ChiCity Sports Fanion

This is it. Time to say Good Bye.

2009-08-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well it has been about a year of writing on the Fanion and the time has come for this writer to call it quits (well at least from writing on this website). Based on the feedback I received during my “vacation”, it appears that life will go on without interruption. But before I sign off, I wanted to share some thoughts on my writing experiences.

First, writing can be extremely therapeutic. Very little else compares to being able to vent your frustrations on Luol Deng’s latest pinky fracture, Lovie Smith’s mediocrity as an NFL coach, or how much I cannot stand baseball. Above anything else, writing enabled me to weather the cold Chicago months. Full pun intended.

Secondly, it seems apparent that there is little room for smart, witty and educated takes on sports (well at least on the blogosphere). The only time that an article of mine would get any play (through comments or reproductions on the Sun-Times Sports site) is when we made strong, yet often exaggerated claims on a player or team’s attributes. Claiming that Ben Gordon was too short and couldn’t play next to Derrick Rose sparked perhaps the most heated debate and attention to this site. Claiming that the MLS sucked also sparked intrigue.

Basically, claiming that anyone sucked created intrigue and attention. Which isn’t a bad thing I guess, considering what I wrote I felt to be true. Unfortunately, none of these stories and even the more accurate and more logical articles garnered much attention (granted I didn’t really try to garner attention or market the site).

But what has been made clear is that the sleazier and more exaggerated the headline the more viewers. This of course isn’t something new. Everyone enjoys watching the train wreck, or in our case, photos of hot celebrities, Orton/Grossman drinking, and the video of the ferocious tackle that broke the wide receiver’s tibia in two. That’s just who we are.

There will always be room for that sort of stuff on the internet. But, at the end of the day, I still find the blogosphere, prominent sports websites (ESPN, etc.) and traditional newspaper sites to be lacking. Specifically, I note the following:

1. To ESPN, SI, ETC., I don’t care who breaks the story first. Nor do I care that you were the first to break the rumor (that ends up being false) 5 minutes before the guy on the other network would have broken the rumor. No one cares. Just wait for it. Honestly, it hurts more that the rumor of Gasol to Bulls turns out to be false, then when hearing the fact that Gasol is going to the Lakers. We are all grown up here. Finding out that Cutler was coming to the Bears 10 minutes before it could be confirmed, isn’t going to change our lives.

2. To all Chicago Newspapers. We already watched the game, there is no reason to repeat the play by play of what happened. In addition, if we missed it, we probably found out what happened on our I-Phone, ESPN, or the 100 other websites we frequent everyday in our cubicle (actually, I have an office, but I don’t want you to feel left out). Sure, you probably have to have a recap of the game somewhere for the 90 year old who still listens to games on the radio, but for the most part, we already figured out what happened. So here is a hint, tell us something we don’t know. Like why is it that Ron Turner, who appears to have a good offensive philosophy is a terrible player caller (remember the 4^th and 1 handoff to Jason McKie against Carolina?). Tell us how on earth the Bulls can expect to win a championship by fielding Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose in the backcourt. Unless, we have the Bears OL as our front court, it wasn’t happening. Mugsy Boes looked at Gordon and probably thought he had a chance to take him down in the post. Break down the intricacies of the 3-4 defense or the shitty Tampa 2? Or maybe give me a light hearted Q & A with a beat reporter and one of our favorite players. You get the point.

3. I don’t care about the following. I don’t care about Urlacher’s baby mama’s troubles. Unless, some player’s off the field issues will affect how that player plays, or if they play, I don’t care that Briggs crashed his Lamborghini (or wait, yes I do, but only if there is a photo the car after the crash). I don’t care for anything that Rick Telender or Morrissey write. Or for that matter, Fred Mitchell (what exactly is his job anyway? I never understood his articles that were one paragraph long followed by the daily sightings of random people. How does this help me?). I don’t care about your analysis of X player’s contract. Unless X player’s contract is so large that it would preclude the organization from signing another player, I don’t care. Free market principles and basic economics have dictated how much Tommie Harris will get paid. There is nothing you can say that will change this or make it relevant or interesting. When event X happened 2 weeks ago, it doesn’t make any sense to write about it today. The rumored (and may I say probably untrue) Urlacher/Cutler feud happened about a month ago. Writing a story about it today is irrelevant and boring. Also stories that tend to exaggerate the most miniscule and irrelevant sub, sub-plot don’t do anything for us readers. Maybe it is a little intriguing that Urlacher supposedly called Cutler a wimp. But writing about it like you just discovered weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, only makes it worse. Which gets me to my next point.

4. Your readers are fans. And as fans, we want one main thing from our sportswriters: writing as if you were fan of the sport you were covering. Most sportswriters today aren’t fans of the teams they write about, which is fine. But to make matters worse, they don’t seem to be fans of the sport they are covering (I am thinking about KC Johnson and basketball). Maybe they are fans, but some stupid, historic journalistic integrity/ethical code thing prevents the sportswriter’s passion or love the game to come out in their stories. Can you think of many sports writers who write from the perspective of a fan? For the most part, a lot of writers act as if they hate the sports they are writing about (I am thinking about Jay Mariotti. No that’s not fair, Mariotti is simply a terrible writer and a tabloid reporter.) (Another side bar, it sounds like JM will be returning to Chicago at the Tribune. Which can only mean one of two things: (a) people at the Tribune have no idea what they are doing; or (b) Mariotti, like the train wreck, is must read, even if we hate him). Anyway, you get my point.

Well, maybe not. Perhaps the only person that exemplifies this fan perspective writing is the Sports Guy Bill Simmons. I hate that he is a Boston fan, but love that he writes from the perspective of the fan. I may disagree with his stories, but I respect that he bleeds his teams’ colors. His stories are must read website. Morrissey, Telander, Mitchel, Pompei are not.

5. Lastly, and again just to get it off my chest. Baseball is the worst sport in the world. That’s not fair, because it’s a game. But it still sucks. Need support? The Buffalo v. Tennessee pre-season game garnered many more viewers than the highly acclaimed Red Sox Yankees regular season matchup. F’n Buffalo people!

Oh, shit, I am not done. Here is what I think about the upcoming Bears and Bulls seasons.

Bears.

1. Cutler is the real deal. Olsen becomes a pro-bowler. Hester improves, but the best WR is Brandon Rideau (who probably won’t see the field unless Rashid Davis gets hurt).

2. Defense will be okay, but not great. Good passing teams will be able to rip apart our secondary. But for the most part, the defense will get the job done.

3. Bears win NFC North after a tough battle with Green Bay and Minnesota. But, they lose in conference championship game because Lovie Smith is in love with the Cover 2 and won’t blitz leaving the other team’s quarterback to rip us a part.

4. Cutler goes to pro-bowl and, in one season, becomes the best Bears QB in history of our franchise.

5. Matt Forte, if he doesn’t get hurt, goes to the pro-bowl.

6. Urlacher and Briggs get selected to the Pro-Bowl, but don’t attend.

7. If we don’t make post-season, people will soon realize that Lovie Smith is not that great of a head coach. Yet, somehow he keeps his job and they fire Ron Turner.

All right Bulls.

1. Luol Deng gets hurt and misses 30 games.

2. Derrick Rose continues his path to stardom, but still trails Devin Harris in All-Star votes.

3. Luol Deng breaks tail bone.

4. Vinny Del Negro wants the Bulls to play better defense, except that he doesn’t understand how difficult it is to play good defense when you play small.

5. Del Negro gets fired at the end of next season.

6. James Johnson is better than Luol Deng by the end of the year and if the person discussed in points 4 and 5 above were a good coach, he would play him.

7. Tyrus Thomas continues his march towards untapped potential.

8. The Bulls lose in first round of playoffs because they still don’t have a low post scorer.

9. Lebron James stays in Cleveland and Dwayne Wade stays in Miami.

All right. That’s it. Oh wait, Arsenal win the Premier League.

Good day. I said good day.

Why the MLS Won’t Become a Major League

2009-07-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

This article was originally posted a while ago, but with the recent Beckham criticism and the new light shown on international futbol by ESPN, I thought it relevant

The 2006 World Cup garnered 17 million viewers in the US.

Soccer, or as I prefer to name it, futbol is the 2nd most popular sport in the United States. Stop! Before you go anywhere, just hear me out. Futbol is the 2nd most popular sport in the US, followed by Basketball. How you ask? Well, let me ask you the question. What would you rather do, play a pick-up game of basketball with friends or watch the current Chicago Bulls team at the family themed United Center? Would you rather play a game of flag football on Turkey Day, or watch an Indiana/Minnesota college football game? Well if you are anything like me (as in awesome), and are 35 and under, you would rather play the game than watch it. And that’s the same criteria used for my argument above. According to some random book I’ve read, Basketball and futbol are the most popularly played sports in the US. That’s pretty convincing reasoning to me that futbol is actually a widely appreciated and popular sport in the U.S.

As we know, this doesn’t necessarily lead to high TV ratings for MLS or even the NBA for that matter. More people watch and support their NFL teams than their MLS teams, including me. But that doesn’t mean that Americans are not interested in futbol. It just means they are not interested in MLS futbol. And I don’t blame them.

Popular opinion suggests that futbol will never take off in the US because fans are more dedicated to baseball, football, basketball, hockey and unfortunately, even NASCAR. Popular opinion is wrong. And so to it appears is the mindset of people running US Soccer and MLS franchises. The main competition isn’t MLB or the NFL, it’s the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, the Mexican leagues, and whatever they call the league in Egypt. The millions of futbol playing people in the US would rather watch a Manchester United/Chelsea game than a Chicago Fire/LA Galaxy game.

