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Entries with the tag: stan mikita
Stan Mikita Tested Positive For CTE
by Paul on 09/14/19 at 09:23 AM ET
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from Rick Westhead of TSN,
Former Chicago Blackhawks legend and Hockey Hall of Fame member Stan Mikita tested positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the brain-withering disease linked to repetitive brain trauma in contact sports, researchers and his family announced Friday night in Chicago.
Mikita becomes the 11th known former NHL player, and the first member of the Hall of Fame, to have tested positive for CTE.
Dr. Ann McKee, director of the BU CTE Center, VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, and chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System, discussed the findings Friday night as requested by Mikita's family during the Concussion Legacy Foundation's Chicago Honors dinner.
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Video- The Chicago Blackhawks Pay Honor To Stan Mikita
by Paul on 10/07/18 at 07:17 PM ET
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Saying Goodbye To Stan Mikita
by Paul on 08/13/18 at 08:09 AM ET
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from Tracey Myers of NHL.com,
Stan Mikita fans had the opportunity to say goodbye to the Chicago Blackhawks legend on Sunday and JoAnne Schmitt-Berg didn't want to miss one minute.
The 54-year-old from Chicago was first in a long line of fans that wrapped around the United Center for public visitation of Mikita, who died Tuesday at 78.
"I'd stand in line all day long to get to say goodbye," said Schmitt-Berg, who was there at 7:20 a.m. CT, almost four hours before the doors opened at 11 a.m. "We'll miss him."
Most of those who attended the service, many wearing No. 21 jerseys, signed a poster of Mikita when they entered the United Center atrium. Mikita's casket was flanked by two vases of roses in his favorite color, yellow.
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Video- Remembering Stan Mikita
by Paul on 08/07/18 at 05:18 PM ET
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via Sportsnet's YouTube Page,
added 7:07pm, below, watch Dave Stubbs of NHL.com on Stan Mikita.
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Stan Mikita Has Passed Away
by Paul on 08/07/18 at 04:04 PM ET
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via the Chicago Blackhawks,
Statement on behalf of the Mikita family
"With great sorrow, the Mikita family announces that Stan passed away on Tuesday August 7, 2018 at the age of 78. He was surrounded by his loving family whom he fiercely loved. Details of planned services will be released when they become available. We respectfully ask for privacy at this time."
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Afternoon Line- Alex Prewitt On Stan Mikita
by Paul on 01/24/17 at 05:21 PM ET
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On the best days, Stan’s memory will activate. Then the family sees glimmers of his old self. When the family takes him to Jane’s house, which overlooks a golf course, Stan brings his grandchildren onto the putting green and offers tips on their strokes. After watching the Blackhawks lose to the St. Louis Blues in the 2017 Winter Classic earlier this month, Scott asked the next day if he remembered the game. Yes, Stan replied, “and they looked like crap.” Over the summer, it was a big deal when Jane handed him a signed 8 x 10 picture from his playing days and asked him to autograph it again, which he did “as perfectly as the original signature.”
-Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated where you can read much more about Stan Mikita.
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Stan Mikita’s Health On The Decline
by Paul on 06/15/15 at 07:39 AM ET
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from Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune,
Walk through the main floor of Jill and Stan Mikita's home in the western suburbs and you will see very little evidence that the man who owns it was one of the greatest players the sport of hockey ever has known.
Other than a portrait of the Blackhawks legend and an autographed photo of Mikita and lifelong friend Bobby Hull on the family room wall, there are few mementos indicating that it is the home of someone whose statue stands outside the United Center.
"Stan always said he didn't need things on the wall or plaques on the shelves because he had his memories," Jill Mikita says.
Now, those memories are gone.
Stan Mikita has been diagnosed with suspected dementia with Lewy body, a brain disorder that can strip those with it of memory, cause hallucinations, sleep disorders and often, though not in Mikita's case, Parkinson's disease. His decline has been steep and sudden....
"His mind is completely gone," Jill, Stan's wife of 52 years, says while sitting on the sun porch as one of her grandsons fishes in the pond out back. "I don't like to use that term but there's no other way to describe it."
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Thinking Of Stan Mikita And Al Arbour
by Paul on 02/02/15 at 11:34 AM ET
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from Bob McKenzie of TSN,
Some days - not too many, thankfully - I feel like it sucks to get old. Or, more precisely, it sucks to watch great hockey people you admire and respect grow old.
