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sellouts posted:They're shutting down culver ice rink. It was home to a few LA kings practices, a couple gold medalist figure skaters and a ton of learn to play adult and kid classes. It's pretty dilapidated but still saw plenty of activity and has that charm. I believe they also used this rink for a couple skits on Jackass.
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Jan 20, 2014 05:19
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Doctor Butts posted:Are you guys using stick wax on composites? I honestly have no idea what you skaters use it for, but as a goalie I use it on any stick for sweeping the crease of snow and building forts.
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Jan 20, 2014 07:07
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xzzy posted:Everyone, I have arrived, because I got invited to an actual beer league team for the spring season. Beer is the reason the D-league I'm in has really dropped off in quality. When the league started, the contract was signed as such: League paid Johnny's Icehouse (in Chicago) a dollar amount collected from players. In return, the league got: a). A weekly block of ice time (every Thursday evening, with games starting between 8p and 11p) b). All games played at the new Johnny's Icehouse West rink, where the Blackhawks practice c). Referees d). Scorekeeping + a Pointstreak page for our league & games e). Three seasons of hockey per calendar year This league is (supposed to be) self-regulating, meaning if you're too good you get kicked out and all teams are (supposed to be) balanced by skill level. So the deal Johnny's had with the league, to provide everything else at a consistent time and place every week, was a pretty good one. Rink management loved us because we'd go up to the bar before and after our games to watch the other games within our league happening that evening. Our league vastly outspent all others up at the bar (A couple times I was there til 4am) and so they saw it being worth their while to let us keep our same slot of ice time every Thursday because we always kept the bar full. Then one of the teams decided to get a sponsor. And to boot, their sponsor was a bar. Said team made it "team policy" to have their post-game beers at said bar only, not at the one in the rink. Rink management got wind of this and decided that our league was no longer worth accommodating on its own night. So the deal we have now is as follows: a). Games spread out all throughout the week. Usually on Saturday/Sunday afternoons, but with the occasional 11p weekday slot too. And poor game attendance as a result. b). Most games played at the dingier, smaller East rink which Johnny's owns and never has any available indoor parking c). Referees who are terrible because we now play at terrible times d). Still have scorekeeping and a Poinstreak page! e). Two seasons of hockey per calendar year When they axed our repeating schedule because that one team decided to stop drinking at the rink, most of the players on the other teams said "gently caress this" and voluntarily refused to patronize the bar in the rink as well, so their Thursday night cash cow went away entirely. So maybe, you know, not having a beer sponsor isn't such a bad thing.
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Jan 20, 2014 07:49
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I'm not following how one team getting a sponsor resulted in all of that -- just doesn't add up. I'm not saying you're wrong as the incompetence at the average rink is staggering, but still really weird. And yeah, the Jackass/Knoxville skit where he gets hit is at that rink. It hasn't looked nearly that clean since. Their league jerseys are still that bad.
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Jan 20, 2014 08:08
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bytebark posted:Beer is the reason the D-league I'm in has really dropped off in quality. From what I've heard Johnny's hasn't been great for awhile since Gunzo's had a poo poo-fit and pretty much left a token pro shop with only stick tape.
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Jan 20, 2014 13:44
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My beef with Johnny's is they forgot to build any parking. I know it's downtown and parking on the street is the normal thing to do, but once ten cars show up everything near the building is pretty much used up.
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Jan 20, 2014 17:39
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Oh hey I scored on a breakaway last night and a shootout last Monday. It's been a season or two since I've done either...
