Here he is doing something called “Climbing Bear Mountain”. That’s a link to the video, which I can’t embed here.
Like Sarah Spain said in her tweet for it, “I got tired just watching this…”.
Someone who wanted to do just one exercise as a complete work-out would be hard pressed to find a better one. I’d probably kill myself trying to do this, though.
Ah, well. The Hawks lost to a better team. But they gave a great effort in game 5, and have nothing to be ashamed of. The game was scoreless well into the third period, and even after Detroit went up 1-0, the Hawks came back to tie it a few minutes later to force overtime. Their determination and will to win were evident for all to see.
And losing to a better team is an education of sorts, for the players, coaches and front office staff.
Questions come up. Are we good enough at defense? Do we have enough size? Do we need to get better at puck possession skills? No, no, and yes.
Even more important, hunger is created in the hearts and minds of the players. It hurts to lose in the round before the Final of any tournament in any sport, because it feels like unfinished business. You’ve worked so hard, for so long, and won so many tough games, and then you have to go home and watch the team that just beat you play some other team in the Final, and get all the attention and respect that comes from that.
So, looking back? A great, great season. The Hawks showed us a lot during this playoff run. Next year, this team will still be the youngest in the NHL, but with the added experience and education of winning two playoff rounds—one of them without home ice advantage and against a team (Vancouver) that many saw as superior—and then losing a tough series against a superior opponent.
Good luck to the Wings, I guess. I don’t know why, but it’s hard to like that team. Maybe it’s the goofy red uniforms? The white unis are cool, but the red ones look like little kid jammies. And the Pens have one of the best uniforms in sports, for my money. And two uber-cool young stud players in Crosby and Malkin, who have been making sick plays all during the playoffs, and have 30 goals and 56 points between them.
Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)
A great game, which the Hawks dominated in long stretches, and seemed poised to win.
Until the fatal turnover by Brian Campbell at the offensive zone blue line, creating a horrible, ugly 3-on-1 break for the Wings, which they converted for the OT winner.
Turnovers are just killing the Hawks in this series, leading to at least four goals out of Detroit’s total of eight. You won’t beat this team playing that way.
And it’s turnovers by their normally solid defense: Seabrook and Keith in game one, and Seabrook and Campbell in game two. And those are just the ones that led directly to goals. God knows there have been plenty of other turnovers that took away a possession for the Hawks and gave it to Detroit, and created momentum.
So far, based on my reading, it is the turnovers that is really the crucial difference between these two teams. At least, in this matchup, right now. Obviously, in the bigger picture, Detroit has many Cups while the Hawks have zero playoff appearances over the last few years, and is a much older and more experienced, playoff-savvy team.
But all that experience doesn’t necessarily always lead to victory in a series. I think if the Hawks could just eliminate the turnovers, they are basically an equal in this series, even with the lack of experience.
Easier said than done, I know. The Red Wings have lots of skill and athleticism, and play very smart. But the Hawks also have the first two, and are quickly learning about the playing smart part.
So, keep up the intensity and effort, the hitting, the relentless puck-chasing, and cut way down on those turnovers, and I still think good things can happen.
The Blackhawks discovered how Stanley Cup hockey is really played yesterday.
Calgary, that was nice, thanks for the effort, and Vancouver, you’ve got a nice club.
But it was obvious from yesterday’s 5-2 drubbing by Detroit that the Blackhawks have some things to improve upon.
Even if Detroit proves to be able to stop the Hawks at their best, you have to at least try to play the way you played to get here. This is who you are, and what you do, and how you win, so you have to dance with who brung you.
Positives? A few. The first period was mostly even. The fourth line, Sharp, Eager, and Burish, played very well.
But the front line players? They got owned.
I’m not expecting a win in this series, frankly. But I do expect them to compete, and to adjust, and to get better as the series goes on.
That’s how you learn to win championships, by playing teams who are better than you, and who have won championships.This Hawks team has enough talent to win a Cup, though probably not this year. They are still young, and undisciplined at times.
It should be a great learning experience, and who knows? Maybe they can force a game 7.
Make them work harder for it, guys.
Big congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning their second round series and advancing to the Western Conference finals!
After dispatching Vancouver in six games, the youngest team in the NHL now moves on to face either Anaheim or Detroit, pending the result of game seven in that series on Thursday.
