Posted by Rob on July 16, 2011 – 4:48 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, carolina, fan, hockey, hurricanes, new york, nhl, north carolina, nyr, rangers, south carolina, Sports
As most of you may know, the only sport I follow is the NHL, and I am a Rangers fan. Well, to be more exact I’m a fan of the Rangers and any team who is playing against Pittsburgh. Now that I am down in South Carolina, and soon to be in North Carolina, I face a dilemma as far as hockey goes. Hockey is not the most popular sport in the U.S. to begin with, and that goes double for the South. So come the start of the 2011-2012 season, there’s no way in heck I’m going to be getting any Rangers games. So how do I feed my need to catch a hockey game? I’ll have to watch the Carolina Hurricanes.
I have no problem with the Hurricanes, and in fact I’ve always had a soft spot for them. I also just recently purchased a hat for them. Right now I don’t want to be rocking my NYR gear because I don’t want to be viewed as a tourist…there’s enough of them in Myrtle Beach to begin with. Once I’m settled down in North Carolina I’ll break out the Rangers swag again, but I still won’t be able to catch any Rangers games. Read More »
Posted by Rob on June 15, 2011 – 10:20 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as bacon, bigbadbob, boston, bruins, canucks, champions, champs, chara, finals, game 7, hockey, luongo, nhl, stanley cup, thomas, vancouver
If you want to know what team I’m rooting for in the Stanley Cup Finals, there are three steps to take:
- If the Rangers are in the finals, I’ll root for them
- If the Penguins are in the finals, I’ll root against them
- I’ll root for whatever Eastern Conference team is in
That being said, this year I was rooting for Boston to pull a victory from Vancouver, and they eventually did in what ended up being a blowout Game 7. If you looked at the past games of the series, it was easy to say that the Canucks should have had this one, and even I assumed that Luongo would lead them to victory. But it was not to be as Tim Thomas blanked Vancouver and proved to be unstoppable tonight, allowing the Bruins to win Game 7 with a score of 4-0. Thomas was also awarded the Conn Smythe trophy, making him the series MVP.
My biggest complaint of the night of course had to deal with unruly Canadian fans. As has happened before, once the Cup was presented to Chara the trash started flying from the stands. Real classy…
And with this being said, it’s off to bed. I have to be up in about three hours for work.
Posted by Rob on April 9, 2011 – 9:26 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, blue shirts, carolina hurricanes, devils, hockey, lightning, new york rangers, nhl, playoffs, rangers, stanley cup
The Rangers 5-2 victory over the Devils today wasn’t enough to earn them the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs…they needed the Hurricanes to lose as well. Luckily, Carolina fell to Tampa Bay 6-2, which dropped them just behind the Rangers, thus allowing the Blue Shirts to advance to the playoffs.
It won’t be an easy first round however, as the eighth seed Rangers will be facing the first seed Washington Capitals starting next week. I still don’t know if the team is ready for a Stanley Cup, but I’m just happy they made it to the playoffs. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Posted by Rob on April 9, 2011 – 10:36 am
Filed under Sports
Tagged as bigbadbob, carolina hurricanes, devils, hockey, lightning, msg, new york rangers, nhl, ot, playoffs, rangers, Sports
They say that “history repeats itself”, and for the Rangers this has probably never been truer. Last season, the Rangers playoff entrance rode on their final game…if they could get just one point (either win the game or lose in OT) then they would be able to snag a position in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, which would allow them to squeeze in as the bottom seed. Unfortunately, they lost in OT to the Flyers, so for the first time since I started watching them, the Rangers failed to advance to the playoffs.
