The 2011 NFL Draft has come and gone, and many teams made some big improvements last weekend.  The Chicago Bears are one of those teams, as they acquired two immediate starters who filled very big team needs.  Arguably the biggest need the Bears had going into the draft was along the offensive line, and Gabe Carimi was one of the best offensive linemen available in this year’s draft.  Stephen Paea filled another big need for the Bears, as he will replace the recently released Tommie Harris at defensive tackle.

The rest of the Bears draft is questionable.  They didn’t have many picks this year because of the tradeup to get Paea in the second round.  I have no problems with that trade, but the Bears could’ve done much more with their remaining draft picks to help the team out next year.

Chris Conte was a gigantic reach in the third round, and I don’t see him making an impact for the Bears next season.  Nathan Enderle and James Thomas will be backups for the foreseeable future in Chicago.

The following is my pick by pick analysis of the five players that the Bears added in last weekends draft.

1. (29) OT Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin: This was an excellent pick by the Bears, and it fills their biggest need.  Carimi has the ability to play either left or right tackle, but I think his best position is on the right side. 

Grade: A

2. (53) DT Stephen Paea, Oregon State: The Bears traded up to get Paea, and I loved the pick for them.  He will start right away for the Bears, and I think that he will make a big impact next season.

Grade: A

3. (93) S Chris Conte, California: I thought this was a huge reach for Conte.  I had him rated as a sixth round pick, and I don’t see him making a big impact next season.

Grade: F

5. (160) QB Nathan Enderle, Idaho: Enderle is a solid developmental quarterback, but I think the Bears had bigger needs than this position.

Grade: C

6. (195) LB James Thomas, West Virginia: I think Thomas will make a nice backup in Chicago, but once again, there were more talented players they could’ve taken here.

Grade: C

Final Grade: C+

The Bears began the draft with two great picks in the first couple of rounds.  Carimi will be a huge help to their offensive line next season.  Stephen Paea is a perfect fit for the Bears, and he will step right in and upgrade the spot formerly held by Tommie Harris.  The draft went downhill from there, as they reached on three players that won’t make much of an impact next season.  Chris Conte was a particularly questionable pick, as he was a huge reach in my opinion.  They failed to address a huge need, as they didn’t draft a wide receiver.

The trouble with the Bears’ failure to draft a wide receiver is that they will have a hard time finding a starting wide receiver in this year’s draft.  I expect Santonio Holmes and Sidney Rice to re-sign with their respective teams, and Vincent Jackson had the franchise teg placed on him.  This doesn’t leave a lot of options for the Bears heading into next season.

I think that Jerry Angelo did better overall than he has done in previous drafts for the Bears, but he still left a lot to be desired for Bears fans.  The Bears will be in playoff contention next season, but they still have a few holes that need to be addressed for next year.

The first day of the draft is in the books, and the Chicago Bears took bookend offensive tackle Gabe Carimi with their first pick.  He is exactly the type of player that the Bears needed, and he will be a valuable asset to the team moving forward.

With one need down, the Bears will likely focus on other positions on day two of the draft.  There are a couple of different ways that the Bears could go in rounds two and three.  The most likely targets will be a wide receiver, a defensive tackle, and an offensive guard.  There will be multiple players at each of those positions for the Bears to consider.

The Bears will be looking at multiple wide receivers that will be available in round two.  Their top target is likely Torrey Smith out of Maryland, but I expect him to be gone before the Bears get the chance to pick him.  Some other receivers they could consider include Randall Cobb and Titus Young, but I don’t think that they are the best fits for Chicago.

The one receiver that is still available who would make a lot of sense for the Bears is Greg Little out of North Carolina.  He has a nice combination of size and speed, with the potential to develop into a number one receiver.  Jay Cutler would love to have him to throw to, and he will likely be available when the Bears come on the clock.

The Bears could also go with a defensive tackle, with the consensus favorite among Bears fans being Marvin Austin out of North Carolina.  A lot of people thought the Bears would take him in round one, so he likely will be off the board unless Chicago trades up.

Two defensive tackles who I think would be good fits along the defensive line include Christian Ballard from Iowa and Drake Nevis from LSU.  Nevis would bring a lot of athleticism and quickness to the position, while Ballard brings good size and pass rushing ability.  They will both be strongly considered by Chicago if they are available.

