Hawks Win, Hawks Win!

Fan SaluteWell, I might be close to 1,000 miles away from home on business this week, I did manage to watch the Chicago Blackhawks take care of the Vancouver Canucks in royal fashion tonight in Game 6. So far, Cindy and I are 2 for 2 in our Round 2 picks, with the Pens and Habs going to Game 7 on Wednesday. Man, I love this time of year!

On the travel front, I’m here down in Austin, TX visiting HQ for the week, and I due back in Friday afternoon. I will say, the weather here so far has been pretty nice, and this little taste of the upper 80’s with only slight humidity is definitely a tease to what we hope to back home in Chicago soon. Yup, before we know it, we’ll be walking down Michigan Avenue wearing our Hawks jerseys again for the Blackhawks Convention.

But first thing’s first, Round 3, baby!

Go Hawks!

Our Weekend in Lake Geneva

This weekend was a rather quiet one, in which we had made arrangements to drive up to Lake Geneva, WI for a little getaway and do, well, nothing.

For starters, this was the first trip we’ve taken since I’ve had to put my photography hobby on hold, so there aren’t any pictures to share here. No worries, however, since the majority of the weekend was either rainy or foggy, so my traditional photo ops would have been limited anyway. On the plus side, not lugging around 20 lbs of camera gear and having to keep track of it all weekend was kind of a plus.

Next up, it was some sort of “women’s weekend” around we were staying, so I personally felt a little out of place.  Friends of our have taken part in these little get togethers, so I can’t say too many negative things about them, but it did feel like I was the only male staying at our hotel, and Cindy perhaps the youngest female. :P

What We Did Do

So, the weather was bad and I was outnumbered – there has to be more to this post than that, right?

Well, we didn’t make the drive up north until later in the afternoon, so there wasn’t much time left to do much other than dinner Friday night. But that’s okay, because it’s one of our favorite times of the year – hockey playoff season – so we were more than happy taking in the evening’s games.

ZachOn Saturday, we met up with some of my family that had made the drive up to visit with my great-grandmother, bless her soul, who lives in neighboring Delavan.  Part of our group of eight included my little 3 year old cousin, Zach, who is seen here staring wide eyed at the television, of course.

After lunch and a quick stop for some cannoli, we made our way back to the hotel just in time for the start of more hockey. This time, it was our Chicago Blackhawks that finally took a lead in their Round 1 series against Nashville. And they just had to do it in dramatic fashion, of course, but we’re happy they pulled it off. Overall, it was a great weekend, hockey-wise, and we’re glad we got to see most of it.

Sunday morning, we actually did spend a little time walking through the main streets of Lake Geneva near where we were staying after check-out. We made our way to the Egg Harbor Cafe for a little breakfast and then it was on our way home.

Will We Be Back?

Maybe it was the weather, or just the feeling of being camera-less, I don’t know there was enough there for a return visit. Comparing Lake Geneva to our trips to Door County much further north, the peninsula seemed to have so much more to offer. Plus, downtown Lake Geneva felt pretty busy with a ton of parked cars and decent foot traffic, but I couldn’t decide if I understood why? It was just weird.

So the only plus that Lake Geneva has over Door County for me is that it’s a 90 minute drive instead of 5 hours.  Now, I love road trips, but that extra 7 hours round-trip definitely eats time out of what else you could be doing that weekend.

I feel like I need a disclaimer that this was only my take of things, and Cindy might have her own thoughts. We’ll get her back on the blog soon, I promise. Besides, this is going to be a big week for us, so you’ll be hearing more from her directly, I guarantee. ;)

That’s all for now, have a good week!
- Kris

It’s Playoff Time Again!

Duncan KeithAs Cindy and I practically live and breathe hockey here in Chicago, we’re primed and ready for the NHL playoffs that started this week.

In the past we had posted our picks at the start of each round, and now that I’m starting to get the blog going again, here they are:

Eastern Conference

#1 Washington vs. #8 Montreal

I’m thinking Washington will pretty much overpower Montreal, but Cindy’s not a big Ovi fan.  Of all 8 matchups in Round 1, this surprisingly is the only one we don’t agree on.

