Author Archives: thinksojoe

Hockey Media

EA SPORTS NHL 15 Teaser Trailer, first info

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12 Player NHL Collision Physics

For the first time in any sports game, real-world physics affects every player through every on-ice collision with the new 12 Player NHL ® Collision Physics. Utilizing the power of the next generation consoles, and building off the critically-acclaimed NHL Collision Physics system, every player on the ice is governed by physics at all times. Feel the hard-hitting chaos of NHL hockey through true-to-life secondary collisions, net scrambles and player pileups, capturing the desperation of every shift.

Real Puck Physics

The puck is one of the most complex items in the game to authentically replicate and it finally gets its due in NHL 15. Completely rebuilt puck physics result in a more realistic feel to every puck interaction. Everything on the ice, including the ice surface itself, is live which leads to the unpredictable and authentic puck spins, rolls and bounces seen in a real NHL game.

Authentic Player & Equipment Models

The Next Generation Hockey Player has been rebuilt from the ice up. Now player models have three distinct layers – the body, equipment, and jersey. Each layer interacts independently, making every contact with the puck or other players even more realistic. Dynamic Cloth technology adds an extra layer of realism as it reacts to the player’s movement as they explode up the ice, helping bring the speed of the game to life.

Unprecedented Player Likeness

Powered by the same technology that brought the most realistic representation of the athlete to EA SPORTS UFC, NHL 15 delivers groundbreaking player likeness, emotion and animation. From the strides a player takes to get up the ice to the emotion on their face after scoring a game winning goal, the players are as real as they’ve ever been.

Superstar Skill Stick

Now all the tools of an NHL superstar are in your hands. The revolutionary Skill Stick has evolved to give even more control to the player. Protect the puck, receive passes without breaking stride, and discover an arsenal of sweet new dekes, all with an intuitive right stick control scheme that is easy to use but packed with depth.

Authentic Arenas

There is no feeling like being there, and we are giving you the best seats in the house. The power of the next-gen consoles finally allows the NHL franchise to capture every detail of an NHL arena. Unique arena elements from 19,000+ seat capacities to lighting and player entrance tunnels are captured with a level of detail not possible on the previous generation. Now those home games will truly feel like home.

New Commentary Team

New voices for a new generation. NHL 15 welcomes the NBC Sports commentary team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick and Eddie Olczyk to the broadcast booth. TSN analyst Ray Ferraro will provide game insights at ice level. Combined with Real Life Broadcast Integration that will feature real-world pre-game video commentary with Doc and Eddie set against in-game visuals, NHL 15 takes a revolutionary step forward in sports videogames; where the lines between the real world of sport broadcast and the game are blurred.

NBC Sports Game Day Presentation

The most realistic broadcast package in a video game to-date is possible because of a new partnership with NBC Sports. Set the scene with the NHL on NBC crew welcoming you to the city during the game intros and immerse yourself in an experience that matches what you see on television with NHL on NBC graphics and branding.

Living Crowds

NHL 15 sets a new standard in videogames with over 9,000 individual crowd models with 4x the animations of previous generations. Take a look through the glass and you’ll see fans hold up signs with your name on them, costume wearing superfans, or even sections full of team rivals rooting against you. Feel their behavior change after dropping the gloves, landing a big hit, or scoring a clutch goal. The crowd is alive.

Vision AI

An elevated level of player intelligence, Vision AI features evolved awareness with players reading and reacting to potential plays. Scoring area recognition, pass anticipation, and enhanced team breakouts all improve the flow of the game.

EA SPORTS NHL 15 will be available this fall with the preceeding features on Xbox One and Playstation 4.  Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions will also be available.   Pre-order now!

BHF Podcast

Bored Hockey Fan Podcast Episode 4

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H02MMYPdID4[/youtube]

Streamed live on Jan 8, 2014
G and Double C talk Varlamov, Winter Classic, Olympic rosters, and bout two of technical difficulties.