It seems this year they are in the same position. Today they face the Devils for their last game of the season. They need a point to win, since they are currently “tied” for 8th with the Hurricanes, but Carolina does have the tie-breaker. To make things more complicated though, not only do the Rangers have to win, but the Hurricanes have to lose against the Lightning tonight as well. So the Rangers will make it to the 2010-2011 playoffs IF:
- Rangers win or lose in OT AND the Hurricanes lose
- Rangers win AND Hurricanes lose in OT Read More »
Posted by Rob on March 5, 2011 – 1:14 am
Filed under Books, Sports
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, Books, long island, lundqvist, new york islanders, new york rangers, nhl, rangers, stanley cup, steve zipay, the good the bad and the ugly new york rangers
I’ve been a New York Rangers fan ever since I really got into hockey about eight or nine years ago. The funny thing was that growing up on Long Island, we went to several games at the Coliseum to root on the Islanders. So you would think that I would be into the Islanders when I started watching hockey. For whatever reason, I didn’t. I remember trying…the first time I put a hockey game on, I watched the Islanders. For whatever reason, something made me turn on the Rangers the next time, and I don’t know if it was the team in general, their play, or simply their uniforms…something captivated me and I was suddenly a Rangers fan. But I digress.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly New York Rangers is a book written by Steve Zipay, a Rangers fan who covers the team for Newsday. Rather than an extensive biography of the team, the book is made up of snippits of Zipay’s fondest memories and stories of the team. This makes it a very easy read, as the chapters are broken down quite nicely, and he only dedicates a couple of paragraphs (or less) to each topic. The book does indeed cover most of the team’s history, from the formation in 1926 to the 2007-2008 season, which is when the book was published. Read More »
Posted by Rob on January 29, 2011 – 10:27 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as all-star game, all-star weekend, big bad bob, bigbadbob, chara, corey perry, guardians, hockey, lidstrom, lundqvist, nhl, ovechkin, shoot-out, skills competition, Staal, stan lee, versus
Tonight was the real start of the NHL’s All-Star Weekend as the teams of Staal and Lidstrom competed in the Skills Competition. I said my money was on Team Staal, and they did not disappoint as they won 32-22. It was over two and a half hours of hockey fun as the All Stars took part in the following fetes of skill:
- Fastest Skater- won by Michael Grabner (Islanders)
- Breakaway Challenge (fancy shots)- won by Alexander Ovechkin (Capitals)
- Accuracy Shooting- won by Daniel Sedin (Canucks)
- Relay Race- won by Team Lidstrom
- Hardest Shot- won by Zdeno Chara (Bruins)
- Elimination Shoot-Out- won by Corey Perry (Ducks) Read More »
Posted by Rob on January 28, 2011 – 9:56 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as all-star game, all-star weekend, big bad bob, bigbadbob, chara, cindy crosby, crosby, dallas, hockey, lundqvist, martin brodeur, nash, new york rangers, nhl, ovechkin, raleigh, rangers, sharp, sidney crosby, Staal
I don’t know why, but I’ve always liked Eric Staal, and I’ve never had a problem with the Hurricanes. So when I heard that Staal was one of the captains of this years new-fangled draft-style All-Star game, I had a feeling I’d be rooting for his team. Within just a few of his picks, I knew I would be cheering on the Red team come Sunday.
Staal drafted a pretty nifty team. My top favorites were:
- Henrik Lundqvist (obviously)
- Marc Staal (see the pic of him and brother Eric above)
- Alexander Ovechkin
- Zdeno Chara
- Paul Stastny
- Rick Nash
- Patrick Sharp Read More »
Posted by Rob on January 27, 2011 – 4:16 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as all-star game, all-star weekend, batman, big bad bob, bigbadbob, capt. america, guardians, hockey, iron man, nhl, stan lee, super hero, the blackhawk, the king, the predator, the ranger
Unbeknownst to me, over the past month the NHL and Stan Lee have been revealing their Guardians, the super heroes based on each NHL franchise. Obviously I was interested to see what the Rangers hero would look like. I naturally assumed it would resemble Capt. America between the team colors (red, white, and blue) and the team logo, which is a shield. Well, I was partially correct. Behold the Rangers Guardian hero…The Ranger:
He has the coloring, and the shield. However, the Ranger appears to drive a motorcycle around. Based on the description, he kind of sounds like Batman, using technology to do stuff. You can read up more about his background on the NHL’s website. According to the NHL’s article, the Ranger: Read More »
Posted by Rob on January 23, 2011 – 12:56 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as all-star game, big bad bob, bigbadbob, carolina hurricanes, cindy crosby, crosby, guardian media entertainment, guardians, hockey, lundqvist, new york rangers, nhl, rangers, red wings, Sports, Staal, stan lee, vs.
