Illini: No surprises here

So I lied. Sorry. I stated earlier that I was done writing about the Illini. This year's awful play is just another chapter in the UofI manifesto on how to completely underachieve. With that being said, I actually chose to spend some of my free time this weekend watching today's game. Thus, I saw some things that I thought were worthy of a post and therefore, here I type. I obviously didn't expect much as they were facing a Purdue team that came off a win against OSU last week. The Illini ended up keeping it somewhat close scorewise, but really never seemed much of a threat to the Boilermakers, falling 24-14. Here are some of my thoughts regarding the game.

The Zooker- Zook showed a REALLY short leash for the first time in his Illinois tenure. Matt Eller missed a field goal, next thing you know Derek Dimke is in there kicking. Juice threw a pick, in came redshirt freshman Jacob Charest. It was really amazing to see him try to switch things up on the fly and light a fire under the ass of his players. Too bad that none of those changes really made a difference.

Juice Williams- I'm not sure I've ever seen someone fall off the horse like this guy. It eerily reminds me of Ryan Leaf's transition to the NFL and his absolute loss of ability. Juice is playing with absolutely no confidence, making bad reads, and when he does make a good read, he is hesitating to make the throws. All around bad play. At this point, I almost think that they should use him like they did Eddie McGee today as more of an athlete than a QB and let Charest get some experience.

Jacob Charest- The kid really didn't impress me today. That's not to say that he was bad, just really not impressive. He had 1 really good throw to Hubie Graham (who was wide open, but it was still a nice throw) in which he stepped into his throw and put some zip on the ball. The rest of his passes seemed very hesistant. He didn't really step into any of these throws and hence couldn't really muster any zip on the ball. I think that given some actual offseason work with the 1st team and more development of fundamentals, he could be a really good player.

Mikel LeShoure- I called it right at the beginning of the season (in my post after the Mizzou game). He is a VERY good runner. He runs hard, finished runs, and doesn't allow himself to be arm tackled. This was especially seen on a 4th-and-1 when he was hit in the backfield, bounced in back out to the left, absorbed a hit at the original line of scrimmage, and then dragged the tackler for a 3 yard gain and 1st down. Nice. The problem is, he needs to get the ball enough times to show this potential. Zook somewhat shook his RB by committee and gave LeShoure 15 touches today (he should have had more) on which he gained 122 yards. The kid can play, plain and simple. Give him the touches and stop messing around with the committee thing.

TEs (Hubie Graham and Michael Hoomanawanui)- Welcome back. The insertion of a new QB finally allowed someone to actually see you guys running around on the field. I thought from day 1 of the season that the TEs would be key to take some pressure off of Benn and be able to work the middle of the field. They were forgotten in the abysmal play of Juice but found by Charest today (since TEs are a new QBs best friend).

Offense- Seriously, no more penalties. The Illini got called for multiple holding penalties on their linemen, as well as a bunch of illegal substitution penalties on the receivers/backs. I'm not sure how many times, but I'd estimate it was about 5 or 6 drives that after penalties, they'd end up with a 2nd down and 15-20+ yards to go. You're not going to be successful if you keep shooting yourself in the foot.

Defense- A better job of tackling today (not too many people leading with the crest of the helmet but actually wrapping and tackling) but really nobody did anything special or worth mentioning. They couldn't force any turnovers, which is not surprising since they were able to muster almost no pressure on Purdue QB Joey Elliott.

Money Talk

There is not a whole lot to be upset about right now as a Blackhawks' fan. It was only a couple years ago that we were the laughing stock of sports. The Blackhawks were all but guaranteed a losing season, did not show their home games on TV and were voted by Forbes Magazine as the worst franchise in all of sports. So after almost running to the Stanley Cup last year and starting this year 5-2-1, I am feeling pretty good. But all is not right.

What's not right? Money. Plain and simple.

First big example: The goaltending. Christobal Huet was obviously overpaid. We found that out last year when the goalie that we were trying to get rid of (Khabibulin) stepped up and took us deep into the playoffs. But we couldn't keep the Bulin Wall because we had already spent too much money of Huet. We can't pour half our salary cap between the pipes. Not with Toews and Kane expecting big pay days. Fair Enough, I can live with that decision. But beginning the year, Huet has looked like he is playing with his eyes closed. It's not the number of goals (which is bad), it's the type of goals being scored. Soft, easy, unmistakeable. On the other hand, Huet's back-up, Antti Niemi, has shown the ability to get in the way of a few pucks and remains undefeated. Yet Huet remains the guy. Why? Because he is making the money. You have to play who you pay.

