Abbatacola: God Favors The 'Hawks
By Matt Abbatacola-
(CBS) For my entire adult life, I believed God was too busy to be concerned with sports.
If He wasn't allowing a natural disaster or helping avert some global catastrophe then he was performing some other Godly Task and certainly not watching the NHL or MLB.
I was wrong - and wrong in a major way.
Daniel Carcillo scored the game-winning goal for the Blackhawks last night with just 49 seconds left in regulation. The win gave the Hawks an orga-ny-zation record 11th consecutive victory. They have now gone halfway through the shortened season without a regulation loss. Ray Emery became the first goalie ever to win his first 10 games.
And did I mention that Daniel Carcillo scored the game winner?
A few days ago, I said Carcillo was, "a complete waste of space" and "a liability on the ice."
This isn't just a matter of luck or getting a break like championship teams have in the past – this is certainly Divine Intervention.
God is watching, and so is most of Chicago.
The problem now: the Blackhawks MUST win the Stanley Cup.
If they don't, it will be the worst collapse – the most epic failure – the greatest disappointment in all of Chicago sports history.
Forget about any other team - the '84 or '86 Bears or the '82 DePaul Blue Demons. On a side note, when it comes to epic failures – please stop mentioning the '69 Cubs. They went 8 and 17 in the month of September (including an eight-game losing streak) and lost the East Division by eight games. They're not in the team photo for this discussion. Thanks.
The Hawks must be the last team standing in 2013 or these records and these streaks will mean absolutely nothing. Talking the talk goes a long way on the North Side, but it won't, it can't in the Madhouse on Madison. Fortunately, John McDonough knows this all too well.
All right, Carcillo, you're not a complete waste of space. Is that a halo on your Indian head sweater?
Matt Abbatacola is the executive producer of The Boers and Bernstein Show. You can follow him on Twitter @MattAbbatacola.
