Mother Nature is a whore, but she can't stop the mojo

Game 7: W 2-1/OT vs. Rangers: Another game, another overtime, and another win for the Blackhawks, this time against the NY Rangers. For a change it was Byfuglien providing the OT heroics. I know what you're thinking (I have that ESPN or whatever it's called). You think I made a mistake because there's no way in hell Byfuglien could have been a hero, but look I have evidence! This would have run me and Thomas D's record to a perfect 7-0, except that he didn't make it because work hates him, and mother nature (who is a whore) shit on northwest Indiana and Chicago the last two days. So he didn't make it, but Camp took his seat (literally) and extended the streak. So suck on that mother nature!!

The Hawks really didn't give me anything to complain about, as even perpetual targets "Suck", "Soup", and "The French F-Bomb" played well enough to avoid pot-shots by me. You know, unless I want to bitch about "The French F-Bomb" giving up a goal, or "Soup" doing a couple more spin moves, but that's kinda nit-picking in a game that the Hawks won.

But the real story of the game was New York goalie, Henrik Lundqvist. This dude nearly stole the game for the Rangers. The Hawks kicked New York's ass up and down the ice all night. They outshot them 16-5 in the 1st, 14-10 in the 2nd, and 11-3 in the 3rd/OT... but Lundqvist stood on his head all night (a hockey expression I love by the way) and prevented the Hawks from punching one in til just under 6 minutes remained. Toews broke through with a power play scrum and the pucked just slid in for once.

Overtime was it's usual frenetic pace, after a couple of missed shots by both teams, Big Buff got on the breakaway (I swear I'm not making this up) made a nice move and got the 41st shot of the night past Lundqvist for the winner.

Random notes/thoughts/happenings tonight:
-Learned the names of 2 people we've sat next to for 4 or 5 games now... (Ed and Basha)
-The other 2 people we sit next to got in an accident on the way to the game. (I told you mother nature is a whore)
-NHL resident fuckstain Sean Avery is on the Rangers... this is worth noting b/c I didn't notice him on the ice. I figured a fight with that bag of douche would have been imminent, especially with the ice time Eager and "I'll fight (and lose to) anyone" Frasor received. Kinda bummed for no fights last night...
-One of the loudest non-Huet/Detroit related boos I've ever heard happened last night. The Ice Crew thought it was a media timeout and time to come out and clean the ice... Refs thought otherwise and sent them back off. (male) Fans were not happy.

Kudos to Big Buff for do something worthwhile, allowing me to show him rockin this awesome suit

Current Record/Standings: 19-7-3, 41 points. 1st/Division, 2nd/Conference
Next up for the Hawks: @ Buffalo, Fri. Dec 11th
Next up for Me and Thomas D: Home vs Bruins, Fri. Dec 18th (sans Thomas D again - effing company christmas parties)

Lazy Sunday

Let's see, last night I consumed all of the ingredients for hangover. So I planned on doing absolutely nothing today... Unfortunately, there's no sound on RedZone today, so I'm stuck watching the shitbowl of a "football" game known as the Rams-Bears. Granted, I'm a Bears fan, but this game is like stabbing yourself in the eye with a toothpick. And now, its a halftime, so I felt like blogging about the past week and a half of sports.

Welcome back home.
So the last time I talked about the Blackhawks, I was skeptical/weary of the return of Marian Hossa. That night he scored two goals as the Hawks beat the NHL best Sharks like a red-headed stepchild. Of course, then the Hawks crapped the bed losing 3-0 to Anaheim and in a shootout to LA.

Game 6: Dec 1st, vs Columbus Blue Jackets W 4-3/SO
So they finally got back home Tuesday, for a divisional battle against Columbus. Thomas D and I were in attendance, and I even engaged in some friendly shit-talking with my buddy Mike who lives in Columbus. This was short lived, as the Hawks spent most of the game skating around like retard trying to hump a door-knob... with one notable exception.
The game ended up tied at 3, in a shootout that lasted longer than the Christmas holiday season. The French F-Bomb stood on his head, stopping 10 of 11 shots, which was just enough time for Seabrook to knock home the winner allowing Thomas D and I to advance our record on the season to 6-0.

After this dramatic win, the Hawks shit the bed again and lost to Nashville (who somehow has jumped into 2nd place, seriously). I'm beginning to notice an annoying trend. As good as the Blackhawks are, they're not exactly running away and hiding from teams. And probably won't. So they'll test my nerves and my patience as they dick around with teams like Nashville.

But all is well, as they redeemed themselves with a win at Pittsburgh. I didn't pay super close attention b/c I was eating pizza and drinking pitchers of fat tire, but a win is a win, even if it's just 2-1 in OT. I did notice that Hossa scored again, and has earned the right to be called by name, not the nickname I gave. Also VerSTUD had the winner, and Niemi played his ass off. I'll take it.

