Wait Til Next Century!

Winning can still happen

2011-11-21T09:41:00.001-06:00

"Tough break"


Source: NBCSports.com

That was the headline in both the Tribune and the Sun-Times this morning with news that Bears QB Jay Cutler is likely out the rest of the regular season with a broken thumb on his throwing hand after breaking it making a tackle on an interception in the fourth quarter. It puts a damper on a season that has seen the Bears win their last five games and pull into likely the fifth seed in the playoffs as a wild card.

It kills the good mood Bears fans were in following the team' 31-20 win over the Chargers yesterday at Soldier Field. Cutler looked sharp in completing 18 of 32 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. He also managed to avoid getting sacked for only the second time in 30 games, according to ESPN.

But it was one of his few mistakes that did him, likely for the next six to eight weeks.

With the Bears driving, Cutler threw a pass meant for WR Johnny Knox, who slipped on the Soldier Field turf, that was picked off by Chargers DB Antoine Cason, who returned it 64 yards before he was knocked out of bounds. Cutler gave chase and caught up to Cason, but was knocked down by LB Donald Butler. However, the hustle allowed RB Matt Forte to knock Cason out of bounds, and the Chargers subsequently were not able to score.

That in itself was possibly the good news out of this mess, in that Cutler continued to rid people of that notion that he is not a tough quarterback as his hustle did enough to slow Cason to allow Forte to catch him. Add to the fact that Cutler finished the game with that thumb injury and he is doing plenty to erase doubts that have followed him following last year's NFC championship game when he was knocked out with a knee injury.

The Bears also still have hope for the final six games of the year as they enter them with a 7-3 record.

One, despite backup QB Caleb Hanie's relative inexperience, his major experience came from the pressure cooker that was that NFC title game, in which he completed 13 of 20 for 153 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. However, save for the two picks, and Hanie almost pulled off the impossible and got the Bears to the Super Bowl.

Two, the Bears have a favorable schedule. Yes, they have a tough road game this upcoming Sunday at an improving Oakland Raiders, and they still have to visit an undefeated Green Bay on Christmas night. But the other four games are very winnable (home games against Kansas City and Seattle, road games at Denver and Minnesota). If they win four of those games and even split them, they're likely in the playoffs.

Three, the Bears' formula for success centers on a good running game and a good defense. The defense looked a little shaky at times Sunday against the Chargers, with San Diego WR Vincent Jackson torching a defense ranked just above Green Bay and New England in pass defense for 165 yards and one touchdown on seven catches, but they have come through when it counts. Plus, for Forte in a year where he's trying to prove that he is worthy of a big contract, now is the time to put up or shut up, when the team needs him the most.

It can happen.

Who's the new Cubs manager?

2011-11-17T15:20:00.001-06:00


Source: Sports Illustrated

Former Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox coach Dale Sveum will be named the new manager of the Chicago Cubs Friday morning, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

That ends a three-week search following the firing of Mike Quade after a disappointing 71-91 season in 2011, and is the latest Red Sox-related hiring by new team president Theo Epstein.

But who is Dale Sveum? A 12-year major league veteran who played for the Brewers among other teams, he has recently spent the last several years as the third-base coach for the Red Sox and the hitting coach for the Brewers. This followed a short, two-week stint as the Brewers' interim manager when they fired Ned Yost shortly before the end of the 2008 season, yet Sveum led Milwaukee to the playoffs. Staying on as hitting coach, he helped Brewers players such as Prince Fielder and others lead the league with 185 home runs as they won the NL Central title.

However, can he manage? He beat out Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin, Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, and Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., all of whom interviewed for the job but none of whom has managed in the big leagues before. Former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona discussed the job with Epstein before deciding to take 2012 off after spending the last eight years in the pressure cooker that is Fenway Park, where he won two World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. But, as SI.com notes, he believes in advanced statistical analysis, something that Epstein and company have a strong belief in.

Sveum will have his hands full in turning around a club that slipped to 20 games below .500 just three years after winning its second straight NL Central title. He may get back pitcher Carlos Zambrano, whom Epstein said will be given a good chance to return to Chicago after a tumultuous 2011 season that for him ended on Aug. 12 due to behavior issues. He will lose third baseman Aramis Ramirez, though.

On the plus side, Sveum's connections to Milwaukee could be enough to bring hotshot Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder to Wrigley Field. The Tribune reports that the Cubs are not likely to meet his salary demands, but the two sides are at least talking. Plus, there's always a chance they could snatch top pitcher Mark Buehrle away from the crosstown White Sox, though he is 33 years old and could potentially lose more of his 85-mph fastball during the course of any long-term deal.

Either way, the management of the Cubs appears to be set, and it's time to start focusing on who will actually take the field April 5 against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.

Review: "The Book of Basketball" by Bill Simmons

2011-11-16T12:39:00.001-06:00

"The Book of Basketball" by the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, can be described as many things. Long. Thorough. Self-involved. A valentine to the sport of basketball and particularly, the Boston Celtics.

One thing you can't say about it, is it's boring. Sure, it's nearly 700 pages long (at least the hardcover version of it). It's filled with stats (and more stats). But if basketball stories, arguments about basketball and pop culture references are your thing, then Simmons does the job in his second book (following "Now I Can Die in Peace" about the 2004 Red Sox winning the World Series).

Let me give the good news about "The Book of Basketball" and the bad news.

First the good news:

It is loaded with stories about players going all back to the early 1950s, the early days of the NBA. It goes into detail about the experiences of players (such as how racism affected black players of that era like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson) and thoughts on what drove players. He includes several of his own experiences, including attending Celtics games with his father while growing up in the 1970s and sitting at a table next to a retired Michael Jordan and his entourage in Las Vegas (a great story).

He also goes into great detail with his arguments on who he considers to be the 96 greatest NBA players of all time (The Pyramid, which covers nearly 400 pages of the book), and provides a great argument for nearly every one of them (not to be a spoiler, but he was smart enough to realize Michael Jordan was the greatest player in NBA history and let his love affair with Celtics great Larry Bird color his opinion).

There are also the footnotes, which is almost as good reading as the regular book. Some of them are pop culture references in which he compares players and teams to movie and television characters, others just aside stories. Most are fairly entertaining.

Then there's the bad news:

First, there's the length. Nearly 700 pages is long, too long. It took me nearly six weeks to get through it (Hey, I do have a life outside of this blog and reading, after all). Some of the book could be considered filler, such as much of his arguments for his choices for the great 96 (Eventually you just go, "Ok, Bill, you made your point.").

Then there's the editing. Scattered throughout the footnotes thoughts from his editor (whom he called "Grumpy Old Editor") whom Simmons allowed to provide his quick thoughts on different points (often showcasing a homerism for his favorite team, the New York Knicks). However, there were several errors throughout the manuscript that should have been caught, including one reference to Pistons great Isiah Thomas' comment that if Larry Bird had been black, he would have been just another good player (at one point, the book said Thomas said if Bird had been white). Another error/typo said Clyde Drexler played for the Pistons when he went up against Jordan and the Bulls in the 1992 NBA Finals (Drexler played for the Portland Trail Blazers). If "Grumpy Old Editor" had paid more attention to the editing rather than chiming in on the Knicks, these things likely would have been caught.

Finally, and not spoil a point, in his chapter on the greatest NBA teams of all time, he inexplicably listed the 1996 Bulls (owners of the record-breaking 72-10 record and a fourth NBA title in six seasons, starting another three-peat run) as the second-best team of all time behind the 1986 Boston Celtics. Yeah, the 1986 Celtics were great, and had some great players (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, etc.), but they don't match up with the owners of the team with the best record in NBA history, one that began with a 41-3 run to start the year. This was the example of his homerism showing (but then again, maybe that was the point of the section, to continue that argument of what was the best team in NBA history, and maybe this is MY homerism showing).

Overall, a good effort on Simmons' part. It has been said that a writer should write on what they know and what they love, and it is clear that Simmons did just that in "The Book of Basketball." Plus, with the news that the start of the 2011-12 NBA season has been pushed back to at least December 15 thanks to the continuing lockout, this may be the closest we get to NBA basketball outside of rebroadcasts of classic games for a while.

Paterno reputation tarnished by scandal

2011-11-10T03:00:00.000-06:00


Source: AP

Last night, long-time Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was fired amidst allegations that one of his former assistant coaches sexuallyabused at least eight boys.

Paterno’s ouster as coach comes amidst a house-cleaning atPenn State that also claimed the job of the university’s president, GrahamSpanier, who also was fired yesterday, and athletic director Tim Curley, whoresigned last week. Curley also has been charged with perjury in an allegeduniversity-wide cover-up of the allegations that Jerry Sandusky, who was PennState’s defensive coordinator from 1977 to 1999, molested at least eight boyswho came through his organization for at-risk boys, The Second Mile, between 1994and 2009. One of the alleged incidents allegedly took place in the footballteam locker room, and was allegedly witnessed by a staff member, according toreports.

Needless to say, this tarnishes the great record of Paterno,who we were just celebrating on Oct. 29 when he notched his 409th career winwith a 10-7 victory over Illinois. Paterno and Penn State football arevirtually synonymous, with “JoePa” having been a coach at the school since 1950and its head coach since 1966. He had a great record and an even greaterreputation, maintaining a clean program free of NCAA violations that came tohaunt other big-time college football programs throughout his tenure.

However, Paterno, 84, needed to go as this scandal grew.While he has yet to be charged with any criminal wrong-doing in the case, whathe knew and when he knew it casts a huge shadow over his legacy. According toreports, he told Curley about an alleged incident in the Penn State locker roomin 2002, but then did nothing else.

That in itself could possibly be defended if he wasconfident that that Curley or some higher-up would do something about it, likecall the police. However, he apparently let it lie, and that cannot be allowedto stand, as the head of the program.

Sadly, Paterno also was more concerned about helping PennState University than the alleged victims. In a statement released Wednesday onhis retirement before the news broke that he was fired, he called the scandal a“tragedy” and “one of the great sorrows of my life,” adding he wished he haddone more.

However, the end of the statement was more telling to me and others:

“My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players andstaff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I willspend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.”

It's a sad end to a career tarnished by a story that continues to get sadder as it grows.

10 notable basketball movies

2011-11-09T03:00:00.000-06:00

Today, we should find out whether NBA players will accept or reject a proposal from owners on splitting revenue roughly 50-50. At this time, it is seemingly more and more likely that the players will reject this, with Commissioner David Stern likely canceling more games past the start of December to at least 2012 (and possibly beyond).

That will leave us with three options for getting our basketball fix this winter: college hoops (not a horrible option), watching old NBA games on NBA TV and ESPN Classic, or watching movies on basketball.

While there are not as many good basketball movies (as a matter of fact, this list will include some bad ones, in this writer's humble opinion), we do have a few we can look at. Please note this: I know there will be a few good omissions such as "He Got Game" and "Finding Forrester." mainly because I have yet to see them (They are on my movie bucket list). But these are films I can say something about.

So here are the top 10 notable movies, from worst to first (with Honorable mention to "Bad As I Wanna Be: The Dennis Rodman Story"):

10. Space Jam (1996)

What to say about a film starring my favorite basketball player of all time in Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny and friends, all childhood heroes of mine?

Basically, looking back on it, too sweet. WAY too sweet. The whole flick was in essence an act of worship for Jordan. It starts off with him playing baseball for the minor league Birmingham Barons, with the crowds adoring him and a team assistant (Wayne Knight) waiting on him hand and foot like the good little suck-up he is. But then he is sucked into a game in the cartoon to save Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and friends from aliens who want to enslave them. As if that isn't enough, and not to give the ending, the game plays a role in his deciding to give up the baseball career and return to the NBA and the Chicago Bulls. Yeah right.

9. Teen Wolf (1985)

Premise: Geek is hated in school, then turns into a werewolf. Now the hairiest students in school, he becomes the big man on campus, starring on the basketball team. The end is even more improbable.

8. Glory Road (2006)

The story of Texas Western University (now University of Texas-El Paso) basketball coach Don Haskins who started the first all-black line-up against an all-white Kentucky team and wins the 1966 NCAA title. Good info, but drags in place.

7. White Men Can't Jump (1992)

Starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson at the height of their careers, this is a generational icon mainly because of the title.

6. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979)

One word for this flick featuring Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Afros. Cool afros.

5. Blue Chips (1994)

Nick Nolte shines in this story of a major college basketball coach who gets tangled up in a recruiting scandal as the pressure to win at all costs mounts. Features Shaquille O'Neal stretching his thespian skills (aw, who am I kidding?) along with other notable players.

4. Eddie (1996)

Whoopi Goldberg makes this movie along with former NBA players John Salley and Malik Sealy about a mega-Knicks fan becoming their coach. While entertaining, it is hard to look past the ultimate improbability (as in never going to happen) of a) a fan coming down from the stands to become the head coach of an NBA team, and b) the Knicks EVER being allowed to even to think about leaving New York for a smaller market like St. Louis.

3. Above the Rim (1994)

I went into this one thinking it was going to be the same thing we had been seeing in terms of these gangbanger movies in that era (see "Boyz N The Hood," "Menace II Society), especially with rapper Tupac Shakur as one of the stars. However, this was way better than I thought, with Duane Martin as a high school basketball star in the projects of Chicago torn between two brothers, one a drug dealer and the one a former basketball player who is now a security guard.

2. Coach Carter (2005)

Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic in the true story of high school basketball coach Ken Carter, who made news in 1999 when he benched his entire team (undefeated at the time) for not doing well in the classroom.

1. Hoosiers (1986)

It was a toss-up between "Coach Carter" and "Hoosiers" for the number one slot. "Hoosiers" gets it only for longevity and the emotional impact that it has left on a generation of basketball fans.

Will there be an NBA season?

2011-11-08T10:54:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, NBA commissioner David Stern strongly suggested that NBA players accept the latest owners proposal of 49 to 51 percent of the revenue (down from 57 percent last year) before Wednesday afternoon's deadline.

Considering the history of this lockout (now in day 132 and counting), here's the question: Will there be an NBA season this year? Take the poll at the right, and also give your thoughts in the comments below.

Bears clip the Eagles - A running diary

2011-11-07T19:49:00.001-06:00

It’s the Bears! The Eagles! OnMonday Night Football!

The Bears came into tonight’s gameneeding a win to keep pace with Green Bay and Detroit in the NFC North and inthe NFC wildcard races. I don’t know if we can call this a must-win for theBears, but it definitely would come in handy, and if the Eagles can go back totheir bad-Philly mode that saw them lose four straight earlier this year, thatwould help.

So grab a seat and a cold drink, and check out this running diary oftonight’s game (all times are Central Time):

