WHEW!

My first reaction to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 win tonight over the Nashville Predators was "Thank F'ing God THAT'S Over!" While on paper this shouldn't have been too difficult a task for the Hawks to have run roughshod over the lowly Preds, this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there are no easy victories. That rings particularly true in matchups involving 2 seeds versus the 7 seeds. Since the 1993-1994 Playoff Format change, the 7 seed has eliminated the 2 seed 46% of the time. For a few times this series, it looked like the Blackhawks would add to that 46%...


The Predators gave the Hawks all they could handle. For the most part, they really dictated the pace of play by slowing it down, closing off the passing lanes, killing penalties, and riding 6'5" Pekka Rinne for as far as they could. In all honesty, the Predators came THIS close to pulling it off with a Game 5 win on Saturday, if not for the Hawks (sorry Al Michaels) miraculous snatching (SNAAAAATCH) of victory from the jaws of defeat at the end of regulation and Overtime. BTW I still can't believe Hossa wasn't suspended for the exact same damn hit Ovechkin put on Brian "Soupy" Campbell a month earlier?! That's one thing you can always count on the NHL Brass for...GLARING inconsistency.


In the end though, the Hawks star players, played like star players when they needed to. Tonight's victory was no exception. Duncan Keith scoring his first goal of the series, Patrick Sharp scoring his third, Patrick Kane chipped in his fourth goal, and Jonathan Toews with his second goal of the series, combined with killing off 8:27 minutes worth of Nashville Power Play, was more than enough to advance the Hawks into the second round to face the hated Vancouver Canucks.


As you can tell by reading this blog, The Beard doesn't pretend to be a Hockey expert. If I were to speculate with the little knowledge I have, I'd say the Hawks shouldn't have nearly the headache with the Canucks as they did the Predators. While the Predators provided a blueprint on how to beat the Hawks, they also had the personnel to play that style and have been playing it all season. I don't believe that will be the case in this series.

Vancouver was third in Power Play Goals, and second overall in Goals Scored in 2009-10. The Hawks on the other hand while finishing third in Goals Scored, yet barely in the top 20 in Power Play Goals, also finished fourth in Penalty Killing Percentage, third in Power Play Goals allowed, and third in Power Play Opportunities Against. The Canucks are hanging around the Top 20 in the last two categories.

So while Vancouver is lethal on the Power Play, the Hawks are just as lethal in Penalty Killing. The Hawks on the other hand score most of their goals when both teams are at even strength, and are not nearly as dependent on the Power Play to create their scoring chances as Vancouver. So as long as they avoid as many penalties as they can, and display the continued excellence they've shown in killing penalties, they should be just fine against the Canucks.

Again though, considering that I've come to agree that the Stanley Cup is the toughest Championship to win in all of Team Sports, there is just no way to predict what will happen...

Draft Stuff

I think you realize where I'm going to start with this, but overall this was one of the weirdest drafts I can recall. Players that were drafted way above or below where they would normally be selected, and teams doing things in direct opposite of their normal Draft M.O. Not to mention I really didn't care for the Thursday & Friday Night Prime Time Airings which ultimately made the long event that is the draft, even longer. Also, I want to make perfectly clear that I'm not going to "grade" or give "winners and losers" of the draft because we just don't actually know if a team had a good or bad draft until three years from now.

With that said, here's some more observations regarding the 2010 NFL Draft :

• This draft managed to combine two sports entities that I despise, into one doomed-to-fail marriage with Denver trading three picks to Baltimore to move up and draft Tim "Jesus Christ" Tebow. There's so much to pick apart here it's baffling. Tebow, at best case scenario, is a three year project before he's ready to play quarterback in the NFL. That's the BEST case scenario. The worst (and most likely) scenario is that Tebow ends up a washout. For Denver to not only trade three picks to get him, but also commit first round guaranteed money for a guy who's a project is just silly. First round picks are spent on guys you expect to contribute right away, not for "Development". As a team, you just don't commit all that money to a guy like that, especially when the coach that's drafting him might not even be coaching the team by the time Tebow's ready! Like I said earlier though, this allows both Tebow and McDaniels to be put under one Umbrella of Hatred for The Beard, and for that I salute them.



