Hawks turn it around

After a questionable start to the season before the All Star break, the Chicago Blackhawks are looking like themselves lately.

The Hawks went on an right game winning streak from February 20^th to March 5^th.  This helped them jumped into the playoff picture in the Western Conference and they are currently sitting in the fifth seed.

A large part in this change in momentum is the man between the pipes, Corey Crawford. He has helped keep the team up and doing a good job in net. In the last fifteen straight games he has started, he had six games in which he let in two goals or less in a game. He also carries a 2.31 Goals Against Average, 6^th among goaltenders in the NHL currently. This helps keep the difference of goals for a goals against easier, to help capture a victory every game.

The Hawks are still hanging on in the powerplay department. They are 2^nd in the league with a 23.8% powerplay percentage. This rampaging offense is led by the Captain Jonathan Toews and Forward Patrick Sharp, each with 30+ goals thus far.

Among the other seven teams fighting for five playoff spots in the Western Conference, the Hawks have the best record within their last games played (7-1-2).  Teams that are competing for these spots include the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, and a few others. A good number to have is their home record of 22-14-0, second best in the conference and crucial with the remaining home games left.

Overall, the Hawks have a good chance to grab one of the playoff positions. It will be a tough road, considering the schedule ahead of them will not be easy, especially playing Detroit Red Wings three more times. Despite this, the Hawks stars have risen up and are earning their pay checks like Marian Hossa, who is nearing a point a game average. It will only be a matter of time until the playoffs start.

Joakim Noah out for 8-10 weeks

The Chicago Bulls were just getting used to playing with their full team when it was announced that center Joakim Noah would need surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb.  Noah initially injured his thumb in late November, but was able to play through the pain.  As the weeks past and Noah’s thumb did not improve the Bulls staff was forced to sideline Noah in order to bring him back to full strength.  Noah will be out 8-10 weeks and is excepted back in early February.

This injury is a huge blow to the Chicago Bulls.  Rose was just getting used to distributing the ball between Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah.  With Noah out Taj Gibson will receive the bulk of the playing time at center.  Gibson who is averaging 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game will try and replace not only the offensive but also defense presence.  Noah was averaging 14 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

Looking on the bright side of things, the Bulls play in a week division, and are still excepted to remain in the top four teams in the East.  When Noah returns to the Bulls he will be fresh and ready to play. Rose, Boozer and Noah will have enough time to relearn how to play together in time for the playoffs. In the end although this is a heartbreaking loss for the Bulls, things could be a lot worse (Atlanta Hawks).

As the Temperture Drops, MLB Free Agency Heats Up

Last year both the Cubs and the Sox had disappointing seasons.  The Cubs finished below .500 for the first time since Lou Pinella took over for Dusty Baker in 2007. The White Sox finished with an 88-74 record, six games behind the Minnesota Twins. 

Going into the offseason, both teams have different goals.  The White Sox are looking to improve their mostly lackluster offense and improve their struggling bull-pen.  The Cubs are also trying to improve their offense and their pitching staff which was a major disappointment.  The Cubs also have multiple long term contracts that they must deal with, most notably Carlos Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano. 

The White Sox made their first big splash of the offseason by signing the highly sought after Adam Dunn to a four year, $56 million dollar contract.  Dunn will provide the White Sox with lots of home runs.  Last year he finished the season with 38 homeruns and 103 RBI’s. Dunn also finished the season with 199 strike outs the most of his career. 

The White Sox also resigned catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a two year, $8 million dollar deal.  They also resigned Paul Konerko to a three year $37.5 million dollar deal that will keep the fan favorite first basemen on the south side through the 2014 season.  Looking forward the White Sox are still searching for more depth in their bull-pen.

The Cubs are still looking for ways to improve their offense without spending a lot of money.  The Cubs are specifically looking for a starter, a first base man, and a right handed reliever.  GM Jim Henrdy will be looking for any way to pick up these pieces at the Winter Meetings which started today.  The cubs just filled one of these holes by signing former Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Carlos Pena to a one year $10 million dollar deal. This signing provides a nice righty-lefty, three-four combo with Aramis Ramierez.  It also replaces the defensive hole at first that was created when Derek Lee was traded to the Braves. Now that the Cubs have a legit first baseman, they can focus on improving their pitching staff.

It looks to be an interesting offseason for both clubs as they try and rebuild for an exciting 2011 season.

Bull Run

After drafting Derrick Rose first overall in the 2008 draft, there was no question whether or not he would be able to get to the basket in the NBA and finish. There were concerns though, that he would not be able to develop a jump shot in the NBA. Recently, those concerned fans have been silenced as the Bulls have been winning and Rose has been hitting from the outside.

