Coming into the playoffs, I assumed the Bulls would face All-Star center Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Well, surprise! The Atlanta Hawks crashed the party. Atlanta defeated Orlando 84-81 in Game 6 on Thursday night, clinching a 4-2 series win.

If you're a Bulls fan, this scenario seems almost too good to be true. Hell, it might be too good to be true. This is a favorable matchup for the Bulls. As a matter of fact, it's an even more favorable matchup for Chicago than the Indiana Pacers were.

Now, the Hawks do have better players than Indiana. There's no question about that. But Atlanta is a jumpshooting team. It's two best scorers are perimeter threats Joe Johnson and former Bull "Jack 'Em Up Jamal" Crawford (pictured), who never met a shot he didn't like. Hence, the nickname "Jack 'Em Up Jamal."

Atlanta doesn't have much depth, or physical presence inside, and they don't guard that hard. Oh, forward Al Horford is a good player. He gave the Bulls a problem in the one game the Hawks won over Chicago this year, but he's not a pure back-to-the-basket scorer by any means. He's more of a face-up scorer, not unlike the Bulls' Carlos Boozer. The Hawks' offense is based upon isolation plays and outside shots. Those are two things the Bulls defend very well.

The Hawks don't have a single player that scares you, either offensively or defensively. The best defender on their team is probably former Bull Kirk Hinrich, and he's headed to the MRI machine after hurting his hamstring against Orlando. Their bench isn't good at all once you get past Crawford, who is the Sixth Man of the Year.

Considering all this, the general consensus around town seems to be the Bulls will win this in five or six games. Meanwhile, Boston and Miami will be beating the crap out of each other on the other side of the bracket. On paper, this sets up real nice. Of course, the game isn't played on paper, and that's why we watch.

Here are the relevant numbers for the upcoming series. All individual stats are from Round 1 of the playoffs.

Schedule
Game 1: Monday at Chicago, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game 2: Wednesday at Chicago, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game 3: May 6 at Atlanta, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4: May 8 at Atlanta, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game 5*: May 10 at Chicago, TBD (TNT)
Game 6*: May 12 at Atlanta, TBD (ESPN)
Game 7*: May 15 at Chicago, TBD (TNT)
*If necessary

Bulls starters
F -- Luol Deng 18.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.6 apg
F -- Carlos Boozer 10.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.6 apg
C -- Joakim Noah 12.0 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.8 apg
G -- Keith Bogans 5.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.6 apg
G -- Derrick Rose 27.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.2 apg

Hawks starters
F -- Josh Smith 14.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.3 apg
F -- Al Horford 12.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.7 apg
C -- Jason Collins 1.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.2 apg
G -- Joe Johnson 18.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.5 apg
G -- Kirk Hinrich 10.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 apg

Key Bulls reservers
G -- Kyle Korver 10.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.6 apg
G -- Ronnie Brewer 2.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.0 apg
F -- Taj Gibson 4.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

Key Hawks reserves
G -- Jamal Crawford 20.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.8 apg
F -- Marvin Williams 6.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.8 apg
C -- Zaza Pachulia 2.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg

Season series (Bulls won 2-1, home team in CAPS)
March 2: HAWKS 83, Bulls 80
March 11: BULLS 94, Hawks 76
March 22: Bulls 114, Hawks 81

I am a very bad American. Football is only my fourth favorite sport. If the NFL canceled the entire 2011 season because of its ongoing labor conflict, it wouldn't break my heart in the slightest. I don't gamble. I've never played fantasy football in my life. I can live without the NFL.

So, it is with great nausea that I follow the spectacle that is the NFL draft. Working in the sports media, it's my job to know what is going on in every sport, so I am paying loose attention to the draft tonight. I don't want to, but I have to. It's my job.

But on a personal level, I really don't get the attraction to this event. I'm sick of detailed draft previews in every single sports magazine that has entered my mailbox the last two weeks. I'm sick of hearing Mel Kiper Jr. (pictured above) talk breathlessly on ESPN about prospects that I've never seen play. I don't care one bit about what Player X's measurables were at the combine. I can't believe bars in this area are having "draft parties" that feature assorted drink specials. I can't believe people actually buy tickets to attend the NFL draft in person.

Get a life.

I don't even care who the Bears draft. Jerry Angelo is a terrible GM. He's always drafted poorly, so I'm sure whoever he picks will suck and make no impact at all next year, assuming there actually is a season.

