NHL owes Blackhawks one very big thank you

When is the last time you heard the words “NHL lockout” mentioned?

Me neither.

And for that Gary Bettman and the hard-line NHL owners should be on their knees thanking the Blackhawks for their absolutely amazing run to start the season.

The Hawks are just what the NHL ordered. Instead of rehashing what a debacle that lockout was, the focus instead — both locally and nationally — has been solely on the Hawks, who are stealing headlines with their feel-good, record-breaking start.

For that, the Commish should be giving thanks.

And that’s fine just as long as he’s not doing it in person, until, of course, he’s handing over the most prized trophy in all of sports to Jonathan Toews.

Too soon?

Btw:I#146;m thanking the Blackhawks as well. This has been too much fun, regardless of how long the run lasts.Back to the Hawks in a sec:But first I have to give a shoutout to all those snowplow guys out there.You#146;ve got this thing down to a science, and I for one am appreciative. One deep-thinking cat:The more I hear Daniel Carcillo talk, the more fascinating I find the guy.What he has been through the last 14 months or so seems to have been life-altering for him.Very introspective. Very humbled. Very interesting.Sweet tweets:Actual Twitter exchange late Wednesday:LeBron James: #147;Hey Chicago Blackhawks, u guys are AWESOME!!#148;Patrick Kane: #147;Back at you LeBron. Keep rolling.#148;Classy #133; and kinda cool, huh?Refreshing:Kind of digging the fact that Brandon Saad#146;s teammates have dubbed him MC (Man Child).They could#146;ve taken the easy route and gone with Saads, Saadser or Saadsie, but they didn#146;t.Kudos.You make the call:What#146;s more boring: the endless Derrick Rose will-he-or-won#146;t-he saga, or the fact that we#146;re now heading into Week 17 of spring training?Win-win:That#146;s what the White Sox signing of Chris Sale is.Good to see a hardworking kid get some long-term stability, even though he might have been able to get a little more money out of the deal.Question:Think the Cubs could sign Jeff Samardzija for those same terms?Me neither.Open season:Speaking of the Cubs, they are unveiling their #147;Committed#148; ad campaign today.They#146;re just making this too easy.What would Phil say?Cog Hill#146;s Dubsdread (No. 64) is the only public course in Illinois to be ranked one of America#146;s 100 greatest public golf courses.Good for the Jemsek family.Catching on:I don#146;t know about you, but I#146;m pretty pumped to finally have a good grasp on exactly what kind of fish #151; and their ocean of origin #151; every fast-food restaurant uses in their sandwiches.Major disappointment:Was sad to see Rory McIlroy walk off the course last week. It seemed so out of character for him.But I have to say I#146;m pretty confident in guessing it will never happen again.Really, really liked the way he fessed up to it.Hello Larry:Happy 10th A.P.Green with envy:As if catching a Wolves game weren#146;t fun enough, the fact that they#146;ll be donning their St. Patrick#146;s Day jerseys for games Saturday, Sunday and again March 17 makes it all the better.Wish I looked that good in green. Or any color, for that matter.Good day sunshine:We turn the clocks ahead Sunday.Can. Not. Wait.mspellman@dailyherald.com