In 2004, ESPN named the Chicago Blackhawks the worst franchise in professional sports due to their cheap owner, mismanagement of players and an overall dismal fan experience.

What a difference a decade makes. This week, the Blackhawks are headed to their third Stanley Cup Final in six years. The Indian head jersey is as in style as it's ever been and the team has had the highest attendance in the league over the past four years despite skyrocketing ticket prices. When fans go to the Madhouse on Madison, they participate in full force- it's one of the loudest arenas in the game today. 

What hockey fans are finding out, however, is that the Madhouse on Madison is a traveling show. When most visitors score on the road, the home crowd goes silent. When the Blackhawks score on the road, you sometimes may question who the home team actually is. Many of the team's fans are willing to spend their hard earned money to travel and support their team, often inflating ticket and concession sales for visiting teams.

So why then, are teams still trying to force out Blackhawks fans?

Back in 2013, the St. Louis Blues and the Nashville Predators were up and coming teams. After division realignment sent the Detroit Red Wings out east, the Blues and Predators felt that the only obstacle standing in their way of division superiority was the then-defending champion Blackhawks. As a result, the Predators required everyone buying tickets vs the Hawks to purchase an additional single season Preds ticket. Blues management made it even tougher for Blackhawks fans by selling all Blues/Hawks games as part of larger ticket packages, not as single game outings. Mind you, this policy didn't apply to the other teams in the division- just the Blackhawks. Maybe it should have, as the Colorado Avalanche ended up winning the Central division that year.

The Blackhawks responded by finishing third in the West and knocking out the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs. Nashville finished 19 points behind Chicago in the regular season and didn't even qualify for the playoffs; these tactics have proven to be as futile as Wile E. Coyote's schemes.

Yet here we are, two years later, and the Predators prohibited playoff ticket sales for anyone living outside of their TV market The Blackhawks then took care of them in six games. The Tampa Bay Lightning have decided to pull a similar trick for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, prohibiting ticket sales for any card registered outside of Florida.

Look- I understand a team wanting to create a great home playoff atmosphere, but the FANS have to want it. That's why the Blackhawks can charge fans $70 for standing room only tickets during the regular season- the fans created demand. New York, Boston, Montreal and Philadelphia haven't prohibit ticket sales in their recent playoff appearances because of two reasons- they knew the fans would sell out the stadium, and they knew their fans would cheer like crazy. Nashville and Tampa are not hockey towns, and blocking out the visitors implies that they don't trust their fans to either sell out the stadium or cheer like they should- or both. It screams of insecurity.

What should they do? Market their teams better, ingratiate themselves with the surrounding community, start winning, and be patient. Most sports franchises have been around longer than the Lightning and Preds combined, so it's going to take time to build a passionate, loyal fan base. For now, let the crazies from Chicago in- those ten dollar beers and eight dollar pretzels add up quickly.

Kindle Paperwhite Review: Fall in Love With Books Again.

I recall learning to read at the age of two. It was a Dr. Seuss book I had picked up at my KinderCare, and it turned me into a voracious reader. For many years I'd read everything I got my hands on. Then one day, reading became work, and it wasn't so much fun anymore. Most of my reading nowadays has become confined to news articles- actually buying books is a rarity for me.

Not too long ago I picked up a Kindle Paperwhite, and reading is fun again. Why? Because Amazon has turned the Kindle into a device that not only facilitates reading- it takes the experience of reading to an entirely different level.

Amazon currently produces Kindle apps for just about every mobile device, tablet and computing device. After buying a Kindle, the difference between reading on these devices is different- you just know your phone and tablet aren't truly meant for reading books, as powerful as they are. The Kindle is a reading device, and I have found myself going out of the way to read on my Kindle rather than my other devices.

The Kindle Paperwhite has a six inch touchscreen display wrapped in an all black body. A charge port and an unlock button are located on the bottom, but those are the only two bumps you'll find on the otherwise smooth outer shell. It's so small that I can put it in my jacket pocket and knock out a few pages during longer Uber rides.

The operating system is fairly straightforward. Tap on the left and right sides of the touchscreen to move from page to page; tapping the top of the screen at any point brings up a list of options that allow you to customize you Kindle and go to the store. Here you'll also find brightness settings for the backlight. As someone who does a lot of late night and early morning reading, the backlight makes a world of difference for me.

There are a number of great features that really help to customize your Kindle outside of the general font options. Word Wise automatically provides on-screen definitions for lesser known words. X-Ray summarizes major characters and plot devices throughout the book. You can even turn on Popular Notes to identify what passages other people are highlighting in their copies of the books you own. Every feature offered here has been created to enhance your reading experience, yet nothing feels out of place.

The most beneficial feature of the Kindle, however, is the battery life. We've become so conditioned to charge all of our devices at night- it's became a ritual alongside brushing our teeth. The Kindle spoils us with a battery that lasts for weeks. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've charged it in the two months I've had mine.

