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Many years ago when my mom married my step-father I was introduced to the game of hockey. As a 9 year-old boy growing up in the city of Chicago my immediate family only told me about the Chicago Cubs and Bears. Now my eyes were open to a game played on ice. How naive I was, my love for the game was only just beginning.

One evening I went with my dad (step-father) to a local bar in one of Chicago’s older suburbs. I had assumed that I would be playing pinball while he played darts. Well, to my surprise there were multiple Blackhawks players. I felt as though I was in heaven. They talked with me and a few played some pinball with me. I was having the time of my life.

There was one particular player who I spoke with that made a life-long impression on me. His name is Grant Mulvey, the only #22 I will ever recognize. He was there with his brother Paul, who played for the Boston Bruins I believe. Here Grant was humoring this little kid and we find out that we share a birthday. I didn’t believe him and he showed me his drivers license. Sure enough, same birthday.

After that evening I was driven to get any Blackhawks paraphernalia that I could get my hands on. A couple weeks later we went back and Grant gave me some signed goodies. He also introduced me to some more of the other players. Little did I know that I would be talking with future hall of famer Dennis Savard among others.

For many years we had season tickets and went to games as much as possible. Eventually, I graduated high school and left for the military. My dad would occasionally send me video tapes of games. When the Hawks played the Russian Red Army team is a game that I still have on Beta to this day. In all my travels around the world I have always carried something Blackhawks related with me. I can honestly say that it is because of how Grant and the others players treated me.

It is often said that hockey players are some of the most personable professional players in the world. I couldn’t agree more. Many years later I find myself in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and have run into many Stars players. Even having the great Mike Modano holding the door for my wife and I at a restaurant. Pure class.

Now as a father I was blessed to have another child the same year the Hawks won the Stanley Cup. Eventually she will learn why I call her my Blackhawks baby and why so many of her clothes have the Indian head on it. I hope that I can pass along the love of the team and passion for the game that made this once 9 year-old kid fall in love with the game of hockey.

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The article originally posted at NJFFL and can be found here.

It was clear towards the end of the winter meetings that the White Sox were raising the rebuilding flag. The real question should is will this be a one or two year rebuilding project?  If it is two years, will Kenny Williams survive as the GM if that second year does not show improvement?  Yes, he is getting some large contracts off the books however, he will not be able to do anything with Adam Dunn or Alex Rios.  Those two are just two non-productive high priced anchors on the team. With Danks’ salary, that is $96 million committed to 12 players for next season. , the are committed to $85.75 million for eight players in 2013 (with an certain to happen $4 million for Peavy’s buyout).  I had high hoped for Peavy, Dunn, and Rios.  But the facts are that they just have not produced relative to their salary.  (For the record, I would love to be proven wrong here.)

- Jake Peavy: ’12: $17M, ’13: $22M or $4M buyout
- Adam Dunn: ’12: $14M, ’13:$15M, ’14:$15M
- Alex Rios: ’12: $12M, ’13: $12.5M, ’14:$12.5M, ’15:$13.5M or $1M buyout
- Paul Konerko: ’12: $12M, ’13: $13.5M
- Gavin Floyd: ’12: $7M, ’13: $9.5M club option
- A.J. Pierzynski: ’12: $6M
- Matt Thornton: ’12: $5.5M, ’13: $5.5M, ’14: $6M or $1M buyout
- Alexei Ramirez: ’12:$5M, ’13:$7M, ’14:$9.5M, ’15:$10M, ’16:$10M club option
- Jesse Crain: ’12: $4.5M, ’13: $4.5M
- Will Ohman: ’12: $2.5M
- Dayan Viciedo: ’12: $2.5M

Mark Buehrle headed south to join Ozzie Guillen in Miami and Sergio Santos’ got traded to Toronto.  So, this leaves pitching coach Don Copper quite a different looking pitching staff to work with in the upcoming season.  Will Chris Sale make the move to the starting rotation and be productive?  Can Phillip Humber and a recovering Jake Peavy be productive?
John Danks and Gavin Floyd now need to take that next step and be ready to be the ace of the pitching staff.

Who will be the closer in 2012?  2011 was closer by committee until the now departed Sergio Santos took over that role at towards the end of the season.  Will it be Matt Thorton?  Jesse Crain or maybe Addison Reed?  It really appears to be anyone at this time.  I am looking for spring training to give a better indication who will file the closer role.

Now that Carlos Quentin has been shipped off to the Padres we won’t have to suffer to sparks of brilliance in between time spent on IR.  The last couple of seasons have been nothing short of disappointing as he finished both on the IR.  With his departure though that does provide Dayan Viciedo the chance to see how he will do being the full-time starter.  There are some people that are thinking that this was only the first move to make room on the payroll in order to sign Cuban sensation Yoenis Cespedes.  Only time will tell on that.  If Danks or Floyd are moved being spring training opens it could signal just that.