The Bears did shore up part of their offensive line last night, but they could also look to add another lineman here in the next round or two.  There are multiple offensive guards that are still available that would instantly upgrade the Bears’ offensive line.

Marcus Cannon is a huge player, who projects best to guard at the next level.  The Bears could use a mauler like him at the guard position, but he may not be available.  The Bears could also target Gabe Carimi’s former teammate in round three, John Moffit.

The best fit though could be Clint Boling from Georgia.  He was a four year starter at Georgia who would be ready to go from day one.  The Bears would have to take him in round two, but I think it’s a good idea to take a guard in round two or three to continue to protect Cutler.

Day one of the draft was very good to the Bears, having Gabe Carimi drop to them at number twenty nine.  The draft is far from over though, and the Bears still have some work to do in the next two days as they try to fill as many of their needs as possible.

It hasn’t been an easy season for the northsiders, but Cubs fans were in for a treat at Wrigley today. In comeback fashion, the Cubs beat the Dodgers 8 – 10. In other Cubs news, the team recalled RHP Justin Berg from Iowa.

In other news…

- James Russell will get another shot at starting for the Cubs
- Derek Rose sprained his ankle in the first quarter, but he returned in the second
- Alexei Ramirez moved to #2 in the batting order for the Sox
- A.J. Pierzynski doesn’t care what you think about him

As most fans will reluctantly admit, baseball is a business. The owners are in the business for two reasons: to make money and to win games. By this reasoning, the most efficient teams are the ones who win the most games while spending the least amount of money.

It’s a fairly simple concept that most people are familiar with and most fans have had a conversation about in one form or another. Almost every fan will remember wondering how it was possible in 2008 that the Rays won 97 games with a payroll of less than $45 million while the Yankees won 8 less games with a payroll of almost $210 million.

In situations like 2008, it becomes incredibly clear how inefficiently the Yankees spent money in comparison to the Rays, but it doesn’t show precisely how efficient or inefficient a team was. If you really want to judge how good a job your team’s front office is doing, you need a more specific measure than “they spend less and win more than Team X.”

Luckily, there’s a stat for that.

Developed by Doug Pappas of Baseball Prospectus in 2004, Marginal Payroll Per Marginal Win measures how efficient a team’s spending is. It’s a fairly simple statistic despite its very daunting name. Here’s how it works:

Since a team must pay a player a certain minimum salary and there are 28 players on a major league roster (25 man active roster plus 3 man disabled list), you subtract the league minimum salary multiplied by 28 from the team’s payroll. This figure is your marginal payroll. Pappas also theorized based on research that a team consisting of 28 random players earning the league minimum could win approximately 30% of their games (48.6 games assuming a 162 game season). So, you take the number of games the team won and subtract 48.6 and you get the marginal wins. Divide marginal payroll by marginal wins and you have the Marginal Payroll Per Marginal Win. In formula form, it looks like this:

(Payroll-(28*league minimum salary))/(Wins-(games played*.3))

What this figure tells us is how much additional money on top of the league required minimum the team spent for each win above the number of wins a random team of scrubs could earn. In other words, the formula tells us how much money the team spent per win above the number of wins which could be attained assuming no additional money was spent above the league required minimum.

What the formula does is gives us a precise way to measure something we already know: the teams who spend the least and win the most are the most efficient clubs.

In this column, I’m going to use this formula to evaluate the efficiency of the five teams in the AL East over the past 11 years since 2000. On Sunday, I’ll continue with the AL West and then move to the AL Central and so on. By the time I’m done, hopefully it will shed a little light on which teams are the most efficient and how they achieve their efficiency.
The obvious starting point is with the team everyone loves to hate. The chart bellow provides information on the past 11 seasons for the Yankees with the furthest right column containing their Marginal Payroll Per Marginal Win for each year.

It should come as no surprise that the Yankees spend a lot of money and also win a lot of games. They spend so much money, however, that they also spend a lot of money per win. Interestingly, the cost per marginal win has been trending upwards over the past ten years despite the fact that the team appeared in three World Series in the first half of decade (won in 2000 and lost in 2001 and 2003) and only one in the second half of the decade (won in 2009). The chart below shows the team’s spending progression over the past decade:

In other words, the Yankees have been getting less and less efficient over the past decade. This result isn’t really very surprising considering they have continued to spend more and more money. One can imagine that adding $5 million to a payroll of $200 million will have a significantly lower impact on winning games than adding $5 million to a payroll of $40 million. In other words, one can easily theorize that money becomes significantly less valuable the more of it you spend. We’ll be able to test this statistically once we have data for all of the clubs.