The Kindle store offers a wide range of bestsellers, newspapers and games. Purchases can be made from any device, and purchases from another device can be instantly pushed to your Kindle so they're ready when you are. Another cool feature that Amazon offers is called Kindle Matchbook- for a select number of books, if you've already bought the print edition from Amazon, you can buy the Kindle version for $2.99 or less. It's a great way for people to build up their Kindle library without spending a ton of money.

My only gripe, albeit a small one, is the difference between the ad-free and ad-supported versions. For $20 less, you can purchase a Kindle that comes programmed with lockscreen ads. The only suggestion I make is that there should be an option to pay to turn off the ads after you've bought the Kindle. Many ad-supported games have offered this option for years, but in Amazon's defense, the ads aren't intrusive and sometimes can turn you on to new books you may not have heard of.

Amazon currently sells three Kindle models. The Paperwhite sits as a mid-range model between the Original and the Voyager. The Paperwhite is backlit and has a higher PPI than the Original, but doesn't have the adaptive backlight or crazy-high PPI that the Voyager does. At $199, however, I'd only recommend the Voyager to true Kindle enthusiasts. With a $119 (discounted to $99 periodically) base price, the Kindle Paperwhite offers enough new features over the $79 Original that make it a no brainer to buy.

Why I'm Done With Windows Phone

I still remember the first Windows Phone I ever bought- it was Christmas 2009, and I had some extra money to buy myself a present. I chose this HTC Surround that came with a pull out speaker- this was before BoomSound became a thing, but that speaker was nonetheless impressive. To me, Windows Phone 7 was an amazing OS for its time, and I thought it would be Microsoft's first step towards a bright future in mobile.

Fast forward five years later. Along with the Surround, I've gone through a Samsung Focus, an HTC Radar, and three Nokia Lumias- a 900, a 920 and a 1520. The OS is great, but the list of things I can't do with my phone are outweighing the things I can do. I can't hold out any longer for Microsoft to become a serious contender. This morning, I took my SIM card out of my Lumia 1520 and inserted it into a brand new OnePlus One.

For now, at least, I'm done with Windows Phone

I was pretty hesitant to do so- after all, I have had my OnePlus One for almost a week now, and kept telling myself,  "I'll change the SIM out today." I've put it off all the way up until today, and even now as I complete the transition, it feels like an awkward breakup. Save for a used Blackberry and a Nokia Symbian years ago, Windows Phone has been my platform of choice as long as I've owned smartphones. I've watched the OS grow and get better since day one. Cortana is amazing, the hardware is solid, and I'm impressed that it runs smoothly on entry level phones and flagships, but it's never taken that one pivotal step it needs to be a true competitor.

Where does it falter? It's obvious- the apps.

Apps are the lifeblood of any operating system. But when you don't have them, you create a vicious circle. You need apps to get users, you need users to get market share, and you need market share for developers to create apps. Windows Phone touts that it has nearly all of the Top 50 apps in the iOS and Android app stores, but there's a caveat they don't mention- most of those apps aren't maintained and updated as frequently, and thus are missing features we've grown accustomed to. Instagram on Windows Phone has been in beta for over a year and doesn't include video posting or Instagram Direct. Amazon Kindle doesn't have X-Ray or allow you to buy books directly from the app. Trivia Crack lacks multiplayer and doesn't show your current XP level. These are things that were implemented ages ago in the iPhone and Android versions of these apps, and still have yet to come to Windows Phone. Breakout, white hot apps are either nonexistent or late to the party. Snapchat and Tinder are nowhere to be found. Candy Crush Saga just arrived last week after being available elsewhere for two years, and when recommending this phone, a number of people have asked me if Candy Crush was available on, only to brush me off when I had to tell them no. Like them or not, popular apps matter to people, regardless of how temporary their star shines.

I'm someone who likes to test new tech, and being on Windows Phone is a problem. I just installed Automatic, a dongle that plugs into your car diagnostic port to provide metrics about how you drive. I'd never be able to see those metrics real time on my cell phone without an iPhone or Android device. Other smart technologies like Philips Hue, Nest, Insteon, and the Wink Hub all require the use of a smartphone to monitor metrics- only Insteon offers Windows Phone support.

But what may be the most damning stat (and my last straw) when it comes to Windows Phone is how Microsoft has shot itself in the foot with its own apps. Microsoft properties like Skype and Office are updated less and perform worse on Windows Phone.As someone who has stuck with the platform for five years, that's the equivalent of my parents rooting for the other team at my soccer game. I'm disappointed that Microsoft has taken this stance on their properties, but it's not my company. All I can do is put the facts out there and make the best decision for me.

I'm still going to keep a close eye on Windows Phone 10 to see what tricks Microsoft has up its sleeve. Until then, my trusty Nokia Lumia 1520 will be in my desk drawer waiting for Microsoft's next move.