7:32 p.m.: ESPN analyst Jon Grudensays Michael Vick can beat you with his preparation since he can audible morenow. Ron Jaworski says the Bears’ offensive line has shaped up somewhat, withQB Jay Cutler getting sacked only three times in the last two games. Soundsgood.
7:35 p.m.: ESPN’s Page 2 alreadytaking their shots on Twitter: Eagles sack Jay Cutler. Opening kickoff tofollow. Hmmm…
7:42 p.m.: Matt Forte gets 25yards on a carry. Bears, pay the man!
7:43 p.m.: Wish I could say thesame about WR Roy Williams, who drops a pass that was admittedly a littlebehind him.
7:46 p.m.: ChicagoBears.com notesForte has 45 yards on first three carries. Make that 54 yards on first fourcarries. Again, pay the man.
7:51 p.m.: TE Matt Spaeth catches the 9-yard passfrom Cutler for the touchdown! Man, the Bears’ offense looked, including theoffensive line.
7:55 p.m.: Eagles get to start at own 40-yard line after Robbie Gould's kick goes out of bounds. Not a good start for the Bears' defense.
7:59 p.m.: What do you know? The Bears hold Michael Vick and company and the Eagles gotta punt.
8:04 p.m.: The Bears are starting to get stupid again, getting called for a 12 men on the field penalty. They need to keep their heads on straight on third and seven.
8:05 p.m. Somehow, the Bears' offense redeems itself. Cutler is given plenty of time to look for a receiver in the pocket, and eventually hits Roy Williams for 14 yards and a first down. More importantly, they're getting out of that hole they started in after Devin Hester took a fair catch on the punt at his own 12-yard line.
8:06 p.m.: Harry Caray's Ghost (@GhostHarryCaray) on the 12 men on the field penalty the Bears got: "It's hard to count to 11."
8:11 p.m.: Interesting note from ESPN's Page 2 on Twitter: Bears FB Tyler Clutts is a great story, rising to the NFL from lower levels like Canada, Arena League and the Cleveland Browns.
8:13 p.m. Larry Mayer at ChicagoBears.com makes an interesting observation that the Bears have Cutler rolling to his right early and often. My question is whether the Eagles might figure that out eventually and do something about it.
8:15 p.m.: The hits keep on coming: Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom on Twitter: "When the Bears converted four straight third downs to start the game, I thought they were going to send the ball to Canton."
8:16 p.m.: One quarter in the books, and the Bears have a 7-0 lead. Somehow, the offense has looked pretty darn good, and the defense has held up well against Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy, keeping them off the scoreboard. Can they keep it up?
8:19 p.m.: ESPN says Eagles CB Asante Samuel could be out of the game, as he has gone back to the locker room with an unspecified injury. Should help the Bears, but not the way you'd ideally want to win this one.
8:21 p.m.: Bears S Major Wright gets hit with a 17-yard pass interference penalty, giving the Eagles a first down. The good news, though, is Vick is continuing to get pounded by the Bears' pass rush.
8:24 p.m.: More on Vick taking punishment from the Bears and other defenses: MNF crew (via Rachel Nichols on Twitter) notes Vick takes defensive contact 1 out of every 3 times he drops back. 2nd-most in the league. He's bound to feel it eventually.
8:26 p.m. Major Wright makes up for the pass interference penalty and picks off Vick, running it back 36 yards from the Bears 12-yard line. That's what the Bears needed: A good, timely stop.
8:30 p.m.: More stupid penalties: WR Earl Bennett gets the first down after catching a 10-yard pass from Cutler, but he got open because he pushed off on the defender. But he redeems himself on the next play and gets the first down anyway. The Bears are showing a little something different tonight, doing something stupid and then redeeming themselves with a good play.
8:34 p.m.: Robbie Gould helps the Bears (and my fantasy team) with a 51-yard field goal, giving the Bears a 10-0 lead.
8:40 p.m.: Bears DE Julius Peppers, who has been quiet so far, hurts his left knee again. He's been tough since he hurt it against Detroit, but he hurts it again helping stop an Eagles running play.
8:45 p.m.: The Eagles are starting to turn it on, with Vick completing a 30-yard pass to Jeremy Laclin for a first down into Bears territory and then another 10-yard completion.
8:47 p.m.: Julius Peppers comes back from his injury apparently okay as he gets to Vick and sacks him. Good move on his part, with the Eagles discounting him and not blocking him.
8:48 p.m.: Eagles get on the board with a 47-yard field goal from K Alex Henery. Bears' lead drops to 10-3 with a little over two minutes left in the first half. The Bears are still looking pretty good against what is supposed to be a great Eagles team.
8:52 p.m.: Cutler airs it out to Devin Hester, but it is broken up by Asante Samuel. Samuel, by the way, is playing with what is being called a "groin laceration." Can you say ouch?
8:53 p.m.: So much for the good play. Cutler, on third and 10, throw to Matt Forte, who catches it and then fumbles it away, with Eagles LB Brian Rolle returning it for a touchdown. The play is under review, however, since we have passed the two-minute. Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com notes on Twitter that this is his first fumble this year.
8:57 p.m.: The play stands. ESPN notes this is Forte's first fumble since October 2010 and in 347 touches. The game is now tied 10-10.
9:03 p.m.: Not getting better. Cutler WAY overthrows Forte on third and five as the Bears give it right back.
9:04 p.m.: Scratch that. Eagles KR Jeremy Maclin fumbles the ball after Corey Graham strips it from him and Sam Herd recovers at the Eagles 9-yard line. First down Bears!
9:07 p.m. Cutler looks horrible on this drive, way overthrowing Devin Hester (remember, he's only 5-foot-11). But Cutler draws a roughing the passer penalty, keeping the drive alive. Marion Barber makes it count with the 4-yard touchdown run through traffic! Bears up 17-10.
9:14 p.m.: Halftime is here and the Bears are up 17-10 going into the locker room. The Bears are helped by Jay Cutler playing it smooth with 10 of 20 passing for 102 yards and one touchdown, two turnovers by the Eagles, and a potential big play avoided by Jeremy Maclin dropping a good Michael Vick pass near midfield with about 15 seconds left. The Bears will still need to step things up in the second half to get the win and prove me wrong.
9:28 p.m.: With the start of the second half, ESPN's Suzy Kolber says Lovie Smith says he has a plan for keeping Vick in check. We shall see, though so far, so good.
9:35 p.m.: The Eagles drive down to the Bears 20-yard line, but Lance Briggs stops them cold on third down. Fourth and inches for the Eagles, and they're going for it.
9:36 p.m.: LeSean McCoy gets the first down and keeps the Eagles' drive alive. Vick exploiting the weaknesses in the Bears' defense.
9:40 p.m.: RB Ronnie Brown ties it up with a short touchdown run. The Bears are having difficulty putting this one away, to say the least. Score tied 17-17 with 8:18 left in the third quarter.
9:43 p.m.: Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com notes on Twitter: "15 plays, 80 yards, 6:42. That's a drive, man." Yes, it is. Cutler and company will need to keep the ball for at least five minutes to give the defense a breather. Otherwise, they could be too worn out to keep up with Vick, McCoy, etc.
9:48 p.m.: Forte fumbles again, but the refs rule he is down by contact. The Eagles are challenging. It looks like he did indeed fumble, but did the Eagles recover? The refs say yes, and Philly gets the ball back at the Bears 41. What's going on with Forte?
9:52 p.m. LeSean McCoy takes it into the end zone for the touchdown, and for the first time tonight, the Eagles have the lead. The Bears' mistakes are costing them huge, and the question could be now whether Forte really deserves that raise with two fumbles in a key game. Eagles up 24-17.
9:56 p.m.: Shot from ESPN's Page 2 on Twitter: 'Matt Forte: "I'd hang on to the ball a little better if it were wrapped in dollar bills."' Sad...
9:57 p.m.: Jay Cutler throws a perfect bomb from his goal line only to have it dropped by Roy Williams 55 yards away. Why did the Bears sign him again?
9:59 p.m.: Shot from the Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom on Twitter: "Help me out here: Did Matt Forte want to get paid before he got hurt or before he hurt the Bears?"
10:01 p.m.: Williams held on to a pass! Williams held on to a pass! Hey, the Bears are driving, now at the Eagles 30-yard line.
10:06 p.m.: Robbie Gould narrows the deficit to four points with a 38-yard field goal to make the score 24-20 Eagles. We still have an entire fourth quarter here.
10:13 p.m.: The Bears hold the Eagles and get the ball back near midfield after Devin Hester returns the ball 19 yards to the Bears 49-yard line. Now if Forte will just hang on to the dang ball...
10:17 p.m.: Cutler is looking good on this drive. He first somehow escapes a sack and tosses it to Marion Barber for a short gain. He then laterals it to Devin Hester for a first down (and more after the late hit penalty on the Eagles). Unrelated news: ESPN is now reporting that former boxing champion Joe Frazier has died following his bout with liver cancer.
10:19 p.m.: Cutler finishes the drive off nicely with a 5-yard touchdown pass to former Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett. The Bears retake the lead, 27-24 with 12:18 left in the game.
10:26 p.m.: That was close. The Eagles try a fake punt, but punter Chas Henry can't complete the pass. The Bears take over at their own 42-yard line. This was after Bears DB D.J. Moore drops a sure interception. 9:25 remaining in the game.
10:31 p.m.: Devin Hester limps off the field with some leg injury. Definitely need him back, if not tonight, then for future games.
10:34 p.m.: Matt Forte has 122 yards and 20 carries tonight (notwithstanding the two fumbles), and Jay Cutler has yet to be sacked as he has thrown for an efficient 18 for 31 for 208 yards (with a 99.9 passer rating tonight, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com). The offensive line is stepping up. Finally.
10:38 p.m.: If the offensive line's good job of protecting Cutler holds with him not getting sacked, his streak of 32 games (including playoffs) of getting sacked at least once will end, says Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com. 4:05 left in the game and the Bears' drive now on the 5-yard line.
10:40 p.m.: Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune says on Twitter that Devin Hester has a left ankle injury and is not likely to return tonight.
10:41 p.m.: Robbie Gould extends the Bears' lead to 30-24 with a 22-yard field goal with 3:58 left. The Eagles get a break, and the Bears' defense will have to step up.
10:44 p.m.: Michael Vick takes a whuppin' from Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije as he nearly gets sacked. But he completes a pass to Jeremy Maclin for 13 yards the next play for the first down to the Chicago 39-yard line. DB Tim Jennings then almost intercepts Vick's next pass as we go into the two-minute warning with 1.59 left. What a game!
10:49 p.m.: Michael Vick completes a pass to Jeremy Maclin, but he falls a yard shy of the first down on fourth down after being tackled by D.J. Moore with 1;48 left. The Bears get the ball back and now have to run the clock out.

10:54 p.m.: What do you know? The Bears win! The Bears win! I enjoy being wrong sometimes.

Post-game wrap-up:

It wasn't really pretty at times, especially with Matt Forte's uncharacteristic two fumbles. But a win is a win and this is a big one for the Bears as they move up to a 5-3 record. While they are still in third place, three games behind the Packers and one behind the Lions, they stay in sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC, just ahead of the Atlanta Falcons based on the head-to-head matchup.


Source: Zimbio/Getty Images

It would be tempting to give the MVP for the game to the Bears' offensive line for providing the protection for Jay Cutler in not letting him get sacked and allowing Forte to gain 133 yards on 24 carries, but this game ball should go to WR Earl Bennett, who caught five passes from his former Vanderbilt teammate for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Next up for the Bears is a rematch against the Lions in the late game Sunday at Soldier Field. The Lions are coming off a week off that followed a 45-10 blasting of the Broncos in Denver.

It could be worse...

2011-11-07T10:09:00.000-06:00

It could be worse, Cubs fans. We could be Cleveland Browns fans. (Warning: NSFW language in this clip.)

Can the Bears take down Vick and the Eagles?

2011-11-07T04:00:00.000-06:00

The Bears' matchup tonight against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field (7:30 p.m. Central on ESPN) can be considered a true test of where they are in terms of competing.

With a record of 4-3 so far, including 1-2 on the road, the Bears will have their work cut out to prove that their performance the last time they appeared on Monday Night Football. During that appearance on Oct. 10, the offensive line had a whopping nine false starts penalties in a a 24-13 loss to the Lions in Detroit. And Philadelphia (3-4) is a MUCH tougher place to play than Detroit despite the Eagles' record.

With that said, let's look at the matchups:

When the Bears have the ball:

Jay Cutler and company will be going up against a defense that has given up an average of three touchdowns a game, including 35 and 31 in embarrassing losses to Atlanta and Buffalo. They finally switched it on last week in destroying the Cowboys in a 34-7 win, but that was more of the offense holding on to the ball for more than 42 minutes and subjecting the Dallas defense to its will.

While will really help is the Eagles' shaky run defense, which is ranked 19th in the league currently with 118.3 yards a game despite holding the Cowboys to only 85 yards last week. If offensive coordinator Mike Martz is smart, he'll unleash running back Matt Forte, who is fifth in the NFL with 672 yards rushing and two touchdown, early and often to exploit those weaknesses, and keep Cutler to efficient passing routes to maintain a 59 percent completion rate.

The offensive line also will have to keep its jitters to a minimum, not committing as many false starts penalties as they did against the Lions and doing a better job of protecting Cutler. The Eagles' defensive line so far has 22 sacks for the season, so it won't be easy.

When the Eagles have the ball:

Here's where it could get ugly.

While the Eagles as an overall team has been disappointing after being picked by many to be a Super Bowl contender, the offense has consistently good, averaging 25.6 points a game and more than 449 yards a game, tops in the NFL. Last week against the Cowboys, they showed just how good they could be with 495 total yards, including 239 yards rushing, including 185 yards and two touchdowns from RB LeSean McCoy.

While the Bears' defense has been okay against the run (12th in the league with 108.7 yards allowed per game), their pass defense is near the bottom, with nearly 272 yards allowed per game). Eagles QB Michael Vick had 279 yards passing against the Cowboys, and he is a vital part of that spread offense the Bears have had trouble defending against teams such as Carolina.

Prediction:

The schedule is expected to get a little bit easier for Chicago after this week, with home games against Kansas City and Seattle and trips to Denver and Oakland in the future. Cutler, Forte and the Bears' offense should be able to put a few points on the board against that Eagles' defense if the offensive line holds up. However, if the defense doesn't come out of it season-long funk and play the smothering D the Bears are known for, Vick and Company could roll and make this another Monday Night Nightmare for Chicago.

Predicted final score:
Eagles - 34
Bears - 17

When we will see the Bulls play again?

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

As I sit writing this late Wednesday night, I am watching Comcast Chicago's rebroadcast of Michael Jordan scoring a then-team record 58 points against the New Jersey Nets in 1987, a game that the Bulls won 128-113. It was interesting to see the old Chicago Stadium floor, Doug Collins (with an '80s perm) as coach, a game that was originally broadcast on pay-TV channel SportsVision, and Jordan basically the only truly special player on the team. It was a fun trip back to a time when I really became interested in basketball as a sport.

However, this was replacing the 2011-12 Bulls' game at New Orleans, a game that was canceled as the NBA lockout continued into its 127th day after the Bulls' opener Monday night against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks was called off as well. It was among those initially canceled by NBA Commissioner David Stern last month, and it was joined by another two weeks of games being called off Friday by Stern after negotiations broke down. As of this writing, the Bulls are scheduled to play their first game on December 3 against the Houston Rockets at the United Center.

For the Bulls, the cancellation effectively killed off their annual November circus trip to the West Coast. While that could be considered a good thing considering they now don't have to make that kind of trip, what kind of effect will that have on a team that was starting to gel into something that could be truly special? What kind of effect will this entire lockout have a team and a league that was coming off one of its better seasons in years and was looking ahead to something truly fun and great? Obviously we won't know until the games start (assuming they start at all), but we can also hope and pray they don't end up like the 1998-99 season, when a lockout shrunk the season to 50 games and led to the Spurs claiming a watered-down title against the Knicks (However, this may have saved Bulls fans more grief than they had expected since this was Year One of the post-Jordan era).

Separating the players and the owners is about $100 million a year in revenue and other issues, including whether to drop to a 50/50 split of revenues (what the owners want) from the previous 57/43 arrangement favoring the players.

Needless to say, something needs to be done about the current system. In recent year, even with a soft salary cap in place, the NBA has begun to resemble Major League Baseball n that the major market glamor teams (the Knicks, Lakers, and Celtics and the Bulls and Heat to a lesser degree) are favored over the smaller market teams such as Memphis, Sacramento and Orlando. Seemingly every day, we see speculation of smaller market stars such as New Orleans' Chris Paul and Orlando's Dwight Howard being guided to New York or L.A., leaving those teams in the dust. Heck, it happened last year with Lebron James leaving Cleveland for Miami (a glamor team).

Did the NBA err in overexpanding to those markets? Perhaps, but small market teams can thrive under the right system (see the Green Bay Packers in the NFL).

Either way, a new system must be worked out, or we can kiss any sense of competitive balance or competition, period, for that matter, goodbye.

Quade fired as Cubs manager

2011-11-02T20:41:00.000-05:00


Photo from AP/AOL News

The Mike Quade era at the Friendly Confines is over after just a little more than a year.

New Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced Wednesday that Quade was out after spending just a little more than a year as manager of the team. It was a tumultuous year for Quade, who previously had been the manager of the Cubs’ AAA farm team, the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines. After finishing strong in 2010 with a 24-13 record after taking over for Lou Pinella, the Cubs finished with a 71-91 record and a fifth-place finish in the NL Central, just ahead of the lowly Astros and 25 games behind the division champion Brewers and 19 games behind the eventual world champion Cardinals.

For Quade, it just plain didn’t work out. Having spent his entire managerial career in the minor leagues, he had developed a reputation as a good teacher of young players. However, he didn’t get that luxury with the major league team, having a squad with the sixth highest payroll in the majors with $125.5 million being spent on salaries. He also had the pleasure of dealing with meltdowns from one of his top pitchers in Carlos Zambrano, leading to his banishment from the starting rotation and eventually the team, likely for good if the Cubs can find someone to take on his massive contract that will pay him $18 million in 2012. He also dealt with plain bad play from his regulars like Alfonso Soriano (.244 batting average with 26 home runs) and the $10 million man, first baseman Carlos Pena (.225 average with 28 home runs).

Perhaps if the Cubs had had a young team with a lower payroll of around $60 million, Quade would’ve had a chance to mold them into winners like he had in previous stops. If the Cubs are smart, they will find a spot for him in their minor league system somewhere, maybe back at Iowa.

The firing of Quade continues a series of changes from the top town with the Cubs, which began with the hiring of Epstein away from the Boston Red Sox last week and continued with the hiring of new director of scouting and player development Jason McLeod and new general manager Jed Hoyer from the Padres. The hiring of Epstein was a “home run,” according to former Cubs G.M. Jim Hendry, and should provide a nice shot in the arm to the Cubs’ player acquisitions in at least the immediate future with him being a proven winner. This is assuming, of course, the Cubs don’t give up too much in compensation to the Red Sox for hiring Epstein away, which is still being negotiated.

With the top brass now in place, the next step for Epstein and Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts is to find a new manager.


Photo from Philly.com

Upon the news breaking of Quade’s firing, speculation quickly went to whether the Cubs would bring in legend Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg had been considered for the Cubs’ managerial job before last season after four years of managing in the Cubs’ minor league system, but was passed over for Quade. Sandberg spent the last year with the Phillies' AAA farm team at Lehigh Valley (Penn.). However, he is almost certain not to get a second look by the Cubs, with Epstein quoted by ESPN Chicago as saying he wants someone with managerial or coaching experience at the major league level, none of which Sandberg has. This is despite word that Epstein tried to hire him to manage the Red Sox’s AAA team at Pawtucket before last season. Ironically, Sandberg could become the Cardinals’ new manager, with news breaking that the Cards asked the Phillies for permission to talk to him to possibly replace retiring skipper Tony LaRussa.

So who could the new manager be? Some have speculated Bob Brenly, currently a Cubs broadcaster but one who has won a World Series as a manager (2001 with the Diamondbacks), and I would consider him the favorite.

There also is the outside shot at former Boston skipper Terry Francona joining Epstein in Chicago. However, after the meltdown that the Red Sox suffered at the end of the 2011 season, Francona likely will take 2012 off. Other candidates that have been tossed around include former Brewers interim manager Dale Sveum (with word he’s been considered for the Red Sox job, former Cubs outfielders and current Rays coach Dave Martinez, former Indians catcher and current coach Sandy Alomar Jr.

A couple of things can be certain, however. One, the next manager likely will be named as soon as next week considering the pace that Ricketts and Epstein are moving at. Two, the new skipper will be
dealing with a different roster, with pitcher Kerry Wood and third baseman Aramis Ramirez having filed for free agency and Zambrano sold off for pennies on the dollar.

The Cubs string of 103 years without a World Series title likely will not end in 2012 with all of the changes, but it should make spring training more interesting than in years past. And stranger things have happened.

LeBron, LeBron, where should LeBron go?

2010-06-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

LeBron James has a lot going for him.

He is a mega-superstar, playing for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been actual title contenders since he came to them seven years ago. He has a multi-million endorsement deal with Nike, making commercials such as this one.

And since the Cleveland Cavaliers' exit from the NBA playoffs, he has been persona numero uno in the eyes of the sporting world. And on Thursday, he officially becomes the top prize in what could be the greatest free agent in NBA history.

The courters of King James have come out, with all sorts of enticements to sign their way, including rallies in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, the New York-centric backings of SI.com and ESPN.com, and websites galore from fans.

