IlliniKrush

Absolutely insane last minute of regulation. 20-3 LA shots in the 3rd.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 07:52 PM) I wonder what it's like not to have lived through the really down dogs*** years and not really caring? Are you somehow bragging about not caring about the down years? Reaching the top of the mountain feels so much better when you started at the bottom. That goes for any team with any sport. When you live the lows, the highs are higher. I can't imagine what winning a championship feels like when you jump on right at the end, or only when the team is good. Maybe I'll be a Heat fan starting right now and test it. I'm guessing I'll feel nothing. QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 10:08 PM) Exactly. Bandwagon? No s***. This organization was the worst in the world, consistently, for years. Why the hell would they have any fans whatsoever? Why would 20-25 year olds have given a s*** about the Blackhawks when they were 10-15 years old? One reason I hate some of the bandwagon fans is because they were the ones mocking hockey, the Hawks, and fans. Making fun of people for following the team and going to games, or hockey in general. Now? They think the Hawks and hockey are the coolest things ever. Those people can f*** right off.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 06:14 PM) I could be totally wrong, but I have hunch it's going to be a very slow and quiet off-season for the Hawks. Hossa is going to be 36, Sharp is going to be 33, and a few of these guys are looking like they have a lot of miles on them. I think Bowman is going to spend most of the off-season trying to lock up Toews and Kane to creative extensions, and give this core one more shot to make a run in 2015. If they fail, that's when you start seeing bigger pieces moved. Now, you could argue that they should be ahead of the curve and start moving these guys when their value could be higher, and to be honest I wouldn't disagree with that logic, but I just don't see Bowman making any significant changes yet. I think they are one off-season away from that. Just my hunch. I don't disagree with this, I just don't like it. I'd like a dman moved for forward depth in the top 6 or 9, but not sure it'll happen. Bowman just keeps saying "I like our team." The problem is some of the issues he didn't address last off season and through this year (2C, offensive depth) came back to haunt them. The bottom 6 was brutal compared to where it was last year or in 2010. I really hope he doesn't just stand pat and say "well, we were close, so same team again should work." QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 07:23 PM) And that one playoff appearance was awful. We drove up from Champaign and bought tickets at the gate the day of for game 4.. The Hawks were in the midst of a like a 200+ minute goalless streak at the hands of Brent Johnson. I was at both games 3 and 4. I remember game 3 was sold out and rocking. Game 4 wasn't even a sell out (though close), the top of the 300 level behind the nets and corners wasn't full. Where were you sitting? Do you remember the brawl in 329/330 at the very end of the game? I was in 326. And Brent Johnson was a 3rd defensemen that series, his puckhandling was ridiculous.

NHL playoffs a showcase for bad goalie contracts: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hock...rticle18949384/

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 12:06 PM) Chris De Luca ‏@ChrisDeLuca 36m Also #Blackhawks and #LAKings G7 Sunday the most-watched NHL game ever on NBCSN; and the most-watched non-Olympic program ever on NBCSN. Seems like a lot of people were able to find the channel. QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 12:42 PM) I think there is a good chance Oduya is gone. Would like to see Stephen Johns or Adam Clendening get a chance to make the roster. I think one of Oduya, Leddy, or Seabrook will be moved to try to shore up the depth up front.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 02:40 AM) Since you can't argue against anything I posted, you resort to this, per usual. What a shocker. But hey, "2 kings goals were invalid." QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 08:41 AM) At worst, the puck was contacted level with the cross bar. Do you know a board we can go to where people who've liked the sport longer than 4 years and tune in beyond the playoffs go? I can't stand it in this thread any longer. I don't know man, we've got some pretty good stuff here. A good point was made. I definitely think we need to get rid of Seabrook. If Crawford is sleeping with his wife (AND he's 5 months pregnant), that's just not good for team chemistry. Plus, you get gems like "who do the Kings even have besides the Kopitar line?" I'm still waiting to figure that out.

