via ESPN and puck daddy

Scott Burnside of ESPN.com reported Wednesday night that goaltender Ray Emery(notes) would attend Blackhawks training camp in September on a tryout basis.

Gone is Marty Turco(notes) who didn't find much luck in Chicago allowing for rookie Corey Crawford(notes) to play his way to the No. 1 job.

Once the Blackhawks open camp, they'll have until Oct. 1 to make a decision whether or not to sign Emery. Barry indicated that Emery is looking for an NHL job and not a two-way deal from any team. Either way, the 29-year old Emery will not just have the Blackhawks looking at him; plenty of other NHL teams will be monitoring his progress in camp and will swoop in if he does end up getting released.

Much has been made about Chicago getting tougher over the off-season and bringing in a guy like Emery would only further that idea, just ask Marty Biron.

Full source: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/story/_/id/6809583/ray-emery-attend-chicago-blackhawks-training-camp-tryout-basis

I noticed a little tidbit in today's puck daddy:

Ramsay has one year remaining on the contract he signed before last year. Associate coach John Torchetti and assistant coach Mike Stothers were also told they won't be back.

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  This is from the Tribune, and looks like it was taken at the UC, maybe some of the guys are in town for some promotional events. Really interesting semi-candid look at the mindset of NHL players watching the playoffs after being eliminated.

I tried embedding it, but the tribune has a weird video player, so here is the webpage the video is also on

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-110603-around-town-new,0,3542472.column

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While here in Chicago the topic of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, was recently in the news with the suicide death of former Bears and Giants player Dave Duerson. I stumbled across this article. When Duerson committed suicide in Miami last month, he texted his ex-wife and left a note asking that his brain be given to the NFL's "Brain Bank". He then shot himself in the chest to preserve his brain for research, how hardcore and sad is that?  Duerson was suffering extreme bouts of memory loss and in order to help scientists learn about this, chose an extremely painful way to die. Boston University and the NFL has setup a partnership to conduct post-mortem analyses of players' brains, hoping to gain a better understanding of the long term effects of head impacts. What was news to me was that Bob Probert's brain was also given to Boston University to be analyzed.

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People around here seem to be fans of the Bottom Lounge, and more importantly alcohol. With the way things have been going on the ice lately, I recommend drinking, heavily. I noticed the Groupon has $20 coupons the Bottom Lounge for only $10 bucks.

BUT EVERYONE ONLY GETS THIS IF 100 ALCOHOLICS BUY IT TOO

(Oh and you can use it on food too if that's your thing)

Now, I'm not a huge fan of Groupon, especially after their Super Bowl ad. But I figured maybe some people just wanna drink away the pain.  So here's the link http://www.groupon.com/deals/bottom-lounge-chicago?c=dnb&p=2

I think you have until about 10 PM Sunday to buy it, but if you want it, get on it soon, because I'm not a math major.

If this reeks too much of blatant commercialism, just delete this post. (I've never actually been to the bottom lounge, but I hear good things)

Cheers!

The sides of the site are now some crappy Samsung ad. This looks like a network wide AD served up by SBNation. I'm curious how much control each sports blog has over the sidebars and ads that are shown.

I'm also curious if this is something SBNation can just push to all the blogs or if you guys can opt out.

On a side note , are you guys getting a cut at all of the ad views when SBnation does that, because you should.

via committedindians.com

This is coming across twitter right now.

@tsnbobmckenzie TSN's Gord Miller reports San Jose has signed Niklas Hjalmarsson to a 4-year, $14M offer sheet. Chi has 7 days to match

I am not working, but I can tell you TSN's Gord Miller reports San Jose has signed Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14M offer sheet.

CHI has seven days to match. Back to vacation.

---------------------------------------------------

so this is a cap hit of $3.5 Million.  So what do you guys think?  Do the Hawks match ?

Have at it.

ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL ONE GOAL 

The number of teams qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs is 16.

The number of wins required to capture Lord Stanley's Cup is 16.

The Journey Begins now.

This is your official countdown.

Welcome Playoffs, We've been waiting for you.

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via a323.yahoofs.com

If you're not on twitter, living in canada, or both, you may have completely missed this one:

The guys over at Five For Howling have been getting ready for their (coyotes) series  with the Scum.

From Puck Daddy

Travis Hair, 29, has been a Phoenix Coyotes fan since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg in 1997. In the last year, he's witnessed the team declare bankruptcy, nearly leave for Canada in a court battle, get purchased by the NHL and then have its ownership remain uncertain for the entirety of the 2009-10 season.

......

This gave "Chemmy," a blogger for the Toronto Maple Leafs site Pension Plan Puppets, an inspired moment of lunacy: If Detroit fans at the game dared continue the Red Wings tradition of throwing an octopus on the ice during a road game, shouldn't the Phoenix fans have their own tradition?

