The Critic

Oh, and thank goodness Orton punted Flair's skull. Flair needs to just stop. He looks like the last days of Dick the Bruiser. It's over, Ric. Become a manager, become an announcer, whatever, but an in-ring performer? Please, no.

QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 02:39 PM) The Rocky segment was worthless. But I've thought he's been hilarious aside from that in his role as a madman shareholder. I loved when he interviewed himself, faced off with Kurt Angle in his office, and declared that he only wanted to defend the title once a year. I don't know, he just seems less....something. I don't know if he's lacking energy, or enthusiasm, or inspiration, but something's definitely missing in my opinion. Maybe it's just the generally flat feel of the TNA production, I'm not sure. But I haven't been able to remember much of anything he's done, and that's new for me. He usually gives me a funny line to quote for a couple days.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 29, 2009 -> 03:18 PM) Yeah he was great in Everything is Illuminated. And the Congress is still pretty dumpy. What a great venue it's be if they could get the funds to do a proper renovation. Can't the city pick up part of the tab since it's most likely a historical landmark? s***, where are our outrageous tax dollars going? Olympic bids, shrubs in parks, anything touristy.

I really enjoyed Up. My daughter did look at me a couple times as if to say "Dad, that was really sad!" but she enjoyed it too. Really solid story and the usual high-quality Pixar production.

I can't help but wonder what this thread would look like if Derrick Rose was a Piston, Cavalier or Laker.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 28, 2009 -> 10:28 AM) Wait? You root for the Hawks AND the Wings? yuck. Yep. #1 and 2 favorite NHL teams. Became a fan of both teams at a very young age. I don't believe in rivalries, I just like watching sports.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 28, 2009 -> 08:39 AM) Sorry, my whole life I've been waiting for a Cup, you've had how many in the last two decades? Dude, I've been waiting my whole life too! They won their last one 2 years before I was born! The Detroit Cups are "consolation prizes" to me. My first sports heartbreaks were 1971 and 1973 - god-damned Canadiens!

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ May 28, 2009 -> 08:22 AM) Amazing game...crap goal to end it. What I really hope is that the Wings have taken notice. That the young 'hawks are coming up behind them...and fast. Great game by Huet...stepped up when needed and kicked some ass. Awesome backhander by Kane. I think that's going to be his "signature." I think that was the second time he did that in the playoffs. Blackhawks...hell of a season. Now take some time off...and get ready for next year! Yeah, the Wings are getting older and the Hawks are rising - although I did like what I saw from a few of the younger guys the Wings plugged in when Datsyuk, Lidstrom and Draper went down. Still, though, the Hawks are definitely on the upswing, but it's going to take some shrewd cap wrangling to shore things up in the next few years to both keep the core guys and get reinforcements. I don't see enough IcePigs games to speak intelligently on who may or may not be coming up soon.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 28, 2009 -> 08:33 AM) I think your heart's had enough happiness in the last two decades. Why you tryin' to hurt my heart, man??? ....Like there's such a thing as "enough happiness", anyway....

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 27, 2009 -> 08:24 PM) Alright who takes the cup? I got Wings in 6. Heart says Wings in 7. Head says Pens in 6. I want my heart to be correct.

QUOTE (Drew @ May 24, 2009 -> 08:40 PM) Considering this is the Bears/Packers, Yankees/Red Sox of the NHL—does not compute. The classic aesthetic of their crest and uniforms are the only things I don't loathe and despise about the Red Wings. And even then, I can still hardly bear to look at them. Here's how this happened: I was a kid in the 70's. The Hawks were NEVER on TV other than road games, the Red Wings were always on the Saturday afternoon Game Of The Week, I liked the team and the uniform, and there ya go. The Hawks/Wings thing didn't seem as retarded as it is now, and maybe that's because the Hawks were "only" a decade removed from their last Cup, not the 40+ years they are now. So maybe the Hawk fans back then weren't as jealous of Detroit's success as they are now.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ May 24, 2009 -> 07:10 PM) To be fair, The Critic is at least twice the Red Wings fan I am. As long as there is a Wirtz tied to the Blackhawks franchise, I'll never root for them. It's true, I do love the Red Wings. However, they are my second NHL love, and my first love (the Hawks) are making me crazy right now. It seemed today like they expected to win just by showing up, since there was no Datsyuk and no Lidstrom. Then when things didn't go their way, they started gooning it up and taking stupid, selfish penalties instead of trying to save some face by making a game of it.