First of all, that's not 2 Kings goals. It's the same Carter goal in both. That photo shows absolutely nothing. So his stick was above the cross bar at some point. So what. Can't see the puck contact there. The replays they showed, which we all saw, showed that it wasn't a high stick. The puck was contacted at or below the bar.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 04:13 PM) That's fair. I wasn't really meaning up in the pits, but at the belt or a little higher, a lot of times they're called balls. Gotcha. I've just heard so many people quote the old "arm pits to knees" without really thinking about how ridiculous that would look in today's game. I'm game for about one ball above the belt. I think that's workable. So many hitters b**** about balls right at the belt called strikes, which is just ridiculous.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 04:01 PM) Are you people seriously watching games and looking at your watch wishing it was over 20 minutes sooner? There's a huge difference between a game going 3:30+ and 2:45. But even so, it's boring as hell to watch guys stand around all game and delay the game on purpose. A nice pace of play makes things a lot more interesting. QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 04:02 PM) Pitchers- stay on the mound Hitters- stay in the box Call high strikes. There's no way in hell you're going to get strikes called letter high, or "at the arm pits." You want 1-0 games, you'll have them every game if that's the case. The game has changed, guys are throwing harder. You simply can't hit fastballs up there, it's much harder than hitting a low pitch. Guys are striking out enough right now, and scoring is down. That's not the problem. It's the first 2 things you mentioned.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 03:50 PM) Its not the players fault for taken advantage of a broken system, its the lack of enforcement. The umpires are not entirely responsible either, this needs to be something that MLB says that they are going to start being serious about and then give the umps the instruction and support to enforce the letter of the law. The umpires aren't responsible at all, this is all on the players. They want to move the game along, it's the players and managers that slow it down. One thing that really bugs me is Hawk b****ing about replay can sometimes take too long. But then the next inning, he'll talk to Steve about how the hitter should step out as many times as possible, waste time, interrupt the pitcher's rhythm, and slow the game down to a grinding halt. Completely contradicts himself. Can't have it both ways.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 02:24 PM) Good article. If the umps would enforce the fricking rules as well as call the correct strike zone, baseball would be watchable again. 12 seconds to deliver a pitch? Yeah, right. Good luck with that. Umps won't enforce it unfortunately. QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 03:12 PM) Bmags, all the umps have to do is enforce the 12 second rule, and the rule where batters can't leave the box, but they won't do it. They should all be fired and start over with umps. They are the one organization that does whatever the f*** they want to do. It amazes me. Whoa whoa whoa there killer. Please, this isn't the umpires fault by any means. This is how the game has evolved, unfortunately. The first time someone calls a strike on a batter for breaking the batter's box rule, you're going to have an ejection. And that umpire is going to shoot himself in the foot because he'll be the only guy doing it, and eventually lose his job because of all the issues he'll face. This isn't high school baseball, where I can enforce whatever I want (even there I still have to use a lot of judgment on these rules). Those guys simply do what they are told by their bosses. You can't pin this on them. This is above the umpires. This has to come down from MLB as a point of emphasis, be explained to everyone, then implemented, with the league having their back. Someone does this right now? The league is not going to have their back, it's going to be a "what the f*** do you think you're doing out there?" Believe me, the umpires are all for better pace of play. Baseball needs to eliminate as much dead time as possible. Put the blame where it belongs - the players.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 12:13 PM) Obviously we need more regulation to prevent 12 year olds from obtaining dangerous knives. Hey if it was a gun she likely would have been dead. Wait maybe that's not it. If she had a gun she could have defended herself? That's it.

Good article on unwritten rules of baseball. Lot of funny Brandon McCarthy stuff too: http://www.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1096...unwritten-rules

Putting this here since a lot of discussion in this thread has been about pace of play: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/...action/related/

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 11:30 AM) Figure of speech, not to be taken literally. Kings are no slouches in game 7 on the road. They won their last 2 series that way and you know they say the trend is your friend. I get it, but you can take it literally. Their other game 7's were after a 3-0 comeback and a 3-2 comeback. This is blowing a 3-1 lead. The Kings are far from where they wanted to be. They aren't slouches because of past series - we've had 6 games to realize they aren't slouches and this is a pretty damn even series. Regardless, trends of games played in other series, Kings or Hawks, have zero to do with this game. There's nothing to point to regarding those sorts of things that say "well X team will probably win because of that." It's one game, may the best team win.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 08:23 AM) Let's not forget the Kings were down 3-0 against the Sharks and , 3-2 to the Ducks . They have won 2 game 7's on the road. They could very well have the Hawks right where they want us. Should be epic. The Hawks are 13-0 in games 5 , 6 , 7 in the last 3? playoffs , while the Kings are 5-0 while facing elimination. Something's gotta give. If the Kings had the Hawks exactly where they wanted them, the series would have been over Friday. Doughty said "we can't let this get to a game 7."