Current Record/Standings: 18-7-3, 39 points. 1st/Division, 2nd/Conference
Next up for the Hawks: vs Rangers, Wed. Dec 9th
Next up for Me and Thomas D: Home vs Rangers, Wed. Dec 9th

The WTF Sox Update

What the fuck????????? Kenny Williams is killing me this offseason. I had made my peace with losing Dye and Podsednik. And Fields was on his way out the door well before the Sox got eliminated from playoff contention. But what the fuck is happening on the Southside? I feel like I've been punched in the face.

We want to get younger. Add speed. Play "Ozzie-ball" (whatever the fuck that is). Alright, fine I get it. That's how you justify wasting more money than Congress on mediocre-at-best players like Alex Rios. (I can't wait to see this guy "earn" his $70M with a contract that'll probably last longer than my life)

Then what the hell? First we sign Omar Vizquel. He's a thousand!
-He's so old he left his wallet on Noah's Ark.
-He's so old that he owes Moses a dollar.
-He's so old that he sat in front of Jesus in the first grade.
-He's so old that his social security number is 1 (haha, just kidding. His a foreigner, he doesn't need a SSN!)
-He's so old that in school, there was no history class.
-He's so old that if he acted his age, he'd die.
Feel free to leave your own old age joke in the comments.

We back this up by signing Andruw Jones who is conservatively listed at 32, though he and his .214 batting average have me believing he's much older. Well he's played like it.

But we have nice speedy, young players who excel at "Ozzie-ball" like Chris Getz. Wait, what's that you say? We traded him. Shit, I guess my dog isn't as "in the know" as his. Well this makes total fucking sense right.

Kenny Williams has said these moves are bolstering the Sox bench with quality players. Well, despite my difference of opinion on what's "quality" I can understand his logic. Except for one fatal flaw.... WE DON'T HAVE A QUALITY STARTING LINEUP! Call me crazy, but the offseason should be spent making moves to make the team better. Last year, the Yankees went after key guys like CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira; all of whom are key starters. Oh, and they won the damn World Series.

Now, I don't expect the Sox to go out and break the bank. They've accidentally done that already with the pick-ups Rios and Peavy, and the extensions Buerhle and Konerko are playing under. But would it be too hard to find some starters? Preferably a lead-off hitter since evidently ours wasn't worth keeping. Or find players who'll enable our guys to stop playing out of position (Ramirez is playing SS despite being better when at 2nd. Beckham spent last season at 3B, and will play 2B this year despite being a natural SS- I'm sure this is logical to someone, but I don't have that logic).

But it's ok. Rumor has it that the Sox have a keen interest in Coco Crisp, presumably as a leadoff hitter because he's fast. (Either that or they're looking for that elusive marketing deal with Cocoa Krispies) Call me skeptical, but I don't think a 30-year old who's been battling injuries, coming off a season when he hit .228 is the answer. Especially since he plays the same position as the overpriced Rios. I just don't see this helping. Is Chone Figgins really too much to ask for?

Anyway I'm looking forward to the season rooting for my adopted national league team (Phillies) for a full season instead of just after the White Sox season ends.


EDITOR'S NOTE: (that's right I editor's noted myself) The last time I was this pissed during an off-season it was the summer we traded Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino... the Sox won the World Series the following season. Let's see where this goes...

Being weary of Marian Hossa/Hawkey update

So once again, I've probably taken waaay too long to update this amazingly terrific sports blog. But once again, I don't give a rat's ass, so the 2 or 3 people that actually read this can suck it up. Or stop reading. I don't care.

So on to Hawks.
Thomas D and I are now a whopping 5-0 in person this season. Granted, this game was a while ago, but here's my quick recap as I now remember it, before diving into the subject of the blog.

Game 5: Sun. Nov 15th, San Jose Sharks @ Blackhawks... W 4-3/OT
The Hawks capped off a perfect 4-0 homestand with a key win over the team with the best record in the West. The Sharks jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but the Hawks came right back and tied it in the 2nd period. Nothing happened in the 3rd, then Seabrook scored quickly into overtime to send us home.

Since then the Hawks started their annual circus road trip out with a bang, kicking the shit out of Calgary 7-1, smacking around Edmonton 5-2, then surviving a slugfest with Vancouver 1-0. That makes a 7 game winning streak and bring us up to now, the day before their next game, against the San Jose Sharks. This game is significant as it marks the return (start?) of the "$60M Injury".

