Niemi 4 Starts, Hawks 4 Wins...

Antti Niemi has been the main man in goal for the Hawks, starting four in a row. With those four starts came four wins by the Blackhawks.

This is the first time that Quennville has started Niemi more than twice in a row and Niemi is now 5-1 in shootouts for the season.

“He’s playing well,” coach Joel Quenneville told the Hawks’ team Web site after the game. “He’s coming off three straight wins. It’s an easy decision. We’re off for a long time. Playing back-to-back. Give him a chance to keep going.” (ESPN.com).

With Niemi on the hot streak and now the Hawks number one man in goal, could we possibly be smelling a trade?

Cristobal Huet has quite a large contract, $5.6 million a year. It doesn't make any sense to keep $5.6 million on the bench as the back up goalie. But we would need to find a team willing to buy out his large contract.

Speaking of riding the bench, Quennville showed little love for Kris Versteeg yesterday, as he only played 4:54 minutes, his season low.

“I didn’t like the way he was playing,” Quenneville said.

Let's hope he can get out of his slump and back on to the ice. Versteeg went 14 games without seeing a goal until his shootout goal that brought the Hawks to victory over the Stars.

A man who's been racking up the points for the Hawks has been Mr. Troy Brouwer. Headlines everywhere are saying "Brouwer Power" or some pun like that.

Brouwer scored the winning goal in last night's shoot out, his second time saving the Hawks in overtime. The shinning sophomore now has 19 goals on the season.

The Hawks went in to the Olympic break with four wins in a row, let's hope they can keep this momentum up when they return. We will miss them over the next two weeks, but at least we have six Olympians that can keep us entertained.

Talking Trades

As the trading deadlines for both the NBA and the NHL quickly approach we have to talk about some of the rumors in town. Both the Bulls and the Blackhawks are playoff-bound, and as a result the normal shake up of contenders trading to cement their rosters is about to occur. For the Hawks, they haven't been playing their usual game (explosive offense, effective defense) they've been vulnerable defensively and stagnant offensively. I am confident the offense will return soon. However, the ineffective defense is a bigger problem, players are hurt and tired but the next month is an important stretch of the season. Since the Kovalchuk trade-scare has ended with his trade to New Jersey, the latest Hawk trade rumors are aimed at James Wisniewski, the former Blackhawk. The sure-handed defender was traded to Anaheim midway through last season for center Sammie Pahlsson. Now with some defensive issues needing to be resolved, the Hawks have the prospects/roster to make a move to bring American James Wisniewski back to Madison Ave. (The only specific name involved in the trade rumor for the Hawks was Cam Barker, who hasn't been having a good season)

The Bulls have more pressing issues because they have recently jumped from the 8th and final playoff spot in the East to the 6th playoff spot, which could potentially bring another first-round playoff match-up with the Celtics. Ironically, the biggest trade rumors for the Bulls involve Boston. The Bulls need to make some moves for players that will come off the books at the end of this season so that they can make cap room for free agents. The T-Mac trade I liked is still on the table, but now it appears there is a new trade rumor about Ray Allen and Eddie House coming to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich plus potentially one more expiring contract. I like this idea, get rid of the maligned, underachieving Thomas and bring in a pure shooter. Allen and House are on the last years of their contracts so this makes fiscal sense. House would be a good backup for Rose just like he was for Rondo, better ball-handling skills than Hinrich. This gives the Bulls more guard depth, something they haven't had in years. The NBA and NHL All-Star Breaks are both in the next two weeks and they have potential for some significant changes as these seasons head for the home stretch.

For the Pro-Antti Fans

ST. LOUIS- The Hawks and goaltender Antti Niemi, beat St. Louis 2-1, finally getting out of their three game losing streak.

The ongoing debate of the season has been whether Huet or Niemi should get the start... or if we should trade for a goalie.

Well looking at the three game losing streak, one thing is for sure. Our goalies are performing, our offense just isn't racking up the points.

What happened to the 4 plus goal games we were having? The win that took us out of the awful losing streak was an uneventful 2-1 game (well minus the fights). Have the Hawks lost their rhythm?

One man we can count on (and I wish Quennville did a little more) is the man behind the mask, knocking biscuits out of the basket, Antti Niemi.

Niemi has improved to 14-4-1 and saved 34 shots Saturday against St. Louis and had just recovered from the flu.

Niemi, who has two shut outs on the season, could quite possibly be the best back up goalie in the league.

So why sit such good talent? Ask Joel Quennville, even he can't give an answer to the ongoing Huet vs. Niemi debate.

Smelling the Roses

Tuesday night the Bulls take on the LA Clippers at the United Center. It is their first home game since January 15th. The Bulls played the Clippers in LA on the 20th, where they lost 97-104, but they were a seemingly different team back then. It's been eleven days and since that loss in the Staples' Center and the Bulls have gone undefeated. Pivotal wins against the Suns, Spurs, Rockets, Thunder and Hornets highlight a long road trip which seemed destined for disappointment at first. No other team in NBA history has won 5 consecutive games against teams with winning records. The Bulls have won 9 out of their last 11 and made an important trade, sending sluggish seven-foot bench hog Aaron Gray to the Hornets for productive journey-man guard Devin Brown. The addition of Brown brings a legitimate perimeter scorer to the Bulls, of which they have none right now.

