'Big Buff' now a part of Blackhawks lore

The 2010 Chicago Blackhawks will go down as one of Chicago's most loved sports teams of all-time. During the playoff run, perhaps no one on the team made more fans than Dustin Byfuglien, or "Big Buff." Clearly a fan favorite, Byfuglien gave the Hawks an attitude with his aggressive play against the Vancouver Canucks' goalie Roberto Luongo and his game-winning goals against San Jose. 

No matter what the future held in store for Big Buff, he would go down as a Chicago legend for what he did in the 2010 playoffs. Unfortunately for Blackhawk fans who were looking forward to seeing him in red again next year, the instigator was traded, along with Brent Sopel and Ben Eager to the Atlanta Thrashers today. 

Less than three weeks after the Stanley Cup victory, the famed '10 Blackhawks have been broken up. Never again will we see that team that so many Chicagoans fell in love with. The Blackhawks are still really good and are the favorites to make the Stanley Cup finals again. The trade may have even made them better. But even a better team won't capture the hearts like the one Buff was a part of. 

Compare him to Aaron Rowand of the 2005 White Sox. A one-year hit, but one that will be loved by Chicagoans forever. When the Blackhawks reveal their Stanley Cup banner and pass out rings on October 9 before their home opener against the Detroit Red Wings, Big Buff will get the loudest cheers. 

Byfuglien should have a good career with the Atlanta Thrashers. Atlanta may not embrace him like Chicago is (The ATL is definitely not a hockey town), but he will be a big part of their success.

If not, maybe he will get demoted and sent to the Thrashers' minor league affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Would any Blackhawks fans be interested in seeing Big Buff and Chris Chelios as teammates for the the city's minor league squad? 

This week in History.....June 17, 1994

This week in.....1994 - ESPN put together their best 30/30 film last week when they showed "June 17th 1994," an hour long movie taking you back to the events of that day 16 years ago. It was probobly the biggest news day in the history of sports. At least in my lifetime it is. 6/17/94 had it all. Five different stories that all would have been top page news on an ordinary day. But this was no ordinary day. This was history, and ESPN did a great job of putting together a documentary that took you from the morning hours and the jovial mood in New York to a near tragedy in Los Angeles in the evening.
At 10 a.m., hockey fans in New York were rejoicing after the Rangers won the Stanley Cup a few days earlier for the first time in 54 years. The parade down the canyon of heroes had New York fans glowing, especially since the Knicks were two wins away from giving the city a second parade in a week. At that point, New Yorkers already knew it would be a big day - A Stanley Cup parade in the morning downtown, and Game Five of the Knicks-Rockets NBA FInals series at Madison Square Garden that evening.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, former NFL runningback O.J. Simpson was named the top suspect in the killing of his wife Nicole and friend Ronald Goldman. He was scheduled to turn himself in, but never showed up when they expected him at 11 a.m. At his lawyer Robert Shapiro's news conference, OJ's friend Robert Kardashian came to the podium to read a suicide note OJ had prepared earlier in the day. The situation was real life drama, in effect, it was the beginning of true reality television.
We all know about the Bronco chase that ended at OJ's house that evening. It was clearly the story of the day. Bob Costas and other NBC sports figures were clearly more interested in watching the chase than covering Game Five of the NBA Finals, which occurred at the same time.
But this day's significance was prevelant outside of just New York and L.A. The United States hosted the World Cup in 1994 and the opening ceremony ocurred at noon that day at Soldier Field in Chicago. Being a nine year old, that is all I remember from that day. I remember it was hot and my father telling me the German team would have a hard time competing in the 100 degree weather.
At the U.S. Open that day, legendary golfer Arnold Palmer competed at his final major. Palmer deserved a great deal of publicity for the final event of his great career, but other events of the day obviously overshadowed him.
In Kansas City, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 30th home run of the year, making himself the fastest to 30 in a season in MLB history. Griffey would not be given the chance to brake Roger Maris' record of 61 in a season due to a player's strike in August that cancelled the rest of the season.
One day, six gigantic stories. But only one of them was a history changer. Something that we will never forget. The event that spearheaded the trial of the century and changed sports and television coverage of live trials forever.

Blackhawks win, parade great for the city

CHICAGO - Two million Blackhawks fans crowded the streets of Downtown Chicago Friday to celebrate the Original Six franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961. The estimated two million in attendence is clearly the largest number of fans to ever attend a Chicago sports team's championship celebration.

Ever since the Hawks won Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals in San Jose, it was clear that the Cup was headed to Chicago. There was no way any team still in contention could beat them four times.

Philadelphia gave it their best shot. The Hawks won the first two games of the series by a goal each time, and Philadelphia responded with wins in Game Four. Game Five was the best game of the series, with the Hawks winning 7-4. And Patrick Kane's overtime goal that no one saw in Game Six put an exclamation mark on one of the quickest turnarounds in sports history.

To truly put this in perspective, all you have to do is look at how things were three years ago, when the Blackhawks were seemingly irrevelvent.

The team was giving tickets away. They were the exception in an otherwise successful sports city. The Sox and Bears were less than two years removed from a championship appearance. The Cubs were the favorites to win the National League and the Bulls were even in the second round. The Hawks were the forgotten team. No one knew who the head coach was or even the leading scorer. Home games weren;t on television. Few were outraged because few cared.

But ever since the Blackhawks won the No. 1 pick in the draft and selected Patrick Kane, things have steadily improved. Over the last two years, this young group has won six of seven playoff series. Perfect free agent signings and good draft picks gave them the talent. And the 09-10 group meshed as well as anybody.

This isn't the greatest hockey team of all-time, but it seemed to have captured the hearts of Chicagoans more than any team in my lifetime. And hockey is suppose to be only the fourth most popular sport.

Chicago went crazy when the Hawks won it all Wednesday night. On Friday, the fans proved that the windy city will support a winner more than any other town. It was a party atmosphere all day. News cameras caught shots of not just one sea of red, but one on every street. People used anything to get a better view of the rally happening at Wacker and Michigan. There were no rules. It was a jungle.

Walking down Michigan Avenue at a snails pace because every space is occupied while confetti is flying all over the place and Chelsea Dagger playing on the stereos. It was a great moment.

I was happy to jump back on the "bandwagon" of Blackhawks fans last year. I don't feel bad about it either. About 80 percent of the people who will call themselves Hawks fans today couldn't name one player on the team in 2007. But when teams begin to do things the right way and compete at a high level, the influx in fans is the reward.

The number of Hawks fans tripled this year. Everyone is happy about this. So what argument is there against sports? Sports always have been a distraction at best, but, what else can make a mass of people collectively happy? The Chicago Blackhawks did that. As obvious as it was two weeks ago that the Hawks were going to win the Cup, it is still hard to believe it. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Unbelievable.

Photo: Patrick Kane (88) with the Stanley Cup and a bottle of Champagne on the parade route.