Faxes from Uncle Dale

Recent Posts

  • Where You Can Buy A Committed Indian

    Committed Indian Map

    I know some of you are new to us, and I always get asked where to find a copy of our gameday program outside the United Center. Well, here you go. The red x’s are where we have sellers stationed every game. That’s Gates 2 (Scott, generally) and 3 (yours truly), Madison and Wood (Adam), Monroe and Wood (Hamish, though not tonight), and Monroe and Damen (Sarah). Sometimes, when I’m lucky, we have a sixth vendor at Damen and Madison (Glenn). So if you’re heading down to the United Center any time this year and have never purchased our booze-soaked rag to get you ready for that night’s game, you now know where to find us.

  • Morning Links 10/1/13

    Morning Links 10/1/13

    Tonight on Madison: Blackhawks.com

    Every body is ready: Trib

    No hangover sequels: DH

    Dynasty watch: PHT

    Central belongs to the Hawks: SI

    So will the Cup: SN

    This is a good thing: PD

  • Wheel It Out Here, Carnac

    Just about 30 hours or so from the new piece of cloth going up to the rafters. And as I do every year, I’ll take a whack at predicting what goes on this season. I think the only thing I’ve ever gotten right was Hawks-Flyers in 2010 (so did McClure, and boy did the Flyers make it interesting before getting there). But we’ll do it anyway. I’ll invite the other three goofs on this blog to add their predictions to this post later today, but they have lives which I don’t. So no guarantees that I won’t be the only one hanging himself upon his own petard.

    Let’s do it:

    Hawks point total – The number 102-105 keeps ringing around my head. Of course, last year the Hawks were on a 131-point pace (Jesus Christ!), but no one expects that again. 102 in the old set up would have landed the Hawks probably a 4th or 5th seed. 105 near the top I would think. I just don’t see them ducking the injury and fatigue bugs all season as they pretty much did last year (only Sharp missed significant time). In this new division set up there are certainly easy points to rack up, and the Conference as a whole won’t be as tough as it once was with Vancouver and Anaheim sure to backslide at least a little. Only Edmonton looks like it has a chance to rise up, and even then only a little.

    Would 105 win the division? Probably. Not sure 102 will. Pretty sure it won’t matter if the Hawks are mostly healthy in April.

    (more…)

  • Morning Links 9/30/13

    Morning Links 9/30/13

    I think the roster is set: Comcast 

    Hossa is ready: SunTimes

    Unsung hero: Daily Herald

     

     
  • The Board Is Set

    The Board Is Set

    We tune it up for real now. The Hawks have picked their roster that will head into the regular season…..for at least one or two games. Remember, it’s not been beyond Q and Stan to change things early. And considering the moving parts the Hawks have, we should expect all of those who lasted until the last cut to get a look at some point. They might all get one before October is even out. So chin up there, J-Mo, Pirri, and one or two others.

    Now that the roster is set, let’s pick through the decisions that were made.

    -The upset was that Joakim Nordstrom will skate out on Tuesday with the big club, which I don’t think anyone saw coming when camp started. It’s always slightly easier for an energy player to make a splash and carve out a spot on the 4th line, but Nordstrom wasn’t the pick of most.

    Like everyone else, I’ve liked what I’ve seen. Fearless, quick, looks like a player who can help keep the puck in the other end which is all you ask of a 4th line. But I wouldn’t get those #42 jerseys just yet. I remember Pirri making the team two seasons ago out of camp and getting all of one game.

    The other thing to watch is that Nordstrom is only 21 and has played 11 games on this continent that count, those being last year in the AHL after his Swedish season ended. If he’s here he really needs to play. While the Hawks are no longer in the business of development, it would be kind of a waste to just have him in the pressbox every game. But a 4th line of Smith-Shaw-Nordstrom would be extremely annoying to play against. Nordstrom also will get a look on the kill, which should save a top-sixer the duty if he sticks around. As we’re all interested in conserving minutes for the big guns, that’s a good thing.

    That is of course, until he sits for Bollig.

    (more…)

  • Caps vs Hawks Pre-Season Finale Thread

    Yes, it is on TV on CSN+ (channel 285).

    This will be the final audition for the kids, but it will also be the first Marian Hossa spotting of the fall, which is usually an indicator of a bountiful autumn harvest.

    Corey Crawford is a late scratch, with Antti Raanta getting the call up to back up Nikolai Harvey Birdman. Crawford is listed as having lower leg stiffness, which sounds like a Kane pick up line more than it does a real injury.

    Have at it one more time before it counts.

  • And So It Begins – The CI's Season Preview: The Final Questions

    And So It Begins – The CI's Season Preview: The Final Questions

    Well, we’re about to embark on it all. Before we head into the dress rehearsal tomorrow (please Brandon Pirri, have like four assists), and before we roll out our Central Division special on Monday and then it all kicks off on Tuesday, there’s a few questions we should wrap up. So, let us away, friends.

    Will Patrick Kane crack 100 points?

    He’s going to make a run at it, that’s for sure. There’s something that happened to Kane last year. He seemed to thrive in cementing himself as a top five player in the league, at least offensively. There seems to be a new determination in him to do things he hasn’t done before. He wants an Art Ross, he wants to be in the Hart conversation, he seemingly wants to erase what he used to be known for. But, as good as he was last year, he was only on pace for only 95 points.

    (more…)

  • And So It Begins – The CI’s Season Preview: The Final Questions

    And So It Begins – The CI’s Season Preview: The Final Questions

    Well, we’re about to embark on it all. Before we head into the dress rehearsal tomorrow (please Brandon Pirri, have like four assists), and before we roll out our Central Division special on Monday and then it all kicks off on Tuesday, there’s a few questions we should wrap up. So, let us away, friends.

    Will Patrick Kane crack 100 points?

    He’s going to make a run at it, that’s for sure. There’s something that happened to Kane last year. He seemed to thrive in cementing himself as a top five player in the league, at least offensively. There seems to be a new determination in him to do things he hasn’t done before. He wants an Art Ross, he wants to be in the Hart conversation, he seemingly wants to erase what he used to be known for. But, as good as he was last year, he was only on pace for only 95 points.

    (more…)

  • Fireside Chat

    By now, what else can be said about the Toronto-Buffalo scrap from Sunday night starring old friend John Scott. I’m not going to turn this into an enforcer debate because I’d rather hear about your religious beliefs or thoughts on abortion.

    Instead, the part that’s tickled me are people who try to compare the situation to what happened in the 60’s or 70’s. “For those people who are offended at this line brawl, what would you think about this fight from 1974??” they say.

    I’m guessing those people would be equally offended but that’s just a hunch.

    (more…)

  • Morning Links 9/26/13

    Morning Links 9/26/13

    I put no stock in predictions, but damn this is a cool cover: Blackhawks.Com

    This goes against everything I was ever taught: SunTimes

    New Role for an old face: CSN

    Pressure on Bickell: SunTimes

    I like this story:Washington Post