Can You Take Out A Home Equity Loan For Hockey Tickets?

I guess it was to be expected - team wins a championship, tickets become scarce. But when single game tickets went on sale for the Blackhawks last month, I did not expect to be completely shut out. Of all 41 home games. Except for standing room (fuck that). Or the exorbitantly priced 100 level seats (fuck that even more).

I already had issues with the Hawks’ ticket sales because not only did they raise ticket prices again (I can’t say I blame them - supply & demand) but they also divided parts of the 300 level into *3* price levels. For serious? There’s only 17 rows in most of them for Chrissakes! They also have dicked around with my brother’s season tickets - they wanted to move down a couple rows because they sit in the second to last row of their section and folks in standing room basically invade your personal space the entire game. I can attest to that - I used my brother’s tickets to see the preseason game vs. the Wings on Saturday and Amy had to put her arm out to prevent some guy from basically resting his junk on the top of my head. Eww. In any case, the Hawks ticket folks refused to move my brother and his seatmate (even though most of the seats in the rows in front of them are not used by STHs) unless they wanted to move down far enough to be in a more expensive price level. Way to take care of your loyal fans. But why would the Hawks make any concessions to them? The waiting list (which I am a part of) is miles long and they could find someone to take my brother’s seats, probably at the non-grandfathered price range to boot. Hey, the Hawks organ-I-zation is still miles above when Dollar Bill held the reins, but boy can you tell John McDonough is in charge - he pulled the same shit when he was with the Cubs.

Training Days

June 9th seems so far away at times - especially since I had to endure a horrendous summer of Cubs baseball which made me miss hockey even more. But finally, the party's over, the hangover cure has been ingested and we're on the cusp of the 2010-11 NHL season. With the Chicago Blackhawks as your defending Stanley Cup champions, of course.

Training Camps used to be several weeks long, but with the playoffs running into June, preseason games and now these "Premiere" games in Europe (WTF NHL - do we really need games in Sweden, Finland *and* Prague?), camps are now merely days. That doesn't leave time for players on the bubble to make the big time a lot of opportunities to make an impression, so these camps are much more intense that they probably were a few years ago.

Roadtrip Recap: Fin.

OK, at this point it's been a month since the roadtrip (and I honestly have more interesting topics to blog about, like the 2010-11 NHL season OMGOMGOMG) and I know I've lost what little audience I had to begin with. But goddammit, I'm going to finish this, if only so when I'm 79 and back in diapers, I can read this and remember. And we better have flying cars by then too.

Roadtrip Recap: Days Five - Six

[Please note this post will probably be more incoherent than usual as I am watching the first NFL game of the season (Fuck you Brett Favre!) while composing this. Which reminds me that I should do a Bears preview post before Sunday for what promises to be another woeful season. Is it October yet?]

So I'm gonna finish the Canadian portion of the way overdue trip recap now. Thank Jebus.

Roadtrip Recap: Days Three & Four

At the rate I'm going, by the time I finish this, I'll be on my next vacation. Or the NHL season will have started.

Anyway.

Roadtrip Recap: Days One & Two

Well I haven't gotten this recap up as quickly as I'd like. For gods sake I'm only at the halfway point of uploading all of the pictures I took. It really has taken me the week after the trip to get my bearings and a somewhat stressful week back at work didn't help matters much. I'm not sure if anyone even cares anymore, but I figure I'd better write this down before I get too old and can't remember any of it.

And Here. We. Go.

Saving the Worst For Last

[Goodbye Nemo *wails*]

We all knew that the moves the Hawks were going to have to make in the offseason would be painful. But if you had told me earlier that this would mean we'd lose no fewer than *10* players, including our Cup winning goalie, I would have thought you were on crack and proceeded to either get drunk or jump off my porch (I live on the second floor). 

I had been dreading the impending Antti Niemi arbitration hearing and was hoping against hope the two sides could hammer something out beforehand. Alas, that did not happen, so I crossed my fingers that the arbitrator would award Nemo something in the 2 mildo range: that would be the only way he'd fit in a cap tighter than my thighs in spandex (please note I have never owned any spandex. Go away fashion police!).

He was awarded a one year-$2.75 million dollar contract.

