Flashback Friday: Seven Years Ago the Saint Louis Blues Won the Stanley Cup

This week in 2026 has a lot of sports events occurring. The NBA Finals are ongoing with the Knicks having completed an astonishing comeback in the most recent game. The World Cup has kicked off, and the Stanley Cup Finals are five games in, with the Hurricanes one win from clinching it and the Knights needing to push things to a Game seven if they want the cup. Funny enough, with so much going on now, my mind on this day specifically wanders back to seven years ago. You see, on this day in 2019, the Saint Louis Blues went from starting January of that year dead last in the NHL standings to winning the Stanley Cup in game six. Things have changed quite a lot since then, with Saint Louis having had some solid seasons and some stinkers. That game, though, it was an event.

I've been forthright on this blog about how the only sport I follow much is hockey, and that was such a wild thing to witness when Saint Louis hoisted the Cup. Afterwards, I remember the parade here in STL (which I watched on television because I wasn't about to brave traffic to get over there) and just how happy everyone was--and drunk, a lot of people were quite gleefully drunk. I do not have a strong preference regarding whether the Carolina Hurricanes or the Vegas Knights win. It would be pretty exciting if there were a game seven as an excuse for one more opportunity to watch the NHL this season. Of course, it isn't as exciting as back when the region I happened to live in managed to win it all, but one can always imagine that day coming again. Hopefully, not too many years from now.

April 2025 Pieces of Assorted News and General Interest

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, so I will say we are due for a ton of flowers this May at the rate the month has been going where I live. While I'm rained in I thought sharing some interesting links would be fun/spread some metaphorical sunshine.

Superman Day just occurred on April 18th. It commemorates the first appearance of Superman in, "Action Comics, "#1 which was published on the 18th of April way back in 1938. I continue to look forward to the upcoming, "Superman," movie this July, and I was excited to see it will have some cool McFarlane-branded toys--that Mr. Terrific is snazzy!

A game called, "Tempest Rising," was supposed to have a special edition version that could be played a week early. A mistake was made, however, and all versions of the game let everyone play right away, basically moving the release date up a week! The developer, to their credit, just let things roll and has promised those who bought the pricier special edition will get extra features. This goes to show how silly these delayed releases can be. I'm not referring to Early Access games, of course, just when a game is done but the full-on release is staggered for no other reason than to make money.

"Speed Racer," is a manga that has had many adaptations from anime to that one zany live-action flick by the Wachowskis that was maybe underappreciated for how quirky it was. Now, there will be a Western take on the series in an interesting new twist. Mad Cave is publishing it with David Pepsoe writing and Davide Tinto on art, so between a quality publisher and great creative team, I'm intrigued.

A, "Full," trailer dropped for, "Fantastic Four: First Steps," and I liked it. There was a cool retro-futurustic vibe and the cast all seem to have great chemistry. I also appreciated it wasn't overly-quippy as some Marvel trailers (or movies, admittedly) can be. There was no attempt to undercut the danger posed by Galactus (who we see a shadow and the feet of) via a joke.

The NHL Playoffs begin today, with many thinking the odds are stacked against the Blues getting to (let alone winning) the Stanley Cup. That said, Saint Louis has its latest good luck charm yet, and possibly the weirdest in some time, Jobu. A fanciful homage to the movie, "Major League," Jobu appeared one day in the locker room out of nowhere (so the story goes) and since then the Saint Louis Blues have been (generally) playing fantastically. Whether it is the song, "Gloria," or Jobu, if the Blues are winning let's not question the superstitions helping them do it.

"Sinners," is a new movie by the talented Director Ryan Coogler and is getting glowing reviews. It also had an intriguing contract clause where, after 25 years, the rights to, "Sinners," will go to Coogler, himself. This is a rare occurrence for a studio flick, and one wonders if it'll start a trend.

Tariffs being on-and-off-and-on-and-off and so forth has played havoc with the economy. Everything could go up in price, and businesses could close. It is already happening as, "Renowned board game maker and publisher Greater Than Games has laid off staff and suspended operations," as a result of tariffs. Many may shrug at a board game company shutting down, but it is just one example of how things could rapidly get worse and snowball into a massive mess.

Finally, over at The Comics Journal, they broke down all the Diamond Comics Distributors bankruptcy drama so far in superb detail, thanks to writer Brigid Alverson. I've blogged about this fiasco off-and-on but Alverson summarizes everything expertly.

