The Cubs showed up in full force to support the Blackhawks tonight for Game 1 of their playoff series with the Predators.  No comment on what kind of luck they brought the Hawks, but you can judge for yourself by the 4-1 loss they took.  Is that Kosuke hiding in the back?

Normally, in mid-December with the Bears’ season down the drain and the Bulls being “the worst team ever” (Stormin’ Normin’s words, not mine — Ok, mine too) I’d be desperately counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report.  However, Hendry struck out trying to deal Milton Bradley and THE HAWKS ARE THE HOTTEST TEAM IN THE NHL!!!! For those who again chose to watch the Bulls game over the Hawks game last night, I feel bad for you.  Unless you were busy watching (***SPOILER***) the Voltaggio brothers dominate or the Champions continue their dominance over two chicks (***END SPOILER***), you missed another thriller - ending in OT with a one-man-charge goal by Dustin Byfuglien.  Watching Buffy, who is 6’4″ and 260 lbs, race away with that puck was the hockey equivalent of an NFL defensive-lineman having an interception fall into his lap with 80-yards of open field ahead of him.  Buffy made a great play to sneak one past Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist to win the game.  Lundqvist was great all night, but so was Cristobal Huet in the net for the Hawks.  The Rangers’ lone goal was scored Marian Gaborik, the NHL goal leader this season, on a sweet NHL ’94-type wrister that sent Huet’s Gatorade bottle flying out of its holder.  But Tazer was able to shove the puck past Lundqvist on a power play to tie the game before Buffy did his thing in OT.

The lessons to be learned from last night are obvious.  First, the Hawks are the best team in the West, maybe in the NHL.  Second, Buffy still has it.  After a great spring playoff run, he seems to have forgotten how to play with his intensity – but he has it when it matters (he’s like the Robert Horry of the NHL – I HOPE).  Finally, and the most important lesson: it’s a special team and will be a special season.  Each and every game is exciting – remember this on Friday night when deciding whether to watch the Bulls lose again at home or to see the Hawks take down the league’s best goalie in Buffalo’s Ryan Miller.  Or you can just keep counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report (it’s 52 days away).

**Correction: Higgins scored the Rangers’ goal.  Gaborik had the assist.  H/T: DC Blackhawks

This video is hypnotizing.  What’s crazy about it is the bears seem to actually grasp the rules of hockey.  I’m sure PETA would not be thrilled with this, but I love it.  Enjoy!

The Basketball Hall of Fame inducted some new members this past week.  Unfortunately for Basketball, no one cares about it’s Hall.  No disrespect to Michael Jordan, Jerry Sloan, David Robinson, and the other inductees, but who really cares?

Why are Halls of Fame so different in importance from sport to sport?  I’m not entirely sure, but here is a little ranking of the major ones and my reasoning for why they are as important or meaningless as they are:

1. Baseball Hall of Fame: While the actual site of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown may be just as important as the site of Football’s in Canton, Baseball gets the edge.  The sheer importance of making the Hall in Baseball transcends the sport.  When discussing a player’s accolades in baseball, the Hall of Fame is the highest honor one can achieve.  The sport is so obsessed with statistics and numbers that it makes sense the Hall would be so important.

2. Football Hall of Fame: Everyone has heard of Canton and the Football Hall of Fame.  While Championships are important in football, the Hall is something every great player aspires to.  It is not necessarily as central to the sport as baseball, but it is still very important.

3. Hockey Hall of Fame: I have actually heard of it, which is enough to put it above basketball’s Hall.  Please direct questions to StevieY about the Hockey Hall of Fame.

4. Basketball Hall of Fame: Why is the Hall so meaningless in basketball?  Here is my theory.  In no other sport is a team championship given so much credence when discussing the success of an individual player’s career.  Sure Charles Barkley is a Hall of Famer, but all anyone ever talks about is how he never won a Championship.  Basketball is a team game in a way that none of the other 3 sports are (besides hockey maybe).  Since the team is given importance above all else, Championships are how great players’ careers are judged, not individual accolades like induction into the Hall of Fame.

• McDonough says the timing is right to hold the NHL All-Star Game in Chicago. Agreed.
• Hey, it’s Super Bowl week! Here’s a little on the big game with an interesting point about the second possession of the game.
• The Big Ten is overrated in basketball so says The Big Lead. More on this later.
• There was some ugly behavior at the end of the Michigan-Michigan State hockey game Saturday night. More video with UM’s student section reaction about one minute in.
• Greg Oden turns 21, says he can’t wait until someone doesn’t recognize him and cards him. Yeah Greg, it’s because they know who you are that their “ID if under 30″ policy is a little lax with you.
• The Cubs have sued Under Armour for allegedly reneging on a sponsorship deal. Does this mean no more ads on the outfield wall?
• Illinois is ranked 19th in the AP, 20th in the Coaches’ Poll and they continue to confound expectations.

