Steve Thomas writes: This homage was inspired by the races and places in Middle Earth. The idea came from out of the blue, but I have to admit – after doing a Google search to make sure no one else had thought of it – there was a fantasy (pun intended) Middle Earth hockey league set up by someone else, but I don’t think the site is up anymore. The teams weren’t named the same as I have below.

Anyway, these logos are about a year and a half old so they can technically fall under “Retro Thursday”. I’ve recently slapped them onto tshirts and stickers. The tshirts are completely customizable, meaning you can change the style and colour of the shirt. Zazzle has a large number of different styles from tshirts to hoodies. Check them out here.

There and Back AgainTo celebrate the addition of ‘There and Back Again – The Map of Tolkien’s The Hobbit’ by Brian Sibley to the Official Tolkien Online Bookstore, TheOneRing.net and HarperCollinsPublishers are teaming up to give you a chance to win a copy! This enchanting little clothbound hardback is an essential companion for any reader journeying through The Hobbit. Featuring an entertaining text and detailed gazetteer by acclaimed Tolkien author Brian Sibley, this gift edition also contains a removable fold-out poster-map of Wilderland by John Howe. We’ll choose (3) three winners on September 30th 2010 and post them right here on TheOneRing.net

The entry form is after the break. Thanks to Harper Collins for making this giveaway possible! And don’t forget to pick up your copies today at a local store or through your favorite online source. [Harper Collins UK]

The giveaway is now over! Winners are posted here.

Fantasy Flight Games HobbitNo, no, not the film — it’s a new boardgame by Dr. Reiner Knizia, who designed the recently-republished ‘Lord of the Rings’ cooperative boardgame and many other excellent titles.  Fantasy Flight Games has announced this for ‘Winter 2010’.  Some time back, Knizia indicated that, like the book, this will be a lighter title than ‘Lord of the Rings’ and playable by younger players and non-gamers. 2-5 players represent dwarves who accompany Bilbo on his journey; the goal is to end the game with the most loot!

With the forthcoming cooperative LotR card game and the new edition of the older Knizia LotR co-op (and a likely new edition of the big-box War of the Ring wargame next year), and now this new product, Fantasy Flight is keeping their Tolkien line very much alive.  In any case, this game can keep us occupied on those long Yule nights while waiting for news about a Hobbit movie.

Learn more at the Fantasy Flight Games website. [Click Here]

[disclaimer – I (Ostadan) have nothing to do with FFG, but think they’ve done a fine job in their handling of the Tolkien game license, unlike some other companies I could mention…]

Thousands have entered our The Lord of the Rings Prize Pack giveaway, but only five can win! Today, we are pleased to announce those winners! Congrats to those who won, and thanks to Warner Brothers for making this giveaway possible. Please use the links below to place your order for The Lord of the Rings Films on Blu-Ray today!

The winners are:

  • James B – USA
  • Sarit S. – Israel
  • Victor D. – Russia
  • Shawn D. – USA
  • Mark L. – USA

Winners will be contact via email to claim their prize. Please note, if you were an international winner, you will be asked to pay for shipping. So you didn’t win? No worries, pick up your copies today from Amazon.com or your local retailer. [FOTR Blu-Ray] [TTT Blu-Ray] [ROTK Blu-Ray]

On September 21, 1937 ‘The Hobbit’ was first published in Great Britain to great success. In fact, it was so successful it took J.R.R. Tolkien a bit by surprise. In a letter to his publishers the following month he commented: “At the moment I am suffering like Mr. Baggins from a touch of ‘staggerment.’” Staggerment, indeed! Little did The Professor know the millions of lives he would touch with his little story about a simple Hobbit who rushed out of his door one day without any money or a handkerchief. Happy 73rd anniversary to The Hobbit!

Mike Fleming from Deadline New York writes: Despite the speculation that India conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar might swoop in and buy MGM for $2 billion, it doesn’t sound like management is taking it that seriously. At least not based on this internal memo I just got hold of:

To All Employees: We wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on the Company’s restructuring efforts. Recently we announced that our lenders have again agreed to extend the forbearance period relating to certain of our debt obligations and we are appreciative of their ongoing support throughout this process.

We recognize that throughout this restructuring process, there has been a great deal of speculation about the Company’s future in the media and elsewhere which can be very distracting. We appreciate the focus, hard work and dedication you all have demonstrated for the last year. We can assure you we are working to bring this process to a conclusion as quickly and thoughtfully as possible. However, the process is still evolving and we appreciate your understanding that there are not a lot of definitive answers at this stage. More..