So where does he sign? To date, there are six teams in serious contention for his services: the Knicks, the Nets, the Heat, the Clippers, the Bulls and of course his current team, the Cavaliers. But how much chance do each of these teams have in signing him, and should he go to any of them? Let's count the ways:

The New York Knicks
Pros: It's freaking New York, which means oodles of exposure in the media capital of the universe and sure to follow, oodles of cash. New York offers what it does in terms of a world class city, and a chance to play for one of the NBA's storied franchises.
Cons: We are talking about the Knicks, who while being of those storied franchises, are also been among the worst. Ever since the reign of Isaiah Thomas as general manager and coach, the Knickerbockers have not finished above .500 since the 2000-01 season, and have qualified for the playoffs only once since then (2003-04). Plus, thanks to Thomas, there is no way they're going to improve anytime soon.
Chances of signing: Unless LeBron is purely in it for the money, I don't like his chances of signing here.

The New Jersey Nets
Pros: It's close to freaking New York, which means oodles of exposure in the media capital of the universe and sure to follow, oodles of cash. In 2012, they are scheduled to move into a new arena in Brooklyn. Plus, their ownership includes friend and rapper Jay-Z and new majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov has promised to pump millions into his new team to make them contenders again.
Cons: They're still in New Jersey, even if they have left the Meadowlands to play in Newark for the next two years. Plus, this team stinks. They contended for the worst record in NBA history before finishing 12-70. Since last qualifying for the playoffs in 2006-07, they have been in a freefall. Even with the Mad Russian and Jay-Z, LeBron would be hard pressed to sign here.

The Miami Heat
Pros: It's Miami, one of the great and happening cities in the world. The Heat have Dwyane Wade, a free agent but much more likely to resign if LeBron comes on board. Plus, the Heat have actually been competitive, finishing 47-35 last year before bowing out of the playoffs in the first round. If LeBron signed here, the Heat might actually be title contenders
Cons: While Miami is a happening town, it also is one of the worst sports towns in the U.S. Watch any Heat game, and you're bound to see oodles of open seats, even when they're playing a noteworthy opponent. LeBron likely would not change that.

The Los Angeles Clippers
Pros: It is Los Angeles, a city that if you're looking for exposure to the media world, it's a good place to be, even if you are playing for the Clippers. The Clippers have some talent in Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin, and if the rumors are true, record mogul David Geffen wants to buy a majority share and bring in King James.
Cons: We're talking about the Clippers here, one of the most cursed franchises in sports. This is a team that Bill Simmons at ESPN.com continually asks each draft which top pick will get injured before his rookie season is out. Plus, they are second fiddle in their own area, playing in the purple-and-gold laden Staples Center with the Lakers, who just won their second straight title. But the big problem is the current owner, Donald Sterling, who is known for trading away talent when they actually get good and making life miserable for anybody around him, including coaches and apparently, minorities.

The Chicago Bulls
Pros: It's a world class city that is only about five hours from Akron, Ohio. It's also big enough where if you want to be a media superstar, you can. It's a chance to play where his idol Michael Jordan played, and to play on a team that would be immediate title contenders with talent like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Plus, they have the money after trading Kirk Hinrich and his $9 million salary to Washington last week.
Cons: Not really any cons, except there are no guarantees in life or sports.

The Cleveland Cavaliers
Pros: It's a chance to stay home, where he is the big dog and has been since high school. The Cavs also have some decent talent around him that has the potential to go far in the playoffs, even if one of them is an aging and declining Shaquille O'Neal. Plus, Cleveland is a nice town that is on the rise.
Cons: The leadership is a mess, with the firing of coach Mike Brown and the resignation of general manager Danny Ferry in recent weeks. Tom Izzo of Michigan State flirted with the idea of coming to Cleveland before wisely deciding to stay in East Lansing. Plus, while there is talent on this roster, it should have produced already. Instead, it has faltered, including losing in the conference semifinals despite having the league's best record at 61-21.

The verdict: I would say Chicago and Cleveland have the edge, especially with one report saying LeBron and Chris Bosh to the Bulls is a "done deal."

Proud to be an American

2010-06-29T00:01:00.001-05:00

This weekend, we as Americans will celebrate the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a moment that officially put this country on the map and began the dream that is America.

Over the year, sports have become part of that American landscape and over the years, they have played a major role in bringing this country together, no matter your political, religious or whatever leanings.

So here in chronological order, more or less, are some of those moments.

-- 1936: Adolf Hitler is on the march in Germany and the rest of Europe, and back in the U.S., racism still rears its ugly head. Jesse Owens goes to Berlin for the 1936 Olympics, which Hitler had intended to be a showcase for the "superior" white race. Instead, Owens kills that notion, winning the gold medal in the long jump, 200 meters and the 4x100-meter relay and the 100 meters:

-- April 25, 1976: This country is in a tailspin. The Vietnam War had just ended. The economy is on its way down, and the dissension among the ranks is high. During the Cubs' game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, two guys rush on the field, pull out an American flag and begin fumbling with a lighter. Cubs outfield Rick Monday, however, saves the day, by swiping the flag before flame hit cloth, drawing cheers from the crowd.

-- February 22, 1980: We're still in that tailspin, and this time, the odds are stacked even higher. The U.S. considers stopping the games in lieu of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in November 1979, and eventually leads to the U.S. boycotting the Summer Olympics in Moscow. But the Winter Games at Lake Placid, N.Y., went on, and the U.S. men's hockey team, essentially a bunch of college kids, went up in the semifinal against the mighty Soviet machine, who seemed to never lose. But they pulled off what has become known as the "Miracle on Ice," and brought this country together as hadn't been done in recent years.

-- January 21, 1991: The U.S. and other nations had just gone to war against Iraq, and patriotism is on the rise as Americans come out to support the troops. Sports leagues debate whether to cancel events, including the NHL with the All-Star Game at the Chicago Stadium. They decide to go through with the game, and it's a good thing, as Wayne Messmer and the fans produce one of the most spine-tingling, hair on the arm-raising moments I personally have experienced.

-- January 27, 1991: The NFL had had the same discussions as the NHL in debating whether to play Super Bowl XXV in Tampa. They ultimately decided to do it, and good thing, because it not only produced one of the better Super Bowls in history (The Giants beat the Bills 20-19 after Buffalo's Scott Norwood misses a game-winning kick as time expired), but it had this singing of the national anthem by Whitney Houston:

-- 1992: Ever since the U.S. men's basketball team got robbed at the 1972 Olympics in Munich in their gold medal game against the Soviet Union, we had floundered in subsequent Olympics. In 1992, we decided to finally allow our pros to play, much like other countries had been able to do. We send guys like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley to Barcelona, and destroy everyone in our path, including poor Angola:

-- September 2001: On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists commandeered four planes, crashing them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania (some believe that plane was headed for the Capitol or White House in Washington). Sports stopped, with the NFL and college football postponing their games, and Major League Baseball stopping for a few days as well. When they did come back, there were tributes galore at every park, including this poem by Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck:

-- October 30, 2001: The Yankees have made it to the World Series, and President George W. Bush is called upon to throw the first pitch at Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. He throws a perfect strike from the mound, to the cheers of the crowd:

And they're done...

2010-06-28T08:08:00.004-05:00

The anticipation had mounted. The backing had reached a fever pitch. And a country that had seen some serious divisiveness had almost come together.

But alas, the U.S. National Soccer Team's run in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa came to an end Saturday in Rustenburg, South Africa, with a 2-1 loss to Ghana. It ended in much the same way the American team's run had gone, with the U.S. falling behind early and having to scratch back. Ghana scored first at the five-minute mark, but Landon Donovan tied it up at 61' after the referee finally called a penalty kick (more on that in a minute). But after going into extra time, Ghana's Aasamoah Gyan scored the game winner in the first minute, and the U.S. couldn't come back in the remaining 29 minutes.

So what happened? Why did the U.S. get eliminated by Ghana for the second straight World Cup?

First, you must give a tip of the hat to Ghana, who showed they may actually belong among the big squads of the world. Gyan got the game winner, and Kevin-Prince Boateng got the first goal just four minutes into the first half. Plus, Andrew Ayew was a speedy terror the entire game, including setting up Gyan's game winner along the left wing as goalkeeper Richard Kingson kept pretty much everything out the entire game. They should give Uruguay a good fight in the quarterfinal on Friday.

Was it the officiating?

It seemed like the entire game, it seemed referee Viktor Kassai was hesitant to call anything on Ghana, while handing out yellow cards to Americans Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra and Ricardo Clark (In his defense, Ayew and Jonathan Mensah also were carded). It seemed there was this anti-American attitude the entire tournament, with major officiating blundered against the U.S. in both the Slovenia and Algeria with goals disallowed and phantom yellow cards (Robbie Findley, for example, got a yellow against Slovenia for an intentional handball even though the ball went off his face first).

However, it just may be the officiating was dung for everybody, as evidenced Sunday's matches. England had a goal disallowed at the 38th minute in their match against Germany, a goal that was about a foot and a half in the net and would have knotted the game at 2-2. England ended losing 4-1 and being eliminated. In Sunday's other game, Argentina's Carlos Tevez got his squad's first goal against Mexico despite being clearly offsides. FIFA has refused to discuss any of the officiating blunders, which has helped make the calls for instant replay that much louder.

Maybe it was just blunders by the U.S. squad itself.

In every game they played except for the Algeria game, they fell behind early, and had to scramble to catch up (In fact, they advanced to the knockout stage despite only leading for three minutes the entire tournament). They almost pulled it off against Ghana, but they just couldn't make the comeback again.

Either way, if they had pulled off yet another miracle comeback, while it would have been the stuff of legends, a team like Uruguay likely would have snuffed them out eventually.

The good news, though, is this tournament again shows the U.S. team is on the rise, and could pose an even bigger threat in 2014 in Brazil.

Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley likely will be back, as should Charlie Davies, who missed this World Cup after being seriously injured in a car accident in October 2009. Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey may or may not be back, though goalkeeper Tim Howard likely may retire by then. Plus, the future of coach Bob Bradley is not certain, as nobody has discussed a contract extension just yet.

Either way, it should be interesting, and definitely should help the growth of soccer in this country.

The good, the bad and the ugly

2010-06-25T00:01:00.004-05:00

A lot to cover, so it's time for the good, bad and the ugly:

The good: Landon Donovan saves the day for the U.S. National Soccer Team at the World Cup Wednesday, kicking in the game winner against Algeria in stoppage time and helping the U.S. win Group C. They will face Ghana in the round of 16 on Saturday. To celebrate, here is the Spanish-language version call of the goal from Univision:

Also, in keeping up with the debate on the vuvuzelas at this year's World Cup, we get a preview of an upcoming World Cup in a site not previously mentioned:

Also among the good are the Good Guys in Black, the White Sox, who won their ninth straight win Thursday with a two-hit, 2-0 shutout of the Braves. I don't know what woke these guys up, but all of a sudden, they're 2.5 games behind leaders Minnesota going into this weekend's series with the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. Things are definitely looking up for the Southsiders.

The bad: We knew it was coming, because professionals sports is a business, whether we like it or not. On Thursday, it was announced that the Blackhawks had traded wingers Dustin Byfuglien and Ben Eager and defenseman Brent Sopel and prospect Akim Aliu to Atlanta for the 24th and 54th overall picks in Friday's NHL entry draft, center Marty Reasoner, prospect Jeremy Morin and minor leaguer Joey Crabb.

The culprit: the ole salary cap. The trade shaves about $4 million off of the books for the Hawks as they try to adjust to next season's cap of $59.4 million.

As much as it hurts to lose Byfuglien, who had 11 goals during the playoffs, the Blackhawks do get a noted player like Reasoner and a look to the future with Morin.

And finally,

The ugly: The Cubs are 8-12 in June after Thursday's 3-2 win over the Mariners in 13 innings, leaving them eight games below .500 for the season (32-40) and eight games behind first-place St. Louis.

While the pitching generally has been good (save for the 12 runs given up against the Angels at Wrigley Field last Saturday), the hitting has continued to stink, especially this last series in Seattle. They were shut out 2-0 on Tuesday, only scrounged one run on nine hits Wednesday in an 8-1 Seattle win, and only six hits in 13 innings but won 3-2 thanks to strong pitching performances from guys like Ted Lilly.

The Cubs aren't completely dead, but if they don't turn things around like the White Sox (who were looking at some changes as recently as three weeks ago) have in recent weeks, Jim Hendry will have to do some serious house cleaning that could possibly mean his job, too.

And the jury is still out: The Bulls are playing the waiting game, trading guard Kirk Hinrich, French prospect Kevin Seraphin and cash to the Wizards for maybe a second-round pick in next year's draft. That will have to be sorted on July 8, when the trade can become official by NBA rules.

Why do it? It's all about making room under the salary cap for luring LeBron James and another top free agent (Toronto's Chris Bosh? Miami's Dwyane Wade? Atlanta's Joe Johnson?) to the United Center. Washington will absorb Hinrich's $9 million salary for someone who likely will babysit for top draft choice John Wall until the Kentucky star is ready, while the Bulls will have loads of money to bring top talent to Chicago.

We'll see after July 1.

The Bulls of the future...

2010-06-24T00:01:00.003-05:00

The Lakers are NBA champions, and it's time for the other teams to rebuild through the NBA draft.

That includes the Bulls, who have the 17th pick in this year's draft (thanks to the trade that John Salmons to Milwaukee), which is set for tonight. They could move up to 15th if the Bucks take that option as part of that trade, but let's assume they stay at 17.

Who do they pick? Much of that will depend on how seriously they want to pursue LeBron James and any other big band free agent out there. Chris Bosh of Toronto, Dwyane Wade of Miami and Joe Johnson of Atlanta are some of the other prizes out there.

The Bulls' big needs could be at forward or a shooting guard to best compliment point guard Derrick Rose. And the decision will have to be made without the benefit of knowing whether they have landed King James, who doesn't officially go on the free agent market until July 1.

Some of the mock drafts have some intriguing directions for the Bulls.

-- The Sports Network's John McMullen thinks the Bulls will go best player available and take Texas' small forward Damion James. James is one of the few seniors in the draft, but brings some good rebounding and defense, always good attributes for a Chicago team that has had trouble in those areas at times.

-- HoopsHype has another Longhorn, this time freshman shooting guard Avery Bradley, going to Chicago. Bradley is a good defender despite being only 6-3, and has improved his three-point shooting. However, he is only a freshman, and very raw. (Yes, I know Derrick Rose was only a freshman when he came out, but he was also a number one pick and a rare talent, not falling to 17.)

-- Bleacher Report has the Bulls going with Lithuanian 7-foot power forward Donatas Motiejunas. Big men are always a good thing, and Motiejunas has good range for such a tall guy. A scorer is good, but can he rebound?

-- NBADraft.net also has a big man coming to Chicago in Marshall freshman center Hassan Whiteside. He's a big defender, averaging 4.4 blocks a game his only year in college. The scary part is the same predictor compares him to Tyson Chandler, which did not work out so well for the Bulls.

Who should the Bulls go with? I like Damion James because of his size and defense, but Motiejunas could be a good project if LeBron James does indeed come to Chicago.

Bad ref, bad!

2010-06-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

It's official.

Officials, whether we call them referees or umpires, are starting to become more a part of the game than they should be.

There was Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee who in 2007 lost his career when he pleaded guilty to two counts of making calls during games to affect their point spread. More recently, there was Jim Joyce, an umpire who blew a call at first base, costing Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game against the Indians on June 2. On Friday in South Africa, there was Malian referee Koman Coulibaly, who disallowed the likely game-winning goal by the United States against Slovenia in the World Cup, leaving the game in its eventual 2-2 tie.

What is about the officials who are becoming as much a part of games as the players and coaches? Aren't they supposed to be in the background, nobly calling a game and making sure the players' skills shine through and be the only ones to affect the outcome?

Well, officials' mistakes aren't a new thing. There was umpire Don Denkinger, who called the Royals' Jorge Orta safe in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, eventually leading to the Royals beating the Cardinals and eventually winning the series. During the World Cup qualifying in November 2009, the ref missed France's Thierry Henry's obvious handball against Ireland, leading to the winning goal that allowed the French to advance to the World Cup and knocking a strong Irish side out. In 1998 NFL referee Phil Luckett blew the coin flip call at the start of overtime of the Thanksgiving Day game pitting Pittsburgh and Detroit, saying the Steelers' Jerome Bettis called heads even though Bettis clearly said, "Tails," leading to the Lions' victory.

Now I can relate to a degree. I was a umpire for Little League games for a summer when I was in high school. I know I blew calls, and the parents and coaches let me hear it (though the kids were great). Officiating a game when others are depending on you making the right call and doing it fairly in the shadows in a rough deal.

Now I'm not comparing my experience with that of officials in higher-profile games, but I am talking about the officials' and the players' responses to the blown calls. Compare and contrast the aftermaths of the cases I brought up previously:

-- Tim Donaghy spent 15 months in federal prison for his part. Since his release, he has written a book telling his side of the story and has been a pain in the NBA's side.

-- The Cardinals, who were the favorites going into the 1985 World Series against the in-state Royals, could've come back against Kansas City and won Game 7, simply delaying the championship. Instead, they choked it away, getting blown out 11-0 and allowing George Brett and company to become heroes.

-- Phil Luckett was indirectly involved with another controversial on December 6, 1998, with officials on his crew allowing the Jets' Vinny Testaverde to score the winning touchdown against the Seahawks despite Testaverde clearly being stopped. That led to the NFL instituting instant replay in all games.

-- Swedish referee Martin Hansson let Thierry Henry's handball goal stand against Ireland, but regretted his mistake when he realized what had happened. An Irish sports officials offered his condolences, and Hansson was picked to be among the elite referees for the World Cup in South Africa. However, he has remained on the sidelines as an alternate fourth official, while the other European officials have called games.

-- The disallowed goal by Maurice Edu of the United States was not the only bad call Koman Coulibaly made in that game. He earlier gave American Robbie Findley a yellow card for an intentional handball, even though replays clearly showed the ball had gone off Findley's face and into his hands (and leading ESPN announcer Ian Darke to call it "the stupidest decision" he had seen in some time). FIFA referees said mistakes do happen, but they did not address the call in a media setting on Monday. Coulibaly, however, will not officiate any more games, at least during the first knockout stage.

The best response, however, was by Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga. After the game, Joyce went straight to the umpires' room and watched the replay. He knew right away he had blown the call, and went looking for Galarraga. When he found him, he apologized immediately. Galarraga accepted the apology with no reservations and the next day, when Joyce worked behind the plate, the Tigers' pitcher brought out the lineup card.

