The following articles were authored by AlisonL

Money on the Board Recap – Columbus @ Dallas 4/25

By on April 26, 2013

Ask yourself honestly – if someone had told you in January of 2013 that the Blue Jackets would be in contention for a playoff spot, would you have believed them? What this roster of players has done this year is nothing short of amazing. A group of guys that pretty much every major media outlet slotted into 30th in the league refused to listen to the naysayers. They fought their way through a compressed schedule, crisscrossing the country to play 48 games of hockey on little rest. Somehow, these guys, these Blue Jackets, now find themselves battling the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild for 8th in the Western Conference and last night, in the latest in a string of “must win” games, the team stepped up and delivered once again – bringing home the 3-1 win.

So pick your adjective – stunning, shocking, wonderful, amazing, timely, deserved, due – whatever you choose, the Blue Jackets are it. This isn’t the team we’ve seen in years past – where sometimes we as fans felt like we wanted success more than they did – this is the team that demands respect and demands success. So what is a fan base to do? Well, we wanted to find a way to send a love letter to this team – to let them know what it means to see them build this kind of season of hockey. We’ve stood behind this team for a long time, this kind of run is what we’ve hoped for. So what better way to do that then to help the community in which this team resides while celebrating all that the boys in Union Blue have done. Thus, the second Money on the Board was born, and it caught like wildfire.

As of this morning, the final tallies are in:

Continue reading Money on the Board Recap – Columbus @ Dallas 4/25

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets, Game Discussion and tagged , , , , , , . | 4 Comments

CBJ Money on the Board…LISTEN to this!

By on April 23, 2013

Yesterday, we shared with you “Money on the Board” to help rally behind our team as they play the Dallas Stars, and to also do some good for others. Suffice it to say, the response has been staggering – in the best of ways.

CBJ fans have come out in droves. As of this writing, 82 people have pledged a total of $1736 for a Blue Jackets Regulation win. $809 additional dollars for incentives have been pledged – and that number will only increase. Charities will receive an additional $140 if we see a shut*ut, and every single save by Bobrovsky brings in $6.65! He’s averaging 27 saves a game so that looks like another $179.55 in donations. So far, charities that will be receiving funds include the Blue Jackets Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, the Red Cross and One Fund Boston.

We’ve also had some creative submissions including:

  • $20 if Dallas has a goal waived off for a B.S. distinct kicking motion (Joe Wilkins)
  • $.25 for every use of profanity (Brett Ireland)
  • $50 if Fox Sports Ohio airs the post game Foligno-Bobrovsky hug (Dave Cottone)

Had the team found out yet? Well we got our answer today courtesy of the tremendous Lori Schmidt from our CBJ flagship station, 97.1 The Fan (twitter). Coach Todd Richards and Marian Gaborik visited with her today and shared their thoughts after hearing the latest about our #CBJMotB efforts – take a listen!

Continue reading CBJ Money on the Board…LISTEN to this!

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets and tagged , , , , .

Money on the Board – Thursday, April 25 vs Dallas Stars

By on April 22, 2013

Last week, long time Blue Jackets fan, Chad Garvin, came to us with an idea to revisit “Money on the Board” to support our team as they march towards the playoffs and also to find a way to support the great charitable efforts of our own Blue Jackets Foundation as well as any other charity you may care to honor – particularly in light of recent events. We welcome everyone to join us for #CBJMOTB to show support for our team and give back! Here’s more about it from Chad himself:

“Money on the Board” is a hockey tradition in which a player or coach will pledge money on a locker- room whiteboard as extra incentive to score a game-winning goal or win a key game. In the past, Columbus fans have used “money on the board” campaigns to try to change momentum and pull the Blue Jackets out of a losing slump. This time, let’s do it to help push them into the playoffs. Let’s put money on the board to help the Blue Jackets beat the Dallas Stars on April 25.

History:

The last CBJ money on the board campaign occurred on January 14, 2011, leading up to a home game against the Detroit Red Wings. The Jackets had a five-game losing streak and were sitting 13 th in the Western Conference. On Monday night, Tyler Schweinfurth tweeted, “For a #cbj game winning goal against Detroit, I have $20 for the charity of that player’s choice. Who’s in?” Apparently, lots of people were in. By Friday, fans had pledged more than $5,000 to charities as well as several acts of community service. After the Jackets beat the Red Wings in a shootout, the players made a matching donation to the Blue Jackets Foundation.

Continue reading Money on the Board – Thursday, April 25 vs Dallas Stars

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets and tagged . | 1 Comment

Wonka Wisdom and the Blue Jackets

By on April 18, 2013

“But Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the boy who suddenly got everything he ever wanted.”
“What happened?”
“He lived happily ever after.”

Is this real? Is this the team that every single national hockey pundit picked to be not only last in the Central, but last in the West and last in the League? Yep. This is them. A rag tag bundle of youngins, yeoman defensemen, and workman like offensive players, all with “potential” took to the ice in January as the latest Blue Jackets roster. What did we hope for? Burned by last season, all we could dare to dream was that we’d get entertaining hockey and that John Davidson just might be able to pull off this “never be outworked” thing. We grabbed on to that hard, didn’t we? After all it was all we had. No one really expected these guys to win a lot. We believed in our team, and we loved our team, but 2013 started off with a lot of quotes like these:

Continue reading Wonka Wisdom and the Blue Jackets

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets. | 1 Comment

Recap: Columbus @ Minnesota 4/13

By on April 14, 2013

It was the second night of a back to back and the Jackets were on the road tonight, this time facing the Wild. Given this team’s history, many were anxious to see how the team would respond given the high energy game of last night and the loss of home ice advantage. Well, let’s just say the game did not disappoint.

