Dallas Stars Tickets

The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the NHL.

Franchise history:
The Minnesota North Stars were founded as an expansion team in 1967, playing their games in Bloomington, Minnesota, initially successful both on the ice and at the gate.

They were purchased by the owners of the also-struggling Cleveland Barons in 1978 and the NHL permitted the two franchises to merge. The merged team retained the name Minnesota North Stars, but assumed the Barons? old place in the Adams Division. http://www.ticketluck.com/ The merger brought with it a number of talented players and made the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, but they lost in five games to the New York Islanders. However the declining attendance and the inability to secure a new downtown revenue-generating arena led ownership to request permission to move the team to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990.

The NHL rejected the request, and instead agreed to award the San Jose Sharks to the Gund brothers. The North Stars were sold to a group of investors that were originally looking to place a team in San Jose

In the following season, Minnesota had lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals. Then, just two years later, Green obtained permission to move the team to the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas, where they were renamed the Stars. In the 1994 playoffs the Stars lost to the Cinderella-story Vancouver Canucks. The Stars won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, vs. the Buffalo Sabers in 1999. Dallas returned to the Cup Finals in 2000, but would lose to the New Jersey Devils. For 2001-02, the team moved to a new arena, the American Airlines Center.

2006-2007 Season:
During summer 2006, the Stars made a number of changes. Former Stars goalkeeper Andy Moog was promoted to Assistant General Manager for Player Development and former player Ulf Dahlen was hired as an assistant coach. The Stars allowed right-winger Bill Guerin, center Jason Arnott, defenseman Willie Mitchell, and goaltender Johan Hedberg to leave as free agents. Further Niko Kapanen was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers.

The Stars received Patrik Stefan and Jaroslav Modry in the Atlanta trade, and signed Eric Lindros, Jeff Halpern, Matthew Barnaby and Darryl Sydor as free agents. Young goaltender Mike Smith was promoted to the NHL to serve as Marty Turco’s backup.

Brenden Morrow was announced as new team captain on September 29, 2006, taking the “C” from Mike Modano. Center Mike Ribeiro, winger Ladislav Nagy and defenseman Mattias Norstrom were added through three separate trades during the season. Young players Joel Lundqvist, Krys Barch, Nicklas Grossman, and Chris Conner all saw significant ice time while other players were out of the lineup with injuries.

The 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at the American Airlines Center on January 24, 2007. Defenseman Philippe Boucher and goaltender Marty Turco would represent the Stars as part of the Western Conference All-Star roster.

Mike Modano scored his 500th career NHL goal, making him only the 39th player and 2nd American to ever reach 500 goals on March 13, 2007. Modano scored his 502nd and 503rd NHL goals, breaking the record for an American-born player previously held by Joe Mullen on March 17, 2007.

The Stars qualified for the playoffs as the #6 seed in the Western conference and squared off against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs. Goalkeeper Marty Turco pitched three shutout wins but the Stars’ offense failed to capitalize and they lost the series 4 games to 3.
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Cycles – Do They Repeat or Rhyme?

Cycles have been repeating from the beginning of time. The use of our clock is a cycle. There are sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, two twelve hour cycles or twenty four hours in a day. The ancients used the moon cycle which is a twenty nine day cycle. The four seasons are a cycle of roughly ninety days for each cycle or season. Cycles are endless and the ancients seem to have been most fascinated with time and cycles of time. This was their clock. The ancient Egyptians, Mayans, Greeks and countless other civilizations based everything that they did on cycles to keep track of time. They used the cycles for the planting of food, harvesting, and even reproduction. Since we know cycles repeat, do they effect the markets, or even sports? Perhaps they do.

Lets first examine the 17 year cycle (cicada cycle). In 1991, the United States of America was in a recession. The recession occurred after a long bull market run that started in 1982 and lasted 7 years until 1989. The president at the time was George H.W. Bush. The United States had just entered a Gulf War which was against Iraq. The NFL New York Giants football team won the Super bowl against the Buffalo Bills that were located in the north east part of the United States. 17 years later in 2008 the President is George W. Bush, the United States is fighting another war in the Gulf against Iraq. The NFL New York Giants win the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots(NE Patriots are located in the north east of the United States). Perhaps this is just a coincidence or maybe there is something more to the cycles.

In 1907 the stock market had a one year crash that was very similar to what we are seeing today. Please note that this is 100 years. The stock market peaked in October of 2007. We have now approached the one year anniversary from that 2007 high. In 1907 and 1908 the Chicago Cubs baseball team made the playoffs in consecutive years. The Chicago Cubs repeated that feat in 2007 and 2008 by making the playoffs in consecutive years, exactly 100 years later. The irony of the story is that a cub is is a baby bear. This market is a bear market. In 1907 it was JP Morgan who came to the rescue and in 2008, exactly 100 years later it is JP Morgan Chase who is again coming to the rescue.

