Stinker should stay fresh on Hawks' minds
A hangover is one thing.
No one should begrudge the Stanley Cup champs the time they need to find their game, especially with half a new roster.
But a total no-show is another thing. It's genuine cause for concern because no amount of difficulty excuses the Blackhawks' sickly performance Friday night in Calgary.
The Hawks pounded the woeful Oilers (5-0) in Edmonton on Wednesday and then followed that up with perhaps their worst performance in three years, a complete lack of effort in Calgary where they lost 7-2 and it wasn't as close as the score indicated.
It was a truly shocking three periods in what has been difficult times for the Hawks and their fans. While struggles were largely expected -- at least to begin the season -- the game in Calgary was far beyond anything anyone imagined.
It was downright disturbing to see so many passengers on one team in one game.
It's one thing to be bad, something Duncan Keith can tell you all about. No Hawk has been consistently worse, and no Hawk has suffered a more dramatic fall.
But at least he's trying. There have been too many nights when too many players haven't tried at all. Nothing summed that up better than getting drilled in Calgary, and getting outhit 22-3.
It was so bewildering that Joel Quenneville was out of answers, something that hasn't happened at any point since he took over the team more than two years ago.
If the Hawks had the salary space to make serious changes, you would have seen it after that game. But the cap crisis that cost them half a team also prohibits the Hawks from sending statements by banishing players to far-flung corners of the continent.
They followed the flameout in Calgary with a solid, 7-1 victory in Vancouver, but the smell from that stinker against the Flames isn't going away any time soon.
It's not the kind of crud you just wipe off your skate with 1 victory, and it's the kind of thing a coach or fan will be watching for from this point forward. It's something to be remembered come trade-deadline time.
So now the Hawks should be relaxed, if not rested, after a couple of days off in Vegas, and they face a struggling Sharks team in San Jose on Wednesday night.
As for which Hawks team will show up, and what kind of effort they'll offer, well, that's anybody's guess.
And that's really shocking even for a team with a massive Cup hangover.
Ivan Boldirev-ing
At least there's been some comic relief on the circus trip, with top Canucks clown Alain Vigneault having to pull mentally soft goalie Roberto Luongo against the Hawks, and then whining again as he always seems to after facing Chicago.
The Vancouver boss accused Joel Quenneville of trying to run up the score eight minutes into the third. Vigneault didn't like that the Hawks had their top power-play unit on the ice with a 5-on-3 in a blowout.
Only problem with that is Viktor Stalberg and Nick Boynton were on the ice at the time. With all due respect, if Vigneault thinks Boynton and to a lesser extent, Stalberg are part of the Hawks' No. 1 power play, he's either lost his mind or the Hawks are an AHL team.
Besides, if you're going to take dumb penalties, you should suffer for it.
Least valuable
For the first time since 1994, the Cubs didn't have a single player in the top 25 of NL MVP voting this season, an indication of just how bad they were in 2010.
In the strike-shortened 1994 season the Cubs went 49-64, finished last, and at the end of the season the team started over with a new corporate boss, new team president, new GM, new manager, new coaching staff, and just about everything else new you can imagine.
The good guys
The Wolves will host their 11th annual Canned Food Drive to benefit the Belvidere/Boone County Food Pantry at every home game for the rest of the month.
Last year the Wolves collected nearly 2,000 pounds of food and have totaled 15,000 pounds over 10 seasons.
For more info, visit chicagowolves.com.
The good kids
The Rolling Meadows High School boys basketball team, which has raised more than $11,000 for cancer research, holds its annual Free Throw Shoot-a-Thon for the Jimmy V Foundation on Dec. 11.
For more info or to donate, contact the head coach at kevin.katovich@d214.org.
The good deal
Beginning “Black Friday,” golf fans will have until Dec. 31 to buy 2011 BMW Championship tickets at a special holiday sale price of $30, a discount of $25 off the gate price.
New in 2011, children 16 and under will be admitted free any day including tournament days when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
For more info, visit bmwchampionshipusa.com.
Best headline
Sportspickle.com: “Kevin Durant tells Trailblazers he's feeling 100 percent.”
And finally …
Yahoo's Michael Silver: “There are many things beyond my scope of comprehension, from quantum physics to the emotional makeup of the women in my household to Richard Gere's acting career. And now you can add the Washington Redskins' decision to give Donovan McNabb a five-year, $78 million contract extension at a time when the quarterback and his employers seem as compatible as Michael Moore and Sarah Palin.”
brozner@dailyherald.com