So this happened early on Columbus Day...

 I've been meaning to post about this for a while, the Black Hawks statue outside of the United Center was vandalized by an unknown party. There is a tweet about this that I won't share on here. You can check it out with this Sun-Times article.

Remember a few days ago I showed a video from Portland, OR where vandals were trying to pull down statues of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. I understand that happened on what was called a day of rage before Columbus Day. Basically rage from America's indigenous people, and Lincoln & Roosevelt presented the colonizers to whoever pulled down those statues.

Meanwhile at some point on Monday morning someone held their own "day of rage" event by putting down plenty of grafitti saying various things as land back, no racist mascots, decolonize, and interestingly fcuk your advisory committee Lori, get Wirtz off board and defund CPD. Hmmm, Black Hawks owner Rocky Wirtz is on what board.

Well the Black Hawks is controversial as the team is named for a Native American figure and in turn named for an historic First World War unit. The logo is of a Native American which over the years the NHL franchise had been called on to change, however, its also noted the Hawks have supported various Native American organizations in the area over the years.

Thankfully, the Hawks haven't followed suit with another team that used an image of a Native American the Washington Redskins now the Washington Football team.

Also I wonder what Native American language is the term zhigaagoong - referring to the Chicago area - derived from. It's a new one to me. 

The Chicago Black Hawks make a change on coaching staff.

While awaiting WWE SmackDown Live and the results of the 2018 midterm elections this caught my eye today. And interestingly since I unveiled my new "Champs" page here on the blog. This caused me to say woah today...
From the Sun-Times

Before practice, the Hawks announced a coaching staff overhaul, which included the firing of coach Joel Quenneville and his assistant coaches, Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson.

Rockford IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton replaced Quenneville as the 38th head coach in Hawks’ history.

The Hawks also named Barry Smith, who most recently served as the director of player evaluation for the Hawks, as an assistant coach on Colliton’s staff. The rest of the coaching staff is expected to stay with the team.

There’s no doubt that Quenneville, who has a Hall of Fame resume, is one of the most successful coaches in the history of both the Hawks franchise and NHL. His three Stanley Cups in six seasons speak for themselves. But after missing the playoffs last season, which was Quenneville’s first losing campaign in his 21-year coaching career, and a slow 6-6-3 start through 15 games this season, something had to give.

General manager Stan Bowman said the decision to part with Quenneville, the second-winningest coach in franchise history (452-249-96 in 797 games since 2008), was “very difficult.” He also clarified that Quenneville’s firing wasn’t based on one specific incident, although the Hawks’ most recent road trip was “concerning.”

Yeah, I remember they missed the playoffs last year. Just three years after winning their last Stanley Cup. An unexpected result to those of us used to the Hawks going to the playoffs during the course of the 2010s. Here's hoping Colliton brings the Hawks back to the dance this year.

And perhaps Coach Q isn't ready to retire from coaching in the NHL yet.

#HawksWin Puck Dynasty

I saw the final period of last night's game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Today we learned that the Black Hawks won the cup on home ice for the first time since their second Stanley Cup victory in 1938.

It was cool to see the cup come home in Chicago. The last two times the cup was won by the Hawks it had been in Philadelphia and Boston respectively.

I never would've thought in years that the Hawks would have a cup dynasty in this decade. Surely Black Hawks fans would've just hoped for at least one in their lifetime, but three in six seasons is just incredible. Been waiting a longtime myself as a fan and it didn't just happen once it happened thrice. We can say dynasty akin to the Bull's dynasty of the 1990s.

Just think that I gave up the last few minutes of Monday Night Raw to see another cup come to Chicago. It's not like anything was missed that I couldn't catch up to later.

Now to the conclusion of the NBA Finals. Two teams who aren't know for championship success with one team - Cleveland Cavaliers  - never having won NBA title facing a team - Golden State Warriors -  who has had that success. And the Warriors are up by a game in that series!

#Hawkswin

[AUDIO] Tonight the Chicago Black Hawks have returned to the Stanley Cup finals with their game seven victory over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks winning 5-3. In honor of this victory I share the Chicago Black Hawks fight song that had been shared here back in 2010.

In 2010 the Hawks won their first Stanley Cup in almost 50 years defeating the Philadelphia Flyers and in 2013 the Hawks won another cup against the Boston Bruins!