Needless to say, that was the way to handle the situation. Clint Dempsey of the U.S. complained about Coulibaly allowing rough play to continue even though World Cup refs have said they would call games pretty closely. However, as a coach once told me, you don't put yourself in a position when a bad call could cost you the game. The U.S. could've played better in the first half and not stunk it up, allowing Slovenia to go 2-0 at the half and forcing them to have to come back.

You accept the human error and play the way you're supposed to play. If you play poorly and set yourself for failure, then you should accept whatever comes your way, good or bad.

Blow, baby blow!

2010-06-20T00:05:00.000-05:00

One of the big stories out of this World Cup has been the vuvuzelas, the plastic horns that South African fans have taken to blowing at full volume for the entire game, every game.

With the sound of a swarm of bees, many soccer fans, especially on this side of the pond, have come out and called them annoying, saying they are ruining the experience and wanting them banned. Players (like the French) have said they are unable to concentrate on the game.

I'll say this: The vuvuzelas are part of the experience of South Africa soccer. They're no more annoying than Thunderstix, the Macarena at Yankee Stadium or any place, or the fans doing the tomahawk chop in any environment. If you can't concentrate during the game because of noise, go play tennis or golf where people are expected to shut up.

So in short, leave the horns alone.

British comedian Dave Benson came up with this great song on the vuvuzelas, based on Rihanna's "Umbrella."

U.S. Game Two and World Cup advertising

2010-06-18T00:00:00.005-05:00

The United States play their second game of the 2010 World Cup today, this time against Slovenia, who is currently leading Group C with three points after beating Algeria on Sunday, 1-0 (The U.S. and England are tied for second place with one point due to their 1-1 draw on Saturday).

The good news is American goalie Tim Howard should be back in the net after suffering bruised ribs against the English. He'll be needed to ward off a surprising Slovenian attack, but the U.S. are the favorites against the small Eastern European nation.

I won't go so far as to call this a must-win for the Americans, but Slovenia is winning in the group with their win and England likely will take out Algeria. Three points, needless to say, would be good here.

Game time is at 9 a.m. CDT from Ellis Park in Johannesburg on ESPN. England and Algeria follow at 1:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN2.

But it's Friday, and what better way to kick off the weekend than with some great World Cup-related commercials.

Here's a fun one from BP airing in South Africa:

A boy works on getting another player to play the beautiful game with in this spot from Stratos, a candy company in Norway.

Pepsi has this spot featuring Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, Brazil's Kaka, and Argentina's Lionel Messi:

World Cup Blog had labeled this Pepsi spot as positively the worst World Cup-related commercial to come out of the 2006 tournament in Germany. It features England's David Beckham and Brazil's Ronaldinho back when they were relevant to the game rather than just as celebrities.

And finally a spot on thinking positively from First National Bank of South Africa:

Happy Friday!

How do the Bulls get to the Finals?

2010-06-17T00:00:00.003-05:00

Tonight, the Celtics and Lakers will play it out in Game 7 of the NBA finals. The Celtics had been looking commanding after Game 5 in Boston when they claimed a 3-2 series lead, but the Lakers stormed back into the series with a 89-67 thumping of Boston at Staples Center Tuesday night to force the seventh and deciding game.

But the question for Bulls fans is this: Can the Bulls get back to this point, when they haven't been since 1998 and the glory days of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and if so, when?

A big part of that, I believe, will ride on whether they can entice LeBron James to come to Chicago. I'll wax on a little more soon enough on the reasons why King James should become a Bull, but if he did decide to leave Cleveland for the big city, he would be paired with a growing and great guard in Derrick Rose, and a up and coming forward in Joakim Noah. It would almost be like he could be Jordan to Rose's Pippen and Noah's Horace Grant.

LeBron would provide the spark that would make the Bulls instant contenders, and with maybe one other piece (another good guard to compliment Rose would be good) could put them over the top. The Bulls have already solved the coaching question with the hiring of Tom Thibodeau, who will be well seasoned after having helped guide the Celtics to the Finals for the second time in three years.

This might also play a role in whether general manager John Paxson will get to hang around. Paxson has spent the better part of his basketball life with the Bulls, first as a player during the glory days of the 1990s and now in the front office. Thibodeau could prove to be a good hire after the whole mess with Vinny Del Negro, but Paxson is on thin ice.

Simply put, if he signs LeBron, figure him to be as good as safe. Miss out on him and draft poorly, wish him well on his next NBA assignment.

Hail to Don Texas!

2010-06-16T00:00:00.002-05:00

The Big 12 will not die, and it is all thanks to the University of Texas.

The Texas athletic department announced on Monday it would turn down an invitation to join the Pac-10 and remain in the Big 12, the conference it has been a member of since the Big Eight and four schools of the defunct Southwest Conference merged in 1996. With its decision, it also encouraged Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to also turn down overtures from the Pac-10, and likely encouraged Texas A&M to also turn down a likely invite from the Southeastern Conference.

The Big 12 Texas and those other schools will remain in will be a paired down, 10-team version of its former self following Colorado's defection to the Pac-10 last Thursday and Nebraska's jump to the Big Ten on Friday, starting with the 2011-12 athletic year.

By staying, Texas and the others likely have saved the collective bacon of Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor and Missouri, who all faced going down to a lesser conference like the Mountain West or Conference USA if the Big 12 dissolved.

But at what cost was this imperfect union saved?

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe worked until the 11th hour to save the conference, convincing Texas and the other schools that he could work a better television deal than what is currently in place. Most reports have had the dollar amounts ranging from $20 to $25 million for Texas and $14 to $17 million, according to the Orlando Sentinel. This is a significant jump up from the current $10 million and $7 million Texas and other schools like Iowa State are respectively pulling out of the deals with ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports Net. Also, Texas will be allowed to create its own network, something it would not have been allowed to do in the Pac-10, which planned to create its own conference-wide network similar to what the Big Ten and the SEC have in place.

That in itself is not so bad in itself. Texas gets to keep something the better deal it currently has in place because of its stature. And not to mention, this is better than the death of the conference.

The soul-selling piece of this and what likely will help keep schools like Iowa State and Baylor at the bottom of the food chain of the newly-revised conference is ISU, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Missouri will give up to Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M their share of the conference revenue that will be withheld from Nebraska and Colorado for leaving the conference early. According to the Des Moines Register:

"Beebe didn’t provide an estimate of how much money that could be, but said that the conference intends to withhold 80 percent of the distributions scheduled to be paid to Nebraska and Colorado over the next two years under the conference bylaws.

Big 12 schools receive from $8 million to $12 million in revenue from the conference, meaning that the total amount of money offered by the five schools to the other three would range from a estimated high of $9.5 million to an estimated low of $6 million combined."

That is money that could have provided a temporary boost for a program like Iowa State, and now it will go the richer schools again.

But enough of the money aspects. What about what will actually take place on the fields and courts?

For starters, since the new Big 12 will have only 10 teams and not the 12 required by the NCAA for a conference title game in football, the deal that placed the title game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, through 2013 is history, much to the detriment of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Another is that since there are now only nine teams for a school to play, each team will play each other once every year. That means that instead of having some years where it didn't face Big 12 South opponents like Texas and Oklahoma, Iowa State will get them every year, alternating between home and away every other year. With the wide gap in recruiting, money and talent, ISU, Baylor, Kansas, and Kansas State will face remaining at the bottom of the conference barring a breakout year.

The good news for those same schools is that in men's basketball, the Big 12 or whatever it may be called is going to be awesome, quite possibly the best in the nation. Each school will play 18 conference games, a home and away with each of the other nine schools. And with the talent level in this conference, it's going to be good. Texas itself is good, of course, but Kansas won the national title as recently as two years ago. Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M are all up-and-comers. Missouri, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State usually are competitive, and even though Iowa State has been down the last couple of years, they have been a good team and have the potential to climb up again under new coach Fred Hoiberg.

How will this turn out? Will it remain this way, or will the Big 12 either face death again if Texas decides to look at other offers? Will they invite two more schools (Utah, BYU, TCU and Houston are possibilities) to make it 12 again?

It remains to be seen.

A day off...

2010-06-15T08:51:00.002-05:00

Taking the day off. However, I will leave one impression of the U.S. National Soccer Team's 1-1 draw with England Saturday with you.

Have a good day.

Another lost season on the diamond?

2010-06-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Lost in the euphoria that is the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup last week has been the apparently lost seasons of the Cubs and White Sox.

Both are languishing in third place after last night's wrap-up game of the annual Crosstown series at Wrigley Field, both the Cubs and Sox 7.5 games behind leaders Cincinnati and Minnesota, respectively. Both have had chances to improve things, but life on either side of town just kept getting stranger.

For the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, getting rocked for six runs in 1 1/3 innings in Atlanta on Opening Day and subsequent poor performances led to the $91 million man getting demoted to the bullpen by manager Lou Pinella, where he continued to stink things up as closer Carlos Marmol's setup man, and returned to the starting rotation on June 4, allowing three runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings against Houston.

The starting rotation for the northsiders has been good to excellent, starting with Carlos Silva. Acquired in the offseason from Seattle, he was thought to be enough value to the Cubs in that they managed in the process to get rid of outfielder and all-around good guy (in his eyes) Milton Bradley after his disastrous 2009 season. But so far, he is 8-1 with a 2.89 ERA, losing his first game of the year on Saturday to the White Sox. Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster also have been fairly solid, with Lilly posting a relatively small 2.90 ERA after this weekend.

It's the Cubs' bats that have been the question mark. Hitting hasn't the Cubs' strength in a while, even during the division winning 2007 and 2008 seasons. But even the quality hitters Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez have stunk up the joint. Ramirez, an All-Star as recently as 2008, has been particularly disappointing, hitting only .168 with five home runs before a thumb injury put him on the 15-day disabled list last week. Only new outfielder Marlon Byrd has been worth getting excited about, hitting .333 this year since coming over from Texas in the offseason.

This has led to a lot of disappointing losses, and the pitching staff struggling to keep the Cubs in games without a lot of run support. On Sunday night, for example, the Cubs still managed to beat the White Sox 1-0 despite only getting three hits, all after the seventh inning. The main reason the Cubs held on at all was because Lilly no-hit the Sox until the ninth inning, when outfielder Juan Pierre singled to end the no-no bid. There was also the real disappointment on Thursday, when the Cubs lost to Milwaukee 5-4 on a throwing error in the 10th inning from first baseman Xavier Nady.

For the White Sox, there's not a lot to write about. They're in the middle of the pack again, their World Series victory five years seemingly light years ago in light of the Blackhawks' recent title, which they celebrated Sunday night at Wrigley Field with both the Cubs Sox. They've showed signs of life recently, knocking out a four-game winning streak before Sunday night.

The main thing of interest here has been manager Ozzie Guillen, who has been speaking out on everything from the Blackhawks (saying the White Sox victory parade in 2005 was better) to apparently almost coming to blows with general manager Ken Williams, according to the Sun-Times over the White Sox drafting Gullien's son Ozney in the 22nd round of the draft last Tuesday (Guillen denies the almost altercation happened).

Either way, something's gotta change on both sides of town or we're just stuck waiting for the Bears or Bulls to do something to excite us again.

Could it be the managers? Sweet Lou Pinella could be counting the days before he decides to hang it up, which could mean any numbers of options for the Cubs, including bringing Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who is now managing the AAA Iowa Cubs in his fourth season of managing in the minors. Would the Sox fire Ozzie Guillen? If they're smart, they wouldn't do that.

It should come down to the men who have run and built these teams, GMs Jim Hendry and ken Williams. They're the ones who brought in these guys, and if anyone winds up leaving, it should be them.

Long suffering teased by a championship in another sports deserve as much. There's still plenty of time for either or both teams to turn things around, but something's going to have to give.

World Cup off to a good start

2010-06-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

The World Cup is off a good start, at least depending on who you are.

The host South Africa managed a 1-1 draw against Mexico in the opener Friday in Johannesburg, continuing a string of 14 consecutive openers where the host country doesn't lose. Now, there hasn't been a World Cup where the host doesn't advance past the group stage, but South Africa did themselves a big favor by gaining the point from a usually strong yet underachieving Mexican side.

Then there was the U.S. National Team, who also gained themselves a point with a 1-1 in their opener Saturday against England in Rustenburg, whom some have picked to make it to the final. It looked bad at first as Steven Gerrard (who plays for Liverpool in England) got past the U.S. defense and punched it past goaltender Tim Howard four minutes in to give the English the 1-0 lead. Howard took some pounding later in the half, banging up his elbow and then his head, but toughed it out like the good English Premier Leaguer (he plays for Everton) that he is.

Then there was the goal that England will not forget for a long time.

The U.S. managed to hang onto the ball long enough (England had possession 57 percent of the time) to get into the English zone. Clint Dempsey (who plays for Fulham in the English league) squibbed a kick forward to the English net and goaltender Robert Green (who plays for West Ham Untied in the English league). What happened will go down in history, as Green fumbled the easy kick as it rolled into the net to knot the game at 1-1.

English goaltending has not had a glorious history, but as analyst John Harkes said after the goal, you have to handle that kind of kick, no matter what level you're at.

Either way, it was a gift for the United States, who almost took the lead at the 65th minute with a Jozy Altidore (Hull City in England) run that was swatted away by Green at the last minute to keep the score tied until the end.

A win would've been nice for the U.S., but getting a point out of the English in what is the Americans' toughest game of the group is a good step toward advancing past the group stage for the first time since 2002 in South Korea and Japan. Next up for the U.S. is Slovenia on Friday, June 18 in Johannesburg, a game they should take. Slovenia plays its first game against Algeria later today.

One other note: This was probably my favorite commercial shown during Saturday's game on ABC:

U.S.A. ready for South Africa

2010-06-11T05:00:00.004-05:00

Today, the World Cup will begin in Johannesburg, South Africa, when the host South Africa national soccer team takes on Mexico.

For U.S. and England fans, the big opener of course is Saturday when the two play in Rustenburg at 1:30 p.m. (ABC). This game could in a way tell us a lot about both sides' chance of advancing in this tournament, the first to be held in Africa.

The good news is both are in a reasonably easy Group C with Slovenia and Algeria, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage. Algeria is considered the weaker of some of the African teams, having managed to get past Egypt during qualifying, while Slovenia typically has not made much noise.

For the U.S., it's going to come down to overcoming injuries. Jozy Altidore hurts his ankle last week during the tune-ups, and while he is expected to play Saturday, the ankle will be tender. Plus, the U.S. also will have to be more consistent than it has been, with highs (a 3-1 win over Australia in the last exhibition last Saturday) and lows (a 4-2 beating on May 26 in East Hartford, Conn., at the hands of the Czech Republic, who didn't even qualify for the tournament this year in a tough European group).

What the U.S. team does after the group stage remains to be seen. It likely will draw someone like Germany or Ghana, against whom it will be the underdog. If it puts up a good showing against England tomorrow, with England expected by some like Sports Illustrated to make it to the final against Spain, the favorites to win it all, then the U.S. could go deep into this tournament like it did in 2002 in South Korea and Japan.

Championship Thursday

2010-06-10T09:20:00.003-05:00

Needless to say, if the Chicago area newspapers were smart, the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup was on the front page. Here is a sampling:

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Sun-Times

The Daily Herald

Red Eye

The Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, Ill.)

The Southtown Star (Tinley Park, Ill.)

And for a taste from the other side, here is the Philadelphia Daily News:

Lord Stanley now lives in Chicago!

2010-06-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

What a year it's been, and what a way for the Blackhawks to clinch their first Stanley Cup since 1961.

A squeaker by Patrick Kane past Philly goalie Michael Leighton 4:10 into sudden death overtime that was at first reviewed was the difference maker.

Game 6 was the battle everyone expected, with the Flyers taking advantage of the home crowd and some of the craziest fans in sports to keep it close. But the Hawks proved to be too much for them.

It was a heck of a time getting to this point.

Just two years, hockey in Chicago was almost nonexistent.

The Hawks were mired in a decade-long slump, 15 years away from its last finals appearance (a 4-0 sweep at the hands of Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992) and having only made the playoffs once (2002) since 1997. Attendance was down, and much of the blame was placed on longtime owner Bill Wirtz, who refused to show home games on television (to preserve the product for the "season reservation" holders, he said) and managed to chase away any talent and respect the Original Six franchise had.

In September 2007, he passed away after a brief bout with cancer, and his son Rocky took over the reins.

Rocky Wirtz immediately began to make changes. He struck a deal with Comcast SportsNet Chicago to begin showing home games, and broadened the deal later to include WGN-TV. He coaxed back Blackhawk legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, who had not been on good terms with Bill Wirtz, as "ambassadors" for the team. He also hired away John McDonough from the Cubs to be the team's new president, and brought back popular announcer Pat Foley, who had been fired two years earlier by Bill Wirtz.

The 2008-09 season proved to be the first step back. The Hawks squeaked into the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and weren't expected to go far, but they got by the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks before falling in five games to archrival Detroit.

This year, the Hawks came in as contenders, and they played like it all season, finishing second with 112 points behind the top seed San Jose Sharks. The first playoff round against Nashville at first was tough, but the Hawks got through before taking on Vancouver again. They stayed out west, and took the first two games in San Jose before finishing off the sweep at the United Center.

Then there was the final against Philadelphia, who were this year's Cinderella team. Qualifying for the playoffs as the East's seventh seed on the last day of the season, they knocked off New Jersey and came back from 3-0 down against Boston to crack into the conference finals against the Montreal Candadiens, themselves an eighth seed and playing over their pay grade. They knocked off Les Canadiens, and set up for a battle against the Blackhawks, who were the heavy favorites.

The Hawks proved to be up to the challenge, taking a high-scoring Game 1 6-5 last Saturday in Chicago before taking Game 2, 2-1, to take a 2-0 lead to Philadelphia. The Flyers, however, refused to die, winning Game 3 in overtime and dropping a mistake-filled Game 4 to bring the series at 2-2 back to Chicago Sunday night.

Game 5 proved to be the turnaround, as the Hawks behind Dustin Byfuglien's two goals and two assists and coach Joel Quenneville's line change to neutralize the Flyers' Chris Pronger and win 7-4.