Still don’t get my point? Well, what would you rather watch: an NBDL game or an NBA game; the Arena League or the NFL; a minor league game or the Cubs’ game? Likewise, MLS is the developmental league of the futbol world. And not even a good one at that. The real feeder leagues are located in South America, Africa, the Tier 2 leagues in England, Spain, and Italy, and the youth squads of AC Milan, Arsenal and the like. The MLS is more like the Div. 3 School where maybe two or four guys make it to the big stage (playing in England, Spain or Italy). Basically, the MLS is Louisiana Lafayette and maybe, just maybe a team sitting in England might draft the Daniel Mannings and Charles Tillmans of the MLS world.

And this, more than anything that baseball or football can throw at futbol, is the reason that the MLS will always have a difficult time competing for US viewers’ attention. Still don’t believe me? The last World Cup Final (2006) garnered 17 million viewers in the United States. And that game was played between France and Italy. In contrast, according to the Baseball Almanac, the 2006 World Series had 15.6 Million viewers in games played by the Cardinals and Tigers. NBA you ask? The 2006 Finals between the Heat and Mavs garnered 13 million viewers. This isn’t to argue that soccer is more popular than Baseball or Basketball, it is not, just that futbol is actually a pretty popular sport in the US. Moreover, that the US futbol viewer is enlightened and would rather watch great futbol than MLS’s Div. 3 version.

And these figures shouldn’t be too surprising. The US is a melting pot. Almost everyone’s family at some point came from a foreign country where futbol dominated the sporting landscape. By no coincidence, the recent Mexican immigrant would rather watch Chivas play; the recent Scottish immigrant, Celtic; the recent Turkish immigrant, Galatasarey, or the recent Egyptian immigrant, Al Ahly. They may be living in the US, but satellites and sports bars allow them to see their team play even if those teams are playing thousands of miles away. Want further evidence that futbol is alive and kicking in the US? Go to Fado in Chicago on any Saturday morning and you’ll see it packed with American, English, African, and (insert nationality here) fans all watching their favorite English Premier League team. (While you are at it, grab a pint or tea and order some good Irish breakfast). Don’t even bother going to Fado during a major futbol sporting competition. During Euro 2008 (Think European World Cup, Spain vs. Germany) you couldn’t even get into Fado because it was filled to capacity.

In the end, like most people who grew up playing futbol in the States, I wish I could support a local futbol team like the Chicago Fire. But for now and the foreseeable future, I’ll stick to following Arsenal in England.

Chicago Cubs: The Implications of Selling the Cubs

2009-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

This Article was originally posted in January, but the thought process still applies to the recent sale of the Cubs.

I would rather watch paint dry than watch a baseball game. Now, don’t hate me. I don’t hate you for not liking futbol (uh, wait. yes, I do). Let’s just agree to disagree. I love futbol, football, and basketball and I just don’t get into baseball, golf, and Nascar. Let’s move on.

However, I am interested in the whole Tribune selling the Cubs issue. I respect the tradition of baseball. I could see how people would get into the history of the ball park, its famous players and what the game means to Chicago and America. But, to me I’m more interested in the business side of the sport. So what does the Tribune Company’s intent to sell the team (and I assume the stadium) to a third party really mean?

Well let’s think about it like this. Assume we live in a rational world, with rational people. i.e. The type of people who are going to buy and sell a baseball team are likely pretty smart business people. They are not going to get ripped off. And the Cubs certainly won’t be selling for less (unless the current state of the Economy and lack of credit somehow hurts the buyer, but I doubt it). More likely, the Cubs will be sold for its full and fair price and maybe a little more if there are several bidders.

So what’s the fair price. I’m not an expert, but the person valuing the Cubs is likely going to look at the Cub’s cash flow historically and try to project it for each year into the future. Thus, they’ll figure out the Cubs expected future cash flow for each year from 2008 until infinity. Then, they’ll will discount each year’s cash flow to the present value and get some large number. Thus, the person buying the Cubs is going to be paying for the cash flow the Cubs will make from now until forever.

So what does this mean? Well it means that the guy paying for the Cubs is going to be paying a lot of money. But, if he’s paying exactly what the Cubs are worth (i.e. cash coming into the Cubs forever), he’s going to need to do something to make sure he makes a profit. Put another way, the new Cubs owner is going to need to find out a way to bring in more cash each year in the future (i.e. his profit/returns), then the Cubs were already going to make in the future (i.e. the amount he paid).

To belabor this point, say I sell you my lemonade stand. As smart people, we realize that in present value dollars my Lemonade stand will bring in $15 a year for 10 years (i.e. $150) dollars. You pay me the $150 and buy it. Now, in order for this to make sense you’ve got to figure out a way to make more than $15 a year for the next ten years. Basically, either you sell the lemonade for more or maybe you get cheaper lemons and thus increase your profits that way. But, if you can only manage $15 a year for ten years, well you’re an idiot. You’ve worked ten long years to make exactly zero profit.

So what does the buyer of the Cubs do to make his/her profit? You guessed it. He can increase ticket sales or somehow cut costs (i.e. pay for cheaper players). That’s probably too basic, but still pretty accurate I think. What else can they do?

1. Knock down Wrigley Field, and put up a state of the art stadium, with more seats, (likely Club), with tax payer money and fans putting up money for PSLs, all in an effort to…you guessed it make more money.

2. Start selling that $10 beer for $15 (i.e. concessions, merchandise, tickets, etc. all cost more).

3. Charge more for advertising in the stands. Most likely- corporate naming rights. Can you say “Boeing Field’?

4. Lower costs (fire some administrative people, reduce pay rolls, etc). Or you cut your highest expense- i.e. player salaries (trade your best players for cheap replacements).

You get the point. Unless the Cubs were wholly mismanaged (i.e. tons of unnecessary expenses), the new owner of the Cubs is going to need to make more money to obtain a return on his investment. Which really means that the average baseball fan will need to spend more money (tickets, PSL’s, taxes for new stadium, beer, jersey sales, etc). That, or attend games at Boeing Field, while watching less talented (hint: lost costly) players.

That’s all.

Vacation

2009-06-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Fanion will be on vacation, returning in mid-July in preparation for the Bears' season and the Cutler era.

Check out the NEW CSF Media Rankings

2009-06-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

Check out this link, for the Fanion's rankings of the WORST Chicago Sports Media Members.

Check out this link, for the Fanion's rankings for the BEST Chicago Sports Media Members.

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Tuesday Morning Thoughts: NBA needs Rule Clarification

2009-06-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

A lot of NBA refereeing, some playoffs and of course, Bears Football and an update on Chicago baseball.

(Go to the 1:30 mark)

1. Several stories have been written about the NBA officiating lately. They all have been thoughtful and exposed many of the officiating problems in the NBA. The problem is that for the most part, they are all wrong. There are no conspiracies and no desire by certain referees to intentionally influence the outcomes of games. NBA referees are not so much bad officials (some are of course. Like remember that bastard referee (Hue Hollins) who called that foul on Scottie Pippen on a 3 point attempt by Hubert Davis against the Knicks in the playoffs? If not, read here), they just don’t know what a foul is anymore. Thus, I blame the higher ups in the NBA for failing to provide a clear system of what is and what is not a foul.

2. To elaborate, we see inconsistent officiating in the playoffs because the officials all have different thoughts on what is, and what is not a foul. One guy may believe that any time a European player flops to the floor that it must be an offensive foul, while the other guy believes that it was a flop.

3. And of course, the NBA doesn’t make things any easier. Perhaps one of the dumbest rule changes was adding the stupid offensive foul line near the hoop. So now, instead of referees looking to see if a player is properly positioned to take a foul, they only look at that person’s feet. As long as the feet are past the line, it’s an offensive foul – never mind that the player was moving their feet, was positioned sideways and kicked out their left arm. Even worse, when Dwight Howard (or any other player for that matter), lowers his shoulder in a defensive player, in a clear offensive foul, the referees won’t call it because both players are below the magic offensive foul line. Basically, the NBA is allowing some arbitrary line created out of thin air to decide what is and what is not a foul.

4. Perhaps most irritating about the inconsistent refereeing is what happens when a player, say Lebron James, barrels his way into the lane, out of control and lunges his body into the opposing player. Of course, the referees call the foul on the opposing player, whose only fault was standing his ground with his hands straight up. Whatever happened to allowing a defensive player to stand in his position and raise his hands straight up? Isn’t that good basketball defense? Isn’t that the golden rule in college basketball? As long as a defensive player is in position, he should be allowed to raise his hands straight up. But not in the NBA. If Lebron steamrolls into the lane, initiates contact, and it just so happens that his left arm touches your left hand (which is standing straight up) it’s a foul. Basically, some referees in the NBA have decided that no big guy is allowed to play defense. You just can’t do it.

5. Also, when a person takes 3 or more steps it’s a traveling call. For the most part, it’s not that hard to call a traveling call. You can do it, just count. One... two… three. traveling.

6. Thus, while NBA referees would have a hard time calling a tug-of-war contest, the NBA (David Stern) needs to start clarifying what is and what is not a penalty. When Lebron James barrels to the hoop and Dwight Howard stands firm and has his hands straight up, it’s not a foul (on anyone for that matter). Get rid of the stupid offensive foul line, and for god’s sake call traveling calls. What the NBA needs more than anything else is a clear set of guidelines of what is and what is not a foul. Develop some training academy putting the rules into place and invite players to the camps. Have your referees travel to each team and provide examples of what is and is not a foul (something I assume is already done). Put the game in the hands of the players and a clear rulebook, not in the hands of referees who appear to each have their own set of rules. We need robots, not politicians as referees.

7. The NBA got ½ of its dream Finals. Watching the Lakers/Denver series I just felt that both teams were on a different level than Orlando/Cleveland. Howard will have to deal with Gasol. Howard is better, but Gasol will at least make him work. I don’t know how the Lakers will guard Lewis. But, I think Odom can handle him. Like the Cleveland series with Lebron, no one can guard Kobe. Add in Bynum and Trever Ariza and I think the Lakers win in 6. And no, Hedu Turkaglu doesn’t scare me.