The Hawks (and their fans) have some good reasons to prefer Detroit in this matchup:
On the other hand, there are some good reasons to avoid Detroit:
I guess I”d rather play Detroit too. Bring on the best! The Hawks have learned a lot over the last two playoff series, and playing Detroit will be another test they need to pass in order to move up and capture the big prize.
If you’re anything like me—and let’s hope you’re not—you didn’t even realize oddball movie director Kevin Smith was blogging at nhl.com as part of their gaggle of “celebrity bloggers”.
CLick here to … ooops! Too slow!
He did one blog post this year before he and nhl.com reached a mutual agreement that maybe he was better off blogging at silentbobspeaks.com, his regular site.
Perhaps it had something to do with his using variations of Wayne Gretzky’s name as code for swears. As in, “Devils in 5. [Wayne] you if you don’t believe me.”
Too close to call!
After the Dallas Stars more-or-less fired Steve Avery in December, they have gone 14-7-3 for 31 points in 24 games. Before the firing, they were 8-11-4 for 20 points (23 games). Well over 1 point per game after, vs. well under that before.
Another example, it appears, of addition by subtraction. But there are plenty of people who don’t seem to understand how a team could ever be better off by removing a problem player. Even, it seems, people who sit all day in offices that say “Coach”, “GM”, or “President” on the door.
Some people, unfortunately, are just “toxic”. By their very presence on a team, they bring a loss of productivity, due to various drains on the emotional energy of the team. Drama rarely enhances anything, except the status of the instigator. And it doesn’t matter that much what their star power is, or how often they’ve been on SportsCenter Top Ten Plays, or how valuable they are in fantasy leagues.
Categories: Essays · Football · Hockey · Leadership · Sports
In September 2007, “Dollar Bill” Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, died of cancer at 77.
Some owners of Chicago sports teams have been revered, over the years, and deservedly so: both George Halas, who pretty much invented the NFL, and Bill Veeck, who was probably the most innovative owner in any sport, spring immediately to mind.
But in this case, I’m sure most Hawks fans were really pretty happy. While most of us didn’t know the man, and while I’m pretty sure he didn’t steal lunch money from orphans or beat little old ladies with their canes, he was still a lousy team owner, and that’s all we care about. That’s all we, as fans, should care about.
The legacy of Bill Wirtz, for those who don’t know it, is this: he wasn’t just a bad owner of a hockey club, he was a really, really bad owner of an Original Six NHL franchise with a rabid, loyal, dedicated fan base. And he nearly destroyed both the team and its fan base with his cheap, controlling, clueless ways.
I’m sure he was a very smart man — you have to be smart to be as rich as he was — but in the history of sports I doubt there was ever a bigger misunderstanding, by one owner, for so long, of the value of P.R. via TV coverage, and the dedication of your own fan base.
But that is all changed now: with his passing, and the welcome leadership of his son, Rocky Wirtz, the team has rekindled the flame of Hawks fans everywhere, by doing all the little things that say “we love our fans”. Being 25-12-8 at the All-Star break doesn’t hurt, either.
Blackhawks fans are, quite simply, among the most fanatical, dedicated fans in all of sports.
Categories: Essays · Hockey · Leadership · Local · Sports
Recently I started writing for a sports site called The Love of Sports, which is dedicated more to celebrating the positive things about sports instead of obsessing over the negativity that is so prominent in sports these days.
My first published piece is up; it’s called Hockey’s Windy City Renaissance. It’s about all the ways that the new owner Rocky Wirtz has been a wonderful thing for all Blackhawks fans.
The site is pretty entertaining, with Top 10 lists, and some good writers providing content. Like, you know, me. Only better.
So please click over to that site, and to my content, I’d appreciate it!
UPDATE: I posted the original (longer) piece on my site as “The Chicago Blackhawks are Back, and So Are Their Fans”.
Among the many, many things I have to be thankful for this Christmas season — more to come on that later — I’ll add a couple more to the list: Operation Homefront, and Chicago Blackhawks like Brent Sopel, who hosted 20 families at his home on Monday.
The Blackhawks chose Operation Homefront Illinois as their designated charity this year.
Other Blackhawks to help the cause: Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Colin Fraser.