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Jan 20, 2014 17:46
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Bootcha posted:From what I've heard Johnny's hasn't been great for awhile since Gunzo's had a poo poo-fit and pretty much left a token pro shop with only stick tape. Gunzo's had plans to open up a standalone shop about a block down the street from the East rink, mostly so they could sell Hawks memorabilia to fans passing to and from the United Center. Johnny's got wind of this and immediately kicked them out of the two pro-shop retail spaces in both the east and west rinks, thinking that they were going to bail anyway. Johnny's replaced the pro-shops with their own skate sharpening / stick tape counter. I've never gotten my skates sharpened there but supposedly they don't do a good job. If you're at the east rink it's not a terrible problem because the new Gunzo's standalone shop is right down the block (they do decent sharpening), but at the west rink you're SOL. xzzy posted:My beef with Johnny's is they forgot to build any parking. I know it's downtown and parking on the street is the normal thing to do, but once ten cars show up everything near the building is pretty much used up. Parking availability isn't really an issue at the west rink. The indoor lot is big enough to fit enough cars for a high school tournament. It's a different story at the east rink, which can fit maybe 20 cars inside. When there's a hawks game, half of those spots will be filled by people going to the game rather than playing upstairs. You have to actually get into the parking garage before you can look for a parking spot though, which leads to another point worth mentioning. The same guy who opens the garage door when you press the buzzer button is the one who drives the Zamboni. So if you inevitably show up late and he's already on the machine cutting the ice, you're delayed further because you can't get into the garage and have to find a spot on the street. The locker rooms at Johnny's are good, and usually mopped between games. However, the quality of the ice is not consistent (especially at the east rink) and rarely great. And the officiating. Oh god, the officiating. See, unlike most other leagues, Johnny's doesn't use USA Hockey-certified refs for their adult league games. Instead, they have some "house" certification which I can't find any official description of, meaning it may consist of buying a case of beer for the owner. The end result is that there are maybe three decent refs and the rest coast through the game calling as little as possible to ensure they get out of there ASAP.
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Jan 20, 2014 19:17
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Johnny's management sounds like they've been hurt one too many times. One small portion of your league is drinking elsewhere but the rest of you are sticking around? SORRY NO WE MUST BREAKUP. Thinking you might expand your business in the area into an overlapping-but-not-strictly-competitive market? PACK YOUR THINGS AND GET OUT!
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Jan 20, 2014 22:49
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Well they're also the only good option for ice for the downtown crowd and they have a reputation for pulling in the best skaters in the area, so they pretty much get to do whatever they want and people still line up to pay them money. Having the status of being the Blackhawks practice rink probably helps too.
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Jan 21, 2014 00:46
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You'd think Jerry's Warehouse would jump at the opportunity for a pro-shop downtown since they lost their spot at McFetridge.
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Jan 21, 2014 01:39
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Bootcha posted:You'd think Jerry's Warehouse would jump at the opportunity for a pro-shop downtown since they lost their spot at McFetridge. Was is this Jerry's that had a pro-shop at McFet? If so, interesting. Thought they only operated standalone stores. Furthermore, what is McFetridge like right now? Last time I skated there the ice was mostly water and the locker rooms were some of the worst I've ever seen. I've heard that they've done some work and the ice is better now, though. Edit: xzzy posted:Well they're also the only good option for ice for the downtown crowd and they have a reputation for pulling in the best skaters in the area, so they pretty much get to do whatever they want and people still line up to pay them money. Management there is bad enough that they almost lost the East rink to bankruptcy, until the Hawks dumped a bunch of money into the business so they could build the west rink and be the official practice facility of the team. Oh, and the land the West rink is built on was given to them for $1 by the city of Chicago because it was classified as a redevelopment project. Johnny's Icehouse West = Economic Redevelopment! I'm currently in a masters program for management degree and fortunately it requires no thesis paper to graduate. However if it did, I would seriously consider doing a study on terrible management at ice rinks. bytebark fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Jan 21, 2014 |
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Jan 21, 2014 05:35
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Filled in two games last week for my friends low level team in California, in my spare/cast off gear and new skates. Have my own game tonight back with my normal gear, hopefully it didnt hurt me...
