Bananarchy

Dallas is the new Sharks. Calling it now

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 11:01 PM) For example. I'm watching Fla v NYI and neither of these teams can win the cup. The East is just easier to pick, too. Lightning can't win in their current situation.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 10:53 PM) Reverse jinxing I see. If St. Louis knocks out the Hawks the Stars have a tougher road. They match up better vs the Hawks tha. St. Louis imo Oh, for sure. But while the Hawks have been somewhat questionable for much of this series, Dallas has gone through worse periods.

Of the teams leading their series, I don't think the Stars can win the cup. They don't look good against a hurt, bad minnesota team.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 06:30 PM) If this is true, the White Sox should spare no expense to take him from the Blackhawks. Attendance problem solved. One fewer thread on SoxTalk. You're damn right they should. But that's not a move up for McDonough.

I dunno about steroids. He ran out of gas in the playoffs. That's supposed to be uncharacteristic of steroid users.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 03:35 PM) Wait... what? Profitability of the hockey team is as important as winning Cups? I'm very confused.. I mean, unless you want the salary cap to stagnate like it has. Profitability of teams have far reaching implications on the league. It has never been more evident than right now, when most of the NHL's profit is in Canadian dollars and the Canadian dollar is weak. It would be far better for the league to be more profitable in both countries.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 03:24 PM) I get both points. They complement each other. He's maybe the premier sports marketer, but McDonough has had very little to do with winning 3 Stanley Cups in 6 years on the ice. That's obviously a lot to work with, but what he's done with it has been phenomenal. Agreed on this. If McDonough can drive this team to profitability, that's arguably 1/1A important as the cups.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 03:05 PM) If the Hawks didn't have the superstars behind the brand, no one would still care about them. It is easy to ride the coattails of a team that is winning, which is exactly what McDonough has done. Good players draw good ratings. Well marketed good players draw Blackhawks ratings. You call it riding the coattails, but the reality is, McDonough has used winning to enhance the brand, something no two players can do. It's okay if you don't understand, but the reality is, marketing is what separates the Blackhawks from most other organizations. They outdraw everyone like it's Canada. And I remember Kane getting drafted. No one here cared. And your argument is a bad one. It doesn't at all detract from what McDonough has done.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 02:55 PM) Please. Some dudes named Kane and Toews did that. Perhaps you have heard of them? That's not how a brand works. There's a reason it works in some cities and not in others, no matter how good your team gets. If it were all about Toews and Kane, the Hawks would have been ruined last summer. It's not. That Blackhawks brand is a lot bigger than any one (or two) players anymore.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 12:21 PM) F McDonough. Who the hell is he throwing Pat Foley under the bus nationally for saying something that the whole fan base has been saying. Chris De Luca ‏@ChrisDeLuca 20m20 minutes ago No surprise: McDonough called Bettman to say he wasn't happy with Foley's comment. Commish says call unnecessary, not a #Blackhawks issue. Yeah, F the guy that made the Blackhawks a megabrand

QUOTE (shipps @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 08:36 AM) Bill Polian was saying on Dave Kaplan's radio show that he thinks Norman is a product of the system and not so much a true shutdown qb because of ability. I kind of trust Polian. Not worried about the "system" thing. Fangio can use anything, but Norman is going to want something like $13 million per. Bad deal. Let San Francisco waste that money.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 12:51 AM) I think the Hawks are something like 72083628263 and 1 in game 6's under Q. Doesn't mean anything for this one but is note worthy. Right, but most of those are to close out a series. I would expect insanity from the Blues Saturday night.

QUOTE (Tony @ Apr 21, 2016 -> 11:18 PM) Ugh, dragging this out now. (I know I'm being a total prick, I'm just so disappointed with this series performance). This game is just frustrating. You feel like they should have finished. I have a hard time seeing this team winning 3 games in a row against St. Louis.

I can't believe a Q team is 2nd in the league in bench minors.

Whoa. Schwartz gets it right back. Poor positioning in the paint for Crawford.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 21, 2016 -> 09:34 PM) I had bedtime duty at 8:45 so I tried to pull the DVR and watch on delay move, but I didn't have it in me and just fast forwarded through the period. Looks like I made a smart decision, I didn't miss much. 36 hits or whatever. That's a lot of hitting and a genuinely uninspired effort so far.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 21, 2016 -> 09:32 PM) His last game in the NHL. It sounds like he will still play in the KHL next year, just wants to be in Russia full-time. But yeah, excellent career. Correct. Thanks, you're right.

Pavel Datsyuk appears to have played his last game in hockey. Excellent career.

While it seems unnecessary, a no hitter is a no hitter. Dang the Cubs are nuts.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Apr 21, 2016 -> 10:19 AM) When Bowman gave up Dano and Danault at the deadline, getting Ladd was great but I would have preferred a defensive upgrade rather than the two depth forwards they ended up with. I felt the same way. But it is what it is. The series isn't over yet.

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 21, 2016 -> 07:37 AM) Bears looking at Brian Hoyer, maybe? I'm okay with that. there aren't any good backups in this game.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Apr 21, 2016 -> 01:51 AM) But mental handicaps are not? By the way, I'm not referring to any particular players or instances of the R-word being used, just kind of curious as to what groups the NHL might decide to stand up for, and what other groups they choose to ignore the slurs for. I'm sure the R word is not okay, but it's also not the focus of a Blackhawks/NHL partnership.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Apr 20, 2016 -> 11:19 PM) I don't mean would he have been able to get away with it, I just mean if we KNEW that he was calling a player the R-word. Where do you draw the line with offended groups of people? The league has made it clear that sexual preference is off limits.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Apr 20, 2016 -> 10:50 PM) If Shaw had used the R-word on camera, would he have gotten suspended? Probably not on camera because the F words he used are really easy to lip read, "retarded" probably isn't. But the homophobic thing is a problem in this NHL, which has been about inclusion moreso than any other major sports league. This is strongly against their message and the NHL made that 100% clear.