The Mayan civilization used a very advanced calender and cycle system. As most of us now know the 2012 cycle is when all the Mayan cycles converge. This event signals the end of an age and a beginning of the next age. However, there is one cycle that stands out to me. It is called the ‘Mayan long count’. This is a 52 year cycle that ends naturally in December 2012 with the rest of the Mayan cycles. If we subtract 52 years from 2012 we get 1960. This was a pivotal time in the U.S. If we subtract 104 (2*52) from 2012 we get 1908. As we all know this bear market is very similar to the 1907 stock market crash which ended in 1908. You can draw your own conclusions.

The last cycle that I will examine is the 10 year cycle. Ten is known as a perfect number, hence perfect 10. Therefore, I personally watch the 10 year cycle and multiples of ten. In the year 2000, major stock indexes began a new bear market. 2010 will be the 10 year anniversary from the 2000 bear market. The market also sold off in 1910 . This is also 100 years from 2010. Many times market tops are formed in the ninth, and zero, years of decades. For example 1929, 1910, 1920, 1980, 1990, and 2000 just to name a few. Realizing how important the 10 year cycle is I decided to multiply it to the Mayan 52 year cycle(10*52=520) and we get 520 years. The next Mayan 52 year cycle is completed in 2012. Therefore, if we subtract 520 from 2012(2012-520=1492) we get the year 1492. This is certainly a pivotal time in history as this was when Columbus discovered America.

Whats the conclusion? This is a severe bear market without question. Short term traders appear to be the only people benefiting from the volatile market. This type of environment should last for several years to come. If you are going to invest or trade it is imperative to know and understand the mechanics of the market and not the Wall Street Hype. Cycles are apparently one of the more important ways to understand when the major trends are about to change. Perhaps cycles can even predict who is going to win the next Super Bowl.

Source: Nicholas Santiago

http://www.inthemoneystocks.com — The Leader In Market Technical Guidance

NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Decided

All in all it was a 2-10 ATS count for Sunday betting in the NFL and a day like that can create a lot of hesitation for bettors making picks and sports freaks for the week ahead. Finally, NFL Power Rankings Week 10 are decided now.

It was a rough weekend for anyone betting favorites as teams like Tampa Bay, Tennessee and San Diego played well enough to not only ruin the bet for pointspread players, but teaser bettors as well.

The Buccaneers, complaining early in the week of lingering jetlag symptoms from their trip to jolly old London, paid moneyline bettors at more than 4-to-1 odds for that shocking defeat of the shattered, battered and bruised Packers team.

Even the favorites in Jacksonville, Indianapolis, New England and New Orleans –teams we all really expect to play well every week, won straight-up but failed to cover the spread. Oops, scratch the Jaguars from that ranking list.

If you had an off-week and were hurt by a bad beat or total that just missed, take a few days to regroup before charging into the Week 10 card with a bad taste still lingering.

Getting back on the horse is a good strategy for the long term but you just want to make sure your handicapping skills and judgment are not being too heavily clouded by what was an abnormally lopsided day for underdogs.

Week 10 NFL Power Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints – The Patriots are knocking but as we stated last week, until a defense proves they can slow this offense down they will remain atop our list. Is everyone as excited about the Week 12 Monday Night Football game as we are?

2. New England – Hopefully if you had the Pats vs. Miami you didn’t get hooked by the 10. QB Brady is without a doubt, 100-percent.

3. Indianapolis – If covering spreads counted, we may have to consider this ranking but the replacement defenders on the Colts are actually doing quite well.

4. Minnesota – Off-week to help rest up for… a three-game home stand? Starting with Detroit?

5. Dallas – Leapfrogged a couple teams with win at Philadelphia. Cowboys have now won four-straight.

6. Baltimore – This is where the rankings start getting a little congested.

7. Denver – Hard to believe Kyle Orton would ever rate this high. Denver’s defense is arguably the best in the league.

8. Philadelphia – Poppin’ Fresh Andy Reid fails miserably at clock management and play-calling late vs. Dallas but the Eagles are still loaded with talent.

9. Pittsburgh – Results from Monday unknown at press time so off a bye, Steelers win streak is still intact.

10. Cincinnati – Season sweep of the Ravens gets the Bengals a well-earned, first-ever top 10 rating at BetRepublic.com.

11. Atlanta – It was only Washington but the Falcons did end a two-game slide and both those losses were against teams in our top 5. Atlanta looked feisty last Sunday and needs to take that aggression on the road for the next two weeks (at CAR, at NYG).

