Tag Archives: Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks: Playoff Lawn the New Playoff Beard?

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park-ridge-playoff-lawn

Anyone who loves hockey knows a thing or two about the legendary lucky playoff beard, but a Park Ridge resident took a new approach to displaying his Blackhawks pride. Frank Miller has grown a playoff lawn adorned with a Blackhawks sign.

Miller told NBC Chicago, “They’re growing their playoff beards, so I just decided, you know what, it hit me: I’m going to make a playoff lawn and I’m going to make a sign for it and I’m going to embrace it.”

Others have embraced his shaggy lawn honking and hollering when they pass the lawn and sign, “Everybody drives by and beeps at it. People stop and take pictures. It’s awesome,” Miller said.

The city of Park Ridge hasn’t been on board with Miller’s playoff lawn as it breaks city regulations and was considered a health risk, because it could become a breeding ground for mosquitoes (hate those bugs). The city paid a man to take an industrial sized mower to Miller’s ugly lawn. Luckily, the lawn can face adversity (just like our Hawks) and has bounced back for the Stanley Cup Finals.

The finals kick-off on Wednesday as the Blackhawks prepare to take on the Boston Bruins at the Madhouse on Madison. This is the first Stanley Cup Final meeting for these two all-Original Six teams. Will our Hawks host Lord Stanley’s Cup again?

Patrick Kane is Going Swiss

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With the uncertainty as to when the NHL lockout will end, Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane has decided to take his talents overseas to Switzerland. Can you blame the guy for just wanting to play hockey? His agent announced Tuesday, Kaner will play for the Swiss National League A team EHC Biel until the NHL lockout is over.

Thankfully Kane held off his European departure until after the “Champs for Charity” game is played on Friday at the AllState Arena. The event is shaping up to be a memorable night to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago. Kaner is joining many of the 2010 Stanley Cup Blackhawks and other NHL players. The list includes: Adam Burish, Andrew Ladd, Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Brian Campbell and other former Hawks like James Wisniewski, Jim Vandermeer, Jake Dowell and Craig Anderson will also participate.

The comptetion consists of Bobby Ryan (Anaheim Ducks), Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild), Ville Leino (Buffalo Sabres), Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals), Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers) and Joe Corvo (Carolina Hurricanes) just to name a few. We’ll see the final roster in the days to come.

I wish this wasn’t the only opportunity to watch our NHL players skate in 2012, but at least it’s for a good cause!

Other Hawks who will venture overseas include:

  • Bryan Bickell – HC Znojmo (Czech Republic)
  • Viktor Stalberg – Frolunda (Sweden)
  • Michael Frolik – Plzen (Czech Republic)

Sharp or Keith? Do We Really Have to Choose?

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Well gosh, thanks for making it hard on us EA Sports! How are Blackhawks fans supposed to choose between Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith? You sure we can’t have both?

The two stars are vying for the spot to represent the Hawks in EA Sports’ fan voting contest, the winner will grace the cover of “NHL 13.” The voting will consist of two preliminary rounds, the first round has two members from each of the 30 NHL franchises (March 29-April 11), the second round is narrowed to 32 players – each winner from every team with two separate wild cards (April 12-22), and the final round is a 16-player bracket to produce a winner (April 12-22). The cover-contest champion will be announced June 20 at the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

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So who do Chicago fans choose? They’re both assistant captains, they were both apart of the Stanley Cup Championship team, they would both look fancy on the cover of a video game. If we’re basing this on looks alone, my heart belongs to Patrick Sharp – his face is perfection. However, I also think their is a certain demeanor NHL defensive players have (who doesn’t love watching a man slam another man into the boards?) which gives recently suspended Keith an upper hand – we all remember when he got his teeth knocked out and kept playing. The RedEye Chicago also pointed out that Keith has a Norris Trophy and an Olympic gold medal, Sharpie might not be considered as “prestigious” to some. This is going to take some serious consideration.

You can cast your vote by going to the Cover Vote page, by visiting the EA Sports NHL Facebook page or by tweeting your vote using the hashtag #NHL13Cover.

 

Keith Suspended 5 Games

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Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith was suspended Friday after elbowing Canucks star Daniel Sedin during Wednesday night’s game at the United Center. Keith’s suspension will be five games with no pay – his cheap shot will cost him $149,688 reports ESPN Chicago.

