Shut the Puck Up (NHL Lockout Song)

I remembered this song form the last time there was an NHL lockout and thought it was hilarious. It also hits the nail right on the head.

Do you think he's right about the players? Will there be an NHL season this year?

The Great Gagner

Certainly by now, anyone who follows hockey has heard about Sam Gagner's record-setting night of 4 goals and four assists against Chicago. He humbly managed to tie the Oilers' club record for points in a game, previously shared by legends, Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey.

I'll bet there were some very happy fantasy managers in deep leagues who looked like geniuses for keeping him on their rosters.

Any fantasy GMs out there want to tell us what made you add Sam to your team's roster? If he is currently a free agent in your league, do you plan on adding him?

The NHL record of 10 points in one game set by Darryl Sittler, still stands. Scott Gomez can't get that in one  full season.

Coach's Corner Piano Performance by Don Cherry

Here at UHB Arena, we post mainly about fantasy hockey, however when something like this comes along, it's worth talking about.

It seems CBC's Hockey Night in Canada analyst, Don Cherry, has a fantasy of his own, that of becoming a concert pianist. Have a look at this video that an astute fan has uploaded, showing Don tickling the ivories on an imaginary keyboard.

I think it's hilarious! What do you guys think?

iPhone App for Starting NHL Goalies

If you are in a fantasy hockey league, you might find this iPhone App useful. It allows you to be notified the instant an NHL team has announced its starting goaltender for its next hockey game.

The App is from LeftWingLock.com

Jets Parody Logo Ideal for Fantasy Team

If you haven't seen the newly-unveiled Winnipeg Jets logo, you can view it in this official video from the Jets' NHL website.

Then have a look further down to see some anonymous joker's parody version of the logo in question. That would make a sweet fantasy team logo, that's for sure.

What do you think of the logos, real and fake?

Winnipeg Jets


Winnipeg Swats

What's New With UHB?

It has been way too long since the last post on this blog. However, I have been working on ways to improve the UHB and it has taken me until now to unveil the results and future plans.

First of all, UHB has an updated logo design that is much more representative of what the league is compared to the former one. You'll be able to find this new logo on various swag in the official UHB gift shop.



Second, I would like to congratulate Texas Tornado on capturing the 2011 UHB championship and Commissioner's Cup. It was another great season and hopefully next one will be just as good or better.

Third, UHB now has an official YouTube channel which will be used, among other things, to commemorate the annual champion with a tribute video, such as the following one.



Furthermore, all arhive records will be kept and updated on the UHB Squidoo lens instead of on this blog. It's just much easier to edit on the former rather than the latter. I've yet to update the stats to reflect the recently completed season but am hoping to get it done soon, before the start of next season at the latest.

More updates are coming so stay tuned by bookmarking or subscribing.

Thanks for your patience.

Fantasy Hockey Poolies

Fantasy Hockey Poolies from spartacus on Vimeo.

This humourous video is from 4 or 5 years ago but I think hockey poolies can all still relate to it today. Do you recognize yourself or any of your friends or co-workers in any of the characters?

Congratulations Chicago Blackhawks!

Another NHL hockey season is done and the Chicago Blackhawks finally ended its long Stanley Cup drought. CBC recaps all the thrilling moments for us in this great montage video.





The Hawks have a good young team. Do you think they can repeat as champions next year?

Hockey Toon Tuesday: The Sweater (Le Chandail) by NFB

In tribute to the holiday season, I wanted to feature a hockey cartoon with a Christmas theme. Although I couldn't find one specifically related to this holiday, the cartoon I chose does involve a gift, winter and praying to God.

The Sweater is a 1980 animated short from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) based on author Roch Carrier's 1979 book of his own childhood experience.

It tells the story of a young boy growing up in Quebec, who outgrows the jersey of his favourite hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens, which has the number of his favourite player on the back, Maurice Richard. Noticing this, his mother orders him a new sweater by mail. When the day comes that the sweater finally arrives, the boy is severely disappointed but the mother can't understand why and forces him to wear it anyway. His eventual humiliation by other boys and his coach at the rink adds to his misery.

You might have seen The Sweater on YouTube. However, this is directly from the NFB, so the clarity is superior to what you may have watched previously. Enjoy it again, won't you?



See an updated, live-action version of The Sweater.

Hockey Holidays to All!

Hockey Toon Tuesday: Pingu Plays Hockey

Here is some rare footage of Mario Lemieux, early in his Penguins' career.



Gotcha! Ok, so it's not Mario. It's actually another penguin named Pingu.

Hockey Music Monday: Away Game by The Zambonis

Here is the first repeat artist to make its appearance on Music Monday. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, I present The Zambonis with, "Away Game".

Hockey Toon Tuesday: Puck Buddies

Here are a couple of very short, animated New Yorker Cartoons, the second of which is a hilarious encounter at the end of a hockey game. While the players from each opposing team line up to shake hands, one of them utters something in passing that you woudn't normally hear in that situation.

Enjoy the first one too, which is a Gahan Wilson cartoon.

Hockey Music Monday: Wayne Gretzky (Rocks)

This week, I decided to focus on hockey's "Great One", Wayne Gretzky, with two very different songs.