12. Arizona – Shook off bad game vs. Panthers and QB Warner was on fire at Chicago. Offensive numbers still a little one-dimensional but 182 rushing yards vs. Bears opens things up.

13. Miami – Faced tough challenge at Foxboro but will not be caught looking against in-state rival this week coming off an upset win as a double-digit dog.

14. New York Giants – HC Coughlin is starting to look old. Either that or he’s just really tired of watching this team underperform. Needed a bye in the worst way.

15. San Diego – Three-straight wins for Chargers giving them some momentum. Opponents were not exactly top-shelf, but divisional wins count big time and rematch in Week 11 at Denver will be very interesting if Bolts beat Philly this week.

16. Houston – Defense has come a long way since being rated 32 in the league. It’s only fitting to put the Texans at the .500 spot in our ratings.

17. Green Bay – Potential is all that’s keeping the Packers in this spot. Rematch vs. Vikings was Green Bay’s Super Bowl and team played at Tampa like it was their Pro Bowl.

18. New York Jets – Rookie QB r-HC combo still shaping team and with run-game and defense the Jets are still on the uptick.

19. San Francisco – Let one slip away vs. Tennessee and it could hurt them in race for worst division.

20. Chicago – Need to learn how to play a full 60 minutes. Maybe send DT Harris to whatever school Albert Haynesworth took to learn how to play nice with others, too.

21. Seattle – Just missed top 20; needed QB Stafford’s help and maybe could’ve found a way in through the backdoor.

22. Jacksonville – Brutal against the spread but Jags have won four of past six.

23. Carolina – Panthers start two-game home stand right now and seem poised for at least one good game. Two in a row has obviously been banned this year.

24. Washington – Redskins will likely be first NFC team to fire HC in attempt to trick fans into believing next year will be any better.

25. Tennessee – 0-6 start has made it very possible for Titans to move up these rankings every single week from now until January.

26. Buffalo – Highest ranking team of all three foolish enough to fire O-Co in weeks before season began.

27. Kansas City – Letting go of Larry Johnson will be seen as a positive step in KC.

28. St. Louis – Three-straight home games for the Rams can only be seen as a good thing.

29. Tampa Bay – That win catapults the Bucs above and beyond the Bermuda Triangle making up bottom of this list.

30. Cleveland – The Browns are SO lucky Detroit lost at Seattle or they would have fallen even further.

31. Oakland – Same thing for the Raiders.

32. Detroit – Showed so much promise beating Washington but that was too long ago to count for anything in this league. Lions look like they will be a much better team in 2010. Early projection: Four wins.

Week 10 NFL Power Rankings

Week 15 NFL Power Rankings : Week 15 Edition

NFL Power Rankings for Week 15 – Week 15 : Not wanting to overreact, when the Pittsburgh Steelers lost straight-up to Cleveland last Thursday our power ranking minds immediately started pondering how much weight the upset should have on overall ratings. The Steelers were No. 9 on last week’s chart but that loss was not the kind of football we’ve come to expect over the past few years from this team.

It must be a similar situation for an online sportsbook when writing a line after such a surprising lack of effort from an inherently good team. Do you make them a big dog the next week or bank on public support for the team that was upset to dust off and come back strong?

If the rankings were based on the past month Big Ben would probably be positioned somewhere down near the Ryan Fitzpatrick’s and Josh Freeman’s of the league. But the BetRepublic ratings our based on full season performance so the damage isn’t quite that severe yet but still, Mike Tomlin’s squad needed to be penalized.

Pittsburgh fan – if it’s any consolation, Denver and Dallas have joined Pittsburgh in the group of let-downs but that probably doesn’t help much, does it? No, we didn’t think so.

BetRepublic Week 15 NFL Power Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints – Win establishes new franchise record for victories in a season (13) but Saints are becoming bad-beat specialists for Over/Under bettors. Fake field goal on 4th-and-7 from the 15?

2. Indianapolis Colts – Colts defense is quietly becoming difference that could keep this team perfect regardless of who is calling signals under center in fourth quarter.

3. Minnesota Vikings – Jasper Brinkley is linebacker who took place of EJ Henderson as Vikes extend streak of not allowing 100-plus rushers to 35 games.

4. Philadelphia Eagles – This is really shaping up like a Week 17 replay of last season when Eagles crushed Cowboys 44-6. Philly gets back-to-back home chances to make Dallas outcome moot.

5. New England Patriots – Notice how drama in Foxboro is starting to get more attention than the actual football.

6. San Diego Chargers – It was nice of Norv to let anyone in Denver think they ever had a chance of winning this division.

