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Back To The Issues That Really Matter
by SamFels on Mar 9, 2010 1:30 PM CST
95 comments
Anyway, back to the ice, which is what we really care about. According to Jesse Rogers, Antti Niemi will start tomorrow's game against LA. In my mind, Niemi then must get almost all of the starts from here on out. Otherwise, Coach Q is needlessly points-chasing, which helped get us in this mess in February. These 17 games left are all about getting the team in playoff shape. First and foremost is getting one of the goalies into a rhythm and finding confidence. They're cemented in the #2 seed, and I don't know of anyone who thinks it's vital to have the #1 seed. Sure, it sounds cool, and the idea of starting every series at home appeals. But you might do that anyway after another San Jose crash and burn, and even if that doesn't happen the Hawks don't require home-ice to dispatch those softies. You're not going to catch the Caps for the President's Trophy. Their conference and division especially are far too weak for them to drop enough points to be caught. So if Q's going with Niemi or bust, that's fine. If this is more goalie-jockeying for points, then I'm going to have to object.
95 comments | 0 recs |
Oh You Were Done? Well Allow Me To Retort...
by SamFels on Mar 9, 2010 12:02 PM CST
83 comments
By now, you've probably all seen it. It's Rob Otto's piece from Michigan Live (mlive.com) about how our Anthem Tradition must go. I debated long and hard about writing anything about it at all (Michigan Tradition dictates you burn down everything on Oct. 30th, so are they even worth my time?), but I can't help it. This is my favorite Hawk tradition, and I'm not going to let some mouth-breather besmirch it without having a say. Time for the Fire Joe Morgan Model:
Listening to the Red Wings-Blackhawks pregame on Sunday reminded me of one of the most awful traditions in sports.
I'm guessing either you were in the office, Rob, or like half the people in Michigan, you've had your TV stolen.
Jim Cornelison belted out his wonderful, booming rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.
That is true.
The crowd yelled, screamed and clapped through the entire thing. It's something the fans started doing because they were so pumped up before a 1985 Campbell Conference playoff game against the Edmonton Oilers, and have continued it ever since.
And it makes my skin crawl every time I hear it.
While I'm sure you have no problem with Wings fans running down the aisles to throw octopi on the ice during the Anthem. I bet they listen to every word down the stairs, though.
I grew up in a military family. My father was a Commander in the United States Coast Guard and he taught me a deep love of our country, and respect for our flag. That includes standing during the National Anthem with my right hand over my heart and singing the words.
This is the line that gets me. It's not that I don't respect greatly every man and woman who has served this country. But being the descendant of one doesn't mean you are more patriotic than I am or appreciate being American more than I do (For the record, my father served in the Army, and two separate Generals called him the worst soldier in the history of the US Armed Forces. So I guess I'm Russian, right?) In fact, if your parents are off the boat immigrants who made a better life for themselves here, you could claim to appreciate America more than I do.
I understand it is a very difficult song, and many Americans feel embarrassed to sing it in public. However, if you're not singing you should at least stand in silent reverence until it is completed.
The Chicago fans are doing the exact opposite.
Has this dimwad ever seen video of the 1991 All-Star game? During the 1st Iraq War? We didn't get as loud as we ever have because we were so excited to see the All-Stars. We did it because we knew the troops were watching in Iraq and maybe, just maybe, they could have used the boost.
Their argument is that they are being more patriotic -- that yelling and screaming makes them a part of the anthem instead of just being a silent bystander. I am not buying it.
You're not buying anything, you live in Michigan.
Now, before you think is a "Detroiter hates Chicagoan" piece,
Too late.
let me remind you that fans of plenty of other sports teams disrespect the Anthem as well. Right here in Detroit, there is always some idiot who yells "Red Wings" over "the rockets' red glare." At NHL games in Dallas they yell "Stars" every time that word appears in the song.
In my opinion, it is all disrespectful to the song and what it represents -- the men and women who fought valiantly to make this country what it is today.
Let's be honest here. You don't need a fucking song to make you feel proud of the men and women who fight for this country, and if this doofus had seen the standing ovation we give a member of the military EVERY GAME, he'd know that.
I understand that the screaming at the United Center is tradition, but not all traditions are right.
*cough* Octopus *cough*
Remember what the fans used to yell at Yost Ice Arena? Obscenities abounded in the chants, especially when an opposing player was sent to the penalty box.
Ah, so cheering during the anthem is now on par with telling an opposing player to...um...put his mouth where it would please a donkey most?
It was tradition. It was just the fans getting into the game. But for the parents who brought their kids to the game, it was awful. Complaints abounded and the higher-ups at U-M heard them.
OH WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN???!!!!
