For some reason, the Blackhawks just fired their general manager, and former Blackhawk great, Dale Tallon. I don't have all the information yet, as it seems to just be leaking out of the fortress that is the Blackhawks home office. Despite being somewhat in the dark, I gotta say I'm pretty pissed off right now. Dale Tallon may not have been the perfect GM, and I've criticized him on more than one occasion. That being said, you can't possibly argue with results, and DT single-handedly put together a team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season, arguably a few years ahead of schedule.
This is still the guy who brought Patrick Sharp here for Matt Ellison. Who got us Kris Versteeg for Brandon Bochenski. Who got us Jesus Christ Havlat for Mark Bell. Who drafted Toews, Kane, Barker, Bolland, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Keith, and everyone else who's going to take the ice in October. Is he Ken Holland? No, he is not. But he certainly has earned the right to see this through, and the Hawks took that away.
Dale was by no means perfect. He leaves us with a salary cap situation that is going to be messy next year when Johnny Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith all have new contracts due. But it's not unsalvageable. The Huet signing was a bit off, but at that point what had Khabibulin done to justify his salary and #1 status? Campbell was paid his market value, and Byfuglien and Sopel's contracts were ridiculous, but once again...WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS. If you compare some other GM's performances around the league (most notably Glen Sather, who is a complete and utter lunatic), Tallon has to rank in the top 10. And now who takes over? Stan Bowman, the son of the legendary hockey coach Scotty Bowman.
The exact same Scotty Bowman the Blackhawks hired a year ago to "advise" John Mcdonough in the ways of the hockey world. At the time, I thought it was bloody brilliant. We just stole the greatest coach the Scum Wings ever had, and now he's working for us! The more I heard about it, the worse it started to stink. After numerous reports of his daily tea with Mike Babcock (Scumwings Coach) I've completely soured on this. If your main advisor has his own son poised to assume the throne, just how objective is he going to be? I also said that though Scotty Bowman has no peer as a coach, his record as a GM was spotty at best, and we're trusting his talent evaluation? Ugh.
Now this “snafu” with the RFA signings now has to be put under the spotlight. I can’t believe I’m saying this about my hockey team, but was Tallon essentially framed by a management that needed an excuse to show him the door? This is fairly disgusting to me, and it smacks of the worst kind of disloyalty. How much longer until we 300 level season ticket holders are sent out to pasture by an organization that prices us out of the picture?
What’s next?
Monday, July 13, 2009
Right Turn
You ever just feel like getting away?
Apparently, I did. After a shitty night of training (the kind of night where every single thing out of your mouth is either stupid, wrong, or both) I got off work at 8:30. Not in the greatest of moods, I tried to garner some support for a trip to the theater to catch Bruno. Nobody seemed interested, so I went and snagged some dinner at Subway and headed home. Dejected, I sat on my couch eating my turkey breast (heh...breast) sandwich and reading. Finding myself disinterested in the reading material, I turned on the PS3 and tried to occupy myself with a little MLB 2009. 5 unearned runs by the White Sox later (weird how even the virtual White Sox are unable to complete the simplest of defensive plays) I was getting pissed off, and pretty much out of patience. Getting up, I decided I needed to get out of the house. So at 11:15 at night I headed to the gym.
Hitting the lap pool, I swam for about 45 minutes, trying to get un-pissed off. Swimming seemed to help a little bit, and sitting in the hot tub was even more helpful. I showered and started to head for home. Remembering we were almost out of a few grocery items, I stopped into Woodman's and picked up what I needed (24-hour places of business are awesome). On my way out, the PA system was playing a song that I'd not heard in a LONG time. Shiny Happy People by R.E.M. Being that this is one of those songs that will stick in your brain if you don't play it out, I found it on the iPod and let it rip.
The strangest thing happened. Driving back from Woodman's to my place takes about 2 minutes, not enough time to finish the song. So I cruised right by the entrance to my subdivision and turned left off of Oak street to Randall Road. And I turned the music up, and sang along. All of a sudden I wasn't a 30-year old ATC trainee that's about to get married. I was 16 again, and I just got my licence. It was fucking GREAT. The song ended, and another one of my favs from Out of Time popped on, ironically titled Radio Song. Now I'm in Batavia, just cruising along Randall singing along with Mike Stipe and KRS-One (Damn that radio song...hey hey hey!). OK, maybe now I should head back...but wait, Losing My Religion is on...I cant head back yet! Me In Honey! Texarcana! Now I'm in St. Charles, turning left on Rt. 64 heading west. Switch albums to Automatic For the People and head for The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite. Then it's on to Man on the Moon, and Find The River, singing along at the top of my lungs and pounding out the beat on the steering wheel.
Now I've reached Rt. 47, and I feel like some more high school music. What does the randomizer have in store for me? The Goo Goo Dolls, apparently. I'd almost forgotten how much I loved the song Big Machine. Keep on driving! Now it's on to Hootie and the Blowfish. Only Wanna Be With You! Time to head South on 47 and keep the tunes going. I drive all the way to Route 30 in Sugar Grove, then head for I-88. I take I-88 to Farnsworth and get off there, turning onto Butterfield road just as Sad Caper hits the radio. Now it's time for some Our Lady Peace...good solid Canadian Rock Music. Keep on singing along, drumming out the tunes on the wheel, and...oh shit. Did I just get pulled over?
I probably should have seen this coming, being that it's now 2 in the morning and I'm driving with both my windows down with the stereo on full. I'm also grooving to the tunes a bit to heavily, which may or may not be causing me to swerve slightly whilst driving. Anyways, the cop walks up and asks the standard questions: Licence and registration? Check. Know why I pulled you over? Yeah, I have a pretty good idea. You been drinkin tonight son? Nope, not a drop. You willing to take a Breathalyzer? Sure thing.