I’m getting psyched for next weekend’s NHL All-Star weekend, not only for the big game and the competitions, but also for the reveal of Stan Lee’s “Guardians.” So just this morning I went over to the NHL’s site to see who made it into the All-Star game, and I met with a pretty shocking reveal. In the past, the NHL All-Star game was the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference. But I realized today that that is not the case anymore. This is how it will now work:
All the NHL players vote for two team captains. These captains then draft the remaining players to be on their team and play alongside them at the All-Star game. So this year, rather than having players from the Western Conference take on the Eastern Conference, it will be “Team Staal” (Eric Staal of the Hurricanes) against “Team Lidstrom” (Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings.) Now the pool of players that the All-Star captains can choose from comes from:
- Top six players voted for by the fans
- The NHL Operations Staff then chooses the remaining thirty-six players, as well as twelve rookies
- Every team must be represented at least once Read More »
Posted by Rob on January 3, 2011 – 3:47 pm
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as amazon, aragorns quest, archery, beat sketch, big bad bob, bigbadbob, bocce ball, Boom Blox, bowling, controller, demo, ea, eye, eye camera, eyepet, FPS, frisbee golf, gamefly, gladiator, hd, kung fu rider, mini-game, motion control, move, navigation, nhl, nunchuck, PlayStation 3, ps move, PS3, PSN, psn store, racket sports, rail shooter, shovelware, sports champions, start the party, tennis, the fight, the shoot, tumble, tv superstars, volley ball, Wii, wii sports, wiimote
I have been interested in getting the PlayStation Move for quite some time. I do like the Wii, but I was intrigued by the possibilities for the Move, particularly with the more accurate controller and the higher quality, HD graphics. However, at the price I was not about to buy it for myself. So I placed it on my Amazon Wish List, and I found out Christmas Day that my parents had purchased it for me. I already had the Eye, so all I asked for was the basic Move controller. After Christmas, I went to the PlayStation Store off of PSN and was happy to find that pretty much every Move-enabled game currently available had a demo. So I went ahead and downloaded all eight demos, and spent the next few days trying them all out. I want to share my thoughts on the demos for the games, but I’ll start with my initial view of the controller itself.
PlayStation Move Controller
Read More »
Posted by Rob on October 8, 2010 – 9:57 am
Filed under Books, Sports
Tagged as all-star game, big bad bob, bigbadbob, buffalo sabres, captain america, carolina, carolina hurricanes, comics, Gathering Storm, guardian media entertainment, guardians, hockey, montreal canadeins, new york islanders, new york rangers, nhl, stan lee, x-men
I think most people know I’m an avid New York Rangers fan, and that I have a love for the old school Marvel comics. Well, I saw an article on the NHL’s website yesterday which stated that Stan “The Man” Lee and the NHL have joined forces to create Guardian Media Entertainment. The basic gist of what has been hinted at so far is that Lee is creating thirty new super heroes representing each team in the NHL. Each hero will have abilities/powers reminiscent of not only the team but also the city they hail from. There will be a special unveiling of the project at some point during the NHL All-Star game on January 30, 2011, which is taking place on the Hurricanes home ice.
The point of this endeavor is to try and get younger boys and men into hockey. Lee hopes these new characters will earn the NHL a new fan base while also offering something new to current fans. As for the heroes themselves, who knows what they will look like or what they will do. If it’s a literal translation, then I can picture the Buffalo Sabres hero being some kind of mutant buffalo man who wields a mystical sword, and the Carolina Hurricanes hero to have some kind of weather control, a la Storm of the X-Men. And where does that leave the New York Rangers? Why, with their spiffy uniforms, I can only imagine their hero to be reminiscent of Captain America! However, if I follow that logic, then there are some strange heroes indeed. Would the Anaheim Ducks hero be a super duck mutant, a la Howard the Duck? Will the Islanders hero have some kind of crazy fisherman skills? And what about the Montreal Canadiens…a super lumberjack who sprays maple syrup at his foes?