The Red Sox are a bit of a different story:

As you can see, there’s much less rhyme and reason to the way the Sox numbers fluctuate. You can see this more exactly in the graph:

Wins and Payroll are less correlated than with the Yankees showing that despite the Sox best efforts to mimic the Yankees by shelling out large sums of money for big name free agents, their spending hasn’t had a drastic impact on their performance. They also spend much less money than the Yankees and spend much more efficiently on the whole, so the comparison may not be warranted to begin with, but you can put one in the win column for the camp that believes you don’t have to spend the most to win in baseball.

The Blue Jays have managed to keep their marginal cost per marginal win below $3 million in each of the last 11 seasons which is something that no other team in the AL East can say (not even the Rays), but they also haven’t found a way to win many games.

If the Sox chart indicates you don’t have to spend money to win games, the Blue Jays chart indicates the opposite. They’ve been efficient in their spending but it hasn’t translated into success on the field. With a smaller payroll, you have to be even more efficient to compete which is something the Blue Jays haven’t been able to do. What’s the lesson here? Money may not buy you championships, but it does buy you the freedom to spend a little less efficiently and still get away with it.

If all of this research has done one thing, it has emphasized how poorly run the Baltimore Orioles are. In the past 11 years they’ve never notched more than 78 wins but have had a Marginal Price per Marginal Win over $3 million during five seasons, two of which were over $4 million.

There’s not much else to say here as the numbers pretty much speak for themselves. It’s been a tough decade for the O’s.

On the other hand, the Rays have managed to defy all odds and win a tremendous amount of games with very little money (at least in the latter half of the decade).

After a tough start to the decade, the Rays turned inward to their farm system and became the envy of almost everyone in the league as they developed many of today’s star players while paying them next to nothing.

Even in the middle of the decade while the team wasn’t winning, the Rays kept their payroll so low that they maintained incredible efficiency. The efficiency certainly paid off in the last three years as they’ve been able to modestly increase their payroll to reflect growing support for a team that proved how important developing minor league talent is to being an efficiently run ball club.

So, what does all of this mean? Below is the summary of the above data taking the average Marginal Price Per Marginal Win for each team over the last decade. Not surprisingly, the Yankees are the least efficient club, rightfully earning their nickname as the Evil Empire.

That being said, at least the Yankees win games with their money. It’s much worse for baseball to have a team like the Orioles spending boatloads of cash and not winning any games. The Yankees bring in a tremendous amount of profit to the MLB because they are successful at what they do and have some of the best players in the game. The Orioles certainly can’t say the same. If baseball fans want to get mad at a team from the AL East it should be the Orioles not the Yankees.

What jumps out at you? Let me know what I missed in the comments section.

Check back on Sunday for similar analysis on the AL West and come back over the next few weeks to see the rest of the divisions and figure out exactly what all of this means for the MLB as a whole.

But is it too early to talk about or consider a comeback?

It probably is. Despite the psychological boost this game has given the ‘Hawks, they still trail the Canucks 3-1 in the series heading into Vancouver for game five.

The ‘Hawks do have some things going for them though.

Canuck goaltender Roberto Luongo left late in the first period after stretching his back awkwardly during a save. It was apparent Luongo was in some pain, but he returned at the beginning of the second period.

That’s when the ‘Hawks lit him up.

The ‘Hawks scored four goals in the second, two within 17 seconds of one another. After Luongo let up another goal early in the third period he was pulled and back-up goaltender Cory Schneider played the rest of the game.

It isn’t clear how serious Luongo hurt himself, and whether or not it was the reason for his bad playing after the first period, but if it does continue to nag him and affect his ability to play the Canucks are in some danger.

Luongo is currently having his best postseason for the Canucks, and it had led to that 3-0 lead going into Tuesday night.  In the past the ‘Hawks were able to get at Luongo mentally, opening up the net considerably.

The Canucks don’t want that to happen this time.

Some homecomings are bitter, and some are sweet. Dave Bolland’s was the latter.

Bolland, who hadn’t played a game since March 9th due to a concussion, had a goal and three assists in Tuesday’s game. It was the production the ‘Hawks needed.

In fact, 11 players tallied at least a point Tuesday night — even goaltender Corey Crawford.

