vs. 
FACEOFF: 2pm Central
TV/RADIO: NBC, 87.7 FM
SITTIN’ ON THE THRONE: The Royal Half, Jewels From The Crown
Seems so familiar. A presence we haven’t felt since… well, last year.
The Kings roll into the United Center a mere 40 hours after clocking a fellow California team in a Game 7, though this time the Hawks only needed six games in their previous round. And that’s starts a bit of a train of things that are different this time around, which is going to make for a very tough series.
Now more than ever, Hollywood is all about sequels, prequels, and reboots, right down to their hockey team, making their third consecutive Western Conference Final, and their second straight against the Blackhawks. And it’s with that that George Lucas, one of the pioneers of the franchising of movies, and his beard, are recognized.
With there being about 40 hours (give or take, depending on time zones) between the death honk of the Ducks and the Kings taking the ice on West Madison tomorrow afternoon, there’s obviously not nearly enough time to get as in depth into the opponent in print as we’d like here. Fortunately we’ve got you covered.
With the Hawks now in a series against one of two southern California based teams, and in the Western Conference Final for the second time in two years against a team from California, it’s appropriate that today’s beard be the frontman of two different southern (albeit rural) California bands- David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker.
You can discuss all the goings-on here, whoever you’re rooting for.
vs. 
FACEOFF: 8pm Central
TV: NBCSN
WHY DID I MOVE TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA?: The Royal Half, Battle of Cali, Anaheim Calling
We’ll give this one the full treatment as the winner will be the Hawks’ final step in the Western conference.
The first thing to know about tonight’s decider is that Bruce Boudreau’s record in Game 7s at home is not impressive. In fact, it’s total sewage. In 2008 Boudreau’s Caps, which were just a barely mediocre team that got hot enough to win a terrible division, lost to the Flyers in overtime (cue a Cristobal Huet stick-breaking tantrum). In 2009, the Caps made it to the second round to face the Penguins that had the NHL at its most tumescent, and they even got a Game 7 out of it. And at Verizon Center Semyon Varlamov melted down and this game was over before you could finish your first beer. The following year, the Caps fired 50+ shots at Jaro Halak, from everywhere and anywhere and in such a panicked fashion it felt like the hockey version of a teenage boy trying to bang an exotic dancer, so frantic and panicked that it was. Again, the Caps went home. They’ve never recovered from that loss as an organization. But Gabby brought this act out west with him, with the Ducks barfing up last year’s first round decider to Babcock’s Wings. So yeah, there’s some history here.
Smoke my stuff and drink all my wine: HockeeNight
Fulfillment: LA Times
Stepping up for others: Suntimes
I can wait: SCH
I can hope: TSN
That because its hard to be effective when there isn’t one: Sportsnet.CA
Chicago Craft Beer Week is now upon us, so who better to celebrate the occasion than one of Chicago’s own brewmasters? Doug Hurst is the owner/brewmaster of Metropolitan Brewery and he, along with his fantastic team, has been making some of Chicago’s best beers in their Ravenswood brewery for the last several years. With a love for German styles, Metro focuses exclusively on making lagers, incredibly rare for craft breweries since ales are far quicker and easier to produce.
Their year round beers (Krankshaft, Dynamo and Flywheel), are all incredible examples of what American craft has to offer for traditional German beers. You’ll personally find me drowning myself in Krankshaft just about every time I head to The Whirlaway for any Hawks game. I’ve written about it in our game day program before but it really is a perfect beer for watching a hockey game. Only 5% ABV, it’s light and easy drinking with a taste of light hay, lemon and touch of sweetness, you’re able to put down many of them without really losing your head. Not to say I haven’t tried. Metropolitan’s current seasonal is Arc Welder, a dunkel rye lager, which is especially great for this weather since it refuses to actually get warm.
While visiting Cologne, I once almost got my ass kicked by several incredibly drunk Germans for insisting that while their city was great, Chicago was better. Now is the time to prove it. There are plenty of amazing events going on for the next week surrounding craft beer in our city. Come out to Sportsman Club on Saturday and I’ll likely buy you a beer. Drink craft, drink local, celebrate one of craft’s many bearded brewers.
A couple of months ago, I wrote a post here mentioning all the things I like about Joel Quenneville. It felt necessary, because I spend a good chunk of my time complaining and pointing out perceived flaws, such as lineup management and sometimes getting caught cold by the opposing coach. Or at least trying to illustrate all the ways the roster he’s been given covers up some mistakes.
Watching the Penguins and Bruins eat it the past two nights, I’m reminded of one of the bigger points of that post: The Hawks’ attitude.
These things are impossible to measure or quantify, but I can state pretty confidently that Boston’s meltdown and “message sending” (defined in other circles as “dick measuring”) didn’t help their cause in Game 7. It looked a lot like a team that had run out of answers against a team it really should have been beating. It looked like a team that was terrified it was going out, which is what they looked like again when they played a very timid Game 7.
There are few actors in Hollywood of whom it can be said their mere presence in a movie elevates the level of acting talent involved, and one of those is the occasionally bearded Sam Rockwell.