But last night, Game 6, was a potential heart stopper, as the Hawks and Flyers went back and forth. But it was the Hawks and Patrick Kane who proved to have what it took, and the Stanley Cup comes back to Chicago for the first time in 49 years.

The Tribune reports that the victory parade in downtown Chicago will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, with the rally at 11:30 a.m. at Michigan Avenue and East Wacker Drive. As Quenneville told NBC after the game, "The party's going to be unbelievable."

So true.

Could this be the night?

2010-06-09T07:55:00.003-05:00

Tonight the Blackhawks will take on the Flyers in Games 6 of the Stanley Cup Final (Why did the NHL change the name of the final series to this? They do realize there is more than one final game, right?)

One of the big questions the Hawks will face, along with how the Flyers' Chris Pronger will react to the Chicago Tribune's poster that put him in a skirt, is who they will face in the Philly net. Michael Leighton typically has been the starting goalie, but was pulled for Brian Boucher in both Games 1 and 5 after getting lit up in both games, including three goals on 13 shots in the final eight minutes of the first period Sunday night. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette hasn't said as much, but appears to be leaning toward Leighton for Games 6.

The other big question is can the Hawks actually win in Philadelphia. So far this year, they are 0 for 3 at the Wachovia Center, including their lone regular season appearance in March as well as Games 3 and 4. Plus, it promises to be as hostile environment as it ever has, if not more.

The Hawks will have to rely on what got them here, including the offense that was spurred by Joel Quenneville's line change just before Game 5 that led to Dustin Byfuglien's big two goal, two assist performance Sunday night. In addition, Niemi will have to be on "good Antti" in keeping the Flyers. Plus, captain Jonathan Toews will have to step up.

The Stanley Cup will be in the Wachovia Center tonight, tucked away somewhere in the bowels of the arena. Can this be the night the Blackhawks hoist it for the first time since 1961?

We shall see.

Hawks one win away from ending a long drought

2010-06-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Amazing what a change in scenery can do for a team, especially when that scenery is Home Sweet Chicago.

The Blackhawks pulled themselves out of whatever funk they were in Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia with a solid 7-4 win over the Flyers in Game 5 Sunday night at the United Center. Dustin Byfuglien was the big star, netting two goals and two assists in the big win.

This win leaves the Hawks one win away from their first Stanley Cup since 1961. To put this in perspective, think about what it was like between then and now:

-- In 1961, John F. Kennedy was President, the first Catholic ever elected to the office. In 2010, Barack Obama is President, the first black man ever elected to the office.

-- In 1961, the NHL consisted of only six teams, concentrated primarily in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States (Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York Rangers). In 2010, there are 30 teams, including only six teams in the motherland of hockey, Canada, and teams in places that might see ice outdoors in a rare ice age (see Phoenix, Los Angeles, Anaheim, (Miami) Florida, and Tampa Bay, not to mention other nontraditional hockey towns like Dallas and (Raleigh, North) Carolina).

-- In 1961, the communist Soviet Union loomed large over American politics, including the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba. In 2010, the U.S.S.R. is no more, having dissolved in 1991 into 15 republics, with Russia a largely democratic country (depending on who you talk to – we won’t argue that point here).

-- In 1961, the top movie of the year was the musical “West Side Story.” In 2010, the best picture Oscar went to “The Hurt Locker,” which told the story of an Army bomb squad in the Iraq War.

-- In 1961, Blackhawks goalie Glenn Hall made about $180 a game, working at a fast-food joint during the summer to make ends meet, according to the Edmonton Journal. In 2010, Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning made $10 million this season.

-- Finally, it had only been 53 years since the Cubs last won the World Series in 1961. By 2010, the streak had extended to 102 years and counting.

Speaking of the Cubs, they currently own the longest title drought in American team sports, with the last title coming in 1908. In the NFL, it is the now Arizona Cardinals, who last won the title as the Chicago Cardinals in 1947. In the NBA, it is the now Sacramento Kings, who last won the title as the Rochester Royals in 1951. And next in line for longest championship drought in the NHL if the Blackhawks manage to clinch the title are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who last won in 1964.

Game six and quite possibly the clincher for the Blackhawks comes on Wednesday night from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The game and hopefully the victory celebration will be on NBC.

The World Cup's coming to a galaxy near you...

2010-06-06T08:28:00.001-05:00

Adidas has this great spot leading to the start of the World Cup later this week:

Bulls get their man

2010-06-05T16:53:00.006-05:00

The Bulls have their man.

No, I'm not talking about LeBron James. The Bulls and other teams can start pursuing King James and other free agents after July 1.

I'm talking about their new head coach, Tom Thibodeau, most recently an assistant with the Boston Celtics, apparently has agreed to be the Bulls' new head man.

One knock on this is that after the debacle that was Vinny Del Negro's tenure in Chicago, the Bulls would go after someone with head coaching experience. Thibodeau's only head coaching experience was in 1984 at Division III Salem (Mass.) State University, according to the Chicago Tribune. The rest of the time, after four years as an assistant at Harvard, has been as assistants in the NBA, including stops in Minnesota, San Antonio, Philadelphia, New York and Houston.

However, he does have coaching experience, like 25-plus years worth. This is unlike Del Negro, who came in with zero coaching experience, just some time in the Phoenix Suns' front office after retiring as a player. Plus, according to the Tribune, he comes highly regarded by his players.

He is expected to formally accept the job after the NBA finals are over At this point, the Celtics are down 1-0 to the Lakers, with Game 2 tomorrow night.

Other notes:

-- The Blackhawks sure stunk it up last night in Game 4 in Philadelphia, losing 5-3 to the Flyers to bring the series tied at 2-2 to the United Center tomorrow night. While Patrick Sharp finally scored, Antti Niemi got left out to dry in the first period as the Flyers put in three quick goals for the biggest lead in the series. Hopefully, they can come out out of this two-game tailspin (longest of the playoffs for the Hawks) back home in Chicago.
-- Carlos Zambrano returned to the Cubs' starting rotation in Houston last night, and had pretty much the same result as he did opening day in Atlanta. He got rocked in the first inning as the Cubs lost 3-1. While he did settle down and made it to the fifth inning, he was unable to do anything to lift the Cubs out of their doldrums. But then again, as good of a hitter he is, he can't do all of the hitting, too, leading to rumors the Northsiders could trade guys like Derrek Lee, a rumor he has denied.
-- Trades could be a-coming for the White Sox, too, if they don't start picking things up, manager Ozzie Guillen says. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and pitchers J.J. Putz and Bobby Jenks have been mentioned as possible trade bait.

Hawks make run to Lord Stanley's Cup

2010-06-04T15:00:00.004-05:00

Since the last time this column has been published, we have seen the transformation of the Chicago Blackhawks from also-rans in the NHL to at least championship contenders made almost complete.

The Flyers so far have provided all of the competition the Hawks can handle, fighting to a 6-5 Chicago win in Game 1 last Saturday and a 2-1 Hawks win Monday night before finally claiming a 4-3 win in overtime in Game 3 Wednesday. They have scrapped, beaten and taken advantage of some generous calls by the officials to stay in contention in this series to the highly favored Blackhawks.

So what do the Hawks do for Game 4 in tough Philadelphia and bring it back to the United Center for a possible clincher Sunday night in front of the home fans?

First, goaltender Antti Niemi needs to get his groove back. Niemi was simply awesome during the conference finals against San Jose, allowing no more than two goals in any one game against the top-seeded Sharks as the Blackhawks swept the series. He lost it in Game 1 against the Flyers, but fortunately was backed up by a charging Hawks offense. He got it back in Game 2, only allowing one goal on 33 shots in the Hawks' win, only to lose it at the crucial time on some badly timed goals allowed Wednesday in Philly. He will need to do much better if the Hawks are to lengthen their lead in the series and not suffer the same fate the Bruins did surrendering a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semis against these same Flyers.

Second, the top line of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp will need to step it up. Toews has been pretty quiet during the finals, mainly because of the defense of Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. Fortunately, guys like Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien have covered him in getting some key goals at the right times. Toews is due, especially if Pronger does something stupid and either spends too much time in the penalty box or simply gets thrown out of the game.

Finally, the Hawks could get a boost if Andrew Ladd comes back into the lineup. Ladd's been gone since getting hurt in Game 4 of the conference finals.

Either way, Game 4 is a must-win for the Hawks. Lose it, and they're feeling the pressure as the series is tied up going back to Chicago. Win it, and Sunday could be the greatest day for hockey in Chicago in a long time.

Fight night with the UFC

2009-08-10T05:00:00.005-05:00

On Saturday night, I took in UFC 101, live on pay-per-view from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Now, as a sports fan, I will admit I don’t know a whole lot about mixed martial arts. However, thanks to my friend Robert, owner of BuyMMACards.com, we will get close to a blow by blow account, with this viewing brought to you unofficially by Miller Lite, because the host house had a ton of it on hand.

9:08 p.m. CDT: The first fight is ready to kick off between Kurt Pellegrino and Josh Neer. This fight is of local significance because Josh Neer, from Des Moines, Iowa, is being sponsored by BuyMMACards.com (seen on his shirt). This could be the fight of the night, I’m told.

9:13 p.m.: Pellegrino takes Neer down with a near body slam, but the Des Moines native continues scrapping to get off his back. Neer also is already cut, only a minute into the fight. The “Let’s Go, Kurt” chant starts ringing from the near-New Jersey crowd.

9:15 p.m.: Pellegrino does a near pile driver on Neer, but Neer is still going strong. When did this dissolve into WWE?

9:16 p.m.: Neer tries a triangle when he can lock a leg over his opponent’s neck. Pellegrino slips out, however.

9:18 p.m.: Round one ends. Pellgrino has dominated for most of the round, remaining on top. Judges’ scoring coming soon.

9:19 p.m.: Round two begins. Neer tries a couple of punches, but misses. A boxing match breaks out in the city of Brotherly Love.

9:22 p.m.: The fight remains on the ground, with Pellgrino staying on top of Neer. Neer complained of a head butt a minute ago, but no go. Neer keeps looking up, but the “fight” drags on.

9:23 p.m.: Another triangle try by Neer, but no go again. Pellegrino goes for a mount, but then moves into a lock on Neer.

9:24 p.m.: Round two ends, and Neer is bloodier than ever. This hasn’t looked good for our midwestern guy, with the first two rounds likely going to Pellegrino.

9:26 p.m.: Neer is not being himself, says Robert, as he timidly approaches Pellegrino at the start of Round Three. Pellegrino promptly takes him down on the floor.

9:28 p.m.: Fans seem to be getting restless as the fight drags on on the ground, as it has all fight long. A minute and a half left, and Neer is going to need a miracle to win this one, or a knockout.

9:30 p.m.” Neer shows life for the first time all fight, and gets on top of Pellegrino for a second. The opportunity is wasted and Pellegrino has the carry against the fence as Neer pounds away as the round ends. “Neer is disgusted,” says commentator Joe Rogan. He should be.

9:32 p.m.: All judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Pellegrino. Good riddance.

9:33 p.m.: The second fight features Ricardo Almeida and Kendall Grove.

9:36 p.m.: One thing with the MMA fighters you gotta admire is the ink work on them. Grove has the Virgin Mary on his back. Neer has his own name tattooed on his lower back.

9:38 p.m.: Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz is shown. He worked with Grove on the Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike.

9:40 p.m.: Grove tries a muay thai move, throwing a knee at Almeida’s head. But they soon separate. Grove tries a kick, but Almeida catches the leg and takes him into the fence.

9:41 p.m.: Almeida grabs a leg, but can’t get a good grip to take him down.

9:42 p.m.: Grove takes Almeida to the floor, but soon finds himself on his back.

9:43 p.m.: Almeida throws a couple of knees to Grove’s ribs, but to no avail. He then slams him to the ground, but Grove’s still alive at the end of round one. Rogan says round should go to Almeida because of the takedowns. I would agree. It’s always more impressive, though, when you see a tall guy like Grove (he’s six feet six) go down.

9:44 p.m.: Current UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre is shown on the scoreboard screen, receiving a big cheer from the sold-out crowd.

9:45 p.m.: Almeida takes Grove to the ground 15 seconds. He’s going for the submission now.

9:46 p.m.: Grove turns it around, getting an arm bar and almost finishing Almeida off. He escapes and returns to pounding and wrestling Grove on the ground.

9:47 p.m.: Grove gets a body triangle around Almeida, starting to squeeze the air out of him. Almeida gets out but is definitely winded.

9:49 p.m.: Almeida goes for the mount, but misses as he continues pounding. Grove somehow manages to get up and now has both fighters standing on the fence, throwing a nice uppercut at Almeida’s chin.

9:50 p.m.: Almeida takes Grove to the ground, but Grove gets an elbow in as round two ends.

9:52 p.m.: Grove’s conditioning is starting to pay off. Almeida is dragging as Grove takes him to the ground. Grove does a hammer fist but gets up.

9:55 p.m.: Thirty seconds left and Grove is on the ground, but quickly gets up. He’s looking for the big finish. Almeida pushes him to the post, but Grove throws down a couple of elbows and punches to finish the fight off. Now waiting for the judges’ scoring. Almeida is looking like the favorite because he controlled much of the fight with several good takedowns.

9:57 p.m.: Almeida wins a unanimous decision 30-27. We thought Grove might have won the second round, but who’s to say?

9:58 p.m.: The third fight is Johny Hendricks and Amir Sadollah. Hendricks is a two-time NCAA wrestling champion and is currently undefeated in the UFC. Sadollah, a national muay thai champion, is dancing around a lot as he makes his way to the ring. Hope his conditioning is up to snuff, or he’s toast before he even gets there.

10:03 p.m.: Hendricks goes for the kill 32 seconds in as he gets in several good left uppercuts and starts pounding him on the floor. The ref steps in and ends it perhaps a little early, Rogan says. The ref says Sadollah couldn’t defend himself “intelligently” as the crowd boos (Sadollah is out of Brooklyn, N.Y.).

10:17 p.m.: Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley in the third fight of the night.

10:31 p.m.: The crowd starts cheering as Nelson is on top of Riley, but they’re not for them. Apparently a fight broke out in the crowd, getting everyone’s attention. Sadly, that might have been more exciting than the fight we’re watching now.

10:33 p.m.: Rogan says if Nelson wins the fight, he will “burn his headset and run naked through the crowd.” Riley is the favorite in his eyes.

10:35 p.m.: By unanimous decision 30-27, Aaron Riley is declared the winner. “No surprise,” says the commentator.

10:40 p.m. The first of the two main events of the night, Forrest Griffin versus current middleweight Anderson Silva in a non-title match at light heavyweight, coming up.

10:50 p.m.: The crowd is heavily Forrest Griffin, shouting, “Let’s go, Forrest.” Griffin goes for a couple of kicks, but misses. He’s known for landing the most leg kicks, Rogan says.

10:51 p.m.: Silva throws the right hand and knocks Griffin off balance. The American finds his way back to his feet quickly.

10:52 p.m.: Silva’s attack knocks Griffin to the ground off balance, but Griffin is back on his feet. Griffin counters with a couple of kicks. Silva works an uppercut, then keeps dropping his hands before taking Griffin to the ground.

10:53 p.m.: Silva stands back and offers to help Griffin up. He’s getting cocky very quickly here. Silva drops his hands and lets Griffin throw a couple of punches before taking Griffin out with a right jab to the cheek as he is backpedaling. The ref calls Griffin out at 3:20 of the first round and Griffin sprints for the locker room. Rogan calls this one of the “most embarrassing knockouts” he has ever seen.
(Editor's note: Sports Illustrated.com is reporting that Griffin suffered a dislocated jaw as well as what is hopefully a temporary loss of hearing in one ear sometime during the fight, hence his quick exit after it was over.)

10:54 p.m,: Silva, up a weight class to light heavyweight, looked awesome tonight. Question of the night: Could Georges St. Pierre take on Anderson Silva? Discussion starts now as we wait for the other main event of B.J. Penn versus Kenny Florian.

10:59 p.m.: Start the movie pimping now, as the stars of the upcoming movie, “Gamer,” are interviewed.

11:09 p.m.: It’s time for the other main event: B.J. Penn versus Kenny Florian at 155 pounds.

11:17 p.m.: I noticed that the current champion B.J. Penn’s logo of “Penn State of Mind” has the same font as Penn State University. I’m waiting for the copyright infringement lawsuit to kick in sooner than later.

11:18 p.m.: Penn strikes first by catching the leg of Florian, and pins him against the fence. Penn throws an elbow as the fighters separate. The crowd shouts, “B.J.”

11:20 p.m.: Penn keeps Florian pinned against the fence, throwing several knees to Florian’s midsection. Florian scraps his way out and breaks free.

11:21 p.m.: Rogan is noticing Penn is looking tired already with about 45 seconds left in the first round and wonders if Penn’s new conditioning regime is working against him.

11:22 p.m.: Penn lands a good punch as the first round ends. Rogan says he is breathing heavily, but not too bad.

11:23 p.m.: The fighters size each other and they swap blows before Florian pins Penn against the fence. Florian throws a couple of left uppercuts to Penn’s face, but the champ is still going.

11:26 p.m.: Florian goes for a takedown, but Pen keeps fighting him off. It could be wearing Penn down, and could work in Florian’s favor in the later rounds.

11:27 p.m.: Penn lands a left hook, but Florian stands his ground. Florian counters with a couple of kicks to Penn’s left knee, trying to wear him down.

11:28 p.m.: The second round ends. Penn landed a couple of good punches, but Florian is still standing and looking fresh.

11:30 p.m.: The third round begins and this is where Penn must prove he is still the man, since he tends to wear down late in fights.

11:32 p.m.: Florian keeps Penn pinned against the fence, and Penn tries punching his way out. The fighters separate and return to full standing.

11:33 p.m.: The fighters are dancing in the middle of the ring before Florian goes for the tackle and pins Penn to the fence. Penn lands a good knee and right hand and breaks free, temporarily tying Florian up before he gets away.

11:34 p.m.: Florian keeps up his same strategy pinning Penn against the fence before the champ throws a couple of good punches to get away.

11:35 p.m. The third round ends as Florian tries to land a roundhouse kick. Penn looks like he took the third round with the last 30 seconds of punches he landed.