“I respect (the suspension) and I’m going to serve five games and I’m looking forward to getting back,” Keith said. “I’m not going to sit here and question things or wonder how they came to the decision. I respect what they decided was fair and I’ll serve my time.”

If you ask me, Sedin deserved it. The Canucks are absolutely one of the dirtiest teams in hockey and just minutes before Sedin hard checked Keith into the boards, but his hit went unpenalized. The league would not comment publicly if the referees should have called a penalty, but spokesman Gary Meagher simply said: “It did not rise to the level of needing supplemental discipline.” Yea…uh huh. The Sedin brothers need to get shaken up every once in a while. Sedin missed the Canucks’ Thursday victory against the Stars because of a suspected concussion, his injury played a big part in Keith’s suspension as well.

Hopefully the Blackhawks can tough it out without Keith tonight against the Nashville Predators. Blackhawks have won five consecutive games, a win tonight would be their longest winning streak since last season.

Miss USA a Vancouver Canucks Fan

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CAUTION: We have a traitor on our hands friends. Alyssa Campanella the reigning Miss USA, has publicly declared herself a Vancouver Canucks fan. Do not be distracted by her smoking hot body and beautiful auburn locks, she cheers for the bad guys. Alyssa was born in New Jersey, raised in California, and now lives in New York (she gets a condo in the Trump tower as a perk of being the queen). One would expect her to root for the Devils, maybe the Islanders or Kings, but no, she is a full fledged Canucks fan.

As a former Miss USA Illinois contestant, supporter of the pageant system, and Chicago Blackhawks fan, I have to admit this news is rather heartbreaking, disappointing, and saddens me deeply. The Canucks make my blood boil! How can someone who represents the United States be a fan of the dirtiest Canadian hockey team?

She’s even converted Miss Teen USA, Danielle Doty into supporting those wretched Canucks. Here they are in their Jerseys, it’s even on the Miss USA website!

I mean, I’m happy Miss USA knows a thing or two about hockey and enjoys the sport, but man…out of all the teams to choose from. Here she is declaring her Canucks pride on NHL TV (see video below). Rumor has it she’s dating a Canadian actor, Torrance Coombs, I’m hoping he has swayed her loyalties and she eventually will come back from the dark-side. Otherwise, I think we may have to strip her of her title.

Blackhawks Desperate for a Shark Attack

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I feel like I’ve been neglecting my boys, but the Blackhawks are in a nasty slump. After this six-game losing streak, I think it’s safe to say the Hawks defense has hit “rock bottom” and there are five games left of this brutal road-trip. The next battle begins tonight against the Pacific leading San Jose Sharks and our old friend Antti Niemi.

Things continue to look bleak today, two Hawks were placed on injured reserve; Niklas Hjalmarsson has progressed from having the flu to having an upper-body injury and Steve Montador also with an upper-body injury. Both are out for the next two games and are day-to-day.

As strange as it sounds, Patrick Sharp and the Hawks are hopeful their current situation will bring  them closer to being the team they want to be. “If I had the right quote or the magic recipe I’d throw it out there,” Sharp said after a lengthy practice on Thursday. “All I can say is we’re working through it. We’re not happy. We believe in each other. I know our fans out there want us to win every game and we know we have the support of them and we’re going to be a better team because of this.”

Sami Lepisto and Dylan Olsen, both recalled this morning, will play tonight against the Sharks. Olsen played two games in early January and this will be Lepisto’s first game since January 2nd against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Hawks need to get back to basics, get more aggressive on defense with bigger hits, and stop letting their offense completely run the show (because their offense can’t keep the puck out of Chicago’s net). Time to step it up Seabrook and Keith!

It’s going to be a tough game on the road tonight, but the Hawks are long overdue for a W.

Jealous of Joey the Jr. Reporter

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Joey the Jr. reporter has my dream job and he’s only six years old. After his debut last year during Thanksgiving, the mini sports-reporter is back at it again in his second annual holiday edition of hard hitting journalism. As always, Joey is dressed in his shirt, tie, and carrying his official microphone. He interviews a slew of players about their holiday spirit including; Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Daniel Carcillo, Ben Smith, Jamal Mayers, even Coach Q. Who would have guessed Daniel Carcillo has such a lovely voice?

To watch Joey in action click below – he’s adorable.  Is it wrong to be jealous of a six-year-old?