Halftime

It's the halfway point in the NHL season and it's time for me to critique my team, the Chicago Blackhawks. After a rough start in which management fired Denis Savard after four games, the Blackhawks have been rolling right along towards the top of the Western Conference. They aren't at the level of the Detroit Red Wings or San Jose Sharks, but they're right at the very next level.

I was upset when Denis Savard got canned. I thought getting rid of someone after four games was ludicrous, even though Joel Queeneville was fired as the replacement. It just didn't seem right. But, I can't complain about the results that Queeneville has provided. The Hawks power play is miles better than what it was when Savard was leading the team.

Even with the minor slump the offense is in right now, the team has been averaging more than 3 goals a game. Patrick Sharp has shown that last years scoring expolits weren't a fluke. Patrick Kane is on a point per game clip. Jonathan Toews started out slow, but he's picked up the pace a little bit. Kris Versteeg has been better than I thought he would be in his first season. Even Ben Eager is scoring goals. Again, even with the slump that the offense is currently in, the Hawks have been doing a good job putting the puck in the net.

The addition of Brian Campbell has helped the defense, even though he's an offensive defensemen. Campbell is good with the puck and he can carry the puck into the opponents end during the power play instead of playing dump and chase. Duncan Keith might be the most underrated defenseman in the league. Keith and Brent Seabrook have formed a very nice partnership as linemates. The defense of the most part has played well thus far.

And the goalie tandem of Nikolai Khabibulin and Critobal Huet has worked really well to this point. Khabibulin has shown that he's not a sieve when he has a good team in front of him. It's too bad that the Hawks are just now getting to see this side of him. Huet started out pretty awful, but he's played much better as the season has progressed. Queeneville has done a good job with the rotation and neither goalie has caused a stir with the way they are being played.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the way the Hawks have played this season. I predicted that they would make the playoffs this year and I'm still standing by it. I'm not going as far as predicting that the Hawks will be playing for the Stanley Cup, but I see the second round in the playoffs as a very viable possibility.

The Lost Art of Tackling

I'm not sure when it started, but football players have forgotten how to tackle. Watch any college or NFL game and the lack of quality tackling is astonishing. Instead of tackling, players are now flying in like missles looking to knock someones head off. Sure it looks great, but what's the point when the player bounces off and goes another 10 yards?

As I have previously stated, I'm not the biggest fan of Chicago Bears safety, Kevin Payne. Mainly, it's because the guy would rather hit than tackle someone. A perfect example of this is the game the Bears played against the Vikings in late November. Instead of helping tackle Adrian Peterson, Payne decides that he wants to do an impression of a Cruise missle and knocks Peterson back a few yards. However, Payne also knocks his own teammates off of Peterson and Peterson is free to run another 50 yards downfield. Next time try putting your arms around him, Kevin.

While I'm on the topic of the Chicago Bears, I have another suggestion for Jerry Angelo. Trade for Anquan Boldin. The man is a beast on the field. He wants out of Arizona and the Bears need a receiver that can catch the ball. Boldin could make Kyle Orton look like an honest to goodness legitimate starting NFL quarterback. Jerry, make it happen.

Seriously?

I read an article today that stated, "Rep. Edolphus Towns, the incoming chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said he will hold hearings and possibly subpoena NCAA officials, college presidents, players, coaches and athletics directors in an effort to force a playoff in Division 1-A football".

I don't know what the House Committe on Oversight and Government Reform does on a day to day basis, but I don't see how forcing a playoff in college football falls into Oversight and Government reform. Sure, college football could use some oversight and some reform, but I fail to see why the government should get involved. They should be more worried about the unemployment rate and the economy.

I'm all for a playoff system in college football instead of the sham that we currently have. But, we don't need the government putting their nose into sports. We all saw the great reform policies that came from the MLB steroid hearings from a few years back. Really cleaned up baseball, huh? A playoff can't come soon enough, but it shouldn't be forced on us by the government.