• "Is Jimmy Clausen an Axe-Murderer"? That's probably the best reaction I heard during his notorious draft sliiiiiiide into the second round before he became a Carolina Panther. It was pretty remarkable seeing a guy who is way more polished as quarterback than Tebow be taken in the second round. Clausen has a good arm with a quick release, very accurate in the short passing game, has run a pro-style offense during his tenure, yet Tebow goes before he does? Not that I particularly like Jimmy Clausen, but if it were up to me and I needed to draft a QB out of this bunch, Clausen is a much more stable selection despite his perceived "Dickheaded-ness".



• Sorry Whitey, but the Baltimore Ravens continued to be a team that is willing to make bold, big-nuts, draft picks, with their selections of Sergio Kindle and Terrance Cody both in the second round. Kindle and Cody both have red flags attached to them, but red flags never scared Ozzie Newsome and he's been right more often than not as he's produced 11 Pro Bowl players over his tenure as GM. If they work out they might have shored up a defense, that finished as the #3 defense in the league last year.



• Is it me, or do the Detroit Lions look like they know what they're doing? Not only did they land Ndamukong Suh - who's been called the best college football player in the last twenty years - but they also traded up to get Cal Running Back Javid Best who is better than most people think. Couple those picks with the free agent signings of Nate Burleson and Kyle Vanden Bosch to go along with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson....and it's not out of the question to say these aren't your sisters Detroit Lions anymore.



• Speaking of knowing what they're doing, BOTH Bay Area teams really went against the grain and made logical need picks this time. The Raiders were expected to take Bruce Campbell at #8, and the got him at #106. They did reach by taking McClain at #8 because now McClain is the highest picked Inside Linebacker ever taken in the last 15 years. They did help him out though by selecting Lamarr Houston to play DT in front of him. Their best move of the draft though, was obtaining Jason Campbell from the Redskins. With Campbell, they finally get a stable QB that looks like he's played football before, and with this story on profootballtalk.com, the end of the JaJokeus Russell era may finally be over.



• On the other side of the Bay, the Niners made some pretty interesting picks as well. They still don't have a quarterback, but whoever lines up under center will have two new offensive lineman with Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati. Davis might end up a bust, but Iupati looks like he could be good. The pick that most intrigued me though was Taylor Mays in the second round. I like Mays because he's not only very talented physically, but I'll take my chances on a guy who opts to make a big hit rather than play the ball in coverage. A conversion to linebacker is not out of the question in my opinion...



• The one team that really impressed me this draft, as well as this entire offseason is the New York Jets. The Jets picked up Antonio Cromartie to lineup opposite Darrelle Revis at corner, so naturally they drafted a cornerback - some say the best corner in the draft - in Kyle Wilson. This pick actually makes sense simply because the Jets, and their #1 ranked defense, is a very blitz happy scheme which demands excellent man to man coverage from their secondary. With Wilson, they got deeper at a position that is pivotal for their defensive scheme to work. They also picked up Josh McKnight from USC, who I think his football speed is a lot faster than his 40 time. Their second round selection of Vlad Ducasse makes Alan Faneca expendable and there is one team in the Midwest that should be VERY interested in Faneca...



• ...And that team is the Chicago Bears. Faneca would be a huge addition for the Bears simply because they are going to need offensive lineman that know what they are doing. Faneca more than fits that bill. Hopefully they pull the trigger on him. As far as the Bears draft is concerned - ehhh...Major Wright joins the list of safeties they've drafted over the years in Chris Harris, Al Afalava, Danieal Manning, and Craig Steltz. Corey Wooten just strikes me as a "guy". Is it too much of a stretch to ask Dan LeFevour to be better than Caleb Hanie??

"IS MURPH RUNNING THE TEAM?!"

The title of this post sums up the best reaction to the news of Carlos Zambrano going to the bullpen I've heard so far. Terms like "head-scratcher" and "shocking" don't do this move justice. This is baseball LUNACY. To take a guy who not only is being paid $91 million dollars, who has been your "ace" starting pitcher going on 5 years now, that usually gives you 200 innings per season, and put him in the bullpen in the first two weeks of a season where he won't even be the Closer is the equivalent of driving a car blindfolded. Not only does it not make any sense, it's also very dangerous.

