.... I am reminded why I always have preferred hockey over hoops. Sunday's matinee against the road weary Blues, with playoff elimination on the line, was physical, artful, exciting. James Wisniewski's rocket from the deep slot with 54 ticks left bailed out Patrick Kane (who had turned it over on the Blues' go-ahead goal) and the Hawks. Kane then redeemed himself by potting a rebound in overtime... to the delight of more than 19,000. "Everybody was on their feet, screaming 'kill, kill, kill.' ... This is hockey!"

For those of you previously unwilling to give this sport a chance, I strongly encourage you to give it a try next season. Take in a couple games at the United Center, then report to us here if you think NBA games provide more entertainment.

I watch NASCAR. I don't have the energy to be a proponent of two sports nobody cares about.

But, I wish you great success in your efforts to win over the masses.

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You know me like that.

Television ratings would dispute your sentiment on nobody watching NASCAR... and not just in the South/Southeast.

I should have been more specific. I meant here. My world does not extend beyond these virtual CSFMB walls.

However, I think the ratings last year were not that great. But, I won't hijack your thread.

Go HAWKS!!

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You know me like that.

By all means, please talk more pucks on the show. Red is indeed rising in popularity.
However, I beg you to keep the left turn ad nauseum festival off the air. If you do start talking about a sport that belongs south of the Manson/Nixon line, you're going to have to get a sound drop like the Hawks horn. A screech of tires and a smash into the wall perhaps?

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Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

Hawks games are no doubt enjoyable. I returned from a long hiatus of attending them this year and had a great time. The Hawks are doing a good job of selling change and the future. The last time I remember this much excitement about the Hawks it was when Chelios was still here.

Now for the basketball vs. hockey debate. The Hawks are as exciting as they have been in a long time. The Bulls are down this year after a couple year run. Part of the reason that the Hawks are so exciting is because there is very little excitement to compare it to. I still remember going to the UC to watch the Bulls win championships. That kind of tempers the enthusiasm when they are fighting a losing battle to make the playoffs in a weak conference.

The Hawks are exciting, but it's time to step up and make the playoffs and meet the potential that they are selling. They have some great young talent, but I've heard it before from the Hawks.

I would recommend everyone to attend a hockey game if they can but I don't think it's really fair to compare the excitement generated by a downtrodden team battling to make the playoffs and another team who has made the playoffs the past couple years and has 6 NBA championships in the minds of just about every fan.

I won't truly get excited about the Hawks until I see them do something in the playoffs and I find out that it's more than marketing and a promise that the future will be better than the past.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Mac, Ive started following the Hawks for the first time ever this season. I havent gone to a game but I have been pleasantly surprised by how entertained I have been watching some of their games. I definitely plan on going to a few next season. I can see your point about the NHL vs NBA, but if you watch other teams besides the Bulls(Which I know you wont and I respect that) and turn on some Western Conference top tier NBA ball, I dont know if sports gets much more exciting than that. Seeing all three games of Boston sweeping the Texas Triangle, catching the Warriors/Lakers game last night, seems like there is a great game on every night. Tonight we get part II of GS/LA and PHX/DET should be a great game.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I did not grow up watching hockey and really only was exposed to it as an adult. I've watched and played basketball my whole life. I have attended some Hawks games in some great seats. I agree that hockey is a much more entertaining sport in person.

However, if given the choice of going to see a Bulls game or Hawks game, I would choose the Bulls game everytime. As a new fan, it really gets into whether you are willing to put in the time to understand a new sport. Because it does take time. The hockey that I have seen seems entertaining but I could not really appreciate it the way I can appreciate a well played basketball game unless I took a great deal of time to understand the nuances involved.

Hockey did not capture my interest to the extent that I would be willing to do that. In recent years, I have been exposed to soccer as well and I have the same feelings about that sport. I understand those who might find it interesting as a spectator but I am not among them.

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You know me like that.

Boilermaker Rick wrote: Now for the basketball vs. hockey debate. The Hawks are as exciting as they have been in a long time. The Bulls are down this year after a couple year run. Part of the reason that the Hawks are so exciting is because there is very little excitement to compare it to. I still remember going to the UC to watch the Bulls win championships. That kind of tempers the enthusiasm when they are fighting a losing battle to make the playoffs in a weak conference.

Rick, I'm making this as a blanket statement... not just comparing this year's Hawks to this year's Bulls. To some of us, there is no more exciting sport to see live than NHL hockey. That was my point, but you're right on the Bulls... what a dud of a season and what a group of assholes Jim Boylan has been asked to babysit. Even the great Noce turned assholio over the weekend. If an NHL player did that, his own teammates would beat the shit out of him; it never would need to go to the management team for a sentence. Hockey, and hockey players, are just inherently cooler than their winter counterparts.