The athletic department finally eliminated that particular tradition. Somehow the world kept rotating. Fans kept coming and enjoying themselves. Yost is still a difficult place to play for any opposing team.
From what I've heard, not this year.
It's the same thing that has to happen in Chicago and every other city where our National Anthem is being disrespected.
I have never met a person who didn't think the Anthem was one of the most exhilarating things they've ever experienced. We don't do it to drown out the singer. It's our tribute. Would Otto object to the tradition in Mexican soccer games, where instead of a moment of silence to honor a recently deceased figure they give him an ovation for a minute? That's essentially what we're doing. What if I'm in the can during the Anthem? Am I essentially pissing on the flag, sir?
America is far too full of this bullshit. You don't need a song, or a flag-pin, or a tattoo on your forehead to love this country. It's empty symbolism. In all honesty, I think our National Anthem is half the song that America The Beautiful is or God Bless America. Fuck, I almost agree with Joe Walsh who thinks "Wooly-Bully" should be our national anthem. The best part is I'm sure Otto wrote this simply to appeal to the rednecks of his state (which are basically everywhere outside of Detroit and Ann Arbor). Nothing lather them up but good like pointing out how "liberal, tree-hugging Chicago don't love Uncle Sam".
Your piece is utterly ridiculous, and we Hawks fans take it as an insult. But that's probably what you meant anyway, wasn't it?
83 comments | 8 recs |
Wonders Never Cease
by SamFels on Mar 8, 2010 1:59 PM CST
404 comments
-I've spent my fair share of time ripping on Steve Rosenbloom, but only because I know that he's capable of writing articles like this. Read it and tell me if there's one incorrect syllable in it. Rosey once was, and can still be, the most hockey-wise columnist in this city outside of the beat reporters.
I was going to write a post today that basically would have echoed this. I said I wouldn't panic until April hits, and I'm going to try and stick by that. That doesn't mean I'm not worried, because I am. While I don't think any of the goals Scum scored could be pinned on Huet alone, he was a long way from brilliant as well.
From where I sit, the goalie situation and the breakdown of the defense lately seem to be a vicious cycle. The d-men are playing scared at times, fearing any mistake or turnover has a decent to good chance of ending up in a goal. On the flip side, Huet especially and Niemi at times look like they're standing on nails, fearing that their d-men are going to leave them exposed at any second. These guys spend minutes at a time doing nothing, and then out of nowhere they are facing prime chances. As one loses faith in the other, it gets worse and worse. I want to believe that if we see improvement from one side, the other will follow suit in a hurry. But the only thing that will make a difference is see it.
-Though we like to make fun, I am a firm believer that you can say whatever you want in our comments, within reason of course. Similarly, I think that once you pay for your ticket (and if you're getting them secondhand you're probably paying a lot) you are free to boo or cheer as you please, within reason again. So I understand the booing of Huet that the drop of a hat, and that's the 19k's right. But what does it have left to accomplish? I am not one of those blind, "love your players no matter what and stupidly cheer them no matter what they do" people, otherwise known as Packers and St. Louis Cardinals fans. But as I and The Fifth Feather said in October, what good will come of turning every game into a road game for Huet? Is that going to build his confidence? I know it'll continue until his play improves, but I'm not sure I see the logic in it any more.
-I'd also like to remind those who are baying at the organization for Huet's contract and how it tied Stan's hands. Cast your mind back to the summer of 2008. Dale Tallon, his assistant Stan Bowman, and John McDonough knew they had a team that was capable of some pretty great things. They also knew they had a goalie who'd put up three consecutive years of puke-worthy play in Khabibulin. They weren't going anywhere with a goalie as bad as Khabby had been. So they decided to upgrade, and whether you like it or not, Huet was the best on the market. He was coming off a stellar display in the spring in Washington (and if he gets anywhere near that form this spring everything's gonna be just fine). Maybe they gave him too many years, I don't know if they overpaid because I don't know what other teams offered. But to keep harping about "the mistake of signing Huet", I just don't see it as a mistake.
-One thing I'm relieved about with the goalie debate is it provides cover from people noticing that Brian Campbell's play has dropped off. While he hasn't been terrible (though he certainly was yesterday) he's certainly no where near the level he was in December and January. When the Hawks were really rolling, Campbell was one of the bigger reasons why. He constantly had the Hawks in transition and was a one man trap-buster. Now he's a little more hesitant and his passing isn't is crisp. Here's another thing the Hawks need to see back to its highest level in the next five weeks.
404 comments | 1 recs |
They Threw Me Out Of Church - Scum 5, Hawks 4
by McClure on Mar 7, 2010 3:48 PM CST
226 comments
If this were a Spinal Tap album, we could derisively call this one Shit Sandwich. This afternoon's middle frame is going to cause a great deal of hand wringing, gnashing of teeth, and for renewed sentiment to rename everyone's favorite side dish to "Freedom Fries", but we'll get to all that in a little while.
