Chicago 365 Playoff Central: The Running(out of town) of the Bulls and The Waiting Game

     For those of you who missed my updates on Facebook last night, I regret to inform you that the Chicago Bulls fell to the Washington Wizards in Game 5 last night, losing the series 4 games to 1.  The First Quarter didn't go so well for the Bulls, and they ended the Quarter down by 8.  However, they closed out the half strong, going on a 26-17 run in the Second to end the half tied with Washington.  They once again stumbled in the Third, being outscored 11-20.  Finally, the Fourth Quarter loomed, and with it the final chance for the Bulls to save their season.  They put up a valiant final push, actually outscoring the Wizards 17-15 in the Quarter, but the clock ultimately ran out on both the game and the Bulls' season, with the team falling to the Wizards by a final score of 75-69.  After persevering through a season where they lost both Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, they finally went as far as they could.  Good job Bulls, and best of luck for next season.

     Meanwhile, the wait continues for the defending champions.  Game 7 between the Avalanche and the Wild commences tonight, and the team will be eagerly awaiting the result.  If Minnesota wins, we get home ice.  If Colorado wins, they do.  Regardless, all will be revealed by the end of tonight.

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: Hole? What hole? Oh, THAT hole...

     The last time I updated you on the performance of the Blackhawks, things were looking pretty grim.  The Hawks were down 0-2, and dark skies were forming over the defending champs' hopes for a repeat.  Then the Chicago Blackhawks actually remembered that they were the Chicago Blackhawks, and proceeded to hammer the Blues over the next 4 games to seal up the series in six games, adding an exclamation point by scoring 4 goals in the 3rd period of the clinching game.  Jonathan Toews added to his already illustrious resume by scoring his 23rd career postseason goal.  As for who they will face in the second round, that's still to be determined, as the Minnesota Wild forced a Game 7 against the Colorado Avalanche, which will be played tomorrow night.  The Hawks will play the winner of that game in the second round.  As for the result of the second round, history should give Hawks fans comfort here.  In the past 5 years(ever since they returned to the playoffs), the Hawks have made it through the second round unscathed.  Moreover, the Blackhawks have only suffered one second-round defeat since 1982.

     Of course, the playoffs have not been nearly as kind to the other tenant of the United Center, with the Bulls taking the momentum from their win on Friday and wasting it with a loss yesterday, putting them into a 1-3 hole and facing elimination tonight at the United Center. On Sunday, they played in Washington and lost by a score of 98-89.  The Bulls have said and done all the right things since then, but now is the time to put the talk away and show the proof in the pudding.  There is only one way for the Bulls to do that and save their season.  And that one way is for the Bulls to win.  Tonight.  One game at a time.

Still Swift after 50 years

     In the 1960s, the sprawl that came of the Baby Boom was still being felt, leading to a mass exodus to the suburbs. It was at this time that a group of different bodies came together to try something out. A new transit idea that involved linking outlying suburban areas with existing cities using limited-stop rapid transit. That idea was put into motion in 1964, when the Chicago Transit Authority inaugurated service on the Skokie Swift. Running from North Suburban Skokie, this route connected to the rest of the CTA at the northernmost point of the Red Line, at the Rogers Park-based Howard station. The line became a success, pioneering such features as a large park-and-ride lot, drop-off areas, and integration with local bus services. In 1993, the Skokie Swift was renamed the Yellow Line as part of the transition to a color-coded naming system.

     This past Saturday, ceremonies were held at the 2 year old Oakton station to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the line. Dignitaries were present, speeches were given, and attendees were given the chance to ride a special demonstration train which consisted of old 4000 series cars that would have been the ones in operation when the line was founded.

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: Bring on the Bulls!

     After the first two games of this playoff season in Chicago have been Blackhawks losses, the future gives us some hope, as the Bulls take on the Washington Wizards starting tonight at the United Center.  After starting off the year with Derrick Rose making his triumphant return, Rose was lost again for the year before Christmas.  Since then, the team has battled through his absence and made it back into the playoffs.  Tonight, the first step begins with the NBA playoffs.  We'll be back with updates and a recap. 

GO BULLS!!!!!!!!!

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: 0-2, in the hole. Oh no?

