It sucks to be a Chicago Blackhawks fan

[Bear-Arms]

Yesterday the Blackhawks lost their 10th straight came. Tuomo Ruutu was also injured during the game.

The only bright spot this year has been rookie defensemens 22 yr old Duncan Keith and 20 yr old rookie defensemen Brent Seabrook.

[jaxvid]

What the heck has happened to the Black Hawks? The Wing/Hawks games used to be very competitive now the Hawks are off the radar. Along with St. Louis in the dumps the Central Division is pretty weak.

[Bear-Arms]

A lot of injuries and a lot of bad off season moves. They keep trying to go young, but they have no young talent. smileys/smiley36.gif

[Don Wassall]

The Blackhawks got healthy tonight, for a game at least, when they beat the most disappointing team in the league, the pathetic Penguins, 4-1. The Pens managed to lose to the sadsack Bluejackets 6-1 just two nights ago right after new head coach Michel Therrien had blasted them publicly big-time. I was really looking forward to the Penguinsbeing resurgent this season but they may have the number one pick in the draft againin '06.

[Realgeorge]

Hawks have been looking much better of late. Caught them a few nights back put a whuppin' on Colorado

Keep your powder dry, Hawks have a good nucleus and will be playoff contender in 2006-7 season

[Bear-Arms]

They got beat by the Wild Friday 4-1. Did anyone catch the puck to head? I cringed when it happened, he didn't even have a visor. Ouch! The schedule is weird, they play the Wild again Sunday, that is twice in a row.

I missed hockey on NBC today(I think its NBC), won't miss it next week. I try to see any game possible, so I can catch up on the league. Its so weird not seeing players you watch when you were little. I have lived long enough to see many of my favorite players retire. You just think they're gonna play forever, but they don't.

The league is a lot faster. I didn't like some of the ticky tacky calls at the beginning, but I've been thinking it might because the game is so much faster now. They've been doing a better job of late, however.

[CountryBoy]

I really wanna know what happend to the Saint Louis Blues!!! Talk about sucking. Last I've seen they are the worst team in the NHL. Right behind them are the penguins! Ouch!

[Don Wassall]

The Penguins are now the worst team. They were picked to be a playoff team and even a Stanley Cup contender by some before the season, but they are laughably bad. The Bruins are outshooting them in the third period tonight 33-11. The Rangers outshot them something like 54-11 last week. They gave up three short-handed goals to Ottawa a couple of games ago, including two on the same power play.

The Pens at this point have to rank as almost as bad as some of the worst of the expansion teams, like the original Islanders and Capitals. Sidney Crosby has been everything expected of him and more, but he has a supporting cast reminiscent of the '62 Mets.

[Realgeorge]

Hang on, Bear-Arms !! The Hawks looked magnificent last night ! </font></font></font>

I spent the $200 for NHL Center Ice, primarily to see adult White Males enjoying their lives. The 8-6 drubbing of the "mighty" Nashville Predators was a thing of beauty. Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp skated circles around their opponents. The young Hawks defense didn't stop much, but they didn't need to as their Blitzkreig offense got a great scoring chance every time down the ice. There is hope in Windy City!</font></font></font>


Even more excellent for White hockey fans: The wide-open new game is REAL, and the HAWKS embody the trend. They reminded me very much of the 1985 Edmonton Oilers. Top Speed and talent everywhere, and a fastbreak offense, not worried about goals-against during the regular season because they score so many of their own. Martin Lapointe beat and intimidate several smaller of his Nashville opponents. The Hawks are a FORCE.</font></font></font>


The NHL is back with a vengeance. The product is excellent, and all the grouchy White-hating banking execs in New York City can't derail it. Soon and very soon, big TV networks will be snooping a chance to snap away Versus's contract with the NHL.</font></font></font>

[cslewis1]

Soon and very soon, big TV networks will be snooping a chance to snap away Versus's contract with the NHL.</font></font></font>[/b]

Never happen. Not without more minorities in the league. The game is much more exciting but the networks won't give it any attention for that one reason. Until the NHL forces itself on the scene with HUGE numbers of viewers, not just full stadiums, they will never be taken seriously. It's that simple. And that is why we MUST have big market teams in the Cup finals this year. Imperative.
The game is ten times more exciting than just two years ago, we need that showcased on a much larger screen than OLN.

[jaxvid]

Soon and very soon, big TV networks will be snooping a chance to snap away Versus's contract with the NHL.</font></font></font>[/b]

Never happen. Not without more minorities in the league. The game is much more exciting but the networks won't give it any attention for that one reason. Until the NHL forces itself on the scene with HUGE numbers of viewers, not just full stadiums, they will never be taken seriously. It's that simple. And that is why we MUST have big market teams in the Cup finals this year. Imperative.
The game is ten times more exciting than just two years ago, we need that showcased on a much larger screen than OLN.