#Blackhawks beat the #Blues #becauseitsthecup

GO BLACK HAWKS

The image you see above I often posted whenever the Black Hawks posted a victory in the playoffs in 2010. Usually it was done after a win in an individual game but usually it was posted when the Hawks finally one a playoff series. So now it's makes it's return to this blog.

So on Sunday, the Chicago Black Hawks have beaten the St. Louis Blues and the series ends at 4 games to 2. In keeping with another playoff tradition involving the Hawks it's time for more game highlights. The first three games were already posted, now to post the last three.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Game 4 @ Chicago [VIDEO]

Game 5 @ St. Louis [VIDEO]

Game 6 @ Chicago [VIDEO]

Black Hawks in the playoffs!

As has been a tradition in both of the Black Hawks' Stanley Cup wins in 2010 and 2014 it's time to start showing highlights of the playoff games. Unfortunately I haven't done a great job of following the Hawks during their playoff run so far. Still the Hawks were down by two games until their victory last night at the United Center last night over the St. Louis Blues. The earlier games were both determined with OT wins by the Blues.




Game 1 @ St. Louis [VIDEO]

Game 2 @ St. Louis [VIDEO]

Game 3 @ Chicago [VIDEO]

More talking about the Hawks...

As of late, this became a hockey blog. This was true with the last Stanley Cup the Black Hawks won in 2010. I followed many of the playoff games back then too often posting video highlights from the NHL's YouTube channel. Went so overboard the posts about the Hawks weren't just about the games but all aspects of Black Hawks history and traditions.

Lately it was my intent to post about the current ownership of the Hawks. Back in 2007 at the start of that NHL season, longtime owner William Wirtz had passed away. Many longtime Hawks fans weren't happy with his management of this historic franchise. He refused to air home games in the Chicago market unless such games were televised nationally. He was quick to trade players especially when the teams were doing poorly then turned around and wondered why fans weren't as supportive of the team and thus weren't coming to games.

This Chicago mag article about the Black Hawks showed how bad of shape the team had been in light of Wirtz' passing. I learned in that article that the Hawks wasn't getting much coverage from many of the local TV, radio, or print outlets in the area. It probably doesn't help if the team isn't winning but certainly if the team is all but invisible because it's unable to attract casual fans.

Anyway at current the Hawks are under the ownership of Rocky Wirtz who had undone some of the longstanding policies of his father. Home games are aired on TV not only on cable but on our local station WGN. They got back some of the many legends who were alienated from this team. And resultantly the team is more popular than ever before. Most importantly the team is not only a winning team, but they have captured two Stanley Cups in four years.

I would consider myself something of a casual sports fan. I'm not into the strategy and stats as most sports fans seem to be. The business side of sports is more interesting to me and the Hawks is a good case study on this aspect. How many sports franchises has had such a marked turnaround as the Chicago Black Hawks. After the death of a longtime owner in less than two or so year's time we have an immediate contender and the greatest show in this town.

Of course when it comes to sports franchise a lot of ingredients have to come together. The Black Hawks had to make some changes to its office and really have to come up with a plan to get fans into the United Center. They needed good players for the fans to watch on home ice.

It's fascinating to read this one of many stories on Rocky Wirtz since he took over the team. He deserves a lot of credit for making many of the necessary changes. I heard the D-word (dynasty) come out as of late I hope there are more Stanley Cups are coming before this decade closes.

BTW, it must be noted Chicago teams aren't known for multiple championships. If the Black Hawks won more championships perhaps they can match up to the Chicago Bulls although not as frequently since the Bulls had two three-peats in the 1990s. Chicago Argus does a good job of comparing the current Black Hawks teams with other Chicago championship teams. It just makes me wonder how many more Championships will the Hawks win in the future if it's meant to be!

Chicago Black Hawks: 2013 Stanley Cup champions

Not long after the victory in Boston last night I posted a pic in the sidebar marking this accomplishment. So the Hawk won their 2nd Stanley Cup in four years in Boston. That brings that count up to 5 cups total for this original 6 franchise the last one was in 2010 of course and I was with them every step of the way back then and this time as well.

Below are highlights from games 5 & 6. The Hawks won this series in six games letting two games go against the Bruins. Alas they won this one away from home however better there than to possibly lose at home although we can't be thinking that way can we?