The first is an upbeat, biographical tribute to Gretzky, called "Gretzky Rocks". Widely and erroneously credited to The Arrogant Worms on the video below and across the internet (song files), this song was written and performed by another Canadian band, The Pursuit of Happiness. It is absolutely not sung by The Arrogant Worms.

It seems to be, that for whatever reason, half of all novelty songs on the planet are wrongly attributed to the "Worms". I like the Worms but they did not write nor sing this song. Do us all a favor when you are posting a song or video to the web. If you don't know who sings it, don't guess. Do some research and find out for sure. I blame Napster and Limewire as the cause of this. Sites like those are the breeding ground of music misinformation. I stopped going to those sites for the simple fact that it only took one user to upload a song credited to an incorrect artist and then that one song was downloaded thousands of times. Hence, if someone uploaded "Wayne Gretzky Rocks" and typed in "Arrogant Worms" as the artist, then that's what thousands of first-time listeners subscribed to. Later, they would e-mail or text their friends to say, "you gotta listen to this great song by The Arrogant Worms called Gretzky Rocks!" So the misinformation spreads like Wildfire.

I'm here to set the record straight once and for all. "Gretzky Rocks" is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, performed by Pursuit of Happiness. It was track #9 on the 1995 album, "Where's the Bone?" which was produced by band member, Moe Berg. Case closed.

Wayne Gretzky Rocks - The Pursuit Of Happiness


"Gretzky Rocks" by The Pursuit of Happiness 
                                  


The second song about Wayne Gretzky does a 180 degree turn from the first one. Performed by Goldfinger's drummer, Darrin Pfeiffer, it is an odd composition in which Pfeiffer proudly declares his man-crush on The Great One. As a matter of fact, Pfeiffer could be accused of sharing too much information. Basically, the song is about his sexual fantasies about Gretzky, presumably in jest. At least, I think he's just kidding. Be forewarned. You might not want to let the younger ones hear to this.



Here is Pfeiffer performing the song live. Warning: coarse language

Hockey Music Monday: The Hockey Song (3 versions)

Last week, I mentioned that The Hockey Song by Jughead was a different song altogether in comparison to Stompin' Tom Connors' original song. Well, this week I will show you how different it is with not one, not two but three versions of the song. Included of course is Stompin' Tom along with two very different-styled cover versions. The first cover is by The Hanson Brothers (the band, not the Slap Shot stars) and the second is by a group known as Company B.




These Hanson Brothers play this song like the other Hanson Brothers played hockey; tough and punk style with reasonable talent. No talking while I'm trying to listen to the f#@!%* song! The band is obviously named after the fictional, bespectacled goons from the famous hockey movie Slap Shot but is also a spin off of the Canadian band NoMeansNo. Do not confuse this band with Hanson, as if that was even a danger.




Company B's version of the song is done in a jazzy swing style reminiscent of the big band era that was popular around the 1930's and 40's. This version was also entered into CBC's Hockey Anthem Challenge in 2008 when the producers of Hockey Night in Canada launched a song writing contest to find a new opening theme to replace the previous one that was heard every Saturday night for 40 years. The grand prize was $100, 000. Unfortunately for Company B, they did not win. They did however, leave us with a wonderful rendition of a beloved song.



Out of these three, which is your favourite version? Is there another version you've heard that you like even better? Let us know.

Hockey Toon Tuesday: Shaybu! Shaybu!

Today's hockey cartoon is a beautifully animated, 1964 Russian production by Soviet animator Boris Dyozhkin. It has no dialogue but plenty of fluid action on ice with a musical soundtrack. The title of the cartoon translates to, "Puck! Puck!" You can view some of Dyozhkin's rough pencil drawings and the cleaned up ones of his assistants at the Russian Insider blog. 

Hockey Music Monday: The Hockey Song by Jughead

This song is not to be confused with the more popular one by the same title, written and performed by Stompin' Tom Connors and covered by The Hanson Brothers. This song by the Canadian band known as Jughead has completely different lyrics and different music as well. It might not be as well known but it is definitely just as catchy.

Unusual Goalie Mask

Have a look at this unusual goalie mask courtesy of GoalieGuild.com



The Goalie Guild is a website dedicated to all things goalie-related. It also has fantasy hockey leagues that you can enter. It's an excellent site if ever you need a detailed scouting report on any goalie in the NHL. It would not be a bad idea to check this site before making any goalie transactions in your fantasy league.

Hockey Toon Tuesday: Hockey Homicide

Starting today, every Tuesday will feature a hockey cartoon selected through a random search of the internet.

Today's selection is a classic Disney short starring that lovable goof himself, Goofy, in "Hockey Homicide".

Hockey Music Monday: Hockey Monkey by The Zambonis

Starting today, UHB is going to feature a hockey song each Monday, hence the title, "Hockey Music Monday". This week we kick things off with a rockin' little song from The Zambonis called, Hockey Monkey. This simian is not related to the Simeon goaltender on the Washington Capitals.



Look for another new feature starting Tuesday called Hockey Toon Tuesday.

Hockey Halloween Everyone!

To celebrate the UHB's first Halloween, I wanted to find an appropriate video to show our hockey fans. I found this on YouTube and thought it was perfect. It's a spoof on the "Friday the 13th" movie series and of the main horror villain, Jason Voorhees. Enjoy.