I was sickened by the Hawks' lack of poise and focus today. It was so much more important to them to "send messages" than it was to try to win the game. Kris Versteeg was a moron today. The most glaring message this game sent is how important Nikolai Khabibulin is to this team. I fear for the future if the goaltending tandem is Cristobal Huet and a kid backup.

QUOTE (daa84 @ May 22, 2009 -> 08:06 PM) well its not like khabibulin had really been playing that well...but obviously it doesnt bode well. I thought Khabibulin has had a strong series for the most part. I have a lot more confidence in him than I do in Huet or Crawford, that's for sure. Maybe Huet being rested for the past month will serve him well? Please??

Incredible. The Red Wings had the jump on the Hawks right after that first goal. Hawks need to come out HARD in the 3rd and take control back from them.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2009 -> 06:44 PM) I agree, and so does Eddie O. And FWIW, I have a sneaking suspscion that not scoring on that 5 minute PP, is going to bite the Hawks. Not if the Wings keep ending up in the box. The main thing the Hawks have to worry about now is "even-up" calls.

Sorry, but that was not an interference penalty. If you wanted to call an elbow, maybe, but the puck was between Havlat's feet so there's no way that was interference. And certainly not a 5-minute interference.

The end of Impact last night was absolutely awful. Foley teased fighting a "former world champion" to prepare for the PPV. They brought out a cardboard cutout of Stallone as Rocky Balboa with a robe on the cutout, and Foley had a "match" against it. It wasn't funny - not even one bit, except for the crowd chanting "Rocky! Rocky!". Foley's work in TNA is actually making me wonder how much the WWE writers made him funny, or whether his multiple head injuries are finally catching up to him.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 21, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) anyone seen Vince McMahon vs the City of Denver? swerve!!! I marked out when the city of Denver turned heel and joined the Corporation. Whatcha gonna doooooooo, Boulder???

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 20, 2009 -> 01:00 PM) Question is did they mistake Lillibridge as one of the children? Well, the 3 year old did keep saying "What? Just make contact? f*** that, I can hit homers!"

QUOTE (Sonik22 @ May 12, 2009 -> 02:03 PM) That game last night was awesome. I don't really care about all the bandwagon fans, it's fun to see people that don't really care for hockey getting excited about this. I've been a Hawks fan my whole life, I remember how excited i was for our playoff series against the Blues in 2002. This is 15416541x better I'm going to go ahead and round that up to 15416550x better.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ May 12, 2009 -> 10:27 AM) I'm going to call a spade a spade and say that Campbell has been fantastic this series. To me, this is one of the first times all season he is playing to all his strengths, and its showing. Pinching up in the offensive zone to help the play out, great puck movement up the ice, and solid point production. He still is going to get beat in his own end, thats never going to change, but if his level of play stays the way it's been over this series, his contract will be easier to stomach. Krush talked about it earlier, and he is right. At this point, the Hawks are playing with house money. Obviously they are going to be on the heels vs. Detroit, but if I'm Q, I tell these guys to play their own game, and see what happens. Take some chances, and see what happens. Call me crazy, but right now I think Detroit is a better matchup for the Hawks. I know they only beat the Wings on that last weekend, but the way they're playing right now, I think the built-in rush of facing a divisional opponent (and the buzz that the home crowd and the travelling Detroit crowd would provide) would serve them well. Plus, the Wings are just a little older than the Ducks, and Osgood always looks more beatable than Hiller to me.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ May 11, 2009 -> 11:51 PM) And f*** all this 'the rest of this is gravy' talk after the Calgary series. IT'S STILL GRAVY TO ME, DAMMIT!!

QUOTE (knightni @ May 10, 2009 -> 12:24 PM) No one gets the joke. Or maybe it just wasn't funny.

f***ing idiots running the NHL decided that Scott Walker throwing a punch at a still-gloved Aaron Ward was not a suckerpunch. No suspension, just a fine. Maybe it's better that way. Walker better have his head on a swivel tomorrow night.