Go 'Hawks
I was rooting for Cammalleri and the Habs- Original Six team starring one of our own, bringing the Cup back to Canada where it's been absent so many years. Not to be unfortunately.
So, despite being a Red Wings fan, I still have to pull for an Original Six team. A little half-hearted, admittedly.
Philly won't win more than 2 games.
Blackhawk fans were all pissy after we beat them last year. I hope the Flyers sweep em.
Or a fart cannon? Or maybe the blog equivalent to the good old dutch oven?
Go Flyers. I like Chicago's Cup drought the way it is.
Have we all forgotten the fact that Chris Pronger now plays for the Flyers? I can not, will not, ever root for that scum bag.
I grew up in Wings country, now live in Chicago. I have no ill will towards the Hawks since they've never stopped the Wings from doing anything. Go Hawks, screw Pronger in the ear!
Marian Hossa pulls the same disappearing act this year that he did last year in the finals.
Hossa hasn't scored many points in the playoffs, but he's been very active on the forecheck and backcheck...
That's a little misleading. His assist rate is way up, thus making his "points" up on a per game basis over the regular season.
(Playoffs - .56, Regular Season - .47)
Hossa already has fallen off in the playoffs in terms of goals. Granted, he got that one OT game winner, but he's scored twice and his goals per game are down from .42 during the regular season to .13 in the playoffs.
What I'm trying to say is the Hawks don't need him to score to win the cup.
Hopefully? I am pretty sure he has. The only real game he has contributed was Game 6 of the Nashville series. He has only 2 goals the entire playoffs, and 9 assists. Not exactly 12 million dollars of value.
And, no love for John Madden?
oversight. Although he won a Cup with the Devils. And Knuble with the Wings.
3 straight runner-ups for Hossa. Go Flyers.
why don't you just root for Ohio State too?
Sorry, but we do not root for the Blackhawks in the Detroit area.
I grew up with both teams. My gramps had season tix at Chicago Stadium, and I grew up a big Hull, Mikita, Magnuson, Esposito fan.
Then, my Dad and I started going to games at Olympia. He dated a lady in the ticket office. We always got great seats, and got in the locker room a couple times - met Delvecchio, Howe, Redmond, Bouche and a bunch of others. That's when I switched allegiances.
So, the Blackhawks aren't hated in my family. They haven't won a cup since the early 60's, and it's about time.
not all michigan fans live in detroit. there are over 20,000 alums in the chicago area. we will root for John Madden to take home his 3rd stanley cup.
Indeed. My dad lived in Detroit his whole life until work brought him to Chicago. He still roots for the Wings (and Tigers). I was born and raised in Chicago, and and have been a Blackhawks fan my whole life. That said, he has a soft spot for the 'hawks because of me, and I don't hate the Wings nearly as much as I should because of him.
Sounds exactly like my story. My dad is from Detroit, moved to Chicago in the early 80s. The main allegiances he kept were M football, the Wings, and the Tigers. I've lived my whole life in Chicago, and I'm a true blue Michigan fan, I remember cheering on the Wolverines with my dad every saturday. I cheered for the Wings as a boy because my father loved them, and Bill Wirtz didn't air the Blackhawk games. I'm pretty sure I was the only kid on the block with a Federov jersey (my dad had a Stevie Y) and an Amonte jersey. But now I am a true Blackhawk fan, although I can't do a full hearted 'detroit sucks' chant in the UC because of him. My dad tolerates this Hawk Mania, but doesn't embrace it.
I just love see Hossa chokes for the third time and to see chicagos cup drought continue.
I will never root for the Hawks. As much as it pains me to pull for a Philly team, I must. Go Flyers!
I hate both teams and don't care who wins.
Says the guy who clicks on the "Go 'Hawks" thread and then posts.
oh no alert the proper authorities
I'm rooting for the meteor
I will root for the Blackhawks since they are from the same division (Norris) as the Red Wings (my favorite normally). I typically root for teams that play in the same division/conference/league as my favorite once my favorite is eliminated. I root for the B10 schools in the bowl games (even OSU) as it is good for the B10. So congrats to Chicago and I hope they beat Philly.
Even with the Wings out, I enjoyed the conference finals termendously. First, there was Cammelleri and the plucky Habs to root for (which, alas, didn't pan out), and second that prospect of the Sharks getting the poetically just comeupance they deserved. That, in the form of an incredibly cheap penalty leading to the go-ahead pp goal in game 4, occured in spades. (If only the culprit had been Setagochi...)