While the first period was fairly evenly played, the Hawks emerged with a 2-0 lead goals from Duncan Keith and then Andrew Ladd. Keith fired a shot from the left point that was redirected on its way in, and Ladd capitalized on a horrendous giveaway by Valteri Filppula in the circle to the left of Jimmy Howard which he snapped high over Howard's glove. While Scum did have a few stretches of prolonged possession in the Hawks zone, the vast majority of those chances came from the outside and were swallowed up by Cristobal Huet.
Then everything that could go wrong for the next 20 minutes of play did. Patrick Kane appeared to score on a Hawks power play which would have put them up 3-0 and we may have heard Alex Van Halen's jungle drum cadence softly in the distance. However, the goal was instantly waved off by referee Steve Kozari, explaining that Dustin Byfuglien interfered with Howard. Buff wasn't penalized, and the replay showed he did not touch Howard at all, but Toronto couldn't overturn it, and the game remained 2-0. Moments later, Tomas Holmstrom was actually penalized for interfering with Huet on an eerily similar play, but Dave Bolland was sent along with him for a tripping call. Understandably, both benches were pretty perplexed as to why the plays were called completely differently. Quickly into the 4-on-4, Keith's stick jumped up and whacked Johan Franzen in the mouth (though with his horse face, no one would really notice if there were any damage), and Scum when to work on the 4-on-3. Brian Rafalski fired one past Huet from the left point, and while Huet was slightly screened by Brent Seabrook, he was completely under-committed to the angle the shot came from. Nicklas Lidstrom followed suit from the right point on the subsequent 4-on-4 to tie the game, same story from Huet, except with the screen coming from Felon Bertuzzi. Jason Willams filled a gaping 6x4 after Huet whiffed on gloving a goal mouth pass from Jared Leto, and a bad pinch from Brian Campbell led to a 2-on-1 against Niklas Hjalmarsson who overcommitted to puck-carrier Bertuzzi, which gave Filppula a one-on-none with Huet after receiving the pass, and once again twine is tickled. At that point, with 22,000 strong seething with bloodlust, Quenneville gave Cris the hook. Antti Niemi didn't fare much better against Pavel Datsyuk, who converted a breakaway in the dying seconds of the frame after knifing the puck away from Patrick Kane just inside the Detroilet blue line. Forty minutes played, 5-2 Scum.
As per usual, the Hawks did indeed make a game out of it, with Ladd tallying his second early from Kim Johnsson on a shot from the right circle again, which gave the Hawks a definite spark. Reforming The Unholy Alliance of Toews, Kane, and Hossa on the top line to get something going, the Hawks dictated the majority of the play, with several prolonged periods of sustained pressure, forcing Howard to make a couple of key glove saves. Ladd would turn the trick with about eight minutes to go, redirecting a Keith shot that was the result of a clean faceoff won by John Madden. With the comeback flurry in full effect, the Hawks who saw the best chances were Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky on a sequence where Hossa picked up a rebound in the slot and skated to his right on his backhand trying to wait out Howard and ended up having no angle. He slid the puck back through the crease where Kopecky was out front waiting to whack it home, but his stick was tied up by the Scum defense to prevent the comeback from completing. A late-ish power play for the Hawks yielded nothing, and numerous attempts at pulling Niemi for the extra attacker were shot in the foot by offsides and icing calls. Hawks lose an ugly-ish one 5-4 to Scum. God. Dammit.
Observations
- To the torch-wielding mobs who have been calling for Huet's ouster, as well as those now questioning GM Stan Bowman's judgment on standing pat on this week's trade deadline, congratulations. This is clearly the excuse you needed to continue to sodomize this dead horse, and I hope it feels good feeling as though you're right- fuck knows I get off on being right on those rare occasions when I am. I have no defense for Huet's recent play, and today's showing is absolutely inexcusable. But it's these two goalies from here on out, whether we like it or not, so it's absolutely pointless to be complaining about it at this point, it's just verbal masturbation, almost to the point of actually enjoying seeing what happened today transpire. With everyone sounding the alarm that the goaltending is going to be this team's undoing, ask yourself this - would you rather see a parade in June, or be right about Huet? So have your catharsis in the comments here about today's game, but please, for the love of fuck, spare us from the relentless goalie "debate" over the next three days. It's one game.
- Dovetailing from the above statements, Cris was not alone during the meltdown. Tape of the play of all six d-men from the middle frame should replace waterboarding as the preferred form of torture for interrogation.
