Financial Lessons from Sports Stars' Mistakes @ NYTimes via The Budgeting Babe
I'm actually a huge personal finance nerd so I came across this NYTimes article through a personal finance blog that I follow. A lot of the tips in this article can be applied to non-athletes. Basically, don't spend all your scrilla, don't invest in something without doing the research, and don't blindly trust family members, friends, and financial professionals with your money. No hockey players are mentioned in this article, but when I was younger I remember reading about Mike Modano going through financial issues due to blindly trusting either a friend or financial adviser. More recently there were reports of Darren McCarty going through financial problems and what Kings fan doesn't remember Lucky Luc's name being dragged through the mud over investments he made with the super shady Boots Del Biaggio. It's easy to not have any sympathy for athletes by arguing that they make so much money it should be nearly impossible for them to go bankrupt, but scale down the situation for people like you and me. I'm sure you know people who made bad decisions by investing in a "hot" stock or bought a house they couldn't afford or purchased a ton of stuff on credit cards without knowing how they're going to actually pay for these items. Everyone is vulnerable to financial pitfalls, even pro hockey players, so be smart with your money!
Player Numbers on Front of Helmets
Often times I wonder what NHL players think of changes to the game. I cracked up when I read this tweet from Joffrey Lupul:
I don't really notice the numbers on the front of the helmets when I watch games on TV, but I imagine it's much more noticeable for players....and unnecessary.
NHL Premiere
I was curious to know what Sabres and Rangers fans thought of their respective teams' opening games in Europe. Here are some bloggers' reactions:
10 Things @ Willful Caboose
Naturally Katebits was very pleased with the Sabres' performance in Europe. Can't deny the Sabres looked good....or maybe the Kings just looked that bad.
0-0-2: Take It and Run @ Scotty Hockey
I'd be disappointed too if my team lost to the Ducks, especially in the shootout. I think a shootout loss to the Ducks always feels way worse than a regulation loss and I don't always feel that way about every shootout loss. I don't follow the Rangers too closely, and I'll probably pay even less attention to the team now that Avery is gone, but Scotty Hockey provides good coverage and very honest commentary about the players.
I'm not going to provide any links to blog posts about the Ducks because my mind can't process any information about that team. However, I do enjoy reading Earl Sleek's stuff at Battle of Cali, but he hasn't posted any game recaps or thoughts.
NHL: The Movie @ Battle of Cali
I almost didn't read this, but since Rudy Kelly wrote it I decided to give it a few minutes of my precious time. I can't decide which one is my favorite: Winnipeg Jets = Blake Lively or Phoenix Coyotes = Terry Kiser
(I didn't recognize the actor's name, but based on the description I knew exactly who this was because "Weekend at Bernie's" was one of the go-to movies to rent when my parents went out for the evening and needed to make sure my brother and I were entertained. Oh the days before Tivo, DVRs, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Kids these days have it so easy.)
Where are they now: Brent Sopel @ Canucks Team Website
Kings fans, do you remember Brent Sopel? Apparently he's now playing in Siberia. I didn't follow him after his short stint in LA, but maybe he'll have success overseas like Kevin Dallman. It might be easy at first to take a cheap shot at a guy who has to (or decides to) relocate to Kazakhstan or Siberia to play professional hockey, but when you read a story like Sopel's and see the sacrifices his family is making, where his wife is raising their four kids in the States and "speaks with her husband, via Skype, at least twice a day", your heart kinda aches and then you realize that these guys just really, really want to play hockey and this is their job and will do what they need to do to provide for their families while they're still capable of bringing in a sizable paycheck. Good luck, Brent Sopel.
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