Dan McNeil

I agree with the adage that suggests "luck is where hard work meets opportunity." It was coined by a first-century Roman philosopher named Seneca, but I always attribute it to former Blackhawk Richie Preston. It's more colorful that way and it's a way...

If anybody in the sports observation business ever tells you he or she doesn't take enormous joy in being right, they're lying. Everybody with a laptop or a microphone relishes every opportunity to spike the ball after a prediction — be it on a...

While the Blackhawks and Red Wings were shaking hands late Wednesday evening, the numeral "8" appeared on the United Center's video board. That's for the eight more wins the Hawks need to accomplish their One Goal — winning the Stanley Cup....

So this is the dreamy, second-round match up that was to titillate the senses? The type of grudge match that was to rekindle all the deep-seeded ill feelings Chicagoans and Detroiters had for each other in the days of the old Norris Division? Or not....

Those of us in the opinion-making business are guilty of wanting it both ways. We require our superstar athletes to dazzle us not only with their performances, but also fill our notepads with colorful quips. Then when a jock offers total transparency...

Greed is unattractive, but what kind of poker player walks away from the table when the dealer keeps throwing him hot cards? I got my wish when the Bears closed the book on Brian Urlacher's career here. As a bonus, Urlacher whined like a jilted...

Another Presidents' Trophy banner will be raised to the rafters of the United Center next fall. With their victory Wednesday night in Edmonton, the Blackhawks ensured home ice throughout the playoffs, a distinction that can be dubious. Ask Vancouver...

If Stan Bowman spent Wednesday on the golf course instead of on the telephone, all I can say is I hope he broke 90. There wasn't any reason for the Blackhawks general manager to make a move as the NHL's trade deadline approached. The Hawks are as...

Chicago now has digested a month of uninspiring baseball on both sides of town. The reaction has me puzzled. "It's going to be a long summer," seems to be the most common response from fans and the media. No, it isn't. The Cubs and White Sox are on...

Two weeks from today, the water cooler is going to be enormously popular in work places all over the Chicago area. That's where Bears fans will convene to debate general manager Phil Emery's second crack at the first round of the NFL draft. If ESPN...

Pat Foley wasn't behind a microphone when Patrick Kane's overtime goal in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup finals lifted the Blackhawks to their first championship in 49 years. NBC had exclusivity for the finals, which meant Foley was reduced to spectator...

Marc Trestman was a smash at his introductory news conference Thursday in Lake Forest. The Bears new head coach definitively answered "yes" to the qualities Phil Emery suggested were requisite for the job when the Bears general manager outlined his...