To all of them, and to all the rest of our military, God Bless, and Merry Christmas.
Categories: Hockey · Leadership · Local · Military · Sports
A pretty young lass with some very, um, prominent frontal features, intimidating interviewing a young Chicago Blackhawks hockey player.
Watch his eyes try not to go there. If you can.
Professional athletes don’t get much attention when they do something good and honorable. Maybe that is because that doesn’t happen very often, or maybe because sometimes there is no PR machine to hype it, which in effect means that it didn’t happen.
So it’s nice to read a story like this, which is mostly unremarkable except for the fact that it was a bunch of professional athletes.
Categories: Cites · Hockey · Leadership · Local
The Hawks made the biggest splash on the free agent market Tuesday when they signed two-time All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell to an eight-year, $56.8 million contract and also obtained the top available goaltender in Cristobal Huet, who received a four-year, $22.4 million deal.
These were the top-rated defenseman and goaltender available in free agency; this is the top story at nhl.com today.
Longtime Blackhawks fans are stunned, and ecstatic, because this is the latest message from the new ownership that they want to bring championships home for the fans.
Of course, eight years seems an awfully long contract for a 29 year old like Campbell, but maybe that’s what it took in order to get him here. He brings excellent skating, lots of ice time, and passing ability:
“He has ability to move the puck and to skate up ice to get you out of trouble combined with his ability to play lots of minutes—half of the game most of the time,” Tallon said of Campbell, who led the league in ice time at 29 minutes 19 seconds per game. “It gives us more foot speed, more creativity [and] more ability to move the puck out of our own end. He has the ability to pass and see the ice. [He can] go from defense to offense in a split second.”
Campbell was courted by many teams and chose the Hawks because of his desire to move closer to his family in Strathroy, Ontario, and because he likes the direction the club his heading.
Not sure where Strathroy, Ontario is, but apparently it’s, like, a Chicago suburb or something. In Ontario.
The Hawks are hoping Campbell can help improve the power play, too, which has been pretty useless the last few years.
As for the signing of goalie Cristobal Huet, this seems a clear message to No. 1 goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who is a free agent after the upcoming season, that his perch is tenuous. The Blackhawks already have a young goalie they played a few times last year, Corey Crawford, that was very impressive, and he appears ready for at least backup duty already. So now they have 3 very capable goalies, which protects them from injury, inconsistent play, and pending free agency next off-season. As Tallon says:
“The No. 1 goaltender in this market was Huet and we made a decision … that it’s important to make sure we’re really good in the net,” said Tallon, whose current plan is to keep both goalies. “That goaltending tandem is as good as there is. Without strong goaltending you have no chance.”
The 32-year-old Huet appeared in 52 games last season playing for Montreal and Washington. He posted a record of 32-14-6 with a .920 save percentage and four shutouts.
So, the bottom line? The Hawks and their fans now have good reason to expect improvements in their defense, power play, and goaltending, all things that a championship team needs.
At Least, The Stuff I Care About, and Am Too Lazy to Provide Links, Edition
Blackhawks Still in Playoff Race; Only Excitement in Town
Four points out with 3 games left to play. They have to win every remaining game to have any kind of chance to make the playoffs, and they know it. And the Hawks played like it on the weekend, with two nice efforts, including a road win against the Blues, and a come-from-behind (twice) win against Columbus that went to a shootout, where nineteen year old rookie Patrick Kane scored the only goal. He also broke the team rookie record for assists with 48. Another nineteen year old rookie, Jonathan Toews (pronounced “Taze”) took over the rookie goal scoring lead with one goal and added an assist.
Lost to Columbus 4-0 on the road (Wed.), beat St. Louis 4-3 on the road (Sat.), beat Columbus 5-4 at home (Sun.).
Final week of season: Detroit (Wed. 7:30), Nashville (Fri. 7:30), at Detroit (Sun 2:00)
——–
NCAA March Madness – Final Four
Carolina vs. Kansas, UCLA vs. Memphis. All the number one seeds. Which is sort of shocking, really.