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 31, 2014 -> 12:43 AM) Dude I'm the worst jinx. You should thank me. I'm getting updates and I am watching it now. Literally I've only seem LA goals this series. It's weird as hell and it stings. You're not a jinx. Nothing you do affects what happens during the game. Not sure how you don't watch the most important games of the season. Live with the ebb and flow and emotions.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 30, 2014 -> 05:59 PM) There's a lot of money to be made being good at what you do. The guy who comes up with the way to prevent pitching injuries is going to make a bunch of money Float it.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 30, 2014 -> 10:25 PM) However this one ends, this is one of the best games I have ever watched in my life. The 2003 Blackhawks say f*** you, Steve. But yeah, this series has just been legit f***ing hockey. QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 30, 2014 -> 10:50 PM) Btw. I saw 3 LA goals and no hawks goals. Such a jinx. What the hell are you doing not watching these games? Weird. QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 30, 2014 -> 11:06 PM) I called it last year against the Redwings. #iamtheblackhawks Let's not jinx it. See ya Sunday.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 30, 2014 -> 05:57 PM) I've gotta say, it's been several years now where every game the Hawks play, the story is about how good the other goalie is. Our goalie very often surrenders fewer goals than opposing super-goalie. Not a peep. Crawford isn't always great and we're going to hate that contract, but the broadcasting tandem had the Hawks losing Game 5 when we were up 3-1. Tuuka, Quick, Howard, Miller, whoever. I've seen our guy beat 'em. I'd like to see someone talk about Crawford as if he's not a swinging door for once. It's one of those deals where every goal allowed confirms that he sucks and no great game or series or playoffs ever matters. I hope he saves the end of our series like he did in Minnesota Story from who? Just the broadcasters? You can say "our goalie surrenders fewer goals" but all that really means is that the Hawks scored more goals than the other team. It doesn't say how many shots were faced, what type of goals went in, etc. Rask is better than Crawford. So is Quick. So if the story is that Quick is better than Crawford, that bothers you? I'm not sure how you can argue against that this series. Miller? Not too sure anyone thought he was better than Crawford - at least anyone that watched the end of the season. Should I bring up Mike Smith and Phoenix in 2011? Maybe the worst Crawford has ever played. He sure as hell didn't beat Mike Smith that series. Crawford hasn't played well this series. Can't argue against that. Quick has made tougher and timelier stops all series. Crawford isn't a swinging door, but to me he's only a slightly above average goalie. Maybe he's near the top of the 2nd tier of goalies? That's about as far as I'd go with him. The team in front of him makes him look a whole lot better than he is. Crawford absolutely needs to play great one or both of these next two games to advance. Dial up Crawford 2011 game 7 Vancouver. That's the best he's ever played. You get that tonight and we'll see you Sunday.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 30, 2014 -> 01:37 PM) I hear Pope Francis has a pretty mean forecheck. Does he want to play wing on the 4th line?

8:00 yet?

As far as I'm concerned, we can be done talking about him. You don't hold a scholarship for him at this point. Go recruit the open scholarship hard.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 29, 2014 -> 09:44 PM) Good for King Henrik. Would like to see him win a cup one day, but not this year cause the Hawks still have six wins in them. The Rangers aren't as good as the Kings, but Henrik is tough to beat. Montreal down a goal going into the 3rd and the Rangers dominate the period. Would have loved to get that to go 7. But I guess Messier guaranteed victory.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 28, 2014 -> 08:51 PM) Even if they snuck past with a miracle I think the Rangers are better. I'm not sure how much of the playoffs or this ECF you've watched, but no f***ing way are the Rangers better than the Kings. They aren't even better than the Hawks. That ECF has been clown shoes.