I have to admit that bringing in Robin Ventura as manager looks like another potential battle between Kenny Williams and the manager.  My hope is that we don’t see the coaching staff turn into more of a former player chess set.  Yes, Ozzie did great his first couple of years.  Harold Baines is a quiet and well respected leader.  I always had my doubts about bench coach Joey Cora and hitting coach Greg Walker.  During too many games last season I was able to see a clear pattern that the opposing pitchers would be throwing.  If I could see it why couldn’t they see it and make the necessary adjustments?

NJFFL- Chicago White Sox

Please go there and check out the offerings.  Lots of great contributors to satisfy your interests.

I have gone to a couple of games and noticed some bad trends with the hitters.  The top of the list would be lack of aggresiveness.  A high second on the list would be their weak bullpen and lack of ability to close a game out.  Their may be a chancecof a trade but I don’t  see that happening.

So, I will continue to suffer through this painful season.

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Here we find ourselves in early March and quite honestly my favorite time of the year as a sports fan. Spring training is going in baseball and the hockey playoff picture is coming into focus. Every couple of years I also pay attention to March Madness.

So, I will be listening to Chicago White Sox baseball while at work and watching when I can find the time. Hockey will be on the big screen given the Chicago Blackhawks are back in the mix. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they continue to play well and get a good playoff seating.

Last year I took the plunge and purchased both the MLB.TV and Hockeycentral.com. I could not have been happier. So, this year I picked-up both again. Living out of the Chicago market it used to be tough to enjoy live games. Now, it is just a couple of mouse clicks away.

So, back to all that is Spring sports.

Hope you enjoy all that is going on as much as I am.

What I really want to sound off about is how Jerry Jones business sense appeared to take a hit. Here is a man who has been a successful in business for numerous years and some would say has enjoyed success as the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. I think that he and his organization really identified that there have been numerous mistakes made and in order to deal with them have gone silent when dealing with the media. Which is quite a change of pace as we all know that Jerry loves being in front of the camera.

I would like to know if a risk assessment was done by any of the various parties involved with bringing the Super Bowl to North Texas. If so, what was covered in these assessments? Did all parties involved become so focused on the people and the players that they forgot to factor in the temperamental weather of North Texas?

With the Cowboys out of playoff contention and one major event prior to the Super Bowl one has to wonder what kind of schedule was put to get the regarding getting the additional seating installed and approved. If I understand correctly they had a thirty day window from the previous event. If this is the case why would you not begin work the next day on the additional seats with your primary contractor. Yes, I said primary contractor. One would think that a project of this size and viability you would put a secondary contractor in place. This would not only reduce the risk of not completing but would also serve as a motivational factor for the primary contractor to complete on time. This would give the fire department plenty of time to approve the seats.

Suffice it to say that the discipline of project management was not used to it’s full potential. Hopefully there were some lessons learned form this experience. Not only internal to the Jerry Jones organization but also the various other companies that were involved in the Super Bowl. So, just remember if you take the time to plan your next project it will pay off in the end.

** Update **

With all the other distractions in the news in appears that both the NFL and Jerry Jones are accetping the blame for Ticketgate. Nice, way to have to fly under the radar.

Well the college football bowl season is upon us and many people are enjoying watching their team play in the final game of the year. As a Texas Longhorn fan I am just watching the soap opera of the open coaching slots. Many names have been put of there to fill both the offensive and defensive coordinators positions. However, was there really a problem with the play callers themselves? I would say that the coaches should only shoulder the minority of the blame. The players need to take the majority of the blame. Poor play execution on the offensive side and extremely poor tackling on the defensive side.

So, as I have recently read the head coaching position of the Texas Longhorn Football program is the most prestigious in the nation. It could be in the eyes of certain individuals. Without question it is under the biggest microscope in college football. Not only by the fans but also the media.

Well, it finally happened. Jerry Jones finally cut the strings of his latest puppet head coach. So, Wade Phillips has lost his puppet master is once again able to think for himself. Yes, Wade has proven himself as a capable defensive coordinator however he has always lacked success as a head coach. You can see this with the time he spent in Buffalo and most recently Dallas. Buffalo did not come with all the extra baggage that coach in Dallas comes with. However, I do think that this solidifies that in the quest of the modern head coach to gain power and control of an organization they stretch themselves too thin.

But coaching in Dallas is a different animal all together and coaching the Cowboys puts one under an microscope. Not only is the media critical but also the Cowboys large fan base. Of course, you always have the element of the owner and general manager being father and son. One cannot deny that Jerry Jones is established in real estate and the marketing of the Cowboys. This cannot be said about the current collection of people in the front office of the team. It has been apparent foe some time that the Jones’ appear to have a lack of football knowledge. Poor draft picks and numerous free agent signings top my list of red flags. Of course, just look at how the team is run. The inmates run the asylum.

The actions of the players and poor player personnel choices would have never happened if the late great Tom Landry were still with us today. I am not a Dallas Cowboys fan nor will I ever be but they are in my backyard and I get to see all the stupidity for myself with a front row seat.

So, the boss is still the same just a new puppet calling the plays. Good luck Jason Garrett, you will need it. After this season is over may I make a suggestion? Take your talents to another team. They will only be wasted in Dallas.