7. Cincinnati Bengals – Run game is there and Chris Henry is gone but Cinci needs to get its deep passing game working or it’s going to be a one-and-done.

8. Arizona Cardinals – Notice how the top eight teams are all made up of division leaders? Arizona still saving its best games for last few weeks.

9. Green Bay Packers – This is youngest overall team in the NFL for third time in last four years. It’s been a contributing factor towards high number of penalties but at this point in the season it is becoming inexcusable.

10. Baltimore Ravens – It may have only been the Lions but there is no questioning what butters the bread for that Ravens offense. Run-game has crept to eighth-best in the league.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers – Early lines indicate that bookmakers still have faith. Maybe the extra days of prep are what Steelers need; after all, their last win was at Denver following bye week.

12. Denver Broncos – Handicapping Broncos is fairly simple: They lose to every team with a shot at making the playoffs and beat up on the bad teams. Hello Oakland!

13. Dallas Cowboys – Romo and Phillips both look ready to move on but you’ve got to love that big screen TV!

14. Miami Dolphins – First thing you need to know: Fish are 14th against the run giving up 106 yards per game. Second thing: Titan run-game has not been stopped at home since Week 5.

15. Houston Texans – QB Schaub throws for 365 yards doing just enough to keep Texans on pace for shot at .500. Maybe the next step is to not include Gary Kubiak in gameplan.

16. New York Giants – Quite a finale for Eagles’ last ever visit. Hope last one out turned off the lights.

17. Tennessee Titans – Vince Young’s hamstring didn’t look good so Titans already thin playoff hopes may now be clinging to the arm of Kerry Collins.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars – Loss to Miami wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicates. Jags are the imposter of the AFC playoff picture and won’t be there for long.

19. Atlanta Falcons – Given the injuries Atlanta’s 6-7 record is pretty respectable. Team is 8-5 ATS, too, and could be a good cover team each of next three weeks.

20. Washington Redskins – We don’t want to be an “I told you so,” but did you see our Fantasy Football tip of the week run in Oakland? RB Quinton Ganther is the new Clinton Portis.

21. New York Jets – Rex Ryan defensive system really starting to kick in. Now if the Jets could just face the Bills and Bucs the rest of the way they’d be playoff bound in no time.

22. San Francisco 49ers – One thing about playing for Mike Singletary, you won’t find any quitters on this team.

23. Carolina Panthers – Things are starting to fall into place for Carolina and they should serve as a good warm-up team for the playoffs for their next two or three opponents; possibly even a good dog play.

24. Seattle Seahawks – If there’s any team in need of retooling this off-season, Seattle could be it. And this job will not be for the faint of heart.

25. Chicago Bears – This team is lacking urgency and focus; if players can’t realize they still need to play hard for shot at playoffs they should at least realize their jobs are on the line.

26. Oakland Raiders – Did QB Gradkowski play well enough before season-ending injury to unseat Russell from No. 1 spot for next year? Ball is in your court now JaMarcus.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Starting with the Bucs, see if you can name the three teams that fired their offensive coordinators just before the season began.

28. Buffalo Bills – That’s two! (And you’re getting warmer)

29. Kansas City Chiefs – For final game of three-week home stand the Chiefs get the Browns

(2-11). KC lost by 29 to Denver (8-5) and just six points to Bills (5-8). Early money says home side wins and by the way, the Chiefs are the third.

30. Cleveland Browns – Beating Steelers gets Mang-idiot a two-spot bounce. Browns are at KC in Week 15, eying out that 29 spot.

31. St. Louis Rams – Rams beat Lions in Week 8 to show they were not the worst and now it looks as if they will burn Detroit again by finishing below them in the standings. Brilliant!

32. Detroit Lions – Enjoyed brief stint out of cellar after beating Cleveland but that loss to Baltimore has likely poured concrete over tomb of another lost season.

Check out BetRepublic for NFL picks, more NFL power ratings, power rating plays and live sports betting TV.

A Brief History of Paintball Guns

Back in 1970, a gentleman by the name of James C. Hale, an employee of Daisy Manufacturing, designed and patented a device to be used by the forestry and farming industries to mark trees, trails and livestock. This mechanism was to become the very first paintball gun the Nelspot 007, and was manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company.

Charles and Evan Nelson founded the Nelson Paint Company in 1940, as the forest and farming industries needed a way to mark hard to reach places. Charles is credited with the creation of pellets filled with paint that could be shot out of a regular type of gun to complete this difficult task.