Hats off to Davidson; what a fun team to watch. I love the way they play. The NCAA tournament would be better for allowing more teams like them into the tournament. And by “teams like them” I mean “teams in smaller conferences”. Make the tournament bigger, by at least 14-20 teams, and add a bunch of play-in games or something. Today we rely on the polls and biases of a bunch of bureaucrats in the NCAA; wouldn’t it be better for all to let in more teams like Davidson and George Mason and let the players decide it on the court? The tournament itself benefits, the fans benefit, and the teams that make it benefit. They’re already letting in too many teams, and they favor fourth and fifth place teams in power conferences over second place teams from smaller conferences. I’m not sure this is a valid assumption. Expand the pool, I say!
My pick is Kansas, although based on what I saw this weekend, they had the most trouble making the Final Four. I’m still in last place in our family pool. Next year I really need to get the dog to enter the pool so I improve my chances of not finishing last.——–
——–
Cubs Break Camp
Big Z to start today (Monday) against Milwaukee and Ben Sheets.
This team is in pretty good shape with injuries and general health. My own personal preview, in 100 words or less: Defense should be pretty good, approaching excellent, at all positions, which will help the pitching, which already looks deep. Bullpen should continue as a strength, though Kerry Wood as closer seems a bit risky to me, due to issues with durability and control. Bench looks OK. Lineup seems in a state of flux though; they still don’t have enough high-OBP guys at the top, and are still too right-handed. Keeping Fukudome higher up in the order, in the top three at least, seems key to their ability to score runs, assuming he is as good a hitter as advertised. Barring injuries, they seem ready to repeat as Central champs, but advancing in October is going to require a more intelligent approach to hitting than they showed last year.
This week: 3 at home vs. Milwaukee, 3 at home vs. Houston, Off day: Tuesday.
——–
Bulls Disappear in Rear-View Mirror
After a nice game against Atlanta on Tuesday, they looked bad again in Philly on Wednesday. Lost to Atlanta Friday, beat Milwaukee Saturday.
But few people care what they do, at this point, because they are inconsistent and lacking in desire. My wife is a big fan, and is relentlessly positive, and she doesn’t even care any more.
This week: Boston (Mon. 73o), at Cleveland (Wed. 7:00), Washington (Fri. 7:30).
Categories: Baseball · Basketball · Hockey · Local · Sports
At Least, The Stuff I Care About, and Am Too Lazy to Provide Links, Edition
Blackhawks 4, Blues 3
Great game; didn’t see any of it.
Hawks up 2-1 in third period, give up tying goal with 8 minutes left, give up go-ahead goal with 1:18 left, then score tying goal (Wisniewski) with :54 left. Overtime. Patrick Kane scores winner at 1:09 into overtime. No points 1 point 2 points.
Now only 4 points out of playoff hunt, with 6 games left.
This week: at Columbus (Wed. 6:00), at St. Louis (Sat 7:30), Columbus (Sun 6:00)
——–
Bulls Continue to Give Up 4th Quarter Leads
What can you say? Losing to Indiana, at home, by 8, after leading by 13 in the fourth?
Like Jim Mora said, “PLAYOFFS?! YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS?!”
This week: Atlanta (Tue 7:30), at Philly (Wed 6:00), at Atlanta (Fri 6:30), Milwaukee (Sat 7:30)
——–
Cubs Ready to Break Camp
Seems like they’re getting the rotation in order, though one of Dempster, Lieber, and Marquis is out. Possible trade?
Kerry Wood has all but sewn up the closer role. He has walked nobody this spring; this is a very good sign. But closers have to pitch on consecutive days and stay healthy enough to appear in 50 or 60 games. Good thing they have Howry and Marmol, too.
Lou continues to tinker with the lineup in ways I’m not sure I like. He wants Soriano in the 2 hole to protect his legs, which probably makes some sense, but Soriano seems too undisciplined to hit there; I like him at 3, 4, or 5 better. Plus by putting him there, you can’t put Fukudome in the 2 spot, who seems more suitable (though I haven’t seen him play yet). Lou seems generally too concerned about protecting Ramirez in the lineup by having Fukudome hit behind him. I think it’s much more important to have a top 3 that generate lots of runs on their own, with speed and good baserunning and situational hitting, and I think a Theriot-Fukudome-Soriano (or Lee) lineup might do that.
——–
NCAA March Madness – Round of 16
Yay, Davidson. I’ve always disliked Georgetown. And I generally favor the unknown mid-major type programs over the completely over-exposed, usually over-rated, big conference teams.
