Monday roundup

I think its about time I get into the Blackhawks. The playoffs start Thusday night, at home against the Flames, and I can't think of a better way to build momentum than beating the Red Wings in the last two games of the season. Sure, those games didn't actually count for anything tangible in the standings, but its a little reminiscent of the way the Sox headed into the 2005 playoffs. The Sox swept the Indians in a meaningless final series thanks to the likes of Timo Perez, Chris Widger, and Pablo Ozuna, and it was just what they needed to jump start an epic playoff run.

Could the Hawks have something similar in store? They better, because while making the playoffs is sweet and all, I'm getting a little tired of all the Chicago teams getting killed in the first round.

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I'm a huge proponent of not losing too much sleep over April baseball, but for those unfortunate souls who hang on every pitch of a 162 game season, I'm sure the way the Sox finished out the Twins series was comforting. For as awful as Friday's game was, the Sox responded in big way the last two games.

The Sox got a vintage performance out of Mark Buehrle yesterday, but the most encouraging sign of the series was probably the way Colon pitched on Saturday. I actually expect Colon to be effective when he's out there; the biggest worry with him is how many innings the Sox can get out of him. Because if this rotation is healthy, it's pretty damn good, and definitely the best in the division. But without C&C (as they have been dubbed), things will most definitely get dicey.

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In other Sox news, Gordon Beckham: eight hits and three RBI in his first four AA games. Awwwww yeahhhhh.

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At Detroit tonight, at home against Toronto on Wednesday. That's it for the Bulls' regular season. If they win both games, it would probably means the 6th seed, and a chance at the struggling Magic. That's because Brian's 6ers finish out the year with Boston and Cleveland (though both have already locked up the first and second seeds, so I suppose their stars could get some time off).

I don't really think the Bulls stand a chance against any of the first three seeds, but Orlando would certainly give them the best chance to pull an upset. Plus, in this post-Jay Cutler world, is anything to unimaginable?

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As Stompy mentioned, the new ESPN Chicago is up and running. Scoop Jackson is definitely a negative, but the site is run by my old Sun-Times buddy Roman, so give it a chance. Plus, I'm basically praying he hooks me up with a job there (Sunday Bears chats! FCP! Other stuff!), so there's that to keep an eye on. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea on their part, though. When I went home this weekend I realized the White Hen I used to work at in high school just closed down, and, oh hey, the newspaper I work for now recently declared bankrupcy. I seem to have a bit of a poisonous touch. I hope no one at ESPN reads this.

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SlowBreaker column, which will be up at 11 a.m.

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The new Thermals album is one of my most anticipated of 2009. After getting a chance to fully digest it this weekend, I can safely say its a worthy followup to The Body, the Blood, the Machine. I feel like with most of the bands I like to now it usually take me a few listens to really get into them, but The Thermals are about as accessible as they come. I guess I'd describe them as 'party punk', if that makes any sense. Here's the new video for the first single and title track, 'Now We Can See'.