As Chemmy broadcast via Twitter to Hair on Monday morning:

RT if you want @TravisHair to throw a rattlesnake on the ice for game one of Wings - Coyotes. #ThrowTheSnake

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Brent Sopel, while he takes a bit of flak from people around here, is an all around good guy.

He's constantly giving up the body to make plays, he's beat up constantly, and keeps the puck out of the danger zone most of the time.  You really can't ask more from a 3rd pair defensemen. 

This week the Chicago chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association has made defenseman Brent Sopel the Blackhawks' nominee for the Masterton Trophy, which goes annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

From http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/3790

The 33-year-old Sopel last season missed 51 games because of injuries, including elbow surgery, but has worked his way back into a key role on the Hawks’ defense as a penalty killer and shot blocker.

Sopel, in his 11th NHL season, often limps off the ice because of the beating he takes blocking shots, but he has missed only nine games this season.

In December, Sopel and his wife, Kelly, opened their home to 20 families who had a loved one that couldn't be home for Christmas because of their service in the military as part of the Operation Homefront program.

Sopel and several teammates adopted military families in need and provided them with food and holiday gifts.

(See Video Below)

Anyways I think we need a thread to kick around the reasons we appreciate our #5 D-man.

This  just happened to me and I thought it was totally worth sharing

I'm the hero and the bad guy really has the user name OvechkinFTW on Full Tilt Poker.

So I had to jab him when I knew he was going down.  *I'll write my comments in bold/italics  so you can follow the action easier if you've never read a hand history.

via www.chicagonow.com

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so she's from the burbs, so what, they have a lot in common!

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I just ran out to grab lunch , and I happened to scan my AM670 and they were talking about the Hawks anthem.  They were trying to figure out how it started,   and they had no idea.  People were texting them saying it was when Iran released the hostages when Regan took office, and all kinds of crap.

Then the one guy said he has an issue when Jim Cornelison sings "our flag was still there" that he point at the flag.

Really?

How pathetic. It's not so much that they didn't know, but they just were guessing and apparently dont know about "the google".

So for the idiots on the radio here is the real story, thanks to Puck Daddy for running it and Jeff Bartl for writing it so well.  And for the fans that just never heard the history, here it is.  Personally, because of how it started, I love the tradition even more.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/yg29am7

Chicago’s National Anthem tradition

I get chills discussing what this feels like. I even interviewed current Anthem singer Jim Cornelison for my blog before the season because I needed to know what goes through his mind attempting to sing over 20,000 screaming fans before each home game.

The tradition started when the Blackhawks returned home for Game 3 of the 1985 Campbell Conference Finals trailing mighty Edmonton 2-0. The fans were so ecstatic, they began cheering during warm-ups and didn’t stop. They cheered through the National Anthem, throughout the entire game and saw their Blackhawks get back into the series.

When Chicago hosted the 1991 NHL All-Star Game just days after the Gulf War began, the tradition reached its pinnacle and inspired the country when Wayne Messmer bellowed out the tune over a packed house waving American flags and displaying signs supporting the troops.

I’ve never heard a stadium so loud than when I was in attendance for Game 1 against the Calgary Flames in last season’s playoffs. I couldn’t even hear Cornelison, it was THAT crazy at the United Center. Over 20,000 people standing, clapping and cheering at the top of their lungs to get behind their team is inspiring. It’s a tradition that’s stuck for nearly 25 years and will continue before each game as long the franchise exists. If you’ve never experienced this, you need to.

Here is a youtube link of the anthem during the all star game so you can see first hand why this became a tradition.

Anyways, the I’d be more offended at the dudes starting hawks chants than the cheering at the national anthem, as it’s more about patriotism than hockey imo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvpxVE_kQXg&feature=player_embedded

Source: Hawks in talks with Leafs about Huet

via us-poker-sites.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blackhawks/post/_/id/4662137/source-hawks-in-talks-with-leafs-about-huet

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So the trade of Joe Fallon from the Chicago Blackhawks (Icehogs)  in exchange for goaltender Hannu Toivonen (Rivermen)  and defenceman Danny Richmond. (rivermen) has gone down.

I heard Icehogs GM Marc Benard on Rockford's 104.9 WXRX talking about the Blackhawks night and the trades.

via www.icehogs.com

Video of Blackhawks night here http://blackhawks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=894&id=61310

His comments after the jump

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Dammit, really?  I mean it couldn't have been in Detroit.

I live in Sycamore, IL so I was like <5 from the Epicenter.  I was up, playing NHL10. (destroying the Devils online) and everything just started vibrating, then I heard items on my shelf rattling.  It was pretty odd.

Did you guys feel it?

One other thing: man twitter is awesome, within 2 minutes I was able to see if this was a local thing or bigger.  People from Madison to Indiana to Joliet tweeted about feeling it.  I was really surprised when I was the epicenter was in my backyard.  Crazy!