Friday was one of those days.
That's when the family of 74-year-old Stan Mikita announced the Hall of Fame Chicago Blackhawk centre and beloved franchise ambassador is facing serious health issues, that he has "been diagnosed with suspected Lewy Body dementia, a progressive disease and is currently under the care of compassionate and understanding care givers."
On the same day as that most unwelcome Mikita news, blogger Howard Berger (bergerbytes.ca) posted a current photograph of 82-year-old former NHL defenceman and Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour, updating his condition (dementia and Parkinson's Disease) and inviting fans to send best wishes to Arbour at his retirement home in Florida. Arbour's health issues were widely reported in the media last summer - it isn't necessarily 'news' he's now suffering dementia - but what's that they say about one picture being worth a thousand words?
That the failing health of these two Hall of Famers intersected, sadly, on the same day only added to the magnitude of the misfortune. At least it did for a kid who spent his formative Original Six hockey years growing up in Toronto in the 1960s, admiring the two men for very different reasons.
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The Time Stan Mikita Was Hit By A ‘Truck’
by Paul on 08/31/14 at 09:53 AM ET
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Earlier in the season, Gordie Howe was the recipient of a high stick from Stan Mikita...
from Tom DeLisle at DetroitAthletic.com,
... Howe and Mikita finally pulled apart as they slowly made their way to the Wings blue line, badly trailing the play — which was now zooming around the Chicago net. All eyes were on the puck flying around at the other end … including Howe’s, and Mikita’s, the fans’, and — Gordie noted –the referee’s. Number Nine, who had waited patiently for months, seized his opportunity. Slowly putting one glove under his opposite arm, and carefully withdrawing his hand … he cocked his bulging fist, pulling it back about six inches … then proceeded to land a lightning bolt –a quick but exceedingly powerful punch to the prominent and scrawny Adam’s Apple of Mr. Mikita, who was skating at his side.
Down went Stanley.
When play was finally whistled dead in the Chicago end, all eyes returned back up ice to behold the Blackhawk’s young #21 trying — of all strange things — to crawl on his hands and knees towards the Chicago bench. He was having a bad time getting there. In fact, he was barely progressing at all. Crawling? There’s no crawling in hockey. Further in the distance, the nonchalant #9 of the Red Wings was casually heading to the Red Wings bench when he too looked back, and saw poor Stanley in his predicament. Howe joined officials and Mikita’s teammates, skating over to investigate his collapse.
Mikita seemed in shock. Trying to rise, and falling again … he was unable to tell his teammates what had happened to him. He had been skating easily along, and the lights just went out. His legs were wobbly, and his voice didn’t work. The players slowly slid him, bent over, towards the Chicago bench. Ever the good Samaritan, old Gord offered what little consolation he could muster.
“Hey Stan,” Howe said to the bedazzled Blackhawk, who peered back at him with mismatched eyes … “did you get the number of that truck that hit you?”
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Hull & Mikita Now In Bronze
by Paul on 10/23/11 at 02:38 AM ET
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from Mike Spellman of the Chicago Daily-Herald,
The transition from cold shoulder to warm embrace is finally, finally complete for Blackhawks legends Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull.
After decades of being snubbed by the organization they brought back to prominence in the 1960s and ’70s, the pair finally were honored in a truly fitting way — with the unveiling of bigger-than-life bronze statues Saturday night outside the United Center.
“This is a timeless reminder that our franchise took another step forward as we honor the two greatest players who have ever worn the Chicago Blackhawks sweater,” said Blackhawks president and CEO John McDonough.
And Mikita and Hull couldn’t have been more pleased.
Standing on a stage just outside of Gate 3½, under illuminated 40-foot banners featuring their likenesses (which will remain up through Monday) and with hundreds of fans ringing the plaza, Hull spoke from his heart.
“I never, ever thought in 100 years that I’d be standing here tonight,” he told the energized crowd. “This is the greatest night of my life.”
continued and watch a video of the unveiling below…
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Great news for Stosh and his fans!
by Vince Maranto on 09/02/11 at 05:21 PM ET
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It’s good, make that great news for Chicago Blackhawk, Hall of Famer, Stan Mikita. Stan, who was diagnosed with oral cancer (stage one) a while back, spoke on Friday.