Everyone and their mother has an opinion on the return of Hossa. (Great hockey blog story here. And another good blog story here, by people who write more than me.) Personally, I'm a little skeptical. Granted, I haven't been a hockey guy for a long time. But I've seen shit like this before. The "Savior" comes in and automatically a team is supposed to win everything. Well this Blackhawks bandwagon is getting crowded in a hurry. Meanwhile, we've seen nothing from this guy yet. Hence, the $60M Injury nickname. (FYI, this nickname will stand til I'm sufficiently impressed with his play) While I don't doubt Hossa to be a great talent (you have to be to earn that kind of money, right?) But here's my concerns:
-I'm considerably worried about how he fits into this team. His cap number has already made re-signing Kane, Toews and Keith more difficult than it should be and is most likely going to force Sopel out of town for nothing other than cap relief (though I'd be a dick to not note than Campbell's cap hit is worse, and I strongly believe Huet to be vastly overpaid).
-The Hawks are red hot right now. Hossa will be on the same line as Toews and Kane. This could potentially disrupt the great chemistry the Hawks have working for them right now. Especially because...
-His injury. That we didn't know about when signing him for $60M. I can almost guarantee he's not all the way ready for the rigors of an NHL game. The Hawks will need to withstand about 3 weeks of a "pre-season" for the $60M Injury. The next 3 weeks contain plenty of big-time games that could start to shape the season. It's gonna be key to play well, especially against some of the elite teams in the league (i.e. Sharks, Penguins) before getting into the big rivalry games against his former team, the Red Wings. Which brings me to my last point of concern...
-His playoff performances. The $60M Injury has been on the losing end of the last 2 Stanley Cup Finals. I don't know how this makes me feel. I feel pretty confident that there will be some playoff hockey in Chicago this spring. So how is he going to help. On one hand, he's used to going deep in the playoffs and his teams have made nice runs. On the other hand, his teams have "struggled" on the ultimate stage and failed to win the Cup. On the other hand how much of his team's efforts can be attributed to him? It's tough to say.

So I'm a little weary. I'd rather be a little cautious and find myself surprised at the success than the other way around. So maybe that's why I'm telling myself these things. Or maybe the media attention the Blackhawks are receiving again scares the shit out of me. I don't know. But let's see where this takes me.

Current Record/Standings: 15-5-2, 32 points. 1st in Division, 2nd in Conference
Next up for the Hawks: @San Jose Sharks, Wednesday Nov. 25th
Next up for Me and Thomas D: Home vs Blue Jackets, Tuesday Dec. 1st

So maybe the NHL season started on October 2nd. And maybe I even went to a preseason game in the middle of September. (Hint: it did, and I did) So perhaps there should have been some mention of the Blackhawks season in my blog before now. But dammit, I'm paid to be an architect. Not a fucking beat writer, so you'll get my opinion when I damn well please.

Since this is the first post of the season, you'll want to know the nicknames of some of the newer players (and other nicknames in general).
Besides Kaner and Tazer, (and Steeger and Eager) we've got "BOOM", "Soup", "The French F-Bomb", "Suck", and "The $60M Injury". Maybe I'll adjust Hossa's nickname once he actually suits up and plays.

Anyway, after tonight's fantastic 3rd period where I'm 99% sure the Hawks scored more goals than the Kings got shots (3-2 I believe) Thomas D and I are now 4-0 on the season for games we've attended. Unless you count that shitty preseason loss, but we don't because we left right before the overtime to go get wasted on a pub crawl. I'm still sure we made the right decision.

In the essence of time I'll just give a quick thought or two from what I can remember of each game I've attended.

Game 1: Calgary @ Hawks Oct. 12, 2009
If the Bears woulda been on Monday night football, we would have left. The French F-Bomb lived up to his name, allowing 3 early goals, and Niemi gave up 2 more in the first. All of that was just the set-up for the greatest comeback in NHL history (look it up, it tied a record) as the Hawks came back from down 5-0 to win 6-5 in OT, in the second greatest game I've seen in person. (Trailing last years playoff wins over Detroit (sucks))

Game 2: Edmonton @ Hawks, Oct. 14, 2009
The return of Khabibulan, the goalie I wish the Hawks still had, instead of the French F-Bomb. The Hawks won 4-3 in a game that didn't seem that close and got really out of hand at the end. There was a fight near us in the stands, some fights on the ice, and the game ended up with a 4-3 and an empty net. Weird game.

Game 3: Minnesota @ Hawks, Oct. 26, 2009
The return of Martin Havlat, the leading point scorer from last year's team. It's a wonder why the Hawks were picked to do so well this year without the key guys from last year. Anyway, this game was actually kind of forgettable as a the Hawks beat a bad Wild team 3-1. I honestly don't remember a thing about this game. (I even had to look up the score and the date) And I wasn't even drunk b/c it was a Monday.