     The Blackhawks just wrapped up ANOTHER overtime playoff game, and the results were not kind to the men from Chicago.  Things were going well for the Hawks as the Third Period arrived, and the Hawks were up 3-2 with 10 minutes to go.  Then Brent Seabrook drove David Backles into the glass and was hit with a 5 minute major penalty.  This would come back to haunt the Hawks, as the Blues wound up pulling their goalie in the final seconds of the game, and using their 6-4 advantage to score the tying goal with 6 seconds left in regulation.  Yeah, you read that right. 6 SECONDS.  !@#$%^!  But what's worse?  The Blues ended up winning the game in overtime 4-3.  grrrrr...  !@#$^&*!!!!!!

     Scottrade Center?  More like Scottrade Shit-Hole.  Luckily, Game 3 is coming to us on Monday from the United Center, and while being down 0-2 is nothing to be happy about, it's not like the Hawks haven't come back from a bad playoff deficit before.   Tomorrow we'll be switching gears and catching up with the Bulls as they start their first round series, but we'll definitely be back on Monday night pulling for the Blackhawks.  Till then, stay strong boys, and here's to a better Game 3.

1 Day. 4 Wins.

     April 18, 2009 started off like any other Saturday: warm, springlike, full of promise. The time of getting excited for what the summer had to offer, overall a great day to be alive. However, it was about to get a lot better. On that day, the Chicago Bulls were all set to tip off their playoff tilt against the Boston Celtics. Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks were celebrating their return to relevancy by opening up their first postseason series since 2002.  Elsewhere, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox were getting ready to play early-season games of their own. Here's how that day progressed:

      To start things off, the Cubs played the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Before any baseball was played, the first pitch was thrown out by none other than newly-signed Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who also sang the 7th-inning stretch. The game was won in a thrilling walk-off fashion by Aramis Ramirez, who belted a two-run homer in the 11th inning, wrapping up Ryan Dempster's first home win of the year. One person who did not partake of the win was Milton Bradley, who was serving a 2 game suspension(gee, what a surprise)

      Heading south down the Snowbird Trail, we find ourselves following the White Sox as they took on the defending AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays. Mark Buehrle gave up 8 hits, but he still managed to gut it out and start the season 2-0. Additionally, this kicked off once again the annual tradition of the Rays being stymied by qualified pitchers.

      Back in the Windy City, the Blackhawks were hot to trot in their comeback tour after languishing for years in Hockey Hell. After digging themselves a 2-0 hole against the Calgary Flames, the offense sputtered to life, scoring 3 goals in the second period, including Jonathan Toews' first playoff goal, to put away the Flames 3-2.

     And over in Boston, the 7th-seeded Bulls were starting off their series against the 2nd-seeded Boston Celtics.  All of the commentators and most of the fans were predicting a relatively easy victory in this series for the defending champion Celtics.  However, tonight's game cast doubt on those assumptions.  By the end of it, Derrick Rose had tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for best playoff debut, the series had seen the first of seven overtime periods, and all of a sudden we had the makings of an instant classic series on our hands.

     And there you have it folks.  1 Day.  4 Teams.  4 Wins. 1 incredible and true day in Chicago Sports History.

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: Here we go again!

     Another (late-arriving) spring, another playoff double-shot for the city of Chicago. For the past five years now, we've been able to obtain a distraction from inconsequential/unwatchable spring baseball thanks to the tenants of the Madhouse on Madison. And 2014 is proving to be no different. With the Blackhawks starting off their series visiting the St. Louis Blues tonight and the Bulls starting things off by hosting the Washington Wizards on Sunday, Chicago is getting a taste of something that is all too rare around here: games that actually matter. Not games that matter because you're playing spoiler, not games that matter because you're playing a hated rival, but games that matter because every win gets you one more game closer to that championship. For the next several days(and hopefully longer than that) we're going to be treated to those kind of games, and Chicago 365 will be there all along, recapping each day of action, bring you both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat(but lets just stick to the victory part, okay?)


UPDATE AS OF 11:27 PM:  The Blackhawks and the Blues are tied at 3 goals apiece at the end of the second overtime period.  Tied? Overtime? Jeez, some things just never change, don't they.  We'll be back with the final result if it ever when it comes across the wire.