8. It feels like baseball is already dead in Chicago and its only June 1^st.

9. Which is great, if you are me, because we can concentrate on Bears’ football.

10. Barcelona beat Man. U. Ronaldo went into his whiny/bitch mode. Messi and Eto showed why they are so great. As an aside, Fados was packed (a 20 person line formed at the door 5 minutes before kickoff), so I couldn’t watch the game there. The English was a nice substitute.

11. Huge surprise here. Lovie Smith still believes the following: Cover 2 and 4-3 defense are the best; Rod Marinelli is a genius of a coach (no mention of the 0-16 lions), he likes the WRs he’s got, and the Bears are still a running football team. If deciding on a car with better gas mileage Lovie would probably choose the Dodge Hemi over the Fusion Hybrid because as he would say, “I like the Hemi we got”.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: We are the Champions!

2009-05-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

1. Manchester United vs. Barcelona (Wednesday at 1:30pm Central time) Champions league final. I hope that Barcelona kicks the, you know what, out of Manchester. I’ll be watching at Fados.

2. I can’t understand the NBA anymore. There used to be a time where the best teams won their playoff games. We all knew it would be Bulls/Jazz or Lakers/Celtics or Pistons/Lakers. But not in today’s NBA. An Orlando team lead by the Turkish Jordan (sorry for that reference. It's insulting to everything Jordan) might beat the hyped up Cavaliers. The Cavs ineptitude might allow Orlando to advance to the playoffs. The same Orlando whose main scorer is Hedu Turkaglu. Even that awful 76er team that made it to the Finals was lead by Allen Iverson. Can you think of a worse team making it the Finals than Orlando? I guess Lebron isn’t the King after all.

3. Speaking of bad, do you realize that the Denver Nuggets also have a chance of making it to the Finals? Denver was so bad earlier this year, that “the trade” made Chauncey Billups seem like Isiah Thomas (the player, not coach). It’s conceivable that a team with the likes of Nene, Kenyan Martin and J.R. Smith (the all head case team), will make it the Finals. I guess Kobe isn’t the next MJ. Heck, he may not even be the next Paul Pierce.

4. So I watched my first hockey game on TV this past Sunday (Hawks v. Red Wings). Not a good game to get into hockey. Man I hate Detroit.

5. Speaking of the Hawks, there are too many teams ending with the “Hawks” nickname. It’s sort of like reading a ticker and seeing that the Sox are up 4-2 on the Yankees, except that it’s the Red Sox and not the White Sox. We got the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Hawks, and Chicago Blackhawks, just to name a few. The “Hawks beat Detroit” isn’t clear enough. I insist that ESPN, et. al. must use the full nick names on headlines or tickers (and even city names if necessary). Also, WNBA scores and Women’s college basketball scores should not televised.

Jay Cutler Man Crush: It's happening

2009-05-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Oh no, my Cutler man crush is already starting. Wayne Drehs of ESPN Chicago put together these great replies by Cutler from a recent Q&A.

"Anytime a team wants to make a trade like that and give up what [the Bears] gave up, there's going to be a lot of pressure and a lot of high expectations," Cutler said Wednesday. "And I welcome it. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a good challenge."

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When one fan asked whether he had started to develop a hatred for the Packers, Cutler laughed and then said, "I've never really liked them." When another fan wanted to know whether he had begun recording a new "Super Bowl Shuffle," he quipped, "Orlando [Pace] is in the process of choreographing that whole deal. We're just waiting for him to finalize it."

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Then there was the little boy who wanted to know how many touchdowns Cutler plans to throw this season. "How many do you want?" Cutler responded, knowing his career high is 25. "Thirty," the boy said. "We can probably get you 30," Cutler said. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."

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When one fan began asking whether a quarterback makes his receivers better or vice versa, Cutler stopped the fan before he had a chance to finish. "You're worried about our wide receivers a little bit? Let me put you at ease," Cutler said, before explaining how the Broncos' Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal were relative unknowns before their arrival in Denver. "Receiving-wise, we've got what we need here. You don't need to worry about it."

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When asked by a female fan Sunday about his impression of Chicago women thus far, the quarterback-turned-rock star didn't skip a beat. "Good city. Good women. I'm single, so I could get in a little bit of trouble."

I love this man. Finally, our star player isn't a robot with no personality (read Urlacher).

Jay Cutler: It Begins

2009-05-21T07:24:00.001-07:00

Sorry, no baseball posts here. But who cares about baseball when you have the Hawks in the playoffs and Jay Cutler in a Bears uniform?

Here are some quotes taken about Cutler.

'I've never been around an arm like this,'' marveled offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who is not prone to such grand statements.

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''Yeah, no [kidding],'' Olsen said when asked if there was some mustard on the throws. ''Once you get adjusted [to the arm strength], it's all the same pretty much. You just have to get your eyes around that much faster and expect it.''

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"You just have to get used to catching a ball that comes that hard," said Davis. "It comes fast; it's on you real quick. You've got to get your head around. Once you get used to running routes with him and catching the ball from him, it gets a little bit easier. But he throws the ball pretty hard and the heat is still on the ball 20 yards down the field. It's not like you're [just] five yards away from him and it's hot."

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"He's going to make us a lot better," said Hester. "Some of the things Jay tells me ... I wish I could put that in the playbook. Instead of having one window open, he gives you a second option. So if something is not there [with the called play], there could be something else before the play ends. That's the type of quarterback he is.

"Everybody knows that Jay has a strong arm and that's real important. He is not only strong with it, he is very accurate. At the end of the day, when you need a big play, you can always depend on me. That's the kind of receiver that I try to carry myself as. Just make big plays, you know."

Ahh, it begins.

Breaking Down Larry Mayer's Bears "Chalk Talk".

2009-05-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

Below is Chicagobears.com report, Larry Mayer's recent Chalk Talk Q & A. My thoughts are in bold. His follow the question.

Despite how well the Bears did in the draft and how they can never have enough defensive linemen, do you think this could be a make-or-break season for Tommie Harris?
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I wouldn’t call this a make-or-break season for Tommie Harris. He’s only 26 years old, has played extremely well when healthy and is under contract through 2012. With that said, however, I do feel that it’s absolutely crucial to the success of the Bears defense that Harris reverts to his Pro Bowl form. When he’s at his best, he’s a lightning-quick disruptive force that attracts double-team blocks at the three-technique position, freeing up other players and enabling the Bears to pressure the quarterback without having to blitz linebackers or defensive backs. The key with Harris is his knee. If he can remain healthy, he should have a great season, especially now that he’s being tutored by new defensive line coach Rod Marinelli.

First, Don't ever believe what Mayers has to say. He is employed by the Bears and would likely be fired if he wrote anything negative about a player or the Bears organization. With that being said, of course this is a make or break year for Harris. Harris is approaching Mike Brown territory with his frequent injuries. While I love Harris, if he suffers another injury, its time for the Bears to seriously consider replacing him in the line-up.

With all the wide receivers the Bears drafted, do you think that Rashied Davis’ roster spot could be in jeopardy?
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I know Rashied Davis struggled with some drops last season, but I don’t think he’s in jeopardy of losing his roster spot. He excelled as the No. 3 slot receiver prior to becoming a starter last year, and the plan is for him to return to that role in 2009. Davis is also a valuable contributor on special teams, which is a necessity for backup wide receivers on the Bears roster. The Bears did draft three promising receivers in Juaquin Iglesias, Johnny Knox and Derek Kinder. But as I’ve mentioned before in “Chalk Talk,” it’s extremely difficult for wide receivers to flourish as rookies given the complexities of NFL offenses and defenses compared to what they experienced in college.

Rashied Davis is not an NFL WR. He is terrible and should still be playing in the Arena league. Why the Bears continue to employee him, I don't know. They've let players like Gage and Bradley go, why not Davis? No one can rationally explain this.

I read that the Bears picked up undrafted free agent linebacker Mike Rivera. Is he any relation to Ron Rivera, and what kind of college career did he have?
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Mike Rivera is not related to Ron Rivera, and from what I’ve been told it’s only a coincidence that he was issued the same No. 59 jersey that his namesake wore for nine seasons with the Bears from 1984-92. Mike Rivera was a versatile linebacker at Kansas who earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors three times. Every scouting report I’ve read says that Rivera is an instinctive player with a non-stop motor who could excel on special teams in the NFL, so he’ll definitely be a player to watch in training camp and the preseason.

What idiot asked this question and why did someone feel that it had to be answered?

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Horse Racing

2009-05-18T13:49:00.001-07:00

Thoughts on horse racing, the NBA playoffs, hockey and Kobe "PR machine" Bryant.

1. Thank you Orlando. No more Perkin’s pouty/angry face.

2. Now, the NBA playoffs get interesting. Denver/Lakers, Cleveland/Orlando. But, I still think its Lakers/Cleveland. The refs will make this happen.

3. I watched highlights of the Preakness this past Saturday. No, I didn’t watch the 2 hour buildup for the 2 minute race. Sorry, but the rich dude from Kentucky’s struggle to get to the Preakness on his private jet because of a busted knee, just isn’t that interesting to me. But, the racing? I love it. Racing is simple and immediate. Just run as fast as you can AND in a minute or two we will know who won. There is something beautiful about seeing an animal just take off. No engines, just natural ability to accelerate (well, besides the steroids they likely provide these horses).

4. But the hardest thing about horse racing is naming the horse. Mind that Bird and Rachel Alexandra are okay names. Cigaro, Secretariat, and Barbaro are great names. They are like those great one-name Brazilian fubol player names (Ronaldo, Pele) If I had a horse, I would name it one of the following: Big Kahuna, Zico, or Calvara. Yep, Calvara it is. (Calvara is a reference to a rather old western-movie. If anyone can tell me the name of that movie, I will allow you to write anything you want on this website. You can provide the answer in the comment section).