The first game-style milestone in paintball history came in 1981 New Hampshire when 3 friends (Bob Gurnsey, a sporting goods retailer, Hayes Noel, a stockbroker and Charles Gaines, a writer) planned to play the organized game “Capture the Flag” with 9 others. On June 27, 1981, the game was played using the original Nelspot 007 paintball gun. The winning team never even fired a single shot. The twelve friends had such a good time, they decided to buy into the Nelson Paint Company, and began marketing their newfound fun as a recreational sport.

The paintball guns themselves had to evolve along with this newfound recreational activity, as alternations to make the paint pellets fire softer so they wouldn’t hurt their human target. George A. Skogg, employee of the Nelson Paint Company, invented a “washable marking fluid” formula for soft gelatin capsules, which were more accurate and bright easy-to-see marks that would wash away easily with water and/or detergent. This patent became the Nelson formula for paintballs, as they were the perfect mix for the sport.

The very first paintball outdoor playing field opened in Rochester, New York in 1982. Very soon after, paintball originator Charles Gaines began marketing it as the National Survival Game (NSG), and the following year saw the first NSG championship complete with a $14,000 cash purse for the triumphant party. Upcoming years saw the first indoor playing field in Buffalo, NY, as well as recognition and outdoor fields in Canada, Australia and England.

1988 brought with it the IPPA- the International Paintball Players Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the safety, education and growth of the entire paintball industry. The NPPL (National Professional Paintball League) was founded in 1992, which then started the NPPL Pro-Am series that are found all over the U.S.

Paintball has evolved into quite the lucrative business, boasting quite an array of products for its trade. The accessory trade has grown to include barrels and sites for the guns and sport-specific paintball clothing and gear, with lots of the newest, latest inventions adding to the paintball family the Paintball Bodybag to organize and carry all of your gear in one handy carrier.

NFL Picks Week 1, Sunday’s NFL Schedule, Week One NFL Picks

The sports betting community, bet republic like most sports betting enthusiasts, we were anxiously awaiting the kick-off to the new NFL season. Thursday night gave us a tase of what was to come, as the Titans and Steelers mixed it up in Pittsburgh.

We broke that game down in our Thursday Night sports betting TV show and will go through all the Sunday action in our Sunday NFL Blitz sports betting TV show at the site.

Here are a handful of NFL picks and write-ups from the Bet Republic office focused on Sunday’s NFL schedule.

It’s always tough making football picks in Week 1 since preseason games are the only opportunity we’ve had so far to really gauge the impact of off season player/coaching changes. Looking over the odds online presented a handful of spots that could be a good betting opportunity and we’ve previewed those games here.

Into the 2009 season we go…

Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons

NFL Odds: Falcons -4

Over/Under: 44

Both teams were a surprise last season finishing 11-5 SU and getting into the playoffs. Opponents will be more prepared for each of these squads in `09 and this matchup will give bettors a good opportunity to see which team has made the greatest adjustments. The Falcons have signed TE Tony Gonzalez to their offense, which is a very thoughtful addition.

Atlanta finished 6th in total offense last year and Miami 11th. Defensively, Atlanta ranked 24th and Miami 15th. Miami was 6-2 ATS on the road last year and getting more than a field goal, we like the Fish in the season opener.

BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the underdog Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers

Line: Eagles -2

Over/Under: 44

This is a matchup between two teams that, in the past decade, have been a mirror image of each other. Both are led by veteran coaches and QBs, both have had solid regular season success and both have fallen victim to the Patriots dynasty in the Super Bowl. The Eagles had a ton of preseason hype and the Panthers are trying to recover from their last playoff debacle. Look for both teams to feature the run and for this contest to finish under the number.

BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the “Under”

New York Jets at Houston

Line: Texans -4

Over/Under: 44

Houston is the only AFC team in the past decade that has failed to make at least one trip to the post-season. For that to change the team needs a strong start and this home opener vs. the Jets could be the break Houston needs. QB Matt Schaub has recovered from his ankle injury and will start. Jets QB Sanchez will find the going tough against Mario Williams and the rest of the Houston D. Jets without two suspended defensive starters who were last season’s sack leaders – Shaun Ellis and Calvin Pace. The Texans are 1-3 ATS in recent home openers but were only favored once (2007), beating KC 20-3.

BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the Texans

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots

Line: Patriots -11

Over/Under: 47.5

Cover your eyes kids this could get ugly. The Bills are one of a handful teams that appear to be in disarray heading into the season. The Patriots will use this Monday Nighter to put a scare into the rest of the league. Look for Brady to throw for more than 400 yards. We usually steer clear of double-digit favorites, but will throw a unit down on this one.

BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the Patriots

History Of NHL Jerseys

An interesting way to trace the history of the NHL is to explore the many different NHL jerseys that have evolved over the years. Today, official NHL merchandise holds its own in the sports apparel market, offering numerous colorful selections to choose from. A growing trend in the official NHL merchandise market includes the purchase of vintage NHL jerseys. This allows you to further admire the changes that this intense sport has undergone.