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Jan 21, 2014 05:38
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where'd you play? You seriously should have hit me up to sub for silver 4v4. It's fun and we've got 2 D that you'd play well with, one dude actually reminds me a bit of you just in his size and playmaking ability. They play gold out in Valencia on Sundays. Drop in at Culver was a joke, I think at one point there was 50 people on the ice and not a single goalie. It's ok though, the point wasn't really to do much other than pay tribute. Sadly the line for the public skate was 20+ people deep at the end and then 30+ people deep 45 min later when I drove back by after getting something to eat. It's really amazing that the landlord had to over double the rent as the rink seemed to be profitable even if they required a modest increase.
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Jan 21, 2014 06:17
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Any of you Canadians heard of a boy band from the late 90s called the Moffats? I played against two of them tonight.
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Jan 21, 2014 06:57
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Thufir posted:Any of you Canadians heard of a boy band from the late 90s called the Moffats? I played against two of them tonight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sibM55OSeU
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Jan 21, 2014 07:46
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Just played some more outdoor drop in in Chicago amidst a snow storm rolling in. 18 people showed up so while 10 were on the ice playing, everyone else was crossing the rink with a shovel. We honestly couldn't keep the snow off the ice even with shovels going the while time. It was slow and sloppy but everyone was perfecting their saucer passes due to the snowfall.
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Jan 21, 2014 07:51
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Sounds like a blast. Posts like that combined with finally watching episode 4 of 24/7 make me miss not going to pond hockey this year. I can't imagine how fun it would be to play regularly with a bunch of friends.
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Jan 21, 2014 09:02
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sellouts posted:where'd you play? You seriously should have hit me up to sub for silver 4v4. It's fun and we've got 2 D that you'd play well with, one dude actually reminds me a bit of you just in his size and playmaking ability. They play gold out in Valencia on Sundays. The new Ontario rink, they play in the lower div there, 3 friends that I played with growing up. This was the first time I've been in LA and had any semblance of free time. I've been kinda trying to avoid it. I'll text you next time I'm around though for sure.
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Jan 21, 2014 09:38
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This just in. Kids' hockey gear is expensive as hell. Also, I just bought my son his first pair of ice skates  We've been three times so far and he absolutely loves it. Anyone have any pointers on how to get them to start moving about on the ice on their own? The kid loves running around in his skates on land, but as soon as he's on the ice, I'm doing romanian dead lifts with a 30lb sack of potatoes. He tries a bit, but it's hard to know what instruction to give since I started skating when I was 22.
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Jan 21, 2014 17:12
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bytebark posted:Was is this Jerry's that had a pro-shop at McFet? If so, interesting. Thought they only operated standalone stores. Pretty sure it was Jerry's who owned the little pro shop back in the late 80's and early 90's, back when the Patriots youth travel teams played there. As for how it is now, I've heard good things from my brother who still lives/plays in Chicago. They redid the rink and (I think) the locker rooms.
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Jan 21, 2014 17:16
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Get one of those five gallon plastic buckets for him to lean on and push around. Once they start to learn how digging in an edge develops push they start to motor around pretty good. Balance starts to develop not long after that. I've heard that when/if little kids start crying it's best to just take them off the ice. Making it a bad experience makes it harder to get them back out there.
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Jan 21, 2014 17:18
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Some places have little purple penguins or something that can be pushed around by little kids. Gives them something they can hold on to and "skate" behind. Also it's too late but Tron hockey had a box of kids gear, like 99 dollars for everything they would need except for skates and maybe helmet. Seemed like a good deal, not sure if they are still doing it.
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Jan 21, 2014 17:19
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How old is your son?
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Jan 21, 2014 18:08
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If your son is old enough maybe you could put him in a skating class. Whether it's figure skates or hockey skates doesn't matter, it should help him get used to balancing and moving on his own. The important thing I think is making sure he's enjoying it.