5. While I love horse racing, I can’t stand the obnoxious and stuffy owners that parade around their prized horses. I understand these are southern traditions, but by in large, southern traditions are something I try to stay away from. But irrespective of that, the pursuit of dollars from breeding stud horses probably sickens me the most. I have no problem with owners who take care of their horses and make money off their private endowments. That’s American and that’s business. But you get the sense that if the horse no longer puts out, he/she gets put out.

6. The Cubs and White Sox have played for a couple of months now. They each have about 126 games remaining on the schedule. I wonder what the NCAA College Football people would think of the 162 game regular season? Is there any meaning to a regular season game, if it’s 1 out 162?

7. I know nothing about hockey. I’ve been to one Blackhawks game. I understand that the goal is for several very large men with many layers of padding to get a little tiny 3-inch puck into a very tiny goal that it protected by a very large man, with very large pads. That’s about it. But nevertheless, GO HAWKS!!!!

8. The Tribune ran a story Monday that quoted Angelo stating that he would have an open mind to signing Plaxico Burress. My only thought is… Who are you and what have you done with Jerry Angelo?

9. There was also mention that the Bears might want to re-sign Adewale Ogunleye. Not only am I against such a signing, but I would encourage the Bears to cut Ogunleye. He is an overpaid, fragile blocking dummy.

10. Peter King wrote his MMQB intro about the Colts. Big surprise. But, in his defense it must be very difficult to give equal coverage to all 32 teams. Some home team’s fans will always be upset. In this case, it’s typically the Chicago Bear fans. But maybe we should be happy that King doesn’t cover the Bears?

11. I watched parts of ESPN’s Spike Lee documentary on Kobe. I found it thoroughly un-interesting and totally manipulated. Kobe comes off too perfect and polished. In one long scene he’s seen cheer leading the Laker reserves as if he was a Lakers’ girl. I’ve never seen Kobe cheer any Laker player for 5 seconds, let alone the ½ hour cheer leading training camp he put on in the documentary. If Kobe were breasts, he’d be Double D fakes. It’s as if he was a genetically manipulated clone of Michael Jordan, only without the charisma (and of course, the basketball ability). When I hear Kobe talk, I don’t see a genuine athlete, I see a Hollywood PR firm. Of course maybe he is just that perfect. Either way, I still dislike him.

Simmons and Gladwell: How to... Write

2009-05-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

This story (HERE) is how sports journalists should write/interact with their readers. Smart, witty, and creative. This chat makes the reader think, while still being enjoyable and funny to read. While I can't stand Simmons' Boston Bias, I love the fact that he writes from the perspective of a fan. And Gladwell, well Gladwell is just brilliant.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Ugly Tattoos

2009-05-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

A little Ronaldo, a lot of basketball, and some baseball. Oh yeah, and Eddie House's ugly tattoo.

1. If I were of Latin heritage I would name every child Ronaldo. First we had Ronaldo the Brazillian, then Ronaldinho the Brazilian and current Barcelona player, and finally Ronaldo of Portugal, who plays for Manchester United. United thrashed my beloved Arsenal in the 2^nd leg of the Champions League, while Christiano Ronaldo single handedly defeated Arsenal. While I despise Man. U and Ronaldo, even I have to admit that he is the best player in the world (See video below).

2. The weather needs to make up its mind. It’s fall, it’s winter, it’s spring, or it’s summer. Pick one already. People need to get drunk at Wrigley, please comply.

3. As an excellent NY Times article noted, the NBA has no idea what is and what is not a flagrant foul. Worse what often is called a flagrant foul later gets changed (upgraded to a number 2 or downgraded to an “incidental” foul by the NBA upon further review. (How can a foul that was originally called a flagrant foul be called “incidental”? Are we to believe that Kobe’s elbow to Battier’s groin was just “incidental?). I have a sneaking suspicion that the NBA loves it when its players beat the crap out of each other. Everyone’s talking about the Kobe elbow, Rondo face slap to Miller, or the Artest foul/suspension/expulsion. Flagrant fouls or the talking about whether “X” play was a flagrant foul is good TV and great ratings.

4. With that being said, one of these days a role player is going to seriously injure a star player and David Stern is going to get medieval on said player’s ass. Unfortunately, the NBA will have no one but themselves to blame for the flagrant foul. If you let your player’s beat each other up simply “because it’s the playoffs” don’t get surprised when your league becomes the equivalent of hockey. The NBA, Where Amazing Fights Happen.

5. I saw the Larry Bird, old school special effects commercial the other night (the one where the fans aren’t in the stands). It’s cool but it makes no sense. Why aren’t the fans there? Someone needs to explain this to me point by point.

6. I still hate the Celtics and would love for someone to punch Glen “Fat Baby” Davis in the face.

7. I have never understood how so many injuries can happen in the sport of Baseball. It’s about as non-contact of a sport that you can get. There is always a pinky fracture here, a hamstring pull there, or a shoulder injury (which makes sense for pitchers). Maybe it’s the roids or maybe baseball players are just made of cardboard. I suspect it’s the former.

8. The Western Conference: Denver could be for real, the Lakers are pretenders and Houston plays very, very hard. Dallas? Who cares about Dallas?

9. The Eastern Conference: Lebron’s team is going to the NBA Finals, Boston will take every series to 7 games, and Orlando relies upon Hedo Turkalo to win games (read Orlando sucks). Atlanta? Who cares about Atlanta?

10. Ummm, unless you are a very hot girl, tattoos are for losers. Yesterday I had a 5 hour our debate with a friend wondering whether Eddy House’s tattoo on his arm was a birth mark or an extremely large and disgusting tattoo. I went with birth mark. We ended up agreeing that the NBA must have made him cover an obscene tattoo with black permanent marker because no one would have such an ugly tattoo or a birth mark the size of Texas.

11. Peter King “stacked” the Bears at number 4 out of 32 teams in his latest MMQB. Two surprises here: (A) He mentioned the Bears and (B) his NFL IQ is worse than I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I think King, despite his clear and consistent East Coast reporting, is a good writer. But, he’s not really good at dissecting football. I don’t think the Bears should be ranked that high. Remember our defense is still porous and we still don’t have WRs and a consistent offensive line. With that being said, it is nice that someone has such a high regard for the Bears.

Manny Ramirez Tests Positive and No One is Surprised

2009-05-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Dan Patrick this morning when he introduced the news that Manny Ramirez would be banned 50 games for testing positive for drugs. Arguably the best hitter in baseball tested positive for what is possibly a performance enhancing drug and Patrick announced the news with the same intonation as "Bueller, Beuller". Patrick and crew were not surprised, not angry, not emotional. It's sad to see that baseball has turned into the East German swim team. We are no longer surprised when baseball players get outed. The assumption now is that everyone except, Derek Jeter was on roids. So unless it's Jeter, no big deal. I guess we just wait for the next big name. Like ESPN magazine's annual issue, Who's NEXT?

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Wolverine

2009-05-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

The girl in Wolverine.

Random and short. Wolverine movie, Bears and last thoughts on Bulls.

1. Don’t know why, but I watched Wolverine this past weekend. Not bad, but not good either. But I think the moderately attractive (with Hollywood relativity) brunette in the movie (I just think she could have been more attractive) should have “mind warped” Striker to help heal Wolverine and/or fill in the gaps in his memory instead of having him walk a very long time.

2. From all accounts the Bears really, really like the players they got in the draft. As if Ron Turner is going to talk negatively about Iglesias or Johny Knox. I wonder if Turner is really thinking, “Shit, we don’t have any good WRs on this team and Johny Know would have a hard time playing in the Arena league”.

3. The Celtics, to make up a word, VETERINIZED the Bulls. The Celtics were slower, less athletic and overall weren’t as good as the Bulls. But, that didn’t matter. They played smarter when it counted: they knew how to pick on a bulls defensive matchup (which is pretty easy when you have Kirk Hinrich guarding Glen Davis), knew when to drive to the hoop to get a foul (which pretty much happened every time Paul Pierce drove the lane), and knew how to get looks at the end of games (which the Bulls couldn’t do. Think the Brad Miller/Salmons play that Vinny drew up that resulted in, well, nothing).

4. One player can make a difference. Imagine if KG played this series. The Celtics would have won in 5. But, imagine if a healthy KG or even Chris Bosh played for the Bulls. We win that series in 5. One could argue that we are one post-player away from competing for a title.

5. While I can’t stand Rajon Rondo, he outplayed Rose this past series. Granted, he has a few more years than Rose. While Rondo didn’t light up the scoring sheet the last 2 games he had assist totals in the high teens. Pretty impressive. But, I have a strong feeling that Rose is only scratching the surface with this talent.

I hope that Orlando dominates the Celtics just so I won’t have to see Perkins’ ugly face again.

Chicago Bulls: What We've Learned

2009-05-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

What we’ve learned about our Chicago Bulls.
1. Vinny From Black is still an average coach. He’s the case study example for the saying “Players win games, coaches lose them”. Del Negro's coaching acumen won’t win us games, but there’s a chance that it will lose us some.

2. Ben Gordon is a clutch shooter, but causes match up problems for the Bulls’ defense because of his size. Sure Ben Gordon gets on your nerves when he goes into to “dribble, dribble” crazy shot mode. But, at least he’ll make the clutch shots that no one else on the Bulls can make. It’s funny to think out of all the Bulls’ recent signings, Hinrich and Deng, that Gordon, the best player and biggest contributor of those three, may be the one the Bulls let go. I’d rather see Gordon on the Bulls than either Deng or Hinrich, but Gordon still comes with a catch: he causes us to have a poor defense. With a backcourt featuring Rose and Gordon, guys like Ray Allen aren’t afraid to shoot the ball. Gordon works hard, but he’s just too short. I’d love to see him in a Bulls’ uniform, but Scot Skiles might be right in that Gordon’s best position is 6th man.