Yes, you heard that right. I went to the Blackhawks game last night. I know hockey games are supposed to be fun live, but my skepticism about hockey has been well-documented here. Surprisingly, I had a great time. I’m not saying hockey is awesome, but it was definitely a good time. There were some funny moments mixed in with some sheer confusion. Here are a few observations I made:

• The pre-game montage was not as cool as the Bulls montage.
• Why does everyone scream throughout the national anthem? Seemed a bit disrespectful to me. What exactly was everyone cheering about? America? The Hawks? I don’t get it.
• I think I finally get offsides. I mean I understand the rule and how it works. Offsides was called at least three times in this game and I still could not pick up on why it was called.
• Those girls that clean up the ice are very sexy. That being said, are they nuts in those skimpy outfits on the ice? Speaking of which the whole United Center was freezing. I would have brought a scarf and a sweater if I had known. Very uncomfortable.
• The whole thing about not being able to see the puck, especially around the goal? Not as big a deal as I thought it would be (at least live, on TV its still impossible). Regardless, when they were around the crease, I just watched the net to see if the puck ended up in it. Why did they get rid of that thing on TV where the puck was a different, brighter color?
• What is interference? How come some hits are interference and some aren’t? It sounds like a lame penalty anyways.
• Some guy won the “Upgrade Your Seat” prize. They showed him up on the big screen. He had a mullet.
• I love saying “Huet”. Hue-Ay! Hoo-Ey! Hwe!
• At some point during the game, Ben Eager got a penalty for something. The second he came out of the penalty box, he made a beeline for one of the Sabres and came flying in and punched the guy in the head in front of both benches. Awesome. He then got 6 minutes in the box. Why 6? I don’t know, but the Hawks were down a man for what was essentially 8 minutes but it felt like they were the ones with the power play. They looked very sharp. Nice “Kill”.
• I was NOT the most ignorant hockey fan there. With the score 3-1 Hawks and about 10 minutes left in the 2nd period, some idiot behind me turned to his son and said “They are probably going to pull the goalie soon”. He was serious.
• The Blackhawks had 6 guys on the ice at least 3 times, though they only got called for it once. Is that normal? Seems to me that would reflect poorly on the coach.
• In between the 2nd and 3rd period they had some kind of contest where a fans get three shots to make a goal. One of the contestants was a gorgeous woman from Orange County. She had high heel knee high hooker boots on and an extremely skanky outfit. She made the goal.
• I think it was the 3rd period when the Hawks had a 4 on 3. It was only for about a minute, but everyone got really excited. Why? All I could see was ice. Why would people want less players on the ice?

All in all, the game was exciting and fun. The Hawks won 4-1. The crowd was definitely a lot more into the game than any NBA crowd I’ve seen outside the playoffs. I’m not fully sold on hockey yet, but this game definitely went a long way towards making me appreciate it more. Go Hawks!

There are few things in sports I appreciate more than a good promotional night at a minor league sporting event. Okay, so I’ve only been to one of these things, which was a minor league hockey game where the home team wore Chiefs jerseys and the Hanson brothers from Slapshot were there.

January 30th, the Las Vegas Wranglers, a minor league hockey team, will host Rod Blagojevich Night. Yes! The players will wear jerseys with prison stripes and good seats will be sold to the highest bidders. Do prisoners even wear stripes anymore? No matter.

No word yet on whether they will have players posing as Blagojevich and Daley getting into a fight, but this sounds funny. Also, nice work getting this together in about a week.

That’s right. Hockey. Get used to it. The regular season opener for the Blackhawks is October 10th, so it’s time to remind you that hockey really does still exist, and that the Hawks are going to be pretty damn good this year. As these words are hitting the e-paper, the Blackhawks front office is taking care of one of the team’s glaring problems. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin seems to be on his way out of town.

Last season, Chicago would have made the playoffs if it weren’t for an abissmal January that included an eight game losing streak and only four wins in the month. After adding youth in recent years, Hawks management hit the free agency pool with a vengeance this year, picking up all-star defenseman Brian Campbell and goaltender Cristobal Huet. Campbell will be great on the power-play and should team with Duncan Keith to form one of the league’s best duos on the blue line. Huet comes into a great situation with Bulin leaving town. Youngster Corey Crawford should push Huet just a little, but Cristobal and his sweet name will be the #1 coming into the year.

Almost all of the excitement when it comes to the Blackhawks though focuses on the youth. Kane, Toews, and Sharp are names you will be hearing all season long. Sharp, at 26 is the oldest of the trio, and led the team with 36 goals last season. Kane, 19, led the Hawks in points and assists and just kept improving as the season went on. The 20-year-old Toews battled injury last season, but still managed a highlight or two.

Forwards Robert Lang and Jason Williams made their ways out of Chicago in the offseason, so the youngsters will have to carry even more of the load. A resurgence from Martin Havlat wouldn’t hurt either. Havlat has not lived up to expectations in his short stint in Chicago and if he gets it together this season, watch out.

The defensemen look strong as well with the addition of Campbell. It should be Campbell and Keith going against teams’ top lines, with Seabrook, Barker, Wisniewski, Hendry, and Byfuglien in the mix.

I couldn’t go through a Blackhawks preview without mentioning the New Year’s Day game at Wrigley Field against the Red Wings. Hockey fan or not, this is a must-see event between two franchises with amazing tradition.

So where do the Blackhawks end up this year? The playoffs of course. Really.

• Bulgaria loses in hockey 82-0. Yeah, 82-0.
• Cubs lose in walk-off fashion. Again.
• Good news for Z and Harden. Both will be making their next starts. Everyone just needs to breath and stay calm.
• White Sox lose first game of doubleheader, then lose Konerko, then lose second game of doubleheader.
• Wahh? Could Quentin be back sooner than we think?
• Bulls new ad campaign shows hardly any of the Bulls players. Fair enough, since they did all suck last year.
• ESPN experts get it wrong again, Bears vault up power rankings after Week 1.
• Speaking of Week 1 of the NFL, God chimes in on the results.
• Welcome back Fred Miller. I hope you brought your guns.