Support a great cause at the 2nd Annual Ryan Salmons Day of Giving

The Jacket Backers asked me to remind you of:

2nd ANNUAL

#3 RYAN SALMONS

DAY OF GIVING

Memorial Baptist Church

2435 Eakin Rd, Columbus, OH 43204

Saturday December 4th

8:30 AM- 2:30 PM

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“REFUSE TO LOSE” BLOOD DRIVE 

Space is limited, so register to donate NOW by:

1. Visiting www.TeamSalmons.com
2. Calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE 
3. Logging onto www.bloodsaveslives.org, Click “Schedule Your Donation,” Sponsor Code: ryansalmons

(If you last donated on or before October 9, 2010, you may be eligible to donate again at this event)

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CBJ PRIZE PACKAGE RAFFLE

Enter the raffle for these prizes:

• (2) Columbus Blue Jackets Tickets v. Edmonton (Sat. 02.05.11)
• (2) Dinner Buffets - Time Warner HD Lounge
• Team Autographed Hockey Stick
• Gift cards from local restaurants will also be raffled

ALL BLOOD DONORS WILL RECEIVE 1 COMPLIMENTARY RAFFLE TICKET

Raffle tickets can be purchased in advance or at the event ($5 each or 3 for $10).

(Blood donation is not required to purchase tickets and winner need not be present to win.)

To purchase raffle tickets in advance, to be registered manually or for any other questions, send an email to: RyanSalmonsDayofGiving@yahoo.com.

Thank You!

Just a brief note of thanks - The Dark Blue Jacket blog completed another month per Blogger/Google's calendar, and it's now official.  According to Blogger record keeping, the DBJ blog's monthly traffic has reached over 16,000 pageviews in the past 30 days, meaning that this little blog has more than DOUBLED in traffic since the end of last season.  

I'd like to thank everyone who stops in to read the posts, check out the updated list of blog postings around the CBJ blogosphere in the right-hand column, get a CBJ game ticket through my SeatGeek link, press the blue button, grab some CBJ swag at the DBJ Shop, or - best of all - leave comments with your own thoughts.  I am absolutely loving the back and forth dialogue that's taking place in this little corner of the Inter-tubes.

Anyway, traffic only happens because you folks think that this blog is worth your time.  And, for that, I want to thank each and every one of you.

Carry The Flag!

DBJ's NHL realignment scheme: The Power of Three

It's one of those slow days in-between games, and the Blue Jackets are doing what everyone assumes that they would do on a slow day when in their circumstances: Work on their power play.  Lord knows that they need to work on it!

So, instead of go any further in rehashing the obvious, I'll bite on Jeff Little's suggestion that the NHL consider realignment and share this little idea that's been percolating around about as long as this blog:

The Dark Blue Jacket
National Hockey League Realignment Scheme

First, let's look at the landscape as it exists right now:


View NHL Teams in a larger map
The premise of my realignment is this: Rather than break conferences along longitudinal lines - East and West - the NHL should break them along latitudinal lines - North, Central and South.  Doing so accomplishes three main objectives: 1) It evens out the ridiculous disparity in conference travel costs, 2) It all but guarantees that Canada will have a team make it deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs and 3) It ensures that the American sun belt will have a significant role in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Hangover

With apologies to Warner Brothers,,,

Did I really just play those games against Detroit?


Did I even get a shot off?


I thought Detroit was an easy mark. I mean, I got a hat trick against them before!  Didn't I?


Did Commie really need some stitches? Does he still have two eyes after that high stick?


So...we're not tied for first any more?


Are we gonna have to bag skate it?


Was I supposed to be out there on the power play?  Oh - I was?


And what the heck is that cannon thing doing around here?


Oh man...my head hurts...

Yeah, Rick, you're hung over.  It's been a long weekend.

You, and your team, need to shake it off, enjoy the day off and get ready for Nashville.

Game 22/Detroit: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets traveled to Joe Louis Arena to salvage half of a home-and home weekend series with the Detroit Red Wings and left empty-handed in a 4-2 loss.

After taking a 1-0 lead on a Derick Brassard tip-in at the end of the first period, the CBJ gave up two goals in 14 seconds in the middle of the second period.  Clearly rattled but still determined, the Jackets mustered the necessary competitive effort to compete with the (in my opinion) prohibitive Stanley Cup favorites until the start of the third period, when Valtteri Filppula took advantage of a Steve Mason rebound that had zero defensive back-side assistance and flipped one in the back of the net to make it 3-1.  The game appeared over until late in the third when the second power play unit (in a desperation empty-net configuration comprised of Umberger, Vermette, Brassard, Voracek, Russell and MacKenzie) finally slipped one past the Red Wings' penalty kill  to make it 3-2 with 1:30 to go.




It ended up being too little, too late, with the Wings dropping an empty netter in to end the game.