Amateur hockey teams flourished before 1904 until the first professional NHL league was born. Although quite popular throughout the rest of the world, especially Canada, it was the United States that first brought the sport to the professional level. Tucked away in the mining region of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, the start of the International Pro Hockey League blossomed. Three years later, it was no more. In its place, the National Hockey Association (NHA) was established.

In 1910, there were four professional hockey teams on the rise: the Montreal Canadians, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers and Toronto Arenas, which is now known as the Maple Leafs. The main characteristics of their NHL jerseys were long sleeves and stripes. The Toronto Arenas were the only team to sport a solid blue jersey with white trim.

The league slowly made its way to the United States in 1924. The first team in the states was the Boston Bruins. The NHL jerseys associated with this team was a solid brown color with gold trim. At this time, the Hamilton Tigers showcased an NHL jersey with numerous thin lines of black and gold on their sleeves.

As the 1930s rolled around, ultra-skinny lines of alternating color were seen in teams, such as the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Falcons. Stars highlighted the NHL jerseys of the New York Americans red, white and blue color scheme.

During the 1940s, the New York/ Brooklyn Americans folded and the NHL was reduced to only six teams. It is now that we see the emergence of more and more colored pants, as well as a variety of home and away NHL jerseys.

In 1950, we see the Black Hawks move from a barber pole appearance in their black NHL jerseys to a red jersey with an Indian head on front. This is the start of the official NHL merchandise we see associated with the Black Hawks of today. It was in 1955 that the Bruins became the first team to introduce the color gold in their NHL jerseys. The tweaking of home and away NHL jerseys is also continued.

During the 1967-68 season, the league expanded from six teams to twelve. Newer teams embraced a wide assortment of colors, including orange, sky blue, green and purple in their NHL jerseys. This was a radical change for official NHL merchandise during the 60s. The 70s brought along the Buffalo Sabres with their blue, white and gold colors, as well as the Vancouver Canucks, which used a color scheme for their NHL jerseys similar to Seattle Seahawk jerseys.

As the 80s came into history, official NHL merchandise began to showcase manufacturer logos on their apparel. Companies, such as Nike and SandKnit cashed in. This gave the basis for providing official NHL merchandise per company associations. This is also a common practice today, which often causes higher prices of NHL jerseys based upon their affiliations.

During the 90s, the interest in hockey spread further and newer teams began to pop up in other parts of the country. Teams in Dallas, Phoenix and even Miami made their mark. A business deal to broadcast hockey on television is solidified. Now, NHL jerseys were able to grace your television screen. A third NHL jersey was created, which was set aside for Saturday games or special occasions. Different shapes and NHL jersey designs emerged. Specialty patches are created. Nameplates are used.

In the 2000s, we see more and more expressive and colorful logos plastered on official NHL merchandise. The players of today should respect the evolution of NHL jerseys that never had the radical designs of the Dallas Stars, the logo of the Florida Panthers or the assortment of colors presented in the Los Angeles Kings or the Might Ducks of Anaheim NHL jerseys.

A History of Paint Ball Gear Sites

Modern Paint Ball guns were a natural progression from a ‘Ping Pong Gun’ that was used by many young ‘Warriors’ in the 1950′s. This ‘Toy’ would fire Ping Pong balls under air pressure. A hit wasn’t as painful as a modern unprotected ‘Paintball’ hit, because of the deceleration of the very light projectile.

Then the Daisy Manufacturing Company of ‘BB Gun’ fame came up with the first Paint Ball Gun. The first Paint Ball gun was invented (1970) and patented by a Daisy Employee, James Hale (U.S. patent 3,788, 298 issued on January 29, 1974.) with the original intent of use by the Forest Service and ranchers marking trees for harvest and cattle for selection. The first gun actually designed for playing Paintball was the Splatmaster invented by Robert G Shepherd. This U.S. patent number 4,531,503 was issued to Shepherd on July 30, 1985.

The Forestry version (Nel-spot 007 pistols) was used in a game of ‘Capture the Flag’ in 1981, boys will be boys. By 1982 some of the entrepreneurial players from that ‘Capture the Flag’ game, started National Survival Games (NSG) and opening paint ball fields. Charles Gaines, founded NSG. PMI (Pursuit Marketing Inc.) was founded for the distribution and marketing of Paint Ball products and paint ball gear sites. Caleb Strong opened the first outdoor paintball gear site in 1982 in upstate New York. Being in upstate New York, Caleb also opened the first indoor paintball gear site in Buffalo in 1984.
The early marketing of the new sport included articles written by quite a few of those early players and published in Sports Illustrated and other sports genre.