GAME 5 Bruins @ Hawks - Hawks win! [VIDEO]

 

GAME 6 Hawks @ Bruins - Hawks win Stanley Cup! [VIDEO]

Besides with great credit to the other original 6 team Boston Bruins they truly made this a series to remember. They didn't go down without a fight in the end it wasn't meant to be for them. If they had it would've been their second cup in four years as they had won it all in 2011.

Stanley Cup Final series tied

In Boston just like in Chicago, both teams were able to win a game on each team's home ice. In Boston, the Bruins won game three and then game four belonged to the Hawks in sudden death OT. The first two games of this series went into sudden death OT. In Game 3 the only non OT decided game, the Hawks were shutout.

In Game 4 OT, the winning goal was scored by Brent Seabrook. Game 4 was a real game and both teams were trading goals between each other.

Below are the highlights of Games 3 & 4 and game 5 will be played at the United Center with faceoff at about 7 PM Chicago time.

GAME 3 Hawks @ Bruins - Bruins win [VIDEO]

GAME 4 Hawks @ Bruins - Hawks win [VIDEO]

BTW, how about that NBA Finals Lebron the cocky punk got him another championship ring! Now that it's all over all eyes on the Stanley Cup final series!

VIDEO: Few protest over Blackhawks logo

[VIDEO] So after watching the Black Hawks tie their Stanley Cup Final series against the Boston Bruins tonight I see this video with Chicago Tribune editor Eric Krol and reporter John Keilman about why the Hawk's "indian head" logo don't elicit as much protest as other American Indian themed franchises.

This brings to mind the protests against Chief Illiniwek who was the mascot of the University of Illinois' athletic program. The Chief eventually was retired in response to these protest even though U of I athletic teams are still named for the eponymous tribe who once resided in Illinois once up on time.

They mentioned especially the Atlanta Braves who does have an American Indian Tomahawk Chop when they want to rally and then there's the Washington Redskins. As a matter of fact historically the Redskins have an unfortunate history when it comes to race relations and it doesn't just involve American Indians. All the same why doesn't the Hawks elicit the same protests as the Braves and Redskins.

Well one answer makes sense and is suprising. Chicago is home to a diverse number of American Indians representing different tribes. Even better, the Chicago Black Hawks have reached out to local American Indian institutions and have sent representatives to such events. To be sure this is a good move to make nice with that community.

At the same time, going back further in history, the Black Hawks nickname I believe honors American Indians. The "original six" franchise name was based on a 1st World War military unit which was nicknamed in honor of a leader of the Sauk tribe named Black Hawk who was a significant figure in early Illinois history. It seems the other teams that have American Indian themed team names can't make that claim for certain.

Anyway, hopefully I will show highlights of the last two games the Hawks have played. I at least had a chance to watch some of game 4, but didn't have a chance to watch game 3. Time to watch those highlights and hopefully I'll be able to do so in the near future.

Game 2 highlights Bruins @ Hawks

[VIDEO] Tonight's game in Boston sees the Stanley Cup Final series even at 1 game a piece between the Hawks and Bruins. Saturday's game once again went into OT with the Bruins' Daniel Paille scoring the game winning goal. Let's see if the Hawks can once again get ahead in this series tonight.

Alas I won't be able to watch this game tonight, hopefully I will have some highlights tomorrow. Hopefully in a much more timely fashion that these highlights.

Chicago defeats Boston in game one of Stanley Cup final series



[VIDEO] Here are the highlights from last night's game against the Boston Bruins at the United Center.  The Hawks won this game in sudden death triple OT. The winning goal was scored by Andrew Shaw. When I heard the call from Mike Emrick of NBC, I really paid attention because I almost expected this to go into another OT period.

LET'S GO HAWKS!!!

Wager made in Stanley Cup series Hawks v. Bruins...

The game is on as I type this post. There's not just a world championship at stake here between the Black Hawks & Bruins. There's a wager as well.

In all the years, I have followed Chicago sports when a local franchise head into the playoffs and especially the further up they go there is often a wager. Most of the time it has been our former Mayor Richard M. Daley who offers up Chicago food treats as a wager. Don't entirely remember what the opposing cities offer although they may be similar to the foods Chicago wagers.