Also significant during the road trip was the continuation of Derrick Rose's scoring explosion. He has truly shifted his game and taken it to another level, which was evidenced by his addition to the All-Star game roster. In his second year he's accomplished more than any Bull since Michael Jordan. I have to admit this team is exciting right now, hopefully they are able to get healthy, put the losses to the Clippers and Golden State behind them. They need to take the momentum of the All-Star, the winning streak and the return home into Tuesday's game.

POWER BROUWER

Troy Brouwer netted the over time goal against the San Jose Sharks, on their last road trip, bringing the Hawks to their third victory (second over time victory) against the Sharks this year. His heroic biscuit in the basket was his second of the game.

As we know the Hawks are full of big names: Toews, Kane and Keith..but let's add Troy Brouwer to the list.

No, he's no all star... yet. But 17 goals (29 points) on the year is not bad for this sophomore. In fact Brouwer scored the team's high, 5 goals, of the road trip.

Brouwer was named MVP of the Hawk's road trip by Chicago Tribune.com and I'm not surprised.

Brouwer is doing what the team needs him to do: make hits, score goals and play hard and he deserves some recognition for it.

We have yet to see just what can come from the Power Brouwer.

Hawks Caught With Their Pants Down and Shirts Off

Many of you are aware of the Blackhawks scandal that has occured all over the internet today. Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg, and their grandpa aka center John Madden were photographed in a limo partying with some young party girls in Vancouver. Here is the link to the orginal blog where it was found.

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/kurtenblog/archive/2010/01/26/chicago-blackhawks-shirtless-partying-pictures.aspx

My personal favorite is the picture of John Madden flexing. Let us remind you, Mr. Madden, you are 36... and married. Aren't you a little too old to be flexing shirtless and drunk especially with 20 something young girls.

Other than Madden, Kaner and Versteeg are youngans. We understand they're humans, who have party lives. But if we remember anything from Patrick Kane's partying days this summer in Buffalo, we know it brings controversy. Has he not learned anything? Please party smart.

It's a very bad idea to give young twenty year olds millions of dollars and not give them any guidance. Too bad Patrick Kane is just a tad too old to still be claimed by his parents. Maybe then the Blackhawks won't be constantly embaressed by his controversies.

I did enjoy the first picture of Kris Versteeg where he is fashionably fabulous wearing a pair of ladies sunglasses. He's definetly living up to one of his nicknames.. Verstud.. but definetly not his other... Verjesus..

The morals of this story are listed below:

1.) Hawks.. trust no one in Vancouver, this city is constantly publicly humiliating all of you.

2.) If you are 36 and married do not take your shirt off in a limo with a bunch of chicks and take pictures of it... especially do not flex...

3.) When you are a public figure and have thousands of fans, be smart and do not document your stupid decisions.

4.) When you are going to be photographed parting, make sure you shave your chest and all body hair (the onlProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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thing we learned from them).

5.) When photographed shirtless make sure you wear some form of religious jewelry so incase we start to judge you, will say "oh at least Patrick Kane is wearing a cross, he'll still go to heaven".

6.) When your wife finds out try to say the pictures were photoshopped from when the players made a shirtless calender for charity.

The Hawks have yet to put out a statement. I can only wonder what Quennville's thinking right now.

Hopefully now the Hawks know to stay away from everything related to Vancouver so they don't get caught with their pants down. I just wish there was some way we could avoid the Olympics...

A Familiar Sound

As Chicago sports fans we are accustomed to a lot of great things: US Cellular Field's hot dogs with onions are better than anything on the planet, the Jesse White Tumblers may appear at any Bulls halftime show, everybody will cheer as loud as they can during the "Star-Spangled Banner" before Hawks games, there will always be a smoking hot girl participant in "Shoot the Puck" during the 2nd intermission of Blackhawks games and she won't know what she's doing, and there will always be giant rats running around the field at Cubs games, oh they also have a rodent problem. It is these things that we love, they are the character of Chicago sports outside of the sports themselves. They are things we can discuss in social circles, we can reminisce about them to people at bars and use them to challenge the traditions of other sports markets.

There is another example of these traditions that many people probably don't even realize, but once you know it you will cherish it. Except it's not really an "it" it's a "who" and he is Gene Honda. Many of you probably don't know who Gene Honda is, others may know him for only one of his roles.

Gene Honda is the PA announcer for the White Sox, the Blackhawks, DePaul Basketball, the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament Final Four. Once you read that list and think about it, it all makes sense, you put that voice in the background of so many great games that you've been to. He's a true Chicago icon, though you may never have thought about it before. Isn't it weird to put a face to a voice that you've heard so many times? I think so, especially in this case. Ladies and Gentlemen the voice of Chicago sports: Gene Honda.