Before we go overboard on how idiotic this is, let me get the preliminaries out of the way. Yes, the Cubs bullpen has problems. Yes they need a set up man who preferably has a "power-arm". Yes they are getting Ted Lilly back, and someone has to be the odd man out in the rotation. That's all fine and good. Under NO circumstances should the odd man out be Zambrano however. None. There are much better candidates that have pitched out of the bullpen before, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Silva, and Randy Wells in particular. None of those guys though are nearly the Ace, and Innings Eater that Zambrano is. Even the baseball nerds at Fangraphs.com can't make any sense of this, because here's the thing : even if Zambrano excels in his new role, he's still not as valuable as a bullpen specialist versus being the #1 Ace of the staff. There's NO WAY around that.

Another amazing aspect of this, that I never in a million years would think could be possible...even the people who can't stand Zambrano for his antics, feel some level of compassion for him now. He didn't ask for this, and this is not a knee jerk reaction to some injury that Zambrano has. This is just a bizarre decision that's out of his hands, and he's handled it like a professional. As far as I know, this has never been done before by any team, and if it has been done, it certainly wasn't done two weeks into a new season!

I honestly don't know why Lou and Jim Hendry would do this? Not only does it make zero sense, but it really doesn't seem like it will work either considering Zambrano's history is that of a guy who struggles in the first inning of games he pitches?

Things I'm Watching For In The NFL Draft

Tomorrow begins the 2010 NFL Draft. Yeah it still doesn't seem right. The Draft has always been an arduous all day event taking place on a Saturday and usually ends up with a lot of people day drinking, talking about how great their team is going to be next year. Now it's being divided up into a Prime Time event beginning Thursday Night.

Oh well, I guess we'll all have to make due somehow. With that in mind, here are some things The Beard will be keeping an eye on:

• The first and most obvious thing is not IF, but WHEN and WHOM will be trading for scumbag Ben Roethlisberger? Fresh off the heels of Goodell's 6 - but really 4 game suspension, the report is that the Steelers are taking The Beards' advice and are actively trying to trade him. Good for the Steelers and good luck for anyone that ends up with Captain Dick-Out. Odds are they can get the best return for him if they trade him during the draft. So I'm expecting it happens at some point this week.
• Speaking of character issues, I'm very curious to see where Jimmy Clausen and Dez Bryant end up? My sources say Buffalo take Clausen at # 9, and New England taking Bryant at # 22. Either way, any team that takes them will be getting guys with not only questionable judgement, but also need work too, especially with Bryant's 4.54 40 time.
• I'll also be curious to see if the Raiders are still stuck in the dark ages of "The Raider Way" and pick Bruce Campbell. Campbell wowed everyone at the combine during drills, and his measurables are off the chart. So what's the problem? Well he doesn't have ONE stinking award in college, and he never even made ACC All Conference. That has "Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" written all over him. Then again Robert Gallery had a ton of awards, and that didn't exactly work either...
• And finally, I have a sneaking suspicion that someone will take Tim Tebow in the first round. I really don't want to think that, but I believe someone will be that stupid. Despite the report that one anonymous AFC GM said there is no way they would want Tebow in THEIR locker room, I just have a gut feeling he'll be selected in the first round. You heard it here first...

Approaching Zero Hour

The book you see pictured is Tarnished Heisman written by Don Yaeger. There's a link to Amazon.com which provides further information on the book on the right hand side of this blog. It's a very shocking expose of not only what a dirtball Reggie Bush is, but also illustrates the cost of doing business in big time College Football. When I first read the book two years ago, not only was I surprised at exactly what Bush and his family were accused of, but the overwhelming conclusion I reached was that the only thing Bush was really guilty of, was not keeping his improprieties quiet by reneging on his debt.

With that said, a striking development took place today with the news that Bush settled his lawsuit with Lloyd Lake. Lake is the man who was the Bush Family hookup with all the cars, cash, a freakin $750,000 HOUSE for Bush's family to live rent free in San Diego, and various other little "perks", all under the impression that they were going to form a Sports and Entertainment firm called "New Era" with Bush as their premier client once he turned pro. When the Bush Family stone-walled Lake on repayment for everything they borrowed from him, Lake revealed that he had tape recorded conversations with the Bush Family which give specific details regarding who gave what to whom, and filed suit.

