I first heard of the Rocket from the wonderful Roch Carrier cartoon The Sweater. I was entertained because it was a funny story, I had a passing interest in hockey, and I’d never heard a French-Canadian accent before. It wasn’t until later that I looked at who Maurice Richard was.
Every sport needs a prototypical player. The guy. The guy who does everything right, who you can forever compare to, the guy who even when his records are broken will never fade in importance because he was the first to even get there. In short, every sports needs a Babe Ruth.
To ice hockey, Maurice Richard is that guy. Sure, Gordie Howe became Mr. Hockey, and Gretzky became The Great One, but the conversation starts with the Rocket.
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By Stephen Turk
I’ve waited long enough. So here goes, my favorite sports game of them all, bubble hockey.
The game was the very first coin operated foray of Innovative Concepts in Entertainment, and they named it “Chexx.” Logistically speaking, bubble hockey (also known as dome hockey, or the greatest game ever) is very similar to foosball. Players are controlled via bars and the object is to score goals. There are some key differences; as opposed to foosball, where a bar controls a line of players, bubble hockey guys are controlled individually and move about and spin in a slot cut into the “ice.” While this removes the possibility of an exciting hockey fight, it also removes the more pesky penalties such as off-sides and icing. It also allows you to pull of some pretty complex and thrilling moves, what with the ability to rotate your players 360 degrees.
An iconic feature of the game is the large plastic dome that covers the game. This serves several purposes. One is that it provides a structure for the nifty electronic scoreboard to hang from, and the other is that it prevents cheating and the loss or theft of the puck and players. You see, a big factor of the game was its pointed approach. Whereas foosball has a parlor and garage game legacy, bubble hockey was aimed squarely for the arcades, where no one wanted to take any chances with what kids might to an unprotected machine.
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By Stephen Turk
Hockey season is starting, and this time of year reminds me of what a great game ice hockey is, and what a shame it is that it isn’t more popular. There is only so much national attention that can be doled out to sports at a time, so to quote so many members of the pro sports world “it is what it is.” Hockey will always have one thing no one can ever take from it, however, and that is the best trophy in the world.
It’s a bold statement, I know, but If I could win one championship in professional sports, it would have to be the Stanley Cup. The trophy for the NHL is simply the best around. The reasons are many and there are some great facts here: http://www.nhl.com/cup/fun_facts.html but there are tons of great reasons to love the Stanley Cup and a great history behind it. 
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