3. Luol Deng cannot be relied upon.

4. Tyrus Thomas hasn’t gotten it done. I’m a big Tyrus Thomas fan, but even I have to admit that Thomas was outplayed by Glen Davis. Davis, the other LSU tiger, was just bigger, stronger and better than Ty. Davis’ great mid-range shot caused the Bulls a lot of problems during the series. To think that he got drafted later in the draft than Ty, but still managed to outplay him. Tyrus needs to get into the gym. Or else, we need to find a true low-post player.

5. Noah is who we think he is. A hustle player that plays with great emotion that can be a starting center. Like Tyrus, Noah needs to get into the gym. There was no reason that Perkins should have been playing like he did against the Bulls. But, I like the kid.

6. Derrick Rose will only get better.

7. We need a true low-post presence. It’s amazing to think that the Bulls’ too the Boston series to 7 games without the ability to just throw the ball down low and let a player bang on the inside.

8. I like everything about Salmons. What happens when Luol gets back? I could see moving Salmons to SG, with BG coming off the bench.

9. Defense wins championships and the Bulls are not a good defensive team.

10. Lastly, this has nothing to do with the Bulls, but I officially hate everyone on the Celtics (especially Jakie Moon, “angry face” Perkins, House, and Rondo), except Ray “He got game” Allen.

NBA, Where Amazing Flagrant Fouls Happen

2009-04-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

I don't quite understand the logic of "well it's the playoffs" when it comes to flagrant fouls. Either something is a flagrant foul or it isn't. Just because it's the playoffs doesn't mean blows to the head should now become legal. But that's the NBA, Where amazingly poor officiating happens.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Let’s Play Who Did They Draft?

2009-04-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

A lot of NFL Draft, some Bulls, and one Pulp Fiction.

1. You’re a team with credibility issues and a vast history of retaining players with “off-the-field” problems. In fact, the stripes on your uniform make the perfect analogy to the stripes on prison inmate’s uniforms. Current players include a head case (Chad Ocho Cinco), a wide receiver with a rap sheet longer than the SEC’s GAAP accounting rules (Chris Henry) and a player arrested for gun charges (Tank Johnson). So who do you draft? Of course, Andre Smith (OT Alabama) the biggest head case in the entire draft. Ladies and Gentleman your Cincinnati Bengals.

2. Like Paris Hilton in a Scorsese movie, you’re team is inept and lost. You have a history of paying veteran players tons of cash, only to see them underperform (Randy Moss/Joe Horn/Javon Walker). What do you do in the draft? Of course, select Darrius Heyward Bey instead of the proven and better Michael Crabtree. Well done. Oh wait, how can the Raiders mess up their draft even more? Taking what most people consider an undrafted free agent in the 2nd round (Michael Mitchell (sounds like the guy from Arrested Development). Ladies and Gentleman your Oakland Raiders.

3. Like the Bungles, your team has a history of players with “off-the-field” issues (think Randy Moss and the classic Vikings boating scandal). Who do you pick in the draft? Percey Harvin a player who smoked weed knowing that he would be tested for it at the Combine. Percey Harvin literally blazed up thousands of dollars my smoking up. Ladies and Gentleman your Minnesota Vikings.

4. You’re a team with a tragic history of drafting offensive players, especially wide receivers, only to see said players flame out or bust. Your team just went 0-16 and likely fielded the worst defensive unit in the history of the NFL. Who do you draft with your first round draft picks? Mat Stafford (QB) and Brandon Pettrigrew (TE). Again two offensive players. Ladies and Gentleman your Detroit Lions.

5. You’re a team with a history of having no balls, trading down, only to get players from Division 3 college or “Combine” stat players. Who do you draft/trade back for? Johhny Knox, from you guessed it, Abilene Christian. Ladies and Gentleman your Chicago Bears. (PS. I could actually care less, we have CUTLER!!!).

More random thoughts.

6. Do you realize that Marvin Lewis is still the coach of the Cincinnati Bungals? In six years, his team has gone 46 and 49. Six glorious seasons of mediocre to terrible performances. I guess the Bengals just need a little more time to see if Lewis is their man. There GM must be thinking, “Hmmm, well he’s only been here 6 years, but I am still not sure what to make of the guy. We need more time. Yeah, let’s see what he can do in year 7”.

7. 10 years from now we will look at this draft and likely conclude that it was not that great. The only star players are likely Crabtree and maybe Stafford (read huge bust potential), plus a couple of random guys we are overlooking at this point.

8. Del Negro saved his timeouts. Del Negro must be learning and growing as a coach. Great, Del Negro’s gone from JV high school coach to WAC college coach.

9. Ben Gordon.

10. If Phil Jackson was the Chicago Bulls’ head coach, I have no doubt in my mind that Rajon Rondo would be having a mediocre series. I could see Jackson putting a tall athletic player on Rando and force him to shot over him (think Pippen). Although, that player may not exist on the Bulls’ roster (Maybe Salmons, possibly Tyrus? Who is that guy we picked up the draft a few years ago. The Sudanese/Egyptian/British dude? Deng! yeah that's it. Whatever happened to him?)

11. DeeeeTROIT BASKETBAAALL…. Stinks.

12. I couldn’t stand the ABC commentators on Sunday. Van Gundy is almost as annoying as Bill Walton. I missed Stacey King.

13. I want to punch Perkins, Glen (I am a fat baby) Davis and Kevin Garnett in the face. Of yeah, and Doc Rivers annoys me too.

14. Oh yeah, Paul Pierce thinks he got fouled… on every play.

15. Why does Mel Kipper give that smug, weird nodding, squinty eyed facial expression every time he’s finished talking about an NFL prospect?

16. The Swine flu. Want some bacon? No man, I don't eat pork. Are you Jewish? Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all. Why not? Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals. Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood. Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothin' that ain't got enough sense enough to disregard its own feces. How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces. I don't eat dog either. Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way. Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true? Well we'd have to be talkin' about one charming motherfuckin' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?

Chicago Bears' Jarron Gilbert Jumps out of Pools

2009-04-26T09:01:00.001-07:00

I don't know if the Bears' first pick in the '09 draft is any good, but he can do this.

Chicago Bulls vs. Celtics: Are the Celtics over their KG Depression?

2009-04-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

What’s it like to watch the Bulls get beaten like a high school nerd after accidentally bumping into the school bully? Well, I imagine it’s like getting stabbed in heart with a dull plastic knife. The Bulls managed to allow an old, mentally abused (still getting over the fact that their messiah KG won’t play) pierce them in the heart like one of those guys from the Last of the Mohicans. Not in my craziest nightmares did I ever see the Bulls losing Game 3. Worse than losing, they got abused and embarrassed. The drunk, naked, and dirty, (yet sexy girl) from Eastbound and Down even probably looked at the Bulls’ with disgust last night.

What happened? I don’t know. How can you explain a team playing like a bunch of guys from a Swedish health club pick-up game? Let’s forget about analyzing the Bulls. The Celtics on the other hand? Well, what if the Bulls only came close to going 2-0 in Boston because Boston was still hung-over from the loss of KG? They sure looked like it in Game 1. Ray Allen couldn't put a ball through a hula hoop, Perkins looked like Perkins and Glen Davis played like a baby in that first match. Paul Pierce didn’t start playing in the series until Game 3.

Unfortunately for us Bulls’ fans, the Celtics are getting over their KG depression and the Bulls are reverting back to every horrible habit they had prior to the Salmons/Miller era. The Celtics played like champions last night and the Bulls? Well the Bulls played like the Bulls: immature, selfish, no-defense, poor coaching and soft. When the going got tough, the simple fact is that the Bulls' packed it in.

I am done making my predictions on this Bulls’ team. They either wake up and realize that they are playing against Perkins and Glen "baby" Davis (players who actually suck), an old Pierce and past-his-prime Ray Allen or put their heads’ down, dribble, dribble and pretend they’re still playing KG, a young Pierce, and Jesus Shuttlesworth.

Chicago Sport's Center

2009-04-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

I am too angry to write anything about the Bulls' performance in Game 3. So here is ESPN Chicago's SportsCenter highlights.

Chicago Bulls: Keys to Victory over Celtics.

2009-04-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

I am not an NBA coach and never will be. I understand (and mostly hope) that Vinny Del Negro knows a whole lot more about basketball than I do. But I love basketball and especially my Bulls. And while purely from a fan’s perspective, I think the Bulls need to do the following (in classic Fanion bullet point style) to win the Celtics’ series.

1. I have always loved the triangle offense because it’s really a motion offense that forces players to think and react. There are really no set plays. Players move, cut and play off of each other without the need to look back at their coach for instructions on how to use their brain. The Bulls offense on the other hand, mainly consists of two plays: the high pick and roll with Derrick Rose and sideline screens to free up Gordon and Salmons. I’ve always been against the pick and roll or Stockton and Malone offense because it only allows two players to be involved in the offense, while the other three players sit around and watch. The pick and roll worked well during game 1 of the Celtics’ series, but Boston adapted and essentially stopped it from being effective in game 2. Namely, Brad Miller would set a high pick, Rose would feed him the ball, and Miller would start stumbling and eventual turn the ball over. The pick and roll should be used in some instances, but it shouldn’t be your offense 90% of the game. I submit that the Bulls need to diversify their offense to keep Boston on its back. A motion offense with guys cutting and screening would be beneficial, especially against a slower and older Boston team.