Wake me when the draft is over. I hate it.

Keith Bogans? Seriously?

The Bulls much-maligned starting shooting guard actually shot the ball well for a change Tuesday night. He nailed five of the seven 3-pointers he took and finished with 15 points. The Bogans outburst was part of a great shooting night for the Bulls, as they hit a playoff team record 14 3-pointers in a 116-89 dismantling of the Indiana Pacers.

With the victory, the Bulls win the best-of-seven series 4-1 and advance to meet the winner of the Orlando-Atlanta series. Atlanta leads that series 3-2 after Orlando took Game 5 in other action Tuesday.

You have to believe the Bulls cured a lot of the civic angst surrounding them with Tuesday's performance. This was the first time they dominated the Pacers in this series. As a matter of fact, this was the first time all series they started a game off well. The Bulls hit Indiana with a 14-2 opening run and led 36-25 after one quarter.

The Pacers did make a run in the second half. They scored seven straight points to pull within four at 61-57 midway through the third quarter, but the Bulls outscored them 21-8 from that point to make the fourth quarter free of suspense.

Point guard Derrick Rose showed few ill effects from his sprained ankle. He scored 25 points on 8-for-17 shooting and dished out six assists.

Now, we wait and watch to see who wins that Orlando-Atlanta series. I have to believe Bulls fans would prefer to see Atlanta in the next round. The Magic have Dwight Howard in the paint, which makes them a threat. Atlanta has no such dominant player, and the Bulls would be a clear favorite in that matchup.

Blackhawks lose Game 7

Well, at least the Blackhawks found themselves a long-term solution in goal this year. Corey Crawford is not to blame for the Hawks' 2-1 overtime loss in Game 7 Tuesday night.

By all rights, Vancouver should have won this game going away. With his team already down 1-0, Crawford stopped a penalty shot in the third period. He also made an incredible sequence of three consecutive saves with about four minutes left to keep his team in the hunt. All told, Crawford made 36 saves, many of the spectacular variety. He single-handedly kept the Hawks within one shot.

Finally, Hawks captain Jonathan Toews scored a short-handed goal from the seat of his pants at 18:04 of the third period to force overtime.

The Hawks had a golden opportunity to win in the extra session when they were awarded a power play under a minute in, but Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo stoned Patrick Sharp from point-blank range to keep the Canucks alive.

Moments later, Vancouver's Alexandre Burrows picked a Chris Campoli clearing attempt out of midair, walked in and executed a cannon of a shot that beat Crawford high to the blocker side at 5:22 of the overtime. It was a terrific play and shot by Burrows and a tough way to end the season for the Hawks.

Unlike the people in Canada, we won't cry like a bunch of five-year-olds after a tough loss. The better team won. The more deserving team won. I don't like the Canucks, and I'll never root for them. But they were better than the Blackhawks this year and the final result of the series reflects that.

Without a doubt, the Blackhawks best line lately has been the trio of Dave Bolland, Michael Frolik and Bryan Bickell. Each man had a goal in Sunday's 4-3 overtime winner against the Vancouver Canucks, and that group has also been outstanding defensively.

Unfortunately, Bickell will not play in Tuesday's Game 7 at Vancouver. He had wrist surgery Monday to repair tendon damage from an injury suffered in Game 2. Reports indicate the surgery was planned, and that Bickell had a limited window to play without risking further damage.

This is definitely a blow to the Hawks because that line was on fire the last three games, all Blackhawk winners as Chicago has rallied from an 0-3 deficit. Bickell has two goals and an assist in the last three games. Forward Tomas Kopecky has been absent since Game 1 with an upper body injury, but he's on the trip to Vancouver and the hope is he can play in Bickell's place.

In other news, Vancouver announced that Roberto Luongo will start in goal for Game 7. That figures, since backup Cory Schneider suffered an injury that resulted in his removal from Game 6. Luongo struggled in both Games 4 and 5, allowing a combined 10 goals in those contests. He was pulled in both games and did not look sharp in relief in Game 6.

Luongo fought the puck throughout the overtime period in Sunday's game and gave up a juicy rebound that Ben Smith backhanded home for the game-winner at 15:30 of the extra session.

