Kiss still draws capacity crowds in large arenas. Sure, they’re all AARP members, but still.

Back in the fall of 1975, when the monster album “Kiss Alive” was released, I remember buying it at Korvette’s for $5.99.

In fact, that might have been my first “hard rock” album. I was a junior in high school, and was just starting to get into Led Zeppelin, Kansas, The Who, all that, and Kiss was in the mix too.

Kiss, of course, was outrageous. They wore ridiculous makeup and costumes, and bass player Gene Simmons used to spit fake blood and do crazy things with his huge lizard tongue. To me, that whole thing seemed a tiny bit campy and silly, but they quickly developed a reputation as a great live act, and sold out shows accordingly. For me, it was more about (some of) the music. “Rock and Roll All Nite” was a decent party anthem, and I liked a few other songs, especially “Room Service” from the Dressed to Kill album.

But, seriously, if somebody had told me back then that 34 years later, Kiss would still be spitting blood, wearing ridiculous makeup, and selling out large arenas for live shows, I would never have believed it. Outrageous is strictly for the under-30 set, right?

Well, believe it, bucko.

The crowd at the United Center was a bunch of old guys and gals, some even dressed up like their favorite Kiss band member.

Yow! The mind reels.

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the founders of the group, must be doing pretty well for themselves: for just another $30 last Friday night at the UC, you could get a “USB leather wristband containing digital files of the night’s performance”.

Do the math on that profit margin, and multiply it by all that other crap you can buy at concerts. Think about all the other old fogeys doing concerts today, and how much cash is made from all that crap people buy at the shows. Say, how’s that career choice looking now?

My Kiss fascination ended pretty quickly. Within 4-5 years I wasn’t even listening to much hard rock any more. Maybe their wimpy ballad “Beth”, from their next studio record, had something to do with that. That song, in fact, might have started a huge 1980s trend: power ballads from hard rock bands. Gosh, thanks for that, guys! Really, that’s just awesome. Thanks again.

For completists only, I imagine: a 1994 tribute record called Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved, featuring Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, Lenny Kravitz, among others.

 

“Everybody wave goodbye to juice box! Literally wave!”

If Lovie Smith doesn’t have answers, who does?.

David Haugh toes the line but doesn’t go over it, so I will. Lovie Smith is just not a good head coach, and it’s time we woke up to that cold hard reality.

In fact, based on the miserable showing of this team in 2 of the last 3 games, I’m questioning the talent evaluators, the GM, the scouts, the front-office people that hire them, and everybody who has a say in a team that displays over-paid mediocrity nearly every Sunday.

The team is a joke, and suffers from a complete lack of leadership at all levels.

Can you even imagine a Ditka coached team from the 1980s losing so badly? Losing close games is one thing. Getting your ass handed to you two weeks out of three, quite another.

Can you imagine a Singletary-led defense playing like that? I sure can’t. Man, I miss that guy. But he seems to have rejuvenated the 49ers, who play the Bears on Thursday night.

Imagine that, a black head coach who got the job because … he’s good at it.

I wonder what that would be like for a Bears team.

Note to ownership: we’ve seen great football in this town, played with passion and intensity and talent and dedication. And this AIN’T it.

I’d never heard of either Jerry Angelo or Lovie Smith when they were hired. But I bought in, and gave them both plenty of time.

Sorry, but I think it’s time to say it: neither one is very good at their jobs.

And so by extension, whoever hired Angelo isn’t very good either.

Wave goodbye to juice box!

Reflections on youth football, season two

Right after a crushing playoff loss in cold, windy weather, the football coaches of my son’s youth team gathered the kids around for the usual post-game talk.

The season is over now, there’s no getting around it. This is the end.

After 13 weeks of practice six hours a week … after 9 games … after all the team-building that results from good leadership of 25 ten-year-old boys who love football and get along well with each other … here we are now. Done. Over. After all that effort, and all that investment, suddenly, it’s all over.

Some of the coaches got choked up trying to put their intense emotions into words. Just like last year. And listening to them, and watching them, so did I. Just like last year.