2. In addition, Derrick Rose doesn’t really need a pick to get passed his man. He’s faster and stronger than almost any NBA guard, including the now ankle-injured Rando. He doesn’t need a screen. Let him beat his man, one on one, forcing the defense to collapse and allowing for easy shots by the rest of the Bulls’ players.

3. To beat a dead horse in the ground, I suggest the Bulls’ stop using Brad Miller so much during games, and especially down the stretch. This isn’t the Brad Miller of 5 years ago. He is now slow, can’t jump and seems to lack confidence in his outside shot. I would only use Miller, at most, 20 minutes during the game. This would provide him enough time to make an impact and also keep his old-man legs fresh. Noah, Tyrus, and Tim Thomas (who for some reason hasn’t played in this series) should be more than enough to stop Glen Davis and Perkins.

4. Even I admit that this is not such a great idea. However, Salmons (who clearly looks like he is playing hurt), needs some help. Currently, we really have no other player that can play the 3-spot because Luol Deng is made of tin foil. I would suggest going big for brief periods of the game by either placing Tyrus Thomas or Tim Thomas on Paul Pierce. This would also solve our defensive rebounding problems as Tyrus or Tim could crash the boards. Placing foul-o-matic Kirk Hinrich on Pierce hasn’t been a viable option.

5. Lastly, even as a Tyrus Thomas fan, Del Negro needs to get on his ass for not snagging more defensive rebounds. Rebounding and defense are all about effort. Del Negro needs to sit Tyrus down and remind him of his main job to grab rebounds on both ends of the floor. Tyrus should be reminded that there is no reason why Glen Davis (the other LSU tiger) should be outplaying him. I realize that this recommendation appears overly simplistic. But sometimes a “keep it simple stupid” approach does work. Offering Tyrus the bargain that he’ll play 40 minutes a game only if he grabs 12 or more rebounds, would be encouragement enough. Plus, I am of the opinion (albeit a minority opinion) that Tyrus does care about winning (ever notice how he is always yelling, clapping, and pumping his fists while on the bench in support of his teammates). In the past, the media has oversimplified Tyrus and Noah as lazy and spoiled players. I am of the belief that they are neither, but are simply young, inexperienced and un-coached players. A great coach would get Tyrus to commit to rebounding. The guy blocked 6 shots in game 2, effort isn’t his problem.

Based on the way the series has gone so far, I think the Bulls win Game 3. The energy in the stadium and hopefully some reciprocal home court refereeing should give the Bulls the edge. Let’s just hope Del Negro knows what he is doing.

Chicago Bears Draft Preview: Forget it, We have Cutler

2009-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ordinarily, I would want to write about the Bears' upcoming draft; who they should take, their needs, etc. But, we now have Jay Cutler, so who cares. Here's a nice glimpse of our franchise QB. (never thought I would ever say that).

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: NBA Basketball Pet Peeves.

2009-04-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

If you have a timeout, you don't have to complete a baseline in-bound pass.

A little bit about what bugs me about the NBA, thoughts on the Bulls and Celtics, and what angers me about Vinny Del Negro.

1. Why is it that when an NBA team calls a timeout after a made basket, the ball gets inbounded at the ¾ court line at the end of games? I have never understood this. You take a timeout after your opponent hits a shot, but instead of having to inbound the ball from your baseline, you get to inbound at the opponent’s hoop near their 3-point line. I guess the NBA wants there to be more last second drama by allowing teams to avoid having to move the ball ¾ of the way up the court (something Vinny Del Negro apparently doesn’t know is allowed). But, it’s cheap and has no foundation whatsoever. Could you imagine the NFL allowing a team to have the ball at its own 40 yard line, instead of fielding a kick-off merely because it called a timeout? The NBA might as well let the team calling a timeout shoot free throws, it’s almost as irrational.

2. Why is it that NBA referees are as capable as Jessica Simpson during a SNL show? Namely, why do they suck? During the Bulls/Celtics game 1, I guaranteed that the referees would call a foul on the Bulls when the Celtics had the last second shot. And of course, the refs call a foul on Noah after he blocked Paul Pierce’s shot. NBA refereeing is so poor that even casual fans can predict bad calls. We know the following are 100% true: (1) Stars, especially Wade, Kobe and Lebron, will get calls even when they drive through the lane uncontrollably, simply looking for a foul; (2) the home playoff team will get 20% more attempts on the free throw line; (3) stars cannot foul out of a game; (4) if you are an average big man or rookie big man, you will get called for at least 5 fouls on the road; (5) During last second possessions, only star players will get calls. If you are a rookie or non-all-star, you better hit your shot because you will never get a call; and (6) 30% of calls made by referees are make-up calls.

3. Why is there such a thing as a make-up call? If a referee makes a bad call, he feels justified in “making-up” said call by, you guessed it, making another bad call. So the NBA allows for a system of refereeing where a ref is allowed to make two bad calls in a row. NBA, it’s fantastic!

4. Why are there only two players in the NBA? If you were from Albania and came to the US for a week, you would walk away thinking that the NBA consisted of two players, Lebron and Kobe. Basically, the NBA and its networks (ESPN And TNT) have made basketball into tennis.

5. Why does ESPN suck so much at televising basketball games? They have the individual talent (Wilbon comes to mind), but somehow come across as d-league basketball broadcasters. Bob Costas must listen to ESPN commentators and want to shoot himself.

6. So when do the Lakers/Cavs finals games start? The NBA is fantastic in that almost always the best teams get to the finals. It’s not like college basketball, the NFL, baseball, or even futbol, where luck can get a team to the championship game. In the NBA, the best team will win the 7 game series. Which is great, I like seeing the best teams compete. But, that also means that the NBA playoffs are predictable. We all know that the Lakers and Cavs will meet in the Finals, yet we have to go through a 76ers/Orlando series.

7. I do love the NBA commercials though. The music and the “where amazing happens” tagline is brilliant.

Playoffs Notes…

8. Why has Paul Pierce aged 35 years? Pierce only has one move left now, the ass move. Basically, he’s Charles Barkley (the old years) using his ass to post up a player, only to shoot a terrible fade away. Pierce went from being the best player last year (he outplayed Kobe in the finals) to an old, beaten poor man’s Charles Barkley. I guess this is what happens when you lose a guy like KG.

9. Why does Brad Miller look like a 90 year old Paul Pierce? Brad Miller makes Bill Cartwright look fast and athletic. I can’t tell you how much I was yelling at the screen on Saturday (Game 1) as I watched Miller plod along. For some reason, he also can’t shoot anymore. Even worse, it took Del Negro the entire 4th quarter of game 1 to realize Miller was having the worst game of his career to yank him out in favor of Tyrus.

10. How long can Derrick Rose be this good? Rose carried the Bulls on Saturday. It was almost impossible for him to keep playing that way for game 2. It didn’t help when (a) refs called silly fouls on Rose keeping him out of the game and (b) your coach can’t adjust to the other team’s handling of the Bulls’ pick and roll. Rose didn’t have a good game last night. Unfortunately, we need him to play great if we have any chance of winning. I just don’t think it’s possible for a point guard to carry a team that much, without another all-star caliber player helping to share the load (however, BG did that last night).

Notes to Vinny Del Negro..

11. Brad Miller is best used in limited doses. Like vicodin and alcohol, he’s best kept in moderation. So Del Negro, please, pretty please, with sugar on top, stop using Miller so much during games when Tyrus Thomas is at your disposal. Heck, I would even take Tim Thomas over Miller.

12. Further, you should use Tyrus Thomas more and not yank him just when he starts to get hot. If I recall correctly Thomas nailed to mid-range jumpers and also blocked his 6th shot of the game in the 3rd quarter. Del Negro then yanked him in favor of Miller (Who reminds me of an animal that has just been run over. What’s with all the flailing arms and legs?). I submit that Thomas is just as good a shooter now as Brad Miller (since Brad refuses to shoot open shots and likes to drive through the lane flailing his arms in hopes of getting a foul that won’t get called because he’s an idiot). Thomas is also 100 times more athletic. When Boston was out rebounding us in the 4th quarter, guess who you could have used to get some of those rebounds? Yes, the freakish athlete sitting next to you on the bench who has 6 blocks in about 20 minutes of playing time.

13. Save your f’in time-outs. Fool you once, shame on you, fool you twice, you’re a f’in idiot!. Del Negro please look at point 1 at the start of this entry, you will note that at the end of games having a timeout is crucial. During game 1, if we had a timeout we would have had 2 seconds to hit a game winner at Boston’s end after Pierce missed his second free throw shot. During game 2, we would have had 2 seconds to tie the game, if we had a timeout left. It’s not that hard, always keep a timeout in a back and forth game.

14. With that being said From Black, great job feeding the ball to Ben Gordon last night. You could see it in his eyes that he was on FIRE!

Lastly, notes to Kirk Hinrich…

15. Stop fouling.

Bulls/Celtics: Enter Derrick "the Bermuda" Rose

2009-04-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

If Derrick Rose was a rapper, he'd remark "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is.." Sorry, I can't finish it because I don't rap. But it would be something like Rookie of the Year, the Franchise, The Garden (he is a rose), and as I like to call him the Bermuda. Anyway, check out the highlights.

Chicago Bulls vs. Celtics Playoff Preview

2009-04-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

WE could sure use this guy on the left.

Something turns on in the playoffs, maybe it's a switch or some internal time clock that goes off. Teams that normally play good defense start playing great defense. The run and gun teams get trapped in a half-court game. The game becomes physical, slow, but intense. The great players start playing defense like it's march madness not game five of the regular season. No layups, no gimmies somehow become the motto. The cliche that defense wins championships is only a cliche because it's a fact that defense wins championships.

Unfortunately for the Chicago Bulls, they don't play good defense and utilize a run and gun offense. Two attributes that make you a perfect candidate for a first round sweep. Even worse, they play the defending champions, a team that (1) plays great defense and (2) likes the half-court game. The Bulls, a poor man's Phoenix Suns, play the rich man's Boston Celtics, if that makes any sense.

