Name:Darcy Location: Dekalb, Illinois, United States Birthday:4/12/1987 Gender:Female
Interests:I love loving the Blackhawks, Cubs, Bears, Fighting Irish, and Huskie. I love hating the Red Wings, Blues, Avalanche, White Sox, Yankees, Cardinals, Packers, and pretty much everyone else. I'm a Law & Order fanatic (especially SVU), and according to my roommate I have weird movie tastes. When I was little, I used to give my dolls baths in the toilet. And I've never been to New Mexico. Expertise:Blurting out really random hockey facts that know one gives a darn about. Making sports predictions that come back to bite me in the butt. (Okay, so I was wrong about the White Sox. Sue me!) Crossing Annie Glidden Road. Occupation:Student
I'm pretty sure that most of you realize by now that this blog is pretty much 100% hockey related at the moment. If you didn't pick up on that already, shame on you.
Well, another thing that isn't really a big secret to most people who know me and my hockey obsession is my undying love for John Buccigross. I read his column on ESPN.com religiously. He makes me laugh hysterically, he teaches me stuff about hockey I didn't know, he brings up points that make me think about things I've never thought about before. Basically, if he wasn't married, I would marry him. At the very least, I need to find a man like him to marry, lol...
One of my favorite parts of Bucci's column is the weekly mailbag. I swear, there isn't a single sports columnist that does mailbags the way Bucci does. He gives music/movie recommendations, shares baby name ideas, tells people what songs they should dance to at their weddings... pretty much anything anybody asks. He also gives totally random obscure facts about hockey (or whatever else he feels like saying). Another major plus: I agree with him about 99.5% of the time (more than I can say for other NHL columnists).
So anyway... there is a point to this. This week, Bucci got two questions in the mailbag about the Blackhawks. The first was about who they should pick #1 in the draft this summer. This is kind of one of those stinky drafts where there's no clear-cut #1 player, and so picking 2nd or 3rd is pretty much just as good. It's not like 2005-06 where the draft lottery winner got Sidney "The Next One" Crosby. The Hawks are definitely not so lucky. However, Bucci was pretty adamant that the Hawks should draft Patrick Kane and that they would be crazy not too. I looked Kane up (I haven't had much of a chance to keep up with the up-and-comers with school and everything going on), and I'm definitely impressed. He's a U.S.-born skater playing up in Canadian juniors and basically kicking everyone's butts. 62 goals and 38 assists (that's 145 points) in 58 games this season. He's obviously good. He's not a real big guy, but it's not like big tough forwards have been doing anything for the Hawks lately anyway, other than just being big and tough. I don't know if I'm as sold on Kane as Bucci is... I haven't had much of a chance to research any of the others... but I definitely like the look of him. This draft really can go either way, so I'm excited to see what happens.
The other question had to do with Jeremy Roenick and whether or not we could hope to see him back in #27 next season. Bucci responded with why bring JR back to Chicago would be a good thing for the Hawks, especially since JR has stated a number of times that he hopes to score his 500th goal and retirethere. I'd love to see JR back... I think it would be a great move for the Hawks, just from a popularity standpoint. Let's face it, the Hawks are losing fans at a rapid pace. Chicago interest in hockey is ridiculously low, but with Chicago being one of the Original Six teams, the entire NHL suffers when Chicago suffers. As Bucci says, "Buy some billboards, put Jeremy's giant head on them; have him throw
out the first pitch at Wrigley and sing "Take Me Out to The Ball Game"
the day of the announcement. Chicago, just try a little." One down side: getting JR back for the Blackhawks would do little for the Hawks' success. He's defintiely not the player he used to be, and he's not going to contribute that much scoring-wise to the Hawks. Therefore, if you get JR back to Chicago, it can't cost a lot. However, since JR seems to want it, he may be willing to settle for less to get it. If that's the case, bring him back and use the extra salary cap money to sign some good players who might actually bring this team to the playoffs.
So yeah... I just thought I'd update all of you on what Bucci has been saying and why I love him so much, haha.
So I got a chance to see the Wolves play tonight. I had never been to a Wolves game before, so it was pretty interesting. It was strange though too, because I kind of felt like I was betraying the Hawks. All of the Wolves' ad campaigns take so many jabs at the Hawks, it's almost turned into this competitive thing. I get the feeling that you can either care about the Hawks or you can care about the Wolves... but you can't have it both ways. I might be totally wrong about this, but it was defintiely the feeling that I got.
Anyway... some random thoughts on the game...
I
am SO glad that Nina was able to come to the game with us. It's always
more fun to have a serious fan to talk to during the game. She
definitely understands (and shares) my hockey obsession, so it makes
for a great viewing experience.
A while
ago (not on this blog), I said something about how hockey games in the
U.S. kind of seem like some sort of bizarre circus at times. People
are more concerned with the food, intermission "entertainment," and
gimmicks than they are the actual game. I stand by that statement.
I still hate mascots at hockey games. Tommy Hawk is the worst, but the AHL ones are almost as bad.
Sad
moment -- when I realized that Dan Snyder was a huge part of the Wolves
organization when they won the Calder Cup. Just thinking about him
playing in that building made me feel really bad.