And this was a totally different set of coaches from last year.

Two seasons of football, two different sets of coaches, but two identical scenarios at the end of the season: a tough loss, and an emotional message.

Two sets of good people connecting with our young men, doing a wonderful thing for them, and for us. Two sets of dads who throw themselves into coaching with great dedication and desire. with a sincere and earnest wish to teach football to 9- and 10-year-old boys. For nothing. Well, it isn’t really for nothing: the coaches get to spend a little of their own money, and a lot of their own time, energy, and emotion.

Some kids aren’t so lucky, I know, and end up with jerks for coaches, who ruin an entire sport for them forever. We’ve been lucky enough to go 2-for-2 in the Good Football Coaches category, but I know that maybe some folks feel differently about this whole thing. And maybe I’ll even feel differently someday.

But clearly, for the coaches we’ve had, this is a labor of love. And when it all ends so suddenly, it’s extremely hard to face without some powerful emotions bubbling up to the surface. For some of us, it means an apple in the throat, and watery eyes.

I know if I was a coach and had to get up there, and look at the young faces of 25 young men that I’d grown to like and respect, and deliver a summary of how proud I was of them for trying so hard, for so long, I’d struggle to get through. I know I would.

As I’ve learned over the last two enjoyable seasons, football builds bonds like no other sport that I’ve ever been involved with, as a parent or as a child. The investment of time and emotion is so big. SO, so big. And with all that investment comes bonding. Boys with other boys. Coaches with boys. Parents with each other. Parents with coaches.

It all comes together, slowly, over a period of weeks. It turns into a team, a real team, where everybody works together for a common goal, without concern about who gets credit.

And it hurts when it ends. It hurts a lot. There is a very real sense of grief for the end of that bond. Maybe it hurts the adults more than the kids. In fact, I’m pretty sure about that.

And then we drag ourselves back to work, school, or wherever it is we put in our time each day, but we do so as changed people.

We’ve been transformed. Literally, transformed by the power of connecting with other people and working towards a common goal. It’s an amazing and beautiful thing. And I’m pretty sure this is one of the most powerful draws that keeps people coming back to play football, and keeps coaches coming back to coach it, at least in our local youth program.

Someday, when I’m old, and Jacob is grown, we’ll talk about the good times we had when he played youth football, and how much we both enjoyed it, and how much we both learned. Not just about football, but about other people, especially his coaches. What good people they were, and how much giving they did.

In some respects, life is really all about building memories, and it feels good to know you’ve just built another one. It feels really, really good.

Will the last resident to leave Michigan please turn out the lights?

While you were out … the state of Michigan has turned into an economic hell-hole.

It’s too bad. Michigan is a nice place, with a lot of natural beauty, and Great Lakes on three sides. But the place is slowly being destroyed economically, due to a deadly combination of too much reliance on a very sick auto industry, and high taxes, and big government, and excessive union power.

So those who can leave, do. Every 12 minutes, a family leaves the state of Michigan. 5 families per hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Do the math. That’s 840 families every week.

And it’s no wonder. Taxes are a strong disincentive to invest, to run a business, to work or raise a family. Raising taxes chases away the people who pay into the system but get very little out of it, leaving behind those who depend on that system–government largesse–for their livelihood. It’s a recipe for failure.

And Illinois, which is right now facing some big financial burdens, has the same tendency to “raise taxes first and ask questions later”. So does the U.S. government.

They might want to take a look at Michigan’s situation. And you might, as well. If raising taxes to address budget problems works so well, why do they have to keep doing it?

Assessing Chicago 2016 financial risks

Chicago learns next Friday, October 2, whether it will host the 2016 Summer Olympics. But if they do win the games, the taxpayers in Cook County won’t learn until much later just how big the bill might be.

There is a 12% profit factored into the $3.8M budget, but that pales in comparison to the potential cost overruns, as described in this eyes-wide-open article “Peeling back the coverage” at chicagobusiness.com.