The Bulls do have some hope to win this series. Everything is possible right? KG is injured and no one outside of KG knows whether he'll be ready to contribute. The Celtics are old, while the Bulls are young. One could see parallels of the 7 game series between Atlanta and Boston from last year. Maybe the Bulls, with their athleticism and young legs can make this interesting. Maybe they could make the Celtics look as old as the Detroit Pistons. Maybe I am dreaming.

The Bulls actually have an okay matchup with the Celtics. Rondo vs. Rose will be a great battle. Ray Allen and BG basically cancel each other out. Salmons, whose play has been sub-par these past few games can handle Pierce. Salmons has been having trouble guarding bigger and quicker small forwards. Pierce is bigger, but not as quick. Pierce of course get's the edge, but Salmons can hold his own. As far as down-low? The Bulls may actually have a small advantage if KG is not 100%. Noah, Thomas, Tim Thomas and Brad Miller pose a threat to KG's ailing knees.

But with all that being said, the Bulls are too inconsistent to win this series. I don't know if they are the team that beat the Pistons 3 nights ago, or the team that got their behinds handed to them by Toronto at home last night.

Finally, the Bulls have never figured out this whole defense thing. Del Negro is still only a mediocre coach. His deficiencies have been masked by better players since the trade. The Bulls still don't play great defense (even during the latest winning stretch). Lastly, Del Negro is often slow to adjust and is inconsistent with his substitutions. The Celtics meanwhile are seasoned veterans who are as consistent as a German car.

In the end, the Bulls hope is for KG to sit out the series. But let's hope the Bulls defensive switch turns on, if they even have one. Or, that Derrick Rose can fill someone (you know who) else's shoes.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Masters

2009-04-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on the Masters, Manny Ramirez and the Chicago Bulls.

1. It is still cold outside and watching a game at Wrigley or that place on the south side won’t be fun. The big weekend event was the Masters. Which to say the least, is about as entertaining as watching fat women bowl (see picture). But, I guess we still have a Bulls playoff loss to look forward to. It’s almost the boring season.

2. Where does Manny Ramirez get that extra-large baseball cap with no bill from? Why is he so set on keeping his dreads in the cap? It looks like he’s storing a chicken on his head. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had two heads.

3. Someone not named Tiger Woods won the Masters. I think some baseball player named Angel Cabrera won it.

4. Listening to the radio, it was suggested that the Master’s runner up, Kenny Perry, who at 48 years old, had a lot left in him. The commentator suggested that while Perry wasn’t in great shape and wasn’t as an imposing figure, he still could compete. The radio man also felt sympathy for Perry for coming up short. The question I have is, why isn’t Perry in great shape or working out? Assuming that golfers are better when they are in shape (think Tiger Woods), would it hurt them to stop eating $50 steaks? It’s not like they work 90 hour weeks and don’t have time for good healthy meals. They are golfers for goodness sake. They’re job is leisure. You would think Perry or any other out of shape golfers would have time to work out. I’m not arguing that Perry become an NFL safety or take roids to get better, just that it probably wouldn’t hurt to lay off the ham and cheese breakfast sandwich and lift a few weights. So if the assumption is correct that being in better shape will help your golf game (even if just a little), why should I feel sympathy for Perry? Maybe he should take his job seriously and work out. Tiger does it. Of course, maybe you don’t have to in good shape, athletic or a work out warrior to be a great golfer. Fine. But if that’s the case, why would someone watch golf?

5. When does Bears’ training camp start? I can’t wait to see Cutler in a Bears’ uniform.

6. The Cubs are 5-2 and the Sox are 4-3. I don’t know what this means because both teams have 150ish games remaining to be played.

7. I really, really like this Salmons kid. My father, an avid Bulls’ fan was out of the country for about 3months without connection to the Bulls’ happenings. You can imagine his surprise when coming back to watch a revamped Bulls’ lead by Salmons, a guy that (a) wasn’t on the Bulls when he left and (b) someone my father has never heard of (and I suggest 90% of basketball fans have never heard of). It’s quite rare that a team trades for a player that has been playing in the NBA for a good 5-6 years, is a relative unknown, and that player becomes an essential part of your team on its run towards the playoffs. Sure we knew Brad Miller could help or that Tim Thomas would be a nice role player. But, who would have guessed 3 months ago that Salmons would be one of the Bulls’ better players? Not me and certainly not my dad.

8. Kirk Hinrich’s not bad off the bench. He has his legs underneath him because he isn’t guarding the other team’s best guard for most of the game. He can come in and start shooting with his great looking shot. Unfortunately, for some reason, Hinrich can’t hit an open 3-pointer to save his life. I can’t understand this.

9. I am convinced that Ben Gordon is a robot. Like a tennis ball machine or a baseball pitch machine, BG’s a basketball shooting machine. BG possesses an automatic, consistent shot that always aims perfectly at its target. Sure he’ll miss, but it’s just a calibration error. He probably pushes a button and he’s right back on target again.

10. I really hope the Bulls play the Magic in the 1^st round. They will probably lose, but I think we could give them a run. I know Boston is down right now, but with a healthy KG, they’ll be great in no time.

11. I am starting to understand why Tim Thomas never quite made it as a great player in the NBA. You can’t be great when you are consistently MIA. Thomas either suffers a soft injury or goes missing due to “personal” reasons. I would bet some money that Thomas manages to miss at least one of the Bulls’ playoffs games. I can see the groin strain from here.

12. Derrick Rose is a baller. He will never be an MJ or even a Magic Johnson. But he’ll be great. In fact, he is already really, really good. It’s impressive to see a point guard score, pass and lead an average team to the playoffs as a rookie. I can't wait to watch his career progress in that Bulls' uniform.

13. TV and radio owners needs to prohibit any advertising communicating the Subway “5 dollar foot-long” commercials. In fact, by just reading the preceding sentence and "5 dollar foot-long", I probably ruined your day.

ESPN Chicago: Re-formated or Re-done?

2009-04-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

ESPN rolled out it's first ever local ESPN.com website with ESPN Chicago. Typically, these national gone local websites are just a re-formatting of the national's web-page. For instance, we see Scoop Jackson and Gene Wojo on ESPN.com and we see them again on ESPN Chicago. Somehow I suspect that we will also see their same articles both on the national and local websites.

I hope this isn't just a reformatting site but an effort to redo or create a new local Chicago Sport's website. I certainly think there is a demand for a Chicago only sport's website with premier writing talent. I wouldn't mind an alternative to Tribune and Sun-Times Sports. The new ESPN Chicago seems to offer some new talent with new baseball blog reporters in Wayne Drehs and Jon Greenberg. That's a nice start. Full time Bears' and Bulls' blog reporters would also be nice.

It's too early to give a seal of approval on ESPN Chicago, but I hope they offer something new and original rather than a reworked Scoop Jackson article. Take a look yourself... here.

Chicago, Sinatra, What more could you ask for?

2009-04-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: April Sadness

2009-04-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on the end of the tourney, baseball, Michigan, MJ and the HOF and 2016.

1. March Madness is officially over. With the start of April, comes April Sadness. Yes, as a non-baseball loving fan living in Chicago, it’s almost officially the boring season. Once the Bulls are bounced in Round 1, this Chicity fan will only have the NFL Draft, NBA Draft, Champions League and the thoughts of the Cutler era to get him through spring and summer. Luckily, for you baseball loving fans, SagiNasty will be providing weekly reports on baseball.

2. Explain to me again how Michigan State was supposed to save the Michigan economy? Filling up Ford Field for a weekend will not save the auto industry. It is a nice side note and possibly some source of psychological relief for some Detroit workers, but let’s not get too far. Now if people started buying the Ford Fusion or the Chevy Volt, we might have something to talk about.

3. Whose idea was it to receive the Olympic Organizing Committee Members to Chicago in early April? For future considerations, when planning to receive, host and persuade global leaders in Chicago, may I suggest holding such a meeting in June. I realize that the Chicago 2016 members probably had no choice in this matter, nevertheless it is unfortunate.

4. Speaking of 2016, I speculate that 80% of the decision making process of members depends on (a) politics and (b) bribes. In my mind, people (whether from Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo, etc.) must be paying of these members to vote in their favor. Why you ask?

5. If college boosters pay a high-school prodigy upwards of $20K to attend the UConn’s or USC’s of the world, it’s logical to infer that local politicians or their rich friends are willing to pay much more to Olympic Committee Members for their vote. The Uconn’s of the world bring in 8 million a year due to their college basketball programs. How much would you need to pay Olympic Committee members to bring the billion dollar plus Olympics to your city?

6. This isn’t to automatically conclude that Chicago or other cities involve themselves in such black market bribery deals, but that it wouldn’t be entirely surprising that some members have been paid off for their vote. For example, if you are Pat Ryan or Mayor Daly and believe that some rich guy from Spain is willing to spend a million or two to buy the votes of some members for Madrid’s campaign, wouldn’t the same thought cross your mind? In addition, the risks of getting caught must be lower. Unlike the NCAA where boosters are located locally, the Olympic Committee members are located globally. The mere dispersion of voting members and the lack of power to enforce international laws and IOC regulations, would make it even more likely that these things occur.

7. Anyway, the Hall of Fame confirmed MJ as part of its upcoming HOF class. This is of course a no brainer. But I don’t think this is enough. If you are overwhelmingly considered the best player EVER to play basketball then a special something should be created to honor your playing history. I would suggest something bigger, like renaming the Hall of Fame to the Michael Jordan Hall of Fame or building an entire wing dedicated to his Airness. Or maybe creating another HOF called the “Greatest Hall” that only included MJ and Muhammed Ali with special consideration to players like Montana, Magic, Bird, Babe Ruth, Walter Payton, Jim Brown, Etc.

