Archive for April, 2011

When Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman decided to let Antti Niemi walk rather than match his arbitration award, the fanbase held its breath collectively. How could Bowman not lock up the only Blackhawks goaltender in 49 years to lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup and turn to a netminder past his prime? Forget the salary-cap constraints, fans said, Niemi is the backbone the ‘Hawks needed to make another run. Bowman instead signed Marty Turco to take Niemi’s spot in goal, though Bowman’s decision wasn’t as black and white as the critics made it seem. He didn’t choose Turco over [...]

  UPDATED APRIL 27 @ 10:47 A.M. with Henrietta Sedin’s asshole comment The Chicago Blackhawks’ defense of the Stanley Cup ended just as it began — with an overtime goal no one saw coming. Fittingly, the Blackhawks’ season ended on an in-zone turnover, which has plagued them all season. If you’re looking for any “Rah-rah! They came back from 0-3 and that’s great in itself!”, then go somewhere else. You’re not going to find that here. At least not yet. The ups and downs of tonight’s game have put me into a state of depression only alcohol can lift me [...]

First thing’s first: We’ve already won. Win or lose tonight, the Blackhawks have scored a victory. After falling behind 3 games to none, they have fought their way back in a manner worthy of the defending Stanley Cup Champions. They have played hard, they have given their fans a thrill second only to the Cup victory last year, and they have overcome significant adversity in doing so. The Chicago Blackhawks, and their fans, can accept the outcome of tonight’s game with our heads held high. It’s been a fantastic series, and it will be coming to an end tonight. That [...]

UPDATE: The Pulse Network’s hosting service is having difficulties, so this a broken link for the time being. When the interview is re-posted I will link it again. The Pulse Network’s “Sports Buzz” show was nice enough to invite us on again to talk about the Blackhawks vs. Canucks game 7 tonight. Joining us was Larenzo Jansen, blogger for The Canuck Way blog, our evil-ugly-red-headed-step-sister blog out of Vancouver on the Fansided Network. Don’t worry, I was nice. Thanks again to host Tyler Pyburn and producer Phil Dimartino for the gracious invitation, and to Larenzo for agreeing to come on despite [...]

I know first-hand the excitment everyone is feeling after the Game 6 overtime victory, which forced an improbable Game 7 on Tuesday in Vancouver. Battling back from 0-3 to force a deciding game is an accomplishment in itself – and a rather exciting one to boot. After Ben Smith flipped the winner over Roberto Luongo, I was so excited I couldn’t be cooped up in a cab or on the bus. I live two miles north of the United Center up Damen Ave. in Wicker Park, and I walked every step of the way home. I even stopped in a couple bars [...]