I've Got a Theory

By now, I'm sure lots of Blackhawks fans are wondering the same question. 'Why the hell does the defense not want to play when Marty Turco is in the net?' A few fans actually decide to blame Turco himself for the losses when it's CLEARLY not his fault at all. Sure, Turco's goaltending style is unorthodox, but if he's making the saves, his style of goaltending shouldn't matter, right?

First of all, I think it was hard for the Hawks at the beginning of the season dealing with two goaltenders with completely different styles. They pretty much switched goalies every other game, and I can't imagine it would be easy to adjust to. Corey Crawford's style of goaltending is much like Antti Niemi's, while Turco's is a bit... out there.

The fact that Marty Turco likes to play the puck more leads me to believe that the Blackhawks defense feel as though they can slack off a bit and treat him more like a defenseman or forward than a goaltender. I'm sure it's an extremely hard style to meld to since Turco's one of the few goalies in the league that really does play the puck constantly (and constantly accidentally passes it to the opposing team's players).

Turco's let in some bad goals, sure, but what goaltender hasn't? Crawford was lacking at the beginning of the season, but no one seems to remember the game Niklas Hjalmarsson got his suspension.

The team melds with Corey's style of play the same way they did with Niemi's, and leave Turco out to dry much like they did with Cristobal Huet last season.

Why don't the Blackhawks want to play defense with experienced goaltenders? It could be the fact that the goaltenders are experienced, which makes them slack off. The inexperience could also make them want to play harder in front of Crawford.

Whatever the case may be, allowing 43 shots to get to your goaltender is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable, especially when your offense isn't shooting the puck. When the opposing team has nearly twice as many shots on goal as your offense, you might want to start kicking some asses (if you were Coach Q, of course).

Now, admittedly, the lack of heart last night could have had something to do with the injuries that occurred. I didn't get to see the game, so I can't say 100%, but I can imagine that your captain being injured would weaken your morale. Thank god for Turco making 40 saves last night and working his ass off while the rest of the team skated in lala land.

It in no way makes Marty Turco a "horrible goaltender" when his defense isn't helping him out. Hockey is a team sport. If the defense plays badly, it reflects on the goaltender either positively (as it did with Quick and the Kings when he faced 50-something shots and blocked them all) or negatively. A goaltender can't be expected to do ALL of the work.

You can make all the excuses you want, but when it comes down to it, shitting on your goaltender is unacceptable. The Blackhawks need to learn how to play defense and play harder in front of Turco AND Crawford.

You'd better get ready to die

This is a Corey Crawford Appreciation Blog

The Blackhawks are playing the Sharks again tomorrow night at 7:30pm my time (9:30pm CST). Corey Crawford is starting, and is looking for his 8th straight win in net. Did anyone think this was even possible at the beginning of the season? I can't stress enough how pleasant a surprise Corey Crawford is. Every time he's in the net, I'm taken aback. I love Turco, too, but Crawfish sure is making me like him more and more every time he plays. I guess it doesn't help that he's a "cute hockey boy," either.

Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/ebqS5l

I don't know if it's been announced whether Niitty or Niemi will be playing for San Jose tomorrow, but I think it's obvious who the choice should be.

Christmas Shenanigans

Throughout my life, I've caught my dad watching porn when he, and little Mel, were most unsuspecting. Every time a girl's ass is shown on television, my dad would say, "OH BABY." Actually, he had me go up into the attic once to try and find his military pictures from Germany, but I stumbled across his fetish porno videos instead. Ahem. He's also got a hardcore affinity for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Well, my dad's turning 56 on Christmas, so I thought it would be fun to buy him a real Christmas present as well as a joke birthday present. There's nothing like a good porno to make you feel 21 again, eh?

I'm finally 18 years old, so I decided to take advantage of my awesome 43% employee discount at Borders to buy my dad a motorcycle-themed porn magazine. My co-workers were giving me shit for it (as expected), and the customers behind me were wide-eyed and horrified that little redheaded Mel would be buying a hardcore porn magazine. Quite frankly, it made me laugh, both because I was embarrassed and because it was pretty funny.

I got to walk 5 miles home with a South Park kit and my dad's porn magazine. I had to leave the bag outside when I went to use the restroom in one of the stores on my way home, and I can only imagine what their reactions must have been when their curiosity got the best of them. Oh, man.