I don’t know exactly how this will all pan out, but I for one am really interested to see where this project goes. I will admit that I will most probably be interested in checking out the comics produced, and my wall would definitely be in need of a super hero Rangers dude. I will definietly be following this whole process closely, and will report any significant news I come across.
Posted by Rob on September 20, 2010 – 7:52 am
It’s now September, which not only means that the first hockey game starts at the beginning of October (though preseason starts this week), but also that the Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey league is ready to go as well! I drafted my initial team about two weeks in a live draft. Personally, that’s the only way to go if you ask me…you can’t expect to get good players if you simply rate players on a list and then see who you happen to get. I think I’ve got a pretty good initial team to start with, though there will be adds, drops, and maybe even some trades as the season goes on. Here’s my starting team: Read More »
Posted by Rob on September 12, 2010 – 10:22 pm
Filed under Sports, Video Games
Tagged as 3 on 3 nhl arcade, avery, be a pro, big bad bob, bigbadbob, drury, ea, ea pucks, gaborik, game review, gm, hockey, mode, nhl, nhl '11, PlayStation 3, PS3, rangers, Sports, uhl, ultimate hockey league, xp
As big a hockey fan as I am, I have been slacking in the hockey game department. I have been using NHL ’08 for years now, and have never upgraded to one of the newer versions. The main reason is that I was not initially a big fan of the control changes that took place. Since ’08, it has become a lot more complex, and was not something I was used to, so I shied away from it. However, after spending a few days with NHL ’11, I think it’s safe to say that I am officially won over to the new controls. I am pleased to say that I am sending ’11 back to Gamefly tomorrow, but it is going to be my number two game to get this Christmas, right behind Borderlands GOTY. So what is so cool about the newest edition to the EA’s epic hockey series that finally won me over? Pretty much everything!!!
For those of you who are unaware, these control scheme changes I speak of are quite daunting to someone who has been playing basic hockey games since NHL ’96. The biggest change is that shooting and other moves with the stick are primarily done with the right analog. This allows you to actually have a great deal of control of your shot, compared to past games where simply hitting square or circle performed an automatic shot on goal. Now these controls have been around for the past three or four games, but this is the first time that I gave the patience to retrain my mind to use them, and stop referring to the old-school controls. Once that is accomplished, it’s amazing how fun it is to deke the goalie to moving to the right, and then firing off a shot over his left shoulder, which is now open and exposed.
Read More »
Posted by Rob on September 1, 2010 – 5:23 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as ahl, albany, big bad bob, bigbadbob, carolina, devils, farm, hockey, minor league, nhl, rangers, river rats, Sports, times union center
I had mentioned a few months ago that the local AHL team, the Albany River Rats, had been sold and moved to Carolina. I was extremely upset about this, since I loved being able to go to the Times Union Center, an easy twelve-minute drive from my apartment, to watch a cheap hockey game. Sure, they weren’t the Rangers minor league team, but I rooted for them anyway, because to me they were an Albany team.
Well the good news is that the people who own the Times Union Center have purchased a new AHL team…the Albany Devils! The Devils farm team is no stranger to Albany, as they were based here prior to the Hurricanes’ team coming in a few years back. So I will be able to continue seeing cheap hockey games this season. While I dislike the Devils, being a Rangers fan, I will be cheering on the Albany Devils as my home Albany game.
Posted by Rob on September 1, 2010 – 5:14 pm
This year’s Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey leagues are up and ready to go! I already registered my public team, and my live online draft will be tomorrow afternoon at 12:00pm. Here’s to another great season of fantasy hockey, which is how I keep up-to-date on all the players in the NHL, especially the players in the Western Conference which I no little about since I rarely watch them play the Rangers. I have been playing every year for the past four years now, and it really got me more into the sport than I ever was. It’s funny…I laugh at people who talk about their fantasy football and baseball leagues, yet here I am with a hockey one…I’m such a hypocrite!
