According to CSNChicago.com's Tracey Myers' Twitter, the Blackhawks are starting the crammed NHL schedule Saturday, January 19th at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. They're the first opponents for the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings in an afternoon game.

Details are still sketchy in regards to whether the game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports, but it will be carried on 720 WGN Radio with John Wiedemann & Troy Murray in L.A. and Judd Sirott at WGN Radio's Tribune Tower studios locally. More details to come...

you suck crosscheck

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I can 100% guarantee this will be televised on NBC or NBC Sports.

I should've been more specific. NBC5 locally or NBC Sports Network, now on DIRECTV 220.

Still developing...

Unless they can find a way to suck the Pens/Philly/Caps dick anymore on national broadcasts

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Elections have consequences.

Haters gonna hate...

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team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

Yep I am stuck with Pens/Flyers here.

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Elections have consequences.

I really do not like the first game being on national TV. I want to hear my local guys.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

That's out of my control. You can get your John Wiedeman & Troy Murray fix Saturday on 720 WGN Radio, while Dave Strader, Eddie Olczyk & Brian Engblom call the Blackhawks/Kings' game Saturday afternoon @ 2P on NBC.

Oh, Strader is terrible. He had some completely insipid comment during a national game last year about how it's good that there aren't as many power plays as there were a few years ago and we shouldn't inflate scores by having too many power plays. You're right, Dave. Let's just not call anything and let every game devolve into clutch-and-grab bullshit. That's serving us well OH WAIT HORRIBLE PLAYOFF RATINGS YES I FORGOT

There's a whole supercut of Strader goal calls that are just "whoa, it's into the net!" over and over. The guy's entire career is Patrick Kane's Cup goal.

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Dave Strader was also pressed into service to call the Blackhawks' Winter Classic loss vs. the Red Wings in 2009 at Wrigley Field due to "Doc" Emrick getting sick that day.

I bet Pat Foley will also get an occasional NHL/NBC assignment on a regional level at some point in addition to his Blackhawks' duties primarily on Comcast SportsNet. Interesting to note, WGN's CW9 only has 2 Hawk games scheduled this lockout-shortened season.

Hawks lose 7-2.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Ah, Emrick's no damn good either. Pat Foley with a thesaurus and self-importance.

I don't think NBC will use Foley as much as they should nationally, by the way.

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Whoa, Emrick is the goods.

SHARK, just an FYI, John Wiedeman is the best play-by-play man in Chicago.

Foley is good, but seems to have lost a little off his fastball since he came back to the organIzation. I like Wiedeman a lot. He is great for radio broadcasts and would probably be just as good on TV.

Wiedeman will probably move to television when Foley retires, but part of his charm is that he doesn't miss a thing, and he would have to let the game breathe a little bit on the TV side. That's why Foley has "lost his fastball" to people: without the simulcast, he doesn't have to paint the picture as much, and only needs to complement the action.

And yeah, it's between Wiedeman and Pat Hughes for best pxp in the city.

Emrick is most certainly not the goods. Of the numerous pseudo-intellectuals in sports, he's far more pseudo than intellectual. Patter like "hockey was first played in Nova Scotia. Sidney Crosby is from Nova Scotia. Here in overtime, the last goal could be scored by someone from the first rink" isn't illuminating or clever, just tedious. That's to say nothing of his apparent book The Eskimos Have 100 Words For "Pass." I don't think you're any better at your job because the puck was relayed from Toews to Kane, who saucered it to Keith, who careened it back to Seabrook, who in turn pinballed it over to Crawford, where he could domino-rally it back to Kane, who then hamdingered it to Hossa, who rotary-phoned it past Osgood for the goal. Enough already, dude.

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John Wiedeman is really good describing a Blackhawk game on the radio side.

I'll go with Hawk Harrelson. I'm a Cubs fan,but love his stories about baseball in the 70's. (Hey,that's a shocker!) Pat Hughes sounds like a guy imitating a broadcaster. Len Kasper is fine,not great. The Bears team blows.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

You and Dan Bernstein are the only people who think Ed Farmer is better than Pat Hughes.

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Hell yes. The entire Hawks broadcast team both TV and radio is the shit

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

I also like Farmio

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Elections have consequences.

Pittmike, Gamecenter is only 50 bucks this season so you won't have to deal with shitty stream. You'll get blacked out of 7 of the national games. You can stream through TV if you have XBOX live if you need a big picture.

I emailed them about that. Game center will black out the Hawks anytime they are on NBC. So this week I will find a stream somewhere.

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Elections have consequences.

Pretty excited about today. Was positive that there would be no hockey this season but here we are. Hope the Hawks can pull one out against the champs but it feels like it's been forever since the Hawks have won a season opener.

Toews is questionable with "the flu," we've always lost the first game of the year in the Toews/Kane era, and we always lose to Quick. My recommendation is to just be happy there's hockey and hope the loss is close.

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Kopitar and Mitchell are out so it evens out...

Kings-2
Hawks-4

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team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

Now hearing Toews in, Saad out, also with flu. Honestly, I might prefer Saad getting first-line minutes in Rockford than being a 13th forward on the big club.

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Agreed. Give him one more year in Rockford. This Hawks team isn't a real contender for the Cup this year.

Hopefully, I'm setting myself up to eat some crow.

Sutter looks like a Dick Tracy mobster.

I hate the Kings less than other recent cup winners so I'm not throwing things at my TV or cat watching the damned banner and ring deal.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014