I just posted on this subject in the other thread but I would say that hockey will never have the big numbers for national TV. It's a cold weather, white sport. Non-whites do not watch white only sports so there is no chance that blacks or members of the invading nation of Atzlan will ever boost the TV numbers up enough to make it big time. Even a New York vs. LA final would do nothing ratings wise. So who cares? With internet expansion growing all of this stuff is going to be pay per view on your computer/digital TV anyway. The networks and ESPN can all go to hell.

[C Darwin]

Glory Days! Remember when there were Gods in Chi-Town?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/news/2001/02/20/sayitaintso_blackhawks/jr_all.jpghttp://i.tsn.com/i/n/nhl/hof00/savard_denis_tsn.jpg
http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/trophies/winners/CMT1983.jpghttp://i23.ebayimg.com/04/i/07/8f/d4/b6_1.JPGEdited by: C Darwin

[cslewis1]

I think a NY vs. LA final would be fantastic. If the NBA finals had say, San Antonio vs. Orlando or something like that, I think we'd take them. If that happened, we might see some movement. But we've been down this road before in 1994 when even SI was saying how the NHL was better than the NBA. But the powers that be in the NHL were too...freakin'...stupid...to capitalize. THE IDIOTS!!!

We are our own worst enemy, indeed.

[Realgeorge]

Hey C Darwin! Thanks for the vintage Blackhawks pics!

Have I got them right? Roenick, Savard, Olczyk, Belfour?

I'd love to see the 'Hawks come back to life. Get that blast-horn blasting again in Chicago.

Got a vintage Al Secord picture anywhere? How about a Stan Mikita?

[C Darwin]

#28 is Steve Larmer (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid%5B%5D=2978).

[Bear-Arms]

I don't get Center Ice because the Blackhawks home games are blacked out. Center ice was free the first week of the season. I might get it next year to watch the Penguins because of all their young talent. I listen to the Blackhawks on the radio when they're not on t.v. like most Hawks fans. As for the blackhawks, they're looking better than previous years, its given hawks fans a lot of hope.

Martin Havlat is the real deal. He didn't get much ice time in Ottawa because of all the talent they had there. Looks like real steal for Mark Bell. Plus they got Brian Smolinski in that trade. He's really an underrated player in my opinion. I'm completely surprise by Michal Handzus. I didn't think he would make a good first line center but he has just played awesome.

The Blackhawks are still scoring with Ruutu out. I sure hope Ruutu is done with injuries after this. He was once consider the best player in Europe not in the NHL. He's like 23 years old if I remember correctly.

The Blackhawks aren't playing much defense to go with their outstanding offense. D. Keith, Seabrook, and Aucoin need to step it up if they are to be successful.

Khabbi is an alright goalie. He had stellar game against Nashville on Thursday. Their back-up did not fair as well against St. Louis last night, a team in my opinion they should have beat.

The Blackhawks have some good prospects. Look out for Jonathan Toews, Jack Skille, David Bolland and others in the future. I'm real high on Jonathan Toews. He is my favorite player not in the NHL. He plays for the North Dakota Sioux. You can see him on TV sometimes when they show college games.

The Blackhawks have two non-white players: Rene Bourque(French/Indian) and Dustin Byfuglien. I seen interviews by both players and they looked like real great guys. I have no problem with them. Dustin is currently in the AHL. He is real big hitter.

[Realgeorge]

Howdy Bear-Arms!

The Pulford Depression is over! At least the BlackHawks have admitted that they need to buy some young talent to get some fans into the immense auditorium they play in.

I had to fork over the bucks for NHL Center Ice 'cause its the only White sport on the Telly. Gave up NFL and all football several years ago, don't miss it one bit.

[screamingeagle]

You forgot the real Gods of Hockey: Bobby Hull! Stan Mikita! Eric Nesterenko! On the Blue line: Pierre Pilot! Keith Magnuson! Whitey Stapalon! Doug Wilson! In between the pikes: Glenn Hall! Tony Esposito!

Trivia question: Which actor played in two different movies with two different members of the 1961 stanley cup winning Blackhawks?

[Bear-Arms]

I have no idea, screamingeagle.

[C Darwin]

Mike Meyers?

[lumsdenpower]

stupid Havlat and Smolinski..You beat my canadien smileys/smiley19.gif

[Bear-Arms]

I only listened to the 2nd and 3rd period of that game. I missed the Havlat goal and the Canadien goal. Sounded like an alright game. I'm going to download the game tonight and watch it in the morning. Canadiens have a good penalty killing team, the Blackhawks sounded like they couldn't setup anything on the powerplay. The game could of gone either way. but i like how the score ended up
smileys/smiley17.gif

[Realgeorge]

Hi Lumsdenpower!

