Winter Classic 17; Wings 6, yes 6, Hawks 3

Third period. Detroit in the lead by one goal. The teams will be trading sides after ten minutes, so the Hawks have ten minutes to catch the lead and hold it or the game is probably over.

Puck drop.

Wisniewski has been called for holding. Wings on the advantage. Five hole goal. Rafalski from the circle and in traffic. I'm still writing and they get another. NO wait, it's been called off. Let me see what the heck happened here...

I can't see what happened. They had Huet dead to rights. It bumped the cross bar, it didn't cross the goal line, wait the review is showing the net was struck. They're sending it to review but it should count...

It might be... It could be... It is a GOAL. 17 seconds between those goals. The second by Lebda.

Winter Classic 16; end of 2, Detroit 4, Chicago 3

It looks like the wind did have an effect on the game as most of the goals have the wind behind them. Now the announcer is saying the same thing. That could be bad for the Wings in the final period of play. Minute remaining in second frame. And, that's another 20 in the record book.

Winter Classic 15; Wings take lead 4-3

WOW. Datsyuk drives in from the center ice, eludes two Hawks, fooled Huet and GOAL. Fabulous. About three minutes left in the period.

Winter Classic 14; Game tied at 3 each

Brower checks Hossa into Huet, then seconds into the Hawk Power Play Toews gets called for a high sticking. Lots of open and slow ice. Flow of the game is still back and forth.

End of the 4:4 and the short advantage. Lebda fires into Huet, Huet loses sight of it but saves it anyway. According to the TV, the Wings have discovered some type of blindness on the part of Huet.

Campbell trips Hudeler on a drive to the net. He knocks the net off and there is another Detroit advantage.

Lots of people in front of Huet but the Hawks clear it down ice. About 35 seconds left and the Hawks have cleared it again. Datsyuk finally gets a shot on goal with a few seconds remaining. Still lots of red in front of that net. One, two, three attempts and GOAL for Hudler as he hammers it home. Huet out of position again. Just too much red out there and not enough black.

Winter Classic 13; Hawks 3, Wings 2

Interperiod piece on the team's trip to the Tallon family funeral. Bob Costas points out that the last time a game between Detroit and Chicago was so important was the last baseball World Series played by the Cubs, against the Detroit Tigers during World War 2. Very nice and shows why Costas is such a good announcer or at least shows he's got good research.

Cantore appears again. He's now on a rooftop and has his head painted. Ummm... I just don't know what to say about that. The fans are pretty empty. I'm sure the fans are hiding in whatever shelter is available at the field. The teams are coming back and we're about to go back to the game.

The wind is now blowing into the face of Huet. We'll see if the wind is the reason for the Hawk lead. Hossa gets a feed from behind the net. He takes a quick shot from about 20 feet in front of the net. The rebound is picked up by Hudler, he has an open net as Huet is out of position. GOAL

Just not enough defense out there. Nice moves and a good bounce for Detroit. Nice goal.

Winter Classic 12; Hawks 3, WIngs 1 at end of 1

Hawks are now in power play again after a retalitory hit by Lilja. THere are about 6:40 left in the period. Boy, the shots of the Detroit goal, with the Wrigley score baord in the background, are fantastic. A lot of attacks on the Wings, Wings clear it down, behind the WIngs net. Keith taking a shot, pad stop then the puck is cleared down ice again.

Wings break away on a rush, have a 3:2, shot, trailing Wing gets a shot, and the power play expires. About two minutes left in the period. Nice save by Conklin as the possession is going back and forth. Things seems pretty evenly matched at the moment. Walker takes a shot and there is just a minute left in the period Eager shoots, can't score, then behind the net. He's fighting for it with Lilja. Eager wraps around on the right side, but Conklin goes left! SCORE!

Winter Classic 11 Hawks 2, Wings 1

The Hawks have a Power Play. Brett Lebda for delay of game. Wings clear it from offensive zone, about 1:10 left. Versteeg sets up Havlat from behind the net and Havlat pops it into the corner. Goal and assist to Versteeg.

Winter Classic 10

Some good hits in the moments after the score, about five minutes have passed, a shot on Christobal Huet that goes into the net. Some back and forth as the puck is going back and forth up and down the rink. More pressure being put on the Huet than on Conklin. The Hawk goal is counted as a power play with the assists going to Havlat and Brent.

Scoring chance by Havlat, now the pressure is on the Wings.There's a dance on the ice as Bfuglien drives the net. Power play to the Wings as a result with Bfuglien in sin bin. Seabrook is able to clear the puck after a few seconds. The Wings are parking guys, Holstrom in particular, right in front of the net.