Here's where it gets even more interesting. This lawsuit along with a Yahoo Sports Special Report in April of 2006 also led to an investigation by the NCAA which initially began as a probe on Bush, but their findings led them to investigate the entire USC Athletic Program. The NCAA is expected to reveal it's findings relatively soon, and if they find that Bush was in violation (and btw HE WAS) he could be deemed ineligible retroactively and that would lead to not only the forfeiture of his Heisman Trophy, but also the Trojan's 2004 National Championship.

The way I see it : USC should get ready to tear it's banners down from the Captain Happy Pete Carroll era, and Bush should be packing his Heisman Trophy up so he can mail it to Vince Young. As I said before, it's pretty clear that Bush was not the only one on the USC team that had special "arrangements" that the school did more than look the other way on. Yeah Bush might have made it a little harder for the NCAA to gather all the evidence by settling his lawsuit rather than give a sworn deposition, but the damage is done. They have more than they need already. This whole era is finally getting the just comeuppance it deserves.

It ended up being a "New Era" indeed...

Not Good Man...Not Good

While I might have been calling for everyone to calm down about their respective baseball teams slow start, I'm doing the complete opposite regarding the Blackhawks right now. I'm officially uncomfortable to panicky right now.

It wasn't so much that they dropped Game 3 tonight in Nashville, it's not even so much as how they dropped it by being outplayed in every phase of the game. It's much worse than that for me. I'm taking this loss particularly hard because of how the Hawks played Game 2. They not only achieved their first playoff shutout since 1996, but you could tell they had gotten under the Predators skin. It was evidenced by the dumb crosscheck by Shea Weber and a roughing penalty by Francis Bouillon after the Hawks took a 2-0 lead late in the 3rd period. Those are the kind of things stupid teams do when they know they're not good enough to beat the team across from them straight up.

All that went out the window tonight. The Hawks had a huge opportunity to step on the Predators collective throat tonight with a victory. Instead they allowed the Predators to reopen the window of possibly winning this series, and have shifted the pressure on the Hawks. So now it will be up to the Blackhawks to grab their nuts, and play much better hockey the rest of the way. If that means crisper passing, cleaner forechecking, anticipating that no rebounds will come off of goalie Pekka Rinne, or whatever else they need to come up with, then that's what it will mean.

Do I still believe the Blackhawks still win this series? Absolutely. The pressure is now on though. The tricky part about pressure is, winners focus in the face of it, losers wilt.

Bears Schedule Released

It's nice to get a Bears fix. The NFL released it's full schedule today and there are some surprises involved in the Bears schedule. The first surprise came with the announcement that the Bears will be wearing throwback uniforms (pictured) commemorating the "Monsters Of The Midway" Bears teams of the 1940's, for 2 undetermined games this season.

The rest of the surprises involve the first game actually being a home game for the first time since 2004, coincidentally against the Detroit Lions. The schedule also has the Bears travelling to that middle finger of a stadium in Dallas to play the Cowboys in the second game of the season - even though that was rumored to be played on Thanksgiving.

The schedule gets a little hairy after that with two Prime Time games against the Packers on a Monday Night tilt, and at the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. There's also tough games on the road against the Panthers, Dolphins, plus the rest of the division opponents. The only real cupcakes on the schedule appear to be the Buffalo Bills in Toronto, and Captain Happy Pete Carroll's Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots and Jets appear to be tough games at home however.

If you're looking for a prediction from The Beard, it's not coming now. While it may not stop the would be psychics of the Chicago Tribune from predicting the Bears season today, I'm choosing to wait. I'd like the draft to take place, the Free Agency Deadline of June 1 to expire, Organized Team Activities to commence in June, Training Camp to start and end, same for Preseason, and most importantly the INJURY REPORT to become available before I'm going to start predicting Wins and Losses.

In the meantime I'll be content to continue to watch Mike Martz go overboard in his honeymoon with Cutler.