There are very few annual events that approach the level of coolness that is the NHL's Winter Classic, and the NHL announced all the details of next year's matchup on New Year's Day. Everyone knew it would be at Fenway, and feature the Bruins and Flyers, but it became official today. Here's the release....

The National Hockey League's annual outdoor game will return on New Year’s Day with the Boston Bruins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park -- home of the Boston Red Sox -- in the 2010 Bridgestone/NHL Winter ClassicTM. The Eastern Conference rivals will face-off at 1 p.m., ET in the classic, which received the SportsBusiness Journal “Sports Event of the Year” award for its inaugural edition in 2008.

“A unique event deserves a unique venue, and we are delighted the Bruins and Flyers will renew their rivalry with the ‘Green Monster’ providing the backdrop,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We welcome our fans, our teams, our sponsors and the great city of Boston to this annual celebration of our sport.”

Bridgestone brand will return as the title sponsor, showcasing its status as the Official Tire of the NHL® and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) to a broadening viewing audience. Last season’s 2009 Bridgestone/NHL Winter Classic attracted 5.6 million North American TV viewers and gathered more than 750,000 visitors on NHL.com. The 2009 event at Chicago’s Wrigley Field drew 41,818 to the historic ballpark, with demand for tickets exceeding 240,000.

The 2010 Bridgestone/NHL Winter Classic will be the third regular-season outdoor NHL game played in the United States (the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year’s Day 2008, and the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field on New Year’s Day last season), and the fourth regular-season outdoor game in League history (the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Commonwealth Stadium on Nov. 22, 2003).

NBC will provide live broadcast coverage of the game in the U.S. In Canada, CBC and RDS will televise the event live. NHL Radio and SIRIUS XM Radio will provide radio coverage and NHL.com will provide extensive digital video coverage.

I can't reiterate this enough, but the Winter Classic is the perfect pregame to all of the New Year's Day College Football games later that afternoon. The fact that they made it two Eastern rivals, and put it at one of the most famous stadiums in America, is just icing (pun intended) on the cake. I'm still hoping for a Pens-Caps matchup on the National Mall in the future, but next year's contest should be just as fun.

First Take has been shuffling co-hosts with Skip Bayless, since Stephen A. Smith's contract wasn't renewed by ESPN, and the process has apparently confused Dana Jacobson greatly. Bayless' "opponent" today was College Basketball analyst, Stephen Bardo, and the fact that another person with the same first name as SAS was on the show, cause Jacobson to slip up a bit....

Obviously it's an honest mistake, and she caught her error, but still hilarious. Maybe they should just stick with the two Stews for awhile until the glow of SAS has disappeared from the show. Too funny.

I spent most of the night not paying attention to the All Star Game, but I made sure to record/watch Barack Obama's appearance in the booth, with Buck and McCarver. I honestly thought that the two Fox announcers would find a way to ruin it, but they and the Pres, actually made it enjoyable. The talk was loose and light, and focused on the game of Baseball, which is a welcome change from all the Politics that have crept into Sports as of late. Here's the appearance if you missed it....

Good stuff....now about that first pitch. Albert Pujols swears it didn't touch the ground, and there's talk of a Fox camera conspiracy, but I'm pretty sure he bounced it up there. The thing that everyone has to remember though, is that he threw it from the mound, which most people don't do. To throw it down the middle, and barely bounce it, is actually not THAT bad. In fact, I almost guarantee that half of the Nationals would have swung at that sinker.

Create the Caption is back by popular demand! I took a little hiatus from posting the captions, and sure it's hokey, but it's all in good fun. The CtC is back with a vengeance, and your comments are greatly appreciated.

Yesterday's Winners....


"You must be at least this tall to ride the Prince."- HHR

"Jeez, Clubber Lang has let himself go."- GMoney

"Since becoming a vegetarian, Prince's motor skills have been a bit off..."- AZ Cheesehead

Prince: "You know, Stallion? It's too bad we gotta get old, huh?"
Braun: "Ah, just keep punchin', Prince... you want to ring the bell?"
Prince: "Alright... Ding Ding."
- Adam
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Albert Pujols and President Obama during last night's All Star Game?


Your Daily Links:

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Reminder: I'll be competing in a Poker Tourney with some of your favorite Sports Bloggers at Carbon Poker, tonight. Be sure to check out their updates on Twitter, if you get a chance.

