Tag: NHL

What’s really on their minds? Pro athletes on Twitter

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With the NHL trade deadline just weeks away, what better way to keep the spirit of rumors and gossip going than a browse through Twitter? Fans and sports reporters have used the social media site for years now, and it looks like more professional athletes are joining the Twitterverse to chat with us mere mortals. While we don’t think they’d be putting out any juicy insider scoops on possible trades anytime soon, it’s as close as we’ll probably get to hearing what the stars are up to away from the cameras. Some of them tweet about the charitable causes they support (like Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa on Mindcheck.ca), while others are trenders (see Oilers forward Taylor Hall contemplating a possible name change).

If you’re wondering what your favorite pro athletes are up to away from the cameras, there’s a website called Tweeting-Athletes.com where you can browse through a directory containing Twitter accounts of players from all the major North American sports leagues. Time to hobnob with sporting royalty!

Who are some of your favorites athletes on that list? Let us know who’s tweets make your day!

Tweeting-Athletes.comNHL on Twitter

EA Sports Releases Details on NHL 12 for 360, PS3

MaxK

According to EA Sports, it’s the world’s “Premier Hockey Video Game.” If you ask gamers, though, it’s more like the only one—main competitor 2K Sports only released the current version of their game, the Ryan Kesler-bedecked NHL 2K11 for iPhone and Wii. By steering clear of the PS3 and Xbox 360, they hope to gain enough time to make NHL 2K12 a clear improvement on EA’s NHL 12, but only time will tell.

Meanwhile, NHL 12‘s September release date creeps nearer, and EA has begun to release a trickle of information. Primary improvements to the game center around making it even more indistinguishable from watching a live game on TV: in addition to ever-more-complex player models and realistic crowds, the physics engine has been beefed up with what EA calls their “Full Contact Physics Engine.” No more awkward action figures gliding eerily across the ice as in the PS2 days; these players shift their weight, collide with each other, and move differently based on their size. The game’s Be a Pro mode has also been improved.
New to the game are highly improved dynamic goalies: players can “knock the net off and make contact with goalies, knocking them down or out of position, as they crash the crease,” and most importantly, EA promises that gamers will now be able to drop their goalie’s gloves and take a swing at players they don’t much care for.
Beyond EA’s press release and screenshots, little information is available about the game. It remains to be seen whether updated rosters, a better physics engine, and the improved Be a Pro mode are worth $70, though.
NHL 12 comes out in September for all major gaming consoles, and will most likely run hockey fans $59.99 in the US and $69.99 in Canada.