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Jan 21, 2014 18:40
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Dangerllama posted:This just in. Kids' hockey gear is expensive as hell. I don't know if this is done anymore, but I started out with those strap-on double-runner skates for probably a season before I graduated to real skates. ("Season" being probably 3-4 outings to the flooded baseball diamond at that age.)
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Jan 21, 2014 18:43
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canuckanese posted:That's awesome but I feel like $500 doesn't buy very many jerseys and socks Think we got 12 jerseys and pairs of socks. Pretty good quality, too. Better than I was expecting at that price, anyway.
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Jan 21, 2014 18:44
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Chemmy posted:How old is your son? He's 3 and a half. Wants to be an "Avalanche guy." We're going to do lessons when he's closer to 4, I think. Unfortunately nothing starts up again for another month or two, and he's already really loving getting out there.
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Jan 21, 2014 22:25
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There's a charity skate at dodger stadium with a few kings players. It's not cheap but if you're interested shoot me a message.
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Jan 23, 2014 04:13
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sellouts posted:There's a charity skate at dodger stadium with a few kings players. It's not cheap but if you're interested shoot me a message. When?
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Jan 23, 2014 04:15
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Sunday night, January 26th from 10:15 - 11:45 PM
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Jan 23, 2014 05:38
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Dangerllama posted:He's 3 and a half. Wants to be an "Avalanche guy." This is both the best and worst time to be a parent. It physically hurts to skate bent over and deadlift for 55minutes and it's super easy to get frustrated, for both of you. I had a really hard time at first but came up with some fun ideas during open skate. The best advice I could give is to incorporate some games that reinforce skating. eg. I brought a small (6" or so) stuffed bunny, held it our behind me like a relay racer and would make him 'chase' it for about a foot and a half before letting him catch up to it. We then celebrated with high fives and a lap around the ice in my arms. Once that was getting easy, the bunny was set down on the ice and he had to skate to it, bend down and pick it up and remain standing. We also did some skating drills where I would squat down, face my son and hold my hands up, palms out ( like a traffic guard's 'Stop'). My son would have to put his hands on mine and push me around the ice. This was super boring until he could make me crash into the boards (with some enthusiastic overacting on my part.) We never used the chair/bucket/molded plastic thing. I used my arms instead and I believe it allowed me to adjust the amount of help he got while learning balance. #1 thing to remember was to keep it fun and try to get the kid to forget he's working on a skill and make it all about the games instead.
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Jan 23, 2014 18:32
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You also might want to get working on your shouting skills, maybe schedule some time with a voice coach. You're going to need some solid pipes to be heard over the other parents at pee-wee games. "SHHOOOOOOOOT!" It doesn't matter if you're at the red line, "SHOOOOOOOOOT!" 
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Jan 23, 2014 18:38
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xzzy posted:You also might want to get working on your shouting skills, maybe schedule some time with a voice coach. You're going to need some solid pipes to be heard over the other parents at pee-wee games. Just do what my buddy's dad did and run up an down the bleachers whenever your kid is on the ice so you can yell at them without thrashing your voice
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Jan 23, 2014 21:42
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I'm not going to be the kind of ridiculous hockey parent that wants his son to shoot all the time. Sick dangles are important too 
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Jan 23, 2014 22:02
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Posted this in the Olympic hockey thread too. These gloves are sweet. http://www.totalhockey.com/product/Covert_DT2_Olympic_LE_Gloves/itm/13360-41/?mtx_id=0
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Jan 24, 2014 17:55
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No they're not. 
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Jan 24, 2014 17:58
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xzzy posted:No they're not. Uhh I believe you are mistaken because those are cool as hell. I like the Finland ones.
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Jan 24, 2014 18:00
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Well, some of the color schemes are cool if they didn't have any of the dumb patriotic stuff.
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Jan 24, 2014 18:04
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Well they are for the Olympics, aside from the US ones you probably wouldn't really notice the patriotic details at first glance anyway.
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Jan 24, 2014 18:11
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