Take heart, the Canadiens will make the playoffs again this year and challenge for the Stanley Cup. Huet is excellent in goal and the whole team is generally tougher. Saw the Habs in great victory 5-4 over Calgary few nights back. Montreal will be good. C'est un but !!

[cslewis1]

Just read the Blackhawsk played before only 10,000 the other night. Not a good sign there at all. If they aren't drawing, that's a very bad thing for the NHL. Be a very, very good thing for the Hawks to make a playoff run this year.

[Bear-Arms]

The media is going overboard with the Blackhawks attendance issue. Its an attack on the fans of Chicago, when it should be an attack on the owner. If you're not showing home games on tv you're losing out on an entire generation of potential fans. You can't blame no one but the owner for that. It will take more than a 2 game winning streak to get fans back to United Center.

[Don Wassall]

The media is going overboard with the Blackhawks attendance issue. Its an attack on the fans of Chicago, when it should be an attack on the owner. If you're not showing home games on tv you're losing out on an entire generation of potential fans. You can't blame no one but the owner for that. It will take more than a 2 game winning streak to get fans back to United Center.


That article was nothing but a hit piece on hockey by ESPN. The article focused on the Blackhawks' continuing attendance woes, and the Avalanche not selling out a game for the first time in 11 years. The article asks ominously: Is hockey attendance in trouble? Commissioner Gary Bettman says it's too early to hit the panic button.


Colorado only fell 326 fans short of a sellout. But more to the point, most teams that don't sell out every game have their worst attendance figures right after the home opener, namely early midweek games against lackluster opponents before hockey fever has really set in. For the Avalanche to come up just short of a sellout is hardly worthy of a national article.


Then we find this beauty: Thus far this season, 14 teams are playing to capacity houses nightly -- Montreal, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Philadelphia, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Carolina, Buffalo, Vancouver, Dallas, Minnesota, the New York Rangers and San Jose.


"Thus far"???? At the time the article was written most teams had played all of 2 home games! Anyone with a basic knowledge of statistics knows that no meaningful conclusions can be drawn from such a small sample. After 5 percent of the season has been played, absolutely no one knows whether overall attendance in the NHL will be up or down this season. And since most teams play to capacity or near-capacity crowds, the best educated guess is that attendance for '06-'07 will end up very close to what it was last year, within a percent or two in either direction.


This isn't journalism; it's fitting an article into a pre-selected point of view.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2629188

[KJV1]

That contradicts an October 6th article by ESPN-

With fans coming back, most teams hike ticket prices

Led by the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, more than half the league's teams have raised ticket prices, including 10 of them by more than 5 percent.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2615891

[lumsdenpower]

I know that the canadien will make the playoff smileys/smiley17.gif
and tomorow Jose Theodore is BACK at montreal after the exchange to colorado..I can't wait for this game!GO HABS GO

[Bear-Arms]

Yep, it still sucks to be a Chicago Blackhawk fan because not only did we lose our number one goal scorer in Martin Havlat(2-3 weeks) Friday, but we also lost Khabibulin(1 week) and Handzus(season ending) Saturday night. We basically lost our entire first line and replaced them with kids that haven't even played in the AHL. I think David Bolland only played one game there. Our defense can't even protect a lead. Jassen Cullimore is one of the crappiest defensemen ever.

We even lost our 2005 and 2006 #1 draft picks. Toews was injured the same night as Havlat. The Gods of hockey hate us!

[white is right]

You guys also have one of the worst spendthrifts as an owner. It's hard to believe that the Blackhawks at one time mattered in Chicago. Now only people that buy the equivalent of boxing ppv's can watch the Blackhawks.... smileys/smiley5.gif smileys/smiley11.gif

[Realgeorge]

Howdy Bear-Arms

I'm speechless! No more gruesome pile of bad luck can hit a hockey fan than the snakebite of the 2006 Chicago Blackhawks. Without the injuries they were a decent team with some punch to embarrass more expensive opponents.

I think it's the "Pulley" curse. Ever since the Pulford monster was allowed to defang the Blackhawks about 12 years ago it's been downhill ever since. Too bad Stan Mikita can't buy the team. At least he would care

[C Darwin]

For many years, the Chicago Blackhawks organization was thought to have the Curse of Muldoon hanging over the team. Whether there was ever a real curse placed upon the Blackhawks and owner Frederic McLaughlin by Pete Muldoon back in 1927 is open to conjecture. There is no proof that Muldoon, who was let go as coach after the Blackhawks lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs, actually said; "The Blackhawks will never finish first!"

But one rule of thumb, never let facts get in the way of a great mythological story and seeking the truth behind the story of whether Muldoon actually put a curse on the Blackhawks ruins a great tale.

