That explains it.

Which led me to the next train of thought, as I watched Brent Seabrook waddle his way through another clanger of a game. Because the story continues, and because of the inherent stupidity/unfairness of the NHL system, players like Seabrook are held up for treatment and scorn they should never have to deal with.

I’ve listened to far too many people honestly discuss a trade of Duncan Keith. Just as we did last season with Jonathan Toews. We’ve heard the lamenting of Seabrook’s contract. And to me it’s dispiriting at best, disgusting at worst.

All sports are moving this way now, and have for a while, but the NHL’s hard cap system forces fans to see players as only parts, or assets. Brent Seabrook is no longer Brent Seabrook. He’s Brent Seabrook’s contract. Duncan Keith is Duncan Keith’s trade value/possibility. It may not be long before Patrick Kane (setting aside all the other issues for a minute) or Corey Crawford become What They Can Be Cashed In For.

It’s not fair to the players, but it’s also not fair to the fans. No longer will any player aside from a very select few get to finish their careers with one team, unless they do some curtain-call like Patrick Sharp’s last year which felt sort of empty. It only happened because no one else would have wanted him. It’s a sideshow, not a swan song or farewell.

...

Seabrook, Keith, and Toews in the past have done far too much for the Hawks and the fans to have to deal with being seen as merely what they can return in trade or absence. While they’re paid professionals and it’s part of the job, it’s harder on fans whose memories get more and more sullied by views of the players who provided them now.

I don’t like hating on Seabrook. In fact, it hurts at times. And I or many others wouldn’t if his contract weren’t such an obstacle. We can’t help but see it that way because of the things the Hawks must do to rise again. Why is this working out for anyone? We should see what the players are now of course, but we shouldn’t have to turn on them because a team decided to give them a lot of money. They didn’t force anyone to do that.

Yes, Seabrook and Keith have culpability in how they’re perceived. Seabrook through his fitness levels and Keith through the lack of adjustments in his game as he ages. That doesn’t mean they should go from hero to wares in the span of a few seasons.

Of course, any of this would require an actual spine from the players’ association, who would probably have to strike to get it. Instead they’ll just roll over again to get their bellies tickled when the new CBA rolls along. And players like Seabrook and Keith will get hammered for what they used to be, and their paycheck.

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

Dougie Hamilton?!?!

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

I just found this, what a huge Who You Crappin'

https://faxesfromuncledale.com/the-unfa ... of-it-all/




The same guy who has been calling Seabrook a fat piece of shit for years now, even when the team was winning the Stanley Cup, is now all "O this cruel world we live in, try to remember the human being." That's to say nothing of the contempt he regularly shows for all players, at least any player who's not a bantamweight from Europe or is P.K. Subban, who are all spoiled rich kids, middle school dropouts, probably untalented, likely rapists, definite cokeheads, and in all ways inferior to NBA players. But now we're supposed to lament that the hard cap makes us resent our players? Where were you on this, like, eight to ten years ago? And why is it unfair to do this to fans? You think any fans who don't post on Twitter with you are just as shitty as the players they like. Ugh.

Rich dead parents

Fels tweeted that he cried watching Wrestlemania

Let me guess....he was on the right side of history with Kofi winning a predetermined match that everyone knew he would win weeks ago?

Fels tweeted that he cried watching Wrestlemania

For instance they were never taught that Columbus was a slave owner.

P.K. Subban is the best player in hockey according to Julie's hijab wearing friends on Twitter. So based on that it's going to be tough to acquire him.

For instance they were never taught that Columbus was a slave owner.

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

People in the Nashville office/dressing room are getting tired of Subban's crap, the same way people in the Montreal office/dressing room got tired of his crap. I want hockey to have big personalities as much as anyone, but in my heart I know that fostering larger-than-life characters in as full a team game as hockey is kind of like getting a dog to walk on its hind legs. Shit just doesn't work if you aren't willing to put the greater good first.

As for the notes of desperation wafting from this blog, well, I think anyone could have told them that they were overestimating the overlap between hockey fans and devoted, Twitter-forged culture warriors. And that's not a slam on the sensitivities of hockey fans vis-a-vis fans of any other major sport, but rather an observation that living in certain corners of Twitter skews your perception of reality. There aren't even enough people who care enough about MeToo to get Joe Biden to stop groping little girls. How are there going to be enough people who pay to read, I dunno, some guy screaming about John McDonough being insufficiently inclusive of women? In short, what's the market for what he's selling?

For instance they were never taught that Columbus was a slave owner.

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

Local artists: At this point, if you’ve had season tickets you can recall the UC playlist from heart. The Hawks have come out from intermission to Foo Fighters and “Riding The Storm Out” for all 11 seasons I’ve had seasons. Just put a modicum of effort into this one.

Music during stoppages and TV timeouts should slant, though not be entirely, from local bands and musicians. There should be more Chance, Lala Lala, Vic Mensa, Pelican, Lupe Fiasco…fuck this list could go on forever.

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

You can’t get more generic than the Hawks at the UC, at least after the anthem. It’s either the scoreboard coercing everyone or Tommy Hawk and his tambourine into a “Let’s Go Hawks!” chant. We can do better.
Take one section of the 300 Level, preferably behind the goal the Hawks attack twice. Dedicate it to your biggest fans, a la supporters sections you see in MLS. Charge a certain few with coming up with unique chants and songs tailored to the Hawks and their players specifically. Give them a couple months to get everyone in the arena to learn them and get on board

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

Charge a certain few with coming up with unique chants and songs tailored to the Hawks and their players specifically.

He wants to become soccer Nashville. Burrito

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.