For instance, while there is $1.1B of insurance promised, there is no insurance coverage (or not enough) for:

• “… the risk that private lenders won’t shell out $1 billion to finance construction of the Olympic Village”
• “… shortfalls in corporate sponsorship sales, which they predict will rake in $1.8 billion, two-thirds more than London expects to collect for the 2012 games”
• “… overruns on the construction of Olympics venues tops out at 10% over budgeted costs”
• “… $246 million in contributions from private donors, a source already tapped for $72 million to finance the city’s bid”

And that’s just the insurance piece of the pie.

Predictably, construction costs are key, with the main costs being the Olympic Village and the sports venues. The plan is to convince private developers to “transform the former Michael Reese Hospital into athletic quarters to be sold later as condominiums or rental housing”. I’m not quite sure if this means converting the actual buildings themselves–which seems sort of crazy to me–or if it means first tearing down the whole thing and building new.

As for sports venues, the 2004 Athens games went double what they budgeted. The 2010 Vancouver games are running 23% higher than projected. Chicago 2016 is only allocating a 10% overrun, plus another 10% in insurance on top of that.

Then we have concerns about revenue projections.

Just read the whole thing.

The money quote by Allan Sanderson, a sports economist at the University of Chicago: “Athens was three times over budget; London is four times over budget. I don’t see that happening here. But are they going to come in at $4.8 billion? No, I just don’t see it.”

“Bolt the doors! The pre-schoolers are here!”

Apparently, some folks in a neighborhood not far from ours are easily distressed.

A group of neighbors near Park Boulevard and Hillside Avenue in Glen Ellyn are all up in arms about … a Montessori preschool in their neighborhood!

Yikes. What’s next? Gangs and drive-by shootings?

The main concern seems to be traffic. OK, so a few more cars come and go at the same times every day. How big can that “problem” get? It’s a Montessori pre-school, in a town with tons of stay-at-home moms. We’re not talking 200 kids here.

Ron Repking and his wife (name not given) own Diamante Montessori Preschool, and they bought a vacant church to house it in 2007. And it’s been a contentious battle ever since, with yard signs, lawsuits, and everything in between. When driving past the area, I’ve noticed the signs, and wondered just what they were all about.

Now I know, and I think it’s pretty lame.

Who knows, maybe some benefits accrue to the neighborhood from having young kids educated there, Montessori-style? Is that possible? Good kharma, and all that?

And even if the answer to that is “no”, and you have to put up with the auditory horrors of children squealing with delight now and again, we think you just might survive it. We really do.

And if you get supremely annoyed by a few extra cars cruising on public streets, to deliver and pick up children to/from a licensed school run by responsible adults, then maybe it’s time to lighten up a tad. Just a teensy bit.

Or, continue to push hard on an issue that no reasonable person sees your way.

Either/Or.

Links and Notes

The Wildcat formation is causing defensive coordinators in the NFL to do some adapting, and this article does a nice job of explaining the whys and wherefores.

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Golf legend Arnold Palmer turns 80 on Sept. 10th, and USA Today has a bunch of reader rememberances.

In reading them, it’s very easy to see how he got to be so popular: he went out of his way to engage people. Probably because he’s just a nice guy and a people person. You know who could stand to loosen up a little bit in that department? Tiger Woods. But then, he wouldn’t be Tiger Woods. He thrives on focus and drive, and those things are incompatible with being a people person.

Golf could really use a guy like Arnold Palmer right now. How many people started playing golf entirely because of Arnold Palmer’s charisma? It sure sounds like a lot, from reading those letters.

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One of my favorite bands, Steely Dan, played the Chicago Theatre last week. Monday night they played “Aja” in its entirety at the start, and then a bunch of their other great songs. Check out this set list:

1 Black Cow
2 Aja
3 Deacon Blues
4 Peg
5 Home at Last
6 I Got the News
7 Josie
8 Black Friday
9 Time out of Mind
10 Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More

11 Bodhisattva
12 Babylon Sisters

13 Show Biz Kids
14 Hey Nineteen
15 Dirty Work
16 Love is Like an Itching in My Heart (Supremes)/band intros
17 Do It Again
18 Don’t Take Me Alive
19 My Old School
20 Kid Charlemagne

Encore
21 Reelin’ in the Years

Color me bright green with envy. I’ve listened to most of these songs sooooo many times over the years, I know every solo, every chord change, every note and lyric. Except for the songs on Gaucho … never a big fan of that record.