Game 4: Los Angeles @ Hawks
Tazer was lost to a concussion back in mid-October. He joined the concussed Eager as well as Burish (torn ACL) and "The $60M Injury" while Bolland played with a bad back. The rag-tag Hawks were treading water, and tonight, Eager and Tazer came back. The Captain made the most of his return with a goal, and The French F-Bomb has actually put together a few decent games recently. As I mentioned above, the Hawks scored 3 goals in the 3rd to take the win, 4-1, over a Kings team I was stunned to find out had 10 wins thus far.

Current Record/Standings: 9-5-2, 20 points. 1st in Division, 3rd in Conference
Next up for the Hawks: Home against Toronto Maple Leafs, Friday Nov. 13
Next up for Me and Thomas D: Home against San Jose Sharks, Sunday Nov. 15

Cedric Benson likes boys/NFL Update

Ok, this blog update is well past due. I mean, if this were a steak, it'd be so overdone you could use it as charcoal for your next fire. I mean, I got into a good rant about why Cedric Benson is a worthless fuckstick about 2 weeks ago, right after he and the Bengals embarrassed my Bears, and I didn't even get around to posting it til now. So instead of formulating some intelligent argument as to why I and all Bears should hate this boner-for (what's a boner-for?) I'm going to post what I wrote in a couple of messages right after the fact.

In response to Benson no longer being a bust....

All it took was years of suckitude in Chicago, followed by 2 arrests for alcohol related issues, followed by his release for him to get motivated to do something about his career... I guess being a #4 overall pick and being paid millions isnt enough motivation to try to occasionally break a tackle or run past someone... seriously Benson can go lick a big fat dick

After being baited into one more solid rant....

He was worthless... and him being a crybaby bag of douche cost the Bears their starting RB from their super bowl run (Thomas Jones) and set the franchise back a couple of years at that position...
(maybe, just maybe if the Bears had their back who was running for like 1200+ yards still, they wouldnt have to spend future, 4th & 2nd round picks on RBs and also sign a Free Agent, and then I don't know, we could help the offensive line with picks and free agents, which was & is the biggest fucking need on the team)... but crybaby Ced bullying his way into the starting position and forcing Jones out of town set us back, just so he could be a dick and not even try to be a good running back for us.

Benson is a fucktard and I hate that steaming pile of dog shit.

I think that gets my point across. By the way, he's now on my fantasy football team, which all but guarantees his awful second half of the season. You're welcome Bears fans.

Are QBs good or something?

Ok, this was supposed to be a massive blog about Scrubs. I was ready to post with crazy links (the idea I stole from Sean) and thoughtful insight. I was gearing up for it all season and ready to go nuts, but then today the unthinkable happened. Jerry Angelo made a trade. For a quarterback.

Holy hell, I never thought I'd see this. This man recently said he was committed to Kyle Orton as our quarterback. Which I was ready to try to talk myself into for another year. Because, honestly when you break down the miserable run of Bears QBs over the years since they won the Super Bowl with Jim McMahon, Kyle Orton looks decent.
See this list: Mike Tomczak, Doug Flutie, Jim Harbaugh, Peter Tom Willis (if that's not the name of an assassin or serial killer, i don't know what is) Will Furrer, Erik Kramer, Steve Walsh, Dave Krieg, Rick Mirer, Steve Stenstrom, Moses Moreno, Shane Matthews, Cade McNown, Jim Miller (who might have been the best on this [pathetic] list), Chris Chandler, Henry Burris (the poor-man's Kordell Stewart), Kordell Stewart (the poor man's Slash Stewart), Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese

So naturally trading for Jay Cutler seemed highly unlikely. I thought it was possible we'd see a 4th round draft pick wasted on a QB destined to make the list above, a list that's not exactly a roster of Pro-Bowl caliber QBs, which incidentally, Jay Cutler is. So that's a good thing.

So let's break down the trade.
Bears get: Jay Cutler.
Broncos get: (Who the fuck cares, we got Jay Cutler!)
First round pick in 2009 (#18), first round pick in 2010, Kyle Orton.

Simple math here: Jay Cutler > Kyle Orton. That's a win.
As for the #1 picks, well the only thing more depressing than the Bears list of quarterbacks is their list of first round draft picks under Angelo. (see Benson, Cedric) Plus, the Bears traded the 11th pick to acquire Rick Mirer, so as long as Cutler performs better than Mirer (a bling semi-retarded monkey could) and manages not to get cut next year, he's exceeded that lofty expectation. So it's basically a can't lose situation...


Speaking of can't lose.
The Bears also managed to sign Orlando Pace today. Sure he's old. Sure he hasn't been healthy. (sounds like a good fit) But is he honestly any worse than any of the Bears lineman. I'm going to say no. He's lost more talent than most of the line ever had, so I'm ready to welcome him with (big) open arms.

Suddenly, I wish it was football season already!