55fan

I never dared to dream, but it looks like we're going to beat last year's total.  I can't tell you guys often enough how freakin' awesome you are.

And you as well for setting this up.

Getting out of the first round helped, as did our Jimmy earning extra money from quite a few of us last night.

Your wish is my command:

We shall win. 

Thus it is written; thus shall it be.

By order of YFMB

Hoping we can take command if the series... I'm nervous about the officiating trying to make up for that bad no goal call

I'm nervous about the officials trying to make the series more "interesting" and profitable by tying it up at two games each.

Emery may have to bail out Crawford soon...

No problem.  Those guys have plenty of money and Kane knows his way around the judicial system...

oh, you mean in net...

Yes.  I hope you're right!

I'm starting to get over-confident in my hopes for this team.  If they win tonight, that confidence will be justified, and I can become even more confident without being unrealistic. 

Play hard, and don't let up. 

I miss Homer and the old grind line. Those were the days.

Me too, but remember that we're in a thread entitled "Hey Hawks fans".  They've never heard of the old grind line.  It was before 2010.

Kids are definitely off-limits.  Moms should only be used for pot-shots on the ice where the insulter can man up and defend his comments with his fists or his wit, as any good son will defend his mama.

The pic of Howard was awesome.  That needs to be repeated.

I honestly thought Tootoo would be a regular for the Wings, it wouldnt suprise me to see him traded in the offseason, expecially if he is riding the bench.

I don't see that.  Tootoo brings energy to the garden-variety games.   They need someone to ramp it up and bring extra spark on the average Tuesday in February against the Panthers (or equally boring game where it's hard to get psyched up, but we still need the two points).

No one needs motivation to get ramped up during the playoffs. 

Regular season games need a player with some edge and energy.  During the playoffs, everyone has edge and energy.

If we had faced a team of dirty players out there pile-driving our players and getting away with it, Toots would be out there to "keep the flies off".  As it is, despite some questionable hits from other teams which may or may not have been called, no one is out banging Z's head into anything as time expires.

Yet.

If that sort of thing happens, and the guys who are on the ice can't handle it, then bring Tootoo in for one game to sort things out. 

During the regular season, you need to send a message to all of the other teams that you won't stand for such things.  During the playoffs, you battle one team at a time, and react to what that particular team is doing at that particular time. 

At this point, the Hawks haven't been doing anything that requires getting a fighter out there, and the Wings, aside from being gassed in game 1, haven't needed the extra energy.

For all we know, he's being like Downey in 2008 and providing the on-going encouragement during practice and down-times, and being the team's positive cheer-leader and motivator, as well as providing depth in the event of injury.

Side note from Hamsterland:  Yes, Andrew is the full name of Drew.  The late, great hamster (who died the day the playoffs started) was addressed as Drew, as is the man on the ice who recently scored a goal.

There is one variable the esteemed writer for the most important paper ever, the Chicago Tribune, forgot to present us with in his infamous hammer and nail parable. What if, and I'm just spitballing this, what if the hammer is in fact a BALL PEEN HAMMER? That DOES change things.

Irrelevant.  Chicago has neither balls nor peens.

Sorry.  Had to.

I love Tootoo.  Heck, I named my new hamster after him.  If that's not love, what is?

It's not that I don't want to see Tootoo, it's that I don't see how putting him in would improve what we have.

Our first and third lines are pretty much untouchable.  That leaves the second line, where he doesn't belong, and the fourth line, which consists of Eaves, Emmerton, and Miller.

Emmerton is the weak link on that line-and I'm in no way saying that he's been bad, just that he's not as good as the other two- but he's a centre.  If Miller had a history of flipping between centre and RW, I'd say, "why not?"  But that's not the case. 

Also we have the Todd and the Shinguard Assassin in the press box as well.  I'd put them in before Tootoo. 

If someone goons things up and we need Tootoo's skill set, by all means, put him in.  If (God forbid) we get injuries, I'm glad he's there.  As it stands, as much as I love him, there just isn't a place for him that can't better be filled by someone else.

Two old ladies were at a bus stop smoking cigarettes when it started to rain.  The first lady said, "Oh, no, now our cigarettes will get wet."

The second one said, "No they won't."  She reached into her purse and pulled out two condoms and a manicure scissors.  She snipped the ends off the condoms and unrolled them over the cigarettes.  "See?  We just roll them up as we smoke, and our cigarettes stay nice and dry."

The first lady is impressed.  "What are these and where did you get them?" she asked.

"They're called condoms and you can get them in any pharmacy." the other replied.

A few weeks later, the first lady was standing at a bus stop and it started raining.  She remembered the condoms and happened to be near a pharmacy.  She went in and asked the pharmacist, "Do you sell condoms?"

The pharmacist wondered what an 80-year-old lady would need them for, but, being a professional, he replied, "Yes, ma'am.  Is there any particular kind you want?"

The old lady thought about it and replied, "I guess it doesn't matter, just so long as it will fit on a camel."

9.5 and 9.7

Raise them after the Hawks dive.

Last game we proved we could hang with the Hawks.  As long as we remember that "could" doesn't mean "will" and keep up the intensity, I see victory in our future.

You know... not trying to get ahead of things or jinx anything- just musing... a few more games like Saturday, and that guy may be right.  The Red Wings DON'T belong in the same rink as the Hawks.  And that is why the Hawks will be golfing.