Second Example: Jack Skille has racked up more frequent flyer miles than Airline employees going between Rockford and Chicago (Ok, I know thats not far enough to fly, but you get the point). Because his salary is higher than most AHL players, the Hawks have been resistant to keeping him on the roster. He was our first round pick in 2005 and has played like it recently. He fits perfectly with the mold of the team and the 4th line. Yet, Skille is back in Rockford waiting for the next phone call.

As a Hawks fan, I say put the best team on the ice. This team is young and ready to take over the NHL. Play the goalie who can see the puck. Put the best offensive players on the depth chart. As Vancouver comes to town this Wednesday, I look for the Hawks to come out resilient and attacking Luongo.

On a side note, would it have not made sense to have Bachelorette, Jillian Harris, shoot the puck during the Vancouver game, as she is from Vancouver, rather than this past Saturday. Also, I thought even the women in Canada were good at hockey. She seemed to be a bit out of practice (to be nice). At least Ed looked to enjoy being famous...

Hawks are Getting Hot

I guess of all the contributing writers to this blog, I seem to be the only one that still remembers it exists (not sure how many people actually read this, so for all I know, I'm just talking to myself). With that being said, sit back, relax, and enjoy some savory words from the Cure.

Since my last Blackhawks post, Joel Quinneville and the rest of the Blackhawks staff must have said something right because the Hawks have been on a tear. They are 4-1-0 in their last 5 games, out shooting their opponents 165-96 and are 15/17 in penalty kills. The one aspect that is still lacking though is power play goals (they are 3/17). Sharp, Keith, and Barker each had 2 G, while Campbell had 5 A and Toews had 1 G and 4 A.

Antti Niemi (2-0-0) has looked great in this stretch, playing with confidence and making good plays with the puck when it is dumped behind the net. Cristobal Huet, while sporting a 2-1-0 record in the past 5 games, still does not appear to be comfortable in the crease. He seems to always be early to drop into the butterfly, making him vulnerable up top. In my opinion, you need to play the hot goalie. In this instance, the Hawks should start Niemi for the time being and have Huet play 1 of every 3-4 games. I know this seems like a waste since he is being paid as much as he is, but are the Hawks more worried about winning or making sure to play their top paid players? Go with Niemi. Hopefully Huet will come around.

This stretch has included some pretty memorable games, such as the win against the Avalanche in which it took 9 rounds in the shootout for Andrew Ladd to burry home the winning goal. Also, there was the 6-5 OT win against the flames in which the Blackhawks overcame a 5-0 deficiet, the largest in NHL history. Though, there have also been negative memories, such as the 4-3 loss to the Stars in which the decisive goal came off a dump in that ricocheted off the board and bounced past Huet.

If nothing else, this 5 game stretch has sure proven how entertaining the Hawks will be the remainder of the season. Hopefully though, the exciting will be from goal scoring and not digging ourselves out of 5-0 holes.

Still a Thorn in Our Side

The Blackhawks lost their U.S. debut today, falling to the despised Detroit Red Wings 3-2. The Hawks started playing loose and fast. They did a good job of chasing down and controlling the puck in the 1st period, going into the first intermission tied at 0. Then, in the 2nd, Patrick Sharp took a beautiful pass from Kris Versteeg to put the Hawks ahead 1-0. They then had an opportunity to really make a statement when they had a 5 on 3 power play for 1:53. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize. Later that same period, the good passing and offensive pressure started to fold and lead to 3 straight Red Wing goals. The first was a Lidstrom shot that deflected off of John Madden's skate, the second a wrister from Kris Draper, and the third a Johan Franzen tap in after the puck had squeaked through Cristobal Huet's legs. The Hawks then pressed in the 3rd period and ended up with a Versteeg goal at the 10:24 mark. Further, they had a great chance to tie it up after a stupid holding penalty on Kronwall at the 18:24 mark and pulling Huet gave them a 6-4 advantage. But, they could not put the puck in the back of the net and fell 3-2.

