Happy Halloween from the Blackhawks!

Captain Serious looking a little less serious, and Adam Burish, both out with injuries, showed up in these Dumb and Dumber costumes for our amusement at last night’s game. there are better photos of them elsewhere, but this is the one I took, and I’ve gotta post more than just screenshots on this site

Blackhawks-Canadiens game recap

we started off pretty good against the fucking Habs but those goddamn dirty Canadiens had to tie it right at the end of the second period but then we scored with 4 minutes left and oh those fucking dirty Habs fans were crushed when we won

uh, I got into hockey via a Bruins fan, it might affect the way I discuss certain teams. anyway, this was a satisfying Original Six match, and I’d like to point out that I’ve seen the Hawks play 3 different Canadian teams at United Center, and all the Canadian teams lost (so I should have been at the recent Canucks game as a good luck charm?). and it doesn’t feel like a real hockey game unless I get to hear both national anthems…

en francais:

hmm, I looked at the English version, same photo but it’s “Habs Can’t Push Past Hawks” and “Moen’s score ties it in the second, but Montreal eventually falls to Chicago.” my French is rusty since high school but I can tell that’s not a translation.

great moments in Canadian journalism

so I got home from the Blackhawks vs. Wild game Monday night and immediately found the Maple Leafs-Ducks game online. I’m not a Leafs fans [ETA: actually, I've become a bit of one since I originally posted this] but there are Leafs blogs I really like and they were getting really depressing, so I’m glad the team finally got a win, 8 games into the season. (there go the Detroit Lions jokes I was working on…) I quickly Googled “Toronto news” and clicked on various TV and newspaper sites. only the Star made a big deal of it right away. A BIG DEAL:

an hour or two later this was gone, and the regular news page, with a top story about a teenager who died of swine flu oh wait I’m from Iowa the pork industry won’t like that H1N1, was back. here’s my poor-quality screenshot of the win:

yes I’m late with this but I only came up with the idea for this blog yesterday afternoon.

somewhat disturbing reCAPTCHA combinations found while looking at NHL ticket prices, #1 & 2 in an ongoing series

the first I ever took a screenshot of is above…quite appropriate because on Oct. 30 the Montreal Canadiens (i.e. the Habs, but you surely knew that already, unless you’re here because I foolishly said “oh, you don’t have to know hockey to enjoy this blog!”) are playing the Blackhawks, and I’m going.

and I’ll throw the second one in as a little tribute (if you’ve seen it, you know why) to an opposition blog I frequent, Four Habs Fans (part of the reason I moved this blog from Tumblr to Blogger is that I couldn't figure out how to create links in Tumblr, as is sadly evident in my archives over there)

dubious out-of-context quotes from hockey interviews, #2 in an ongoing series

wow, I haven't had one of these since the first day of this blog. so I haven't been listening closely enough? this feature has no redeeming value whatsoever. but you can never go wrong with innuendo on a hockey blog...

Mike Haviland, Blackhawks assistant coach, on WGN radio after the 12/1/09 game vs. Blue Jackets, asked about Cam Barker:
"...he is a big thick man."
okay, once you've heard the first line that could prompt a TWSS! it all sounds like that: "he goes at his speed...it's nice to be with him every day" I'LL STOP NOW.

anyway, it was fun to hear him talk about "Barksy," "Seabsy" (or "Seabs"), and "Duncs." how cute!

a real blog post about this amazing game, in the morning. back to serious blogging!
note: I decided to bury this one next to the prior entry in this series, just to be "difficult." it's dated 10/29 but actually happened in December!

dubious out-of-context quotes from hockey interviews, #1 in an ongoing series

"it looks like you're banging everything that moves"
post-game WGN 720 interview with Chicago Blackhawks right wing Troy Brouwer, 10/29/09

you never forget your first hockey game. but this isn’t it (I’ve posted that elsewhere). this was my first hockey game watched live online! (while listening to the WGN radio broadcast) alas, it’s the game where the Hawks lost to the Canucks

Blackhawks 1973-74 yearbook, cover

let's get this off to a good start
(I still owe someone money for this yearbook. and it will all be posted eventually)
and let's go Blackhawks!

you know what someone should blog about?

what if you found a person who spent their whole life ignoring and/or disdaining sports ("sports" in this case meaning men's pro sports, not that this person paid much attention to any type of sports or had any athletic ability themselves)...and then for whatever mysterious reasons, this person suddenly REALLY got into sports, or at least one sport, and had an absurd amount of catching up to do?

I mean, having to quickly learn the rules of the game, and its history, and the history of the team they root for, and the other teams and players in the league? and the championships and awards, and the minor and college leagues, and the draft and salary issues, and the controversies in this sport, and the in-jokes, and the pop culture references, many of which they've ignored or not understood all these years?

wouldn't that be quite a journey, from oddball (well, in the U.S., if not necessarily within their social circles) non-sports-fan into a true fanatic? doesn't this have the potential to be at least mildly interesting, to follow the constant, thrilling process of learning, uh...okay, that sounds pretty dorky, but you get the idea.

but what if, due to how harsh the world of sports fandom can be, they felt like they basically have to keep quiet and observe and learn for who knows how many months? years? before offering any legitimate commentary on the sport itself? and they're in the unenviable position of being fans of a team who has lots of new fans who are constantly derided as "bandwagon" fans by the longtime fans/sportswriters/bloggers? even more reason not to let on how new they are to this?

so...never mind all that "journey" stuff. no one wants to admit to their ignorance. so, in place of a blog like that, how about one with a lot of short and mostly silly observations about hockey (and sometimes baseball, and very rarely other sports)? will that do?