Posted by Rob on June 13, 2010 – 6:49 pm
Filed under Sports
Tagged as 2010 stanley cup, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blackhawks, call of staal, chicago, crosby, finals, flyers, hockey, hossa, johnathan toews, new york, nhl, ovechkin, patrick kane, Philadelphia, playoffs, rangers, Sports, stamos, stanley cup
Being in Florida on my honeymoon didn’t stop me from catching most of Game Six of the Stanley Cup finals, which ended up being the final game. I was very happy to be able to watch the last game and the Cup presentation, and was also pleased that Chicago won. The team has a lot of great young talent, and it was great to see these guys get acknowledged finally. Guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamos, and others kind of outshine the greats on this team, mainly Johnathan Toews and Patrick Kane. I was also happy to see Hossa finally hoist the Cup. He’s been after it for so long, and he has been to the finals a couple of times, but never won.
So this season is over. Next season is going to be the big one, and, as I already predicted, the Rangers will win it all, thanks to the “Call of Staal.”
Posted by Rob on May 26, 2010 – 7:21 am
Filed under Sports
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, blackhawks, chicago, flyers, hockey, nhl, Philadelphia, pittsburgh, Sports, stanley cup
It’s official now…the 2009-2010 Stanley Cup Finals will be the Chicago Blackhawks vs. the Philadelphia Flyers. Now that they know who will be in it, the schedule is complete, and you can see it here. The first game starts this Friday, and the game 7 (if necessary) would be June 11.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to see any of the games due to the wedding and honeymoon, seeing how we will be down in Florida until the 12th. Even though the Rangers aren’t there, I still enjoy watching the Stanley Cup finals, and will miss it this year.
As for the team I’ll be silently rooting for, I think I’ll go with Chicago. Being a Rangers fan, I should have a pre-determined hatred for Phili, but I’m more busy hating on Pittsburgh…
Posted by Rob on May 24, 2010 – 7:55 am
Filed under Sports
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, canadiens, chicago, conference, flyers, habs, hockey, nhl, Philadelphia, phili, stanley cup, washington
The Chicago Blackhawks completed their sweep of the San Jose Sharks yesterday, making them the Western Conference champs and allowing them to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. I’m glad to see them do it, and I’ve been hoping to see them in the finals since the playoffs first started.
The question that remains is “who will they face”? In the Eastern Conference, Phili and Montreal are still playing, but the Flyers are leading the Habs 3-1 in the series. The next game is tonight, meaning that Phili can end it with a win and advance to the Stanley Cup. I personally didn’t see Phili getting this far, and after Washington was eliminated early on, I was rooting for Montreal. I would like to see them win, but for them to bounce back and win three more games is asking a lot.
So yeah, I think it’s going to be Chicago and Phili, and the sooner the better. I want to get the Stanley Cup going already so I can watch a few of the games before I leave on the honeymoon!
Posted by Rob on May 13, 2010 – 7:10 am
Filed under Sports
Tagged as canadians, cindy crosby, crosby, game 7, goal, hockey, mellon arena, montreal, nhl, penguins, pittsburg, playoffs, sidney crosby, stanley cup, sydney crosby
This year was finally the year that Cindy Crosby’s super ego was put in check, as the Montreal Canadians routed the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 to advance to the final round of the playoffs before the Stanley Cup. To make things even more delicious, the Penguins lost at the Mellon Arena, so not only did Crosby get a huge reality check at home, but so did all those ridiculous Crosby fans. Oh yeah, and Crosby finished the seven game series against Montreal with ONLY ONE GOAL! I’m sure he’s kicking himself for that one. Mr. Hockey indeed.
Crosby really needed this…he needed to see that he is not a hockey god, and that he is not unstoppable, and that he is not the greatest player in the NHL. I love the fact that his team lost, not because I necessarily hate the team, but because I hate him, the captain of the team. Man, I would love to see him right now, lying in bed with the lights off, trying to hide from the truth that he couldn’t make it to the end of the playoffs.
