Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Bubble Hockey and Its History


What is Bubble Hockey?

Lets drop the puck and let the fun begin...

Bubble, or dome hockey as it is also called, got its name because of the very apparent dome that covers the play-field. Typically the game is played either one on one or two one two with the competitors being responsible for the 5 players and the goalie. Game play is fast and furious as the puck never leaves the playing surface. Face-offs are automatic as the puck is either dropped onto the surface from above or ejected onto the playing surface. Most of the games have audio effects that offer realistic gaming experiences. Some, such as the classic Super Chexx, offer coin-op options that can be switched on and off for business or home use. The dome keeps the action contained inside the bubble hockey tables. So no more searching around the house or arcade for lost pucks.

Bubble Hockey History:

It is very important to distinguish that the histories of bubble hockey and table hockey are very different in their origin. The 1st table hockey games arrived in the 1920s. They had players made from wood and wire. Because the players could only spin in place, early table hockey games required a hump in the center of the table to keep the puck moving during game play. In the 1950s, our idea of modern table hockey was born. These games featured full color players capable of sliding up and down the playing surface. Most agree that table hockey in this manner existed in Europe since the 1930s.

Bubble hockey as we know it began in 1982 when Innovative Concepts in Entertainment created the first Chexx bubble hockey game. The Chexx bubble hockey game became incredibly popular with arcade goers and hockey fans alike. The game focused on the underdog USA Olympic hockey team of 1980 against the juggernaut Russian hockey team. Obviously some of the allure of the game played on the emotions of American hockey fans still proud from America's 1980 Olympic Gold medal hockey victory. Today, the Super Chexx bubble hockey game is the brand of choice for most bubble hockey enthusiasts as its standards have never waned from the beginning. There are other brands competing with Super Chexx for bubble hockey supremacy. Along with the original Super Chexx, models made by Regent- Halex, Harvard, Shelti, and Carrom are all worth checking out.








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Ice Hockey History and the NHL


Even though the history of ice hockey began earlier than 1917, many people say that this was the year when the modern hockey history began.

You probably already new this, but 1917 was the year when the first historical game of the National Hockey League was played. In the spring the year after Toronto had become the first ever Stanley Cup champions.

Since I love the National Hockey League so much, it would actually take a full 500+ pages book to tell you all of NHL's history. This league has been through so much and it always gives me the chill when I think about it.

Just consider this, with the 2004-2005 season fresh in memory; the 1919 Stanley Cup was canceled due to influenza! This makes 2005 the first year without a Stanley Cup champion since 1919.

Over the history of the National Hockey League we have also seen the big Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto being built. Not without controversies though.

Personally I don't think that any other sport has so many true heroes as the NHL. What a great history and they are all in the Hall for us to see and admire.

What about highlights on the ice though?

Well, since I'm not that old I got to say that Wayne Gretzky and the 1980's Edmonton Oilers had the greatest era in ice hockey history.

I actually feel sorry for the young hockey kids of today. Not to have seen Gretzky play isn't anything I would have liked to experience.








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History of Field Hockey


Hockey has a long history even though many people would like to believe that it is a modern game. In fact, researchers and archeologists have found that games similar to hockey have existed throughout history. Historical evidence shows that in the past also teams existed and each of the teams tried to place a ball and even take a shot at the opponent's goal using a stick. According to historical records from different time, it can be seen that a game similar to that of hockey was played by civilizations that can be dated back to almost 4,000 years and even more.

Drawing discovered in the Beni Hasan tombs in Egypt's Nile Valley clearly depicts men playing this sport and this was almost 4,000-years back. Some of the other evidence regarding the existence of hockey was found in Persia, and it was considered to be a full-fledged sport of the Romans (they called it paganica), Aztecs, and Ethiopians, each playing a variation of this modern and competitive sport. The first hiostorical evidence of a hockey like team game was discovered at the base of statues that form a part of a wall built by Themistocles and this dates back to 478 B.C. The picture on the wall clearly shows 6 men carrying hooked sticks trying to take a ball.

Hockey-like games became increasingly popular in the Middle Ages and was being played across Europe and was known by many names. In England, it was known as cambuca or cammock or comocke; In Scotland it was called shinty, In France it was known as jeu de mail, and the Dutch called it het kolven. The actual origin of the word hockey is uncertain and obscure but modern field hockey took birth in the public schools of England in the early 19th century. The first hockey club on records was Blackheath, which was formed in southeast London around 1849. The initial game was rougher than the subtle finishes and brilliance of the modern sport and was being played on a field that had a dimension: 247m by 64m.

