Cheeky Mark Cuban and Trophy Companion Take in Vancouver Riots

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Blackhawks Get (Cuervo) Platinum Treatment

Our friends at Diageo sent us heads up that the entire Chicago Blackhawks team was gifted with custom-made bottles of Jose Cuervo Tequila to celebrate their recent Stanley Cup victory.

The sweet, smooth taste of victory

Still reeling from their recent victory, Brian “Soupy” Campbell and his teammates toasted to their Stanley Cup victory with the world’s best-tasting silver tequila. In honor of their legendary win, Campbell gifted each one of his teammates with a custom-made bottle of Jose Cuervo Platino.

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The Ultimate Iron Ref - Winner Took All

Since June, we at HHR have asked the best of the sports blogosphere to compete in our very own Kitsch-en Stadium. We took the winners into a playoff, and from there two finalists emerged. We now present the 2008 winner of HHR's Iron Ref:



Evan from Stanley Cup of Chowder. His final posting on Winner Take All clinched the trophy and extended his unbeaten streak. As you can see, he is already suffering the agony of fame and victory.

We have a special prize for Evan, which consists of a monthly column here at HHR on a subject of his own choosing, and a mystery prize that, unbeknownst to Evan (until now), we are still trying to work out. This is the kind of honor that gives and keeps giving. Like the lottery. Or scabies.

So please go over to Stanley Cup of Chowder and congratulate the guy.

Our many thanks to the multitude of contestants this year:
Chris Mottram, Lady Andrea, Dewey Hammond, Coley Ward, Chris from Blog of Hilarity, Rob Iracane, Isaac, DmtShooter, HartBrachen, Eric Gargiulo, Ethan Jaynes, Grimey, ECB, Jeff Pyatt, Joe Student, Scott Sargent, Andrew Rosin, Brian Bassett, Jarrett Carter, Jon Pyle, Michael Rand, Spencer Kyte, Ruper, Sean Leahy, Mike Hayes, The Russianator, Dr. C, Brian Powell, Evan, and Ryan Hudson. Also to our esteemed judges - AJ Daulerio, Jeff Pearlman, Matt Ufford, Dan Steinberg, and Dewey Hammond.

You think you got what it takes in 2009? Email us!

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Game On: The 2008 Iron Ref Final(e)

After months of Colosseum-quality gladiator battles, HHR is happy to provide you with the final Iron Ref of 2008. The winner here claims a title of course, but so much more when you think about it. They can say they won something on the internet! That's not easy to do. We've got a special something in store for the winner, so we're excited to see who pulls out a victory here.

No judges this time - you were the people who got them this far, so we will leave it to you to either bestow them the greatest title this internet website has to offer, or denying them this 'honor' and in a sense, preserving their dignity. So there are no losers here, save those of us who post on this site.

The Secret Ingredient for this Final Round is
WINNER TAKE ALL

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Stanley Cup of Chowder


Roughly 72,000 thoroughbreds will see the inside of a starting gate each year. Less than 1% of those will ever win a stakes race. The rest will toil in low grade maiden, allowance, and claiming races in front of sparse crowds filled with degenerates and creepy old men who reek like mothballs and stale cigar smoke.


The lucky ones might end up being a toy for some rich brat whose daddy is trying to make up for years of not being there for his little girl.


Some will end up as a part of your kid’s arts and crafts project.


Others might end up helping to end hunger in third world countries…


…or at an elementary school cafeteria.


The horses that end up in the winner’s circle of the sport of kings’ premier races are the ones that truly get to live like kings. These horses will race for a few years before enjoying the greatest retirement this side of Del Boca Vista. These proven winners will go out to stud and be rewarded with a never-ending supply of the finest fillies around. That’s right, these lucky bastards get to spend the rest of their days just hanging out, nailing some Grade A horse tail. That sounds like a pretty sweet life to me… you know, if I were a horse.

(A Word of Warning: If you type “horse mating” into
Google images, make sure SafeSearch is on)

I assume that the Ultimate Iron Ref is rewarded with the human equivalent of going out to stud. When The Chief mentioned a “special surprise for the winner” that was what he was talking about, right?
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Lady Andrea

I love competition. Not just being a fan of sports, but actually competing in things myself. I get a little bloodthirsty. I have this new boyfriend Robert and last night we were at a bar. He challenged me to a game of pool and told me that he wasn't going to let me win. I told him that if he DID let me win, I'd be forced to kick his ass.


We played and I won the first game. Because he accidentally sunk the 8 ball. So I called that game a draw. That's not a legitimate way to win. Nobody is satisfied. There's no payoff. So I challenged Robert to another game. And I really wanted to win. I like to win. I did beat him, though the game was close. He also commented that getting beaten by me was pretty hot.

What I like is that we have decided we need to join forces. We need to put our shared competitive streak to good use and crush unwitting opponents. We already have a plan to embarrass two men we work with at pool. And that's what Winner Take All is all about. Crushing your opponent's heart, mind and spirit until he is a huddling mass on the floor.

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So there you have it everyone. The final outcome rests in your hands and your hands alone. Your vote in the comments will determine which of these two is named the Ultimate Iron Ref of 2008. So who's it gonna be?

Iron Ref: Seconds on Victory Chowder

Once more, the gifted scribe of Stanley Cup of Chowder prevailed in Kitsch-en Stadium. With a trio of dishes, he served up some fine examples and lessons on Playing Through the Pain. He moves on to the next round, which according to my math, will have less people in it.



New Round next week!

Preserving History: Lord Stanley's Cup

After each major sporting event, HHR takes a look at how it is portrayed in news print in some of the nation's leading dailies. Part out of curiosity, and part to preserve the dying medium.

If there is any question surrounding the public interest in ice hockey and the NHL, perhaps we can use the coverage of the Red Wings' Stanley Cup Championship as a gage.Very few leading papers offered any front page coverage, nonetheless mention outside of Pittsburgh and Detroit. Most, like the Indy Star chose to focus, rather, on the upcoming NBA Finals. Others, like the Philadelphia Inquirer felt it more news worthy to point out that Kevin Kolb is now #2 on the Eagles depth chart. The LA Times and the New York Times chose to bury it in small blurbs beneath the fold. The Boston Herald, salivating over the Lakers/Celts series, had a small headline on the back page.

While obviously the Super Bowl's popularity would warrant much broader interest (Super Bowl XLII), compare the Stanley Cup coverage to that of the Daytona 500 (see The Great American Race).

New York Times

LA Times

Boston Herald

The Detroit News

Detroit Free Press
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Philadelphia Daily News (Back)

Oh what a night! 1991 Stanley Cup finals

Assassin Avenue would like to see HHR honor the glorious series underway for Lord Stanley's Cup. Last night's triple overtime game will go down as one of the greatest games in Stanley Cup history. Game Six in the 'Burgh Wednesday night should be another thriller.

Memories come flooding back at the Series continues. Perhaps none so vividly than Mario Lemieux's goal in Game 2 of the 1991 Stanely Cup Finals. AA and his father were lucky enough to see this goal in person. The Civic Arena went nuts.