Pens Confused About Third Unveiling?

Icethetics may be in the middle of a major move right now but the news doesn't stop.

An advertisement appearing in rotation on the Pittsburgh Penguins' web site seems to be promoting the third jersey unveiling for Monday. Which begs the question: Are they confused or was it a simple mistake?

My guess is mistake.

The Pens announced Thursday on their own web site that the unveiling would take place on Wednesday, November 5 from 6 to 8 PM at Dick's Sporting Goods in The Mall at Robinson.

I'm going to assume that is the correct date and this ad will be fixed and replaced once somebody notices.

Now about the image of the jersey in the ad. It is not the new third jersey. In fact, it's the same image that was released for the Winter Classic — sans the Winter Classic patch on the front. 

Expect to see some slight differences such as added piping and the Vegas gold replacing the classic gold. I'm not certain on this but I do believe the jerseys will be different in some way. Obviously they want to save the one-time-only aspect of those Winter Classic sweaters.

Thanks to Jesse and Brian for sending in this image.

Welcome to Icethetics.info!

Icethetics is getting a new home and you're looking at it! I'll admit it's a little barren at the moment but that will soon change. I plan on dedicating my weekend to helping Icethetics.info fill out a little bit.

Right now, the main thing is to make sure you start rating the logos in the IceHL's Pacific Division. Rate each eligible entry from 1 to 5 stars and next weekend, the top three rated logos for each team will move on to the next round. You guys will vote on those three to determine the final logos for each team.

So at the moment, we're kind of in between sites. But after Saturday, I will no longer be updating icethetics.blogspot.com. Everything that's new will be found right here.

As for what you can expect this weekend, I'm going to start transferring a lot of content from the old blog, including third jersey news and countdowns along with the Flashback '98 logo tournament which will pick up in Round 3 this weekend.

As far as comments, anyone may add a comment to a blog post. That will change soon once I start accepting memberships. You'll be able to sign up for free and will be able to comment at any time. Anonymous comments may be posted but will be moderated first.

If you guys have any questions, comments, suggestions or any other ideas for this brand new site, don't hesitate to drop me a line either by comment or by email.

Enjoy Icethetics.info!

Update on 2008-11-01 15:56 by Chris

I'm glad to hear so many of you are enjoying our new home at Icethetics.info. Like I said, I'll be adding new stuff all the time over the next several days and weeks. I think the fun part will be just adding new areas and letting you guys discover them on your own.

However, I thought I'd mention some of the new things here. The biggest and best one if you ask me, you can now view the complete archives of NHLToL, ToHL and the old Icethetics blog without every leaving Icethetics.info. Those blogs can be accessed in the Archives section in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

Some other goodies: I've transferred all of the third jersey countdowns to the new site as you can see in the sidebar. You'll also notice new logo graphics to go with it. I always loved the colored graphics I had when I first started NHLToL so I thought I'd return to something similar.

Another cool feature is the new ICE favicon that appears in your browser's address bar. And for all you Mac lovers out there, if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, add Icethetics to your home screen and check out the cool new button that appears!

Like I said, I'll constantly be adding more. Now that the IceHL section is up and running — and doing quite well, actually — my next step will be getting the Flashback '98 logo tournament ready to continue here. Round 3 will begin this weekend with the Rangers and Canadiens.

So keep checking back and keep looking around for what's new!

More Leaked Third Jersey Pics!

I shared some new leaked images of a handful of third jerseys on Wednesday. Turns out there's more where that came from. Today's images serve as further proof of what we can expect from the Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers.

Have a look for yourself.

Also included were close-ups of the crests in all their embroidered glory. First the Canucks...

...and the Flyers too!

Still nothing new — I mean, we've already seen these before — but it's nice to have more pictures. I hope to have shots of the Kings, Sharks, Penguins, Senators and Stars alternate jerseys for you at some point in the near future. No promises, though.

ECHL Halloween Costumes

A couple of ECHL teams are dressing up as Original Six teams for Halloween tonight when they face off in what's being called "Hockey Night in Canada in Reading." The Reading Royals — donning a Maple Leafs style jersey — will host the Cincinnati Cyclones wearing a Canadiens style jersey for one night only.

As you can see both teams are also recoloring their logos for the special sweaters.

I really hope pictures turn up tonight because that will be interesting. The Royals have a page on their web site detailing the event.