The ice gets its first obvious ice repair. The Wings are still on the advantage. The Hawks have cleared the puck again, about 45 seconds remaining in the Power Play. WIngs, looking for an open lane to fire on and Samuelson ties the game. Huet looks like he is suffering a bit from the wind chill. The puck looks like it hit the back of Huet's skates. Action behind the net, a feed to the front, Eddie Olyczck is saying that Huet went down a bit fast. The open ice makes the ice slower than usual.

Winter Classic 9; Chicago 1, Detroit 0

Real puck drop, the wind is blowing in toward the Detroit goal. A minor penalty, Hawk Power Play. Brent Seabrook benches Dan Cleary into the Hawk bench. The Wings put to many on the ice and the Hawks get a 5:3 for about 90 seconds.

A shot, but blocked and the advantage is now 5:4. Wings bring it down to the Hawks end. Versteeg scores the first goal of the game as Seabrook. Bfuglien went to the net, but it was Versteeg that connected. He was behind Bfuglien and driving to the net too.

Winter Classic 8

Okay, we have potential Wings fans here. Ron and Kim showed up with two ferrets. As many of you don't know and probably don't want to know, when Jane watches a sports game, and a goal is scored, she'll grab her cats, have them dance while she starts singing the Buffalo Bills song, "oh the Bills make me want to sing and dance..." So, while Kim and Ron are here, the ferrets can be the Wings fans and the cats can cheer for the Hawks.

Jane says the Canadian singer did a good job on the Canadian Anthem, but the cold made the singer for the US Anthem choke. More info momentarily. It looks like they had a few planes flying overhead during the anthem, missed that here at home.

Yep, it was the Blackhawks home game singer. Too much and not nearly as good as Wayne Messmer or the other great anthem singers. Ouch! yeah, the planes came in at an angle that didn't bring them near the house.

The Chicago All-stars is being shared by a number of people, Olympians? Anyone? I guess amateurs don't mean anything. Disappointing. Lot's of people dressed as seats.

Bobby Hull drops the ceremonial puck. He puts his foot in front of Nicklas Lidstrom, which would have prevented Lidstrom from playing a dropped puck. Nice.

Winter Classic 7

The network is doing a retrospective of the history of Wrigley. Of course, Jane and I did that with yesterday's posts on the Chitowndailynews.

The game is important for the two teams. The Blackhawks have won 9 of the last ten games, losing a game against the Red Wings earlier this week. As a result, the Blackhawks are just six points behind the Wings. The Hawks have two games in hand. The Wings are the team to beat, they have been considered the best team in the sport for several seasons.

My first look at the Detroit sweater. White letters on a blood red background. The players have hit the ice now. Some of the guys are wearing toques and touching home plate as they pass. Very cool. Whoops some friends just showed up. Let's see how long until I can write again.

WInter Classic 6

Jane Rickard said the European feed isn't too good and that she's put news of this live blogging on-line. The situation here, about a mile from Wrigley Field, is there is a cloud cover, some wind and the weather is below freezing. There could be some flakes falling later today. Great day for a hockey game.

I've moved from the NHL Network to the NBC Network. Chris Chelios is on the bench for the Red Wings. I was hoping to catch him while he was on the ice for Grand Rapids Griffins. I doubt, due to the waiver rules, that he'll return to the AAA.

A rink is setup behind the main rink for children. It reminds me of playing outside at LaFollette Park on the West Side. Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel is being interviewed. He's on top of the scoreboard in Center Field. While the wind may not be blowing on the field, you can be sure the wind is blowing hard up there.

Winter Classic 5

Oh God! The Foley is on. Am I the only person watching Chicago hockey who dislikes this guy? There it is, another reference to loyal home fans. What a stiff.

Brett Lebda is skating around with shadow. Cool! Football players aren't the only ones to look tough with eye shadow. LOL

A piece on the old Chicago Stadium with an emphasis on the flight of stairs leading to the ice surface. The atmosphere of the old Stadium, with the roar, created an atmosphere that will never be duplicated. Wait, wait, a bit on the movement of the Detroit Red Wings to the rink. There is a set of steps here too. I have to admit, I've never been in that area of Wrigley Field. What an excellent behind the scenes look at the game.

Oh God, the skeleton is back. At least in the second interview, he didn't use any boilerplate. McDonough is back on. More than anyone, except Rocky Wirtz, he is probably responsible for the return of the Blackhawks. The biggest change I see in this team, they are talking about winning the Stanley Cup. In the past two decades the fans would be discussing getting into the playoffs.

Winter Classic 4

Whoops, "the Windy City" is used to describe the City. Must be an out-of-towner. Yes, the wind chill will be a factor, as we discussed in a previous blog entry.