Coach Quenneville’s line changes to center proved successful. Patrick Sharp moved to center, playing between Marian Hossa and Ben Smith. Viktor Stalberg played with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane while Bolland played between Michael Frolik and Bryan Bickell. Finally, Ryan Johnson played between Troy Brouwer and Marcus Kruger.

It will be interesting if Q keeps those forward lines the same for game five on Thursday.

It’s still too early to think comeback, but a win in Vancouver on Thursday forces a game six in Chicago where the ‘Hawks have the familiarity and the home crowd working with them.

Like I said before, it all comes down to Luongo’s status. If he can return 100% both physically and mentally, the Canucks will probably win game five, but if he doesn’t, the addition of Bolland (and hopefully Seabrook) could be enough for a road win for the ‘Hawks.

Win number four is always the hardest to get. It now comes down to which team wants it more.

The number one seeded Chicago Bulls will face the number eight seeded Indiana Pacers in round one of the playoffs.  The Bulls have won nine games in a row, which propelled them to the NBA’s best record for the regular season.  The Pacers, on the other hand, enter the playoffs as the only team with a losing record.  They are much improved this season, but nobody is giving them much of a shot to upset the Bulls in round one.

Here is a position by position breakdown of each team heading into the first round matchup between the division rival Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers.

C Joakim Noah vs. C Roy Hibbert

Roy Hibbert has developed into a solid inside threat for the Pacers, but he will have his hands full with defensive specialist Joakim Noah.  Hibbert has been inconsistent this season, and it remains to if he shows up or not for this series.  Hibbert will have a difficult time scoring against Noah, and I don’t expect that he will be a big part of the Pacers’ offensive game plan.

Noah missed quite a few games this past season, but he proved why he is so valuable to the Bulls with his hustle and energy.  He plays excellent defense, and he can score some points if the Bulls need him to, although that isn’t really his forte.

Advantage: Chicago

PF Carlos Boozer vs. PF Tyler Hansbrough

This could be a very one-sided matchup in favor of the Bulls.  Carlos Boozer is an excellent low post player who will have his way with the defensively challenged Hansbrough.  Boozer became the low post presence that the Bulls have been lacking for years, and he will be a key player throughout the playoffs. 

Hansbrough has improved this season, but he is no match for Boozer, who is a much stronger player than Hansbrough.  He will have trouble guarding Carlos, and he may lose some playing time in this series because of his lack of defensive ability.

Advantage: Chicago

SF Luol Deng vs. SF Danny Granger

Luol Deng has been a very pleasant surprise, turning in the best overall season of his career.  He gives the Bulls a nice offensive weapon, but his defense will be key in this matchup.  Danny Granger is the Pacers to offensive threat, so Deng will have to focus on shutting him down, instead of lighting up the scoreboard.

Danny Granger had a down year this season, but he will still have to shoulder the load on offense for Indiana.  Look for Luol Deng to use his quickness and length to help shut down the Pacers’ leading scorer. 

Advantage: Chicago

SG Keith Bogans vs. SF Mike Dunleavy

Bogans won’t provide much help on offense, but he plays very good defense in limited minutes.  He’s the weak link in the starting lineup, but he has a well defined role that he’s filled very well this season.

Mike Dunleavy has played well on offense this season since returning from a broken thumb.  I expect him to get the start at shooting guard, as he prevents the biggest challenge on defense for Bogans.

Advantage: Indiana

PG Derrick Rose vs. PG Darren Collison

Derrick Rose has been stellar this season, as the league’s likely MVP.  The Bulls will only go as far as Rose takes them, and he should have a very good first series against Darren Collison.  He is just too good for the Pacers to handle on defense.

Darren Collison is a solid point guard, but he’s going to have his hands full guarding Rose.  He may provide a spark on offense, but I expect him to get embarrassed on the defensive end of the court.

Advantage: Chicago

Chicago’s Bench vs. Indiana’s Bench

The Bulls bench has been a revelation this season.  With Kyle Korver and C.J. Watson providing the spark on offense, the Bulls can rest their starters without going through any scoring droughts.  Omer Asik, Taj Gibson, and Ronnie Brewer are excellent defenders who overwhelm opposing teams’ benches.

Paul George and Brandon Rush provide some scoring off the bench, while Josh McRoberts is strong on the defensive end.  Jeff Foster provides a veteran presence off the bench for Indiana, just as Kurt Thomas does for the Bulls.

