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The week in the NHL: Patrick Kane brings his walker to Detroit, the mystery of Corey Perry's demise, the Kings are Kings again
(UPDATE): According to reports, the Blackhawks have said Corey Perry was released because of an incident involving a team employee. No further details were provided by the team. Read More...
You're reading this correctly: The Kings might actually be the best team in hockey
You’d be forgiven if you’ve lost track of the Los Angeles Kings for a while. We’re coming up on 10 years since their last Stanley Cup. They haven’t won a round in the playoffs since, with four pretty inglorious dirt naps in the first round in the interim. They threw up (maybe literally) some pretty ...
The NHL seems to want it both ways when it comes to supporting minorities
I feel I write these too often, so in the spirit of fairness it should go mentioned that there was a lot of great action on the ice this holiday weekend, such as the New York Rangers solidifying their spot in the NHL’s aristocracy with a 7-4 win over the Boston Bruins, or the Buffalo Sabres managing...
Aaron Rodgers can't stop being a total idiot
It’s been nearly two weeks since America last rolled their eyes at Aaron Rodgers, thus giving him the attention he so desperately craves, so you knew he was going to say something galaxy-brained and bone-headed before the week was up. Luckily, we have Pat McAfee paying him for that, so we were not d...
The NHL is pawing at international competition again
While admitting I’m completely clueless as to the detailed logistics of constructing an international hockey tournament, the overall idea of it isn’t complicated. While the actual hockey is probably better before the NHL season when players are fresh and teams have a chance to practice and shape the...
Welcome to the toilet, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets
Give the Columbus Blue Jackets this. They don’t wait around to dive right back into the dumpster that they’ve lived in for their entire existence. No hope for whatever is left of their fanbase, no annoying stories about how things are turning around that come straight from the PR department, no leav...
USC and UCLA prove why home and away jerseys are a thing of the past
USC and UCLA haven’t been relevant, in terms of a national championship status, in years. I can’t even remember when, but mostly because my brain turned to muck long ago. They tell me that USC has a prime QB prospect in Caleb Williams, and yet every time he shows up in a big game he appears to do no...
This week in the NHL November 18, 2023
Every NHL season is partially soundtracked by a surprising amount of static and bellowing from British Columbia. Perhaps no team in the four major sports has more outsized and disproportionate noise surrounding it from its media and fans than the Vancouver Canucks. Leafs Nations may make more noise ...
This week in the locker November 18, 2023
I and many other Chicagoans used to sit in our simple Midwestern homes, huddled by the coal stove or whatever people picture us doing in the winter (it’s not that far off, it’s just huddled at the bar), and have a good chuckle at how New Yorkers were sentenced to a life with James Dolan. Here was a ...
The Canucks are making the right kind of noise
Every NHL season is partially soundtracked by a surprising amount of static and bellowing from British Columbia. Perhaps no team in the four major sports has more outsized and disproportionate noise surrounding it from its media and fans than the Vancouver Canucks. Leafs Nations may make more noise ...
The NHL is going to screw with OT again, even though it’s already a joke
Whenever any discussion of changes the NHL wants to make to its standings system or points system, it has to be remembered that the league has no interest in finding ways to separate the good teams from the bad. The league likes it that very few teams are ever actually under .500 (only 10 of the 32 ...
The Oilers season is already slipping away
One month into an NHL season isn’t probably the time to panic — unless you’re the Edmonton Oilers and the pressure cooker started a couple years ago. A 3-9-1 start has already left the Oil with something close to a Sisyphian climb. Sure, there’s 69 games left, but we’re just a week from Thanksgivin...
Fine, you want a prediction? The New Jersey Devils will win the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup picks in October are dumb. We have no idea who will be hurt, what the trade deadline will do, what goalie will have an existential crisis (Jakob Markstrom), or what goalie will channel the Arc Of The Covenant and turn their also-ran into a threat (Igor Shesterkin). It’s a long goddamn se...
The NHL has a new slogan: Gay is not OK
Another NHL season is upon us, and the NHL wasted no time in being the NHL:...
Behold The Skate Men: NHL Eastern Conference Preview
Like the college kids who crash through the side door into a party with a goofy, boozed-up look on their face, here comes the NHL season as a surprise....
MLB got what it deserves with its wild-card round
MLB and Rob Manfred don’t really have to care what happens in the wildcard round. Their only aim was to provide more playoff baseball, good or not, because its mere existence netted them more TV cash. So the fact that MLB will get no Game 3s, no interesting storylines, and barely any drama, followin...
No one does goodbyes, or hellos, like baseball
The MLB playoffs start tomorrow, which still gives us a day to reflect on the season gone. MLB more and more would like its fans to focus on only October so they can demean, and hence pay less for, the regular season. But that’s not how the game works, it’s not how baseball fandom works, and there i...
There's a pretty good chance of Lightning crashing this season in Tampa
Whatever happens to the Tampa Bay Lightning this upcoming season, it’ll all have been worth it. ...
Barcelona might prove every fan’s conspiracy theory to be true
You’ve heard that guy at the other end of the bar. It’s impossible to miss, given the volume, and sincerity with which that particular message is always delivered. It’s always along the lines of, “These refs are in the bag!” Here in Chicago, it’s pronounced more like, “Dese jagbag refs are in da baa...
The Washington Capitals only exist for one reason now
The NHL spent a good decade trying to revolve their league around a Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals rivalry, and more to the point, a Sidney Crosby-Alex Ovechkin one. Unable to come up with any original ideas, because it’s the NHL, it did its best to copy the Bird-Magic dynamic from the NBA ...