Despite what Schoolhouse Rock says, 2 is the magic number around here. (Photo: Bridget Samuel/flickr)

Two years ago, this site went live as one of the first blogs under the G9 Sports banner. One threatened lawsuit and network name change later, and we’re still here as one of the oldest sites on Aerys Sports.

I can hardly believe it myself.

I guess this is where I’m supposed to write about how this site has changed my life or something, but it really hasn’t changed all that much. I’m still the same smart aleck with limited writing skills I’ve always been — just with a few more people reading what I write. This site has put me in contact with some awesome people, though, and for that, I’m forever grateful.

To “celebrate” (actually, it’s a coincidence, but we’ll say it’s for the anniversary), I’ll be on The Lakeshore FM 89.1 in Northwest Indiana today, discussing the New York Rangers’ Girl’s Guide debacle. If you have Windows Media Player or Winamp (does anyone still use Winamp nowadays?), you can tune in at the above link.

SOON. (Photo: Brian Koprowski/flickr)

Hey! It’s you again, erstwhile Runs On Duncan reader!

How are you? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Aren’t you glad the lockout’s over and we’ll have Blackhawks games to talk about soon enough? I mean, I understand if you’re a little bitter about how this lockout went down. I’m a bit salty about it, myself. But let’s be honest — I’m also really happy NHL hockey’s coming back before the entire season was lost.

So, if you’re back on board, so am I.

Let’s get pumped for the season!

» Continue reading “Back To Blackhawks Business”

The Blackhawks may be standing by as the lockout continues, but we aren’t.

Starting next week, Runs On Duncan will be providing you with weekly game updates from the Rockford IceHogs, Toledo Walleye, and Chicago Steel. Here is the tentative update schedule:

• Mondays: Toledo Walleye
• Tuesdays: Rockford IceHogs
• Wednesdays: Chicago Steel

We will also be updating with news about these teams as it comes in during the week.

Of course, we won’t be abandoning Blackhawks news altogether — we’ll be getting you the news about what’s going on with our favorite players, as well. Keep an eye on this site. We’re going to make it through this lockout together.

Why must you do this to me, Blackhawks?

My Blackhawks season tickets came in via FedEx today.

Instead of gleefully ripping open the package and making plans for games like I have for the past three years, I somberly opened it and stared at them for a while.

It’s a physical reminder that the 2012-2013 season might never happen.

» Continue reading “Salt In The Wound”

Stan Mikita is recovering! (Photo: Francesca/flickr)

Bob Verdi posted some good news on the Blackhawks website today: Stan Mikita says he is recovering from cancer.

“It looks very clean,” Mikita said Friday. “That’s what the doctors told me, and I am very thankful. Jill and I always had a happy home, but it’s even happier now.”

Stage 1 oral cancer has a 90% survival rate, so the odds were for him making a full recovery — but it’s just nice to hear it from the man himself.

» Continue reading “Your Daily Cup: Congrats, Stan!”

Photo: kandyjaxx/flickr

My minion, Hannah, is leaving for Europe for a semester. I had a temporary minion, but his real job is kicking his ass, so he won’t be able to fill in.

So this is my cry out to the Internet. I need a new minion before the beginning of the season!

Your duties as my minion will include:

• Writing up pre- and post-game articles on the site for most Blackhawks home games (because I will be at the games), using these posts as templates: Pre-Game, Post-Game
• Posting occasional “Your Daily Cup” link dumps and breaking news when I can’t get to them.
• Fetching my slippers, my newspaper, and my coffee

Requirements:

• Must have experience with WordPress
• Decent writing skills (I’ll edit to a point, but if I have to take a red pen to all of your work, just don’t apply, okay?)
• A sense of humor — this is obviously the most important requirement.

If you’re interested in applying for the minion position, please send me a link to existing writing you have done OR a writing sample to runsonduncan@gmail.com. If you’re sending in a writing sample, this is the subject:

Write up the Blackhawks home opener against the Stars, using the pre-game format linked above. Pretend that they’ve already won against the Stars in overtime the night before.

Finally, after almost a month of stalling, Runs On Duncan will be starting its first fantasy hockey leagues!

Yes, “leagues.” As in “more than one league.” See, more people signed up for fantasy hockey than I thought would do so. I did promise that whoever signed up would be in a league, so… now I have two leagues. The good thing about this is that now I can have one rotisserie league and one head-to-head league, so everyone who gave a preference is now in their desired type of league. The people who did not give a preference were split down the middle and distributed evenly.

After the jump, find out which league you’re in, as well as other info that you may find important.

» Continue reading “The ROD Fantasy Hockey Leagues: Updates!”

Two hours ago, the sports writer for Veikkaaja/Ilta-Sanomat Juha Hiitelä broke the news on his Twitter account that IIHF Communications Director Szymon Szemberg called Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff “overrated” on Twitter, and sarcastically added that this probably helped the IIHF/NHL relationship:

Intrigued, I decided to go to the source and examine the original tweet…

Read the rest over at IIHF: Hockey Abroad.

Come for the fun. Stay for the swag.

We here at Runs On Duncan are thinking about throwing a little shindig this summer.

See, the Blackhawks are holding their convention on July 15-17, and this seems like the perfect time for all of us to get together and meet up for shenanigans.

Seem like a good idea? Then vote here (or drop me a comment) and let me know if you would be willing to come in for it.

A few notes before you give your final vote:

It would not be held at the convention, so you wouldn’t need a pass. I just figure that, since there will be a bunch of people coming in for the convention, it would be a good time to get together.

We’re looking at getting an all-ages facility, so you can bring the kids if you feel so inclined.

This is still an exploratory vote, so nothing is concrete at this time. We’re looking into holding it on the afternoon/evening of July 16 (Duncan Keith’s birthday — ha), but it could be earlier or later depending on what we can get.

So, go vote (or, again, drop me a comment here) and make your voice heard! Oh, you might be wondering why there’s a picture of that pin up there. Well, if the party goes forward, and you RSVP once I get things squared away, I was thinking that you guys could get a little present from us here. Not that I’m trying to sway you in any way, mind you.

The best and the worst (Photos: Doug Butchy/flickr, Doug Kerr/flickr)

A few days ago, I found myself reading Ranking Baseball’s Best Ballparks. It seemed simple enough. Nate Silver gathered the reviews for the 30 MLB ballparks from Yelp.com, figured out the average score for each, and ranked them. “Gee,” I said to myself, “someone should do the same thing for NHL arenas! Wouldn’t that be fun to see?” So, I decided to give it a shot myself.

I soon figured out why this might be a bad idea.

Read more now at the Kitchen Sink.