The Hawks again out shot their opponent 34-23 but went only 1-5 on the power play. Their inability to take advantage of the extra man has been a major problem to this point and needs to be remedied for them to be considered a strong power in the West. Also, Huet did an okay job at best in net. Nothing, not a single stop or upice pass or anything, in his 2 games (0-1-1) has really wowed me to this point, making me wonder whether it was justified to pay him $5.6 million this year. Hopefully, he'll turn that around and not allow 3 goals/game as he has done thus far. Now with a 1-1-1 record, the Hawks will look to regroup and prepare for their home opener at the United Center this Saturday against the Avalanche. GO HAWKS!

The Chicago Round Up

There was too much Chicago sporting going on today to limit this post to just one topic

Blackhawks: CHI 4 - FL 0
After losing the season open by means of a shootout, the Hawks came back with a vengeance in day two and picked up 2 points with a 4-0 shut out of the Panthers. They looked fast to the puck and were relentless on defense. They also took advantage of power plays, going 3/5 after going 0/3 in the opener. Antti Niemi, in only his 3rd ever start, stopped 23 shots and looked comfortable on the ice. Major kudos go out to Seabrook for being physical all game long, Jon Madden for helping down and stealing a lot of pucks from behind, and the entire 4th line for just plain outplaying the 4th line of the Panthers. Campbell, Kane, Byfuglien, and Sharp each scored a goal.

Cubs: CHI 5 - ARI 0
The Cubs got a great outing from Randy Wells (7 IP, 3H, OR, 10K) and some good offensive production from Geovany Soto (2-2, 2B, 2BB, 2 RBIs) to beat the Diamondbacks.

White Sox: CHI 5 - DET 1
The White Sox got a good outing from 'Sweaty' Freddy Garcia, who spread 6 H and 1 R over 7 IP. He also struck out 7 while only walking 1. Carlos Quentin went 2-3 with a 2B and HR. Tigers pitching hurt itself by walking 9 over the coarse of the game and allowing the White Sox to steal 6 bases.

Illini: UofI 17 - PSU 35
The Illini kept it close in the first half, going to the locker room down 7-3. But in the 2nd half, it was all Nittany Lions. They scored 28 2nd half points (21 in the 4th quarter) and amassed 338 total rushing yards, allowing 2, 100-yard rushers (Royster and Green). Juice Williams did pass Kurt Kittner as the Illini's career leader in total yards (9,126). But this was overshadowed by 'Boo's' that rained down up on the field early and often.

Chicago Wolves: CHI 2 - MIL 3
The Wolves opened the 2009-2010 campaign with a 3-2 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. They are trying to bounce back to their 2007-2008 Calder Cup champion ways, after a 38-37 campaign last year.

Looking Ahead:
Here's to hoping that the Bears can dominate tomorrow against the Lions and the White Sox can close the season by spoiling it for the Tigers (Danks vs. Verlander at 12:05 CST).

And so it begins...

Rough day in Chicago to say the least. No Olympics and then the Hawks blow three separate leads. But all is not lost. Here is what I saw from todays game.

The offense is as explosive as last year and we still are waiting for Marian Hossa. The Hawks managed to put up 55 shots on net, an astounding number for the first game of the season. The amount of shots just speaks volumes about how well the Panther goaltender, Tomas Vokoun, played. He was an absolute wall. That said, three goals found the back of the net, which on any given night should be enough to win a game.

So why did we fail to hold a 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 lead? Because we left our defensive abilities in Chicago. Maybe the defense was worried about getting the 2016 Olympics or had trouble adjusting their sleep cycle to Finland. Whatever it was, we played one-way hockey tonight. Despite having 55 shots on goal, it felt to me that the puck was always in front of the Hawks net. And after giving up two leads, the defense had a chance to redeem itself by holding on for the win. But again, with 2:21 left in the game, Seabrook dribbles the puck, rather than clearing, gets tangled between a Hawks line change and next thing you know the Panthers have tied the game. Two, less than enthusiastic, shoot out save attempts later and the Hawks get one point and an overtime loss.

What should we look for tomorrow:

1. Big 33 in front of the net. Buff is an immovable object in front and we need him there all day tomorrow to beat what looks like a hot goaltender.

2. A better defensive effort. Nough said.

3. The first appearance of the Hawks W Flag!

Goals Today:
Sharp (1)
Kane (1)
Byfuglien (1)

Not Meant To Be

Sorry Chicago, it was not in the cards for us. Stand up and be proud of your city because we deserve all of the attention we received over the past few months. We were a final 4 city across the entire world for the most prestigious sporting event in history. Not too shabby.