The Blackhawks' resurgence

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As a big believer in the notion that the success of a sports league is the continued strength and success of its oldest franchises, I am really happy to see this.  Just two short years ago the Blackhawks were a complete joke, and the quick turnaround has been a pleasant surprise.

Fans warm to Blackhawks after decade of apathy – NHL – Yahoo! Sports

Nowadays, the Blackhawks are such a hot ticket even seats way up high in the United Center are filled. The Indian Head logo is all the rage, spotted across the city on men and women, young and old, on everything from jerseys to caps to pajama bottoms.

As a video on the Jumbotron before a recent game proclaimed, “Hockey never left Chicago, but it has definitely returned.”

A year after the season ticket base dwindled to 3,400, it’s now a franchise-record 14,000. Every game so far has sold out, including a regular-season record 22,690 for the Oct. 25 game against the Red Wings. Merchandise sales are up a whopping 60 percent from last year.

Fantasy Football update

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I’m playing in four fantasy leagues this year.  I don’t mean to brag, but after six weeks, I’ve scored more points than everyone else by far in every league and I’m ranked #1 or #2 in each.

OK, I guess I did mean to brag. :)

I’m sure this post just totally blew up my karma.  Ah well.

NFL Season Predictions '08

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I missed last year, but this year I’m back with a vengeance.  Here are my predicted records for the 2008 NFL season:

AFC EAST
New England 13-3 Easy schedule – 6-0 division and 4-0 vs. NFC very likely.  Should still have enough firepower to dominate.
Buffalo 10-6 Much improved and healthier D, schedule vs. weak NFC West helps.
New York Jets 6-10 Favre is a two-game improvement at best.
Miami 3-13 Parcells or not, still a mess.
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AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh 12-4 Should remain at a high level.
Cleveland 9-7 Questions in secondary. Was ’07 a fluke?
Cincinnati 4-12 Top to bottom, entire organization is a mess.  Bringing back Chris Henry speaks volumes.
Baltimore 4-12 Ravens brought in Joey Harrington for a tryout. That’s all you need to know about the QB situation.
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AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis 12-4 If Manning is healthy, and he looks to be, Indy will continue AFC South dominance.
Jacksonville 11-5 Still not ready to topple the Colts.
Tennessee 10-6 Awesome defense, shaky offense.  Young must continue to improve.
Houston 6-10 Not a terrible team, but stuck in a ferocious division.
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AFC WEST
San Diego 11-5 LT + killer D = another division title.
Denver 9-7 Cutler will break out, but who’s the 1000-yard rusher this year?
Oakland 5-11 Raiders fans likely praying for Al Davis to step down.  Has enough actual talent on offense to win games this year though.
Kansas City 4-12 Another patented Herm Edwards trainwreck.  No QB, no defense, no hope.
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NFC EAST
Dallas 13-3 Best team in NFC by far, and got even better in the draft.
New York Giants 11-5 Major questions on defense with Umenyiora out.
Philadelphia 9-7 Just not good enough in a tough division.  McNabb would love to actually have someone to throw the ball to.
Washington 6-10 New offensive scheme reportedly not clicking yet.  Campbell is a good QB who will thrive eventually.
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NFC NORTH
Minnesota 11-5 Trendy pick for NFC champ this year.  I’m not convinced yet, but they should compete for division title.
Green Bay 11-5 Probably still second-best team in NFC, but Rodgers in place of Favre will cost them a game or two.
Detroit 6-10 I predict that Jon Kitna’s 10-win season still isn’t happening.
Chicago 3-13 Defense may score more than offense will.
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NFC SOUTH
New Orleans 10-6 Last year was an aberration.  Offense should be able to score enough to win. Defense won’t help much.
Tampa Bay 9-7 Average age of the roster is roughly 147.  Still good enough for 2nd place in division.
Carolina 7-9 John Fox joins the unemployment line after this year.  Should be dominant running the ball though.
Atlanta 2-14 Cloud of Michael Vick still hangs over this organization until Ryan can prove himself.
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NFC WEST
Seattle 9-7 The best of a very weak division even with the lack of receiver depth.
St. Louis 9-7 Bulger ready to bounce back, Jackson back in the fold, Saunders now calling the shots on offense.
San Francisco 6-10 Who the hell is JT O’Sullivan?  Good riddance, Mike Nolan.
Arizona 5-11 Don’t get excited, it’s still just Arizona.

Sarah update

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Sarah is now 6 months and a week old.  Today was her six-month checkup – she’s now up to 14 lbs, 12 oz. and is 26.5 inches long, so she’s more than doubled her weight since birth now.  She started baby food a couple months ago and is now eating three regular meals a day, plus bottles in between meals to supplement, with the occasional baby biscuit.  She’s been flipping over for a while and seems like she’s just about to start crawling, which means I’d better get some gates installed around the house pronto.  I expect her teeth to start coming in very soon, too.

She’s definitely got her own personality by now.  She’s a very happy baby – when I check on her in the morning, if she’s awake she’ll let loose a huge smile when she sees me.  I can’t think of any better way to get my day off to a good start. :) She’s also very curious and very smart.  I love watching her study some new object, trying to figure out how it works or what its purpose is.  A good example is her new pool, which we got just last week.  Although she can’t sit up on her own quite yet, she’s fairly good at holding herself up if we put her in a sitting position – so we’ll sit her down and let her splash around in the pool.  She studied the water like there was going to be a quiz afterwards, with the most serious look on her face.  It’s the cutest thing.

My favorite part so far about being a dad is simply watching her grow up.  As an example, over the last week or two she’s started to use her hands to hold her own bottle.  She’s not consistent about it yet, but I can see her learn how seemingly right before my eyes.  It’s very common to see her doing things that just a week ago she hadn’t learned yet.

I love being a dad. :)

Ahh, my good friend Karma. Nice to see you again

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Last year, Chris Neil leveled Chris Drury with a blindside hit a full second after the puck was shot, driving his shoulder into Drury’s head.  Drury missed 4 or 5 games with a concussion, and when the hit was called dirty, Ottawa fans screamed “You gotta keep your head up”.   Daniel Alfredsson apparently didn’t listen.  Mark Bell just proved to the Senators that karma is a bitch by doing almost the exact same thing to Alfie – a guy who, by the way, proved how high-class he is last year by intentionally shooting the puck at Scott Niedermayer during the finals.

Ottawa fans, don’t you dare tell me the Bell hit was dirty after defending the Neil hit.  Don’t you dare.