My dad's REAL present are two seasons of 'Tales from the Crypt' on DVD. He absolutely LOVES that show. I got my mom the first season of Parenthood on DVD, and I even got myself a few things. I also bought my best friend's presents. Most of my friends won't let me buy them things (especially my online ones), so I'm going to draw special pictures for each person that they can print out and frame or burn or whatever they want to do with it.

My best friend is getting one of the best joke gifts ever, because I'm serious when I'm giving it to her. Since she reads this blog, CK, no, it's not a vibrator.

For the Holidays

For the holiday season, I decided to change my traditional Twitter name from "xDontToewsMeBro" to "HoHoHossa." Many people have asked me what "HoHoHossa" was a reference to, which astounds me because I thought it was obvious. But I guess I should explain.

You know that big fat guy dressed in red that comes down our chimneys on Christmas? You know, Santa? He says, "Ho ho ho," right? Well, my Twitter name is a play off of that. Ho ho Hossa. Get it now? Awesome.

In other news, Hossa's apparently been put on IR. We called up Morin and Klinkhammer (aka Colonel Klink), and I'm excited to see Burish again. Corey Crawford is playing tonight against Dallas instead of Marty Turco.

This is an awesome blog post by Pierre LeBrun on Cross Checks Blog regarding Marty Turco.
Thanks to Kat (Subtle like Seabrook) for posting the link.

The Jersey Dilemma

I recently had someone call me a "bandwagon dipshit" and a "bad" fan due to the fact that my grandmother unknowingly purchased a "fake" Toews jersey for my graduation present back in June. Now, what about having a "fake" jersey makes me a bad fan? What about being poor makes me less of a fan than someone who can spend $150 or $400 on a "real" jersey? I mean, aren't all jerseys replicas? Some are better than others, sure, but unless they're game-worn jerseys, none of them are really... well, "real."

The above image is the "fake" jersey in question.

If I had $400 to spend on a jersey, that would be wonderful. But I don't. My family lives paycheck to paycheck, and I'm soon to be a college student, so where the fuck do people get off calling me a bad fan for not being able to afford "real" jerseys? If you can afford it, that's totally awesome. More power to you. But some of us aren't as lucky.

I, personally, love my Toews jersey. I couldn't care less if it's fake or real or an alien creation. My grandmother bought it for me for a graduation present, and that alone means a lot to me. Will I get a "real" jersey in the future? Probably. I'd love to get one of those $400 EDGE jerseys, but it will take quite some time for me to get. I buy shirseys, other merchandise, and the DVDs. I watch almost every single game I possibly can. I'm starting to be able to go to more games to support the NHL. I support my team in ways other than buying a "REAL" jersey.

So don't you EVER call me, or anyone else for that matter, a "bad fan" just because we can't afford to buy ourselves a "real" jersey.

It's Winter!

Yep, that's right. In case any of you were behind the times or anything. But hey, living in Southern California, you don't really get a real winter unless you go up into the mountains (Big Bear or Mammoth). But I digress. It's winter, and winter means beautiful Christmas lights, and the holiday season. I don't know what it is about the holiday season that just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it's my absolute favourite time of year. I love the Christmas caroling and seeing pictures of snow. Oh, and let's not forget the hockey.

Since it's close to Christmas time, here are a few of my personal favourite Christmas songs.

The Christmas Song - Owl City
Do You Hear What I Hear? - Carrie Underwood
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams

I have many more favourites, but those three have been on repeat for the past 3 weeks, along with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas CD. You can get the T-SO CD at Kohl's for $5, and the money goes to charity. How much more "in the spirit" can you get?

Most people's favourite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story (and rightfully so, since it's awfully amusing), but my personal favourite Christmas movie has always been National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I also really, really love Olive the Other Reindeer because I'm a child.

By this time next year, the snow and beautiful mountain landscape will be mine. At least, I hope!

Welcome to the Lair.

Yeah, maybe just a little bit. I have a few Blackhawks magazine things from 1960, too, lying around somewhere. A lot of the stuff that I have has come from friends/family, and for that, I am extremely thankful. I love everything I have. My friend Jess also got me a New Jersey Devils pin, but it's on my lanyard at work. Uhuhu. I need some Bruins things.

This should merit as a first post.

I figured an epic Looch photobomb would suffice as my first blog post. Hello, blogging world. I bring you the lulz. I guess I should also thank a good friend of mine for posting this on tumblr.