I
spent most of the game trying to catch a glimpse of Pat Foley in the
broadcast booth because I am THAT pathetic. Seriously though... I
can't believe the Hawks let him get away. He was one of the great NHL
play-by-play guys, and now he's down in the minors just so he can stay
in Chicago? It's so sad. Another one of my hopes for Dollar Bill's
eventual death is that Peter will bring Pat back to the broadcast booth
(and also start showing home games on TV).
We
had some Russian youth hockey teams in front of us. Their coaches were
some of the most Russian-looking men I've ever seen, and all the kids
had matching mullets. It was adorable... until they stood up and
blocked my view. ("How do you say 'SIT DOWN!!!!' in Russian?"... and
my personal favorite, "Oh look, Nina! Russian kids sneeze just like
us!")
The game wasn't sold out. I was
disappointed. All the stupid billboards made it sound like this team
sold out every night, which made them SOOO much better than the Hawks.
There was hardly anybody in the second level. Psssssh... lyin' Wolves.
How
often does Wayne Messmer sing the National Anthem for the Wolves?
Because that seriously caught me off-guard. I had never heard him sing
it live before, and it was even better than I thought it would be. If
I closed my eyes hard enough, I could almost imagine that I was in the
Old Chicago Stadium at a time when Americans actually cared about
hockey and their country. It makes me want to watch the video from the
1991 All-Star Game again.
Never judge the quality of a hockey game based on how many fights there were and whether or not they showed you on the Jumbotron.
How
wacky is it that I remembered who Andy Delmore is, even though he's a
nobody, all because he played for Nashville in the 2002-03 season?
That was a long time ago. It shows how obsessed I was back then.
When
all is said and done, my conclusion is this... I'd rather be at a Hawks
game, no matter how much they suck or how badly they treat their fans.
In other news... I've decided I'm going for the Rangers over Atlanta. And it's not because they're leading the series 2-0. It's because of the whole Ice Girl thing that happened a few weeks ago. I am now a Henrik Lundqvist fan... yaaaaaay...
I never thought I'd say this, but I was wrong about him.
Posted by Lil' Jon on the NHL Connect blogs... (the bold parts are the ones that convinced me that he was cool enough to touch Stanley Cup)...
I’ve been a hockey fan a long time.
I used to go watch the Atlanta Flames play back in the day when I was a
little kid. I actually have one of the Atlanta Flames’ old jerseys
because I bought the throwback. Then I got re-introduced to the game
because my son plays hockey and I wanted to get him to a real game. So
we started going to the Thrashers games.
The first Thrashers game I went to they got into a shootout. That was
amazing, and they won, and I was like dope! That really made me fall
all the way in love with it. I like the shootouts and everything else
involved with the game. But the shootouts are the real deal. To see the
guy go from one end to the other end and try to score, man! And some
guys do it with such ease! That first game they won, and they even used
to call us a good luck charm, my son and I, because whenever we were
in-house they won. We’ve been going so often that now I’m in cool with
the players and the owner, and they’ve welcomed us into their
household. We love to go to the games to have fun and support the team.
Like I said my son plays hockey now, but he’s still learning the
basics. He’s only eight years old and he’s in Level Four of hockey
training. He really likes it a lot. They’re learning the fundamentals.
He likes it because it’s so different; it’s fast-paced and it’s
aggressive. You know that boys like to go fast and play rough, but he
likes to score some goals too.
For me, it’s fun to watch him learn and get better. I’ve seen him get
better and better ever since he started. Now he can skate backwards,
control the puck – he can even pull a little english with the puck! –
and he can hit hard and score goals. It’s amazing to watch him play. He
even practices with the rollerblades when he can’t get on the ice and
it helps with his balance.
But that’s my son. For the big stuff, I just want to see the guys on
the Thrashers keep it going. It would be great to bring the Stanley Cup
to Atlanta. Even though I wasn’t with them throughout the entire
season, I’m going to turn it back on and try to catch all the playoff
action and stay on top of it. They’re a great group of guys. I’m glad
that they made it to the playoffs. The owners are a great group of
guys, they have a great coach and great fans. We want to see them go
all the way.
Hockey for me, I just like the action. It’s kind of like football to
me; it’s hard-hitting and fast-paced and you have to pay attention.
It’s not like baseball where you just wait for something to happen. You
have to pay attention every second. When we go to the games, we sit
right on the glass and they check people into the boards directly in
front of us. It’s just exciting: you’re right in the game because
you’re looking the guys dead in the eye. When they come right up on the
glass, the glass shakes right in front of your face. There is nothing
like it.
Plus it helps that the guys are such good guys. Kari Lehtonen actually
has my picture on the back of his helmet. He was injured last season
when I was going to some games. Then one day, I go, and he showed me
his helmet and said, “I got you on the back of my helmet.” We always go
in the locker room to say what’s up to him before a game. My son gets
his puck autographed, and I speak to the players’ kids and the owners,
and the trainers’ kids and its one big happy family. We got cool when
Kari was injured. I was happy to see him come back and start playing
awesome. Marian Hossa is the man. Ilya Kovalchuk, he’s dope too. I talk
to all the guys.
They’re all great guys. I met all of the cats and they showed me a lot
of love. They appreciate me coming out which I thought was amazing.
Sometimes they get kinda pumped up when they look over; they saying to
themselves "Jon’s in the house tonight, we gotta crank it up!"