I think that pretty much hits the nail on the head as to why Ill always prefer the NBA, Mac will always prefer the NHL, etc. When you grow up loving a sport, nobody is going to convince you another one is better, especially one that you know virtually nothing about.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Even the great Noce turned assholio over the weekend.


"YOU CAN NOT ESCAPE THE GREAT ASSHOLIO----Are you threatening me?"
A line from NHL Mis-Commissioner Gary "Beavis" Bettman!

Seriously, great NHL action in person always beats great NBA action(MJ days notwithstanding).

I can agree with that. I'm just waiting for actual success before I totally buy in on the Hawks. This season has been good, but it's time to generate some excitement for the present.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It's a shame that hockey doesn't translate to television, and a real tragedy that their 'national' exposure is on some cable channel most people don't even know exists.

Hockey is so much better live in person than on TV - and I wonder if that's why it's popularity has slipped over the past decade. We know why the Blackhawks interest has faded since the early 90s - but the bottom line is that Red is indeed rising.

If only they could come up with a way of tracking the puck on TV. Then more people would watch...

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In Norman Chad's book "Hold On Honey, I'll Take You To The Hospital At Halftime," he says, of hockey on television, "Even on a projection screen, the puck looks like a runaway bread crumb."

As big consumers of sports on radio and TV, I bet almost all of you would love that book. He takes the blade to everything and everybody, including an entire chapter devoted to Berman bashing.

If I'm not mistaken, Norman Chad (as of a few years ago) was Mac's favorite sports personality to interview - but he won by default as Matt Millen would no longer come on the air.

...to busy drafting wide receivers no doubt

'03 WR Charles Rogers
'04 WR Roy Williams
'05 WR Mike Williams
'06 on hiatus from 1st round WRs - took LB Ernie Sims (who contributed more than the past three first round WRs in his rookie season alone)
'07 WR Calvin Johnson

I realize that, Mac. I was referring to the grand old days of when the networks were applying their "magic" to highlight the puck and make it appear more "comet-like" upon reaching a higher speed.

Swing and a miss...

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I was told somebody was going to organize an outing for us drunken internet cretins. I would have attended such an event

I've grown up on baseball and football. I can't say I dislike hockey, but I certainly don't care enough to start following it regularly though...at least not yet.

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Frank, they had an MJH night at the UC for the Blackhawks game back in November or December if I'm not mistaken. It was a great time.

Didn't Norman Chad also say that golf broadcasts were the greatest thing for sleep since the invention of the coil spring mattress... or something like that.

That was an insult to Beavis.

A lot of this is the age-old arguments brought up by ken and killerv. I think in the end, it takes some commitment to understand either sport to truly get the excitement out of it. I know hockey inside and out, I understand the fundamentals of the game and I know the plays and how they develop. With basketball, its very similar. As long as the talent levels of both teams are average or above, its an exciting watch for me. In parallel to this, I have a very tough time watching football. I cant see the ball or the play from where I am sitting at soldiers field, and to me it usually just looks like a giant pileup of players. The plays are way too intriquite for my simple mind and I find myself having a very tough time getting excited. Hester translates very well for me, he catches a football and runs to the endzone. After that Im pretty well fooked for getting excitement. Just my two cents.

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After reading this, it does not surprise me in the least as to why you cannot appreciate the NFL.

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I thought the same thing about The Bull

i like the nba more but go to more hockey games for i do not like the bulls, and have never really been a fan. the hawks are exciting and i cant wait for the next couple of years when they will go deep into the playoffs.

Mac, couldn't agree with you more. And this guy would do the ass kicking!
The NBA sucks as do most of the overpaid goofs in the league. I'm loving these Hawks games. Now all I need to do is work the rest of the family towards the Hawks.

But Grid, Mac had mentioned about possibly organizing a CSFMB outing. Maybe next year.

I didn't grow up playing hockey, it was baseball, football and basketball. But my love for hockey is much greater than my love (or lack there of) for basketball. I actually prefer the college game over the pros because the players can actually be coached in college. So, hockey trumps basketball in my book.

I really have tried to be a fan of football, I just have not succeeded. The tailgating and drinking is a blast, but I find myself hoping the game is over quickly about 2 minutes into the second half. Its just torture to sit through the long pauses and 3 and outs. I'm sure if the team was better offensively, I would enjoy it more.

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Vince that's Burish, yeah? Mac, I couldn't agree more. Back in the day I worked for a company that did quite a bit of buisness wiht the Hawks, Bulls and Sox. HANDS down the best in the bunch were the hockey players.

Hockey is truly a team sport, much like my other sporting love; Lacrosse.

CMS

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I don't do drugs anymore... than say, the average touring funk band.
-Bill Hicks

Are you a Cubs fan?

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

It is.

Mac Wrote:


I support Mac in this, but I will need to check with Pappy to see if that rating system is flawed also.