Now in the case of Chicago teams going into the playoffs or better yet wagering in a game that involves one of sports' longest running rivalries (Bears/Packers) it seems the trend involves Governors. This year in the current Stanley Cup playoffs Governor Pat Quinn and his Massachusetts counterpart Deval Patrick wagered volunteering at their respective local food banks. Of course who has to pay up on this bet depends on who wins Lord Stanley's cup.

It was noted somewhere, perhaps a blog, that Quinn almost didn't pay up on a similar bet made with regards to the Bears/Packers. He ultimately did, but really didn't try too hard to honor the wager he made. I do believe he that bet with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

BTW, it's noted that Gov. Patrick is a native of Chicago. As a matter of fact he grew up in those often maligned housing projects in the city. Where ever Patrick was reared those projects are likely long gone, but to his credit he's come a long way.

Still, another Stanley Cup coming to Chicago would be excited. And that means Gov. Patrick would have to volunteer for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Feeding the hungry, is definitely a worthy cause don't you agree?

Chicago defeats LA to play for the Stanley Cup

Alright, the Western Conference Finals has concluded. The game at the United Center Saturday night went into double OT and ended with a Chicago 4 to 1 series victory and they advance to play against the Bruins for the Stanley Cup. It was a great game for certain! Patrick Kane scored the series winning goal in 2OT and it was the last of his "hat trick" scores.

A few nights ago the last post regarding the the first three games LA came back to win one. They made game 5 of this series a real game, but in the end the defending Cup champs fell short. The last two games which are Black Hawks victories are below.

GAME 4 - Hawks @ Kings - Hawks win! [VIDEO]

GAME 5 - Kings @ Hawks - Hawks win! [VIDEO]

BTW, the Chicago Black Hawks will face another original 6 franchise in the Boston Bruins. They swept the Pittburgh Penguins in their series Friday night to advance to the finals. The final four NHL teams in the playoffs had all won the Stanley Cup so two former champions with the Hawks in 2010 and Bruins in 2011 will faceoff for game 1 at the United Center on Wednesday at 7 PM CST.

Who will be the Stanley Cup champions of 2013?

NHL Conference Finals Hawks still up 2-1 against LA

I saw Tuesday night's game where the Black Hawks faced the LA Kings at the Staples Center. The highlight of the night was where the Hawks' Duncan Keith gave a high stick to the Kings' Jeff Carter. It was considered an accident with Keith attempting to apologize on ice, however, it didn't mean that a suspension wouldn't be handed out as he would be suspended for game 4 which will be played again tonight at the Staples Center in LA with a 8 PM faceoff.

In the meanwhile we should check out the last three games of this Conference Finals series. The winners of this round will play for the Stanley Cup.

GAME 1 Kings @ Hawks - Hawks win [VIDEO]

GAME 2 Kings @ Hawks - Hawks win [VIDEO]

GAME 3 Hawks @ Kings - Kings win [VIDEO]

What will game 4 bring this evening? We shall see if the Hawks will get a victory on the west coast!

Game 7 - Red Wings @ Hawks - Hawks win

[VIDEO] The Black Hawks are moving on to the Conference finals against the defending Stanley Cup champions LA Kings. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings last night at the United Center. The game went into sudden death overtime and it was Brent Seabrook that scored the series winning goal.

The Hawks were down 3-1 in the series against Detroit, but remarkably they were close to down for the count only to come back and eventually win game 7. So a 4-3 series victory for the Hawks and on to the next round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs!

The Hawks will host the Kings at the United Center on Saturday on June 1st with faceoff scheduled at 4 PM CST. In the Eastern Conference the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Boston Bruins at the CONSOL Energy Center also on June 1st with a faceoff at 8 PM EST.

There are times like this where I wish I knew how to be a prognosticator. It has been noted by many sports fans that the Stanley Cup final four were the most recent Stanley Cup champs. The Kings in 2012, the Bruins in 2011, the Hawks in 2010, and the Penguins in 2009. This should be very interesting!

Game 6 - Hawks @ Wings - Hawks win!

[VIDEO] I just watched these highlights for last night's Game 6 against the Detroit Red Wings. The Black Hawks tie the series with a 4-3 victory in Detroit. Game 7 is in Chicago on Wednesday with faceoff expected at 7 PM. Whatever happens in Game 7 it will be posted here!