Carbon Poker (Twitter)

If you've read this site for awhile now, you know one of the things I'm fascinated with, are the bags that award shows give out in their gift suites. The athletes and actors are already loaded, but companies give out tons of free stuff, in hopes that the famous person will be seen using their product on TV at some point. Well this year's ESPYs listed of free swag is pretty darn amazing, and LAist has some of the more fancy gear that attendees can take home with them....

* Undefeated and EA Sports: The two companies teamed up for the most practical and most gaudy giveaways. Everybody's first stop was for their custom military-style duffel bag ($225 est), which was used for carrying all the other goodies. They also gave 30 VIPs a personalized PlayStation 3 or PSP, which was laser-engraved while the recipient waited in a lounge serving Patron.
* iHome: The electronics maker handed out a variety of products, including the iH29 speaker case, iConnect Media Keyboard and wireless laser mouse ($179.99), and laptop cooling pads.
* Simmons Jewelry: Yup, there's nothing Russell Simmons doesn't make. Several of his jewelry lines were on display, primarily made of stainless steel. There was one watch with an MSRP higher than most new cars. VIPs were given items worth up to a few hundred dollars.
* NameDrop.com: A new website hoping to be Facebook for the glitterati, they'll promote the pros and charge regular subscribers an introductory $2.99 per month to read their content. For the celebs who signed up this weekend, they handed out a free Flip Cam.
* Muze Clothing: Specializing in t-shirts printed with classic movie lines, Muze came into the pop spotlight recently when Tony Romo was seen wearing their clothes while out with Jessica Simpson. Let's hope his shirt lasted longer than his relationship.
* Skullcandy: Looking to promote their new Decibel Collection, Skullcandy (which produces fashion headphones) handed out a number of their mid-range products.
* Assorted eyewear: We never quite figured out what the eye guy was doing, but he did fit Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma for some prescription Nike glasses and was displaying a pair of Calvin Klein sunglasses with an 8 gigabyte flash drive in the frame.
* Pure Power Mouthguard: Designed to improve jaw alignment and thereby improve athletic performance. You wouldn't think it makes that big of a difference ... but one of their dentists was able to help this writer's strength and balance just by shoving a pen between my teeth. Their sponsored athletes get fancy versions, but apparently weekend warriors can drop a couple grand in hopes of dropping a couple strokes from their golf game.
* Wynn: The Las Vegas casino gave a select crowd gift certificates along with an all-access VIP card for entrance into the clubs and pool. One Laker we talked to wasn't impressed, joking that he gets free three-room suites at a rival resort. Maybe he'll spend it at Tryst.
* Marley Coffee: Ziggy isn't the only one carrying on the family legacy. Turns out Bob always wanted to be a farmer, and his son Rohan is growing beans -- the caffeinated variety. Hardcore sports fans may remember that he was on the 1991 Miami Hurricanes national championship team.
* Axe: Branching out of the spray-on market less than a year ago, stylists worked on guy's hair while they handed out bottles of product.
* Zirh: Not to be outdone, the high-end men's skincare line set up mini-massages and gave away some of their cremes and masks.
* Patron: Besides serving drinks throughout the event, Patron also boxed up some basic party supplies and handed them out.
* Pizza Fusion: Hey, somebody had to cater ... being LA, they had to go organic.
* Sentient: You probably haven't heard of them because you don't fly in private jets. And you won't fly in private jets until you can afford to do so without a coupon. Which is why they were giving coupons to those who could afford it. One of life's great Catch 22's.

Man, that is some list. I know that most athletes and celebs end up using the gifts as presents, but if I was famous, I think I would have to keep most of that stuff. Especially the EA Sports package, Patron junk, Wynn gift certificate, and of course....the coffee package. I'm re-gifting the clothes and jewelery if anyone want it.

It Pays to be a Pro at the ESPY Gifting Suites (LAist)

Ever since Erin Andrews jumped on the scene, she's said in interviews that one of her favorite websites is TMZ. Well yesterday, the ESPN sideline reporter got stopped in the airport by one of Harvey Levin's minions, and here is the video....

Pretty mundane interview there, but I figured you'd all want to see it. It appears that everything is okay with the chin though, which is good, and EA won't be taking any time off. Whew!