Things got going early when Charlie Coyle blatantly took his elbow and drove it in to Artem Anisimov‘s head. Arty would fall and Brandon Dubinsky would immediately answer the bell coming to his teammate’s defense. Coyle got a match penalty which kept him off the ice for the rest of the night in addition to the Wild’s next game; but, given the post-game news that Arty is out “indefinitely” I will be severely disappointed if more games aren’t dolled out in response to Coyle’s actions. Completely unacceptable. The other party to the scrum, Dubi, would get 17 total minutes of penalties and sit for basically the entire first period.

Continue reading Recap: Columbus @ Minnesota 4/13

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets, Game Discussion and tagged , , , , , , .

Game Recap: St. Louis @ Columbus 4/12

By on April 13, 2013

Last night continued the series of “most important games” for the Blue Jackets as the boys in Union Blue fight to claw into a playoff spot. There was a lot on the line, not only two coveted points but a battle for pride as JD faced his former club and Ken Hitchcock was once again in Nationwide. The Blues came in on the second night of a back to back riding a 6 game win streak and the Jackets were bringing Brandon Dubinsky and Jared Boll back into the lineup.

Continue reading Game Recap: St. Louis @ Columbus 4/12

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets, Game Discussion and tagged , , , , , .

Game Recap: Minnesota @ Columbus 4/7

By on April 8, 2013

I was supposed to write a game recap for last night, but since the team decided not to show up, I decided not to show up either…

Continue reading Game Recap: Minnesota @ Columbus 4/7

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets. | 1 Comment

Game Recap: Columbus @ Nashville, 4/4

By on April 4, 2013

Welcome friends.  I have drawn the responsibility to write about the first game for Marian Gaborik in a Blue Jackets sweater, and what a game it was. “Gaby” met the team in Nashville for a matchup against a Predators team that was just as hungry for points as they were. The Jackets were searching for their first win in regulation in Nashville since April 3, 2006, and 7 years and 1 day later, they did it. The Jackets take home a solid 3-1 victory and two points. Here’s how it all went down.

The first period started a bit shaky with the Jackets looking slightly tentative, but Sergei Bobrovsky came up huge once again with some big saves early. Perhaps they were feeling out chemistry with a new star on the roster and Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky returning (not to mention the absence of Derick Brassard), but after eight minutes of tentative play, they were behind the Predators 9-2 in SOG and were lucky to keep the game at zero.

Continue reading Game Recap: Columbus @ Nashville, 4/4

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets, Game Discussion and tagged , , , , , , , , .

Thoughts on the Trade Deadline – Union Blue Edition

By on April 2, 2013

It’s that time again! Trade deadline! The Blue Jackets have provided us such a whirlwind of a March that no one seems to know for sure if Jarmo and JD shall be buyers, sellers or standard bearers at the close Wednesday’s activities. With that in mind, all of us at the Union Blue decided to have a little fun. We challenged ourselves to each come up with the top three players we would keep, and the top three players we would deal. There were a few guidelines:

1. Only players who have dressed for the Blue Jackets team this season are eligible for consideration

2. Sergei Bobrovsky is excluded from consideration (given his quality play lately, we figured we’d all pick him anyway)

3. Players who have a no-movement or no-trade clause are still eligible for our lists, but the designation should be noted with an “NMC” or “NTC”.

So welcome to a little time inside our brains. Remember, this is what we want to happen, not what we think will happen…read along, see if you agree with any of us, or sound off in the comments as to why we might just be crazy. We’ll be watching…we may have some off-side wagers involved as well!

Continue reading Thoughts on the Trade Deadline – Union Blue Edition

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . | 2 Comments

Game Recap – Columbus @ Calgary 3/29

By on March 30, 2013

The Blue Jackets wrapped up a Canadian tour last night in Calgary and both fan bases were curious to see what team would show up for their side. Columbus was looking to finally get a regulation win on the road with back-up Steve Mason in net, and Flames faithful were curious to see how their team would respond in their first outing since Jerome Iginla was traded.

Right off the bat, my new favorite line of 11-42-13 was buzzing – creating some opportunities and providing some sustained pressure in the offensive zone. Cam Atkinson had a beautiful opportunity off a pass from Matt Calvert that he just couldn’t convert. But this energy set the tone for the arrival of the other lines on ice. While on the PK, Mark Letestu buried a short-handed goal to put the Jackets up 1-0. Shortly after, Dalton Prout and Tim Jackman engaged in a bout at middle ice that Prout won soundly and certainly brought many cheers from the group of friends I was with game-watching. Prouter certainly seems to be impressing in his time up with the big club and the long term defensive picture got a little more cloudy for all the right reasons as another quality candidate is showing us he’s here to play.

Continue reading Game Recap – Columbus @ Calgary 3/29

This entry is filed under Columbus Blue Jackets and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Older Entries »