That was that - no more Nemo. Within 24 hours, the Hawks had signed Marty "C-3P0" Turco, and Antti Claus (because he can give up rebounds like it's Christmas) was no longer a Hawk. On a selfish note, I can state I'm happy I didn't invest in a jersey (but I might still get a Niemi T-Shirt) but I really, really grew to like Nemo as the season wore on. He seems like an unassuming, hard working, goofy guy. And he is cute in that dorky way I find so endearing.

It's not fair that a Stanley Cup winning goalie is out of a job, mostly due to the fact that the Blackhawks were punished for their success in terms of bonuses counting against next year's salary cap. The poor guy was a Cinderella story - Zamboni driver to hoisting the sports' greatest prize in a few short years. I will have to lay some of this blame on Niemi's agent, Bill Zito. I know his job is to get the best deal for his client, and of course his value will never be higher having just backstopped the team to the top. But any idiot could tell you that this was a shit year for goalie free agents (just ask Jose Theodore and Evgeni Nabokov). Everyone knew of the Hawks' cap issues - you'd think perhaps you'd take a one year deal at a reasonable price with the promise of a multi-year deal for bigger bucks in the wings. I guess money talks - yet here we are, several days after the decision and Niemi's gone nowhere. Sure Zito's boasting that several teams are now interested, but I can't see any NHL team right now signing Niemi to that $2.75 mildo price tag - especially since unless a team changes its current roster, Nemo would only be needed in a 1A or backup role. I get the feeling Zito was filling Nemo's head with Halak-type numbers, only to see that idea fly out the window. Reportedly Niemi asked Zito "Now What?" after the decision was rendered. Now what indeed - poor Nemo could legitimately be out of the NHL or playing at a price less than what the Hawks probably offered him come the start of the regular season. 

Antti Niemi, you captured my heart in the midst of the journey that brought me to tears at the end, the journey that culminated in something no logical Chicago sports fan ever expects to see: a championship. Wherever your career takes you, I wish you nothing but the best. Just remember not to lose the puck in your pants again.

I wonder if Turco will sport red sparkling pads. I may have to wear sunglasses to the UC.

It's Not Easy Being Green

 [Day 23: Garden View]

As you recall (or perhaps not, here's a friendly reminder), Amy and I are tending a raised bed garden in a former vacant lot. It's been almost a month now, but I am happy to report that not only did we not kill off everything, we actually have ate things from it (and didn't get food poisoning)! Below is a summary of the growings on (ha - bad pun!), mostly in pictures of course.

I Am Sheeple, Hear Me Bleat

When the iPhones came out several years ago, Amy and I took great delight in mocking those who rushed right out to get one. "Fucking Hipsters," we'd sneer. Like sheep, folks flocked to Apple Stores every time a upgrade happened, and then they'd seemingly gloat they were cool enough to own one as they'd fiddle with it on the train, walking down the street, in the public bathroom.

Two years ago, it was time for Amy and I to get our phone upgrades as the contract was up.  Scoffing at the thought of needing a smart phone, I settled for a simple flip top model, seen above. We lovingly named it my Jitterbug. Amy opted for a Motorola, which was a cheap imitation of a Blackberry (she hates Blackberries). I was content with it for a time, but as I got more and more involved with social media, I longed for a smart phone. I'd use Amy's when I could, but the web browser was slow, and most webpages looked horrible on it. I'd sit at Hawks games this season and wish I had a phone I could check other scores on, and look at the Twitter feeds of fellow fans.

[self portrait using the Hipstamatic app - I'm a tad obsessed with this at the moment]

Finally our contracts were up again. Both of us ate a little crow. Amy got her iPhone 4 a week after they came out. I got mine last night - I had to wait an extra month due to some bullshit AT&T policy.

I spent most of last night playing with it and downloading (mostly) free apps and putting some music on it. I'm like a kid in a candy store - a nerdy one of course. So let me just say it: I have an iPhone. And I am not ashamed.

Finding Hockey Amongst Pierogis

OK, so I wrote that long diatribe how I'm going to update the blog and do other things and yet I've waited nearly a week to write anything of substance. *sigh* Well I did upload probably close to a 100 photos on Flickr since then so I'm not totally useless. Or something. Anyway...