11:36 p.m.: Round four, and could it be desperation time for Florian? Florian attacks and almost gets caught with a Penn punch. The continued pinning of Penn against the fence might wear Penn down.

11:37 p.m.: Penn takes down Florian to the floor with a jiu-jitsu move. He keeps up the pressure with several short elbows to Florian’s head.

11:38 p.m.: Penn goes for the pass, with Florian keeping himself alive by grabbing Penn’s ankle. Penn lands more short elbows to Florian’s cheek, wearing him down.

11:39 p.m.: Penn is now going for the choke after landing several punches. He is starting to get the upper hand. So much for the conditioning concerns.

11:40 p.m.: Penn gets his chokehold set up, and Florian is out as he taps out. B.J. Penn wins and keeps his title!

11:41 p.m.: UFC chairman Dana White wraps the title belt around Penn’s waist as ring announcer Bruce Buffer announces the win.

11:42 p.m.: “This is my dream!” Penn says.

That’s all from Iowa City (via Philadelphia on pay-per-view). Thanks for reading.

National League All-Star Ballot

2009-07-07T05:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, we looked at my picks for the American League All-Star team.

Now is the senior circuit's picks, at least how they should be:

First base: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Prince Fielder of the Brewers puts up a pretty good fight with a .306 average and 20 home runs, as does the Rockies' Todd Helton with a .312 BA. But Pujols' .337 average and 30 home runs (as of July 2) are the closest we get to a gimme up on the National League side.

Second base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Solid choice (.301 BA, 17 HR) in a weak field.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
A bright spot for a team that has had its troubles.

Third base: David Wright, New York Mets
Ordinarily, the Cubs' Aramis Ramirez would have been the gimme pick here, especially with a .366 average. However, that came before he went on the disabled list on May 9, and he hasn't returned until this week. That leaves David Wright and his .340 average.

Catcher: Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants
A tough pick in an extremely weak field. Molina's only batting .259, but his 10 home runs and 46 RBIs puts him in.

Outfielders: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks; Carlos Lee, Houston Astros; Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
All three are hitting over .300. Lee has been killer for some time, and shines as a testament to a bad trade by the White Sox. Ibanez's .312 average and 22 HR and Upton's .309 BA and 14 HR put them in.

American League All-Star Ballot

2009-07-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

Next week is the 2009 edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Selections for both teams often are controversial because they are picked by the fans, leaving it more of a popularity contest rather than one based on the merits of the players.

With that, this is the ballot I submitted last week on the fan balloting on MLB.com before voting closed at the end of the day Thursday, July 2. Today we will cover the American League, and tomorrow the National League.

First, the junior circuit:

First Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
This was somewhat of a tough call between Cabrera and the Red Sox's Kevin Youkilis. Both have comparable stats (Cabrera: .331 batting avrage with 16 home runs, Youkilis: .314 BA with 14 HR). It could be made even more complicated with Minnesota's Justin Morneau (.309 average with 19 HR) thrown in the mix.

In the end, I used the Most Valuable Player criteria. Could the Red Sox do as well without Youkilis? More than likely. The Tigers don't do as well without Cabrera.

Second base: Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
This is based on overall skill and best stats. Hill has a .301 average with 19 home runs. The Yankees' Robinson Cano comes close (.300 average and 12 home runs).

Shortstop: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
We'll call him the sexy choice, because he has been consistently good (.309 BA, 9 HR this year) for several years. It was hard to ignore Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett's .362 average, but the three-week stint on the disabled list kills his selection.

Third base: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Purely statistically driven in a weak field. Longoria's .297 average and 16 home runs puts him over despite the Blue Jays' Scott Rolen's .333 average.

Catcher: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
No contest here. When you got a player hitting to close .400 (.392 as of July 2) like Mauer, he must be picked, no questions asked.

Outfielders: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners; Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels; Johnny Dye, Chicago White Sox
Ichiro and Torii Hunter were gimmes, but Dye was a tougher pick over the Yankees' Johnny Damon and the Orioles' Andruw Jones.

Tomorrow we will look

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century.

Running laps around the Web...

2009-07-03T09:06:00.006-05:00

-- A Cubs fan in Buffalo Grove, Ill., has taken drastic measures to turn around the Cubs' season, vowing to eat only 500 calories a day until the Cubs either win five games in a row or end their season. It might be a long rest of the summer.

-- A detailed look at the frustrations of following this year's Cubs (Warning: Strong language).

-- A more positive look at the Cubs' season: They are only 2.5 games out of first after last night's 9-5 win over the Brewers, the same distance they were on May 8 when Aramis Ramirez went on the disabled list with a dislocated shoulder.

-- Sports Illustrated takes a look at Aplington-Parkersburg High football coach Ed Thomas, who was gunned down last week while supervising his team's off-season workouts.

-- A debate on how the Blackhawks have done in the free agent market so far, especially in light of signing Marian Hossa to a 12-year deal.

-- Former Bulls and now Pistons guard Ben Gordon takes some parting shots at his former club.

-- The Bears apparently have given up chasing troubled ex-Giants WR Plaxico Burress.

U.S. soccer gain respect

2009-07-02T12:48:00.004-05:00

The U.S. soccer team made a big splash last week when it snuck into the semifinals of the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

After losing 3-1 to Italy and 3-0 to Brazil, the U.S. looked dead in the water, and calls began coming in for the job of coach Bob Bradley. Going into its last game on June 21, the Americans would need a miracle to advance in that they had to beat Egypt by at least three goals and hope Brazil beat Italy by the same margin.

That miracle did, with the U.S.A. and Brazil both winning 3-0, and the Americans found their way into a semifinal match-up on June 25 with top-rated Spain, who were riding a 15-game winning streak and a 35-game unbeaten streak that dated back to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The miracle happens again, as the U.S. stunned the Spaniards 2-0 on goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, prompting headlines in the Spanish media such as "The United States destroys the legend of Spain" in El Mundo.

The difference-maker, however, was goalkeeper Tim Howard. A star with Everton in the English Premier League, Howard stopped 29 shots and what seemed to be a constant possession of the ball by the Spanish to help lead the U.S. into its first ever final in a FIFA tournament against Brazil on Sunday.

Lightning almost struck again as Altidore and Landon Donovan struck during the first half, giving the Americans an unlikely 2-0 lead at halftime. Could it happen? Could the U.S. actually beat the world's best, even if it was a tournament that is somewhat lightly regarded because it was seen more as a warm-up for next year's World cup and a test to see whether South Africa could actually pull off a world-caliber tournament?

Alas, as one reader mentioned in an e-mail to ESPN's Bill Simmons, the barrage of bullets finally struck Tim Howard. Brazil scored its first goal of the game barely two minutes into the second half, deflating any momentum the Americans had. Another Brazilian goal by Luis Fabiano came at the 73rd minute, and the game-winner followers 11 minutes later, sealing the victory and Brazil's third Confederations Cup title.

What does this mean for U.S. soccer? Does this mean the Americans can finally compete on the world stage, like was thought after the 2002 World Cup when the U.S. advanced to the final eight? That elusive tournament title remains out of reach, but if anything, the Americans gained respect.

However, to keep that respect, Bob Bradley and company are going to have to figure out a way to keep possession of the ball a little longer. Brazil kept the ball for most of the game, launching 35 shots at the goal. Eventually, Howard is going to crack, and he finally did in the final. Most winning teams, no matter the sport, tend to hang on to the ball. F.C. Barcelona, for example, tends to have possession of the ball for anywhere from 60 to 70 percent of the time, and that had to have helped them win the UEFA Champions League, Spanish League and Spanish Copa del Rey titles this past year.

Simply put, you can't score without the ball, and you can't win unless you score. It doesn't get much simpler than that, and Bradley and company will have to figure out how to solve that problems if they expect to first qualify for next summer's World Cup back in South Africa, and advance far, even possibly, miracle of miracles, winning that elusive trophy and stunning the world once again.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century.

Cubs starting to show signs of life

2009-06-22T05:00:00.004-05:00

About this time last week, we were all starting to wonder if the Cubs had any heart left in them.

Sure, one of their biggest hitters, 3B Aramis Ramirez, has been out since May 9 with a dislocated shoulder, and likely won't be back until after the All-Star break. The Cubs also have dealt with a series of nagging injuries to Milton Bradley, Carlos Zambrano and others.

Good teams battle through these obstacles, though. And after their 4-1 loss to the White Sox Wednesday at Wrigley Field despite an unexpected day off thanks to the rain on Tuesday, that listlessness continued, and many, including yours truly, were beginning to wonder if we should write off the rest of the season.

However, starting Thursday, the Cubs showed that we can be a little fickle at times.

The Cubs fell behind 5-0 to the White Sox going into the bottom of the eighth inning, and it was starting to look like more of the same. But Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto hit back-to-back home runs, and Alfonso Soriano hit in the game-winning run in the ninth inning to win, 6-5.

The next day, the Cubs welcomed the Cleveland Indians and former teammates Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa, both of whom got warm welcomes from the Wrigley faithful. The Tribe went up 7-0 in the fourth inning, and it was starting to look like the same old Cubs we had come to expect during the last six weeks. But they chipped away, and got four in the seventh inning and another in the eighth inning to cut it to 7-6. Wood gets the call to put the game away in the ninth, but Lee comes through, hitting his second home run of the game to tie things up. In the tenth, after Soriano walks, he shows off some of the speed we had been wondering about and stole second before scoring on a bad-hop single by Ryan Theriot for the Cubs' win, 8-7.

Saturday was more of the same for Wood, who came in the bottom of the 13th inning to try to seal a 5-4 win for the Indians. But he missed again, giving up a game-tying single to Andres Blanco before throwing a wild pitch that saw Blanco score the winning run, giving the Cubs a 6-5 win. Sunday was more decisive, with the Cubs winning 6-2, leaving the Cubs at 34-31 with a four-game winning streak and only 2.5 games behind St. Louis, who took over first place from the Brewers over the weekend by feasting on Kansas City pitching, including an 12-5 win Sunday.

The point behind this weekend wrap-up. With no sense of bias and homerism, the Cubs are definitely still in contention, and never were really out of it during this slump. Granted, they have had a lot of help from the Brewers, Cardinals and Reds not keeping up their winning ways all that much, but the Cubs are still in this thing.

Can Pedro help the Cubs?

2009-06-19T05:00:00.001-05:00

The Cubs are reportedly one of two teams, along with the Tampa Bay Rays, who are pursuing former All-Star pitcher Pedro Martinez .

The 37-year-old Martinez, who has been a free agent after his tenure with the Mets ended after last year, has been working out in his native Dominican Republic. According to ESPN, he is hoping to sign with a team that has a chance to win the pennant.

Whether the Cubs should sign him is a mixed bag, with arguments strong on both sides:

Martinez, during 17 seasons in the majors, is 214-99 in stints with the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox and most recently, the Mets.

But he is 37 years old.

He has shown signs of life during his most recent stint in New York, winning 15 games during his first season there in 2005. He also showed he might still be able to be a productive pitcher during this spring's World Baseball Classic, throwing six scoreless inning of one-hit in two appearances for the Dominican Republic team.

But those last four years in New York were plagued with injuries. Though he won 15 games in 2005, his innings dropped significantly the next three years, including only 32 innings that saw three wins in 2007 and five wins last year in 109 innings.

He could be a sign that the Cubs are still trying to win something this season despite being 31-31 and four games out of first place after yesterday's 6-5 win over the crosstown White Sox.

But he hasn't pitched in the majors during the entire year.

He has a World Series title under his belt, having helped the Red Sox win their first one since 1918 in 2004. Out of the current Cubs players, only Derrek Lee (2003 with Florida), Ted Lilly (2000 with the Yankees), Aaron Miles (2006 with St. Louis), and Alfonso Soriano (2000 with the Yankees) have been on World Series champion teams.

But starting pitching is actually one of the strengths of this Cubs team. Hitting and the bullpen are areas that should be addressed.

However, starting pitcher Rich Harden has been plagued with a bad back for the better part of the year, and you can never have too much starting pitching.

Will the Cubs actually go forward and sign Pedro Martinez? Not the best player available, but he couldn't hurt and might actually still have some gas left in the tank. He just might be the final piece that could help the Cubs turn this season around.

Did he earn the contract extension?

2009-06-18T05:00:00.002-05:00

The term of Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard has been a point of contention and debate among Cyclone fans ever since he came to the job in 2005, when he took over for the departed Gene Smith.

When the Des Moines Register posted the story Monday that Pollard had signed a two-year contract extension, extending his deal with ISU to 2014, the first commenter on the story knew the heated debate was coming:

wdmguy1 wrote:

5... 4... 3... 2...
6/15/2009 10:28:40 AM

The very next poster said ISU fans should stop all donations to the Cyclone athletic department until Pollard was gone, saying the entire department has experienced nothing but losing since he arrived.

But has that been the case?

Well, since his arrival in the fall of 2005, ISU's fortunes have been less than stellar. The football team was coming off four bowl games in five years, the best stretch it had experienced since the 1970s. It was an improvement at that, since it had won two of those games, including the 2004 Independence Bowl over Miami of Ohio. Dan McCarney was becoming the best coach in ISU history.

However, after one more bowl game in 2005 (a 27-24 loss to Texas Christian in the Houston Bowl), the Cyclones slipped to 4-8 the following year, and McCarney, replaced by Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik. Chizik was even worse, winning only five games in two years before he left to become the head coach back at Auburn, stunning everyone, including Pollard.

The basketball team came into the 2005-06 season ranked in the preseason top 25, coming a year in which it made the second round of the NCAA tournament and three starters returning. However, the Cyclones finished 16-14 overall and 6-10 in the Big 12, missing out on the NCAA Tournament and coach Wayne Morgan being relieved of his coaching duties.

Greg McDermott was brought in from in-state rival Northern Iowa, and things have not improved, as the Cyclones finished 15-16 (6-10 in Big 12 play) in 2006-07, 14-18 (4-12 in Big 12) in 2007-08, and last season, 15-17 (4-12 in Big 12).

There have been some bright spots, though, as the women's basketball team under Bill Fennelly made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament last year and the wrestling team still contending for the national title. That team, however, lost coach and legend Cael Sanderson over the season as he moved on to a better offer at Penn State.

Is there hope for the ISU athletic department? Paul Rhoades, a native of Ankeny, Iowa, is the new football coach, and could bring in a new attitude. All-Big 12 basketball player and AP honorable mention All-American Craig Brackins was convinced to stay for his senior season.

Plus, and this may have been the biggest reason for Pollard's retention, but the overall athletic program is starting to show signs it might even remotely compete with its bigger brethren in the Big 12 like Nebraska and Texas. Jack Trice Stadium is receiving a face lift, with a wider concourse introduced for this upcoming season and plans to enclose the south end zone with seats, increasing capacity. A new practice facility for the men's and women's basketball teams also is in the works.

So which is more important for an AD: wins or money to expand the facilities? Considering ISU has been operating on the smallest athletic budget in the Big 12 for some time, it may just be a matter of wait and see on whether Pollard has delivered on what he was hired to do.

However, if the teams, especially the football team and men's basketball team, don't begin to win sometime in the near future, Pollard may not make it to the end of the contract.

Sammy Sosa juicing confirmed?

2009-06-17T05:00:00.003-05:00

A New York Times article released Tuesday said that former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was among 104 baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

Citing lawyers with knowledge of the test results, the article claims Sosa, who helped reignite interest in baseball during 1998's pursuit of the single season home run record with Mark McGwire, tested for an unspecified drug. He joins McGwire, current home run champ Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez as current or recent stars who have been linked for PEDs.

Assuming this is true, the revelation does serious damage to Sosa in two ways. One, the possibility of his being inducted into the Hall of Fame is seriously diminished, despite his being sixth on the all-time home run list with 609 dingers. McGwire, who finished with 583 home runs, including a then-record 70 in 1998, has been rejected in each of the three years he has been on the ballot. It also puts Sosa in danger of being charged with perjury following his denial of using PEDs in a Congressional hearing in 2005.

What does the article mean? Sosa has been linked to PEDs for some time during the last several years, especially after the 2003 season in which he served a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat, yet helped the Cubs come within five outs of making it to their first World Series since 1945. Whether this report confirms those suspicions remains to be seen. The sad thing is nobody is really shocked by the report, ranging from players to former Cubs broadcaster and current White Sox announcer Steve Stone.

The biggest problem with this report is that it is anonymous. No one is cited on the record as saying that Sosa did indeed test positive for the drugs. While this has been used in previous newspaper reports to great effect (see Watergate, for example), it does have some problem because of the possibility that, like an poster on an Internet forum, any person can say anything about anybody or anything and still remain anonymous, regardless of whether they are telling the truth or not. In this case, it might be best until Sosa is formally charged or confirmed that he did indeed test positive.

Regardless, the report is another black mark on what was supposed to be the rejuvenation era of baseball following the 1994 strike that cancelled the World Series that year. It also will continue to cast suspicion and doubt on who really is using PEDs and who is actually clean and doing things the way they're supposed to.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century.

Is the headache worth a good wide receiver?

2009-06-16T05:00:00.013-05:00

One of two potential headache players could be headed to Chicago in the coming weeks.

The Bears, along with the Jets and Buccaneers, are reportedly the main teams interested in signing former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress, as you may recall, missed the last five games of the 2008 season after he shot himself in the leg while at a nightclub, leading to his eventually being released by the Giants on April 3. He now faces up to 3.5 years in prison on a weapons charge after the incident.

His stats are something to behold. While his 2008 season was basically a wash-out thanks to the gunshot, in 2007 he caught 70 passed for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns while helping lead the Giants to their upset Super Bowl win over the then-undefeated New England Patriots.

Right now, his attorney is trying to work out a deal that will at least keep Burress out of jail for the 2009 season, and possibly get the weapons charge reduced to the point where he only get probation. That includes Monday's news that the case was delayed until Sept. 23. There also is the possibility that Commissioner Roger Goodell could suspend Burress for all or part of the season for the incident.

If not Burress, then who does new QB Jay Cutler get to throw to? ESPN's Jeff Dickerson reports that while early reviews of the Bears' current receiving corp of Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Brandon Rideau and Johnny Knox have been good so far, they are at best unprovable and at worst not going to be good enough targets for Cutler.

