Personal checks with designs used to be fairly high. No matter where you banked, whether it was at Chase, Bank of America, or Wachovia, you could expect to pay a pretty penny for those checks that were not plain and boring. Thanks to the Internet, this is no longer necessary. Savings abound!

Another good thing about buying checks from the Internet is that there is a wide array of choices to choose from. With a little bit of searching, there is pretty much something for everyone’s interests.

When it comes to ice hockey, is there is a NHL team that you are rooting for, chances are you can find personal checks with their logos and mascots. Most of the teams have their own sets of checks complete with team colors. You can find personal checks with teams like the Buffalo Sabres, the San Jose Sharks, the New York Rangers, and the Atlanta Thrashers.

You can also find matching checkbook covers and address labels to go with your personal checks. For example, if you want to order San Jose Sharks checks, you can get a matching checkbook cover that has the team’s shark fin logo, as well as an image of the Shark with a Hockey Stick mascot.

Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of that team, you can find all 30 NHL teams to choose from. Perhaps you are a Detroit Red Wings fan. If so, you can order a checkbook with a red background and the team’s logo situated in the middle. The checkbook is leather.

You can also find duplicate checks online. Although a bit more expensive, these are good because they leave behind carbon copies of the checks that you write. This can be great for you when you are balancing your checkbook.

Don’t worry about it if you don’t want to support one specific team. You can also find checks that just carry images of the hockey teams in general. You can also find hockey checks from cartoonist Gary Patterson.

There are even some websites that will allow you to personalize your checks by uploading your own images and designs. You might find that your hockey photo is better than the ones you have to choose from on their site!

If you watch ice hockey from the comfort of your sofa with a group of friends, or you’d rather go to the rink for some live action, hockey themed checks allow you to show your love of the sport to everyone. You can support your favorite team, or just hockey itself.

A while ago, if you went to your local bank and tried to purchase stylish personal checks, they tended to be expensive and took forever to get to your door. Now, you can order them online and they take about 5 days. Plus, by ordering online, you can save as much as 50% off of what you would spend at the bank.

Before you order hockey checks, go to Hockey-Checks.com to find coupons and to save 50% off your next order of hockey personal checks.

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NHL hockey betting enthusiasts cashed wagers on the road underdog Penguins, but on the moneyline at +117 and the puckline. Pittsburgh has gotten off to a great start this year, going 11-2-0 in the first month of the season. Columbus is struggling to stay above .500 at 6-5-1. The 7 combined goals scored went OVER the posted total of 5′.

Crosby’s game winning score in overtime wasn’t exactly the stuff of highlight reels, with the puck barely trickling over the line:

“It was kind of a fluky. The puck kept going. I don’t know if he lost it or he didn’t know where it was or whatever. I just tried a quick shot. I thought he had the save there. It just trickled in.”

Jackets’ goalie Steve Mason gave this version of Crosby’s shot:

“It hit my stick and I didn’t get it settled until it was over the line. It just trickled over and I was too late on it.”

Penguins’ left winger Chris Kunitz scored a shorthanded goal and praised the leadership abilities of team captain Crosby:

“It shows a lot of character from our captain. He goes out and he’s never quitting on anything. Sometimes a team goes packing, down by two with 3 minutes left. But he goes out, he’s on the bench, he’s saying, ‘Let’s get the next one.’ So we go out there and he finds himself the puck and he gets it to Goligoski, he gets a great shot and puts it in the net to get us to overtime.”

Columbus’ Rick Nash suggested that his team is having trouble ‘closing out’ games:

“We’re not closing games. We got the lead in a lot of the games already and just can’t seem to close it out. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions. You can tell why they’re such a good team. We are a team that needs to learn how to play with the lead.”

Pittsburgh will host Minnesota on Saturday night before heading to southern California next week for games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Columbus will play at Washington on Sunday before hosting the San Jose Sharks next Wednesday.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer specializing in mixed martial arts, classical music and sports betting. He serves as staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook, and has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows giving advice for how to successfully bet on NBA basketball. He lives in Pahrump, Nevada with three dogs and several beehives.

Anaheim has struggled to a 4-6-1 record this season, but rewarded their backers who chose to lay the -164 price as home favorites with the Ducks. The Canucks evened their record on the season at 7-7 with the loss. The 9 combined goals put on the board sailed OVER the posted total of 6.