It goes without saying the key for the Hawks is to get a goal early in Game 7. Luongo's confidence has to be pretty shaky going into this contest. The Hawks cannot allow him to get comfortable in net. If Luongo gets his game together, Vancouver wins Game 7 at home. If he does not, the Hawks will win. That's what it comes down to, IMO.

The Indiana Pacers finally got on the board Saturday, defeating the Bulls 89-84 in Game 4 of this first round Eastern Conference playoff series.

The Bulls still lead the best-of-seven set 3-1 and will have their next chance to close it out Tuesday at the United Center.

Why did the Bulls lose this game? Well, Derrick Rose didn't get to the free throw line like he did the first three games. Here are Rose's stats from the foul line so far in this series:

Game 1: 19-for-21
Game 2: 12-for-13
Game 3: 13-for-15
Game 4: 2-for-4

I think it might be time for my friend Cookie Monster to do some singing...

Indeed, Rose's performance in Game 4 was unlike his performance in the first three games, and not in a good way. After spraining his ankle in the second quarter, Rose stopped attacking and started settling for jump shots. He attempted nine 3-pointers and made only one. He finished 6-for-22 from the floor for a pedestrian 15 points.

Rose needs to start taking the ball to the basket again in Game 5. Yeah, the Pacers are playing physical. Yeah, they're fouling hard. Yeah, they're letting the Bulls know they aren't going to go quietly. That's fine. Rose needs to get back to the mentality he had the first three games where he absorbed the punishment, then punished the Pacers by making his foul shots.

If he does that, I believe this series is over Tuesday.

The Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-0 Thursday night. Behind two goals each from Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith, the Hawks are staying alive, staying alive, ah, ah, ah, ah, staying alive.

Bee Gees - Staying Alive by Discodandan

Feel Vancouver breaking and everybody shaking.

For years, I've made fun of the Indiana Pacers because they seem to have more white guys than any other team in the NBA. They definitely have more than their quota of overrated white dudes who played in the ACC -- Tyler Hansbrough, Mike Dunleavy, Josh McRoberts, etc.

But it was the Bulls' white dude who made the biggest impact in Chicago's 88-84 win Thursday night in Indianapolis. Kyle Korver scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. He hit five of six shots from the field, and he forced the Pacers to honor his outside shooting ability. That opened the driving lane for Derrick Rose, whose layup with 17.8 seconds left broke an 84-84 tie and put the Bulls ahead for good.

The Bulls overcame a poor shooting night by Rose, who was 4-for-18 from the field. In an increasingly physical series, Rose got himself to the foul line 15 times and made 13. That allowed him to finish with a team-high 23 points. The Bulls also overcame a quiet night from Carlos Boozer, who made just two of 10 shots for four points.

Really, it seems like the Bulls are able to overcome anything the Pacers throw at them. There has been a lot of civic angst, a lot of belief that the Bulls aren't playing their best basketball. Maybe so, but the bottom line is the Bulls own a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven series. They have a chance for the sweep Saturday afternoon in Indiana.

Win or lose, Canucks still gutless

As we watch the late show that is Game 5 between the Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks tonight, let's give a shout out to the Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who is absolutely correct in his comments about the Canucks cowardice.

The Canucks could win the Stanley Cup and I still wouldn't respect their team or their spineless excuse for a coach. They don't want to fight with John Scott, but they'll gladly pick a fight with noted enforcer Viktor Stalberg. Gutless pukes, all of them.

You can't help but wonder what might have been if Blackhawks center and defensive ace Dave Bolland had been healthy for this entire playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.

Bolland returned to the ice for the first time since March 9 on Tuesday night. He missed the final 14 regular season games and the first three games of the playoffs with concussion symptoms.

And what a dominating return it was.

Bolland had a goal and three assists and was a plus-4 in the Hawks' 7-2 victory at the United Center. More importantly, Bolland and his linemates (Bryan Bickell and Michael Frolik) completely neutralized Vancouver's top line, which features the high-scoring Sedin twins -- Daniel and Henrik.

The first three games of this series, the Sedins did basically whatever they wanted. They combined for three goals and five assists and were a plus-6. With Bolland on the ice across from them Tuesday night, the Sedins managed just a meaningless power-play goal at 16:24 of the third period. They were a combined minus-6. Bolland's line absolutely destroyed them.

Given that the Hawks lost two of the first three games of this series by a single goal, do you think Bolland's presence would have made a difference in those games? I do, but there's nothing than can be done about it now.

