Personal information about the Artist....

If you can't be in Vancouver, Mike Mangino's new home theater is the next best place to be. We all watched tonight's game in high-def thanks to Mike and Express Vue....no thanks to NBC for relegating one of the marquie hockey match-ups of the decade to mnbc. Well, at least I didn't have to spend the evening yelling at JR and Edso to please shut up and allow the rest of us to enjoy the game (sorry guys, but you get to be in BC so cry me a river-and JR, when are you gonna drop 'em with Millsy-Vanilly! ).
Now, the comparisons to 1960 or 1980 are a bit of hyperbole-really, there are so many Olympic teams full of NHL stars that the odds of winning are much like the odds any night during the season. Typically, tonight it came down to goaltending. Miller was hot, Martin was not. I was surprized by the sluggishness of the Canadien team, but not by the hustle from the Hawks on the ice. Tazer did a great job pressuring the puck, Seabs was solid, Dunc's was quick moving up the ice, and Kaner not only showed speed-he showed strength! All in all, every bit the entertaining game I'd hoped for, even down to the spectacular open net goal to seal the deal. You probably couldn't ask for a better advertisement and promotion for the NHL in the Unioted States-
--except very few Americans got to see it!
Go Hawks!!!!!!
-tib

First and foremost I’d like to take this chance to thank all of the fans who stopped by at the Convention-it’s always a pleasure to get acquainted with new fans and the faces behind the names on the Message Boards. Also a “well-done” to Brian Howe of the Blackhawks who appears to be the Tony Ommen of the Convention-another wizard behind the curtain who seems to make it all look like magic.

Now, to address the unconventional. Stay with me here.

The best selling prints from my collection were of Kris Versteeg. Granted, Steeger is an exciting player and I do think the artwork is cool, but I think a big draw for fans to Steeger is the same thing I like about him. He’s not afraid to be himself and say what he feels without first running his opinions through a focus group. Love him or hate him, isn’t it refreshing to see someone in the entertainment industry who we can take at face value?

Yes, I said “the entertainment industry”. Hockey is a sport, but the NHL is part of the entertainment industry. I love hockey at all levels and spend a lot of time watching it being played by both little tykes and old geezers; for me it really is about ‘how the game is played’. The National Hockey League is a different matter. The NHL is and always has been a business that competes for your entertainment dollars just like the movies, theater and concerts. It’s a tough economy for non-essentials-and the Blackhawks, as well as the NHL in total-have to find ways to coerce you into their stadiums and they into your livingrooms. Controversial business and marketing decisions have been a part of the NHL since its inception. A lot of folks came by to ask my opinion concerning the loss of Marty Havlat and Dale Tallon, two guys that I also accepted at face value.

If you’ve been reading my blogs the last few years, you know that I’ve been consistent in my opinion that Dale spent big money to get big names to play in what was inarguably the worst hockey environment in the NHL. He had to do it, there were no options at that time. You can argue about the results of individuals (Aucion and Cullimore?) and the ramifications on future signings (Campbell and Huet?), but you can’t argue with success. I’ve always maintained that Khabi is the best positional goaltender I’ve ever seen and Marty Havlat will always be one of those rare athletes who has both skill and, like a guy named “Sweetness” once had, the ability to ‘see’ the game unfold ahead of him. I also happened to like all three of those guys.

I also liked Ruut’s, I also remember lecturing Yawney as a kid and hated to see him leave a lifetime later as a coach. Billy Ray was a classy guy, and Bobby Hull could never leave Chicago-but he did. Remember when Pat Foley was let go? The list of players and personnel I miss is a long one, but it’s the nature of the business. The only 2 ways I know to avoid disappointment is to 1) either quit watching pro hockey or 2) remove the illusion that this is more than a business and that we are consumers and the players are commodities. So many of us have suffered through so many bad years that we feel we’re owed loyalty because we’ve remained loyal, but those are both OUR problems. There’s no ‘Mr. Blackhawk’ to be loyal to or expect it from. That’s not an insult, its reality! There’s only the game; the guys on the ice today. So, I don’t hate Cheli or Bobby for leaving. I’m not angry about the departure of the guys I liked, but if the decisions were made for the wrong reasons and it screws up the chances of the team on the ice-YOU will remind the decision makers that YOU are the consumer, YOU are the paying audience. I’ve already written my piece concerning chemistry and the guys on the ice last season. The kids played hard for themselves, for their teammates and for the staff-a trait missing from journeymen like Aucoin and Cullimore. In my opinion last season's team would have improved on its own, without new acquisitions-simply from experience and physical maturation. I'll admit that I do enjoy some of the embellishments of the 'new' Blackhawks and the Classic was a terrific event, but in my opinion the building was selling out because of the product on the ice and the thrill of being in the same gravity as a winner, just as it was in the old Stadium once upon a time. If that formula has been altered without sound reasoning, the natural flow of business will correct the mistakes just as quickly as all of the questions, complaints and boo’s will. If the reasons were legitimate, we’ll know that in short order as well and credit will be due. Either way, expectations are as high as the stack of dollars that have been spent, and the countdown is ON!
GO HAWKS!
-tib