The Ducks snapped a four game losing streak with the offensive outburst. Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan each tallied two goals and an assist in the lopsided victory. Mike Brown had the eventual game winning goal in the second period with his first career shorthanded marker, and even enforcer George Parros got in on the act with his first goal of the year. Jonas Hiller was sharp in goal for Anaheim, stopping 36 of 38 shots in the victory.

Vancouver’s problem this season has been not getting enough shots on goal and giving up too many. In the shootout victory over Los Angeles on Thursday, they were outshot 29-12 in regulation. They’d been kept in a number of games they should have lost due to the goaltending virtuosity of Luongo, and this game didn’t bode well for his absence. This was only the second time in eight games Vancouver has allowed more than two goals, a testimony to the ungodly skill of Luongo more than their defensive tenacity. They actually held a 38-34 shots on goal advantage despite the one sided tally on the big scoreboard.

Raycroft is expected to be back between the pipes for Vancouver’s next game, a Sunday home date against the Colorado Avalanche. The Canucks will host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night before a road game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. Anaheim will play at Phoenix on Saturday night before returning to the Honda Center for the next two games. They’ll host the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports and entertainment writer and noted expert on NHL hockey, fine wine and sports betting. He has written extensively on financial management and NBA basketball betting strategies. He is currently working on a history of the building of Hoover Dam. He lives in Southern Nevada with two Jack Russell Terriers and a flock of carrier pigeons.

Held every fourth year, the Winter Games are an international spectacular. This season the Games will commence in the middle of February and stretch over 16 excitement filled days. One day one will be a moving and somber opening ceremony and on day 16 will be a fun and glitzy closing ceremony. The days in between will be filled with such events as alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, bobsled, ice hockey, ski jumping, freestyle skiing, and speed skating..

The Vancouver Games will be hosted by a number of different venues around Vancouver, British Columbia. The City of Vancouver will host hockey, figure skating, short track skating and some Paralympics events. Whistler, BC will host the alpine skiing, cross country skiing, bobsled and luge events. Richmond will play host to the long track speed skating while West Vancouver will host the freestyle skiing.

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924. Prior to the first proper Winter Olympics, figure skating and ice hockey had included as events in the Summer Olympics. The Games have been held every four years since then with an interruption from 1940-48 due to the Second World War. In 1992, the Winter Games split from the Summer Games schedule in an attempt to attract more advertising money. The next Winter Games on this schedule were the Lillehammer Games in 1992.

The Winter Olympics are considerably smaller than the Summer Olympics. There are much fewer events in the Winter Games and there is a full week less of competition. There are also fewer countries participating. Fewer countries participating make sense as all of the completions take place on either ice or snow and there are many countries that naturally have neither of these surfaces. With that said there are a number of typically tropical countries that do participate. The most famous of these tropical competitors is the Jamaican bobsled team.

In a few short weeks the planet will turn its attention to Canada. It is hoped that the world will be awed with the natural beauty of Canada and the excitement of the competition. Region differences will be forgotten as young men and women give it all to bring home the gold medal. It will surely be spectacular at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

Keep reading on vancouver–olympics.blogspot.com to find out more on Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Mikita starred for the junior league St. Catherine Teepees as a teenager before making the jump to the NHL joining the Chicago Blackhawks. He quickly became an important part of the Chicago offense in his first and second full seasons as a pro. In’61, he led the team in playoff scoring as they won the Stanley Cup.

The following year was when Mikita really began to make a mark in professional hockey. Centering the dangerous Scooter Line with Ken Wharram on the right wing and Ab McDonald or Doug Mohns on the left wing, he became one of the most feared offensive scorers and playmakers in the league. While he played in the media shadow of Bobby Hull, Mikita was considered by most hockey cognoscenti to be the real offensive catalyst of the team.

Never content with being a one way player, Mikita was a fearless defender and one of the most reliable faceoff specialists in the NHL. He also started a revolution when he became the first to play with a curved stick blade. That was considered radical, almost avant garde at the time but is now the standard in the NHL.