One possibility could be former Jaguars' WR Matt Jones, who caught 65 passes for 761 yards last year. He was released by the Jaguars after he got busted for possession of cocaine, and likely will avoid suspension by the NFL higher-ups, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Like I mentioned on Friday, Chicago is a town known for embracing controversial and potentially troubled athletes.

Dennis Rodman, for example, spent three years in Chicago with the Bulls, from the 1995-96 to 1997-98 seasons. He was, shall we say, colorful and controversial, doing everything from kicking a cameraman during a game to wearing a wedding dress to promote his autobiography in 1996.

However, he was a beast on the boards, averaging more than 15 rebounds a game as he played a big role in helping the Bulls win NBA titles all three years he was in town.

The Bears aren't looking for any choirboys, though it would be nice to hear what your wide receiver is up to on the practice field rather than the courtroom or commissioner's office.

Could Burress or Jones be the answer? Jones has the potential, mainly because he is healthy and not nearly as distracted as Burress, who with delays, likely will have the prospect of prison time hanging over his head for the season and potentially making him largely ineffective. That is also assuming he remains healthy and that the 2007 season was not a fluke.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Cubs vs. Sox - The real challenge

2009-06-15T05:00:00.011-05:00

Tuesday marks the first game of the three games of the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox at Wrigley Field.

Now there is the matter of which is the better team. We can't rely too much on the current records. The Cubs are 30-30 after avoiding a sweep in this past weekend's home series against the Twins, while the Sox have fallen on hard times taking two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee . While the season's not quite over, both teams have a lot of catching up if they're going to still be playing in October.

That leaves the intangibles, or the other things that we have to look at to determine which is the better team.

Uniforms
With a nod to Uni Watch, we look first at the aesthetics of the teams.

Both sport the pinstripes at home, the Cubs since 1957, the Sox since the last few games of 1990 in their current form. The Cubs have largely kept the same main logo since the 1950s, while the Sox have undergone several changes in that same time period, though they have largely kept their current logo and colors since just before moving into the new Comiskey Park in 1991.

Both look sharp at the current time.

PICK: Draw

Stadiums
This is where it has the potential to get ugly in the fight between Cubs and Sox fans.

One of the main strikes against the Sox is they have a corporate-sponsored name for their ballpark, U.S. Cellular Field. Granted, the name was taken in part to help fund $68 million in improvements to the ballpark.

However, they wouldn't have had to fund those improvements if they had built the place the right way the first time. When it opened in 1991, the then-new Comiskey Park was a concrete, soulless place with an upper deck that stretched 29 rows up and was so steep that it winded my very healthy Marine father as he climbed to the 25th row. Yes, it brought the pinwheel, exploding scoreboard from the old park, but it lacked any character or comfort until the renovations, which chopped nine rows from the upper deck and put in black arches over the top to make it more cozy.

Wrigley Field, on the other hand, is considered a cathedral of everything that is good in baseball. Yes, it has had some structure problems that have caught up with a park open since 1914, and men's urinals are troughs. But it still retains the old charm with more day games than most teams, the manual scoreboard and the marquee in a place that with few exceptions (like lights installed in 1988, the last team to do so), is much like it was in the 1940s.

Plus, I've never heard the Cell mentioned as a destination like Wrigley Field, which is kept in a neighborhood rather than fenced off from the outside world like Sox Park is.

PICK: Cubs

Managers
Here the teams are similar in that they both have fiery men as their leaders.

Cubs managers Lou Pinella is one of the bigger managerial names in baseball, having managed and won in just about every place he has gone. He spent time with the Yankees, Reds (winning the World Series in 1990), Mariners (first division title in team history in 1995), Devil Rays (nobody could help them at the time) and now the Cubs, whom he has led to division crowns in 2007 and 2008. He also has retained the same passion, taking on umpires and players in the same fashion as ever.

Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen is one of the more popular players to ever play for the Southsiders, and he was an interesting pick when he took over after the 2003 season. He has kept himself in the limelight, constantly baiting opposing players and his own players to keep them on their toes. In his first managerial job, he has kept up a winner, leading the Sox to a World Series title in 2005, his second year on the job.

Experience vs. a world title? Tough call.

PICK: Draw

History
Both teams have been around for what seems to be forever, the Cubs born in 1876 with the start of the National League, and the Sox in 1901 with the American League. Both have had fairly sad histories, going decades between championships and only winning five titles between them in their histories.

The Sox, while colorful, have been fairly quiet in their history in the World Series, making it to only five title matches in their history (1906, 1917, 1919, 1959 and 2005). The Cubs have been to 10 in their time (1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945), with both teams being dominant early in the 1900s.

That's where the similarities end. The Sox likely would have four titles to their credit if not for the Black Sox scandal of 1919, but they have been to two World Series since World War II and won one in the last 30 years (2005). The Cubs, on the other hand, have not been to a World Series since 1945 (the year World War II ended) and not won one since 1908 (when Theodore Roosevelt was President of the United States).

PICK: White Sox

Who wins this year? That is why they play the game on the field. However, if the Cubs' bats can finally wake up and the bullpen can finally get somebody, we'll have to give this round to the Northsiders.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Was bringing in Bradley a mistake?

2009-06-12T20:51:00.007-05:00

Was the Cubs bringing in Milton Bradley over the last season a mistake?

More and more, it is starting to seem that way. The way this season has gone for him, and by extension for the Cubs, it is becoming more and more obvious that hiring Bradley as the new right fielder was the wrong move.

He wasn't exactly an angel prior to this season, during stints with the Dodgers, Indians, Athletics, and last year, the Rangers. In fact, it was his 2008 campaign in Arlington, where he batted .321 with 22 home runs and 77 RBIs in 126 games, that encouraged Jim Hendry to give him $30 million to play right field much of the time.

But prior to that, he was known as being a hothead and injury-prone. In September 2007 with the Padres, he tore his ACL while arguing with an umpire. Last year with the Rangers, he went after a Royals TV announcer because he didn't like comments the broadcaster was making up about him.

But that could have been overlooked. Chicago is a very forgiving town when it comes to passionate and colorful players (see Dennis Rodman during the 1990s with the Bulls, and to a lesser degree, Carlos Zambrano now with the Cubs).

However, that is dependent on if the player is productive and helps the team win. Big Z, while not getting into fights with teammates (see Michael Barrett incident in June 2008) and destroying Gatorade coolers, is productive, including only giving up three hits in eight innings the other night in Houston (The Cubs lost, though, thanks to that shaky bullpen and no run support, again). Bradley has yet to produce, so far only batting .224 with five home runs in only 45 games.

Today's game against the Twins showed deficiencies in other areas. While he did manage to go 2 for 4 with two RBIs, he lost a fly ball in the sun, didn't catch a blooper that cost the Cubs a run, and made a base-running error.

The biggest gaffe, though, came in the eighth inning, when after catching a fly ball from Twins catcher Joe Mauer, tossed the ball into the right field bleachers despite the catch only making it two outs. He, of course, was booed lustily by the Cubbie faithful.

Do the Cubs cut their losses and let Bradley go, perhaps letting last year's big acquistion, Kosuke Fukudome, tend to right field?

If they're smart, Wrigley Field will be the latest one-year stop for Milton Bradley.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Da Notebook - June 11, 2009

2009-06-11T07:00:00.002-05:00

Cubs
-- The good news from Houston Wednesday night: Carlos Zambrano was his strong self, pitching eight innings and giving up only three hits and one run. The bad news: Outside of Geovany Soto's one-run home run in the second inning, the Cubs' bats go silent again as they lose to the Astros 2-1.
-- I've always said the Cubs sending Mark DeRosa to Cleveland during the off-season was a mistake. Considering the Cubs' lack of consistent hitting this year, it's proving to hang over the Northsiders in a bad way.
-- Current standings: 29-27, fourth place in NL Central, 2.5 games behind Milwaukee; fifth place in NL wild card, 1.5 games behind New York Mets.

White Sox
-- Pitcher John Danks had his best outing of the season Wednesday at U.S. Cellular Field, allowing only two runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings, but Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander keeps the Sox batters under control as the Tigers win, 2-1.
-- In the same game, Paul Konerko hurt his thumb again, meaning he likely will miss some games.
-- Current standings: 27-33, third place in AL Central, 6.5 games behind Detroit; seventh place in AL wild card, 7.5 games behind New York Yankees.

Bears
-- Thanks to trading for QB Jay Cutler, Athlon Sports is picking the Bears to win the NFC North. Considering the Packers and Vikings are not all that competitive, and we won't bother with the Lions, this isn't all that awe-inspiring.
-- Do the Bears have adequate backup QBs for Cutler?

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Picking major leaguers of the future?

2009-06-10T11:17:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was the first round of the 2009 edition of the Major League Baseball draft, and both the Cubs and White Sox went after long-term needs.

How effective the picks will be in the future is a little hard to predict since unlike football and basketball and to a lesser extent, hockey, baseball drafts tend to be more of the long-term investment variety.

First, the Cubs went with California outfielder Brett Jackson with the 31st pick of the draft. Only 20 years and a junior, he is the third position player taken by the Northsiders in the last four drafts. He also is a left-handed lead-off man who hit .326 with a .416 on-base percentage, .568 slugging percentage and 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts over 46 games during the last season. He also was ranked as the second-best overall athlete among college players by Baseball America.

The Sox also went with an outfield, selecting LSU OF Jared Mitchell with the 23rd pick in the first round. With Mitchell, who is only 20 years old, the Southsiders add speed and quickness, a hallmark of Ozzie Guillen's term as manager and something they will need as players like Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye get on in years and look to retirement.

Will either player help their new teams in the future? Only time will tell. As has been said before, the baseball draft does not often promise immediate results that football and basketball can.

Last year's number one for the Cubs, pitcher Andrew Cashner of Texas Christian University, is now pitching with the High-A Daytona Cubs in the Florida State League, though the Sox's top pick, Georgia OF Gordon Beckham, recently was called up to the big club as part of the team's "youth movement." The jury is still out on whether Beckham can handle big league pitching after only 59 games in the minors.

The status of the last few years' picks also prove hit or miss:

Cubs 2007: Cypress (Calif.) High 3B Josh Vitters, picked number three overall, is at Class A Peoria, but looking to possibly make a move up soon, says the Chicago Tribune.

White Sox 2007: P Aaron Poreda also was recently called up to the big club.

The previous years have been hit or miss. Cubs 2006 pick, OF Tyler Colvin, is at AA Tennessee, though likely to move up thanks to the Cubs' outfield troubles, while the Sox's 2004 pick, 3B Josh Fields, is sweating it out under Guillen's regime. Other Cubs top picks like P Kerry Woods (1995), P Mark Prior (2001) and OF Corey Patterson (1998), made some noise for a couple of years, but were ineffective after a short time and have since moved on.

With this year's class, we'll wait and see what happens.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Da Notebook - June 10, 2009

2009-06-10T10:39:00.006-05:00

We're back and it's time to get started again.

Cubs
-- Ted Lilly provides the pitching and the big bat in leading the Cubs to a 7-1 win over the Astros in Houston Tuesday night. Coupled with losses by the Cardinals and Brewers, the Cubs are now in second place behind the Brewers and by a percentage point over the Cardinals and Reds.

-- Could the Cubs have their third baseman of the future in Josh Vitters? The Chicago Tribune thinks so, though the writer cautions against bringing somebody up so young too quick (he's 19 and playing at Class A Peoria right now).

White Sox
-- Paul Konerko hit a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings, but the White Sox ultimately fall to the Tigers, 7-6, Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field after a controversial call that said pinch runner Dewayne Wise was out at home plate trying to score the game-winning run.

Bears
-- The Jay Cutler saga continues for the Bears, as both coaching legend Mike Ditka and Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy question whether the Bears got what they bargained for in acquiring the Pro Bowl quarterback in February for Kyle Orton and draft picks. Ditka says Cutler still has to prove himself before being considered among the Bears' all-time greats, while Dungy said the Bears gave up a lot for a QB who has yet to prove himself great.

-- Former Bear Roland Harper gets probation and a year of house arrest in a case that he allegedly acted as a front man in a $1.5 million fraud involving a landscaping contract for Chicago public schools.

- Jarrett Payton, the son of the late, great Walter Payton, has signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Bulls
-- Former Bulls and Iowa State coach Tim Floyd resigned from his post as head basketball coach at USC Tuesday in the midst of a scandal that he allegedly provided money to associates of former player O.J. Mayo to get the phenom to sign with the Trojans.

-- Bulls guard Ben Gordon is not acting like a man planning to leave.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Coming back soon!!!

2009-06-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hey. Be sure to keep checking back here. Wait Til next Century! is coming back soon!

Tired of Brett Favre? So is he...

2008-08-04T12:13:00.004-05:00

SI.com's Hot Clicks featured this video today, a parody of Adolf Hitler screaming about the excessive coverage of the Brett Favre saga on ESPN in recent weeks.

Two things: 1) It's pretty dang funny, and 2) Hitler as a Packer fan? No comment there.

Here's the clip (warning: vulgar language):

R.I.P. George Carlin (1937-2008)

2008-06-23T08:11:00.000-05:00

I awoke to the news this morning that comedian George Carlin died last night of a heart condition.

Carlin, along with Richard Pryor, was known for observations on life peppered with shall we say some strong language. He was best known for his bits on seven words you cannot use as well as more recently a bit on views against any religion.

However, he was also funny at times. In his memory, here is perhaps his funniest, a comparison of football vs. baseball:

Take me to the year 1948...

2008-06-15T11:55:00.004-05:00

Many of us, including me (thanks to covering the flood here in Iowa, missed an interesting broadcast on Thursday when WGN broadcast the Braves at Cubs game from Wrigley Field in the way they would show the games in 1948, the first year they began to show Cubs baseball.

The Cubs and Braves, wearing their uniforms from that year (no pinstripes for the Cubbies, the Braves known as the Boston Braves), were shown in black and white for a few innings. Broadcasters Len Kasper and Bob Brenly wore the suits they wore in '48, as did some fans. The graphics were the same as they were then, with line across the top of the screen constantly showing the screen (To help fans accustomed to this, they regularly showed the scoreboard).

By the way, the Cubs won 3-2. Way different from 1948, when the Braves won the National League pennant and the Cubs finished in last place, three years removed from their last World Series appearance and 40 years after their last World Series championship.

It's all about the marketing...

2008-05-30T23:06:00.001-05:00

I was watching SportsNite on Comcast SportsNet Chicago tonight when they ran another commercial touting tickets to the White Sox. That got me thinking about how different teams try to market themselves.

First, I wondered if the Cubs ever do any marketing. After asking my wife if she's ever seen more, I came to the conclusion that this is their entire marketing budget:

Chicago Cubs baseball: Wrigley Field.

Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Cubs are winning, or that they became obscenely popular during the 1980s and 1990s during the Harry Caray years even while fielding some pretty pathetic teams.

But for those who do advertising, here are some of the best out there, starting with the White Sox, who have had some pretty creative pieces, including this one from this year:

The Minnesota Twins had a fun one (a nice poke at the rival Cleveland Indians) with this spot. However, you can't beat singing at the ole ballpark as part of their "This is Twins Territory" campaign:

The Mariners had a bunch of good ones a couple of years ago, including this piece of work featuring the glove of Adrian Beltre:

Others of note include the Kansas City Royals, including a spot touting the new Jumobtron Scoreboard as part of the renovations at Kauffman Stadium (and particularly funny now that it features Billy Butler who was sent down to AAA Thursday) hitting batting practice balls that destroy the old scoreboard).

You can't beat fun at the old ballpark, I guess...

Kansas wins national title

2008-04-08T01:14:00.000-05:00

The final score from San Antonio:

Kansas - 75
Memphis - 68 (OT)

Congraulations to the Kansas Jayhawks for winning their fourth national title in school history. It was a heck of a game, though.

Of course, for me as an Iowa State fan, this is bittersweet, as Kansas ranks up with the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Cardinals in terms of teams that I may respect, but still cannot like.

I also had trouble with Kansas winning because of Bill Self, who bolted Illinois for the KU job five years ago. Of course, the beauty part of this, if I want to be petty, is that he is the leading contender to become the next coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State. He of course says he won't leave, but this comment on the Sporting News story about the speculation says it all:

Self also told ORU he wasn't leaving, Tulsa he wasn't leaving, and Illinois wasn't leaving.

Regardless, Iowa State now has this to look forward to: the first national champion to contend with in conference play since, well, the last time Kansas won it in 1988 as a member of the Big Eight Conference.

Please let this happen...

2008-03-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

The Sun-Times is reporting Bears coach Lovie Smith visited former Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones Monday ahead of the NFL draft April 26 and 27. This could mean the end of Cedric Benson's short run as the Bears' main guy, which obviously never really worked out (too many injuries, too little effectiveness).

Whether the Bears could nab McFadden remains to be seen. Da Bears pick at number 14 in the draft, and McFadden is projected to go somewhere around picks 4 to 6 (currently owned by the Raiders, Chiefs and Jets). Plus, the Bears' main need still remains on the offensive line, which went from bad to worse during the course of last season.

Still, if the Arkansas phenom did find his way, we could envision a nice rivalry of running backs with the Vikings' Adrian Peterson, who tore up the league last year with 1,341 yards and 12 touchdowns (including a three-touchdown day at Soldier Field on Oct. 14) in route to the Rookie of the Year award.

Plus, he would be the most fun and um... interesting athlete since a certain Mr. Dennis Rodman.

Da notebook - March 24, 2008

2008-03-24T02:01:00.000-05:00

Blackhawks
-- The business section in Sunday's Chicago Tribune has an interesting look at new Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, who took over the team when his father, Bill Wirtz, died in October. In the last five months, he had revitalized the team, hiring president John McDonough away from the Cubs and beginning to restoke interest in hockey in a place where many thought it was dead.

-- The team also is near a deal to televise all 82 of its games next season, reports the Tribune's Teddy Greenstein. WGN and WPWR-50 are two possible stations to pick up the 30-odd games not currently covered by Comcast SportsNet and Versus

-- It was a good day as the Hawks beat St. Louis 5-4 on an overtime goal by Patrick Kane. The win puts Chicago within four points of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff with only six games to play

Cubs
-- In Mesa, Ariz., it looks like Kerry Wood has won the Cubs' closer job. At least until he gets hurt again.