No, no, no, don't run away screaming! Dead raccoon is just welcoming you to a story about my visit to the Annual Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana over the weekend. As you will see shortly, Mr Raccoon is just a sample of the weird ass shit (and in this case frightening) you could see and/or purchase in between stuffing your face. For those not in the know, pierogis are Polish dumplings often stuffed with potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut and other tasty things. Sadly, I didn't start eating them regularly until fairly recently. Which is surprising considering I grew up in an area of Chicago with a large Polish population (Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw), and went to school with many folks with Polish and Slavic heritage. Aside from eating so much you feel like you need a defibrillator, there were many booths with crafts, knick-knacks and well, shit. Of course I had to capture such things with a Blackhawks theme!

Ignoring Baseball

So there's this other sport I follow religiously: baseball. Unfortunately I've had a lapse in my faith as I've hardly paid attention to the MLB season at all. I can attribute this to three main reasons: 1) I was following hockey until mid-June. The above picture was taken at my second of four Cubs games I'm going to this season, and I didn't even bother to post about it here - cut me some slack, it was the day after we closed out the Vancouver series. 2) the Blackhawks' season culminating in their Stanley Cup victory was, well, a religious experience for me. Any other sport right now doesn't even come close to comparing. I was focused on hockey from October to June, and watching baseball right now is downright boring to me. Don't give me wrong, I love the sport. But becoming obsessed with the NHL again has made me have ADD with sports in general. 3) The Cubs Are Terrible. I mean even worse than I can remember them in at least five years. I think the only games I've seen in their entirety this season were the two games I've attended - they won both (a miracle!). I will always love the Cubs and will admit to that and defend them to anyone at anytime. But I just can't deal with them at the moment. It's as if I fear their bad luck will rub off on any other sports team I follow. Regardless, I'll make a lame attempt at analyzing the lame excuse of a season the Cubs as of the All Star Break.

The Kids Are Alright - At Least Until One Gets Beat Up

This past Friday through today was the Blackhawks Prospect Camp. Since we're losing players faster than Patrick Kane probably loses bills at a gentleman's club, I figured I might as well go on Saturday and see the players who will one day (probably too soon) be replacing them. Plus it was free and it's not like I have anything better to do. They invited 70 kids to the camp and divided them into four teams. They had two sessions with two teams apiece - each had a 15 minute practice before a scrimmage of two 30 minute periods.

Another Three Bite the Dust...

Bow your heads please, as we take a moment to remember three additional recently departed members of Your 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks...

Andrew Ladd

You played in the SCF with a fractured shoulder - that is a testament to your toughness. You were known more for your gritty style of play, but you also scored the team's only hat trick in the regular season. Alas, Atlanta offered you $3.5 mildo so off you went. Have fun with our other recently departed friends, Buff, Eager and Sopel on Blackhawks-South. 

Adam Burish

Trendy bars with co-eds will never be the same without you Burr. I'll miss your wit and cockiness. You never really seemed to put it all together this year - perhaps you were still recovering from your injury. You were willing to stay for a hometown discount, but either the money the Stars were throwing at you was too good to turn down, or the front office simply didn't want you back. Have fun with all the big hair in Texas.

Kris Versteeg

Who will be the team's aspiring rapper now that you're gone Kris? Your defiance in not dumping the puck into the zone and boneheaded defensive lapses frustrated me to no end. Yet, you easily had half a dozen highlight reel type goals last season. Perhaps the increased ice time you'll receive in Toronto will turn you into a better two way player - I suspect you may be the player we let go that ends up biting us in the butt. Sorry that you have been shipped to the team who has inherited the "longest Cup drought" title.

Losing seven players from a championship team less than a month after winning it all has been tough. It had to happen, and I'm thankful we won it all before it did. Still, I would have hoped we wouldn't have lost the equivalence of two complete lines. As it stands, this is what our lines would possibly look like if we played today:

Kane - Toews - Brouwer

Hossa - Sharp - Kopecky

Skille? - Bolland - Stahlberg

Bickell - Reasoner - Beach?

Keith - Seabrook

Campbell - Hjalmarsson

Hendry/Scott/Boynton??

Niemi

Huet/Crawford

This is of course assuming that they resign Toftbo and Nemo - I mean why clear all this cap space if you're not going to? I'm also going to guess Huet gets sent to Rockford once the season starts to rid the team of his albatross of a cap hit. But perhaps they're not, which is another reason for all of the salary dumping. That's a lot of IceHogs on the team - nothing wrong with that, but at first look, that's a *huge* drop in talent from our first two to our bottom two lines. It's possible we may pick up a veteran or two to fill in, but who knows what money we'll have to work with. All I know is one of our greatest strengths last season was our depth, and it's pretty much been gutted at this point.