The Bulls began their seven-game western road trip poorly. They lost to the Warriors and Clippers, two mediocre teams in the Western Conference. Bulls fans were worried that this could turn into an 0-7 trip, as the Bulls have to face five playoff contenders in a row to finish off the trip. Instead, the Bulls beat the Suns 115-104, and Rose led the Bulls with 32 points. More importantly, most of his points came from the outside. 17 of his 32 points came from beyond 15 feet and he made 8-12 shots from that range.

But Rose and the Bulls didn’t stop there. They traveled to Houston the next day and overcame a fourth quarter deficit to beat the Rockets. They then handed the Spurs a loss two days later on January 25^th. Rose had 27 points in that game despite playing with the flu. Once again, he was hitting jump shots, making him a threat all over the court, rather than just in the paint.

Then the Bulls traveled to Oklahoma City to take on a good Thunder team on Wednesday. They continued their winning ways and Rose continued his hot streak Rose had 26 points and six assists to lead the Bulls to a ten point win and bring their record back to .500. Most impressive, though, is that the bulls have put together this nice streak away from the United Center. The Bulls started the season just 4-15 on the road, but have since improved that to 8-15.

The Bulls finish up the road trip Friday, January 29^th against the New Orleans Hornets. In order to win, Rose must keep playing efficiently. During the win streak, he has shot over 50% from the field in each game. He has also turned the ball over just seven times while handing out 22 assists over the past four games. Other players have performed as well. Despite being hurt, Noah has contributed a lot including a gutsy performance against the Spurs, where he scored the final five points of the game. Rookie Taj Gibson has picked up the rebounding while Noah has been playing hurt, averaging over ten rebounds per game during that span.

Derrick Rose also did something that has not been done since Michael Jordan was on the Bulls. That is to be announced to the Eastern Conference All-Star roster. Rose was selected as an All-Star reserve Thursday, marking the first time a Bull has made the team since Jordan did it in 1998. Last year Rose competed in the Rookie challenge and the skills competition during All-Star weekend, but not the all-star game.

Right now the Bulls stand tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. They are just 1.5 games out of fifth place, and if they keep playing like they have, that is a great possibility. To continue their streak they need to stick to the formula: win on the road and a whole lot of Rose.

“Hello Chicago” – Owl City stuns at the Metro

On Friday September 25^th, Owl City arrived at Chicago as part of their Ocean Eyes album tour. The electronic band from Minnesota, headed by Adam Young, stunned a crowd of close to five hundred at the Metro in downtown Chicago.

As my brother and I drove up to the theater, conveniently placed right next to Wrigley field, we saw crowds of high school and college students lined up all the way down Clark Ave. Although we arrived just fifteen minutes after the doors opened, we were relatively far back in the theater. The Metro itself is a relatively small venue in relation to others, there wasn’t a bad spot to stand in the theater.

After thirty minutes of standing packed in the theater like sardines, the show finally got started. Most concerts have at least one opening act and Owl City was no exception. We stood towards the back of the theater as some seventeen year old walked out on stage with a lion hat on. Yes, you heard me correctly, A lion hat. My doubts only greatened as he introduced himself as Unicorn Kid. However funny this kid looked, I couldn’t help but start dancing along with the crowd as he started to play. I don’t actually know how much he was doing live, but the electronic synth runs and bass beats so loud you could feel your nose cartilage vibrating were more than enough to get the crowd even more pumped up.

Unicorn Kid played for about twenty five minutes before Norwegian singer and songwriter Kate Havnevik appeared on stage. I didn’t like Kate’s style of music as much as the previous act, but she was a talented performer and had a good voice.

When Kate finished, you could sense that the crowd was becoming antsy for Owl City to come out. Small technical details only furthered the anticipation, but all the tension was released when Adam and company walked out on stage. They opened with “Cave In”, a popular track off of the new album. Throughout the concert, almost all of the Owl City essentials were played, as well as some lesser known songs. After playing their entire set, Owl came back on to end with their most popular single, “Fireflies.”

If you have ever listened to anything by Owl City, you would think that a lot of stuff would be prerecorded at a live show; however this was not the case. Adam, who sang as well as playing synth and electric guitar, came out on stage with an incredibly talented ensemble of musicians. Breanne Duren, known for her previous work with lead singer Young, sang backup while playing two different keyboards. A cellist, violinist, drummer, and backup guitarist also added to the live effect. I would say probably 90% of all the music was live.

Throughout the entire show, the crowd was going crazy, singing and totally immersing themselves in the music. It was an incredibly fun crowd to be a part of, and the music definitely didn’t disappoint. If you are an Owl City fan, I highly recommend that you try and get tickets the next time they come to Chicago.