The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off Begins Today

A fun International-themed hockey event is starting today. Hosted by the NHL (so it only features NHL players), it is called the 4 Nations Face-Off. A bit like a special All-Star game (which it has replaced) it will involve four teams representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States playing round-robin style before a final game, with the two top-placing teams going at it in a championship match. This is a great way to see players who normally wouldn't play together on the same team--for example, we can enjoy the STL Blues' Jordan Binnington in the net as the goalie for Canada with Connor McDavid as a fellow player going against Kyle Connor and Auston Matthews on team America. 

Some people are bummed about various nations not being involved (a notable missing entity is Russia which was purposely excluded due to its war on Ukraine), but this isn't a huge auspicious thing like the Stanley Cup, it is a cool showcase of talent, and being done for fun--although I'm sure it will draw a good deal of viewers for the NHL, too. I look forward to the first game coming up soon tonight between Canada and Sweden!

Upper Deck Partners with DC to Produce Trading Cards

Upper Deck is a big name in trading cards. They own the sole rights to the NHL, so anytime I buy, "Official," hockey cards they bear the Upper Deck name. They also work extensively with Marvel to make trading cards that draw from the comics as well as the movies/shows. Just this week, Upper Deck announced they have partnered with DC. There are already plans to do card sets similar to the Marvel ones such as the, "Annual," and, "Masterpieces," plus boxes focused on key characters like Batman and Superman. It has been decades since there have been official DC trading cards so this is pretty cool. 

The first sets seem focused on the comics but as the new Gunn/Safran Universe of movies and shows gets into gear that'll probably result in some tie-in cards too. You can already buy a, "Preview," card on the Upper Deck's ePack site. Those are cards that you buy and open virtually but the can be shipped to you as soon as you've opened them or once the physical copies are produced if they aren't yet manufactured (so thank God they are not like NFTs in that there is an actual item). The debut Preview card is Superman and can be purchased for just a week before--one assumes--a new preview card will occur to make a little set. Observe:

Readers of the blog are aware that in late 2023 I got into hockey cards as well as some of the Marvel lines. I enjoy DC too so this is snazzy news and I look forward to whatever cool stuff Upper Deck and DC put out via this new partnership!

314 Sports Cards is a Stellar Place to Buy (What Else?) Sports Cards

I've gotten into hockey cards as of late (and sometimes I'll dabble in other entertainment cards as well for fun) and National Hockey Card Day was this last Saturday. I was unable to make it out to any stores on the day itself but had the chance today to visit one I'd heard good things about and had been meaning to visit, 314 Sports Cards.

Located at 9640 Olive Blvd in Saint Louis, MO (63132 area code), 314 Sports Cards is a fun shop! They've got all the fandoms represented that others know and love as well as the one I follow, hockey! Everyone there was extremely nice when I visited and I appreciated how they gave me some of the free cards for National Hockey Card Day that they still had leftover! You can buy hobby boxes of a variety of products and individual packs of some items too. There are notable single cards for sale as well. With, "Sports Cards," in their name it makes sense they have plenty to offer!

Matt (left) and Devin (right) posing with some of their awesome wares!

314 Sports Cards is a great spot to visit in the Saint Louis region whether you're an expert in the hobby or a relatively newer person like myself when it comes to sports cards. I'd recommend stopping by their shop or buying from them via their website; I know I'm excited to have another great sports card shop in the region to frequent!

The Machinists Hall Sports Cards & Collectibles Show is Really Cool!

I've written about how I got into hockey the past handful of years and then late last year began really enjoying hockey cards. When I saw that Machinists Hall was going to have a sports card show, I reached out to them and asked if I could come and cover the event for my blog. They said yes, so today I attended my first-ever sports card show! The Machinists Hall Sports Cards & Collectibles Show was a little intimidating to think about going to as while I know a ton about comics, I will not pretend to know even 10% as much about sports cards (although I've learned a lot about hockey cards these past months). That is why I appreciated how of the many dealers at the show everyone was incredibly friendly and not at all judgemental at my, "Newness," to sports cards.

There was a range of cards from tons of baseball and basketball to a chunk of football, and hockey had some representation along with fandoms from Pickleball to Pokemon (and a bit of wrestling). Everything from expensive single cards to cheap bundles was for sale, along with sealed packages from the past to the present. If you were looking for a specific sport or era, it was likely represented by a number of dealers here!