*Sigh* it's gonna be a long summer.

Attempting To Get the Brown Off My Thumb: An Adventure in Gardening

One of the pitfalls of apartment living in an urban area such as Chicago, is there is no land. No land to BBQ, hang out in and importantly, no place to plant flowers and a vegetable garden. That is not to say you can't do any of the aforementioned things, it's just way better if you have a yard and a place to call your own.

Breaking Up the Band

We all knew it would happen. Due to the NHL's hard salary cap, there was no way Your 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks (see, it never gets old) would stay intact. The Cup had barely been lifted in triumph before the internets was abuzz with with the impending doom of the Hawks' Capocalypse. Still, three weeks after the ultimate victory, saying goodbye to four members of the team is bittersweet at best.

My Date With Stanley

Sweating My Arse off for a Taste of Victory

First off let me just say, if a Chicago sports team ever wins another championship I care about (Sox and Bulls need not apply) my ass is going to be watching it from the comfort of my own home. That being said, I have no regrets about attending the Blackhawks victory parade downtown on Friday. It was worth it, especially since I wouldn't be surprised if there's never another one for the rest of my days.

Post 100: Back in Time When the Floor Shook

To my amazement, this post marks the 100th entry on my blog since I started it at the beginning of the year. I'm shocked to an extent that I've maintained it for this long, as I've never kept anything like this running for more than a couple of weeks. This has evolved into a hockey/sports blog, which wasn't really my intention. No worries, as soon as the NHL playoffs end, I'm sure this blog will become more of my original vision - a home for my snark, random links and stuff I find interesting. I bet you can't wait!

In "celebration" of this occasion, I got the new scanner humming and present you with the following - pictures I took of the Chicago Stadium - the home of the Blackhawks, Bulls, circus, ice capades and random bad concerts prior to the United Center. I don't remember exactly when I took these photographs - it was somewhere between 1988 - 1990 as I did a history fair project on the Wirtz family. Don't ask me why - I guess it was a little more respectable than just a project on the Blackhawks. Of course I no longer have the actual report I wrote as it was done on a typewriter. In any case, one day my dad drove me down to the Stadium to take pictures for the posterboard. I just remember my dad attempting to nervously rush me as back in those days the neighborhood was pretty bad and there was CHA housing close by. Looking back, it's rather comical to think someone was going to shoot us as we took a few pictures, but my dad was being parental I suppose.

Seeing these photographs again bring back so many memories: the anticipation of seeing a Hawks game, feeling the floor shake when the crowd roared, the way your feet would stick to the floor, the swear words I learned at a young age. There will never be another place like it. Le sigh.

A post about the shitstorm that was Game One of the SCF later - I'm going to run across the street now and see if I can still get breakfast at McDonald's!

Belated WCF Game Four (Hawks Win Series!) Wrapup

[blogger's note: please excuse the probable crapiness and nonsensical ramblings of this post. I am sick, on cold medicine and my nose is more chapped than a infant who has diaper rash's ass. Whee!]

Well we all know how this ended up - Blackhawks swept the Sharks in four. I don't think anyone (including myself) expected that. Sure, a lot of folks say all four games were hard-fought (which they were) but sweeping a team out of the NHL playoffs is difficult - case in point: this is the only sweep in the playoffs this year at this point.

A few thoughts on Game Four from the standpoint of someone in attendance - with pictures!

Funny, I used to like the color orange

Not really much of a post here, as I'm focusing on putting my pictures of Game Four on flickr, and all I have is a ceiling fan in our office. I'll let you know if Mac Minis have a melting point.

Anyway, Flyers vs. Hawks for the big shiny thing. Not much of a recent history between these two teams. Seeing as Philly fans infamously threw snowballs at Santa Claus (ok it was the NFL, but still), I don't need much reason to hate them. How am I going to make it until Saturday without passing a stone? I guess it gives me plenty of time to wax poetic on here.

Oh, and just so you don't think I don't love you all, here's a gem from before warmups:

Hee hee hee!