Bananarchy

Panik scores. Poor effort by Rinne. 2-0

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 07:54 PM) That was a beautiful goal The crowd thought it was a save. Hilarious.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 07:45 PM) Anisimov says "Don't forget about me, I'm good at hockey too!" Great contributions from the second two lines.

Anisimov scores. 1-0 Hawks.

Teuvo having a monster period with nothing to show for it thusfar.

Halfway through the first, shots 7-3 Preds. Hawks are having trouble with entry into the offensive zone.

Got to get to Rinne early. He's been awful of late.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 03:24 PM) I live in Austin. Of course I love guacamole.

I'm skeptical of moneyball working as well outside of baseball. The other three major team sports are significantly less individualized than the MLB. Baseball is just less centered around "fit" with other players. Chemistry isn't as big of an issue in Baseball as in the NFL, NBA, NHL.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 03:15 PM) 10 years ago also was the peak attendance of the franchise. The thing is, they drew a lot more last year than any year before Reinsdorf owned the team. My thought exactly. The White Sox don't have real "lack of fan" problems. They have "Bad baseball" problems. They have a strong enough fanbase when they're good, but that's true for most teams.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 03:25 PM) They got Bickell and Scuderi coming off the books after next season. That's 6 million right there. That's not counting Danault and Hartman who will both probably replace Kruger and Shaw.. they'll be fine. I completely forgot. I cannot wait for that day. Panarin will likely fill a lot of that, but he's definitely worth it.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 03:19 PM)

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 02:58 PM) Are you Tony's personal spokesperson? Asking for a friend Tony and I have been at odds in the past, but I have come to like the guy. But no, I don't speak for Tony. I can only defend GarPax in that the league is so star centric that no one player on the Bulls fits the mold that beats LeBron, Curry, or the Spurs juggernaut en route to a championship. But trust me, I'm tired of the GarPax experiment, too. I'm not sure what we can do better here, though.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 02:27 PM) Vincent Goodwill ‏@vgoodwill 21m21 minutes ago Fred Hoiberg said Joakim Noah underwent successful shoulder surgery this morning. And Mike Dunleavy has done non-contact drills for 2 days Can Dunleavy play winger?

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 01:48 PM) Last I checked LeBron didn't win last year. He's actually only won twice in over twelve years in the league. So what the heck are you talking about? 5 consecutive finals appearances. Let's talk about the game plan we need to follow to match the teams that have beaten LeBron. 1) Golden State - Draft the best shooter in NBA history with the number 7 pick overall. Draft the second best shooter in the NBA to play with him. 2) San Antonio - Have Greg Popovich hire himself. Be bad at just the right time to draft a Hall of Famer. Grab one of the best defensive players in the game and put him on LeBron. Make sure a perennial All Star playing on the west coast wants to play with you. 3) Dallas - Have an all time great center and play LeBron when the Heat are still putting the team together. What's your plan? The Spurs are the true NBA dynasty. The Warriors are essentially lucky. Who are we going to hire to fix the Bulls?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 02:20 PM) It would be a lot easier if they didn't give a certain D-man a very long extension this past offseason. I still think that one is gonna bite the most. Agreed. The 7 contract is the new Bickell contract. I don't want to pay Brent Seabrook when he's almost 40. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll age like Hossa, but Hossa's longevity is special. Between aging Hossa, post prime Keith and Seabrook, some cap magic may be necessary. The recapture penalty is just nuts. The current workaround is the Flyers' Pronger situation, but I doubt the Hawks will be able to put three players on LTIR like Pronger.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 02:05 PM) I don't even know if we'll be able to sign Panarin long-term. Depends what kind of bridge contract he wants. The problem is, if he wants Saad money, you might be right. I tend to believe they'll make room for Panarin. Not sure what it will cost, however.

The only thing Paxson and Forman are guilty of is not having LeBron James. Period. Only one team in the league gets LeBron. The Bulls didn't. That sucks.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 12:16 PM) Good for Scott, s***ty for the Hawks. The Hawks are in cap hell every offseason for the foreseeable future. As long as the Cap remains reasonably flat, the big contracts are going to be a problem. Tony said it best, at some point the bottom will drop out on this and the Hawks will become a more fringe playoff team at which point drafting and smart contracts for younger players will shape future success. In the short term, it will be interesting to see how the Hawks manage to fit Panarin into their future plans. I will say this. Having not been to the UC since the Hawks weren't on TV, the lasting impact of Toews, Kane, Rocky, McDonough et al is a lot more than Cups. That environment is electric and exciting and Chicago is the new Hockeytown USA.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:45 PM) No. GS is the top dog. Irresistible force and immovable object. I think a seven game series could go either way.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 08:45 PM) Umm, yes. There is definitely "a question", but the Spurs are probably better than GS when it comes down to it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 04:16 PM) And I am totally bummed about Noah. Obviously I respect Jordan more than anything, but I think Jo is my all time favorite Bull. I appreciate what Noah was, but Noah doesn't fit anymore.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 02:46 PM) f*** that talentless plug. QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 03:55 PM) +2 He's a player, he was voted in per the rules. He should go. And don't get me wrong, I don't like him as a player, but I completely understand a guy who makes the league minimum wanting to play (as he was voted on) for the chance to win a large sum of money for a bottom of the barrel player. He should be able to play.

Sooo many pictures to post later. Awesome game!!

I'm so ready to be at Sunday's game. Fly out tomorrow morning. It's so cold in Chicago. How did I ever handle it?