OT: Hawks are Stanley Cup champions!

[Bravesfan]

Congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks on a history making season! Pandemonium in the Wrigleyville area right now!

This championship really makes amends for so many years of futile management and leadership, and shows what can happen when the right people can make it happen.

Let's hope this rubs off on our Bradley Braves and they can bring home a Valley championship this upcoming season!

[Da Coach]

The Stanley Cup is back in Chicago!-

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/06/blackhawks-land-in-chicago-with-stanley-cup.html

Hawks fans in Chicago celebrate-

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/06/hawks-legend-hull-cheers-from-harry-carays.html

Parade Friday in Chicago.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/06/blackhawks-parade-rally-set-for-friday.html

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2009030416

http://www.suntimes.com/news/2377066,chicago-blackhawks-fans-celebration-060910.article

It's the Cubs turn now!

[real fan]

The Flyers and BlackHawks put on a great show for everyone that watched, that was simply good hockey with the team that had the better skilled players winning, wish basketball would get back to being more of a fines game instead of more like a football game .

[amckillip]

The Flyers and BlackHawks put on a great show for everyone that watched, that was simply good hockey with the team that had the better skilled players winning, wish basketball would get back to being more of a fines game instead of more like a football game .

I think it is. Look at who wins the NBA Championship. Almost always the team with the best guard player over the series. Orlando hasn't won despite having far and above the best big man...

[Bravesfan]

The Stanley Cup is back in Chicago!-

It's the Cubs turn now!

Not likely with the way the Cubs are playing lately. And Pinella had a bit of a meltdown going after the White Sox tv analyst Steve Stone, for only making a few truthful observations of Pinella's stubornness in playing veterans over better younger players. The Cubs will go nowhere until Lou starts playing the younger players who are hungry to win over the overpaid, lazy players who only care about cashing their paychecks!

But forget about the Cubs for the moment. What a scene in downtown Chicago earlier today! I had to work and did not go, but I'm hoping I will get a chance to touch the cup sometime this summer!

[tornado]

Gotta wonder if the Chicago Blackhawks just might be the most popular NHL team in several decades!!


--Game 6 of the Finals was the most watched hockey game since 1974!!!

--ratings were up almost 40% over last year

--Game 6 was the highest rated hockey game on TV since just after Richard Nixon was President

--the writers even agree it turned out way better than if Montreal or San Jose had ended up in the Finals

--even writers on the east coast that barely know that the land west of the Alleghenies has been settled...
agree this was the BEST Stanley Cup Finals in a long, long time...perhaps one of the best ever...

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/pro_sports/96200339_More_hockey__more_fun_for_NHL.html

note-- just 3 years ago -- a prime time telecast of a Stanley Cup Finals game was
"the lowest rating ever for a prime-time program on NBC — sports or otherwise"...
in other words....3 years back when the Ottawa Senators played the Anaheim Ducks...virtually nobody cared....the telecast was the lowest rated thing ever shown on TV!!!

[BU RICK]

I think it is because both teams were very quick and there were shots on goal almost every time down the ice and they both had really great goalies who made spectacular saves, especially Niemi Also they've cut down on fighting the last few years which has made the game faster and better. There is some great video footage in here for those that didn't see it. http://blackhawks.nhl.com/

[tornado]

Chicagoans should be very proud of one other thing...that Chicago is a far classier city than just about anywhere else....

In an era when as soon as a team wins a major championship in any sport...their entire city goes irresponsibly berserk and out of control.....
rioting and setting cars on fire, looting, and countless arrests...

http://dailycontributor.com/fans-riot-after-lakers-win-championship/5505/

guess what........NONE of that happened at all in Chicago!!! The millions of Blackhawks fans were so totally different than the crowds seen in other cities...
Over a 48 hour span from Wednesday night when the Hawks won...all the way through Friday when the massive downtown celebration and parade took place....
there was virtually NOTHING but positives......
even when a reporter pressed the police chief & the mayor for details of how many arrests the city had made in that span....the answer was a grand total of 19 misdemeanor arrests for people walking along drinking in the street....pretty much FEWER than they'd have even had on an ordinary Friday night any other time of the year in the city!!!!!

Hawks fans did their city proud....what a nice parade and celebration!!



Here's even more proof that Chicago is considerably different than LA, New York, Detroit, etc....
likewise when the White Sox broke an 80+ year drought to win the World Series in 2005, there were similarly great celebrations with virtually NO disturbances or arrests!!

[jasonpeoria911]

Yes the Chicago celebration was pretty tame, lots of fireworks citywide mainly. Somebody did have the balls to call CPD and say that lots of cars were honking their horns for the last hour, dispatcher was like "got a call that lots of cars have been honking their horns for the last hour, if you didn't know that already" LOL. Officer replied back that it was the best call of the night.

However, all was not celebratory, Chicago was still making its rounds as shooting capital of the US. Had 6 shootings from time of 2nd period to about 2 hours after the game was over. 2 of those shootings was two 14 y/o males & a 13 y/o girl. It was an above average violent night not related to the celebrations going on.

Chicago Emergency Services and Public Transit was also not prepared for the mass influx of visitors. Many people were stranded at Metra stations & L lines as packed trains were at their limits. Then Chicago EMS severely underestimated the amount of ambulances needed for a large event on a hot humid day. Once the people started passing out, they called in an urgent response of 30 to 40 ambulances from the suburbs to assist. I think a lot of planning officials underestimated how many people would turn out for the parade, even I was surprised at 2 million people. Just imagine if the Cubs won it LOL.

Jason

Jason

[BU RICK]

For those following the Blackhawks. They are going to be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Monday night with the Stanley Cup. I think he said he was going to drink out of it. Will be fun to watch.

[sam hannam]

The Blackhawks will be at the Cubs-White Sox game tomorrow and sing at the 7th inning stretch.

[BU RICK]

The Blackhawks segment on Leno last night http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/...hawks/1233970/

[amckillip]

The Blackhawks will be at the Cubs-White Sox game tomorrow and sing at the 7th inning stretch.

That was a great game. I got to see it from the bleachers and it was a d@mn good time (even if the cubs won...)

[SFP]

I think it is because both teams were very quick and there were shots on goal almost every time down the ice and they both had really great goalies who made spectacular saves, especially Niemi Also they've cut down on fighting the last few years which has made the game faster and better. There is some great video footage in here for those that didn't see it. http://blackhawks.nhl.com/

The only way for Hockey to grow is to show case the spectacular skills, skating and speed that this game can offer instead of the goon-ism that only the hard core fans like. The San Jose series was great. It was not like the Sharks played bad but the BHs played great. As good as those old Calgary teams in the early 80s.

I'd like to see larger rinks in the NHL and a little more done about cheap shots and for that fact fighting. There is nothing wrong with a great check but high sticking and the other cheap shots take a lot of the game IMO.

[Beninator]

The only way for Hockey to grow is to show case the spectacular skills, skating and speed that this game can offer instead of the goon-ism that only the hard core fans like. The San Jose series was great. It was not like the Sharks played bad but the BHs played great. As good as those old Calgary teams in the early 80s.

I'd like to see larger rinks in the NHL and a little more done about cheap shots and for that fact fighting. There is nothing wrong with a great check but high sticking and the other cheap shots take a lot of the game IMO.

I very much agree with your post SFP. I have stayed away from the NHL as I thought that the goon-ism took away from the sport. One of the things that I noticed when I first semi-started to follow the Blackhawks a year and a half ago was the lack of fighting etc. I hope that the NHL keeps this up as well as the January 1 outside game.