Of course I'm biased. I'm a native Chicagoan, but I've endured mediocre hockey for decades. Now, Rocky Wirtz, who inherited Chicago Blackhawks ownership from his notoriously parsimonious father, has the team on an incredible turnaround.

At one time, it was the worst franchise in professional sports -- not just hockey -- that's all of professional sports. In two years, the team is in the playoffs, is breaking attendance records and merchandising like mad. And this is a recession, remember.

But don't take my decidedly biased word for it. Forbes writer Nathan Vardi offers lucid illumination here.

Money paragraph:

Rocky Wirtz inherited some excellent young players when he took the helm in Chicago, specifically right winger Patrick Kane Jr. and center Jonathan Toews. Wirtz then went out and paid top dollar to acquire a star defenseman, Brian Campbell, pushing the team's payroll to the league's salary cap. But most Chicago fans only get to see these players regularly because Wirtz reversed his father's longstanding policy [against televising games] and put all Blackhawks games back on local TV. Wirtz smartly views each hockey broadcast as a three-hour commercial.

Rocky knows what his father never seemed to understand: When it comes to building an identity and securing a loyal following, sometimes you have to give it away to keep it. Read the whole story.

Go Rock! Go Hawks! Can we break of a piece against Detroit this Friday?