When he first came to the NHL, Mikita was a tough, hard hitting player who spent a considerable amount of time in the penalty box. That changed in the mid’60′s when he became a very sportsmanlike player almost overnight. This cleaner style of play would earn him the Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly player twice. The story goes that he had a change of heart when his young daughter asked why he spent so much time sitting in the box on televised games.

In addition to his Stanley Cup victory, Mikitas career accomplishments rank among the most impressive in the history of the sport. He won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHLs leading scorer four times (1964,’65,’67,’68), the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player twice (1967 and’68) and the Lady Byng Trophy in’67 and’68. He remains the only player in NHL history to win the Ross, Hart and Byng trophies in the same season (1967).

Mikita suffered from chronic back ailments later in his career, and finally retired in’80 having played his entire career for the Chicago Blackhawks. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in’83, but became known to a younger generation in a more unusual way. In the movie Waynes World, Wayne and Garth frequently hang out at a donut shop based on the Canadian Tim Hortons chain. The name of the shop is Stan Mikitas Donuts.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and a noted authority on sports betting and NFL football betting lines. He is a frequent sports radio guest where he gives advice on how to successfully bet on NFL football. He lives in Las Vegas with three dogs and a bunny.

NHL hockey betting devotees who weren’t scared away by the -180 home favorite price tag on Montreal cashed their tickets with the Canadiens’ big win. It was the sixth win for the Habs in their last eight meetings with the Islanders. The six goals scored just managed to go OVER the posted total of 5′.

The sputtering Montreal offense finally woke up, helped by a 43-22 shots on goal advantage. When Montreal opened a 2-0 lead in the first period it marked the first time this season that they’d led by more than a goal, a fact that surprised left winger Mike Cammalleri:

“We’re making it hard on ourselves. That’s something — I didn’t realize that until right now but that makes sense. Every game’s been so tight, and it’s important to try and win in tight games and find ways to win those games but at the same time you can’t do that 82 times a year and then however many games in the playoffs, so it was important to get out to a little bit of a lead and hang on to one tonight.”

Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halek played well in relief of starter Carey Price, but lost his shutout bid when he misplayed a puck just seconds into the final period. Cammalleri described a conversation he had with Halek after the game:

“After the game I went to give him a hug and he said, ‘I don’t like shutouts. And I said, ‘Well, you better like shutouts!’ But he played great when we needed him tonight, made some solid saves, and we’ll let that one go.”

Islanders’ coach Scott Gordon admitted that his team’s listless play made it easy for the Habs’ to dominate:

“We were a pretty easy team to play against. Defensively we were on our heels because of all our turnovers and it wasn’t just in one area, it was coming out of our zone, it was situations where we had full control of the puck and we’re not making plays. It’s probably the worst that I’ve ever seen it tonight and it’s something that we’ve got to get better at.”

Montreal plays their next two games at home, hosting the New York Rangers on Saturday night and welcoming the Islanders back to the Bell Centre for another game next Monday night. The Islanders have a Saturday night home game against the Washington Capitals before their return engagement with Montreal. They’ll then return home to play their regional rivals the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook as well as a freelance writer specializing in MMA, boxing and how to bet on NFL football. He is a well known authority on Internet sports betting, fine dining and fencing. He lives in southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet wallaby.

Esposito was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and his prodigious hockey talent quickly became apparent. He was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as a teenager, and made his NHL debut in 1964 quickly earning a spot on the teams top line between Bobby Hull and Marcel Dionne. In 1967, Esposito was traded to the Boston Bruins along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. Within a few years Hodge and Stanfield blossomed into All Stars, while Esposito quickly took his place alongside his former teammate Hull as the best scorer in the league. Suffice to say that Boston fans were of the opinion that theyd gotten the best of the deal.

It wasnt long before Esposito started to destroy long standing NHL records. In 1969, he became the first NHL player to top the 100 point mark (combined goals and assists) for the season”he obliterated the record with 126 points, which would be the first of six times that hed top the century mark. He topped 100 points in five straight seasons between 1971 and 1975, missing a sixth straight season by a single point with 99 in 1970. Bruins fans were fond of displaying car bumper stickers that read Jesus Saves; Esposito scores on the rebound.