The Hawks trail the best-of-seven series 3-1 and still have a daunting task ahead of them. But you can't win four in a row until you win the first one, and that first win is out of the way now. The Hawks have at least avoided a sweep and now they have to find a way to win Game 5 in Vancouver Thursday night.

I don't think the Hawks have much chance (if any) of coming back and winning this series. All you can really hope for at this point is a win in Game 5, and then you go from there. With Bolland back on the ice, the Hawks have a little bit better chance.

"You have to tip your hat to them, even though I hate doing that," Juan Pierre said. "We've just got to come out tomorrow and battle them."

"I think overall we still played well," Carlos Quentin said. "But tonight, tip the cap. I think all of us here were a little frustrated. We had a lot of fastballs to hit and we mishit them."

"He got some runs, attacked hitters and threw a little breaking ball over to keep you a little bit honest," Paul Konerko said. "I got in some fastball counts and got it, got it where I was looking and he just through it right through me. Yeah, you tip your hat to that. He has a nice arm."

The White Sox have dropped five in a row after Monday's lackluster 5-0 loss in Tampa Bay. The South Siders have scored a grand total of seven runs in their last four games.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of reading about "tipping the hat" to the opposition all the time. No more excuses. I don't care if it's cold in Chicago, and the Sox are playing on the road in a dome this week anyway. Hit the damn ball or shut up.

I have a hard time believing the Indiana Pacers can play much better than they did Saturday. For awhile, those guys were making seemingly every jump shot. Indiana made 10 out of 18 3-point attempts. It was shooting over 50 percent for most of the game. It led 98-88 with just under four minutes to play.

Then, the Bulls took over. Derrick Rose led a 16-1 game-closing run and Chicago escaped with a 104-99 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

This one has to be pretty demoralizing for the Pacers, who outplayed the top-seeded team in the East for 44 minutes. Alas, the game is 48 minutes long. As long as Rose is still on the floor, the Bulls have a chance. The MVP candidate finished with 39 points and hit Kyle Korver for the game-winning, tiebreaking 3-pointer with 48 seconds left.

Here's the biggest reason I believe Indiana has no chance in this series: The Pacers point guards have no prayer against Rose. None whatsoever. Rose is bigger, stronger and faster than both Darren Collision and A.J. Price. He can get into the paint and to the rim on them any time he wants, as evidenced by the 21 free throws Rose shot on Saturday. Foul hard is really the only strategy the Pacers have, and that isn't going to work.

Indiana's best chance is probably hoping Bulls forward Carlos Boozer continues to play like a turd. Boozer was OWNED, and I mean owned, by the hopelessly white Tyler Hansbrough in Saturday's game. The North Carolina product hit 10 of 19 shots and finished with 22 points for the Pacers. As far as I can tell, Boozer's defensive strategy was,"Let him shoot." That's just plain dumb, and Hansbrough almost won the game for the Pacers.

You can bet Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is going to put his team through a hard practice Sunday. He's not going to be happy with the 99 points allowed in this game. The Bulls did buckle down and get key stops late, but that's not going to be good enough for Thibodeau, who is a perfectionist.

Game 2 is Monday night at 8:30, and I would expect a much better defensive effort from the Bulls in that contest.

Hawks fall into 0-2 hole

The Blackhawks lost 4-3 at Vancouver late Friday and fell into an 0-2 hole in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Sunday night at the United Center and it's pretty close to do-or-die for the Hawks.

The key to the next game? The Hawks' stars had better show up. The role players kept the team in the game Friday, with rookie Ben Smith netting two goals and Viktor Stalberg also scoring.

But what about Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook? Kane has an assist and is a +1. He's the only one of the so-called "big six" whose performance has been acceptable. The other five have no points and are a combined -11.

If that crap continues, Vancouver will sweep this series.

The Bulls are 62-20 overall and 53-12 in their last 65 games. The Indiana Pacers are 37-45. They are probably one of the weakest playoff teams in the history of the NBA.

