Save Our Otters with Hashtag #YouOtterStayHere

First, I would like to thank all of the Erie Community and bloggers who have already taken up the struggle to maintain the Otters team. I've told my audience a number of times just how much the city of Erie has been my home away from home. But now, as a hockey fan, I am to hold back the tide along with the thousands of Erie and junior hockey fans. I am keeping a close eye on the Otters situation and have seen them during their peak at their OHL Cup run of '02, to their lows of seasons with many losses, to the memories of the Pucks on Presque Isle event, to the current run with a great group of superstar development.

It would make the most sense of the Erie Community to come together and support this effort because they had just re-built up the Tullio Arena and found a great local sponsor in the Erie Insurance Company. Without the Otters as a lease tenant, the building will be risking financial troubles to pay back all of the renovation costs. True, the EIA does have the BayHawks and Explosion to fall back on, but the Otters are the more historic franchise and more likely has the main lease status.

The Erie Otters have also been a very cooperative part of the Erie SeaWolves. As I was an eye witness to the next-to-last season game they were in attendance at Jerry Uht Park. Since the first couple of NHL stars that the Erie Otters have developed, it's proof that the community should support a franchise that has paid off with those same players playing at the next professional level. What future players will see their number in the rafters or between the luxury boxes at EIA. Boyes, Rupp, Colaiacovo, to Brown, McKegg, et al to the sure #1 overall pick McDavid, we are all seeing the fruits of the Erie community.

What is frustrating enough is that the underlining situation can be pulled out from under the Erie community like a tablecloth at a dinner table. The ongoing legal battles with the current ownership has put the team in a delicate position. Lets all hope that Mr. Sherry Bassin can do the right thing and find other alternative owners that can keep the team in Erie who are also willing to pay a little more than top price. I'd step in, but I'd have to win the lottery first.

But the effort to get out the word is not without it's deepest challenges. Erie is a economically depressed region with the infrastructure going crumbling and unused. The stores that I used to go to with my family are no longer there, the dive bars I visited when my fellow college students up there aren't around, the beaches of Lake Erie have struggled as far as tourist attractions go.

If you are reading this.. then take up our struggle. There is plenty more hockey to be played. You can keep track of the team's progress at their rally Facebook page as well as using the twitter hashtag #YouOtterStayHere.

Project For Awesome 2014 - USA Hockey Foundation "It Starts With A Stick"

For this giving season's featured charity video in the ongoing project #P4A Project for Awesome, I wanted to call to attention a little funding project initiative for USA Hockey. Their latest program to grow the game of hockey to future generations of kids as well as needier kids is called "It Starts with A Stick". Click on the links at the Project for Awesome 2014 page and the the official USA Hockey Foundation page can take you to a donation page. 

The USA Hockey Foundation’s goal is to get 12,000 sticks into the hands of the next generation of hockey stars during February’s Hockey Weekend Across America.

To do this, and to provide an opportunity for thousands of kids to fall in love with the game, we need to raise $150,000 in the month of December.

I, of course, have given several times to the project as a gift donation in my friends names. You can check out the video featured right here. Even though I don't really get into the specifics of the plan in the video - you can see them here in the blog.

Unfortunately, there is no PayPal link to help people who aren't as adept at giving credit card numbers or those who want the extra security that PayPal provides. I'll have to let them know in future projects.

Hockey Green

See: Total Hockey.com

Instead of the usual feature of how many new products that I can find among the hockey community celebrating the green of St. Patrick's Day, I would rather talk a little bit about the an environmentally conscious group concerned with the waste of hockey sticks.  According to this website, 3.2 million composite sticks are made every season. Where do all the sticks find their impending doom of destiny? The landfill.

Hockey Green is the website that people can go to send broken or unwanted hockey sticks so that they aren't taking up space in landfills. Good idea? I'd like to think so. And in an effort to be environmentally friendly, players can request collection bags through the mail to ship out their sticks and in return send a small compensation reward. If they can't, they'll surely pass along the trash to someone else who could work with it.

I've seen plenty of handymen do their best to recycle sticks by reusing them in furniture fixtures, benches, or even in home improvement projects. That's probably my preferred re-use of a decommissioned hockey stick. Why even consider tossing it out? Another good re-use is finding autographs of players. I've seen my favorite bar nail up a Colby Armstrong stick to their wall ledge. Now it's almost worth something.

As long as HockeyGreen does not get caught up on all of the environmentalist extremist politics, the COHF blog recommends this website to round out a socially conscious hockey player or fan.

[Via: Hockey Green]

COHF Blog Continues The Fight Against Cancer

For the duration of October, the COHF blog will be using one of it's many alternate versions of it's logo. I am not going to make a case for my readers to make a conscious effort to do anything for any specific charity, but....

I would just like to point out that the disease epidemic of cancer has torn apart too many lives to the point that I think everybody knows at least one person in their lives that have been befallen to this tragedy.

If you would like to see a short list of the charities that I blogged for a couple of years ago COHF (Blogathon), I endorse them all and recommend that you at the very least educate yourself about the disease during this time.

OHL Otters Alumni Needs Your Help!

I just got word from my connections that a former OHL player needs your help!

Jason Baird, an OHL Erie Otters alumni, is in an Akron, OH burn unit after suffering from a fire resulting in 65% of his body burned. The Erie Otters have now planned to host a benefit to help him this August 19 at 7pm. Other Otter players are planning a meet and greet with fans welcome to attend. All proceeds go to Jason Baird Benefit fund. $10 for adults.

Jason spent the last season with the CHL's Youngstown Steelhounds scoring 13 goals and 23 assists. But his career in the OHL saw him score 87 goals and 131 assists for the Erie Otters from 1997-2001. Caringbridge website has a blog and a guest book to update on Jason's condition. If you are a fan of the OHL or CHL, then seriously consider donating to the cause.

[Via: Erie Otters Website]

Hockey Fans & Bloggers Helping Kristin Thomas

I got a really nice message in my email today about a Denver area mother who unfortunately was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma to which regular treatment does not work for her. So, a more intensive program has been enacted, but it costs a great deal of money. Here is a brief description on her blog website as a plea for help.

Kristin (Katie) Thomas is a 33-year-old single mother and geneticist from Denver, Colorado. Diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2007, she was unresponsive to traditional treatment and is now showing great progress in a unique clinical trial that is not covered by her health insurance. All proceeds from auction sales will go towards her continued treatment. Individuals can also donate directly to her treatment fund.

eBay and the NHL are partnering up to offer some great hockey memorabilia with all the proceeds going to Katie's treatment. I took a look at the NHL hockey loot for sale and found some really nice things.

The auction begins today and includes signed sticks, jerseys, pucks and pictures by current and former all-stars and Hall of Famers including Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy and Evgeni Malkin. In addition, other sports memorabilia including signed jerseys and helmets from John Elway and Brett Favre are up for auction.

So, please consider donating to this worthy cause.

[Via: Help Katie Fight & eBay Page]

[Cross-posted: Confessions of A Hockey Fanatic (Blogathon Edition): NHL Helping You Help Katie Fight Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma]