...or other possible injuries for your Blackhawks defensemen. With news coming out about Chris Campoli's hidden injuries today, Brian Campbell's foot injuries already semi-well known, Brent Seabrook's ailments being fairly obvious, and Nick Leddy suffering  from nothing more severe than the NHL's second worse case of Horse Face, that leaves just one more question to answer: just what on earth was wrong with Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson?

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I went to an open skate this afternoon during the Bears game. Among all the other crazy things these kids today do on skates, I saw two kids (possibly brothers, not entirely sure because all white people look the same to me) playing a game they were calling "Hossa and Kopecky." While I'm not entirely sure on the rules, these kids absolutely nailed it: "Kopecky" was by far the inferior player, and after an extended period of dominance, "Hossa" fell and injured himself.

 

What, too soon?

Killion - Now that the Blackhawks are Stanley Cup Champions, I just wanted to let you know that my favorite food is pancakes.

Did Kills really say that? We may never know. Either way, ChicagoNativeSon mentioned that I should probably just include my link to zero here just because I'm sure everyone else will soon have their own Cup testimonials that were written much better than mine. Plus, are you going to deny a man who made such an awesome graphic as this one? I'm certainly not.

   

via i924.photobucket.com

In truth, CNS, I was hoping we could form some kind of a Bloge Salming/Down Goes Brown pairing, because I already know how our intro would look- a logo of mine of some sort that gets scrubbed away by your logo. Oh right, videos! Everyone else has been making them, and there's some truly fantastic stuff being done. I'm hoping to make one or two of my own if I can figure our such complicated technology, but we'll see what happens (like probably just getting drunk and celebrating.. sounds very possible).

Poll

As a sandwich, is the Philly Cheesesteak grossly overrated?

46%

Yes it is

346 votes

32%

No it is not

241 votes

20%

If you could wash it down with Yuengling, any food would taste better

152 votes

739 votes | Poll has closed

This season I've been able to follow the Blackhawks to a couple of road games. What I decided would be nice way to commemorate each of those trips was to buy a t-shirt for the host team at each of those games. I know there are certain rivalry rules and such, but I haven't made it to St. Louis, Detroit, or Vancouver yet, and even then I don't really hate any of those teams as much as I generally enjoy hockey. Just wearing the shirt of an NHL team is enough justification for me.

Some teams, it's already pretty well set in stone which player I would support with a t-shirt purchase. Calgary would obviously be Jarome Iginla, because who else is even on the Flames? The same goes for Rick Nash of the Blue Jackets (looking at your schedule and seeing a game coming up against Columbus is the only time any respectable hockey fan will be disappointed by a BJ looming on the horizon. That includes you too, ladies- though I'm not sure this is what the Dali Lama had in mind when he said you had to give love to receive love).

The first game I went to was in Carolina. I had long ago decided to buy the Cam Ward shirt, as I've always enjoyed watching him. The fact that he completely owned the Hawks in that game was unfortunate, but I decided it had little to do with my purchase, and considering the fact that he's on an Eastern Conference team, his Hawk owning days were over for the year, so no concerns.

Recently, I also did the West Coast swing with the Hawks, catching games in Anaheim, Phoenix, and LA. LA was an easy choice- Drew Doughty (though I was disappointed they didn't have any in purple. I only have about a half million black shirts). I like to keep my Team Canada Keith shirt, my Seabrook jersey, and the Doughty shirt close together in the closet and imagine them having some kind of battle while I'm at work. Thanks Trixie.

Phoenix was another easy choice- Shane Doan. As a Hawk fan, I found myself frustrated by watching him play my team, but not to the point that I felt he was dirty or over the line. He seemed like the kind of player you'd love if he was on your team (without the inherent douchiness of a Kesler). Plus I know Toews had mentioned Doan as a role model when they played together for Canada in the World Championships, so if he's good by Captain Serious, he's good by me. (This one I had to order online, as the selection in the arena was more limited. The green shirts for St. Patrick's day were fairly amusing, though I can't imagine why anybody who even remotely likes hockey would want to wear an "O'Bryzgalov" or "O'Doan" or "O'Upshall" t-shirt. Swing and a miss, Coyotes marketing department).

The first stop on the trip, Anaheim, was where the conflict happened. For starters, in the arena the only two shirts I could find were Parros and Getzlaf. I couldn't justify the Parros shirt because A) He only plays about one more minute per NHL game than I do and B) if I'm going to spend money supporting someone who looks like a bad 1980's porn star, it's probably going to be by purchasing bad 1980's porn. As for Getzlaf, I know that he's talented, but he just bugged me in the Olympics. The stats show he had a strong tournament, but I never really noticed him doing much besides screw up (and score goals. Unless CNBC didn't show them). It could be because he was wearing #51 for a team predominately wearing red, and my UC seats are near too many people who think any combination of 1, 5, and red is worthy of boos.

Before the trip, I was considering going with the Wisniewski. Not because he was a savior in Chicago or anything, but because he seemed, at the time, like a decent dude, and likely wouldn't be a Duck by the end of the season anyway. Then he took a run at Seabrook all the way from Angels Stadium, so I decided that would be a bad idea. I also taught a 7 year old girl a few new words to use in reference to the Wizard of Newski. I'd apologize to her mom, but I bought those tickets on Craigslist, so she's lucky I wasn't getting a handjob at the time (I forget what the rules were when I signed up here. Am I allowed to say handjob?).

I've also been a fan of Jonas Hiller for a while, who seems to own the Hawks in a way Cam Ward could not even dream of. Outside of those 4 games a year where he asks the Hawks who their daddy is, Hiller's fun to watch.

So I guess here is where I need your opinions, from Hueylovers and fans of Finding Uncle Nemo alike- is it wrong to support a player who consistently makes the Hawks look ridiculous, or is it OK because he at least plays a position where cheap shots are minimal? And for future reference, even though his play was nowhere near as dirty as Wiz's, would it be wrong of me to buy an Ovechkin shirt when I eventually make the trip to Washington (bearing in mind that it might increase in value next season when Kyle Beach eats Ovechkin's heart at center ice)? 

Thanks for your time. The future of the world rests in your hands.*

 

*Only applies if your job somehow involves saving the future of the world. Probably not applicable if you work at Kinkos or something like that.

From tonight's game thread:
here come the shoes

the miiighty cloooown shoes!

"What the hell, let's review it." - Dale Tallon 
"They are!" - Pat Foley 
"What a farce." - Dale Tallon

by HawkVision on Mar 20, 2010 9:28 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

This is just begging

to be turned into a song

by VerStig on Mar 20, 2010 9:37 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Don't mind if I do!

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(Reposted with a few edits from my own blog, but I figured a few people here might find it interesting. Or not. If that's the case, just leave a few comments about how I suck. No insult too offensive!)

My dad flew in for the weekend, and we had all kinds of grand plans in mind- golf in the morning, Hawks at night! Except then it snowed a whole lot. Not entirely golf weather.
We decided to get seats closer to the ice than our normal 300 level seats, and we wound up right behind the Hawks bench. There were a few things I noticed that I had never seen before. Up there with the rest of the peasants, it's hard to see what's really going on. Perhaps some pictures will do the trick?

Obviously I had never seen water bottles before, and was very intrigued. If this game had been on NBC, here's where Pierre McGuire would be ruining everyone's enjoyment of the game. This picture was taken shortly after the equipment manager gave Buff something to chew on. Gum? Tobacco? Hard to say. Also, he may or may not look like a rooster in this picture. I had a hard time watching a game without someone constantly complaining "Campbell sucks!" every two minutes. But I could get used to it. Brent Sopel is actually much uglier up close. Somehow, he evaded capture by my camera. Brent Sopel- the Loch Ness Monster? The Q-Stache is oh so much more imposing in person. When Q turns around and looks you in the eyes, you'll know exactly what being seconds from death feels like. "So you see, Steeger, that's how you make love to a woman!" (When I first tried to take the picture, Madden was gesturing wildly with his arms, so the caption would have worked a lot better, but too late, I was already committed to it in my mind) For a brief second after Hossa's goal, I was convinced Brent Sopel scored it. This picture was intended to be titled "Last Thing I See Before a Heart Attack" but then Hossa was credited with the goal, and cats and dogs resumed warring. "People are upset that they did WHAT?!" Sippin' on some Haterade. Juuuust the two of us... The Original Mr. Handsome Funny, I seem to remember we had a savior with a beard... all Hossa can manage is a soul patch? Blackhawks' assistant coach John "Frankentorch" Torchetti had his game face on the entire time. The frightening thing was that when he went to yell instructions to players on the bench, he seemed to turn around, almost so he was looking me dead in the eyes. I had no idea what he was saying but I made a point of backchecking much harder on the next play. "Man, you should hear what me and Duncs were doing in OUR limo..." Blue Steel. I'm guessing that if Jonathan Toews' hockey career doesn't pan out, he can probably get a job as a Dementor. Notes and Observations

• As cool as it was to be so close to the action, it's not quite so fun having the coaching staff/ training staff/players blocking your view the whole game. I'll take the 300 level in the future, please.
• The crowd at the game was pretty small- below 7,000. As someone familiar with driving in the snow, getting to the game wasn't a very big problem for me. However, for a native of NC without much experience, I could see why it'd be enough to keep you from the game. There was not a plowed street in sight, the roads were fairly icy, and the whole state pretty much shuts down.
• I disagree strongly with the notion that Carolina isn't a strong hockey market, especially considering where they are this season in the standings. One thing about the Canes that was very noticeable from the beginning was that they market very heavily towards a family experience at games. You can see that from their commercials, you get that vibe from being in the stadium, and as a matter of fact their normal national anthem singer is a young girl (who missed the game because she got into a sledding accident). They're trying to build the market from the youngsters on up so that by the time they're irritating 20-somethings like me, they'll be filling the RBC Center just like they have since they were kids. Much better idea than Phoenix who tried to fill an arena with snowbirds from Chicago and Canada.
• The fan experience more than anything else was ruined by... you guessed it, a Hawks fan. You don't go into another man's home, sleep with his wife, insult his children, and drink all of his beer (so that's why my uncle isn't allowed at family Christmas anymore). This clown decided to irritate all of the Canes fans around us, who were beyond friendly. I understand it must be tough to only see your favorite team once a year tops, but you have to account for the fact that they may not win when you see them. Does it do any good to repeatedly yell "If you want to win the CUP you have to beat teams like this!!!!"? I remember absolutely zero Stanley Cup Champions who went 82-0-0 . I was hoping that Quenneville would jump over the glass and choke the guy to death with his mustache.
• I'm a big fan of the Blackhawks Ice Crew, but the Hurricanes' incarnation, the Storm Squad, made all of those girls look like me with a wig on. Pictures didn't do them justice, but here's one anyhow.

Hello all,

I'm a Chicago Blackhawks fan recently relocated to the Wilmington area for work for a few months. The plus of this is that I'll manage to be in North Carolina when the Hawks come to town. I've already got tickets to that particular game, but I was curious if you guys had any tips on where to go before/after the game, etc. I've heard the big thing at Canes games is tailgating, which would be very cool for an NHL game. Any tips on that would be appreciated. (FYI- if you suggest a restaurant or bar, please keep in mind that I'm an early 20's dude and I'll be attending with my mid-40's father who dislikes loud noises, so if you could tailor your suggestion to that I'd be very appreciative)

Also- I saw the FanPost about the Wilmington Ale House, and I must say I've been there a couple of times and it seems like a decent place to watch a hockey game (even had the Penguins- Islanders game on a couple of TVs Tuesday night). Any other suggestions for a good place to go to watch a game? 

Also, as a side note, I can't vouch for how well Tuomo Ruutu has played for you guys, but thank you so much for Andrew Ladd in that trade. I'm a big fan of his.

Thanks again Caniacs. 

Starting next month, I am being relocated to North Carolina for work for what I'm told will be about 5 months. The only major problem with this is that I'll be moving away from consistent Hawks coverage that I currently get in the Chicago market area.

I've seen a few people complain about how difficult it is to follow the Hawks from outside the Chicago area, even if you buy the Center Ice package or whatever else the NHL Network calls themselves. What do you guys recommend as the best option for following the Hawks? Center Ice? Some sort of satellite package? Just scouring the web to find feeds that people provide for you?

My uncle mentioned something about getting a dish from Dish Network, having it set up here so that it receives local Chicago channels like CSN and WGN Chicago, and then taking that dish with me. I don't know if anybody else has tried this or if it's worth looking into.

If, for any reason, any of you will be making the trip down to Raleigh to see the Hawks play the Hurricanes next month, I'll be there. Plenty of good seats still available.

I'm not entirely sure this is what the fan post is supposed to be used for, so if I'm doing it wrong then I hope it gets deleted (it's only right). 

Remember all those boring games against the Predators? Of course you don't. If you're even on this site, it means you probably know enough about hockey that you know good hockey when you see it, and those games haven't exactly been it. Apparently the folks on the Blackhawks ticket exchange don't know that, because they're trying to sell tickets in the last row of the 300 level for almost $60 a pop.

This is my plea to you, the good people of Second City Hockey. I've got a friend who's looking for tickets for this game for her boyfriend as a Christmas present. If you've got two extras you're willing to sell, for somewhere a little closer to face value than "double," against a team that is not only bad, but also the Hawks' opponent the night before in Nashville. 

This wouldn't be a gift for him, my old pal Dave. This would be a gift for every guy who grew up on Roenick and is now dying a slow death where his girlfriend makes him watch The Holiday so often he's convinced he actually likes it (classic case of Stockholm Syndrome. It's sad is what it is). This is a gift for all of us.

If you can help, please shoot an email over to accordingtwomey AT gmail DOT com. Thanks again all.

Matin Havlat apparently spoke with Darren Dreger of TSN about the issues he has alluded to on Twitter recently. The interview can be read here: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=284740

I suppose I'm a little surprised that McD is such an egomaniac, but maybe I shouldn't be. I don't disagree with choosing not to re-sign Havlat, but I feel like he's already getting a ton of credit for the Hawks' resurgance, so he probably doesn't need to put his stamp on a player as well. Then again, maybe this is just the rambling of a player who wishes he was still with the organ-I-zation.

UPDATE:  Puck Daddy and B.D. Gallof both have good pieces up on this situation too.

McD is also supposed to be on 670 at 11:00 to respond to Havlat - which could be quite interesting.