I’m in last place in our family pool. Yeah, I’m behind an 8 year old and a 6 year old. What of it? At least I’m ahead of the dog. But she is not technically, you know, “in” the pool.
Categories: Baseball · Basketball · Hockey · Links · Local · Sports
Bob Verdi has a good column here.
It would be hard to understate how momentous this moment was in the history of not just the Chicago Blackhawks, but the entire sports history of Chicago. Owner Bill Wirtz personally started the descent of the Hawks in 1972 when he refused to recognize the true price he would eventually pay in not paying Bobby Hull to stay in Chicago. Wirtz’ nickname was Dollar Bill for a reason. But enough about him.
This moment was about celebrating the triumphant return of two of the most popular athletes to play any sport in this town in the last 50+ years.
It was about celebrating the ascendancy of the Hawks, who show signs of becoming a competitive team once again, after years of dormancy.
It was about the new regime that has made it very clear just how different things are going to be now. The Blackhawks hired away two of the Cubs’ marketing guys, and trust me, you could have gotten some very, very long odds on that bet.
And it was about the fans, who have suffered for decades under the worst ownership in pro sports, but who now are proud to once again swear allegiance to the best logo in pro sports.
Welcome back, gentlemen.
Categories: Hockey · Leadership · Local · Sports
A Match Made in … Somewhere
Seems like an odd pairing: hockey and wine?
Bill Daley of the Tribune says the Tony Esposito Cabernet and the Bobby Hull Chardonnay are good, but especially the Hull.
Whose idea was it to pair Bobby Hull with a Chardonnay, anyway? Though I see that noted Philadelphia Flyer bad boy Dave Schultz, and legenday bad-ass Gordie Howe, are also paired with Chardonnay. Perhaps it’s an image-rebuilding tactic. Maybe we’ll start seeing advertisements featuring these guys with voiceovers saying “Yes, I was a bad boy who led the league in penalty minutes multiple times and pulverized a few guys’ faces. But now I’m older, wiser, and mellower. So buy my Chardonnay before I smash your face into the boards.” Cut!
The wines are produced by Ironstone Vineyards in California. Each player picks charities to receive a portion of the proceeds; Bobby Hull picked the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Tony Esposito picked Cougars Selects Youth Hockey. Proceeds also benefit ex-players and other charities picked by team alumni associations.
Other players of note in the series: Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Bobby Clarke, Rod Gilbert, and a bunch of Islanders and Sabers that I don’t remember much about.
No pricing yet — sounds like they might be a bit on the expensive side.
Categories: Food and Wine · Hockey · Links · Sports
Practice on Monday might involve some extra hitting and wind sprints
Last night the Blackhawks didn’t show up — they were shut out at home by Columbus, 1-0 — and coach Denis Savard is not happy:
“This is a divisional game, we’re fighting for our lives here, we want to get into the playoffs, we had a nice crowd and this is what they give us? I think they forgot last summer or two summers ago or three summers ago what we gave them (contracts). We committed to them. They were very happy when they signed it. Well, commit to us, commit to the jersey, commit to the people here. They don’t want to commit to the Indian, let’s go upstairs and get them out of here.”
But he wasn’t done yet:
“Last time I checked some guys got pretty nice money, nice contracts. This is a classy organization here and we won’t accept it. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are, you have to want to battle, period. You don’t want to battle you won’t play here.”
Categories: Hockey · Leadership · Links · Local · Sports
A couple of good columns about the Blackhawks in today’s Daily Herald:
Hockey is fun in this town again, and since the Bulls suck, and the Bears are struggling (yet to win two games in a row), it’s wide open. I’m really enjoying watching hockey again. It’s a great sport, when played well, by skilled and exciting players. We’ve had a distinct shortage of that ’round here the last few years.
Blackhawks Glad THIS Guy is Back
Martin Havlat, the best offensive player on the team last year, and one of the best in the NHL, was injured in this season’s opener with a separated shoulder. After missing the next 22 games, and many more practices, he returned last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It took him just 43 seconds into the first period to score a goal. He added another one later, and they won 5-1.
Wait ’til he gets his legs under him. 
my tumblr feed
|