My favorite Steely Dan records, in order:

1. (tie) Can’t Buy a Thrill and Aja
2. Royal Scam
3. Pretzel Logic
4. Countdown to Ecstasy
5. Katy Lied

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Locally, Chicago’s attempt to remake public housing has fallen somewhat short. So, to review, the Federal Government created the publc housing mess which helped destroy our cities, and then the city government has distributed that mess into the neighborhoods and suburbs, and done an inferior job at it, too. Maybe it’s time to bring sanity back to housing policy?

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Finally, Tony Woodlief writes about the quality of education today. I agree with everything he says there. We don’t home school, but I support and sympathize with many of those who do. And then we have this Education school lunacy. Do people realize what is going on under their noses? On their dime? To their kids? I really don’t think they do.

Friday Links

Worth Mulling: A Late-Summer Reading List – a few books on this list I’d like to track down:

• Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems by Michael Strong
• Meltdown by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
• The Housing Boom and Bust by Thomas Sowell

Bolt shreds 200m mark, sets second world record this week – 19.19 for the 200m. Sliced .11 off the old world mark of 19.30 he set in last year’s Olympics. This guy is amazing, and I hope he’s clean. We don’t need more reasons to be suspicious of athletic performances.

Giants’ owner and teammates say Burress jail term is an American tragedy – I’m not a Giants fan, I don’t care about Plaxico Burress, but it sure seems odd to me, the way that whole story has evolved. Two years in jail for a weapons violation? Wow. Whose interests are served by it?

Bus drivers reject paying red-light tickets – Issuing automatic $100 tickets for not stopping at some exact spot on a road is a DUMB idea. It annoys drivers who are doing nothing wrong, and is nothing more than a cash grab by cash-obsessed local governments. Just because technology enables a particular idea is NOT justification enough for implementing it. In fact, that might be an argument against it.

Don’t Try This at Home … or Anywhere Else

Some 35yo non-athlete white dude tries to duplicate the stunt that Bears rookie Jarron Gilbert did on YouTube: jump out of a 3-foot pool and land on his feet.

.

Didn’t work out so well for the non-athlete white dude. Yeah, I’m shocked too.

Talk about explosive power … of course, he can also squat-lift 635 pounds …

… maybe that has something to do with it.

Taking the Costco Plunge

After years of holding out for some now-inexplicable reason, we finally saw the light and joined Costco this weekend.

Costco, for those who’ve never heard of it, is a discount retailer that requires a yearly membership to join, similar to Sam’s Club. We could just as easily have joined Sam’s as well, but there isn’t a location that is very close to us. In fact, the closest Costco is about a twenty-minute drive, so that isn’t super-convenient either. But it’s close enough, starting now.

We went to the Bloomingdale store at around 12:45 on Saturday. Parking lot: big, and jammed. The membership process was easy, and fairly quick. We opted for the Executive membership, which costs $100, instead of $50 for the standard membership, but you get 2% back on your purchases, so it will easily pay for the difference if we spend $2500 in a year there. Which shouldn’t be very hard, since we spent over $100 the first day we went, mostly on food.

We spend an unbelievable amount of money on food, for a family of five. $250 a week, more or less. And we don’t buy lots and lots of extras, like chips, pop, convenience items, etc. (we do buy some of those things, but not much).

Places like Costco and Sam’s have good deals for families like us with their large packages of frozen meats, like hamburgers and chicken. Also deli meats, and the largest tub of yogurt I’ve ever seen, four pounds of yogurt. You need two hands to lift the thing.

And they had a ten pound bag of apples for like $8. Usually, people that buy ten pounds of apples have 6 kids, or horses. We, however, have a 10-year-old son named Jacob.