If the Bulls somehow lose this series, there ought to be an investigation. The Bulls are better at every position and they are the deeper team. There really isn't any more analysis necessary than that. But since they still gotta play the games, here are the relevant statistics for the upcoming first-round NBA Eastern Conference series:

Schedule
Game 1: Saturday at Chicago, noon (CSN)
Game 2: Monday at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. (CSN)
Game 3: April 21 at Indiana, 6 p.m. (CSN)
Game 4: April 23 at Indiana, 1:30 p.m. (CSN)
Game 5*: April 26 at Chicago, TBD (CSN)
Game 6*: April 28 at Indiana, TBD (CSN)
Game 7*: April 30 at Chicago, TBD (CSN)
*if necessary

Bulls starters
F -- Luol Deng 17.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.8 apg
F -- Carlos Boozer 17.5 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
C -- Joakim Noah 11.7 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.2 apg
G -- Keith Bogans 4.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.2 apg
G -- Derrick Rose 25.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 7.7 apg

Pacers starters
F -- Danny Granger 20.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg
F -- Tyler Hansbrough 11.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.6 apg
C -- Roy Hibbert 12.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.1 apg
G -- Paul George 7.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.1 apg
G -- Darren Collison 13.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.1 apg

Key Bulls reserves
G -- Kyle Korver 8.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg
G -- Ronnie Brewer 6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
F -- Taj Gibson 7.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.7 apg

Key Pacers reserves
F -- Mike Dunleavy 11.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.7 apg
F -- Josh McRoberts 7.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.1 apg
G -- Brandon Rush 9.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.9 apg

Season series (Bulls won 3-1, home team in CAPS)
Oct. 22: BULLS 102, Pacers 74
Dec. 13: BULLS 92, Pacers 73
Jan 14: Bulls 99, PACERS 86
March 18: PACERS 115, Bulls 108 (OT)

While most of you were sleeping, the Blackhawks lost 2-0 to the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals Wednesday night.

The Canucks came out on fire, scoring both their goals in the first 10:23 of game. They were faster, more determined and better than the Hawks by a wide margin in the first period. The Hawks looked like they were still in regular season mode, while Vancouver played with an urgency fitting for a playoff game. The difference in intensity was noticeable, and the slow start was the biggest reason the Hawks lost the game.

The Hawks settled in and played some good hockey in the final 40 minutes. In particular, they were good in the second period. However, Chicago hit two or three goalposts and couldn't get any pucks past Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo.

Game 2 is Friday night. The Hawks have to do two things in order to steal a win. First, they need a better start. There's just no excuse for not being ready to play from the opening faceoff, especially during the postseason. Secondly, the Hawks need to play a more physical game. They were outhit 47-21 in Game 1. Vancouver was clearly the aggressor.

The Hawks don't need to goon it up or anything. They don't need to put John Scott in their lineup. But they do need to finish their checks at every opportunity. I didn't see them doing that in Game 1. The Canucks like to dish it out, but we've seen in the past they don't like it when you hit them. If the Hawks want to have any chance in this series, they better start delivering a few blows of their own, instead of allowing Vancouver to dictate the play physically.

What to do with the Sox bullpen...

Most people know I've been in the "make Chris Sale the closer" camp all spring long. After some careful thought, I've changed my mind. I think the Sox should make Sergio Santos the closer and use the left-handed Sale and right-hander Jesse Crain in the set-up roles.

I knew Matt Thornton wasn't cut out to close. I never thought he would blow four save attempts in one week, but I've never seen him as a viable long-term solution in that role. Thornton has been hit around to start the year, and it's clear that he no longer trusts his stuff. He's nibbling around the corners of the plate and uncharacteristically walking guys. Until he starts trusting himself again, I can't trust him. He needs to pitch in non-pressure situations until he gets his groove back.

Sale hasn't been pitching particularly well either to start the season. He's been scored upon in three of his last five outings. I'm smart enough to realize that maybe I was wrong in calling for him to be the closer. Right now, I think the Sox need to go with the guy who is throwing the ball best. That guy is Santos, who is unscored upon in 7 2/3 innings this season. For me, he's the one who gets the next shot. If he fails, well, then you reevaluate again.

Bulls have best record in NBA

The Bulls beat the New Jersey Nets 97-92 Wednesday night to finish the regular season at 62-20. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs fell to 61-21 with a 106-103 loss to Phoenix. That means the Bulls have the best record in the league and will have homecourt advantage throughout the postseason.

In team history, the Bulls have lost only one series in which they had homecourt advantage. That was in 2005, when Scott Skiles's club lost in six games to the Washington Wizards in the first round.

This season has been a pleasant surprise. I was expecting 47-53 wins this season out of the Bulls. Instead, they had a 21-game improvement over last year when they finished a pedestrian 41-41. I guess Tom Thibodeau can coach, huh?