Advantage: Chicago

Tom Thibodeau vs. Frank Vogel

The Bulls have bought into Thibodeau’s defense first philosophy, and it has worked beautifully for them this season.  Thibs is a strong candidate for Coach of the Year, and he shouldn’t have much of a challenge game planning for the Pacers.

Frank Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien in the middle of the season, and he’s done an adequate job.  He doesn’t have the same intensity that Thibodeau does, and he will have his hands full in this matchup.

Advantage: Chicago

This shouldn’t be much of a series, where we’ll see the best team in the playoffs against the worst team in the playoffs.  If Indiana is able to avoid being swept, it has to be considered a success as they just don’t match up well against Chicago.  The Bulls should dispatch the Pacers pretty easily here, as I fully expect to see a first round sweep.  So get out your brooms Chicago, as we look forward to a tougher second round matchup against either Orlando or Atlanta.

Series Prediction: Bulls in four

The 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals start Wednesday night, kicking off an almost three month long battle between the league’s top 16 teams.

The defending champions — the Chicago Blackhawks — barely scrapped into the playoffs, earning the 8th seed in the playoff. They will play the #1 seed and President trophy winner the Vancouver Canucks.

Here is the TV schedule for the opening round series between Chicago and Vancouver:

SERIES E		#1 vs. #8	Network
Wednesday, April 13		at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.	CBC (HD), VERSUS
Friday, April 15		at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.	CBC (HD), VERSUS
Sunday, April 17		at Chicago, 8:00 p.m.	CBC (HD), VERSUS
Tuesday, April 19		at Chicago, 8:00 p.m.	CBC (HD), VERSUS
*Thursday, April 21		at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.	CBC (HD), VERSUS
*Sunday, April 24		at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.	CBC (HD)
*Tuesday, April 26		at Vancouver, TBD	CBC (HD)

What the Vancouver Canucks Have to Do to Win

Winning 54 games and earning 117 points in the regular season will give you top dog status going into the NHL playoffs, but what it won’t do is guarantee a Stanley Cup Championship.

In fact, only three teams in the past 10 years (two of them were the Detroit Red Wings) who have won the President’s Trophy ended up winning the Stanley Cup. The Canucks have stalled the past two years in the playoffs, losing both years to the ‘Hawks, but few have doubted their Stanley Cup potential.

The major difference between this year’s team and last year’s is their defense. It is vastly improved and one of the best defenses in the NHL. A +77 goal and a third ranked power play killing unit is proof of that. If the Canucks are going to win this series it’s going to be primarily with their defense.

In addition, the Sedin twins should have no problem giving the ‘Hawks’ defense — which is a lot weaker than last season — some trouble. If the defense can stop the attack of the ‘Hawks’ Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, then they should have no problem winning.

The main concern for the Canucks will be their goaltender, Roberto Luongo.

Luongo has always been a top goaltender in the regular season, but his numbers take a serious drop once in the playoffs. His GAA in the playoffs is always higher than it was in the regular season.

He is consistently around .500% in the playoffs as well, but a much improved Vancouver defense should help Luongo remain solid.

What the Blackhawks Have to Do to Win

The ‘Hawks come into the playoffs as the defending champs but also as an underdog going into this opening series.

It has been a long and tough season for the ‘Hawks, and some have doubted whether they deserve to be in the playoffs in the first place. They’re in though, and that has to come with a sigh of relief from both the fans and players.

The pressure of making the playoffs is gone, but the pressure to succeed and defend the 2010 Stanley Cup is now on.

Chicago had a stellar defense last season, but that’s changed. The defense and power play killing unit has slumped, manly due to the lackluster performances of both defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

Lack of depth has also hurt the ‘Hawks, who now rely on the first two lines for much of their offense.

For the ‘Hawks to win, their star players are going to have to step up more than they had to last season. Toews and Sharp will be the primary guys who fans will look to lead the team.

But pulling the upset will also take defense. Goaltender Corey Crawford has been stellar in net. The rookie has played extremely well in front of a mediocre defense.

If the ‘Hawks can pick up their defense and help Crawford, they might have a legitimate chance of pulling of the upset, but everything has to click.

Chicago-Vancouver Prediction: Vancouver in six games

*First-off, I would just like to thank every single player on the Minnesota Wild team. The chances of them beating the Dallas Stars was not very good, yet they showed tremendous heart in a game that was completely meaningless and played like they were the team hoping to make the playoffs.  The Wild were without all their star players, and somehow defeated a playoff-hungry team who had won three in a row just to get into this situation. I can’t thank them enough.‘Hawk fans might get to celebrate, like they did in 2010, because of Minnesota.

The Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t do it themselves, so the Minnesota Wild had to do it for them. A 5-3 Dallas loss gives the ‘Hawks the eighth and final seed of the 2010-11 NHL season.

The ‘Hawks next focus is the Vancouver Canucks, a team they’ve already disposed of in the playoffs for two years straight. Something tells me the Canucks want a chance to end that streak, and this year they have the team to do just that.

Dominance is one word you could use to describe the Canucks. A NHL leading 117 points and +77 goal scored and scored against, the Canucks, on paper, go into the playoffs as the favorite to win.

For the ‘Hawks, that means trying to find the toughness they’ve displayed against Vancouver the past two seasons. It’s going to be tougher this year to do that.

Chicago has struggled to find depth all season long.

But what will hurt the ‘Hawks more than depth is the inability to close out games. The third period has been mostly a nightmare for the ‘Hawks.

Many have also doubted the ‘Hawks desire and heart, and that’s acceptable after the ‘Hawks failed to win their last regular season game against the Detroit Red Wings-a win that would’ve sealed a playoff spot(one higher than the 8th seed).

A 24-17 home record is definitely not worthy of a playoff team that hopes to go deep, but the ‘Hawks play a little tougher(or get more points anyway) on the road where they have a 20-12-9 record.

Blackhawk fans are on the fence on what they think about the ‘Hawks being in the playoffs, but, whether you think they deserve it or not, being in the playoffs is good for the city as well as the organization.

According to CSNchicago.com, the ‘Hawks will play their first game Wednesday, April 13th at 9pm CT.

The Chicago Blackhawks are now in total control of their destiny. After beating the Detroit Red Wings Friday night 4-2 the ‘Hawks have inched closer to clinching a playoff spot.

But they’re going to have to prove themselves again.

The Dallas Stars are not going away easily. They’ve been trailing the ‘Hawks, hoping to grab a playoff spot late in the season for the past two weeks. The Stars needed to win their game Friday night and did, forcing the ‘Hawks to now, at least, earn a point in Sunday’s game against the Red Wings.

After 81 games of grinding it out, it all comes down to game 82.

A win, an overtime loss, a Dallas loss, or  Dallas overtime loss will all give the ‘Hawks a playoff spot. It’s a lot easier said then done, especially for a ‘Hawks team that has had a roller coaster season plagued with inconsistency and third period blowouts.

The ‘Hawks need to find a way to play with the kind of urgency and determination they showed on Friday. Three goals early in the first period buried the Red Wings, and while I love close games, I’d rather not have as heart attack over a hockey game.

The first line and second line attacking the net was key to the success of the ‘Hawks Friday night, proving, once again, that when the top line performs well the team wins. But the lack of production from the bottom two lines still bothers me.

Good teams get production from their stars, but great teams get it from everyone

Sunday’s game will be in Chicago at the United Center, so there should be no problem with crowd support. It actually fits into the dream finish of clinching the playoffs in front of your home crowd.

With all these advantages, there is still one glaring problem:Detroit will come back with a vengeance.

Rivals love to see ruin each other’s day, and what’s worse than beating your rival and be the reason for them possibly not making the playoffs?

With such much to win and possibly lose, the ‘Hawks better play their best, or it could cost a whole year full of proving that they can still be a force in the NHL.

According to the ESPN Chicago report, there is a Twitter photo of Turco accepting a $5 bill from a fan during the game.

The news broke on a Montreal Radio station where a Canadiens fan called in to report the incident.

“I bet him after the Canadiens scored that Chicago wouldn’t score again,” the caller said, according to ESPN Chicago.

Patrick Kane tied the game minutes later at which point money exchanged hands.

An NHL spokeswoman declined comment, but Turco confirmed that the bet took place saying that he had given the money back to the fan.

This event is the culmination of a disappointing season for Turco and likely would not have taken place if he had been playing up to par. Though his frustration is understandable, with cameras everywhere, Turco’s ignorance is not.

His actions are even more disheartening when considering that the ‘Hawks are currently fighting for their playoff lives (with Dallas, the team he came from, nonetheless).

Add one more issue to the Chicago sports world on a day that has included injuries for the Cubs and Sox.