BoredHockeyFan Podcast Episode 4 (MP3, 1:14:30)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Buffalo Sabres

Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye. And good riddance.

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At approximately 10:30 AM Eastern this morning, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula organized what he called a “major press conference.”  Had I known this then, I’d have been sitting in this chair watching it instead of sleeping.

Around noon, I woke up, and I rolled over to grab my phone to see what time it was.  I had notifications from both the Buffalo Sabres and the NHL’s official apps.  The Sabres notification read that Pat LaFontaine was named President of Hockey Operations, and that Ted Nolan would be serving as interim head coach.  Unfortunately, the app didn’t have the story, just the notification.  The NHL app notification read pretty much the same way, but the article was there to read.

And read I did.

Mr. Pegula finally told long-time Sabres GM Darcy Regier to pack up and go, his services no longer necessary.  “And take your shitty coach with you,” I’d like to imagine that the second half of that conversation went.  Pegula hired two men who he knew the fans would immediately take to – former Sabres captain Pat LaFontaine, and former Sabres coach Ted Nolan.

Nolan has had a history of success in his short time at what is now known as the First Niagara Center, before leaving in 1997.  A spat with former Sabres star goaltender Dominik Hasek is long rumored to be the main reason Nolan left the organization despite being named the 1997 Jack Adams Award winner for Coach of the Year.

LaFontaine is best remembered by Sabres fans as one of our greatest players of all time.  Rick Jeanneret’s famous calls of “Pat La-la-la-la-la-la-LaFontaine” are ingrained in our memories so very clearly.  He will certainly be welcomed back with open arms to the organization.

While it remains to be seen whether this will improve the on-ice product (and I certainly don’t expect it to, at least not immediately), it’s a welcome boost of morale to me as a Sabres fan, and I’m sure, based on the buzz on Facebook and Twitter about the news, that extends to a majority of the fanbase as well.  #LetsGoBuffalo.

Hockey Media

NHL 14 Fights Cancer

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EA SPORTS NHL 14 is partnering up with the NHL and the NHLPA with the common goal of driving awareness to the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.

NHL 14 will be doing its part by integrating a Hockey Fights Cancer collection into the Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) game mode. Exclusively throughout the month of October, gamers will have the opportunity to show their support by collecting rare Hockey Fights Cancer player items in HUT.

Most importantly, EA SPORTS NHL 14 will be donating $10,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer cause.

Player items featured:

  • James van Riemsdyk – Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Steve Ott – Buffalo Sabres
  • Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Erik Condra – Ottawa Senators
  • Erik Gudbranson – Florida Panthers
  • Justin Abdelkader – Detroit Red Wings
  • Patrice Bergeron – Boston Bruins
  • Dion Phaneuf – Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens

HUT in NHL 14 invites gamers to build their own on-ice fantasy squad from a stable of international players and superstars before putting their teams to the test against others online. Teams grow and improve as gamers find and collect their favorite stars and enlist them for in-game action.

For more information on EA SPORTS NHL 14 Fights Cancer, CLICK HERE. For more information on the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, CLICK HERE.

Returning Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) 13 users who create a team in HUT 14 will be eligible for a one-time bonus of up to 150,000 EA Pucks in NHL 14. Learn how your EA Puck Bonus will be calculated.

NHL 14 is now available in stores, only on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Order your copy today.

Stay in the conversation of all things NHL 14 and follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs

Buffalo Sabres/Toronto Maple Leafs pre-season brawl

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Rivalries.  You know you’re going to have an intense game when two teams who genuinely don’t like each other face off.

The Sabres and the Maple Leafs are rivals.  Only about a 90 minute drive separate First Niagara Center from Air Canada Center, and there are generally just as many Leafs fans at the FNC when the teams play each other there as there are Sabres fans.  So, you expect a fierce game when these two teams meet – but you generally don’t expect it in a pre-season game.