A Whole New Icethetics. 11.1

It's almost here. On Saturday, you guys are going to get your first look at Icethetics' biggest undertaking yet. For some time now, I've been telling you about my plans for the future of Icethetics. The big thing is that we're expanding beyond just a blog. And since so many of you have asked for it, Icethetics will even have its own domain!

I won't divulge the new domain until Saturday but I can tell you it's not Icethetics.com or Icethetics.net since I was unable to get in contact with the owners to see about buying it. Long story for another time.

Now, I'm going to tell you a little more about this new site but instead of making it long and boring since you've been waiting all day, we'll pretend like I'm having a conversation with you about it. What you're saying is in blue.

Hey Chris, didn't you just launch this new blog in July?
Well, yes. And I'm sorry for changing URLs on you again so soon, but trust me when I tell you this one will be more permanent. If everything goes as planned, icethetics.blogspot.com will forward you to the new site so you won't be forced to change your bookmarks.

Is this really necessary?
No, but many of you have asked for an expansion like this and I think it will significantly improve your Icethetics experience.

All right, I'm in. So how will this "web site" be different from the "blog"?
Glad you asked. A blog is simply an online journal. A web site has so much more potential. A web site can include a blog but not the other way around. In short, the difference will be the amount of content featured and the way in which it's presented. No more scouring through weeks of blog posts to find the information you want. Everything will be organized in a way that will make it much simpler to find.

That doesn't mean the blog is going away. The blog will still be on the main page of the new Icethetics web site. But when new information gets posted to the blog, it will also find its way to the relevant page(s) of the web site.

Will it at least look the same?
Mostly. We're going back to the tried and true two-column format. The logo will be changed slightly as you may have noticed in the banner above. One complaint I got when I introduced the new Icethetics logo was that the Ts looked like Ls. So I tried to fix that.

Will you still have third jersey news?
No. ... Just kidding. Of course! Icethetics is about jerseys and logos. What sort of site would it be without third jersey news?

Hey, I'm asking the questions here! What will I be able to find on this new site?
Ok, sorry. Well, when it launches on Saturday it'll be a bit bare — at least compared to what it will be when I get done with it.

Then why launch it on Saturday?
Because on Saturday we'll begin logo voting for the IceHL. That's the main reason I'm rushing the launch. You'll be able to rate all the Pacific Division logo entries starting on Saturday. I'll have more on that process then.

So there's an IceHL section on the new site. What else will I be able to find there?
Ooh, this is the fun part! Here's what you can expect on the new site: the blog, the IceHL, a comprehensive concept art gallery including mini-galleries from Featured Artists, a compilation of third jersey news for each individual team, a goalie mask gallery, complete archives of NHLToL, ToHL and this Icethetics blog.

Wow, Featured Artists, eh?
Are you Canadian? Yeah, the talented artists that submit their work to Icethetics deserve better recognition than a post that disappears after a week. It will be an invitation-only sort of thing but yes, there will be a Featured Artists section of the site where you can see the complete works of artists like Matt (aka GhettoFarmBoy), Sigma Kappa, Mike Ivall and many new artists who have done some outstanding work for the IceHL.

Will I be able to become a member of Icethetics?
Absolutely! But not right away. It will take a little time for me to get that system in place. But once I do, yes you'll be able to create an Icethetics account for free. Its main purpose will be to allow you to post unmoderated comments on blog posts.

I can't think of any other questions.
That's ok. Other people will and they'll post them in the comments. And then maybe I'll add them to this post!

Disclaimer: I may have been high while writing this post. Not sure.

UPDATE

Ooh! I thought of some more questions. Will the new site include a forum or message board?
No. I could go into detail about my aversion to message boards spawned from the lack of civility that anonymity cultivates and the hostility that ensues, but that would just bore you. With this group, it's an even bigger concern — often at each other's throats for no particular reason. I have enough problems keeping civility in the comments of my blog posts. There's no way I'd be able to nor would I want to police an entire message board. Nor do I know anyone I'd trust enough to do it for me.

And those of you who I'm talking about know who you are. Plenty of you are smart enough to stay out of petty disputes over frivolity, but some of you are helpless on this matter. So for now, the answer is no. I won't say never because it's not in my nature, but there isn't a high probability right now.

If you want to chat with each other about the things I post, you can continue to use the post comments as a forum for discussion. Sorry I can't (won't) offer more than that at this point.

That was a long-winded answer to a pretty simple question.
Guilty.