I figured the Bulls were a year away from being legitimate championship contenders. The timetable has moved up. I think people will be disappointed if this team doesn't, at minimum, win the Eastern Conference.

Postseason play begins Saturday at noon, when the Bulls host No. 8 seed Indiana in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series.

We have a TV here in our newsroom, but we normally have assorted sporting events on with the sound down. Thus, I generally don't hear what is going on with the broadcasts.

But while I was on vacation, I had a couple nights where I could watch games from home with the volume up. During that time, I really noticed that all NBA arenas are addicted to pumping in canned music on damn near every possession. It's obnoxious beyond belief.

For instance, every time the visiting team has the ball, you can hear the canned soundtrack with the chant of "DEEEEE-FENSE!!!" echoing throughout the arena. I guess they are trying (and generally failing) to get the crowd to chant along.

Personally, I find it preposterous that the crowd should be expected to do the "Dee-fense!" chant when the score is 12-10 with six minutes to play in the first quarter. That's not exactly a critical possession, is it? God forbid the visiting team score and tie the score at 12, I guess. We wouldn't want that to happen.

I don't mind them trying to get the crowd to chant "Dee-fense!" when it's a two-point game with 40 seconds to go. But it is just absurd that they play that stupid track every single time the visiting team has the ball. Are they that desperate to get the fans involved in the game? C'mon.

It drives me crazy. All this canned music during the action makes me not want to watch NBA games anymore. As a matter of fact, that damn "Dee-fense!" chant is second on my list of sports annoyances, behind only the excessive use of the word "football" by NFL commentators. It needs to go away.

I saw a Chicago Tribune poll today where 70 percent of respondents indicated the Blackhawks do not deserve to make the playoffs. From my perspective, that means 70 percent of the people are really, really stupid.

Look, I realize the Hawks lost to Detroit at home on Sunday. I realize they needed Minnesota to beat Dallas later in the day in order to secure the last playoff spot. But the reality of the situation is playoff spots are earned over a complete 82-game season. What happened Sunday accounted for just 1.2 percent of the regular season. Does that loss to the Wings wipe out everything the Hawks did over the previous 81 games? Of course not.

Over the long haul, the Hawks totaled 97 points. That's two more than Dallas (95 points) and three more than Calgary (94 points). The top eight teams in the conference make the playoffs, and the Hawks are No. 8. That's the bottom line. So, yes, Virginia, the Hawks deserve to be in the playoffs. If you think otherwise, you are a self-loathing fool.

Without a doubt, the Hawks will be an underdog in their first round series with top-seeded Vancouver, which finished with a league-best 117 points this year. The Hawks have knocked the Canucks out of the playoffs in the second round in each of the past two seasons, but Vancouver is better this year.

In the past, the Canucks would implode with idiotic penalties. That isn't happening this year. Vancouver had the fifth most penalty minutes in the league last season. This year, they had the 17th most. That's a dramatic improvement. The Canucks also get plenty of scoring from each of their top two lines. The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, combined for 198 total points this season. Vancouver's second-line center, Ryan Kesler, had an eye-popping 41 goals. It's no wonder the Canucks scored the most goals in the league. They have a potent, balanced attack.

So, is there any hope for the Hawks? You bet. Much bigger upsets than this would be have happened. Look no further than last year, when the 88-point Philadelphia Flyers made the playoffs on the last day of the season. As we all know, the Flyers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they took the Hawks to six games before bowing out. The 88-point Montreal Canadiens made it to the Eastern finals last year, too.

The eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers reached the Cup Finals in 2006. The Calgary Flames reached the finals as a No. 6 seed in 2004. I can go on and on and on with examples of higher-seeded teams making runs in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It happens on an almost annual basis. That doesn't mean the Hawks are going to win this series, but they could.

As the series progresses, keep on eye on the Hawks' health. Three key forwards -- Patrick Sharp, Dave Bolland and Troy Brouwer -- have been dealing with substantial injuries late in the season.

I commend Sharp for getting back in the lineup recently. He came back sooner than he should have from a knee sprain to play the final three games of the regular season. He tallied an assist in each of those games, but you can tell he's gutting it out. Sharp was a money player in last year's postseason -- 11 goals and 11 assists in 22 games. The Hawks need similar production from him to spring the upset. It will be a tall order, since Sharp is less than 100 percent.

