The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

It seems like the Hawks are catching more heat than usual for the ol' Jew-hating wife-beater, maybe because the Hawks lost and people are cranky.

I'd say at this stage of the game, with the Hawks' goodwill restored from the 2007 lows and his counterpart Stan Mikita dying of dementia, it's time to phase Hull out. They don't need a statement condemning him, which would be hypocritical, just dial back his appearances and emphasize Savard, Esposito, and others instead. In fact, it seems like they're already moving in that direction with Savard stepping up as the Hawks alumnus, but the father/son deal today was too obvious to pass up. Maybe Steve Larmer can start getting some ambassador work. Jonathan Toews is putting up as many points these days as the ambassadors; try sending him to a Buffalo Wild Wings in Elburn.

I can't believe Big Red or Lil Danny aren't jumping on the interview Roenick did at the game with Brett and Bobby where he wrapped it up with something like " you're both great ambassadors and great human beings as well" . He.Beat.His.Wife.

Oh but we weren’t done. As if the pregame wasn’t bad enough, we then get a separate interview with Bobby Hull, where Roenick refers to him as one of the “greatest guys.” This was only a few more minutes after Pierre McGuire had told Quenneville that the HAwks have been, “such solid citizens for the NHL” I nearly puked.

Those of us on this side don’t ask much. I don’t need mention of everything that went on with the Hawks last year. I just don’t need them lauded as being some sort of mark of humanity when all they’re really good at is winning hockey games. Stick to that, and we’ll deal with the rest. I don’t need Bobby Hull vilified on TV or tarred and feathered, though I wouldn’t complain either. I just need him to not be around. It’s remarkably simple.

And yet neither the Hawks or NHL can manage it. And they wonder why their ratings are worse than a soccer league’s where all the games kickoff before noon.

All in all, a pretty wretched day for a Hawks fan.

I know this is remarkably dark and morose for a game wrap in January. And I don’t really want it to be. But if you’re curious as to why we sometimes write and talk the way we do, this is why. Because it seems like the league and team, needing the simplest steps with no cost in order to not insult this part of its fanbase, can’t figure it out, actively doesn’t want to, or is purposely putting our nose in it.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Fels was already on it today, says he can't be a Hawks fan the way he used to because of Hull.



I mean, he's right, but when he talks about "insulting part of the fanbase," he's only really talking about an elite coterie of bloggers and twitterers who talk to themselves about how smart they are, where even for the NHL, where the diehards are a bigger percentage of an admittedly smaller pie than in any other league, hardly anyone really cares that Bobby Hull beat his wife and thinks Hitler had good ideas. It's so easy to lose sight of how badly we overrepresent ourselves as hyperinvolved hockey fans. Most people don't care about how short the ice girls' skirts are, just like most people don't care about the rampant taxpayer subsidies going to prop up Columbus or Phoenix or Nashville, just like most people don't care about any of the stuff we care about. Bobby Hull can get lost, but to pretend that the Blackhawks are "rubbing your nose" in anything and not just going about business the way teams go about their business is histrionic martyrdom. No one at the Hawks really gives a shit about what the Ryan Lambert Posse has its feelings hurt about this week.

It seems like the Hawks are catching more heat than usual for the ol' Jew-hating wife-beater, maybe because the Hawks lost and people are cranky.

I'd say at this stage of the game, with the Hawks' goodwill restored from the 2007 lows and his counterpart Stan Mikita dying of dementia, it's time to phase Hull out. They don't need a statement condemning him, which would be hypocritical, just dial back his appearances and emphasize Savard, Esposito, and others instead. In fact, it seems like they're already moving in that direction with Savard stepping up as the Hawks alumnus, but the father/son deal today was too obvious to pass up. Maybe Steve Larmer can start getting some ambassador work. Jonathan Toews is putting up as many points these days as the ambassadors; try sending him to a Buffalo Wild Wings in Elburn.

Fels was already on it today, says he can't be a Hawks fan the way he used to because of Hull.



I mean, he's right, but when he talks about "insulting part of the fanbase," he's only really talking about an elite coterie of bloggers and twitterers who talk to themselves about how smart they are, where even for the NHL, where the diehards are a bigger percentage of an admittedly smaller pie than in any other league, hardly anyone really cares that Bobby Hull beat his wife and thinks Hitler had good ideas. It's so easy to lose sight of how badly we overrepresent ourselves as hyperinvolved hockey fans. Most people don't care about how short the ice girls' skirts are, just like most people don't care about the rampant taxpayer subsidies going to prop up Columbus or Phoenix or Nashville, just like most people don't care about any of the stuff we care about. Bobby Hull can get lost, but to pretend that the Blackhawks are "rubbing your nose" in anything and not just going about business the way teams go about their business is histrionic martyrdom. No one at the Hawks really gives a shit about what the Ryan Lambert Posse has its feelings hurt about this week.

What exactly do Fels and the rest want?

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

It's a pet cause. I'm not capable of downplaying the $50 million in tax dollars that Glendale gave the Coyotes not to move back to Winnipeg because that's the stuff that drives me up a wall. I care about sports teams not bleeding municipalities dry with corporate welfare. Sam cares about impressing girls with tattoos and easily hurt feelings. That's the way it goes.

Well Mac told me to to tell you to go FUCK YOURSELF!!! ..So now it's been said .. .

Also, there's no way in hell a BWW would be in Elburn. Less than 15 years ago we had no stoplights; now we have two. Strangely though, we do have four different pizza options.

And a fine meat market.

I think most of the new generation of Hawks' fans don't know or care who Bobby Hull is. The people with license plate frames and window flags don't care about the '61 team.

Trae Young will be a bust. Book It!

Very true. We know how a large percentage of fans acted when Kane was being investigated for raping a girl so we know that they don't care about something that happened 50 years ago.

Overall, it just speaks volume to this garbage notion that the Hawks are some noble, model franchise. A team with character would have nothing to do with Hull. A team with character wouldn't have waited to suspend Garrett Ross until it became public. You're not great guys just because you shoot some look-at-us videos with wounded veterans or senior citizens or sick kids in the hospital.

And Hair I am with you on the public subsidies for sports franchises. It pisses me off. What happened with the Marlins should never be allowed to happen.

Overall, it just speaks volume to this garbage notion that the Hawks are some noble, model franchise.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

That's just idiotic.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Sam Fels is cool because he acts like a big tough punk but I'm pretty sure he's a theatre kid who went to an elite private school. He'd fit here like a glove.

Trae Young will be a bust. Book It!

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Trae Young will be a bust. Book It!