Sunday morning homily I

Looking back, I suppose I could have waited. There's plenty of work to be done around the house. There was research for future postings ...

Only in a hockey rink ...

... would you find a $3 roll of hockey tape next to a $1 bag of popcorn inside a vending machine. Makes sense, though, doesn't it? The t...

I'll take two

I cut my first deal of the season, telling Dallas' Brad Richards if he signed two items for me, I wouldn't ask him for another auto...

Got mine

It took a couple trips, but I finally tracked down the McFarlane's Sports Picks NHL Series 19 issue of former Boston Bruins coach Don C...

Win this auto: Olaf Kolzig

Over the years, an occasional lapse in planning produces a duplicate, or "double," autographed card from an NHL player. My pain, a...

Fan Pack: Vancouver Canucks

Earlier this summer, I spent an e-mail blast to professional hockey teams from North America to Europe asking whether they provided -- free ...

No Vinny? So what!

To be honest, I was hoping to see Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier taking part in an informal practice this morning in Brandon with other L...

Pushing my luck?

After getting Tampa Bay's Olaf Kolzig to sign these two pucks, it's probably a good idea for me to take a few days off from houndin...

A few keepers

It was nice to see Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith taking part in this morning's informal practice over in Brandon, diving across the goal ...

One down, nine to go

I'd be lying if I told you I expected to cross one item off Hound Central 4.0's 10 Big Sigs list before the start of the season. Bu...

Get your pucks in a row

Will you be carrying a bunch of pucks into training camp this year? Rather than let pucks roll loose within hounding bags or plastic tubs --...

Not exactly South Beach

Reports out of south Florida tell me that a trip to Coral Springs over the next few days might be worth your time. It seems quite a few NHL ...

Breaking the ice

Every autograph hounding season has to start somewhere, so mine began earlier today at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, where two of Tampa B...

Start saving now

It looks like we could have three hockey card releases before the season begins. The 600-card O-Pee-Chee set looks promising: 2008-09 UD Leg...

What gives?

I was checking out the Lightning's Web site just now, getting an early start for training camp. I wanted to learn how to pronounce Swed...

The list grows longer

After picking up a couple more boxes of 2008-09 Victory Hockey earlier today, we now have another item to add to the Lots for the Lightning ...

The puck has dropped

The last thing I want to do as a blogger is disappoint the growing handful of people who take the time to stop by, either on a daily or week...

What a Daddy does

Though it's a shame that two grown men can't get along, that doesn't mean that a 7-year-old fan of Boston's Patrice Bergeron...

10 Big Sigs

Going into any hockey season, it's a pretty safe assumption that we'll add at least 300 to 400 autographs to the collection. Though ...

Hockey Quiz No. 1

So, think you're pretty smart, don't you? Well, then, why don't you try these out. You can even leave your answers in a comment....

What's in your hounding bag?

Besides the dozens of items that you're hoping to get signed, it's important, at least in my opinion, to carry a well-stocked houndi...

Points of entry

There's always a point of realization in one's pursuit that branching out only enhances the value of your efforts. While I see no pr...

Just a few items, please

One of the new undertakings for the upcoming hounding season will be Lots for the Lightning . From the first trip to training camp until the...

Review: 2008-09 Victory

Sure, the 2008-09 Victory is an entry-level product devoid of top-shelf premiums, but that doesn't mean it isn't being welcomed by ...

Added bonus

Tucked inside 11-pack retail boxes of 2008-09 Victory Hockey is one of 42 jumbo-sized versions of player cards, like this one of Phoenix...

Useful, I tell you

One of the better features of the 2008-09 Victory Hockey set is the helpful pronunciation guide listed on the back. Correctly pronouncing a ...

Oh, well

I imagine this hardly factors into Upper Deck's decision over what pictures to use for a player's card, but depicting players in dar...

Who are these guys?

I should be happy to add any rookie cards to the collection, but I must admit my own ignorance to some of the rookie cards pulled from packs...

Hard at work

For those of you who may believe I've been talking to lawyers over the past few weeks, I now have proof that I've been busy creating...

The full run

Though I shared my top five hounding trips for the 2008-09 NHL season down here in Humidity Bay, here's a complete listing of my planne...

Lots for the Lightning

Given all of the movements made by the Tampa Bay Lightning's new ownership, with the team drafting Steven Stamkos first overall and si...