Once established it was only natural to set up a Championship Contest. This was done in 1983 at a paint ball gear site with a purse of $14,000 cash. The sport also went international in 1983 with the opening of an outdoor paintball gear site in Toronto.
More International Venues were added beginning with Australia in 1984, France and Denmark in 1991 with the rest of Europe soon to follow. An indoor paintball gear site was erected in England by 1985.

I’m sure quite a few Wives, Mothers and anyone who does their own laundry are grateful to George A. Skogg who in 1987 patented a “washable marking fluid formulation for soft gelatin capsules” – a Paintball bullet recipe (U.S. patent 4,634,606 granted January 6, 1987.) The fluid when packaged in a soft gelatin capsule produced projectiles that were more accurate and stable and made bright, highly visible marks that could be easily washed out with water and/or detergent and were ideally suitable for use in the sports and games exercises. Skogg worked for the Nelson Paint Company and this patent became the Nelson recipe for Paintballs.

LET’S GET ORGANIZED
In 1988 The IPPA (International Paintball Players Association) was founded. This is a non-profit association dedicated to the education, growth and safety of the sport of paintball. During the period 1992-1993 NPPL (National Professional Paintball League ) was founded and the NPPL Pro-Am Series began with paint ball gear site tournaments set up in Reno, New York, Boston, and other cities around the U.S..

It was inevitable that television would become involved. How could it ‘NOT’ be included. In 1993 ESPN aired it’s filming of the NPPL ‘DC Cup’ from Bowie, Maryland, organized by the PCRI (Paintball Ratings and Competitions International). As interest expanded in 1996 ESPN aired the ESPN World Championships of Paintball from Orlando, Florida.
And of course the Internet would become a venue. In 1994 Warpig introduced the first internet paintball gear site.

The game has exploded into a multimillion-dollar sport with amateur and professional tournaments across the United States and Europe. Paintball Gear Sites are opening every day now, all over the world. Cash purses and prizes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved. Daisy (manufacturer of pellets, B.B.s and air guns), Crossman (manufacturer of airguns), Scott USA (manufacturer of ski poles and goggles) and JT USA (manufacturer of motocross safety equipment) are just a few of the companies that have expanded into paintball paraphernalia and equipment. Sponsors of modern tournaments include companies such as Budweiser and Pepsi-Cola and who know’s what’s next. (Toy’s r Us, Ruger).

Copyright © 2006 C. R. Ellsworth

Steelers may be 2009 NFL champions

NFL is looking more and more familiar to Steelers

Everyone is talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 2009 NFL season kicks off. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the 2008 Super Bowl Champs. They have won 6 Super Bowl Championships that is highest ever by any NFL team. Therefore, it’s obvious that NFL looks more and more familiar to the Steelers.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers won the 2008 Super Bowl Championships, their official merchandize was sold like anything. Every NFL fan wanted to feel associated with the team and there’s no great way to show your support than by sporting the official team merchandise.

The Steelers merchandize is available in the form of headwear, jerseys, home & office décor, jewelry, tailgating & outdoors, accessories, gifts, auto accessories, games & electronics. You can buy your NFL merchandise from any licensed sports store or online. And if you are looking for the Pittsburgh Steelers best sellers, you can easily find it online. With online shopping, you can take a look at NFL merchandise that is available in at online NFL Shop. It can’t be possible when if you visit any local sports store that may keep a limited collection of merchandize.

Some of the officially licensed NFL Jerseys of Pittsburgh Steelers are customized authentic alternate jersey, customized authentic white jersey, and customized authentic team color jersey. These authentic jerseys are made by Reebok.  You can get these jerseys online from Diehardfans.com or any other reliable online store that provides services to the Die Hard Fans in the US and worldwide.

Buying from an online sports store provides you more flexibility to read about each product in detail and then buy depending upon your choice and need. You can choose a customized authentic jersey of Steelers and be a part of the team. You can even customize the team name and number that will be displayed on your back

It’s a common misconception that women are more inclined towards possessing jewelry, but with the vast selection of sports jewelry, including Steelers team logo jewelry, that misconception may begin to fade. For Steelers fans, the choices are abundant, from bracelets, chains, necklaces, and earrings to pendants, rings, pins, and jewelry boxes. The list of Pittsburgh Steelers Jewelry is endless.

NFL 2009

It may not be so easy to win back-to-back Super Bowl title for the Steelers but the Steelers look poised to retain the championship. The England Patriots are the only NFL team that has won back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Steelers had won the Super Bowl Championships in the 2005 season but couldn’t retain the title in the next season. You never know when the unpredictable can take the turn. This time also Steelers have been put favorites by the experts and analysts in the 2009 NFL predictions but only time will tell whether Steelers can get back-to-back title or not.