The immortal words of Bluto still ring in my ears as the pundits and many fans write-off the Blackhawks. A sophomoric statement from a sophomoric kid who just didn’t know any better, and that’s kinda where the Hawks are now. They must have felt a little shell-shocked after Sunday’s game. I’m getting about what I expected in this series and with no complaints. At this crossroads in time, the skill level and maturity of the Redwings is still greater than that of the Hawks. Still, we get to see glimmers of what is to come and we even had a taste of the future in a couple of overtime contests in this series. I know the odds aren’t favorable. I know it doesn’t look good-but I also remember another moment in time from MY not-so-distant past.

The following story is a fact. As a highschool tennis coach I wound up at the State Tournament watching one of my players-a sophomore at the time, playing late into the afternoon. He was my only player in the tournament and we knew that if he lost, we’d have to make the long, silent trip back home that night and he’d have to face all of his friends and detractors at school the next morning. My player was talented but wasn’t always able to summon his talent when he needed it. It was a matter of will. The match was slipping away quickly and when he was at the worst uphill climb a player can have -literally- I called my final timeout. He was down 0-6/ 0-5/ and love-forty at match point. I was out of strategy and gave the only actionable advice left, “You have the skill to win-all you have to do is win one point now, and just consistently remind yourself of that. If you want to stay in it, and if it really matters to you, just forget the score and win each point by itself.” The advice wasn’t particularly original or creative, but it was accurate. I’ll skip the drama and get to the conclusion. That young man came back to win that game, that set and eventually the match. He didn’t win the State Title that year, but he did teach me a lesson in sports and life. First you have to want it, then you have to strive for it and if you have skill and luck on your side, you may even win it.

The Hawks have come farther than I would have expected at the start of the season, but I still want more. Maybe if THEY want more they’ll remember my vintage advice-or Bluto’s!

Happy Memorial Day!

And Go HAAAAAAWKS!

...but a lot of the ‘new’ fans don’t see it yet. Although I predicted it would be a long shot possibility for the Hawks to win the Cup this year, I’ve also predicted a lot of what’s been happening this year with pretty good accuracy. I hope this series doesn’t go the 7 games I predicted, but it won’t shock me if it does. The things standing in the Hawks way tonight include our own ice surface quality and our own media environment. I’ve already made it a point to stay out of the kids’ way since the playoffs began in order to not add to the distractions-my ‘ONE GOAL’ is a Stanley Cup, and I’m comfortable being a fan right now and enjoying all this as such. O.k., I do send a few text messages to players, but that’s after the game and not a distraction-just encouragement.

It seems that almost everyone -except the players, staff and myself- seem to have an attitude that they HOPE the Hawks winning continues, but are content that this has been such a great year that anything more is just gravy. It seems that fans and commentators feel that the Hawks will be a great team for years to come and that this is only the beginning. Don’t get me wrong, I hope this is the beginning of a dynasty, but in the real world of salary caps, a tenuous economy, injuries and free agency the time to win is NOW. Think about it. What remaining team strikes fear into your heart? I can assure you that NO team strikes fear into the hearts of these kids. There’s no unbeatable dynasty now, but there is a lot of parity. The big question has to be answered game by game: can the boys put it all on the line every night? We’ve seen some flat games already, but if they can avoid any more of those, anything is possible. Detroit is being hammered hard by the Ducks, Ovechkin and Crosby are putting it all on the line every contest and using a little more up each time. Do either Carolina or the Bruins strike you as unbeatable? I don’t think so.

Then there’s history. The last time I saw a Stanley Cup won in Chicago it was by another group of kids with a less-than-brilliant record from the previous year who were rapidly improving. I’m old enough to remember those players as ‘kids’, too! They were an interesting mix of youth and vets playing under the reins of another coach who knew how to handle the kind of talented mix that doesn’t know what to expect from themselves. My predictions aren’t based on mystical powers. My predictions aren’t based on divine destiny. My predictions are based on what I see and what I know. I won’t be shocked if the Hawks don’t win this series at home tonight-
but I also won’t be shocked if they still go on to win the Stanley Cup this year.

Go HAWKS!!!!!
-tib