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Beard Of The Day – May 12th – John Mahoney

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Though born in England to Irish parents, actor John Mahoney has made Illinois  (specifically Chicago) his home for over 50 years since he first came stateside to live with his sister in the late 1950s. Mahoney has been a fixture in the Chicago theater scene through the world famous Steppenwolf, which he parlayed into his most famous gig, as the gruff father of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce in the critically acclaimed (and often annoying) Frasier. Ironically, while playing the supposedly uncultured Martin Crane, it was Mahoney who first introduced Pierce to high art like the opera.

But with his gravelly voice, paternal demeanor, and occasional beard, it led Mahoney to being repeatedly cast as authority figures such as Lieutenant Vince Hardy in the Bruce Willis garbage fest Striking Distance, or as state’s attorney Shaughnessy in the Chicago-set and massively underrated Primal Fear. But bearded or not, Mahoney always brings his A-game to any production he’s in either on stage or screen, and can often be seen around town.

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High On The Hog: Postseason Thoughts

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The Rockford IceHogs have hit a postseason roadbump in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Rockford dropped the first two games of their Western Conference Semifinal in Grand Rapids last week.

Red Wings forward prospect Teemu Pulkkinen was the harvester of sorrow in Games 1 and 2, torching the Hogs for five goals and six points in the two Griffins victories. A strong Grand Rapids showing at home was not unexpected. However, the IceHogs have their work cut out for them as the series shifts to Winnebago County.

Here’s my take on the way the postseason is developing for the IceHogs as they look to hold serve at the BMO, starting with Game 3 Wednesday night.

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Beard Of The Day – May 11th – Sean Bonnette

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As the lead singer of the folk group Andrew Jackson Jihad, the bearded Sean Bonnette minces absolutely no words. His biting, caustic lyrics juxtaposed against the traditional sounds of an acoustic (and sometimes electric) guitar are laced with dark, uncomfortable humor while making very specific social commentary. By touring relentlessly over the last decade, he and the rest of the band have slowly built a following that’s brought them out of basement shows and into larger rock clubs, all while never once compromising the message he wants to convey.

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Beard Of The Day – May 9th – Troy McClure

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OK – So Troy McClure only may have only had a beard for one role in his illustrious career but when he was tagged for the brand-new multi-million dollar musical based on Planet Of The Apes as the human lead, he knew it was the role he was born to play. And when you’re going to be surrounded by damn dirty apes.. you’ve got to make your facial hair game strong. Troy didn’t let us down.. and he even learned how to play the piano!

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The Blood Stays On The Blade

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Just cleaning up after a series sweep, before we all adjourn for the weekend and reconvene… sometime. We don’t know when, really.

-McClure and I were talking about this today, and he was wondering if despite the adulation he does get, if Patrick Kane’s playoff performances are truly appreciated. Kane’s PPG is fourth among active players, behind Crosby, Malkin, and Giroux. And that’s over 103 games, so sample size is not a problem. All time for the Hawks, he’s behind Hull and Savard in points per game. But if you were to weigh it to compensate for how much tougher it is to score now than it was when Hull and Savard played, Kane’s PPG would probably come close to blowing them out of the water. Quite simply, Patrick Kane, right now, is the greatest postseason performer in Hawks history. I’m not even sure it’s close.