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Daily Archives: February 24, 2009
Maxim magazine on the way down
I have a subscription to Maxim magazine.
I used to enjoy the issues from front to back.
Maxim Magazine isn't as hot as it used to be.
Every story was well-written, every joke was funny and you felt like you had to read every article. It was the must-read magazine, and really made the men’s magazine genre take off (at least, the men’s magazine genre that didn’t come delivered in a brown paper bag).
It spawned plenty of imitators, such as FHM, Gear and Urban Male Magazine. It even spawned off two magazines on its own, Stuff and Blender (although Stuff has since folded back into Maxim).
But the magazine is not like that anymore. It has lost its edge, and it’s kind of sad.
There are plenty of reasons for it. First, the magazine used to be twice as thick as it is now (in it’s heyday, Maxim would have slammed home a great joke with that line, but now it would be predictable and not very funny).
Second, by splitting it up into three different magazines, it has really watered down the quality. Instead of doing one magazine and having it be awesome, they did three magazines and did it adequately.
Third, when it first came out, it would focus on women who weren’t normally seen on covers of magazines. It’s where you could see women such as Jill Hennessy from Law & Order and Christa Miller from the Drew Carey Show. Then it became showing whatever hot girl happens to have a movie coming out. (You can see a list of Maxim magazine covers here.)
Eliza Dushku is on the cover of this month's Maxim Magazine, but be honest, you've seen better magazine covers and better photos of Eliza.
And finally, the covers they have now: I’m sorry, but they don’t choose the best shot for the cover. There are plenty of better photos, or else they have photographers who just aren’t as good as they once were.
I still have a subscription, and will still hold out hope that the magazine can recover to its glory days.
But that hope is dwindling more with each issue.
Top 100 Habs: #51
#51: Mats Naslund
Mats Naslund has been a hockey success in two different continents.
Mats Naslund
In Sweden, he is seen as a hockey hero. He was the Swedish Player of the Year in 1980, and was routinely selected to international all-star teams from the various tournaments where he represented his country.
He helped Sweden win a bronze medal at the world championships in 1979, a bronze medal at the 1980 Olympics, and a silver medal at the 1981 world championships. When his NHL career was done, he then helped Sweden win gold at the 1991 world championships and the 1994 Olympics.
In between, he became a hockey hero in Montreal as well.
He had 71 points as a rookie in 1983-84, and had a career high 43 goals and 110 points three seasons later. Naslund is the only Habs player to have a 100-point season since Guy Lafleur in 1979-80. His 67 assists that season set an NHL record for most assists by a left-winger (which has since been broken).
He scored at least 21 goals in every season with the Canadiens, and won a Stanley Cup with the team in 1986.
It was the playoffs where he truly shone. He led the team in points with 19 on their Cup run in 86. He followed that up the next year with 22 points in 17 playoff games.
He played in three all-star games, and won the Lady Byng trophy in 1988.
For more on Mats Naslund:
Filed under Top 100 Habs
