Visits to two Holy Houses of college athletics

There’s no more storied venue in the history of college basketball than the Palestra in Philadelphia, and I was privileged to make my first visit there Saturday. My friend Jerry and I drove to the University of Pennsylvania campus to watch a men’s game in which the home Quakers dominated the Harvard Crimson for an […]

No NHL games, but still plenty of interest

I was in Midtown Manhattan yesterday and briefly sought refuge from the cold on 6th Avenue in the NHL store and its adjoining Starbucks coffee shop. There were plenty of hockey fans checking out the NHL merchandise, from replica sweaters and goalie masks to pucks and stocking caps. People were posing with a replica of […]

Missing hockey, and not making any memories

At dinner in Philadelphia last night, I kept glancing up at one of the big screen TVs showing a rebroadcast of the festivities that surrounded the 2012 NHL Winter Classic. The station was showing a long run of introductions of former players from the teams that would play the “real” game that day in Philly, […]

A tip of the cap to the New Jersey Devils’ Scott Niedermayer

Just in from Newark: The New Jersey Devils have retired the No. 27 uniform number long worn by defenceman Scott Niedermayer. The honor is well-deserved. I’m primarily a baseball fan and the overwhelming majority of my posts reflect that. But I’ve long been a hockey fan, and I was never more so than in the years […]

A new year, and it’s about time I got started

We’re already two days into 2011, and it’s high time I got cracking here at the Ball Caps Blog. I can’t quite explain my absence the last several weeks other than to speculate that it may be fallout from surgery in November. I just haven’t had the drive to post. Nonetheless, I’ll offer a few […]

The Habs have it

[picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=Montreal&iid=8774278″ src=”3/7/4/9/Montreal_Canadiens_Win_6b81.JPG?adImageId=12837698&imageId=8774278″ width=”234″ height=”187″ /] Why are these men smiling? They’re fans of the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the Pitsburgh Penguins 5-2 tonight to advance to the Eastern Conference finals in the NHL playoffs. The Habs will play either Philadelphia or Boston, who play tomorrow night. I haven’t paid much attention to […]

USA hockey team shocks Canada

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=hockey&iid=8043841″ src=”b/4/2/0/Ice_Hockey_7cf7.jpg?adImageId=10602867&imageId=8043841″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] Yes, the costume mountie hat above is a lot classier than the silly red, white and blue topper the American is wearing. But what matters is the final score: USA 5, Canada 3. Magnificent. As I’ve noted before, I’m a big fan of Martin Brodeur. But he […]

Can a fantasy sports team wreck your love of baseball?

Late in tonight’s ballgame between the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays, slugging Carlos Pena came up with two men on and a chance to break a scoreless tie and give the Rays the victory. I was listening to the game on the car radio on my way home from work, and I faced […]

Saluting the Devils’ Martin Brodeur

This is a great day for the Irish — and for hockey. On this St. Patrick’s Day, Martin Brodeur of the New Jeresey Devils will will try to become the winningest goalie in National Hockey League history. Brodeur, who spent much of the season off ice with an injury, has been almost superhuman since his […]