“It looks very clean,” “That’s what the doctors told me, and I am very thankful. Jill and I always had a happy home, but it’s even happier now.”
Stan, the all time Hawks leading points scorer and Ambassador, also added this,
“I was told at the start that the outlook was good,”. “What they do now is amazing. The doctors, nurses and oncologists who treated me have been unbelievable. It’s been an emotional time for me, and after I went in the other day to be examined, and got the results, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. My weight is still down, but I’m gaining a few pounds back, and my voice is stronger.”
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Steve Larmer….. Remember Him?
by Vince Maranto on 08/30/11 at 06:40 PM ET
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Once again, while waiting for what seems to be forever for training camp to start, I was killing some time. While looking through the Hawks “All Time Statistics” I was actually a little surprised by some facts. Steve Larmer (Blackhawks from the 1980-1981 season through 1992-1993) ranks fourth on the list for scoring. Stan Mikita ranks number one, followed by Bobby Hull, and then Denis Savard. No real surprise there, I knew he was Top 5, at least. But when you actually start breaking down the numbers, a couple of things stuck out.
Steve played in 891 games (10 more than than Savard) while racking up 923 points (1,096 for Savvy). Larmer scored 406 goals (third highest on the Hawks) and had 517 assists (fourth best). He leads all right wingers, historically, for Chicago. Overall, he was a +182 in his career. Those figures weren’t kept back in Stosh & Bobby’s playing days.—- It would be interesting to see exactly when +/-, power play goals, short handed goals, and other stats became to be recorded. Another article I guess.
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Get Well Stan Mikita
by Paul on 05/24/11 at 07:47 PM ET
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via Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita will undergo treatment for Stage 1 oral cancer, the team announced Tuesday.
“Stan has been diagnosed with an early base of tongue cancer and the prognosis is excellent,” said Richard Borrowdale of Loyola Medical Center, who will be treating Mikita. “He will be treated with external beam radiation therapy.”
Mikita, who turned 71 on Friday, played all 1,394 of his regular-season games with the Hawks spanning 22 seasons beginning in the late-1950’s until his retirement during the 1979-80 season.
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Mikita’s Identity Stolen
by Paul on 12/22/09 at 12:39 PM ET
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from CBS2Chicago,
More than $100,000 in two weeks—gone. A Chicago sports legend, the victim of identity theft. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports that Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita has won virtually everything there is to win. But he thought he lost big, too, when cyber thieves created an online account and started paying themselves with his money.
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You Guys Still Got It?
by Paul on 08/01/09 at 03:58 PM ET
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Greats from the Chicago Blackhawks, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito and Denis Savard in a Chicago furniture TV ad.
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stan+mikita,
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No More Dark Days In Chicago
by Paul on 03/08/08 at 11:22 AM ET
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from Jay Mariotti of the Sun-Times,
There was Bobby Hull, back from the darkness. There was Stan Mikita, back from the cold. And there were the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks, back where they belong in the bosom of Chicago sports on a memorable evening when an illustrious past was attached to a hopeful future.
‘‘I spent so many years proudly wearing the Indian head sweater,’’ said Mikita, who arrived with Hull for the center-ice ceremony in a custom ‘57 Chevy. ‘‘But tonight, I’m even more proud to be welcomed back and to be part of the great moments that lie ahead for this franchise.’‘
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Chicago Welcomes Hull & Mikita
by Paul on 03/07/08 at 04:22 PM ET
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fro Van Oler via ChicagoBlackhawks.com,
Spend enough time at the United Center watching the Blackhawks and you’ll inevitably hear someone comment that this season’s game-night excitement and buzz reminds them of the days when “the Blackhawks owned this town, I tell ya! You couldn’t get a ticket unless it was left to you in somebody’s will!”
With Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull returning the UC tonight, it’s useful to look back at their time with the Blackhawks to see if there’s evidence that the team was, in fact, the best in town.
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Hull & Mikita Back With The Blackhawks
by Paul on 12/19/07 at 08:36 PM ET
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from the Chicago Blackhawks,
Former Chicago Blackhawks players and Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita have rejoined the Chicago Blackhawks family and have been named as official Blackhawks ambassadors. Hull and Mikita will represent the Blackhawks at events at the United Center and throughout the Chicagoland area.
continued with response from both Hull and Mikita.
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