Earthquake data after the jump

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Because some of those pictures should never be seen again.

75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 

*disclaimer*

I've never been to Triple Threat Sports, but I did buy a Rockford Icehogs jersey for $59 on their website.

Looks like a bunch of blackhawks are gonna be available for autographs.  Now I'm not a collector, and I firmly believe that cell phone photos are the new autographs, but if you're into this kind of thing, you  might want to save these dates:

SOPEL, BROUWER, Hjalmarsson, the whole 4th line....

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I was asked by my cousin to be the Godfather of their new 6 month old baby.

Awesome.  So this sunday is the baptism and whatnot.  I'm not very religious but, I should probably get a present right?

So, I'm at Gunzo's on Dempster (Great hockey shop), and I see this:

via www.thebonzos.com

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http://thetwolinepass.com/2010/01/good-night-suck-it-canada-its-our-game-now/

This is a hilarious post about the USA victory over Canada in the Junior Championships...in Canada

It's by two line pass, who is a funny dude.  Here's a piece of the article

Read the whole tongue-in-cheek article over at thetwolinepass.com

The United States may have needed overtime to beat Canada (and the officials), but by God, they did it, and I’m pretty sure George Washington is somewhere grinning a big, goofy wooden grin right in John A. MacDonald’s smug little stupid face.

.......And speaking of jokes, you let a freakin’ soda company pick your new cheer? No wonder you lost. Who’d you get to draw up your power play? Couldn’t have been Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo, because all I’m seeing now is tears......

Editor's Note: Quite obviously, I determined it needed to be on the front page. I'd encourage everyone to take the time to read this. -- McClure



I've been a Hawks fan for my entire life.  The good years, the bad years, etc...
For the 28 years I've been on this planet, I've admired hockey.  I love everything about it.
I love the speed, the finesse, the brutality, watching 20,000 fans jump to their feet in unison.

My loyalty has always been to the Indian.  But I now have a little bit of Blue Blood running through my veins.

Let me explain.

Continue reading this post »

I've been a Hawks fan for my entire life.  The good years, the bad years, etc...
For the 28 years I've been on this planet, I've admired hockey.  I love everything about it.
I love the speed, the finesse, the brutality, watching 20,000 fans jump to their feet in unison.

My loyalty has always been to the Indian.  But I now have a little bit of Blue Blood running through my veins.

Let me explain.

Continue reading this post »

I've started a league for NHL10. (Xbox 360 division)

The league is called SecondCityHockey  the password is : mullet

There can be 32 teams, and each team should play each other once then there will be a playoff.

Everyone with the game is welcome to join.  If this goes over well, we will probably create a few leagues.

If anyone has problems/questions hit me up here, or on xbox live, I'm CDF12345.

Old time hockey.

From the Blackhawks official twitter:  Hawks RW Adam Burish to undergo ACL surgery and expected to miss six months. Team doctors anticipate a full recovery. http://ow.ly/qvPP

Expected To Miss 6 Months

The following statement was issued today by Chicago Blackhawks Head Team Physician Dr. Michael Terry:

“Adam Burish went into the boards on Sunday night in Minnesota and injured his right knee. When a player like him leaves the ice it is always concerning, and unfortunately he suffered an ACL tear. He will undergo a reconstruction as soon as possible and we anticipate a complete recovery. His return will take approximately six months.”

Burish, 26, has recorded 309 penalty minutes and 17 points (10G, 7A) in 156 regular-season games over the last three years with the Blackhawks. Chicago’s ninth choice (282nd overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Burish registered career highs with six goals and nine points in 66 regular-season contests last season before collecting five points (3G, 2A) in 17 tilts during his Stanley Cup Playoff debut.

Monday's suck, I'm bored and so this is what happens when you just start searching wikipedia for random players then decide to google for images.

Actually I just wanted to see Q's stache back in the day, and ended up finding these gems:

GET HIGH ON SPORTS NOT DRUGS!!

DRUGS ARE A BUST!  STUDIES A MUST!

lol.

Seeing the stashe in any color other that white/grey is just jarring.

The graphics on this stick were obviously misprinted at the factory, as they forgot the "I"

Finally, I leave you with this wisdom

"Breakfast, shmreakfast. Look at the score, for Christ's sake. It's only the second period and I'm up 12 to 2. Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime."

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via roenicklife.com

For many years people asked what I was going to do after hockey, I never really thought about it because I only thought about being a hockey player. Now that my body has reached its performance limit and retirement is upon me, the thought of my future is at the forefront of my thoughts. The physical pressure of a twenty year hockey career has made me more aware of my health needs, which has led me to pursue an interest in insurance.  -Jeremy Roenick

via roenicklife.com

Is this for real?   http://roenicklife.com/insurance/