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, being that I had been in chlorine-infested pool water an hour previously. With my bloodshot eyes and crazy hair I must have looked stoned out of my gourd. Also, my night vision goes to shit when I don't wear my glasses. I nearly hit a deer, a raccoon, a stork, and what appeared to be a monkey in a tuxedo pushing a wheelbarrow. I could be wrong about that last one. Anyways, the cop must have found my story pretty amusing, and my gym bag and groceries in the back corroborated my story. He let me go, telling me to head home. So I headed home, back on R.E.M. again. Electrolyte is one of the more beautiful songs that I've ever heard, and that's what I ended my trip tonight with. I started the drive sullen and grumpy, and ended it with a clear mind and a happy soul. Music really is the greatest.
In case you were wondering, here was my playlist for the mini-road trip:
R.E.M.
Shiny Happy People
Radio Song
Me In Honey
Losing My Religion
Texarcana
Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
Man on the Moon
Find the River
Electrolyte
GooGoo Dolls:
Big Machine
Hootie and the Blowfish:
Only Wanna Be With You
Runnin' With An Angel (best non-relased Hootie song...awesome)
Drowning
Time
Hold My Hand
Sad Caper
Earth Stops Cold At Dawn
Apparently, I did. After a shitty night of training (the kind of night where every single thing out of your mouth is either stupid, wrong, or both) I got off work at 8:30. Not in the greatest of moods, I tried to garner some support for a trip to the theater to catch Bruno. Nobody seemed interested, so I went and snagged some dinner at Subway and headed home. Dejected, I sat on my couch eating my turkey breast (heh...breast) sandwich and reading. Finding myself disinterested in the reading material, I turned on the PS3 and tried to occupy myself with a little MLB 2009. 5 unearned runs by the White Sox later (weird how even the virtual White Sox are unable to complete the simplest of defensive plays) I was getting pissed off, and pretty much out of patience. Getting up, I decided I needed to get out of the house. So at 11:15 at night I headed to the gym.
Hitting the lap pool, I swam for about 45 minutes, trying to get un-pissed off. Swimming seemed to help a little bit, and sitting in the hot tub was even more helpful. I showered and started to head for home. Remembering we were almost out of a few grocery items, I stopped into Woodman's and picked up what I needed (24-hour places of business are awesome). On my way out, the PA system was playing a song that I'd not heard in a LONG time. Shiny Happy People by R.E.M. Being that this is one of those songs that will stick in your brain if you don't play it out, I found it on the iPod and let it rip.
The strangest thing happened. Driving back from Woodman's to my place takes about 2 minutes, not enough time to finish the song. So I cruised right by the entrance to my subdivision and turned left off of Oak street to Randall Road. And I turned the music up, and sang along. All of a sudden I wasn't a 30-year old ATC trainee that's about to get married. I was 16 again, and I just got my licence. It was fucking GREAT. The song ended, and another one of my favs from Out of Time popped on, ironically titled Radio Song. Now I'm in Batavia, just cruising along Randall singing along with Mike Stipe and KRS-One (Damn that radio song...hey hey hey!). OK, maybe now I should head back...but wait, Losing My Religion is on...I cant head back yet! Me In Honey! Texarcana! Now I'm in St. Charles, turning left on Rt. 64 heading west. Switch albums to Automatic For the People and head for The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite. Then it's on to Man on the Moon, and Find The River, singing along at the top of my lungs and pounding out the beat on the steering wheel.
Now I've reached Rt. 47, and I feel like some more high school music. What does the randomizer have in store for me? The Goo Goo Dolls, apparently. I'd almost forgotten how much I loved the song Big Machine. Keep on driving! Now it's on to Hootie and the Blowfish. Only Wanna Be With You! Time to head South on 47 and keep the tunes going. I drive all the way to Route 30 in Sugar Grove, then head for I-88. I take I-88 to Farnsworth and get off there, turning onto Butterfield road just as Sad Caper hits the radio. Now it's time for some Our Lady Peace...good solid Canadian Rock Music. Keep on singing along, drumming out the tunes on the wheel, and...oh shit. Did I just get pulled over?
I probably should have seen this coming, being that it's now 2 in the morning and I'm driving with both my windows down with the stereo on full. I'm also grooving to the tunes a bit to heavily, which may or may not be causing me to swerve slightly whilst driving. Anyways, the cop walks up and asks the standard questions: Licence and registration? Check. Know why I pulled you over? Yeah, I have a pretty good idea. You been drinkin tonight son? Nope, not a drop. You willing to take a Breathalyzer? Sure thing.
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, being that I had been in chlorine-infested pool water an hour previously. With my bloodshot eyes and crazy hair I must have looked stoned out of my gourd. Also, my night vision goes to shit when I don't wear my glasses. I nearly hit a deer, a raccoon, a stork, and what appeared to be a monkey in a tuxedo pushing a wheelbarrow. I could be wrong about that last one. Anyways, the cop must have found my story pretty amusing, and my gym bag and groceries in the back corroborated my story. He let me go, telling me to head home. So I headed home, back on R.E.M. again. Electrolyte is one of the more beautiful songs that I've ever heard, and that's what I ended my trip tonight with. I started the drive sullen and grumpy, and ended it with a clear mind and a happy soul. Music really is the greatest.
In case you were wondering, here was my playlist for the mini-road trip:
R.E.M.
Shiny Happy People
Radio Song
Me In Honey
Losing My Religion
Texarcana
Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
Man on the Moon
Find the River
Electrolyte
GooGoo Dolls:
Big Machine
Hootie and the Blowfish:
Only Wanna Be With You
Runnin' With An Angel (best non-relased Hootie song...awesome)
Drowning
Time
Hold My Hand
Sad Caper
Earth Stops Cold At Dawn
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