- It's SCH policy to not bus-toss officiating, but today's game was dogshit. From the inconsistency of the game-changing goaltender interference calls, to the non-calls on Bolland and Hossa getting roped down on seperate occasions to Howard's left in the third, to a couple iffy offsides calls, it was a sub-standard job by the zebras today.
- ....but that's not to say the Hawks could have done anything had those calls been made. The power play is still fucking clown shoes.
- Given the time left and the way the game had been going for the Hawks, Patrick Kane should have hauled down Pavel Datsyuk from behind as soon as he pick-pocketed him at the blue line and taken the penalty. Datsyuk was short of center when he first became all alone, which would have nullified a penalty shot being called. Take the two minutes going into the 3rd period and try to kill off the penalty.
- Speaking of Datsyuk, while it's excruciating to admit, as Lucky Pierre McGuire relentlessly pointed out, the guy is flat out fucking amazing with how he can separate the man from the puck with stick checking.
- Go get you some, Andrew Ladd. Not only were his three goals the primary source of offense today, but he nearly had a fourth later on in the same shift he tallied his third on another redirection, and he was an animal physically as well.
- Also in the physicality department, it appears that Hammer is feeling a little better, as he is once again initiating contact instead of just absorbing it, as evidenced by his massive check behind the Hawk net in the third period.
- With this performance coupled with their first stretch of consecutive off days with a full squad after the Olympic break, expect Coach Q to skate the boys' asses ragged, or at the very least verbally tear them up worse than a kleenex at a snot party.
While I normally prefer not to name a player of the game after a Hawk loss, Andrew Ladd's performance today definitely needs to be acknowledged.
226 comments | 0 recs |
Because School Starts Much Too Early, And This Hotel Wasn't Free: Scum at Hawks Preview/Thread/Sunday Brunch
by SamFels on Mar 7, 2010 5:30 AM CST
872 comments
vs. 
GAMETIME: 11:30am. Christ.
872 comments | 0 recs |
I'll Dive On This Grenade...
by SamFels on Mar 6, 2010 10:52 AM CST
103 comments
McClure was supposed to get this, but I can only assume he's still face down in a pile of vomit on a stripper's lap. So allow me to do the honors....
Your Hawks-Canucks Wrap:
103 comments | 0 recs |
If You Want Blood, You Got It: Canucks at Hawks Preview/Thread/Wine Tasting
by SamFels on Mar 5, 2010 1:41 PM CST
852 comments
vs. 
852 comments | 0 recs |
Vultures Who Lust For Blood And Oil - Hawks 5, Oil 2
by McClure on Mar 4, 2010 1:51 PM CST
in Recaps
198 comments
Apologies for the late wrap, but there was obviously the after party last night, and on top of it, I was out with my brother for his birthday. This game ended pretty much the way it was supposed to, save a brief scare in the second period. Not quite DLR caliber, but if they had added a sixth, he would have been contractually obligated to make an appearance. So let's just skip right to the observations, shall we, since it's a game against Edmonton for fuck's sake.
Observations
- Marian Hossa was everywhere last night, and his first star was well earned. It was the first time it actually looked like he and Dave Bolland had some on-ice chemistry, but it was against the Oilers, so take it for what it's worth. Troy Brouwer seems like a nice fit on that line as well.
- Both goals against Cristobal Huet were soft. Fix this. This type of shit will not fly against the upcoming opponents.
- The shots were once again out of control, with the Hawks peppering Devin Dubnyk to the tune of 47 shots on goal. Soupy and Hammer once again led the way in CORSI, with +23 and +25 respectively.
- Speaking of Niklas Hjalmarsson, it was nice to see him get himself another goal on the year, once again walking the puck across the blueline to get a low, hard shot from the middle of the ice.
- Thank you to everyone who refrained from being a shithead during the Canadian national anthem. I was fearful that there would be a meatball contingent booing after the result of the gold medal game, but thankfully the only boos happened on the replay of the Crosby goal, which is fine by me. There were nice ovations for all the Olympians as they were introduced as well. However, there were two fuckheads a couple seats over from me who didn't stand for the Canadian anthem. That's just flat out ignorant.
- While the first goal was soft, it's not entirely on Cris. Brent Seabrook HAS to force Sam Gagner (SAM FUCKING GAGNER) further to the outside on that play. Something with Seabrook is broken, and it needs to be fixed immediately.
- Nice to see Ben Eager back to taking dumb dick penalties.
- If Jason Strudwick is wearing an "A" for you, then your team sucks.
- Also, a big THANK YOU to the Bottom Lounge and to everyone who showed up after the game. We hope you had fun, and we're looking forward to doing more of that type of stuff in the future.
198 comments | 0 recs |
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