Tonight, the playoffs start, and there has already been way too much written and conjectured upon. It's the headache that comes with being the last team to open their series. Thanks, Globetrotters.

Anyway, as we did last year, we're raising money for Blackhawks Charities through the Beard-A-Thon . There's also a clickable link over on the left, in our "Charity stuff" section.

We raised a few hundred bucks last year, while I got itchy as hell, and looked like a derelict. So, everybody wins.

Please - give a few bucks. We're not asking for your kids' college funds. Although we wouldn't say no.

Thanks.