Ty Conklin appears to be starting for the Red Wings. Unless I'm mistaken, he is the only player to have appeared in the three Winter Classic games since 2003, losing the first game 4-3 as the Montreal Canadiens took down the Edmonton Oilers in 2003 and protecting the net in the 2-1 shootout victory last year by the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Buffalo Sabres.

An ORGAN! Yes, of course the Chicago Cubs organist is Gary Pressy. The Blackhawks use Frank Pellico. I wonder if he plans to play Lady of Spain?

Winter Classic 3

They are now doing a piece on the 1991 All Star Game National Anthem. That was a key moment in the roar, as the crowd started cheering during the Anthem and didn't really stop.

Wayne Messmer is still the voice of Wrigley Field, singing the National Anthem before Cubs games. He also sings the Anthem at the Chicago Wolves games. The Anthem today will probably be sung by Jim Cornelison, according to a source on the Blackhawks boards.

Winter Classic 2

Still a pre-game on the NHL Network. Stan Mikita is asked "what makes this city so great?" and almost gives the greatest fan in the world line. Instead he points at the crowd and says "this is what makes it so great."

Bob Verdi looks ridiculous in his hat, says Chicago has the most loyal fans, so forgiving. Umm Bob? Are you reading off of a teleprompter? Why are you hesitating? He sounds likes he's stoned or something. Get him off the air, please.

Live blogging the Winter Classic 1

Just for fun, I'm live blogging the Winter Classic today. My first job, identifying the first person to utter the "greatest fans in the world..." line.

The Foley is prattling on about how there was a turn around in Chicago. That's a story we are going to hear a lot today. John McDonough discusses his expectations, I'd agree the highlight of the game will be the national anthems prior to the game. Then we have a nice piece showing some college band members who got together. It was a nice piece that was a bit unusual. I also liked the way it showed off my city.

Winter Classic; Special Report

Happy New Year.

To celebrate the Winter Classic game being held here in Chicago, Jane Rickard and I are posting on each other's site a special series of articles, posted in a way that you can read from the top down.

Patrick Kissane
Jane Rickard

Rooftops ready for big game

The rink lies below, glistening in the sun. There is no ice there yet. That will come shortly. Already the Zamboni's have been dropped, literally, off the truck. On this morning, a cold wind blows. Looking at the stands for 41,000, you wonder how will those people survive this cold.

But Steve Alexander is happy. In the warmth of his rooftop club and the field across the street, his patrions will be able to knosh on cider, pizza and coffee inside, taking in the game as the weather allows on the rooftop deck. His arms wide, he says he is ready for the Winter Classic.

A veteran of the Greektown restaurant scene, Alexander says the rooftop gig has been the best place to work ever. He glides over to a wall, his speech is rapid and his excitement is viral, “here are pictures from the 1970's with the owner,” he says. He hardly allows a moment to examine the photos on the wall before racing elsewhere, the food is usually prepared outside in the summer he explains, talking rapidly.

“But, in January that won't be possible,” he explains, as he shows off the kitchen where the chili, mac and cheese and other winter favs will appear. “The staff is excited,” he explains, racing to the roof along a rear stair.

At the top of the stair, downtown glistens in the distance and an el train rumbles beneath us. Alexander is on the other side of the roof. Talking about what his guests will be seeing. Wrigley Field, frozen in snow and ice lies across the street and below. A rink runs from first to third base. It is quiet. A moment that is frozen.

Alexander is quiet for a moment, then his boots begin crushing the snow, “it will be 45 F here this weekend and this stuff will all melt,” he predicts. “Come here and look at this,” he is bursting with enthusiasm. Another kitchen, this is the summer kitchen. “And, we'll hang televisions from these poles too.”

Alexander rushes down a stairwell. Gasping to catch him, the sub-zero air is stinging my lungs. Alexander is a huge sports fan. At first, he says he doesn't understand hockey, but as he talks, he goes into a long discussion of the effects of constant hits on the player's body. He talks about Chicago Blackhawk players and Chris Chelios, the kid from the hood who did good.

“His parents were mall walkers and stopped by mom and dad's stand in the mall,” he explains. The old Greeks liked to talk to each other and grab a bite. They'd talk about their kid in the hockey league, Chris. Chelios, I explain, was assigned to the AAA Grand Rapids Griffins for conditioning. He might not play on New Year's Day. “Oh, too bad.” For a moment, Alexander is reflective.

He begins to talk again about the Cubs and the blessing of the business having this extra day of business. The city council had just approved the sale of tickets by the rooftops at its previous session. Although he had sold out, Alexander explained that prior to the approval, everything was tentative.

The poor economy is having its effect here too. Although Alexander has sold out, he says that some of the rooftops had tickets on the 20th. Tickets up here cost $300.00 USD each. For that the rooftop clubhouse Alexander runs opens an hour before the game till an hour after the game. All the food and beverage is provided.