The Hawks are optimistic both Bolland and Brouwer will play in this series. Both players are important. Bolland is key because he shut down the Sedin twins in the playoffs last year. If Bolland is in the lineup, Hawks captain Jonathan Toews can concentrate on leading the offense, while Bolland can play his customary checking role. But if Bolland can't play, then Toews has to check the Sedin twins, in addition to scoring some goals. That's a lot to ask, even of a great player like Toews.

Brouwer (pictured) is more key than a lot of people realize. As we've seen in the playoffs the last two years, Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo does not like traffic in front of his net. Brouwer is one guy (besides Toews) who can provide that net presence for the Hawks. Tomas Kopecky can get in front of the net, too, but he doesn't really have the hands to finish scoring chances consistently. Brouwer can finish, and the Hawks will need that in this series.

In short, a lot needs to go right for the Hawks. But we've seen the moon and stars align in the Stanley Cup playoffs before. You just never know. Here are some more of the facts on this upcoming series:

Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday at Vancouver, 9 p.m. (CSN)
Game 2: Friday at Vancouver, 9 p.m. (CSN)
Game 3: Sunday at Chicago, 7 p.m. (CSN)
Game 4: April 19 at Chicago, 7 p.m. (CSN)
Game 5*: April 21 at Vancouver, 9 p.m. (CSN)
Game 6*: April 24 at Chicago, 7 p.m. (CSN)
Game 7*: April 26 at Vancouver, TBD (CSN)
*if necessary

Goaltenders:
Hawks: Corey Crawford 33-18-6, 2.30 GAA, .917 save percentage
Canucks: Roberto Luongo 38-15-7, 2.11 GAA, .928 save percentage

Leading scorers
Hawks: Jonathan Toews 32 goals, 44 assists, 76 points, +25; Patrick Kane 27 goals, 46 assists, 73 points, +7; Patrick Sharp 34 goals, 37 assists, 71 points, -1; Marian Hossa 25 goals, 32 assists, 57 points, +9; Brent Seabrook 9 goals, 39 assists, 48 points; 0.
Canucks: Daniel Sedin 41 goals, 63 assists, 104 points, +30; Henrik Sedin 19 goals, 75 assists, 94 points, +26; Ryan Kesler 41 goals, 32 assists, 73 points, +24; Mikael Samuelsson 18 goals, 32 assists, 50 points, +8; Christian Ehrhoff 14 goals, 36 assists, 50 points, +19.

Top defenseman
Hawks: Duncan Keith 7 goals, 38 assists, 45 points, -1; Seabrook (see stats above), Niklas Hjalmarsson 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points; +13; Brian Campbell 5 goals, 22 assists, 27 points; +28.
Canucks: Ehrhoff (see stats above), Alexander Edler 8 goals, 25 assists, 33 points, +13; Dan Hamhuis 6 goals, 17 assists, 23 points, +29; Kevin Bieksa 6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points, +32.

Special teams
Hawks: Power play 23.1 percent (fourth in NHL); Penalty killing 79.2 percent (25th in NHL).
Canucks: Power play 24.3 percent (leads NHL); Penalty killing 85.6 percent (3rd in NHL).

Season series (Teams tied 2-2, home team in caps):
October 20: HAWKS 2, Canucks 1 (SO)
November 20: Hawks 7, CANUCKS 1
December 3: Canucks 3, HAWKS 0
February 4: CANUCKS 4, Hawks 3

And away we go....

I'm taking a week off. Blogging will resume when I return to work on Monday, April 11. Talk to everybody then.

It will probably come as a surprise to no one that East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright has been named The Beacon-News Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the third straight season.

Boatright averaged 31.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game. It's pretty damn good if you can average 31 points in high school, considering the game is only 32 minutes long. The Tomcats were successful as team, too, under Boatright's leadership. They won conference and regional championships and upset previously unbeaten Benet Academy in the sectional semifinals, before bowing out with a loss to Glenbard East, the eventual third-place finisher in Class 4A.

Our All-Area picks will appear in your Sunday Beacon-News. Unlike some of our competing newspapers, we don't give honorable mention to every kid who puts on a varsity uniform. I don't believe in that "Everybody gets a trophy" crap and neither do our reporters. We like to keep this list exclusive. You have to have a good season to make our teams, and every kid whose name appears on our list should be proud of his performance this year.