Jeremy Roenick, my favorite Blackhawks player when I was a kid, will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for the class of 2010. I loved Roenick when he was drafted as an 18-year-old kid out of Boston, and pretty much stopped following the Hawks after he was traded to Phoenix in that crappy deal. He turned into kind of a caricature in the later years of his career, but I still have a lot of fond memories of JR in a Chicago sweater. Let’s hope that’s the one he chooses for his bust in the Hall.

So Spain won the World Cup in what I thought was a less-than-thrilling 1-0 win over the Netherlands. Then again, I’m not a soccer fan, so I wouldn’t know thrilling if it hit me in the face. Anyway, I saw the trophy presentation — and was once again disappointed. That little thing is what you get for being the best soccer team in the world? Seriously?! Give me a break. I have a whole house water filter bigger than that! Is it at least solid gold? If so, then that changes things a little.

Oh, well, at least the tournament is over now and soccer can go back into hibernation in the States for another four years.

It was expected, of course, but I don’t think any fans realized to what extent the 2010-11 Chicago Blackhawks would differ from the 2009-10 championship version. We knew the salary cap would wreak havoc with the team, so we were expecting to lose some key guys. But this is getting ridiculous. Byfuglien, Ladd, Versteeg, Eager, Burish, and Fraser are gone. Hjalmarsson just signed an offer sheet with the Sharks, and if the Hawks don’t match, he’ll be gone. If the Hawks do match the offer, Niemi is likely gone. Wow… just wow.

Hawks GM Stan Bowman was supposed to have all of this under control. After the Steeger trade, he said they didn’t have to make any more moves. But then Ladd was shipped off. And now there’s a chance we’ll lose Hjalmarsson? I don’t get it. Why wasn’t he signed a long time ago???

I know the Hawks were saddled with some bad contracts and a few bonus situations that came into play because of the Stanley Cup run. I’m not expecting Bowman to turn into Superman and be able to leap steel buildings in a single bound or stop a speeding train. What I did expect was that he wouldn’t allow the team to get picked apart like this. Man, what a debacle this off-season is turning out to be.

I don’t know… I am just not looking forward to October. The Hawks will be soooo different from the team that took the ice last October and carried them all the way to the holy grail. I’m glad they won last month, because things are looking goddamn bleak right about now.

I don’t watch the NBA at all, but it’s kind of hard to miss the LeBron James hoopla that’s been going on all summer long. But hopefully that will end tonight, as James has promised to reveal which team he will sign with for next season and beyond.

Of course, since he’s the “King” and all that, he can’t just call a regular news conference to make his announcement. No, instead he has to buy an hour on ESPN and show a documentary or some such about himself as well. Wow, some ego there, huh?

Anyway, since Chicago is in the running, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bulls set up a bunch of tv stands outside the UC so fans can gather round and watch the proceedings. If you ask me, though, I’d have to say James is staying put in Cleveland. It doesn’t really make sense for him to go anywhere else.

Carlos Zambrano has to be the biggest d-bag in Chicago sports right now. I have never liked this guy, didn’t think he was worth the $91 million contract he signed a couple years ago, and am not surprised that he hasn’t delivered results. And after yesterday’s incident, where he completely lost his mind and went toe to toe with Derek Lee in the Cubs’ dugout, I’m writing him off for good. This guy needs to be dealt ASAP — if there’s any other team willing to take on his problems and his contract. Right now Zambrano is suspended indefinitely. I hope he never puts on a Cubs uniform again. Bye bye, idiot.

I haven’t been paying much attention to the U.S. Open this year, mostly because there were a couple of “unknowns” (to me, a very, very casual golf fan) at the top of the leaderboard. But after the third round, I noticed that both Phil and Tiger are in a position to challenge for the win today.

Dustin Johnson came into the final round as the leader with an overall score of -6. But he is +5 through the first three holes, on his way to a massive choke job. Tiger isn’t faring much better, though. he’s +2 through 3 and is tied for 6th.

Graeme McDowell is actually in the lead, having played an even round through the first three. Ernie Els and Gregory Havret are hot on his heels, with Phil sitting in 5th at even par.

Should be a wild finish to this one!

(Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

The Blackhawks had their tickertape parade/rally today in downtown Chicago to celebrate the organization’s first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years. I didn’t go, but watched live streaming coverage on Comcast Sportsnet’s website. It looked like a blast! City officials originally expected about 350,000 people to turn out, but early estimates put the crowd over the 1,000,000 mark (the Trib is even saying 2 mil, but who knows). Anyway, it’s so cool to see these guys embracing the experience like this, because it might very well be the last time in their careers that they ever get to do so.

Also, I’ve gotta say that it’s a little worrisome seeing Patrick Kane drinking so much. Yes, he’s over 21 and all that, but he’s been guzzling champagne and beer (on camera, no less) practically since Game 6 ended. I think he’s a skilled hockey player and is a valuable component to the Hawks team, but it’s hard for me to be a fan of him personally. He seems like the kind of player I’d hate if he was on a different team.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)