The NFL experts and analysts are coming out with their own predictions about NFL 2009. Although more and more people are betting for the Steelers, only the time will tell whether these predictions come true or not.

There are many more strong contenders for the 2009 Super Bowl title like Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals. Any of these teams has the potential to win the Super Bowl if it maintains the composure and plays well during the season.

Till now, the teams that have won the Super Bowl title are Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, St. Louis Rams, and New England Patriots.

List Of Super Bowl Winners

“You know you’ve just gotta know. You need to know who won the Superbowl every single year because you know it’s going to come up when you’re sitting around with your buddies and watching the most important game in American sports. So, just in case your knowledge isn’t quite up to snuff, here’s a cheat sheet: A list of Superbowl winners:

SuperBowl #:   Date:  Winning Team:  Score:  Losing Team:
I   01/15/67 Green Bay Packers  35–10  Kansas City Chiefs
II   01/14/68 Green Bay Packers  33–14  Oakland Raiders
III   01/12/69 New York Jets   16–7   Baltimore Colts
IV   01/11/70 Kansas City Chiefs  23–7   Minnesota Vikings
V   01/17/71 Baltimore Colts  16–13  Dallas Cowboys
VI   01/16/72 Dallas Cowboys   24–3   Miami Dolphins
VII   01/14/73 Miami Dolphins  14–7   Washington Redskins
VIII   01/13/74 Miami Dolphins  24–7   Minnesota Vikings
IX   01/12/75 Pittsburgh Steelers  16–6   Minnesota Vikings
X   01/18/76 Pittsburgh Steelers  21–17  Dallas Cowboys
XI   01/09/77 Oakland Raiders  32–14  Minnesota Vikings
XII   01/15/78 Dallas Cowboys  27–10  Denver Broncos
XIII   01/21/79 Pittsburgh Steelers  35–31  Dallas Cowboys
XIV   01/20/80 Pittsburgh Steelers  31–19  Los Angeles Rams
XV   01/25/81 Oakland Raiders  27–10  Philadelphia Eagles
XVI   01/24/82 San Francisco 49ers  26–21  Cincinnati Bengals
XVII   01/30/83 Washington Redskins  27–17  Miami Dolphins
XVIII   01/22/84 Los Angeles Raiders  38–9   Washington Redskins
XIX   01/20/85 San Francisco 49ers  38–16  Miami Dolphins
XX   01/26/86 Chicago Bears   46–10  New England Patriots
XXI   01/25/87 New York Giants  39–20  Denver Broncos
List of Superbowl Winners
SuperBowl #:   Date:  Winning Team: Score:  Losing Team:
XXII   01/31/88 Washington Redskins  42–10  Denver Broncos
XXIII   01/22/89 San Francisco 49ers  20–16  Cincinnati Bengals
XXIV   01/28/90 San Francisco 49ers  55–10  Denver Broncos
XXV   01/27/91 New York Giants  20–19  Buffalo Bills
XXVI   01/26/92 Washington Redskins  37–24  Buffalo Bills
XXVII   01/31/93 Dallas Cowboys  52–17  Buffalo Bills
XXVIII  01/30/94 Dallas Cowboys  30–13  Buffalo Bills
XXIX   01/29/95 San Francisco 49ers  49–26  San Diego Chargers
XXX   01/28/96 Dallas Cowboys  27–17  Pittsburgh Steelers
XXXI   01/26/97 Green Bay Packers  35–21  New England Patriots
XXXII   01/25/98 Denver Broncos  31–24  Green Bay Packers
XXXIII  01/31/99 Denver Broncos  34–19  Atlanta Falcons
XXXIV  01/30/00 St. Louis Rams  23–16  Tennessee Titans
XXXV   01/28/01 Baltimore Ravens  34–7   New York Giants
XXXVI  02/03/02 New England Patriots  20–17  St. Louis Rams
XXXVII  01/26/03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48–21 Oakland Raiders
XXXVIII  02/01/04 New England Patriots  32–29  Carolina Panthers
XXXIX  02/06/05 New England Patriots  24–21  Philadelphia Eagles
XL   02/05/06 Pittsburgh Steelers  21–10  Seattle Seahawks
XLI   02/04/07 Indianapolis Colts  29–17  Chicago Bears
XLII   02/03/08 New York Giants  17–14  New England Patriots
XLIII   02/01/09 Pittsburgh Steelers  27–23  Arizona Cardinals
And don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone you cheated and had to look at a list of superbowl winners!
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