A Few Days Off and so Much Happened

Well, I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had a chance to post anything new. So much has happened in the week and a half. Let's take a look back and recap some of that news.

Hendry gets another four

Kerry Wood is no more

The Hawks retire number three

Pilote and Maggie make history

The Bulls rally against the Mavs

Then fall on their face against the Cavs

The Sox get rid of Swish

And look for a reliever who can pitch

Orton brings the Bears no luck

And that's because they REALLY suck

In addition to the Cubs bidding farewell to Kerry Wood and locking Jim Hendry up for another 4 years, they also inked Ryan Dempster for another 4 years. It's a little scary since Demp has only had one good year. For the sake of the Cubs, they better hope '08 was a breakout season. He did seem to find his stride as a starter. He definitely was not cut out to be a closer.

So the Nick Swisher era was as memorable as the Mark Bradley era. Maybe that's an unfair comparison. Swisher's personality made him pretty high profile, whereas Bradley was invisible with the Bears. It's just a shame that the Sox had to give up young talent for a guy that didn't pan out. Maybe one of those Yankee prospects will surprise everybody or Wilson Betimet will make unbelievable contributions in 2009. I have a feeling Kenny Williams is just getting warmed up as far as making changes is concerned.

The Hawks have hit a bit of a slump and have been kind of inconsistent as of late. Seems when they get solid goaltending they can't score. When they get the offense going they don't get the solid effort on defense. If they can get a little consistency going their going to be an exciting team the rest of the season.
It was nice to see them recognize both Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnason. It's a shame Maggie couldn't have seen it in person. I was lucky enough to see both play and they were both fun to watch, for very different reasons. Pilote was a small guy but a very talented player. Could move the puck well and until Bobby Orr came along, actually held the single season record for points by a defenseman. He wasn't afraid to drop the gloves with anybody and was capable of delivering a big hit.
Keith Magnason was quite different. Not the most talented guy in the world, but had the heart of a lion. Not a great puck handler or skater for that matter, but boy oh boy could he hit. Not just throwing his body around, but he never backed down from anybody. He was the policeman of his era for the Hawks. Nobody got away with picking on any of Maggies teammates without having to answer to Maggie. He may not have won many of his fights, but anybody that chose to tangle with him left knowing he was in a fight. Kudos to the Hawks for recognizing the achievements of these to former team captains.

The Bulls have been similar to the Hawks. They have a great comeback win against a team like the Mavericks and are only mediocre the next game. Lots of work left to be done with that team.

The Bears just continue to erode into one of the worst teams in the NFL. In my opinion, it's time for wholesale changes in the coaching staff. They ALL need to go starting with Lovie. There is no fire on the sideline and even less on the field. To many of these guys are suffering from heavy pockets. Hester, Urlacher, Briggs, Harris all get big money and combined, have yet to make a difference. The QB position is awful and the receivers are just as bad. Brandon Lloyd can take his show somewhere else next year. The sad part about it is that they still have a chance to win their division. How bad is that? There's a chance that a .500 record could win that division.

OK, enough for now. Hopefully my schedule slows up a bit and I can get back to some more interesting stuff....