It wasn't just cards, of course. There were balls, pucks, and Funko Pops plus old magazines that (mostly) related to sports in some fashion. I even saw a comic or two along with the occasional Marvel trading cards. The vendors were eager to talk about their varied wares and it was really fun to interact with this card fandom that has similarities to the one I know quite well (comics) but is also very different. 

Gibson came with me and enjoyed the show too!

All my pictures you see in this post I was able to snap before the show kicked off and it got busy, fast. The Machinists Hall Sports Cards & Collectibles Show runs through Sunday, so try and go this weekend if you live in the area (or can make the trip). It's only $3 to get in tomorrow and free on Sunday! Here is the link again for the show so you can check it out too!

The Latest Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide is Extremely Useful!

I am someone who is fully aware that we can use the Internet to find the price of items. I use many apps to help me keep on top of comic-book trends and prices, after all. That said, I always write about having a fondness for big paperback price guides. My soft spot for the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has often been discussed on the blog so considering I have been getting into hockey cards, why not try out a price guide for those? Enter, the, "2024 Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide."

I didn't have a lot of hockey cards so I had minimal need for the price guide, but when a friend gifted me a massive box full of random hockey cards I needed something concise and clear to help me out. This big ol' book by Beckett says how it is great for pros or, "Curious beginners," and I'm definitely the latter. While hockey cards can fluctuate in value just like comics, it is always good to have a reference guide and the, "Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide," seems to be the gold standard. I also have been enjoying the monthly, "Beckett Hockey," magazine which discusses trends with the newest hockey cards so between that for fresh stuff and this massive guide for older stuff, I'm set anytime I get some hockey cards that are newer or older.

The guide itself is quite straightforward and easy to navigate. It separates listings alphabetically by the card line and then the years within said line. So, the 2021-2022 Artifacts cards are earlier in the book than any 1990-1991 O-Pee-Chee cards if that makes sense. I also appreciate how many card lines have a little picture to show you what that brand of card looks like. The price guide does not have any fun articles or such unlike Overstreet, so I kind of miss that, but I suppose when you have over 800 pages dedicated to listings anything else would feel like filler. I did notice that the Four Sport line--which did include hockey along with basketball, football, and baseball--is not in this guidebook, which I understand as hockey only made up a fourth of it, but that absence is noted (even if most of those cards are basically, "Junk wax," as people say). Minor quibbles aside, this is a stellar book and very handy to have when you want to look up a hockey card. If you dabble in hockey cards at all, I'd highly recommend the, "Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide," with the 2024 edition having come out pretty recently. You can get it on Beckett's official website or from various retailers--I'm pleased I picked up a copy!

5 out of 5 Stars.

Is Fighting in the NHL Something of a Bygone Era and Outdated?

Sports evolve. Rules change. The basketball of today is nothing like its original format. Football has changed a lot too. Hockey has seen many alterations, but one thing that has persisted is a fondness for, nay an endorsement of, fighting. It is somewhat in the sport's DNA. Players will get irritated enough with one another they, "Drop the gloves," and engage in a good ol' bout of fisticuffs. The NHL will itself lean into how this attracts attention while ignoring how a number of enforcers suffered the same traumatic brain injuries from fighting that we see in other physical sports such as boxing or football. The NFL has made some effort to address CTE and other concerns but the NHL basically shrugs when certain guys want to throw down. Is fighting in hockey--and the NHL in particular--outdated and something that should be discouraged or outright punished

There is no easy answer to such a question. Hockey is a game of grace and speed, but it is a very physical sport too. Certain actions are verboten (boarding) and others will get you slapped with a penalty, but while fighting will get you in the box it isn't as big a deal as if a baseball player or basketball player threw a punch at someone. The, "New York Post," is a bit of a tabloid paper, but I'll be darned if Phil Mushnick's article, "NHL’s promotion of fighting is sick and out of touch," doesn't make some valid and calmly-presented points in discussing how two men punching each other should be less of a draw for the sport and more of an embarrassment (also, a player discussed in that a piece is now in trouble for a dirty hit some days later). Now, when I was a kid and would watch some hockey I'll fully confess I was eagerly awaiting someone to get pissed off enough they took off their gloves and started throwing haymakers. I'm a grown-ass man now, however, and I enjoy hockey and want to see people playing a game of skill. I don't have a problem with the sport getting physical or a fight happening. I also don't crave it as some fans seem to do. I'm not sure what the solution would be for fighting and how it is treated in the NHL, but I think sooner than later something official will need to be said or done.