#2 New Jersey vs. #7 Philadelphia

We both pegged NJ to win this series, although we caught some of Game 1 last night and was impressed with how the Flyers came to play.  They’re currently up 1-0 in the series.

#3 Buffalo vs. #6 Boston

Maybe it’s just routing for an Original Six team (that’s not from Detroit), a previous admiration for the now struggling Tim Thomas, or sympathy for Marc Savard sidelined with a grade 2 concussion, we’re both pulling for the Bruins here.

#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Ottawa

You can’t go wrong with the defending champs, right?  Again, unless they’re from Detroit. ;)   Although Fluery was pretty flakey last night in the series opener, we still think the Pens can turn things around by the first road game.  By the way, it was good to see former Hawks 4th liner Craig Adams put one in during the rally attempt.

Western Conference

#1 San Jose vs. #8 Colorado

Normally we’re cheering for the underdog in the spot, but I think the real Cinderella story is going to be the ‘Yotes.  So Cindy and I are both picking SJ over Colorado – a choice that proved wrong last night. Oh well.

#2 Chicago vs. #7 Nashville

Duh!

#3 Vancouver vs. #6 Los Angeles

Vancouver is high on our hate list right behind Detroit, so we’re pulling for the Kings here.  Sure, it was nice to ruffle their feathers last year and bring Luongo to tears, but I won’t lose any sleep if we get to Round 2 and the Canucks are playing golf already.

#4 Phoenix vs. #5 Detroit

In case you hadn’t picked up on it by now, we’re not Red Wings fans. ‘Nuf said.

We do think the whole Phoenix turnaround this season has been pretty remarkable, and we’ll see how far they go. It almost reminds me of the brief rush that the Tampa Bay Lighting had the year they won the cup – and then proceeded to fade back into unimportant Florida-non-collegiate-sport territory. Let’s hope the Coyotes can hang in there a little longer than that.

Your Picks

Well, now you have our take on it – agreeing on 7 out of 8 series this time around. Not bad for an ol’ married couple, eh? :P

Let us know who you’re cheering for and if you think any of our choices are totally bogus.

- Kris

Round One Updates

Over the weekend, I posted the picks Cindy and I made for the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now that all 8 matchups have at least played 2 games in their respective series, I thought I’d recap how well we’re doing with our teams and highlight a few surprises.

Surprise in the West
The Western Conference has perhaps the biggest surprise of this year’s playoffs so far, with the Ducks winning the first 2 games on the road in San Jose. Remember that the Sharks are not only the top team in the West, but they won the Presidents Cup trophy for the best record in the league during the regular season. They also managed only 5 regulation losses at home during the season, so how could they be down the first two games at the Shark Tank, to the Ducks no less, with the lowest season point total of all 16 teams in the post season?  Everyone seems to be giving kudos to the young Anaheim netminder Jonas Hiller, but whatever the reason, the Sharks are in the precarious position of becoming the next victim of the Presidents Cup curse that bit the Red Wings in recent memory.

While both Cindy and I chose SJ to come out on top of ANA in round one, we’re not at all against the latest Duck, and most recent ex-Hawk, James Wisniewski advancing to the second round. Our hearts go out to Jeremy Roenick, a childhood idle of mine, as his post season hopes grow dim in the process. From a Hawks perspective, should we advance to the next round, we’d wanna see the Ducks advance over the Sharks anyway.

Rest of the West
The rest of the Western Conference seems about par with what we expected. Our hometown Hawks pulled off two HUGE wins at the UC, although the series turned more interesting after a loss in Calgary. One more game (Game 5) at the UC couldn’t hurt. :)

Detroit makes the trip down south to Columbus for game 3 tonight leading the series 2-0. Not the start that the Blue Jackets wanted for their franchise post season debut, but it is what it is. Vancouver also looks to be the first team to advance in this first round, and can do so with a W over the Blues tonight in St. Louis.

