Thursday, November 30, 2006

Here Come the Hawks!

The 2006-2007 NHL season has been under way for nearly two months, but last night, I was finally sent out to shoot my first game of the season. The Blackhawks fired their old head coach earlier in the week, so this was the first game for new head coach and former Hawks star Denis Savard. Although the Hawks came out sluggish (like usual), they responded to their new coach and were able to pull out a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars.

Man, I missed shooting hockey. I mean, it's probably the toughest sport of all to photograph (in large part due to the ridiculously fast pace to the game, and another large part due to the fact that you're shooting through a dinky hole in the glass), but it's just a really neat sport to shoot. Maybe it's the chill of the arena, or the scary fast speed of the players, or the vibrations you feel when someone gets drilled into the boards, but I really love shooting hockey.



I just wish Chicago had a more competitive team and filled up the place. It's kinda sad to see one of the Original Six teams struggle so badly and leave the stadium so empty. Like my Northwestern Wildcats though, this team is young, but they do show flashes like they did in last night's victory!


Sunday, November 12, 2006

Best Damn Team In the Land

The Ohio State University, the team with self-proclaimed "best damn band in the land" happens to also have the best damn team in the land (the Associated Press poll's unanimous #1 team in the country) visited Northwestern this past Saturday.

Could the Wildcats slay (or I guess technically, crack) the Buckeyes? Well, there was hope. Northwestern had just beaten Iowa in Iowa City, which is a rarity for any team, and Ohio State might be caught napping, looking ahead to their showdown next week with #2 Michigan.

I said, there WAS hope. In the end, Northwestern just got an ol' fashioned ass-whoopin. Final score: Ohio State Buckeyes 54, Northwestern Wildcats 10. Ouch. I suppose it is a pretty bad sign when you take your field before the game, and see the stands are about 75% filled with fans wearing the opposing colors....



The crazy thing is, NU really did have a shot, despite what the final score says. As they have all year, they did show some flashes of brilliance...




Now they just have to keep doing that, but without turning the ball over. When you let an opposing team score 33 first half points off of your four turnovers and blocked punt, you aren't winning too many games no matter who you play (well, unless you're playing the Arizona Cardinals...)!