Made Marian

First and foremost, I would like to wish thewife a very happy anniversary. Just think about it... nine years of listening to me complain about LaTroy Hawkins' blown saves, Eric Daze's bruised fallopian tubes and Rex the Wonder Dog's apparent color blindness (why else did he continue throwing the ball to the guys in the green and gold and purple and white jerseys?). Nine years of being forced to watch Thing One and Thing Two impersonate major league ballplayers in the summer, sitting by my side as Eddy Curry proved that he cannot jump higher than Captain Dan after he got back from Vietnam in the winter, and being forced to watch Zack, Slater, Kelly and the gang every time a game is not on. Nine years of Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson. Kid Corey and Felix Pee-Ay. Curtis Enis and Cedric Benson. Nine years of dealing with me. Happy Anniversary Honey!!

(Hey, if that cannot get you to comment on an RT post, I suppose nothing will!!)

One quick story about Patty and sports that some of you have probably heard before that illustrates her understanding of what can be termed my sports obsession. A couple of years ago, theson's birthday happened to fall on the same day that the Cubs and Sox were playing at U.S. Comiskular. Knowing full well that we were about to have 14 members of the "Greg Luzinski for President Club" over to celebrate, she went out the day before the party to buy him his first Cubs' hat so he could wear it with pride. She did this even though she knew that she may catch all kinds of crap from her South Side family. I think that says it all.

So like I said, Happy Anniversary!!!!

* Anyway, I have to admit that I was absolutely shocked when I heard that the Blackhawks had signed Marian Hossa to a 12-year contract and now that I have had almost a day to digest the news, I am not sure what to think. Please do not get me wrong, I think it is a fantastic signing as far as 2009-10 is concerned. My concern is the total money that the Hawks' committed to a guy who is 30 years old, especially given the players that will be up for a new contract in the next couple of years.

Let me try and draw an analogy. Let's say it is 1997 again, Sammy Sosa is still popping Flintstone Vitamins, President Clinton is still not having sexual relations with that woman, and Random Thoughts Hottie #2 is a fresh-faced star of 7th Heaven. You have a fine collection of little bean bag animals including a Baldy the Eagle, a Chipper the Chipmunk, and a China the Panda. Suddenly, you have a chance to buy a beautiful purple Princess the Bear for the measly sum of $350. Oh sure, when you display it in the neat little box, you will be the envy of all your friends, but you know that spending that much money will not allow you to purchase a Jamal the Stupid Shot Shooting Bull or a Moises the Crappy Baserunning Cubby Bear when they come out in the next couple of years. So, what do you do? Do you spend the $350 if it means that you may not have enough money when something else comes along that you are really going to want?

This is where my concern with the Hossa signing lies. Unless the team is able to move either Huet or Campbell, I question what management is going to be able to do now that they have already committed almost $36 million of their 2010-11 salary cap, yet still have to negotiate new contracts with Kane, Toews, Ladd, Keith and Hjalmarsson. And that figure does not include the money that will inevitably be given to Barker and Versteeg who are restricted free agents this off-season. Things can then get even dicier the next year when Seabrook and Byfuglien will be up for new deals. Now, nobody currently knows the exact salary cap figure that will be in place, but some so-called experts have predicted that it could actually drop from its current level of about $57 million.

I suppose it comes down to philosphy and whether the team wants to spend the vast the majority of it's money on a relatively small number of players and fill in the remaining holes with the Ulf Dahlens and Steve Dubinskys of the world or whether they wish to put forth a lineup that includes more consistency across lines, but not as many superstars. The Hawks have clearly made their choice and, frankly, I do not know what side I fall on.

I do think that Hossa is a better option that Havlat, however. Yes, Havlat is two years younger, but Hossa is not half as likely to suffer from the measles or a sprained ear bone. Both are essentially point-per-game players, but Hossa has played at least 72 games in nine consecutive seasons while Havlat has played in that many just three times in his career. Hossa is simply more dependable and, therefore, the better choice.

So what it the bottom line? The bottom line is that overall I am pleased with the signing and think it makes a team that was already going to be excellent even better in 2009-10. It is the future I cannot help but worry about. Can the Hawks make it work with the guaranteed money owed Hossa, Campbell, Huet and others, while making sure there is enough money for the cornerstones that will need to be compensated in the next couple of years? Dale Tallon and his team showed intelligence in making it a 12-year contract (despite my feeling that they do not expect him to play more than 7-8 years) in order to spread the salary cap hit as broadly as possible, so I guess we just have to hope they have a plan. In any event, it is nice to be able talk about a Hawks' signing that does not necesitate use of the words "overrated," "decrepit" or "Medicare" and it sure if nice to care again. Doot doo doo doo indeed.

(Be sure to vote in the new poll regarding your thoughts on the signing...)

* By the way, the signing of Hossa completely overshadowed the signing of center Tomas Kopecky. Kopecky was a member of the Red Wings last year, but is likely someone that the casual hockey fan has never heard of given that he never laced up the skates in the playoffs. So why sign him? Well, this is a classic case of the "if you want me, you better take my buddy" dynamic. Remember when the Bulls were essentially required to pay Jack Haley an NBA salary for sitting on the end of the bench in street clothes because he was good at laundering Dennis Rodman's wedding dress? You know how if you wanted to invite Mike Seaver to your party, you had to invite Boner as well? Did it ever seem like Screech ever left Zack's side? Well, it turns out that Kopecky and Hossa are BFF and signing Kopecky may have helped the Hawks' land the Slovakian superstar. Kind of like having to buy a Camilla the Snake if you want to buy the Princess Bear. Let's hope they are not trying to unload Hossa and Kopecky on EBay for $3 in three years...

* Just so you know, Matt Walker, Sami Pahlsson and Nikolai Khabibulin have all moved on from the west side, signing with other teams. Que Sera Sera.

**If you are interested in seeing how the Hawks salary cap shakes out for the next couple of years, there is an excellent site that breaks it all down. Check out http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/team.php?team=CHI.