The East
We’ve always been more focused on the Western Conference, but I’ll run down the East for completeness.  Boston and Montreal have been slugging it out in the only Original Six matchup in Round One.  Boston has not surprised anyone by jumping to a 3-0 series lead at the expense of the Canadiens’ young goaltender Carey Price. They shoot for the sweep tomorrow at the Forum.

We picked the Capitals in their race against the Rangers, who in turn had their own plans. Whether we like it or not, Sean Avery has been making an impact for NYR as well as playoff veteran Scott Gomez. The Caps lost both of their home games, but took one back from the Rangers last night to cut the series deficit in half. Pittsburgh has the advantage against Philly in the battle of Pennsylvania, which is probably the best first round rivalry (next to BOS and MON). We just wish we’d been able to see more of those games thus far.

Wrapping up the Eastern Conference is the one series that Cindy and I didn’t agree on, the Devils and the Hurricanes. So far, Cindy’s Devils are up 2 games to 1 over my Canes, but there’s plenty of hockey left in this one. Of all the matchups, I think this one has the best chance of going to a game 7. Although, if Carolina doesn’t even the series tonight, I think they’re in a heap of trouble.

5 Games Tonight
While our Hawks regroup in Calgary for Game 4 tomorrow, there are 5 other games tonight. Only the Canucks have a chance to sweep tonight, but both San Jose and Columbus are in virtual must-win situations if they want to keep their post season hopes alive. It should be a great night of hockey, and will be interesting to see where everyone stands this time tomorrow.

Enjoy the games tonight, and GO HAWKS!!!

Our 1st Round Playoff Picks

It doesn’t take the fact that our hometown Blackhawks finally made the post season for the first time in seven years to get us excited about the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It doesn’t hurt, though, either.  Cindy and I have been tracking the playoffs for the last few seasons now, making our own picks as to who’s going to win in each round. We each have our own ways of picking our favorites, and they don’t necessarily match up against who’s the better team. We also don’t always see eye-to-eye in our choices, so that makes following the games that much more entertaining.

Seeing that we now have our blog more active than in years past, I thought I’d share our picks for the 2009 playoffs. Unlike last year, our picks for the first round were pretty much the same except for one match-up.

Western Conference

San Jose vs. Anaheim – As much as we’re happy that the Ducks ended up with the 8th seed in the West, mostly for the sake of former Hawk James Wisniewski, Cindy and I both are picking San Jose to take the first round.

Detroit vs. Columbus – It’s painful for us as die-hard Hawks fans to choose Detroit over Columbus in this series, but neither one of us thinks the Blue Jackets can pull off the upset.

Vancouver vs. St. Louis – I think we’ll be secretly cheering for the Blues, but ultimately Cindy and I are sure that the Canucks will make it through to Round 2. Luongo is just too good of a goalie to tank it against a #6 seed.

Chicago vs. Calgary – Duh! Cindy and I are pulling for the Hawks, of course. Not sure they can do it in four games, even though we swept the season series against the Flames, but we’ll be happy with a series win in 5 or 6 games.

Eastern Conference

Boston vs. Montreal – We both became fans of the Bruins right around the All-Star break. If not for our Blackhawks making the charge in the West, we probably would be routing for the Bruins more. Montreal just isn’t the team they used to be.

Washington vs. New York – Cindy isn’t a big Ovechkin fan, but neither one of us likes to see Avery in an NHL sweater. We’d rather see the Capitals take it into the second round.

New Jersey vs. Carolina – Alas, we can’t agree on everything.  Cindy is pulling for Brouder and the Devils, and I think she has a crush on Parise (shhh, don’t tell her I’m on to it).  I, on the other hand, want to see the Hurricanes get closer to the finals after they missed out on the playoffs last year.

Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia – Cindy and I are pulling for the Pens in this first round rematch from last year’s playoffs. Other than the finals last year with Pittsburgh and Detroit, their series against Philly was the best one to watch last year. This year aims to more of the same.

So those are our picks for round one. I think we’ve played it safe on most of them, but that just means if there are any major upsets, we’ll be happy with their outcomes. Be sure to share your thoughts as well as tag along here for updates as Round One progresses.

Thanks,
- Kris