The End is Near

Tonight is the final college bowl game of the year. Thanks goodness. With the absurd number of bowl games now being played, I've stopped caring about the bowl games anymore. It's just become bowl game overload. Plus, it's hard to take the bowl games seriously when a playoff is the better and correct system. Honestly, who in the hell is watching the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl? I enjoy college football as much as the next sports fan, but the season needed to end a week ago.

Like people's bank accounts right now, the number of bowl games needs to start shrinking. Get rid of bowl games like the GMAC Bowl and the International Bowl. First off, why are companies like GMAC and Citi sponsoring bowl games? New rule: If you needed government money to stay afloat, you can't sponsor a bowl game. Secondly, why are we trying to impose football on Canadians? It's hockey season up there, they don't care out football.

In other news, what the hell is going on at Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants? The pizza is not worth fighting over. Link

Flip Flopping

Not that long ago, I said that the Chicago Bears have a pretty good core of offensive players in Kyle Orton, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen, Matt Forte, and some number 1 receiver. After having a chance to think about what I wrote, I realize that I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. That's not a pretty good core, it's an average core. Mind you, it's not as bad as what the Detroit Lions have, but it's not good enough to be anything more than mediocre. Since I know Jerry Angelo, Bears GM, is an avid reader of our blog, I have some ideas on ways he could improve the Bears.

1) Get a real quarterback. Look Kyle Orton is a decent quarterback, but he'll never lead a team to a Super Bowl. David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune suggested the Bears should sign Kurt Warner as a free agent this year. While Warner is 37 years old, I'm all right with that idea. Everyone knows that he can chuck the ball downfield and with Matt Forte running the ball, that should make Warner more effective. If the Bears don't get Warner, for the love of God, draft a quarterback for the future.

2) Sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh. He could be the number 1 receiver that the Bears need. Devin Hester is going to get better as a receiver, but he belongs in the slot.

3) Get someone to replace Mike Brown. I love what Mike Brown has done for the Bears during his career, but he's way too injury prone. Move Charles Tillman over from corner to safety and don't play Kevin Payne. That guy couldn't tackle a pillow if his life counted on it.

4) Have Lovie scrap the Cover-2 defense stat.

5) Start a cheerleading squad. If the Bears are sucking, why not have some eye candy out there?

These moves won't push the Bears into the Super Bowl, but they'll at least make the playoffs and that's really all I'm looking for. Sure, I'd love it if we got to the mountain top, but leaving base camp would be enough for me.

Peyton's Face

I'm not quite sure how I feel about Peyton Manning. I definitely respect him as a top quarterback. I feel he did deserve the MVP this year. And I also feel he is pretty good in the clutch unlike many other people. What I can't stand about him though is his sideline demeanor! I can't quite pinpoint how to describe it. He sits on the bench and looks like a mixture of a kid who wasn't picked to play and is sitting on the bleachers at school and a kid who just got caught by his mom for doing something wrong and is waiting for his dad to come home. It's just not the look of a leader and a team captain. It doesn't exude confidence. It exudes worry and anxiety and even sometimes a look of frustration with his teammates or his defense. If I didn't know any better I'd think he was in the holding room at a courthouse waiting for the deliberating jury to come back with a verdict. I don't like it. It's the one knock I have on Peyton. When your the star quarterback and possibly the best QB in the NFL you can't sit on the sidelines with looks of frustration and disgust because your defense is doing a bad job or because you might lose the game. You need be positive and have a confident look that tells your teammates and the fans watching that you know that if you get the ball the team is going to win. That's what has me so confused. Most of the time in crunch time Peyton delivers for his team. Many times this season when they looked like they were done and Peyton was on the sidelines with a sour look on his face he proceeded to come in and drive them to victory as if it was easy. So why the long face Peyton? Smile! Walk around and pump up the team! Stop sitting on the bench in crunch time looking like a spoiled brat. Your a great quarterback. Act like one!