-- At the same time, manager Lou Pinella is scheduled to announce on Monday whether Jason Marquis won a job in the starting rotation over former Ryan Dempster or new/old pickup Jon Lieber.

-- An injury to lefthander Scott Eyre and some suddenly free agent outfielders could lead to the Cubs picking up some centerfield depth, says the Sun-Times.

White Sox
-- The Sox will honor former great Harold Baines with a statue outside of U.S. Cellular Field on July 20, according to the Tribune.

Bulls
-- The Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti comments on the Bulls' plans to raise ticket prices even as the team continues to tank its season away in true Reinsdorf fashion and implodes in every unimagible way outside of the Knicks.

Iowa State & Iowa
-- The Cyclones' women's basketball team advanced past the first round Saturday, beati ng Georgia Tech in Des Moines. They play C. Vivian Stringer's Rutgers squad today.

-- Meanwhile, the Iowa women are out of the NCAA tournament after losing to Georgia in Norfolk, Va., while the Iowa wrestling team claims its first national title since 2000.

Big Ben is gone!

2008-02-22T00:35:00.000-06:00

The Bulls, as close to imploding as they are (if they haven't already), made a big move earlier today, trading away Big Ben Wallace to Cleveland as part of an 11-player deal also involving Seattle.

In the deal, according to the Chicago Tribune:

The Cavs get Wallace, Joe Smith and a second-round pick from the Bulls as well as Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from the SuperSonics. The SuperSonics gets Adrian Griffin from the Bulls and Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall from Cleveland. The Bulls in return get Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown from Cleveland. Of course, this is assuming the league, which K.C. Johnson of the Tribune expects it will.

In the end, this could be a good deal, but it has its bad points.

First, the Bulls give up on Wallace, who was brought in before the 2006-07 season for $60 million from the Pistons. Big Ben produced 6.4 points and 10.7 rebounds a game in his first year as a Bull, but dropped to 5.1 points and 8.8 boards this year. He had expected to be the missing piece in providing a quality big man to push Chicago back into championship contention since the Michael Jordan era.

The Bulls also lose out on Joe Smith, who was averaging 11.2 points a game and providing some nice stability and veteran leadership to a young team.

Both those guys go to defending conference champs Cleveland, who are currently fifth in the playoff seeding. Lebron James gets a solid big man to help him on the boards, and they get that same veteran leadership.

In return, the Bulls gets center Drew Gooden and guard Larry Hughes. I used to hate Gooden with a passion while I was attending Iowa State and he was starring at Kansas. Of course, I could probably say the same for Kirk Hinrich, and look where he wound up. Gooden was averaging 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. The Bulls trade a couple of rebounds for some more scoring than they had with Wallace. Plus, Big Drew is seven years younger than Wallace, and will be able to contribute more on a young team.

Larry Hughes could work or not (how's that for decisive!). The 9-year veteran is averaging 12.3 in 32 minutes a game, but is shooting about 38 percent from the field. His shot selection has been so horrid at times that a Cavs fan site called "Hey Larry Hughes, Please Stop Taking So Many Bad Shots" with the actual address of heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com was created (and they are now celebrating). Plus, Hughes has a monstrous contract ($12.3 million) and could push out Ben Gordon, who is a restricted free agent after this season. Plus Hinrich makes $10 million next season, Johnson said in the Tribune, so this is getting expensive.

It's a matter of waiting and seeing if owner Jerry Reinsdorf has raised the white flag again with John Paxson.

Giants win Super Bowl!

2008-02-04T01:34:00.000-06:00

Do you believe in miracles? The Giants have won the Super Bowl!

A contrast of two competing towns at Super Bowl XLII. First we have the front page of the Web site for the New York Daily News:

Then we have the front page of the Boston Globe, lamenting the end of the Patriots' run for a perfect season:

The New York Daily News's Gary Myers already is punching in with his 2008 predictions.

My question, though, is what will Bill Simmons and the Boston-loving bunch at ESPN say about this Monday. We can only wait and see.

Super Bowl predictions

2008-02-02T23:30:00.000-06:00

Super Bowl XLII is upon us, and it’s time for some predictions:

-- The Fox pre-game show will last a record 63 hours, leaving studio Terry Bradshaw sputtering like Dan Rather during coverage of the 2000 presidential election.

-- Bill Belichick will swipe his NFL-required game sponsored clothing with some homeless guy he meets in downtown Phoenix. The homeless guy is last seen hitching to Vegas wearing an ad for Reebok.

-- Tom Coughlin will attempt to crack an Elvis-type smile, and wind up on the Giants’ injured list.

-- During the national anthem, Fox will show the first of its 964 shots of Tom Brady’s girlfriend, model Giselle Bundchen.

-- The first of 23 replays of Peyton Manning winning last year’s Super Bowl will be shown, causing every Bears fan in Chicago to angrily swear under their breath at Rex Grossman.

-- The 1972 Miami Dolphins are spotted in the north end zone, rapidly stabbing the right shoulder of voodoo dolls of Brady.

-- Patriots defensive back Rodney Harrison gets the first of his three game misconduct after slapping Giants QB Eli Manning who kept asking him about performance-enhancing drugs.

-- Manning’s father and former Saints QB Archie Manning, especially after he storms the field to defend his son from Harrison. Harrison retaliates by wearing a paper bag on his head.

-- Oh yeah, and the game. The Patriots will narrowly achieve their perfect season, winning the game 20-19 after Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes invokes memories of Scott Norwood and misses a game winning 46-yard field goal that sails wide right.

Remembering Super Bowls of the past

2008-01-31T02:01:00.000-06:00

With the next Super Bowl coming up this Sunday, it brings to mind memories of Super Bowls past.

For instance, there was the first Super Bowl I truly cared about, the first season I truly cared about football and the first team I really got into. That was, of course, the 1985 Chicago Bears. A fun bunch, it featured a team so brash, so confident, that they recorded the ultimate team-based song that's ever been put down in a studio. That was the Super Bowl Shuffle:

As for Super Bowl XX itself (played on Jan. 26, 1986), I remember exactly where I was. I had just turned 10, and my dad and I wound up at this bar and grill called Cruisers in Beach Park, Ill. (Coincidently, we wound up moving into the house not even half a block away two years later). With a couple of Dad's friends from work, we grabbed our booth and watched the big game on the big screen. I sipped 7-Up the entire time, and I remember eating this rib dinner that was pretty good.

Besides the game itself, won by the Bears 46-10 over the hapless (at least that day) New England Patriots, I remember the game getting out of hand when somebody accidently changed the channel, and all of a sudden we were watching the Spanish-language soap opera. The entire restaurant howled, and the game was back on in no time.

I remember it was cold the next day, so cold in fact that Mom kept my brother Eric and me home from school. I remember watching the Bears' victory down Michigan Avenue in Chicago on TV that afternoon, a throng of people lining the streets and cheering their hearts out despite the cold. It was a fun year.

Last year and Super Bowl XLI was another memory. Since it was the Bears' first time in the Super Bowl in 21 years, I decided to be with the ones I had developed my fanhood with, my family. While the weather outside my parents' house in Zion, Ill., was -4 degrees, we were plenty warmed up with good food, Eric, his wife Dina, and their then 5-month-old daughter, Ashley, along with my parents and a friend of Eric's and mine from high school, Erick. With the Dos Equis beer readily available, we watched the Bears kick things off right with this play:

The memorable part of this was the aftermath. As Devin Hester finished his run, all of us were screaming and going nuts. Meanwhile, poor little Ashley, lying on a blanket on the floor, is going nuts, too - in a different way. She is scared to death, and her mother quickly rushed to comfort her.

We all decided then to try and behave ourselves and keep the screaming to a low roar the next time the Bears did something good. Fortunately for little Ashley, and unfortunately for the rest of us, that kickoff return was the highlight of the game, and Peyton Manning and the Colts picked the Bears apart and won the game, 29-17.

Unfortunately, I proved to be right when I predicted a downfall after the Bears traded running back Thomas Jones. Combined with a series of injuries to key players, and the inconsistency (to be kind) of quarterback Rex Grossman, da Bears ended the year 7-9, with only wins over the Packers and the Saints in the last two weeks enough to remember the season by.

Tis a shame.

Thanks, Sports Illustrated!

2008-01-29T16:25:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I posted about the best and worst performances of the Star-Spangled Banner. However, I lamented that I couldn't find video of what was probably the worst rendition ever, Carl Lewis before a Bulls-Nets at the Meadowlands in 1993.

However, two good things have happened since then. One, this site got a mention in SI.com's Hot Clicks (though they didn't link to this site). Second, they found the video of the Fast One, butchering our national anthem.

Thanks, SI!

Honoring our nation

2008-01-28T12:23:00.000-06:00

This Sunday, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XLII.

The Star-Spangled Banner can be a difficult song to pull off, though, and should be attempted on the high stage by only the best.

Otherwise, we get moments like these:

Roseanne Barr before a San Diego Padres game on July 26, 1990:

Current Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton got into the act last year, when she made his first appearance as a candidate in Iowa on Jan. 27, 2007. MSNBC's microphone picked her up singing along:

(On a side note, I know this isn't sports-related, but when I googled "bad national anthem singing," Hillary was at the top of the list. I kid you not.)

By the way, for the two or three readers of this site, I know you're wondering why I didn't include Carl Lewis' rendition before a Bulls-Nets game in 1993, but I couldn't find any video of it. I think he must have got ESPN to burn all copies of that tape.

The best renditions, though, depend on the time and place.

There was that stretch in January 1991, that produced not one but two memorable performances. The Persian Gulf War was on to oust Saddam Hussein and Iraq from Kuwait. The United States sent over hundreds of thousands of troops to do the job right. With the military response came a wave of support from Americans, including chill-inducing performances of the Star-Spangled Banner.

The first came on my 15th birthday, Jan. 21, 1991, at the NHL All-Star Game, played at perhaps the best hockey arena that was ever built, Chicago Stadium. In perhaps the greatest rendition of the national anthem ever, fan favorite Wayne Messmer sang his heart out, and the fans nearly drowned him out.

A week later, at Super Bowl XXV between the Giants and Bills at the Big Sombrero, Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Whitney Houston stepped out and belted out this number:

Granted, we found out later the song was pre-recorded, and she lip-synced the whole thing, but it did its job. A single of her version of the song actually became a minor hit for a couple of months after that.

But then there was Marvin Gaye at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Taking a funky, soulful approach, he turned Francis Scott Key's words into something more spiritual:

So go U.S.A.!

Media pokes, dumb team names, etc.

2008-01-24T02:50:00.000-06:00

With a slow time as we await the Super Bowl and the start of spring training, with a little bit of basketball and other sports thrown in, it's time for some links.

-- The WNBA announced today that its newest franchise will be the Atlanta Dream. According to a story on the new Dream Web site, the nickname was chosen because "Atlanta is a city of dreamers and this week we have had time to reflect on what it means to dream and what can happen when you do," according to owner Ron Terwilliger.

All this does is continue to make a mockery of a league that despite the deep-pocketed support of the obviously more successful NBA, still continues to struggle for respect as it enters its 12th season. After all, we're talking about a league that already has team names like the Chicago Sky (Motto: Stand tall), Detroit Shock (which goes for the double dumb title with a "HERstory" section on its Web site) and Connecticut Sun (named for the casino the team plays at).

Then again, we are talking about the NBA here, with its own, um, interesting names like the Utah Jazz (granted, the end result of the move of a team from New Orleans, but it doesn't make sense now), the Miami Heat (old joke on this is what's the singular of "Heat?" Hot?) and and its D-League teams like the Iowa Energy (it could've been worse - Corncobs was a finalist) and Bakersfield Jam (it sounds like a bad video game name).

I guess all of the cool animal names have been taken (Hold that thought - The Chicago Wolves' parent team is the Atlanta Thrashers, a rather non-threatening bird that I believe was chosen by founder and environmentalist Ted Turner because it is a threatened species).

-- Another poke at the New York-Boston regional network otherwise known as ESPN and other like-minded networks, from Pray for Mojo.

-- I watched much of last night's Bulls-Pacers game while checking out the NBA League Pass free preview on DirectTV. The game, won by the Bulls 108-95, came courtesy of 38 points from Kirk Hinrich and with two of their better players, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, out with injuries.

This has been what can be kindly called an inconsistent season from a team considered to be a favorite to go the NBA Finals this year. In January alone, they've had great wins over Miami (126-96 on Jan. 16) and Detroit (97-81 on Jan. 19)., but losses to freakin' Atlanta and a pathetic home loss on Jan. 18 to Golden State.

But maybe a turnaround is possible. The team nearly disintegrated earlier this month when rookie Joakim Noah was suspended for one game for fighting with interim coach Jim Boylan, then had the sentenced lengthened to two games by a vote of the veteran players. Noah then apparently had a blowup with veteran Ben Wallace following a 102-88 loss to Orlando on Jan. 16.

The more I think of this chain of events, the more I get to thinking about last year, when Cubs pitchers Carlos Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett fought in the dugout and clubhouse on June 1 and manager Lou Pinella was tossed from the game the next day. The Cubs, mired in a 6-15 slide at the time, turned things around and managed to win the NL Central title in the last weekend of the season.

Granted, the Cubs completely shut down in the playoffs, getting swept in a quick three games by Arizona (and denying me a chance to watch some Cubs playoff baseball with my newborn son at home). Hopefully, we won't see that with the Bulls.

Then again, they could just prove me wrong and we'll be paying so much attention to the Cubs and the Bears' draft in April that we won't care about the Bulls by then.

Brrrrr Green Bay!

2008-01-21T14:02:00.000-06:00

Super Bowl XLII's lineup is finally set, and ESPN and much of the east coast-based national media (this means you, ESPN) got its wish with the Giants and Patriots set to play in the Arizona desert on Feb. 3.

It was a fun ride Sunday as both games were pretty good, especially the NFC Conference Championship on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Since the Patriots were pretty much a foregone conclusion to make it to the big game, let's focus instead on what we could the upset of the month:

It was a crazy week in Green Bay leading up to Sunday's game. Maybe that snow storm that the Pack and the Seahawks played through on Jan. 12 was an indication of things to come, but it started getting a little weird up there in Cheeseheadland.

-- There was that little incident during that playoff game against the Seahawks where a man was arrested for taping a Packers jersey on his son after the boy apparently refused to wear it. According to WTMJ radio out of Milwaukee, the incident might have been the end result of something domestic brewing for some time.

Now I've joked about disowning my son if he ever becomes a Packer fan or begins to root for the University of Iowa, but there are limits. And needless to say, football is just a game.

-- But it was becoming more than a game for WLUK-TV, the Fox affiliate in Green Bay. After learning that "Seinfeld" is Giants QB Eli Manning's favorite show, station management decided to preempt its regular 5:30 p.m. showing of a "Seinfeld" rerun with something of the fan's choosing (my understanding is they opted to air a special on Packers coaching legend Vince Lombardi instead), all to disrupt Manning's preparation (since he would likely be relaxing in his hotel room before a team meeting) for the NFC title game the next day.

"We don't want to give any comfort to the enemy whatsoever when they come into town," WLUK general manager Jay Zollar said to Newsday. "We know laughter is good medicine, and we decided we're not going to give that to him."

It didn't work, as Eli was "master of his domain" (sorry, couldn't resist the joke) in beating the Packers the next day.

-- Some of that insanity must have seeped down from Cheeseland into Chicago, as Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn wrote on Thursday "Five Reasons for Bears fans to root for the Packers." Zorn, a product of the University of Michigan and native of the Detroit area, according to his Wikipedia entry, cited division pride, tradition, "Favre fancy" and "transitive triumphalism." as reasons.

He was widely scorned for the thought, with some of the more creative comments as:

Sigh...
Eric, Sometimes it's so obvious that you didn't grow up in this area.

Posted by: Tom | Jan 17, 2008 12:44:20 PM

Where is the "Who cares" option?

I live in WI, and I'm already sick of hearing about the Packers. Every time Brett Favre has so much as scratched himself this week, we have 45 minutes of news coverage about it. What was he scratching? Did the itch go away? What do his teammates think? What do the fans think? Oh look, it's some lady who has a dress made out of Packer logo toilet paper. And so forth.

I'm glad people are excited, but there's such a think as overkill.

Posted by: Spike | Jan 17, 2008 12:54:11 PM

There are 0 reasons to root for the Packers. Favre? Please, is is a receord setting QB - most interceptions in the history of the NFL. I became a Giants fan after the Cowboys lost last weekend. I am a Bears fan through and through, so this weekend I am rooting for the red and blue. Maybe Favre will cry like a sissy after the game like he did after the Bears game last year.

Posted by: DJG | Jan 17, 2008 12:54:25 PM

The thing is, I'm not sure which is more disturbing: the column itself and the poll that ran with the column had 64.1 percent of the respondents saying, yes, Bears fans should pull for the Packers.

Personally, I think a bunch of Wisconsinites filled the ballot box on the poll, and as far as rooting for a division rival since it reflects good on the Bears, I can't do it. As far as the NFC North is concerned, I can't stand the Packers (I can respect their attempts to uphold tradition in a small town in an increasingly corporate league and world, but it doesn't mind I have to like them), and I can't stand the Vikings. I'd say the same for the Lions, but they've stunk for so long, you just can't hate them.

Besides, how can you root for a team that's dressed in colors that, as my dad puts it, are like moldy cheese.

So thank you to the Giants for making it an easy decision on who to root for on Super Bowl Sunday.

To end, for your entertainment and amazement, here is Eddie Murphy's take on the NFC Championship game...20 years early:

Welcome to Wait Til Next Century!

2008-01-19T18:22:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Wait Til Next Century!

This site is the latest in sports commentary and news on the Web.

Named in honor of the Chicago Cubs' centennial anniversary of its last World Series championship in 1908, this is kind of my answer to Bill Simmons' "The Sports Guy" column at ESPN's Page 2. This mean that while the Sports Guy tends to focus his writing on following Boston teams to an almost sickening point (though I still count myself a fan of his work), Wait Til Next Century! will focus on primarily the Midwest, especially Chicago teams and the schools in the great state of Iowa.

At the same time, I am a fan of just about every sport out there, ranging from the big four here in the U.S.A. to world soccer and even rugby and cricket as I learn more about them.

So sit back, take in the news and views and feel free to contribute your own in the comments section.