We go through all that stuff really fast, and it is all pretty expensive at our local Jewel Food Store.

So even though a Costco run takes forty minutes round-trip, we’ll find a way to squeeze in one or two trips a month, if we can save some bucks on the food bill, not to mention all the other things they have there. Like wine, beer, booze, a pharmacy, even golf balls!

Just two things to remember. One, we now need more storage space in our house. And two, we must never, ever go to Costco on Saturday afternoons.

Weather Dorks and Rock Bands … Sure, Why Not?

There are some things that you just never expect to see in your lifetime.

The Cubs winning a World Series. Sensible politics in Washington. Being able to lose that last 15 pounds. A picture of Cheap Trick hanging with WGN weatherman Tom Skilling.

Oops, scratch that last one, because here it is.

Cheap Trick played live on WGN this morning: “I Want You to Want Me”, awesome as it ever was.

That Rick Nielsen, he can play guitar a little bit, eh? Funny, too. Watch the video.

First Rule of Financial Holes: Stop Digging

You have to wonder if maybe Illinois wouldn’t be in such a big budget crisis right now if the state legislature didn’t routinely, and for many years, approve new programs without funding them.

Seems a little risky, no?

In a business, or even a family, non-essential expenses are the very first thing you evaluate. It’s called “cutting the fat”, and it’s how sane people try to balance budgets.

But not in government! Governments have these wonderful ATM-like things called “taxpayers”.

Governments think taxpayers are awesome because taxpayers are too busy leading their lives to learn much about how completely they get ripped off by their governments. And the media likes taxpayers too, as long as they are kept in the dark about how markets work and what taxes do to an economy.

Isn’t it funny how none of the politicians or news stories mention any of this when the going gets tough? No, it’s all about yanking food right out of the mouths of starving children.

Gee thanks, but I’m trying to cut down on my big-government platitudes and insulting emotional appeals meant to trip my trigger and open my wallet.

The Economist notes how widespread it is :

Despite allocations of federal aid to states, services are being cut, state employees are being laid off, and taxes are being raised in order to balance the budgets of local governments constitutionally unable to run deficits. It’s not at all clear that the federal stimulus will entirely compensate for state-level fiscal tightening, which means that American fiscal policy could, on net, be contractionary.

Q: Is there anybody in the room who dares to ask the obvious? That, maybe, just maybe, we’re overspending?

A: Sadly, no. Doing that would require cutting programs that benefit special-interest groups. And the media, which frames the discussion about the role of government in our lives, believes all government spending is inherently a Good Thing.

And so on and on we go. Giving government more and more power by relying on it to fix things for us.

How’s that working out so far?

Slow Down, Chumps

If you drive in Illinois, you’d better keep your speed EXACTLY at the work zone speed limit.

If you go too slow, you’ll have 20 ton semis about 6 inches from your rear bumper.

And if you go too fast, even by just ONE MPH, you risk a $375 fine mailed to you as a result of photo enforcement that goes into effect tomorrow, July 1.

Of course, slowing down every driver in every work zone in the entire state will cost us all more time and money. More time, obviously. And more money, because gas mileage is always worse at 45 m.p.h than at 55 or 65. And gas prices are already higher in the summer, because demand is higher … because there are already more of us on the road. A perfect time to insist on slower driving.

And I won’t even get into the possibility that some of the speed trap photo enforcement equipment will be poorly calibrated, resulting in fines for innocent drivers. That would be unhelpful.

I also won’t get into the risks of adding time to an already-long drive which can cause drowsiness later. Again, unhelpful.

But as a benefit, we might get some unknown level of slightly reduced risk. Maybe. So, YAY!

Enjoy your summer! Get out there and travel — the economy needs you!

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

And Waxman-Markey thinks YOU are stupid enough to support this dumb idea:

Now Congress is trying to pass a new law called ‘Cap and Trade,’ which is really just another new energy tax. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the new tax could cost you between 61 cents and $1.60 for every gallon of gas you buy. Economists think this could cost the average family $3,100 a year. I’m working hard to defeat this new tax.