I guess I'd rather have the Blackhawks take it than the Flyers, but I'd be happy for the curse of Hossa to extend another year.
Who will give us the best sports related riot after winning? That's who we should pull for.
I hope the Blackhawks choke on a massive bag of dicks.
being a Red Wings fan and disliking Chicago pro teams in general and Pronger for the Flyers in particular, but I think this has the making of a short 4 or 5 game Blackhawk win.
Philly's #7 seed is misleading with all the injuries they had this year, but the Hawks should prevail.
I really don't understand the Hossa bashing in Detroit. If you sign a mercenary to a 1 year deal and he bolts the following year, why so angry? His departure should almost have been expected. Plus it would have been tough to have all of those big contracts in the salary cap era. What I remember is that they wanted to sign 2 of 3 players (Z, Franzen, or Hossa) to long term deals and that happened. A team with a few superstars but no depth usually doesn't amount to much. Hossa leaving probably was in the best interest of both parties.
Plus it would have been tough to have all of those big contracts in the salary cap era.
Chicago seems to be able to do it. Kane, Toews, Hossa, Campbell, Huet, ect.
Anyway, it wasn't as much as him leaving as it was how he left. For one, his deal was all but signed in Detroit. Two, he decided not to sign the deal with Detroit after Holland let him seak out a contract weeks in advance. Third, he signed with Chicago for a number per year higher than Detroit's deal, and it wasn't the first number. Lastly, he signed with CHICAGO of all teams. He's no better than Ben Wallace in my book, in fact, he might be worse. At least Ben left for the big pay day, Hossa's deal was barely better than Detroit's.
FWIW, most Detroit fans still don't like Bertuzzi. Not only for what he did in Vancouver, but for leaving Detroit only to pick up an extra year with Anahiem. I remember being almost in tears from laughing so hard after he got dumped by Anahiem after his first year.
The Hawks are doing it with many big contracts but their team is in salary cap hell right now. 4.7 over with the new deals the youngsters signed, and heading into next year they're still slightly over the cap with 9 FAs needing deals. The team will look vastly different next year and the salary cap issues Dale Talon created are partially why he is in Florida right now. Which is what I meant as far as a win-win for both sides. Hossa gets his cash, Hawks major issues after this year, which should help the Wings indirectly, and Wings are set up better for the future, especially once Lidstroms contract is gone.
I can see your point on how he left. It wasn't the classiest move but it's a business and agents can have a lot of influence.
Touche. Like I said, I don't think a lot of Wings fans were mad at Hossa leaving, it was just they way he left.
I just want to know what the hell Chicago was thinking when they signed Hossa. As of right now, they are $5+ mil over the cap right now for next year and that's only for 14 players. Hjalmarsson, Niemi, Eager, and Burish are key players without deals. The contracts they want to get rid of (Campbell and Huet) they wont be able to get rid of unless they bury them in the minors. What a mess.
The only NHL teams I root for are the Red Wings, and whoever the hell is playing Crosby. I'm not rooting for the Hawks, but they'll win the Cup. The East is a joke.
However, I must say, I will not be disappointed if Hossa and the Hawks choke.
Another team that hasn't won the cup in ages, and isn't the Blackhawks.
I'm not worried. The BLackhawks have Hossa, and as anybody who's followed that man in the last couple years knows, he does NOT win Stanley Cups. Plus, how can you bet against a team that came back from 3-0 on Boston in the series AND in Game 7, and then beat the team that took down both of the alleged best teams left in the east?
The Flyers are going to be pretty outmatched. They've been fortunate enough to avoid the offensive giants in the East. Thus far in the playoffs, they've faced New Jersey, Boston, and Montreal, who were 19, 23, and and 29th in regular season scoring. I think people finally going to understand why Leighton started the year as a backup in Carolina and had to be claimed off waivers.
Also, the Flyer's only good defenseman is Pronger. Timonen isn't bad either, but they just don't have enough depth to match up with all of Chicago's stars. I think the only team that did was Nashville, and even they couldn't slow them down enough.
Chicago wins this in 5. Then we can all laugh at them about their salary cap hell and hope that Patrick Sharp ends up on the trade block!