The modern game of hockey as we see today was actually developed by the Middlesex cricket clubs and especially Teddington. The club members were looking for some form of winter exercise and started to experiment with a stick game that had rules similar to that of football. A cricket ball was used for playing the game and in 1874 they started to form rules for this game as it drew popularity. Finally, in 1886 a proper Hockey Association was formed with 7 London football clubs becoming a member. The association had representatives from Trinity College, Cambridge. One of the founding members of this association was Blackheath.

The game as we see today spread to other countries within the British Empire as English soldiers participated in this sport. The first international match was played in 1895 between Ireland and Wales and the score line was 3-0. Hockey was introduced to the Olympics in 1908 with only three participants: England, Scotland, and Ireland. It has truly come a long way since then!








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History Of Hockey


The history of hockey is similar to that of golf as it basically is rooted from any game that involved a stick and a ball or rock which have all been played for thousands of years. Very rough and crude forms of these games have been taking place for thousands of years throughout Europe, Egypt and South America that have formed hockey history.

Hockey began to form clearer roots throughout England in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. These were treacherous games that often combined the entire village versus another village and teams could often have up to a hundred players and the players often played through major injuries and endured several days of these games.

The sport that we are more familiar with today began to form at Eton University in England when they actually began to formulate rules around 1860. Then the first Hockey Assoc. in the history of hockey was formed in 1875 which clarified more rules.

Further growth of the sport was spawning in North America as new settlers came to the continent. Montreal was credited with the first organized game in the history of hockey that was played in 1875 by college students. The students then formed more associations and leagues and created new rules at the same time.

The game continued to grow in popularity and became so popular that Montreal offered the first World Championship of Ice Hockey in 1883. European hockey continued to grow at the college level while a number of universities formed fierce rivalries.

Some dramatic rule changes were applied that helped progress the game to a field of eleven players while hockey equipment began to evolve as well. The use of safety equipment to include pads, helmets, mouth pieces and protective eye shields have dramatically improved from the early days of hockey history. It was not uncommon to not even wear head gear until the last few decades.

The international appeal of hockey grew tremendously due to the Olympic Games. It was first played at the Games in 1924 and only allowed male teams. Canada was a safe bet to win the gold medal as they won the first six out of seven golds. From the mid fifties to the eighties the Soviet Union dominated. Although the US won its first gold medal in hockey history in1960 it was the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" where our college amateur team went on to beat the heavily favored Russians that spurred a growth in Americas appetite for hockey.

The NHL as we know it today was formed in 1917 and consists of 30 teams 24 of which are from America and the remainder in Canada. The bulk of the players come from Canada, Europe and America. There is also an International Association called the International Hockey Federation which was formed in 1908 and continues today by hosting some of the largest international ice hockey tournaments. These two organizations have helped to form and govern hockey as we know it today. The sport has grown a lot from twigs and balls to a major international activity that produces billions in revenue each year and has some of the most amazing athletes on the planet, so goes the history of hockey.








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Monday, October 4, 2010

College Hockey - History and Origin


Professional hockey and college hockey have a solid fan base, and many students try out during college hockey recruiting. Hockey is a sport in which two teams compete by driving a ball or disc using a stick into the goal or net of the opposing team. Perhaps ice hockey is the most popular form of the game, and college hockey teams usually play on an ice surface.

The origins of the game are difficult to determine. Thomas Chandler Haliburton wrote an article in 1844 about childhood memories. In these writings he detailed his time at King's College shortly after the turn of the century, wherein the boys would play a game known as Hurley, on the Long Pond, on the ice. James Thomas Sutherland claimed that the first hockey game ever played was held in his hometown of Kingston. According to him, the game featured two teams, comprised of the Royal Canadian Rifles, who were then stationed at the British Garrison in the area. The game was also said to have been played in the frozen Kingston harbor in 1855. However, the game also featured as many as fifty men, and this glaring deviation from recognized traditional hockey rules has often been cited a refutation of this claim.

Some exceptional students who have enough talent and impressive scores quickly attract the attention of college coaches during (or even before) college hockey recruiting. Others, however, need to make extra effort in order to beat the competition, and play in college hockey.