The effort to be ready is exhausting. Alexander fields calls during the interview from supplier after supplier, arranging for the delivery of food, beer, soft drinks and other supplies. “Excuse me,” he apologizes, “I have to take this.” It is non-stop and there are more than ten days to go yet.

He says the rooftops host parties during concerts too, but that the view is terrible and it is by invitation of the owner (no income) for friends and clients. “We had to take the weather into consideration,” he says. He looks at the stands across the street. “People will be freezing if they stay outside long in this weather. They'll probably be going up (to the roof top view) and down (to the warmth of the clubhouse) a lot,” he predicts.

The building, originally a three-flat, was gutted to the walls. A similar project is occurring immediately next door. Inside, the walls are brick and mortar. Large windows keep the noise of the el train out, while pictures from Cubs history adorn the walls. Basically several floors of restaurants with bleachers on the top deck, only one apartment survives, on the first floor. And NO, you may not invite yourself up to the deck if you rent the apartment.

In the early days of Wrigley Field, the owners and tenants came up on the roof with lawn chairs and grills. Television gave the rooftops their romance, showing the rooftops and their occupants. It is a romance the National Hockey League hopes to capture. A little snow, some pictures of the rooftops with some cold people on them, and the ivy. You can see it now, in your minds eye.

Outdoor hockey at this level is about romance. The romance of a game played on ice. The romance of professional players, returning to their roots. It is a romance of the neighborhood kid, scoring the game winning goal or making the glove save at a critical moment-- at least in his head.

45 Years Ago in Wrigleyville

Sports trivia: When was the last time a professional championship game was played at Wrigley Field? Who won it, Chicago or the visitors?

The answer is the Chicago Bears won the National Football Championship December 29, 1963, 14-10 over the New York Giants. The Super Bowl wasn't started till 1967. It was the last championship game the Bears played in until they won the Super Bowl in 1986.

The game was moved up to a 12:05 start by the National Football League after the Bears refused to move the game to Soldier Field. The NFL was concerned that the end of a long game could be played in the dark as Wrigley Field had no lights. Mike Crivello, age 26 at the time, lived about a block from Wrigley Field in the 1100 block of Addison. The morning dawned with a temperature of -8 F and winds gusting to 15 mph. Local radio reported that the Bears game was sold out and Crivello knew, from living in the area, that the city was cracking down on scalpers.

He headed out to mass at Trinity Lutheran Church with his wife. Passing the ticket office, he noticed a line for tickets. When he checked out what was happening, he discovered that the game wasn't sold out, but the remaining tickets were too expensive for Crivello. The ticket agent pointed to a man on the sidewalk, a scalper. “He'll sell you a ticket for face value,” the agent said, explaining that the weather was discouraging people from attending.

Crivello purchased three standing room only tickets at $4.00 each. It was a half-hour till game time.

Rousing his cousin Chris and another friend who did not make it, Crivello headed to the Waveland Avenue bleachers in his hunting camouflage. “It was cold and there was no food service in the bleachers,” Crivello said. The only protection from the wind and the bitter temperature in the bleachers was the men's room. Crivello remembers entering the men's room and seeing a man warming his bare feet over a heater.

Crivello remembers Giants Quarterback Y. A. Tittle's scoring first quarter drive. It culminated in a touch down pass to Frank Gifford. But the Monsters of the Midway, led by Larry Morris, hit Tittle as he was throwing later in the quarter. A second hit by Morris, on another play and Tittle's knee was injured. Although he finished the game, he was lost for part of the first half and he began throwing off his back foot for the remainder of the game.

Morris was able to intercept a Tittle pass moments after the second hit. His 61 yard return remains a Bears record. It setup a quarterback sneak touchdown by Billy Wade, tying the game. Going into the second quarter, Crivello remembers that the temperature was sending people home early. A Giants field goal sent the ball out of the stadium onto Waveland. A crowd of perhaps 100 people scrummed for the ball near the firehouse. The score was Giants 10, Bears 7 at the end of the half.

In the second half, with Tittle back on the field, Ed O'Bradovich intercepted a Giants pass. That setup Wade's second scoring run, giving the 14-10 lead to the Bears. Richie Petitbon finished the Giants chances when he intercepted a pass, the fifth Bears interception of the game, in the end zone with ten seconds remaining.

George Allen, the Bears defensive coordinator, received the game ball. Bears coach and owner George Hallas received the NFL coach of the year award. Morris was the Most Valuable Player. Among the other athletes in the contest were Johnny Morris and future Bears coach Mike Ditka. Crivello kept the game ticket and an aerial photograph of the game in a frame until last year when he gifted them to a football loving friend. “I still remember the ticket, SRO #96,” Crivello said.

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by Patrick Kissane and Jane Rickard