In the 1970-71 season, Esposito smashed the NHL record for most goals in a season with 76. That record stood for over a decade until Wayne Gretzky scored 79 for the Edmonton Oilers in 1981-82. Gretzky also broke Espositos single season points record of 154. Even now, only four other players including Gretzky have scored more than 150 points in a season and only five others have scored more than 76 goals in a season. Perhaps the most amazing element of Espositos game was the frequency with which he put the puck on net”Espo had 550 shots on goal in 1970-71. No one has since come close”in fact, just last Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals became the first player to come within 100 shots of Espositos mark.

In 1975, Esposito was traded with Brad Park to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Joe Zanussi and Jean Ratelle. He had slowed somewhat, but was still enough of a valuable player and team leader that he was named the Rangers’ captain. He remained a very dangerous scoring threat until the end of his career.

After his retirement in 1975, he remained active in hockey. He served as the GM of the Rangers before helping secure an expansion team for Tampa, Florida in 1992. Esposito served as the President and GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning until 1998. After stepping away from formal duties, he’s remained a very visible member of the hockey media. He hosts a daily hockey radio show on XM Radio, and has even done some acting appearing in a recurring role as a fire chief on the TV series Rescue Me.

Ross Everett is a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority on professional hockey history and NHL hockey betting . He’s a published expert on sports handicapping theory, as well as stock and investment strategy. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, basketball and boxing.

While millions of people of people nation-wide just don’t get what we’re talking about, or don’t get it yet, hundreds of thousands of hockey fanatics like me (like you?) spend the tail end of each summer counting the weeks and days until their hockey leagues or weekly groups again hit the ice. We are a brotherhood, a fraternity, proud to have paid our dues in the heavy slot, the corners, the “trolley tracks” and the penalty box.

After summers of fattening up on golf and beer, we winter athletes head the yearly call of the ice and head to rinks from coast to coast to begin stretching out those lungs, and ridding ourselves of the dreaded “jell-o” legs . I still vividly remember my first game this year; I wheezed and gasped for air so loudly, the players in the adjoining arena came over to look thinking Sergei Makarov was back in Canada. But really, isn’t that horrible deep-in-your-chest feeling what the start of the season is all about? Knowing that that’s as bad as it is going to get. That you are only going to skate faster, deke better, and pass more crisply as each game goes by. Of course, by the end of the season, you’re playing at the level you should have been at all year, only to find that it’s all done and you’re zipping up the gear all safe and sound until Fall arrives again. Ahhh, the life of a serious athlete… Nothing better.

We are so glad you have chosen to visit us here at FarParker, your complete hockey source and resource. And, thank-you also for donating a few minutes of your life to give my column a whirl. In fact, you may at this very moment be thinking “what can I, the reader, expect to see in this column in the weeks and months ahead?” Well, let me tell you. I will be tackling all-things hockey, providing my own unique insight and tons of skewed opinions on such topics as the NHL’s possible expansion to Europe, fighting in hockey, the David Frost trial, unfair travel schedules for the NHL’s western teams, Don Cherry – asset or ass___le?, hockey’s golden days of the early 80′s, as well as equipment reviews and comparisons, prospects to watch, and much more…

Wanna put your two cents in? Hit me up via email at nutzforhockey@hotmail.com to share your thoughts on what you’ve read, dispute my irrefutable opinions, or just to let me know what you’d like to see in future columns. Who knows, if you’ve got moxie, you may just see your comments or questions addressed in future columns.

Strap yourselves in hockey fans; it’s going to be a great year!

Chris & Steve Parker are the founding members of http://www.farparker.com your complete online recreational hockey resource destination. Find out more about your favorite hockey team in our forum section, we also have the best articles, blogs and games room on the net.

Back in 1990, I was still in school. The Bruins were in the midst of a great playoff run, up against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals. The night before, there was a late game. A really late one. Boston had lost in 3 OTs to the Oilers. We were all miserable that day.

Everyone loved the Bruins in 1990. All Boston sports fans worshipped them, wore their jerseys, and the team was the talk of the town. Getting tickets was an ordeal in and of itself, and you basically had to know someone. Let’s just say I knew someone, so i was fortunate to see a bunch of games.