Fortunately, the Internet has proved to be a useful venue for both athletes and coaches looking for promising players to participate in college hockey teams. D1Athletes is an online community wherein athletes and coaches alike can share and exchange information they need on college hockey recruiting. D1Athletes offers them a place to build an online presence and gain important public exposure.








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Hockey History


The word "hockey" may well derive from the old French word "hoquet" which was a shepherd's crook or from the Dutch word "hokkie". This was a old word for a doghouse, which may have been used as a goal. Field hockey history, however, seems to be traceable much further back... 4,000 years ago someone drew pictures in an Egyptian tomb of a sport that look very much like field hockey. Ice hockey history does not date back this far and the oldest recorded history is a Dutch painting from the 17th Century which clearly shows some form of the game being played.

When the European immigrants came to America, they brought their versions of hockey, shinty and hurling with them. In some areas it became popular to play these games on ice and stick and ball games were enjoyed anywhere there was a suitable lake. By the mid 1800s the game had become extremely popular and many games were played by the British soldiers. By the 1870s its appeal had warranted a set of rules being devised at Montreals McGill University. Each team contained 9 players and the ball was replaced by a puck. In more recent years, hockey history has been carefully studied by the Society for International Hockey Research and it would seem that there are a few grey areas regarding its early history. They do, however, know about the first recorded organised game where a score was kept and the teams identified.

This took place on 3rd March 1875 at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. Shortly afterwards, in 1877 the McGill University Hockey Club went down in history as the first club to exist. The popularity of hockey grew and the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was organised in 1886. It was also popular in Europe with Oxford and Cambridge Universities both having teams. There was great rivalry between these two, as you would expect. This was probably the first in the history of the game. By the end of the 1800s the game was well established and there were many teams being organised. Hockey had reached many other parts of the United States.

Professional league teams made their debut in hockey history just prior to World War 1. Starting in Michigan, this quickly incorporated Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine, Great Britain and Austria. Although there are now only six players on a team and play now takes place on ice rinks rather than frozen lakes, some aspects remain just the same. Clothing has come a long way since its conception and all professional players will wear quite considerable protective clothing. This is no surprise when you consider that the game involves a lot of body contact and also that the puck can travel extremely fast.

There are many heroes in hockey history and the game has gone on to become one of America's most popular sports. Professional players are very high visibility stars and the sport is lucrative. It has a combination of glamour, speed, technical ability and aggression that makes it compulsive viewing.








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Hockey's First Telecast


When was the first hockey game televised? More than half a century ago in the winter of 1940. A game played in New York's Madison Square Garden made history when the Rangers hosted the Canadiens. That night, for the first time, hockey fans at home could catch the action, on the miraculous new invention called television.

Not many fans, mind you, because television was in its infancy in 1940. There were only about 300 sets in all of New York City. Their screens were a mere 7 inches wide. Incredibly, there was only one camera to follow the play. The announcer's name was Skip Waltz, although he preferred to use the name Bill Allen.

A dozen years later, during the 1952-53 season, the first hockey games were televised in Canada. The Montreal Canadiens presented their first televised game from the forum on October 11, 1952, and the Leafs TV debut took place three weeks later, on November 1, 1952.

Incredibly, the first producer of the Montreal hockey telecasts was the 24-year-old sports editor of an Ottawa newspaper. Gerald Renaud applied for the job and landed it, even though he had never seen television and had no idea how to produce a game on TV. He hastily read some library books on the subject, asked other CBC production people how things worked and eventually did a praiseworthy job.

But televise hockey was not welcome with open arms by certain league owners and executives. Many of them feared the medium would dramatically hurt ticket sales leads owner cons might, for example, charged a mere hundred dollars per game for TV rights to leave games during hockey night in Canada's initial season. He wanted to make certain televise hockey would be in his team's best interest before locking himself into a long-term contract. At the same time, and NHL president Clarence Campbell took a jaundiced view of television, calling it "the greatest menace in the entertainment world."








For more stories and fascinating hockey facts, visit Brian McFarlane's site: http://ithappenedinhockey.com

Brenda McFarlane is a playwright, scriptwriter and theatre director who helps her dad, Brian McFarlane maintain his blog site. Her dad, Brian McFarlane has written countless fabulous books on hockey and is the foremost hockey historian in the world. His new book, From the Broadcast Booth, is packed with great stories he collected over more than 25 years he worked for Hockey Night in Canada and the decades he's been a hockey journalist and television personality.