The Iron, Unkind – Stanley Cup Finals Retro Diary Extravaganza Part 3 – Return of the Jedi

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In which the Kings get two more chances and prove that no matter how well you play, it takes the right set of circumstances to succeed against a long history of failure. The Kings got hit and they got hit hard.  Not closing out a potential series sweep is hardly the end of the world, [...]

The Iron, Unkind – Stanley Cup Finals Retro Diary Extravaganza Part 2 – The Empire Strikes Back

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Part Two – In which the Los Angeles Kings have a chance to complete a Cup-winning sweep on home ice, but Martin Brodeur reminds everyone he’s been to this dance before. For the past few weeks, the Staples Center in Los Angeles has been a whirr of activity.  The Lakers, the Clippers, and the Kings [...]

The Iron, Unkind – Stanley Cup Finals Retro Diary Extravaganza Part 1 – A New Hope

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Part One – A New Hope: In which the Los Angeles Kings, an eighth-seeded playoff team, attempt to pull off the least likely Stanley Cup run in NHL history. Here’s a short list of things I love: Hockey, playoff hockey, USA hockey, and you.  Let’s have a Stanley Cup Final, shall we?  Bob Costas is building [...]

The Iron, Unkind: Winter is Coming

The Iron, Unkind

In the family of major North American sports, ice hockey is the runt of the litter.  It’s a foul weather sport in that neighborhood games demand a certain climate.  It requires you to skate, which is far from the first thing most kids learn.  Hockey is constantly looking up at its more marketable, successful older [...]

Goon

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I Went to a Fight and a Hockey Movie Broke Out Sports movies are the best, right?  It’s okay to admit it, you’re not the first person to “tell ‘em about Rudy.”  Baseball’s got a ton of great movies, even the ones not starring a pre-Waterworld Kevin Costner.  Don’t even get me started about football. [...]

The Iron, Unkind – Why I Love Sports or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Krog

The Iron, Unkind

Hello, friends.  For the past six months, I’ve tried to share with you my love of sports, a love I was born into, and it has not been lost on me the audience whom I’ve tried to convince.  I understand that the arts and sports are often at odds; every high school movie sets the [...]

The Iron, Unkind – New Yankee Stadium Through the Eyes of a Decided Yankee Hater

The Iron, Unkind

“I think A-Rod just tried to murder that guy,” I said to my friend Dominic.  He laughed, but I was sure he thought I was being a little serious.  A line drive off the bat of Alex Rodriguez, the polarizing superstar third baseman for the New York Yankees, had just caromed off the left temple [...]

The Iron, Unkind – Life Above the Rim

The Iron, Unkind

‘Nique, Blake, and the Decline of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest On January 29, 2012, in a game between two teams many believe are the strongest NBA Eastern Conference rivals, LeBron James of the Miami Heat leapfrogged John Lucas of the Chicago Bulls en route to completing an alley-oop pass from teammate Dwyane Wade, Wade [...]

The Iron, Unkind – The Stupor Bowl

The Iron, Unkind

What just happened? After two long, drunk, agonizing weeks, America can finally end its fortnight of mourning.  Football is dead; long live football. The two weeks after the Super Bowl are a wasteland of ennui, heavy drinking, and generally feeling sorry for oneself. (Mind you, it is the minority of football fans who know what [...]