Article (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=282358)

[Realgeorge]

Bear up, Bear-Arms! The Blackhawks are steadying their ship and looking OK at the 11 December point. Just watched them strangle Edmonton with Havlat leading the way. Some of the sleeping Chicago fans actually woke up and watched part of the game in the Third Period

[Realgeorge]

It's official: The Hawks are now at .500 !!</font>
They skate, hit, and shoot. Hawks have some offense with Martin Havlat back in lineup, and a non-braindead coach. So be of good cheer, the Hawks are playing well and one major hot-streak from qualifying for playoffs</font></font></font>

<center>http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/673/gohawksyn1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)</center>

[cslewis1]

Heard the Blackhawks were 7-3-3 since the new coach. Good to see. Keep it up! Bruins moving a bit too. Good news all around. Get the Rangers back on trap and we've got the makings for a good playoff.

[C Darwin]

Aliu ready to show 'em
Sun, June 24, 2007
The newest London Knight says it wasn't easy watching as the first 55 players were selected.
By PATRICK MALONEY, SUN MEDIA


COLUMBUS, OHIO -- For Akim Aliu, it wasn't just draft day. It was redemption day.

The newly acquired London Knights forward called Friday night's opening round of the NHL draft the toughest experience of his life, with 30 names announced and none of them his.

Finally, when the second round resumed yesterday morning, Chicago used the 56th overall pick to take Aliu. The skilled forward had expected to go in the first round and blamed his significant drop on perceived "attitude" problems.

Aliu has butted heads with teammates and coaches throughout his OHL career, including an infamous dust-up during practice with then-teammate Steve Downie in Windsor.

That pattern likely scared off many NHL general managers but to the ultra-confident Aliu, one thing is clear: That's their problem, not his.

"I can't wait to go out there and two, three years down the line (have) everyone saying, 'This kid should have been a top-five pick,' " he told reporters.

"I can't wait to get there. All the other draft picks are just numbers and it's all history now. It's what you do with it."

Aliu was acquired this off-season by the Knights from Sudbury. He expressed excitement at possibly playing in London, if not Chicago, next season.

He was rated 41st among North American skaters going into this weekend. But he said some NHL teams suggested they would take him in the first round.

When the final first-round pick was called Friday night -- the second round didn't start until 10 a.m. yesterday -- a noticeably upset Aliu quickly stood from his seat in Nationwide Arena and walked out, brushing off a reporter.

The frustration was shared by his parents, he said.

"They had a rough day-and-a-half because of how things unfolded," Aliu said. "My parents didn't get too much sleep the last two nights, especially (Friday) night."

Given the family's remarkable story, however, the draft was a relatively small ordeal.

Aliu's father Tai was raised in Nigeria before earning a track scholarship to a university in Ukraine. That's where he met his eventual wife Larissa. Akim was born in Nigeria.

The family lived in Ukraine until their naturally athletic son was 10, when they moved to Canada. Though he had never played hockey, Aliu took to the national game immediately.

"We came over here with a suitcase," he said. "It was a tough couple of years for us, knowing no one in the country and having no friends.

"My dad (a software engineer) didn't see a hockey rink until he was 40 years old. I started (playing) at 11 and I was scoring five goals a game and I said 'this is pretty fun.' All the credit goes to my parents."

That he's played for only seven years -- he turned 18 in April -- is another upside, Aliu said.

"Probably 95 per cent of the kids that got drafted today have been playing hockey double the amount of time I have. I just shows how much improvement I have left in me."

http://media.canada.com/canwest/111/spitfires_ws_112105.jpg

[Bear-Arms]

A black kid with a bad attitude? Never!

[Ground Fighter]

A black kid with a bad attitude? Never!

LOL. Just wait until he "displays" that lovely attitude of his in front of one of the NHL's better enforcers like Scott Parker or Darcy Hordichuk. When one of these guys physically beats him into afro-paste, he'll shut his mouth real quick.smileys/smiley36.gif smileys/smiley36.gif smileys/smiley36.gif

[Bear-Arms]

Aliu won't be the Hawks first black player. We already have another black prospect by the name of Dustin Byfuglien. He played a few games with the Hawks last season. He looked brutal but he is still young. He has an excellent shot. He won the AHL's 'hardest shot' at the AHL All-Star game. His problem is his skating and you can't be a quality NHLer if you can't skate. Even though he was an AHL All-Star he had a bad season in the AHL defensively. It's doubtful he will make the big club this year. He is 8th or 9th on the depth chart depending on what the Hawks do during free agency, which at this point is next to nothing.

[Realgeorge]

The Good News is that the Blackhawks had an excellent draft and Free Agent period this summer, and I predict a winning season, including whipping the RedWings in the season opener.

The Bad News is that one of the draftees is Akim Aliu, half Black and half Russian, and the media has forgotten about all the other players on the 'Hawks roster, to concentrate on their new Great Black Hope.

The trend overall is good, though. Fewer, fewer, and ever fewer, non-White NHL draftees and players