cmk418 | If you don't like hockey, you might not want to read this

It's opening day, people. Opening day and I feel hopeful even though tonight's matchups are somewhat strange - Ottawa v. Toronto is the only one of the three that makes sense. And I hit that one late - the game was over and not close. So I'm presently witnessing Dallas losing to the Avs. I don't like the Dallas announcers, they don't seem to be supporting the team. Could be it's early, could be that I witnessed two power-play goals within a couple minutes of each other. Could be that Brett Hull is a color guy. But you do not beat up your team. Why did I get to be a Blackhawks fan? Most of it was because of the announcers. The Hawks were not a good team when I started listening to them on the radio, but the announcers would find something positive to say. It could be 10-1 in favor of the other team and they'd say, "at least it wasn't a shut-out" or commend the work of one player or another. They would never come out and say that the team was crap and you'd be better off turning off your radio. One of the nice things about NHL.com though is that I can change over to the announcers on the other side. Which is what I'm doing. I'm more friendly toward the Stars because they used to be in the Norris division (with the Blues and the Blackhawks), back when there was such a thing and when hockey was hockey, but I couldn't take the negativity anymore. I must state this because at the moment it is very true - the Chicago Blackhawks are undefeated. That's wonderful. Colorado had 22 shots in the first period. That's more than happens for a team in some games. Just found the bright spot for the Stars - goaltending. With 22 shots against them, it could be a heck of a lot worse than it is. I really shouldn't have to do the announcers' job for them. Can the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup? At this point anything's possible, but I won't get excited about playoff possibilities until late February. And they would have to survive the inevitable trade of all the great players by Bill Wirtz at the deadline. That's a rant waiting to happen another time.

No way. That's not right. I think the commentator meant 1500, because he said Joe Sakic was just points away from 15000 for his career. Well, that's definitely over-emphasizing the positive.