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NHLPens.com Redesigned for Playoffs

I am very happy to present the newly remodeled NHLPens.com, just in time for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs!  I have overhauled the theme to make the features of the site more accessible from the “Home” page.  First, the site now features the last 3-posted articles using an image/text slideshow box at the top left of the home page.  To read a featured article, simply click on the image and you will be taken to the full posting.  Just below the slideshow, there is a summary listing of the last five featured articles so you can quickly navigate to a recent article.  We are also categorizing every article as news, opinion, analysis, announcements and the like so that you can easily navigate to and read the content that you would like.  You can access these categories at the top of the home page, or view summaries of the past few articles in each category a little further down the home page.  The home page also includes an embedded video from the NHL or the Pittsburgh Penguins.  This video will change frequently and will highlight player interviewsm game highlights and other compelling content.  On the right “sidebar” of the home page, you will find a live NHL scoreboard that updates in near real-time, the latest NHLPens.com poll, the latest news clippings scoured from the internet and more!  From the navigation bar at the top of the home page, you can still step off to other pages of great content to include the Team roster, schedule/results, stats, standings, the Forum message board, our video page, great Fan gear and more!  I hope you find the site’s redesign both appealing and functional.  If you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you.  You can either comment on this post, or send me an e-mail at Paul@NHLPens.com.  As always, thanks for visiting us at NHLPens.com!

Let’s Go Pens!

NHLPens.com Uses PicApp

Recently we started using PicApp (http://www.picapp.com) to serve up quality, professional photographs here at NHLPens.com.  PicApp is a FREE service that enables us to display images taken by some of the worlds best photographers and agencies like Getty Images.  PicApp has millions of photos to choose from that are updated continuously with new, relevant images (for example, in-game hockey photos are usually available right after the game is complete!).  The beauty of PicApp is you can use the images without having to worry about copyright infringement or paying large licensing fees that are unaffordable for the average hobbyist blogger, like myself.  PicApp does this by including a small, inobtrusive ad at the bottom of each image.  If you run a blog, I recommend you take a look at PicApp as a way to “pretty up” your posts with relevent professional photography.  The following are two examples of PicApp imagery taken at the Olympics today:

NHLPens.com Restored

If you attempted to visit www.NHLPens.com yesterday, you were likely surpised to find an anti-Bush splash page instead.  This site and my personal family blog were the subject of a webpage hacker attack that replaced my normal blog pages with anti-Bush propaganda.  The attack did nothing more than place their propaganda on my pages so that anyone who attempted to visit yesterday would see the hacker’s propaganda message instead of the NHLPens.com content that you would normally see. 

Unfortunately, I did not become aware of the hijacking of the site until late last night when I checked in on the websites after leaving for a family vacation yesterday morning.  Operating from my laptop, I did not have all of my normal website maintenance tools and backup material at my fingertips, so I was not able to get the site back online until this morning. 

If you tried to visit yesterday, I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.