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Stamkos had 18 points last year in the playoffs, not exactly a no show. Just looked like a no show compared to the triplet line.

I cheer for Tampa because of Yzerman. Plus Pittsburgh is easy to dislike. Not sure how much of a blow losing Bishop will be. But a big win for Tampa last night. With the success of the team and Druin in particular I wonder if Tampa may low ball Stamkos? Problem being, I am not sure I would be completely sold on Druin because of a couple weeks of good play and not being a problem. But not having to tie 9+ million up in one guy with the cap not going up would be tempting. I think Stamkos has already declined some.

Sharks and Blues? Both teams are kind of known as playoff chokers. Have the Blues really been chokers though? Seems like they lose to good teams every year.

I agree. The Stamkosless Lightning may also be the weakest team the Pens have played so far in the playoffs.

Someone yesterday told me that it was one thing that Pavelski was pushed into Rinne, but that does not give him the right to stay on top of him and make a,hockey play. The first thing he should have done was get off the goalie. So if someone else would have scored the goal, it probably would have counted.

I understand waving that goal off at first look. But, since it was reviewed, I think they made the wrong decision. Clear, consistent administration of the rules is not a strength of the NHL Edit: I may disagree with the call, but I didn't think it was a horrible call either.

Plenty of Cards fans in Central Illinois who are talking about all the times the Cubs got off to a hot start then faded down the stretch. When was that 1977 and 1969.

http://www.secondcityhockey.com/2016/3/9/11185632/marian-hossa-nhl-salary-cap-recapture-penalty-blackhawks-retirement-ltir This has a good look at the penalty the Hawks would get if he retired early. If he doesn't retire, he has a cap hit of 5.275m until 2020-2021. If he retires after next year or any of the remaining years of his contract, the Hawks will have a 4.275m cap hit each year for the remainder of the contract he signed. So basically as long as Hossa is worth $1m a year, it is worth having him. My opinion is that even though he is no longer a dynamic scoring forward, he would still contribute in others ways enough for at least the next 2-3 years. i really hope he plays as long as possible, just because he's been my favorite hawk. no matter what happens with the recapture penalty, the acquisition of hossa was a masterstroke. I think Hossa has been a very underrated player most of his career. He was a flat out stud for Ottawa and Atlanta, but the teams were terrible. In his brief time with the Pens and the Wings and now with the Hawks, he has been a very good two way forward. Kills penalties, strong with the puck, tough along the boards, still has enough skill to be a good top six scorer. If he retired it would be a huge loss to the Hawks. Way more than any other player they have lost since the start of their run. Is there actual talk of him retiring or is this just random thoughts people are having?

I'll miss the Hawks in the playoffs. They are a very entertaining team to watch.

My son played an American legion game in Eureka last summer. Zobrists number is retired there, but the large baseball with his name and number was laying behind the home dugout. Plus the whole field was kind of a dump.

I am way more happy that the Cubs are run by people who didn't overpay for Miller.

I'm surprised you say that. He has done some dumb stuff and could be seen as more of a goon/nuisance than a hockey player at times, but he's also contributed some memorable hockey moments as well. Two off the top of my head were scoring 2 goals in game 6 against the Ducks while the Hawks were facing elimination, and the GWG (aka "I love shin pads") in Game 1 against Boston. I think every Stanley Cup winning team has a guy like Shaw. A 3rd/4th liner who is reasonably solid defensively, scores a couple of big goals in the playoffs and plays with some grit. But the truth is I think these players are way overrated because of the Cup. There are a lot of guys in the league like this. The Wings had 3 or 4 thru the yrs. They are gritty, with cup winning experience. In know this isn't Apple's to apples, but they are David Eckstein. They are extremely popular with fans, so they put management in a tough spot with contracts. If the Hawks don't win the Cup this year, it will be easy to point to the winning teams Shaw

I think the Hawks are still good. Win game 4 at home and then the winner of game 5 is probably the series winner.

As a newer fan I am confused. Penalty kicks for fouls that were not preventing scoring chances, while an obvious penalty that was preventing a scoring chance is overlooked. Also I understand the red for flopping on Vardy, but there is a lot of flopping in soccer. Including on both the penalties that caused the penalty kicks.

Good for him. I wouldn't want to stick around with the Wings either. I don't question their player development. But they suck at free agency and are too loyal. They are easily the worst team in the playoffs and it's hard to see them making it next yr unless a top pairing dman emerges and a real power forward is acquired. Datsyuk will be greatly missed.

Honestly I think the Cubs are going to be fine. Personally I just really like watching Schwarber hit and will miss it greatly.

I am a soccer novice, but have become a follower of Leicester this season. I get the feeling that Leicester is not well liked in soccer advanced metrics.

churches play music like that? the Church I go to does, they play some U2 and Bob Dylan and a variety of others also. Not really for sing along, but introduction and other things. My post was more of a dig at Mum&Sons and contemporary Christian music. Didn't want to include the others in my lame joke.

Contemporary Christian music is so bad the church I go to often plays Mumford and Sons songs to increase the quality.

How could an alum or a fan be okay with this? I don't know much about the culture at MSU, but this seems awfully hard to justify and feel okay about.

I sense that the reason Ventura and Hahn are in their positions is because they are Williams yes men.

Don't you think it brings Ventura's authority into question? I am not a fan of anyone in authority passing the buck up the chain of command so they don't have to appear to make an unpopular decision. I don't think there is a scenario that I can think of that Ventura doesn't come off as weak in this.

Brackets were light on baseball guys. Russo, Reynolds, Buck, Darling, and even Brian Kenny

I was excited when Illinois hired Beckman....it meant they were not hiring Narduzzi.

Well ya I figured the ACTUAL school wasn't causing that smell. The university's south farms have their moments of offensive smell.