say, no one likes to end a tournament with a loss, but a silver medal in this type of tournament is an extraordinary performance. Congratulations, Netherlands!

The bronze medal game featured Australia and Great Britain squaring off. Australia got off to a fast start as they scored the game's opening goal just 16:45 in. Simon Orchard notched the goal to put Australia up 1-0. Great Britain tied the game up at the 28:39 mark off a penalty corner when Iain Lewers converted for the Britons. The game went into halftime tied at 1-1. Nearly 13 minutes after the break, the Australians caught a break when scoring star Jamie Dwyer added another goal to his total off a penalty corner at 47:56 to put Australia up 2-1. With Britain pressing, the Australians found another seam when Kieran Govers struck a precise ball that found its way past goalkeeper James Fair at 56:59, and time was against the British squad. The Australians held firm the rest of the way, and the final whistle saw the Hockeyroos emerge victorious with a 3-1 win, and, more importantly, the bronze medal! Congratulations, Australia!

As stated above, Mink van der Weerden was the tournament leader in both goals and goals off penalty corners. Florian Fuchs was the top scorer for the Germans with six goals. There were seven penalty strokes scored in the tournament, but Roderick Weusthof and Jamie Dwyer scored a pair of penalty stroke goals each. Former powerhouse India was the only team not to record a point in the tournament, and they finished twelfth out of twelve teams after a loss to South Africa in the placement games. India's program really has fallen off the tracks since its glory days.

There are the results of the men's field hockey event at the 2012 London Olympic Games! I hope you were able to catch some of the games on television because field hockey is an excellent game to watch. And if you ever get a chance to play it, give it a shot! Maybe we'll see you in Rio de Janeiro!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!