Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

The Cubs are preparing for a new season of hopes and dreams. The off-season was rather quiet as Hendry spent most of it trying to undo all of his mistakes from the season before. What he got in return is nothing to get excited about.

The key to any success for this team lies with the overpaid underachievers playing to their potential or better. I leave Derrick Lee off this list. He was the only position player that earned his keep last year.

The way that Hendry has configured this team rests on the core players staying healthy and producing in order to compete for the division. The starting rotation and bullpen remain an issue going into the new season.

Antti Niemi making saves when it mattered the most and closing the door in the shootout. And nice job by the man from Wisconsin, Jake Dowell on playing a good game. I am sure our friend Mad City Mac is enjoying that one.

It’s a sign. An earthquake starts two miles away from Fire Jerry Angelo headquarters in Dekalb. The man upstairs does not want me to write any more articles. The outsiders were right. This site is not only the worse site on the internet but it also has the worst writer EVER. Or maybe our friends the Mayans or even Nostradumbass predicted this earthquake and The History Fictional Channel will produce another documentary on how this is a sign of bad things to come.

Anyway…

For about the fifth time this year, the Blackhawks, Bulls and Illini all played on the same day and nearly at the same time. As usual on these days, I find myself flipping between all three games. It’s not too bad because if one team is getting their ass kicked, I always have a second or third game to watch.

1. Good game by the Blackhawks to pull it out and finally beat the Stars this season. But the defense has been a bit shitty lately and it lead to two of the three goals given up by Antti Niemi. Although I am not in favor of the Olympic break, this could give some of these players a bit of a rest. For those obsessed with stats (Cue Irish Yeti), Antti Niemi is leading the NHL in goals against average.

2. This Chicago Bulls team is hard to figure out. They can play so well against some of the best teams in the NBA then take a crap against the bad teams like the Pacers. Last night was another one of those nights. If it wasn’t for Indiana basically missing every shot in the 4th quarter, the Bulls don’t win that game. The fact that they only won by eight points shows that they should stop playing to their opponents level of competition. If they can do that, they are capable of beating any team on any given night.

3. My beloved Fighting Illini pulled yet another win out of their asses against the Badgers. They barely beat Michigan State despite the Spartans not having their best player in the game so I didn’t get too excited. Now all of a sudden, they are tied for first place in the Big Ten. I always thought Bruce Weber was a good coach and he gets the most of the players he has. This job he is doing is shocking to many including myself. Next year when the new class comes in is rated the #7 recruiting class in the nation according to ESPN. Things are finally looking up for Illinois.

Discuss.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Bears have hired Mike Martz to be their offensive coordinator.

Just another guy who sucks at play calling and that is friends with Lovie.

Sigh.

The Blackhawks will be arriving  in Raleigh late Friday afternoon following their great overtime victory against the Sharks. They have a game on Saturday with the Hurricanes. If you are free, could you take Patrick Kane and his friends anywhere in your fine city that they desire. It seems that Kane gets himself in a little trouble when he takes either a cab or limo.

Fire away.

For some of you wrestling fans out there, you should check out Falls Count Anywhere. It’s a new site by a wrestling fan living in the Chicagoland area as well. Some good stuff so far.

How easy is it to blow a four goal lead with about 15 minutes to go in a hockey game? Unless you are Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet, you can’t.

I spent my Saturday night flip flopping between three games at once (Blackhawks, Bulls and Illini). The Blackhawks took a 5-1 lead into the 3rd period and all seemed well. Then, Cristobal Huet realized that he was Cristobal Huet and shit all over the lead and the game as the Wild won in a shootout 6-5.

In a span of a minute and a half, he gave up three goals. THREE. Good thing the Illini were winning the game in the final minute so I didn’t have to see it except for the highlights. But how fucking pathetic. When I tuned in with about 12 or 13 minutes to go, it puzzled me morethat Quennville refused to put Niemi in to try to put out the fire. I understand that he had to start the next night but still. Huet out there pretty much meant that they were going to lose that game. Everytime he takes the net, a real fan should have zero confidence in him. For the exception of one or two games last  year, he sucked complete horse cock. This year, he played well for a span of about a month to month and a half. Saturday night, he returned to being garbage. It was good while it lasted.

Despite Antti Niemi’s shitty game last night, he still should be the starting goalie. If Huet is starting come playoff time, the chances for a dissapointment are higher than with Niemi.