One of the downsides of actually being able to watch the vast majority of the game when it's a loss is that it  allows me the opportunity to gauge the demonstrable mindset of the two teams and, when a game starts as a virtual stalemate, to identify the moment when the game swung out of control.  (Gee, why I can't a get a rousing home win to have nearly three solid hours in front of the TV?  Did it have to be this game?)

Game 21/Detroit: My Take

With undisputed ownership of first place in the National Hockey League's Western Conference on the line, the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets fell to the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1, last night at a sold-out Nationwide Arena.

Call it whatever you want - a "statement" game, a "bell-weather" game, an "Oh My God, We Have to Play on a FRIDAY" game.  There was no disputing that it was a big game.

And while there are no such things as moral victories, I gotta tell you folks that I am pretty impressed with the  Blue Jackets from last night.  If you had told me after the gut-wrenching home opening loss to the Chicago Blackhawks that the Blue Jackets were going to be not just playing for first in the West at the quarter pole but also largely playing stride for stride with the Stanley Cup-contending (favorite?) Detroit Red Wings, I'd GLADLY take that.

Personalized CBJ 3rds for $98 - TODAY only!

[Just to be clear, this offer has expired.]

From a DBJ reader, another Black Friday promotion of interest to Columbus Blue Jackets fans:

GREAT deal today on shopNHL.com! You can get the new 3rd jersey with FREE customization today only. Enter the coupon code NHL15OFFINSERT at checkout and the third jersey PERSONALIZED becomes 98 bucks plus about $7 shipping. Unlikely to find a personalized 3rd at a better price this Christmas season. Thought you may want to know and let your readers know. 

Thanks for your coverage! 

Go Jackets! Beat the Red Wings!

DBJ Shop or no DBJ Shop...a deal is a deal...and it appears that shop.nhl.com straightened out their inauthentic (is that a word?) lettering and numbering and is giving customers the real thing.  The reader is right...it's a great offer.

DBJ's Black Friday post

 It's that time of year, Columbus Blue Jackets fans, when thoughts turn toward hockey, hockey and getting hockey stuff for your loved ones (and maybe a little something for yourself) for the holidays.

As you're reading this blog, I'm guessing that your hockey shopping preferences tend toward our favorite team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.  So please permit me to offer a small suggestion before you brave the crappy weather and long lines: Check out The Dark Blue Jacket shop.

With over 350 bona fide, unique CBJ items, odds are you can find most anything there.  Either via the links at the top of every page or through the store itself, you've got a treasure trove of gift possibilities with the affordable prices and convenient shopping that Amazon.com is known for.  (The store does not have the new 3rd jerseys, but rest assured that I'll let you all know when they're available.)

It's also worth mentioning that every time you shop at the DBJ Shop, I supposedly get a very small commission on your purchase (I have to cross a specific revenue threshold before Amazon releases any money to me).  Shopping at my store gets you the same prices as shopping at Amazon.com directly, so you still get the same great prices.  It's just a small gesture, then, to support the DBJ blog while taking care of your holiday shopping.  The Dark Blue Jacket blog takes a lot of time and effort to do as reasonably well as I can, and your support - be it through blog comments, clicks on the blog's ads or shopping at the DBJ Shop - is always appreciated.  Oh, and don't forget about buying your tickets through my Seat Geek link.

Many of you haven't had a chance to look at the DBJ Shop yet, so let's check out just a few of the items that you can get through the Dark Blue Jacket and my affiliation with Amazon to give you some flavor:


Happy holidays, everyone!  And Carry The Flag!!

Game 20/New York Islanders: My Take (plus 3rd jersey/mascot thoughts)

The Columbus Blue Jackets turned their four-game winning streak into a five-game winning streak with an overtime win, 4-3, over the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum.  The CBJ are now tied for first place in the NHL's Western Conference with the Detroit Red Wings, setting up a showdown between the top two teams in the West on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.

As I indicated last time, I've got family in town and was unable to watch much of the game.  Like maybe a minute.  Thus, any insights I might have on that front are not worth sharing.

I was, however, front and center in front of the television to see the new third jersey unveiling during the first intermission.  Yeah, I know that I should have been more closely attuned to - I dunno - the actual game on the ice, but I think readers of this blog can appreciate that I've had a strange curiosity about the third jerseys ever since the CBJ announced that one was coming.  Here's the jersey:

Photo from BlueJackets.com

For those who haven't seen, here's the introductory video that aired:

Calling all graphic designers

My buddies over at The Cannon report that they've run afoul of copyright issues with their current blog logo.  To fix the problem, they're holding a contest for a new logo.  Click here for info.

Beyond the fact that The Cannon is a premier CBJ-centric blog in my opinion, and staffed by some great guys, it's also worth knowing that The Cannon is part of the SB Nation group of blogs...and SB Nation blogs get a very healthy share of traffic.  (A winning logo will get seen by a lot of eyeballs.)

Good luck to everyone who enters the contest!