As I grew older, my love for the Bruins grew as well. My friends, Steiner and Wilba (names have been with held to protect the guilty) and I (My nickname is Girth.long story.) became a beer drinking and hockey watching super trio, the Hockey Goons! We went to playoff loses vs. Washington (I still see the puck going by Dafoe) and Carolina in the late 90′s. Went to the OT winner versus the Canadiens in 2004 just to see the Bruins blow a 3-1 series lead after Glen Murray’s OT winner in Game 4. Oh yeah that was the first time that happened in team history. Thanks to Dave Shea for jinxing them!

Just recently, I went to the Bruins woeful game 2 series performance versus Carolina. There is nothing like a hockey victory at home and nothing worse than a hockey loss at home. The TD Bank North Garden became a morgue. After this game, the Bruins fell apart then rallied with their back against the wall 3 games to 1. They showed grit and tied the series up 3-3. Game 7 at home and momentum in their back pocket. Did it help them? Well no. They evidently haven’t read the “Dummies Guide to Winning Championships” that the Celts, Sox, and Pats have read over the past decade.

They went to OT tied in a Game 7. This is the true equivalent of hell on earth. Ever shot on net your heart goes in your stomach. Your heart burn acts up and acid is coming out of your nose. It’s truly torture. I was in Jacksonville for business and watching the game with a few co-workers and a Canes fan.

The action was non stop but the Bruins playoffs dreams were dashed with a few minutes left in the first OT. The goon who suckered punch Aaron Ward won the game. Salt in the wounds for sure. I had to wear a Canes jersey the next time I saw the Canes fan due to our pregame wager(well I got laid off by my company, so sorry buddy!).The room cleared so fast you thought someone threw a stink bomb. Well in a way, it was a stink bomb that the Bruins laid in Games 2-4 against the Canes. I was finally at peace and went to sleep. Another fruitless year for Boys with the big B since their last championship in 1972.

I cried when the Sox won the series (I am man to admit it!), went nuts when Adam’s kick went through the uprights against the Rams, and cheered on the new Big 3 as they beat the hated Lakers. I don’t even know what I would do if the Bruins win the beloved Cup de Lord Stanley.

Move to a deserted island and eat papaya? Sob like a newborn (more than likely scenario)? Become a monk? Well this Hockey Goon has more games to go to in 2009. He is looking forward to seeing a team with tons of talent battle for their first cup in 37 years. This could be the year

Hockey was once one of the four major American sports. The big four were the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. But yet, even as some in those group dominate the others (the NFL dominates all sports in terms of popularity), the NHL has not been able to really keep up with the others.

However, hockey as dropped off the list of major sports. Right now, NASCAR racing is likely more popular with the general public than NHL hockey. Once one of the most important sports in the US, hockey is now seemingly shut out of the top tier looking in.

How did this happen to the NHL? Was it the entire season that was lost to the lockout that did this? No, that wasn’t the reason, that lost year to the lockout was actually a symptom of the problem itself. The lockout was held because salaries were getting out of control and many franchises, outside of the most popular ones such as the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, simply could not afford to keep paying as much to their players as they were.

As any fan who lives in a city with a NHL franchise knows, declining ticket sales aren’t the cause of NHL franchises’ slumping revenues; games continue to be well attended and eagerly looked forward to. The reason for the lower revenue has to do with broadcast rights, a significant source of income for the NHL. Hockey is simply less popular as a televised sport than it once was.

The lockout however certainly didn’t help the situation. When hockey returned the next season they made a deal with the network known as OLN – now Versus – to broadcast their weekly national games. However that cable station reaches only a small fraction of the homes that the major networks reach. This means that hockey simply isn’t viewable by a great deal of the population, leaving it in a spot where it can hardly increase its popularity.

There is also the problem that many fans think that hockey is a sport which doesn’t lend itself well to the medium of television. Fans prefer to watch hockey games in person; and NHL games are often sold out. However, hockey fans think that some of the speed and the finesse of the sport are lacking in televised games. Sadly, this has led to hockey being harder and harder to watch at all and there are a lot of people who may never know just what they’re missing.

Therefore the answer to the question is that no, hockey is no longer one of the major sports in this country. It has lost it’s place in that upper echelon, and is struggling for a strategy to get back. It needs to find a way to make its television games more exciting, while also getting those games aired in a spot where more people can view them. Until both of those happen it may be hard for the NHL to regain the spotlight it once had.