Jaime Devane and Corey Tropp decided to drop the gloves in the third period of Sunday night’s exhibition, which led to Tropp smashing the back of his head against the ice.  The Sabres sent out enforcer John Scott on the next play, who threatened to “jump” Phil Kessel – at least, that’s what Kessel says.

Here’s the video, I’ll update you on any discipline handed down by the NHL if I hear anything.

[iframe src=”http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=446674″ frameborder=”0″ width=”640″ height=”395″]

Hockey Media

Review: NHL ’14 by EA Sports

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In 1991, EA Sports brought the NHL to life in video game form with the release of NHL Hockey for the Sega Genesis.  In 1993, the company released what is still widely considered to be the best sports game of all time, NHL ’94.  Twenty years later, the company is still churning out one of – if not the – best sports games of the year with the NHL series, and this Tuesday they release the latest edition, NHL ’14.

Continue reading →

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres reveal new third jerseys

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Ah, the Buffalo Sabres.  My beloved home team, and a team who are considered by many to have some of the best primary uniforms in the sport at the moment.  That hasn’t always been the case.  The Sabres came into the league in 1970 wearing their classic uniforms that the current design are based on:

Image courtesy The (unofficial) NHL Uniform Database

They would keep this basic look with minor tweaks (a darker shade of blue, shoulder patches, and player names on the back) throughout the first 25 years of the franchise, when they went in a drastic new direction, changing the classic blue and gold for red, white, silver and black.

NHLUniforms.com

Let’s face it.  The “goat head” jerseys weren’t hated – in fact, I’d be hard pressed to name a Sabres fan who doesn’t own at least one of the three jerseys pictured above.  And yes, I’d venture to say that many of them had Miroslav Satan’s name and number emblazoned on theirs.  But in 2006, the fans were clamoring for a return to the blue and gold era of Sabres past.  Have you ever heard the phrase, “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it?”

NHLUniforms.com

This is what we got.  A logo that was instantly reviled, compared to a banana slug or a “Donald Trump hairpiece,” affectionately known as the “Buffa-Slug.”  The logo was terrible, the jerseys were far from traditional, yet these were the hottest selling jerseys in the National Hockey League for a brief period of time.  It didn’t hurt that, on the backs of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Sabres were also one of the hottest teams in the league when that happened.

Despite shelling out their hard earned money for the hated “slug,” (and believe me, I have one of these in my closet too), the fans wanted it gone.  Sites such as Sabres Not Slugs appeared, online petitions were passed around, and other designers were coming up with their own ideas for what the next set of Sabres uniforms should look like.  Eventually, a third jersey, an updated version of the classic Sabres uniform, was created to compliment the Slug uniforms, and eventually became the new primary home, along with a brand new road jersey in the same style in 2010.

The third jersey pictured here was used for the 40th anniversary season. NHLUniforms.com

In recent weeks, the Sabres were posting teaser pictures of a new third jersey on their twitter page.  Forward Steve Ott seemed to be trying to get them to speed up the reveal, to no avail.  Early Wednesday morning, the Sabres released another teaser picture on Twitter, seemingly meant to rile up fans who wanted to see the full uniform unveiled just as much as Steve Ott seemed to.

Ott responded to this with the following tweet:

https://twitter.com/otterN9NE/status/375260587867246592

He even went as far as to threaten to unveil it himself if the team refused:

The team called his bluff, saying that the only two jerseys were under lock and key at “Fort Knox,” which is a nickname bestowed upon the First Niagara Center in honor of former Sabres owner Seymour Knox III.  Ott, however, made good on his promise only moments later.

https://twitter.com/otterN9NE/status/375290351465951232

My initial reaction to this jersey was, “when did the Sabres start playing soccer?”  As I see this image floating around more and more, I start to think about the fact that it’s unique in that the front and back are two different colors.  I actually don’t hate this jersey, though a lot of people seem to.  I doubt we’ll see this for more than two or three seasons, however.  This is a very vocal fanbase and we get what we want.  Except a Stanley Cup.