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....

More Bears Rant!!!

Another Sunday and another disappointing performance by the "Munsters of the Midway".....that's right Munsters. I know the defense played stellar against the run, but on the flip side, I think I could have completed 5 passes against them. The pass rush was horrific and the pass coverage was just as bad. How in the world can you keep letting teams convert 3rd and long and expect to be successful? The answer to that is pretty simple.....NOT TO OFTEN.

It's easy to point to Grossman and say he was terrible and that's why they lost, but truth be told, that's not the reason. I don't think it matters who's behind center right now. If you let a team that prides itself on the running game, turn around at halftime and turn a mediocre quarterback into the next coming of Bart Starr, your going to fail every time.

Another observation....is it just me or does Lovie Smith look like he's listening to an iPod instead of watching what's transpiring on the field? I'd like to see a little emotion every once in a while from a head coach. I'm still an "old school" type of guy who wants a little fire from the guys running the show on the sidelines. Give me a Mike Ditka, Jack Del Rio or Mike Singletary any day over a Dick Jauron or Lovie Smith. OK, now that my blood pressure is elevated, I better quit. Hey at least the Hawks are playing better!!!

Some Baseball "Hot Stove" Talk

OK...so we're just a week or so removed from the World Series and only half way through the NFL season, but it's never to early to start stoking the fire with baseball talk. There's a million scenarios floating around this time of year, but let's talk about the latest on Jake Peavy. It's almost guaranteed that the Padres are going to move him this off season. Right now the rumored most likely candidates are the Dodgers, Braves and the Cubs. It's unlikely he ends up in L.A. unless there's some sort of 3 way deal struck. Most teams don't like trading with division rivals. That leaves the Cubs and Braves as the top two. Peavy also has a clause in his contract that prevents the Padres from trading him to 14 teams. This straightens the Cubs and Braves position and may add the Cardinals as a sleeper. Most analysts don't think the Cubs have enough young talent to land Peavy. I'm thinking that it may not be all about talent as much as it is cost cutting by the Padres. Threes rumors that the owner is going through a messy divorce and may not want the team to be quite as valuable when settlement time comes.

So here's a scenario that could make sense from both a financial standpoint and maybe save face for the Padres as well. The Cubs send Fukudome, and two or three high end prospects (either Pie, Rich Hill , Angel Guzman or Sean Marshall) to the Padres for Peavy and Kahlil Greene. Sounds far fetched doesn't it? Maybe not as far fetched as you might think and here's why. Fukodome is signed through 2011 and owed $38 million. Peavy has an $8 million option for 09 and then $52 million guaranteed through 2011. The Padres aren't going to let him walk for free. He's way to marketable. They have to pick up the option, meaning they are into him for $60 million through 2011. Greene is only signed through 09 for $6.5 million. San Diego in essence sheds $28.5 million and comes away with some talented young players and one huge gamble in Fuludome. On the other hand Greene has been somewhat of a gamble for them already, so it may be a wash in that regard.

This would afford the Cubs a 1 year audition of Greene at shortstop. Greene is only a .248 lifetime hitter, but in his only full season, he hit 27 homers and drove in 97 runs. That's pretty potent power numbers for a shortstop. It would give the Cubs the opportunity to move Theriot to 2B and DeRosa could play right. Salary wise, there's a lot of questions about Dempster walking and maybe even Kerry Wood. Peavy would be insurance if Dempster did leave, and even if he doesn't who wouldn't want a former Cy Young winner who's only going to be 28 years old just after the season starts next year. The Cubs will also recoup a little over $9 million in salary after 09 when Marquis contract is done.

Who knows if any of this will happen or is even considered, but it sure is fun to play GM during the off season!!!

Down Goes Orton.....Here Comes Rex

Just when Bears fans were falling in love with Kyle Orton, he goes down with what looks like a relatively serious injury. Early indications are that the Bears starting QB will miss at least a month with a severely sprained ankle. Welcome back Rex Grossman. Actually Rex did a pretty darn good job coming off the bench. He did throw one interception, but it was a deflection that wasn't his fault. If anything was disturbing, it was the Bear defense once again letting a team complete 3rd and long plays all day. The worst part, is that it was the NFL's 29th rated offense that was doing it. With a quarterback whose name most people can't even pronounce. Don't get me wrong, we'll take the win, but once again this team scares me. When they have to go up against a team with a proven quarterback, I think their in trouble. Two games left against Green Bay, who gave an undefeated Tennessee team all it coupled handle today, will be a big test.

Back to Rex for a minute. For a guy who hasn't played all year, I thought he manged the offense pretty well. We have to take into account it was the Lions, but if he had to come into a game cold, I'm glad it was against them. He'll have to work pretty hard this week to get ready for his first start since who knows when. Let's hope he can manage he can play as mistake free as Orton has the first half. If so, the NFC Central is still up for grabs.

Huet to the Rescue

Wow, what a performance by Cristobal Huet Saturday night in Columbus. The usually anemic Blue Jackets peppered the Hawk goaltender with 51 shots through 3 periods and a 5 minute overtime. Looking at the line score in Sunday's paper doesn't tell half the story. The Hawks were shorthanded 10 times, only yielding 1 power play goal. They were out shot more then 2 to 1, but Huet kept them in the game.

Not only was he stellar during regulation and overtime, but he shut down all three shooters in the shootout, including Columbus sharp shooter Rick Nash. It's not to often that a team is out shot that badly, shorthanded that often and comes out a winner. Kudos to Jonathon Toews, as he scored his third shootout goals in as many chances. None bigger then this one, since it iced a road victory (Finally!!!) for the Blackhawks. Talk about stealing a win.....this was it.

Is the C Putting To Much Pressure on Toews?

It's still early and there's a lot of hockey left to play, but Jonathon Toews is off to a slow start. I don't think there's reason to panic yet, but if the trend continues a lot of fans will start to wonder about the added pressure of being named captain. There's been a lot of pretty dynamic players who have worn the "C" for the Hawks over the years, but most of them were seasoned veterans when they were awarded the honor.

I think back to when I was a kid and Pierre Pilote was the first captain I remember. A three time Norris trophy winner who was small in size but huge in stature. Pat "Whitey" Stapelton was another small guy who was a Blackhawk captain for years. A quiet guy who led by example and a rock solid defenseman. A more recent favorite of mine was Dirk Graham. God old number 33 was always there for his teammates and was just a solid player. A grinder that could deliver the big hit as well as the big goal.

I think Jonathon Toews has a very promising future. He's playing on a team that has so much young talent, it's ridicules. These guys have a chance to develop into something special. A chance to bring hockey back to the forefront of Chicago sports. Back to the days when it was standing room only every night at the "Old Barn" on Madison. I only hope that young Jonathon Toews doesn't let that C distract him. He just needs to go out and play hockey like he knows how and he'll be fine. I'm looking forward to playoff hockey in Chicago again.

Mega Enhancements to the Blog - Give it a Test Drive

I did a lot of work on the blog over the weekend. Added some great news feeds for all the local professional teams. Just click on your favorite team on top left corner to get the latest scoop on whats up with them. There's added website links to both the pro and college teams. An ESPN news feed and a real time NHL score update. When you have a chance you really need to check out the video tributes to the Chicago Sports venues. They are pretty cool. So let me know what you think of the enhancements.....