Turning the Tide

The boys in Indian sweaters have taken control of the series from the Preds 3-2 and have a chance to clinch tonight in the Music City. After going down two games to one the Hawks have come roaring back with the help of overall team efforts. The defense is improving, the hustle has gotten better winning more battles in the corners, and the physicality has picked up. Niemi pitching no-no’s isn’t hurting either. He’s only let in two soft goals in my prospective with a save percentage of .923 for the series. The mental mistakes have been cut down, but they need to be eliminated. The Blackhawks can’t afford any more bad turnovers as one has contributed to a postseason loss all ready and Kaner’s last night almost cost them the series advantage. Being down 2-3 is a massive difference compared to 3-2, but for now Hawks’ fans have thwarted the fear of a first round bounce out of the playoffs at least for a game. The Hawks scored two goals on players coming straight out of the penalty box….a dicey game plan! The second was a game-winner when Hossa tapped in a Sopel slapper rebound. Hossa served a five minute major when he boarded a Predator, a hit that was being compared to the Ovechkin-on-Campbell hit by the Preds’ head coach. Hossa walked away scott-free from the incident as NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell determined that the action did not warrant a suspension after reviewing the tape and having a phone conference with the offender. Hossa may have just gotten the slap on the wrist because he’s not a repeat offender, which is absurd in its own right, but hey I’m happy he doesn’t have to sit out any games. Puck drops 8 PM Monday Central time.

Tape & Pine Tar:

The Bulls won a game!..........and then got thumped. They’re losing the series 3-1. You know how I feel about this season and the most interesting part now is how soon after the season will Vinny del be fired?

Da Bears’ draft picks were, well, eh. Major Wright Safety from UF was a decent pick up. He may have been the best talent on the board at the time and it fills a need of the Bears. He’s got a nice skill set, but he’s not a great coverage guy, which is what the Bears truly need in the Cover 2. He played a nice centerfield for UF, but his responsibilities will be different in the scheme. It’ll be a fun project to keep an eye on. DE Corey Wootton was a nice pick up as well. The value in this pick is tremendous. He was a top 10-15 pick a year ago before he tore an ACL, MCL, and meniscus in the Alamo Bowl. He’s at about 90-95% healthy as he put it and still played well for the Northwestern Wildcats. We’ll see how he compliments the defense once he’s healthy and can explode off the line and be a pass-rushing menace. Josh Moore from Kansas State is a 5th round CB, is a 5th round CB, is a 5th round CB. You understand. Dan Lefevour is an okay pick. Again, the best talent on the board at the time, though he’s not REALLY needed he’s still a better option than Henne. J’Marcus Webb has a good OT skill set, but he’s a Division II OT. He’s shown he can play against tough competition, but still won’t make any contributions this year.

The White Sox swept the M’s in a three game set with no lack of drama and didn’t even face Felix Hernandez or Cliff Lee who’s currently on the DL. Andruw Jones had a happy birthday on Friday hitting two homers one of which was a walk-off. Rios stepped up Saturday with another walk-off dinger. Seems like a lot of fool’s gold, but I’ll take the much needed victories….for now.

The Cubs demolished The Brewers over the weekend, but again didn’t face the 1-2 staff members sidestepping Gallardo and Wolf. It was still a positive weekend with all of the hits collected. Sweet Lou moved Big-Z to the pen….DUMB. Then he said he won’t pitch him in back-to-back games. Talk about cutting his value…..OMFG. Dumbest move I’ve seen in baseball in my lifetime thus far!

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PREACH