Funny how that huge tax increase on everybody who drives doesn’t seem to resonate in the media. Huh.

I have a feeling it would resonate with the consumer.

That passage above is from this link at the site of my congressman, Peter Roskam (Ill.). I sent him an email today requesting that he vote no on that legislation, before I knew how strongly he already opposed it. He doesn’t like the Waxman-Markey bill. He is a smart man.

You can also find this graphic at that link, reflecting the cost of gas in Chicago, which already pays the highest prices in the nation, and which could increase by up to $1.60:

http://roskam.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=4291

Thanks, but no. Sorry … I’m really trying to cut down.

You Deserve … Well, SOMETHING Today. Not Sure What Though.

Since Monday is also known as “Free Coffee Monday” at McDonald’s, I decided to stop in on the way to work this morning and grab one.

Small, and black. Like Flip Wilson.

Surprise #1: “That’ll be $1.18, please”. What happened to Free Coffee Monday? Still not sure, because the cashier’s answer was inaudible.

Surprise #2: So I tried to hand her $2. She took $1, and gave me back 46 cents. No, I didn’t get it either. Maybe it’s some new Impromptu Whiner’s Discount.

Surprise #3: After sipping the coffee a couple of times, it tasted a little odd, so I took off the lid. It had cream in it.

So my free black coffee became a 54-cent coffee with cream. Maybe McDonald’s itself could use a little jolt of Free Coffee Monday.

This is Just Bizarre. And When I Say Bizarre, I Mean B-I-Z-A-R-R-E

Former WSCR sports radio personality Mike North was fired Friday from his Internet radio startup chicagosportswebio.com, along with his wife BeBe and another man. They were fired for inquiring about recent bounced checks for some of the employees, including broadcasting legend Chet Coppock.

Hold on, it hasn’t even begun to get weird yet.

Yesterday, the CEO of the company, David Hernandez, who is also the prime investor in North’s show “Monsters in the Morning” on Comcast SportsNet, called a meeting and announced the company was still in good shape, and that he would make good on the bad checks. He left and said he’d be back at 1:30. He never returned.

Then the employees learned Hernandez is being sued by the SEC for running a Ponzi scheme with his companies NextStep Financial and NextStep Medical Services (the prime sponsor of “Monsters” on Comcast).

Last night, Hernandez’ wife — also named in the SEC suit — reported him missing to the Downers Grove police.

Hernandez, as it turns out, declared bankruptcy three times in the last 5 years, and served time in jail in the late 90s.

So now chicagosportswebio.com is probably kaput, though Coppock plans on one more broadcast today at 3:00. THAT ought to be interesting.

And the future of “Monsters”, without its prime sponsor, is up in the air as well.

I always kind of wondered about the sponsorship deal with NextStep and “Monsters”. Seemed a little too good to be true: a single company sponsoring a TV show? When does that ever happen?

Never, apparently.

Related:

• Mike North Era at “The Score” is Over

Blackhawks Eliminated by Red Wings in Five

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.

Closer, But Still No Cigar

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.

Glad I Didn’t Pay Good Money to See THAT

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.

• Play your game, not the other team’s game. Use your strengths, i.e., speed and puck-handling skills. Dump the puck and dig it out of the corners instead of trying to make fancy plays in the neutral zone.
• Limit turnovers, because they will absolutely kill you against a quality, battle-tested club like the Red Wings; the first two goals resulted from turnovers by their two best defensemen, Seabrook and Keith.
• Hit some people. I didn’t see much hitting in this game. Partly, this is because they didn’t dump-and-forecheck, which limits opportunities to hit them and wear them down.

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.

Wilco is Streaming

Pretty cool … the new Wilco record can be streamed here.

It’s called “Wilco (The Album)”. Just in case you forgot the name of the band.

The cover shows a funky picture of a camel on a patio. With a party hat on.

Kids today don’t know how lucky they are. Why, back in my day, we had to drive to Korvette’s and spend $3.99 of our hard-earned money on a new record! In the snow!