The NHL Wants To See YOUR Playoff Story

April 16 starts the 2014 NHL Playoffs. And this year the NHL wants you to share your playoff experience no matter where you are. Are you at home? At the bar? In the building watching the game? No matter where you experience the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL wants to see it with #MyPlayoffsStory. Go ahead and share if you're watching!


Unfortunately for me, the 2014 NHL Playoffs mark the fifth year in a row that the Carolina Hurricanes have missed the after show. I have no dog in the hunt, so I just get to sit back and relax during games even though I would prefer spending my afternoons stressing about the Staal brothers and our starting goaltender. Hopefully next season will be our year (one can only hope).

Reds Score Big on Social Media on #OpeningDay

On one of Baseball's biggest days of the year, the Cincinnati Reds unveiled a new area to their concourse, a social media zone. When you step into the Reds Connect Zone you are placed in front of 25 screens featuring online reactions to the game, pictures of people watching from home or in the stands, and in game promotional polls and contest.

Photo courtesy of @FOXSportsLive on Twitter

Throughout a game, the screens will feature Tweets, Instagrams, and Vines from Reds fans along with other majors players, like the MLB or ESPN. Free wifi is offered in the zone as well as phone charging stations (a major plus for someone like me who drains their battery at sporting events).

If I were working with a team in any of the major leagues, I would start working on getting a social media zone ASAP.

Top 10 Athletes On Instagram

10. Richard Sherman (@rsherman25)

Now known for his infamous interview with Erin Andrews after winning the 2014 NFC Championship game, Richard Sherman gives you the behind the scenes footage of his life.

Here is he hanging out with Erin Andrews's BFF Chrissy Teigen (plus Chrissy's husband John Legend).

And after that famous interview, this is what it looked like on his side of the camera during Super Bowl XLVIII Media Day.

9. Usain Bolt (@usainbolt)

The world's fastest man is on top of his Instagram video game. Maybe it's because 15 seconds is a lifetime in his line of work.

Incase you were wondering, some celebrities do read books about themselves.

8. Brad Richards (@brichards_1991)

New York Ranger Brad Richards is easily one of the most active NHLer's on Instagram. He mainly posts during the off season, but if we're lucky we get really cool shots through the hockey player's eyes.

The Rangers got to play two outdoor Stadium Series games this year in Yankee Stadium. Here is the view we all wanted to watch the game from.

7. Kaitlyn Farrington (@kaitlinfarr)

Just off her gold medal performance at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington gave us the perfect view of an American Olympic athlete though Instagram. If you like snow and mountains, you'll love this girl.

The outfit we all secretly (or not so secretly) love.

Kaitlyn on her victory media tour in NYC, looking for somewhere to board.

6. Nick Goepper (@nickgoepper)

Part of the podium sweeping slopstyle skiing group in Sochi, Nick Goepper is enjoying his new found fame.

He got to meet Usher?!

And he's on a cereal box with his teammates. I guess you could say he's doing okay.

5. Paul Bissonnette (@biznasty)
This fourth line Phoenix Coyote is one of the most popular NHLers on Twitter for being snarky with fans. His Instagram may not be snarky, but it is hilarious.

He didn't actually go to the Olympics...

4. LeBron James (@kingjames)

It is no surprise that LeBron James lives a life of luxury, and sometimes (always) we wish we could be as cool as him.

He has one of the coolest shoe collections on the planet.

 And not everything he buys is for himself. He bought his entire team a WWE Heavyweight World Champion belt!

3. Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13)

Alex Morgan is the definition of America's Sweetheart in the sports world. She is adored by young soccer players everywhere. Her Instagram is no exception; it's just plain adorable.

Here she is trying to eat lobster, bib and everything.

And, she got to hang out with a cheetah.

2. McKayla Maroney (@mckaylamaroney)

If you like Tumblr esque, artsy pictures, then the Team USA gymnast is the girl for you. She posts lots of selfies, but isn't afraid to poke fun at herself.

 Artsy...Check. Selfie...Check.

Her pouting face is one of the most famous photos to come out of any Olympics, and she's not afraid to play around with it.

1. Kelly Slater (@kellyslater)

The number one spot was not even a competition. Everyone elses Instagram is lack luster compared to surfer Kelly Slater. But, how can you compete with someone who lives in Hawaii?

His view on Thanksgiving...I'll take that any day of the year.

Then of course, he has pictures of his surfing the famous waves at Pipeline beach.

Who is your favorite athlete to follow on Instagram?

The New Age of Olympic Love

A new dating application called Tinder has seemed to change the dating game for olympic athletes living in the olympic village in Sochi. This was the first time the simple "hot or not" app has been around during the olympics and it created quite a buzz between athletes.

Tinder takes your location and finds all potential matches within a certain radius of yourself. Then the scrolling begins. A person comes up on your phone and if you swipe to the left, it's a no. If you swipe to the right, it's a yes. Say someone also swiped to the right for you, then you will instantly get a notification that you're a match, taking you to a private message to start a conversation if you wish.

Olympic skiing heartthrobs Nick Goepper and Joss Christensen have even admitted being on the app, "It's the normal crew we're used to seeing," said Christensen. "It's all the American's we're used to traveling with, so it's a little weird." Christensen doesn't go much further on Tinder then swiping. He has hasn't initiated a conversation with any other olympic athletes.

Left: Nick Goepper         Right: Joss Christensen

Photo courtesy of @nickgoepper on Instagram

Want to know if your favorite athlete is on Tinder? Well there is a Tumblr page for that! Sochi on Tumblr has Tinder profiles of many different athletes that competed in Sochi over the past two weeks.


Why is Nick Goepper even on Tinder? He has a thousands of girls trying to win a date with him after the conclusion of the Olympics! Using the hashtag #iwanttodatenick on Twitter and Instagram will enter you into the competition. Funny pictures and videos have seen to be catching his attention.

Pictures like this:

But, this girl seems to be the front runner. I mean, she WROTE and SANG him a song!

Now that the Olympics are over, I hope the Olympians got all their Tindering in! I know New Zealand snowboarder Rebecca Possum Torr did...