BTW, I wondered what set up the penalty shot near the end of the clip above. They didn't show that, but I rarely see that in some of the games seen over the years although I just found something that indicted the reasoning for this penalty shot. There are rules to allowing a penalty shot for certain.

Also, in NHL playoff action the Boston Bruins will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern conference both series have concluded with the Bruins besting another origial 6 team, New York Rangers. And the Penguins bested the Ottawa Senators. Back in the West of course game 7 between the Hawks and Wings on Wednesday in Chicago, but there's the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks also going to game 7 tonight in LA with a 8PM faceoff on NBC Sports.

Also it should be noted that the Kings are the defending Stanley Cup champs!

Hawks win to stay alive...

Alas the Black Hawks are still down 3 games to 2 in their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Red Wings to advance to the Western Conference finals. They lost game 4 in Detroit on Thursday and then came back to Chicago to win game 5 last night. Here are some highlights!

Game 4 - Hawks @ Red Wings - Red Wings win [VIDEO]

Game 5 - Red Wings @ Hawks - Hawks win [VIDEO]

Game 6 will be played on Memorial Day and alas I likely won't be able to watch it. Here's hoping the Black Hawks will pull the series tying win in Detroit on Monday!

I haven't covered the Black Hawks here in their playoff run...

It's been three years since the Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup. This blog followed them every step of the way in 2010 however in the two years since well I've neglected to follow their playoff performance. They hadn't fared two well last year I believe they were eliminated in the first round.

This year in a lockout shortened season the Hawks were hot and so hot they were at the top of the NHL's Western Conference and breezed past the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs in five games. After three games in the second round the Black Hawks are down by one game against the Detroit Red Wings.

This year's playoffs are interesting in that I read that this is the first time in a long time that all of the Original Six franchises made the playoffs. The Original Six in addition to the Hawks and Red Wings are the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers. The Bruins and Rangers are facing each other in the second round of the playoffs.

In any event in covering the Black Hawks during the course of their Stanley Cup winning run, it's now time to cover them. I'm not going to show highlights of the last series, however, what we can see here are the highlights of the last three games against the Wings.

Game 1 Wings v. Hawks in Chicago - Hawks win [VIDEO]

Game 2 Wings v. Hawks in Chicago - Wings win [VIDEO]

 

Game 3 Hawks v. Wings in Detroit - Wings win [VIDEO]

The next game is in Detroit on Thursday starting at 8 PM Eastern. Alas I won't be able to watch, however, it will be my goal to watch the highlights and of course share them with you when the game is over!

Looks like the NHL will be back in 2013!

[VIDEO] At least the NHL won't appear to make a colossal mistake of cancelling the whole season as they did back in 2004-05. And again NHL is the only North American professional sports league to have had to cancel an entire season due to labor issues.

What you see above is a press conference provided by the AP. Now an AP write-up:

The NHL and the players' association reached a tentative agreement early Sunday to end a nearly four-month-old lockout that threatened to wipe out what was left of an already abbreviated season.

A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours, stretching from Saturday afternoon until just before dawn Sunday, produced a 10-year deal.

"We've got to dot a lot of Is and cross a lot of Ts," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

The collective bargaining agreement still must be ratified by a majority of the league's 30 owners and the union's membership of approximately 740 players.

Under the negotiated CBA, free-agent contracts will have a maximum length of seven years, but clubs can go to eight years to re-sign their own players. Each side can opt out of the deal after eight years.

The pension plan was "the centerpiece of the deal for the players," said Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, who took part in negotiations throughout the process.

The actual language of the pension plan still has to be written, but Hainsey said there is nothing substantial that still needs to be fixed.

The players' share of hockey-related income, that reached a record $3.3 billion last season, will drop from 57 percent to a 50-50 split. The salary cap for the upcoming season will be $70.2 million and will then drop to $64.3 million in the 2013-14 season. All clubs will have to have a minimum payroll of $44 million.

After the sides stayed mostly apart for two days, following late-night talks that turned sour, federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh worked virtually around the clock to get everyone back to the bargaining table.

Time to get ready for some Black Hawks action. Besides, some team can unexpectedly win the Stanley Cup as the New York Rangers did in 1994 after a lockout that cost the NHL half a season.