For crying out loud.

Chicago has always been a good hockey town, but the Meatball element has completely taken over all discussion of the Chicago Blackhawks.

There have been two discussions that won't wither and die the deaths they deserve, and there's a pretty close race as to which one is more submoronic.

While it's good, on some level, to see the Blackhawks becoming an even larger part of the dialog in Chicago, the DOOMsayers are already writing off the season, as if the first nine games, resulting in 11 points, mean nothing.

This is a team that will rack up 100+ points this season, and will make the playoffs. Not that what we say here matters for anything.

Still, there are two points the Meatballs have been hammering home over the past 24-plus hours, and we'll address them both here, as part of the Coalition for Reason.

First:

THE BLACKHAWKS NEED A NEW GOALIE

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of this, there are two simple fact that come first: There is no goalie currently available who is as good or better than Cristobal Huet, and there is no goalie in the Blackhawks organization who is as good or better than Cristobal Huet.

The biggest criticism of Huet has been his dropping into butterfly before the shot, making the entire top of the net open. He's currently working on this, which is a rarity - a veteran goalie with a huge contract willing to change a main component of his style of play.

The result of this has been he's looked a little uncertain during games. He has also not been getting a lot of help back there, too many turnovers in the defensive zone pretty much leaving him with a shooter at point-blank range. This isn't relegated to Huet though...Wednesday's game-winning goal for Vancouver was off a turnover.

Still, there are fans who will boo Huet during introductions tomorrow night. Buy your ticket, it's your right. But for everyone who gets a bulge in their pants over the Hawks shopping for another goalie, whether it be Manny Legace, Duane Roloson, or whomever. That shit needs to stop. Every goaltender who is currently sitting on a bench somewhere, or in the minors, or being dangled is in that situation for one basic reason...they suck at goaltending.

Seriously...Fernandez? Why not throw in Vesa Toskala while you're at it. Hell, none of the guys I mentioned would lose a game of dodge ball to Huet.

And, no, Anti Niemi isn't better than Huet. Get that shit out of your head before it gets there. Niemi might be a solid NHL goalie someday, but 2 of the 3 goals he let in during the Vancouver game were shots that weren't at close range, and there was no screen. The pucks just blew past him.

So, please...pipe down about Huet. If somehow the Sharks take leave of their senses and feel the need to deal Nabakov, then maybe we've got something. But for now, no. Just no.

THE TOEWS HIT

OK, I've read the argument that this was a legal hit, but not a clean one. What the hell does that even mean? I don't understand why there has been any discussion of this beyond wondering if Toews is OK.

Toews was skating ahead of the puck carrier, and was looking back for the pass. He looked forward once he had the puck as Willie Mitchell skated out of the penalty box.

Now, pretend you're in Mitchell's situation. It's a close game, you're coming out of the box, one of the best players in the NHL doesn't see that hulking mass that is you. He's getting the puck, and you get the chance to lay his ass out.

If that was Dustin Byfuglien, and he didn't clean Henrik Sedin's clock, we'd all be livid about what a lazy pussy move it was to not pulverize him.

Hell, Scott Stevens got his ticket to the Hall of Fame punched off these types of hits.

Get over it. It was a man's hit. Hell, if it were anyone on any other team getting hit like that, we sure as hell wouldn't have to waste time addressing it here.