8. Tom Izzo has got to be one the best, if not the best, college basketball coach. I look at that team and always wonder how in the world they reached the championship game. I don’t see one great player and often question how they will score points. Yet, year after year and especially this year, they manage to get it done. Well done.

9. On the other hand, I have no idea what Izzo’s Spartans were doing yesterday. A simple, SLOW IT DOWN motto should have been in order. Michigan State played like they were a retarded energizer bunny and North Carolina played like a fully tuned lithium Ion battery. Michigan State had no business trying to out-run UNC. They would have lost even if they played a half-court game, but Izzo is partly to blame for their fast paced turnover game.

10. Maybe the best team should win. Congrats UNC.

11. DaChifan triumphed over SagiNasty in the Fogo De Chao challenge. Thanks again Tarheels.

12. For the first time ever, I won an NCAA Tourney pool. Albeit that it only consisted of 8 other players.

Jay Cutler is our Quarterback!

2009-04-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

When first hearing this news, by immediate reaction was: "Haha, no way. April fools was yesterday. No way the Bears pull that kind of trade. You can't fool me." As I kept on prodding my friend for the truth, the dream started to become a reality. After I made him swear on his mother's life, and he did, I couldn't believe it. Standing in line at the local grocery store, I kept yelling, "Oh my god, oh my god! Are you serious! I can't believe it! My reaction was similar to that Heinekin commercial with the guys screaming as they opened the walk-in closet full of Heinekin Beers. I wanted to hug the lady in line and scream at the top of my lungs, "WE GOT JAY CUTLER"! The Chicago Bears, and yes, Jerry Angelo, just made possibly the greatest trade EVER in this history of Chicago sports. Here are more of my thoughts!.

1. Forget whatever I've said the past year or so on this blog, I LOVE YOU JERRY ANGELO! Like that stupid movie in theaters, let's have a bromance.

2. Sure we overpaid for Cutler. But as I said before, desperate times call for desperate measures. Not since the days of Sid Luckman have we had a franchise QB (And sorry, I liked McMahon, but he wasn't a franchise QB. He was hurt more than Mike Brown during his Bears' career). By adding Cutler, the Chicago Bears now have a franchise QB. We've been searching for this, well, since forever. So well done. Whatever it takes to get the trade down works here.

3. Denver, have fun with your QB competition featuring Orton and Chris Simms. Welcome to our world!

4. Somehow through out all of this, people have given Kyle Orton a lot more credit than he deserves. LEt me make this clear, KYLE ORTON SUCKS. Sure he's nice and can make smart short passes. But he can't throw the ball with accuracy past 30 yards.

5. Which get's me to another point, Devin Hester finally has someone who won't underthrow him by 10 yards. I am still not sold as DH as a #1, but he will be much better with Cutler throwing the ball.

6. Mike Schlereth, Rock Hoover, go floss yourself.

7. For the first time in a long time, it's nice to see national media members recognize that the Chicago Bears exist. NFL Live, Sportscenter, Mike and Mike are all talking about Cutler and the Bears. And it makes me smile. Peter King might even talk about us! Actually I bet he gets on the phone with his east coast buddies like Dan Snyder and asks why they didn't top the Bears offer.

8. I am going to get tickets this year. This wasn't happening 24 hours ago.

9. The Orlando Pace trade was amazing. JA knows what he is doing. So I scratch him off the list. He's fine. Lovie Smith? It's on you now.

10. Lastly, while I think the trade is the greatest ever, the Bears are still a project. Dont' get upset if we don't immediately turn it around. Remember we have a franchise QB now. If all else fails, don't worry, we still have a QB. Never thought I would say that.

Oh and if you still feel like you will miss Kyle. Look at this video from mouthpiece sports. Just look at his hair. How do you support a guy like this?

Chicago Bears 2009 Draft Analysis: Get Jay Cutler

2009-04-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

The following is a survey of potential 1st round draft picks by the Bears from prominent draft gurus. My analysis follows.

Don Banks / SI.com
Eben Britton
OT, Arizona, 6ft6
Description:
I got a bit roasted by some in the blogosphere for not having Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher in the first round of my last mock, while others had him still in their top 10. Guilty as charged, but for a reason. A personnel man I trust tells me Oher's stock has taken on water starting with the combine, and he believes he'll continue to sink all the way into the second round. This goes against the dictum that quality offensive tackles go fast, I know. But Oher has some red flags, and Bears general manager Jerry Angelo isn't known as a big risk-taker on draft day.

Rob Rang, CBS Sportsline
Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
Description:
Considering the Bears' struggles offensively, one could make the argument that they need to take a quarterback or wide receiver with this pick. That doesn't mesh with GM Jerry Angelou's history, however. Jerry, an athletic defensive tackle to team with (and ultimately push) Tommie Harris could provide some rejuvenation to this defense.

Chad Reuter, CBSSportsline
Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri:
Description:
The Bears would jump for joy if Maclin fell to this point in the draft. Despite his skills, he has only average size and deep speed (although he's more explosive than his 40 times indicate) and has some work to do as a route-runner.

Pete Frisco, CBSSportsline
Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois:
Description:
They take a kid from down the road to help their pass defense. Davis is a gambler, but he can run.

Clark Judge, CBS Sportline
Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois:
Description:
Nathan Vasher has been hurt the past two years, so it's time to start looking for a replacement. Bears could try an offensive tackle here, too, but I think they go defense first.

USA Today, Staff Consensus
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland

Pat Kirwan, NFL.com
Peria Jerry, DT Mississippi
Description:
The Bears solved their tackle situation by signing Kevin Shaffer, so now they can start to repair the defensive line. Jerry gives them a tandem inside like they haven't had since Tank Johnson lined up next to Tommie Harris.

Chris Steuber, Scout.com
Tyson Jackson, DE LSU

Scott Wright, Draftcountdown.com
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
Strengths:
A smooth, fluid athlete...Long strider with rare speed...Explosive with great acceleration and a burst...Quick and agile...Terrific height and bulk with long arms...Excellent leaper...Nice body control and ball skills...Tough and not afraid to work the middle...Vertical threat who can separate...Also a dangerous weapon on reverses...Great work ethic...Could also contribute as a return man...Still has a ton of upside.
Weaknesses:
Is inconsistent catching the ball and does not have great natural hands...Questionable instincts and awareness...Still very raw as a route runner...Not much wiggle and won't make people miss...Doesn't break a lot of tackles...Average strength...Marginal blocker...Has little or no special teams experience...Wasn't real productive..Workout Warrior?

YahooSports.com
Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
Description:
The Bears need to add more talent to their offensive and defensive lines, but a playmaker on offense is still a top priority. Maclin has not run as well as expected this postseason, but his explosion is obvious on tape, and he would give the Bears some big-play capability on offense.

--------
Final DaChiFan analysis: There doesn’t seem to be any consensus on who the Bears are going to draft. But odds are that it will either be an OT, DT, Corner or WR. Of those, I think cornerback is the least of our concerns, especially since we can’t rush the passer. If I was Angelo, I would target the OT (provided that we don’t land Orlando Pace) or the WR, and preferably the bigger and faster Darrius Heyward Bey, even though he is more of a project.

But even with all that being said, the best move, and the one that would get me on the Angelo/Lovie bandwagon again would be to go out and get Jay Cutler. Trade the first round pick, and whatever else may be needed to get Cutler. I could see a scenario where we get Cutler and send a first and 3rd rounder to Denver, while Denver sends a 2nd t o Cleveland for Brady Quinn in a three team trade. I still don’t know if that get’s it done. But one thing is for sure, Cutler should be our number one priority right now.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Keeping it Short

2009-03-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

1. I am pretty confident that the Chicago Bears will be terrible next year.

2. On a scale of 1-10, I am at 6 with my excitement for the Bulls’ playoff games. I am starting to like the strong bench with Brad Miller and Tim Thomas, the energy of Ty and Noah and the ability of Salmons. But, then again they will likely lose in 5 to the Cavs or Celtics.

3. I am overly impressed with Blake Griffin.

4. I am totally unimpressed with any of the remaining players on the final four teams. Thabeet is too slow and has no post game. Ty Lawson is okay. I like the corn-row guy on U-Con. But, I just don’t see any excellent players.

5. A lot of Gisselle Bunchen lately. Which is nice.

6. Just bought a Tivo HD system to replace the shitty Comcast DVR receiver. I feel free.

7. Falling in love with Dan Patrick again due to his live podcasts on SI. No homo of course.

8. Looking forward to Fogo De Chao. Thanks SagiNasty.

9. I think I need to write another update on the Vinny Del Negro rating’s scale. I think he’s back up to being a mediocre/average coach. Having better players sure does help.

10. I am still on the Tyrus Thomas and Y. Noah wagon. They are what we thought they were. Good players who won’t win you a championship by themselves but are still great to have.

11. On that note, still not overly sold on Ben Gordon. I love this instant offense, but it’s too difficult playing defense with Rose and him on the floor at the same time. I’d like to see Salmons at the two, with BG coming off the bench. However, this would require us to play Luol “MIA” Deng.

12. I hope UConn. goes down just like my alma matter, IU went down. How on earth is it okay to have a student manager on your team who is also an NBA sports’ agent? Too many text messages? Terrible. Your student manager is the agent for Rip Hamilton? No problem.

13. This is Lebron James’ world and we are just living in it.

14. Despite my disgust at the media’s love affair with Lebron, I am impressed with his team-oriented focus. He often will make the simple pass and trust his teammates.

15. Still not sold on Cleveland winning the title. If Boston can get healthy, I still go with them. Same with the Lakers if Bynum can get healthy. I also wouldn’t be surprised by a Spurs run. They’ve never gone back to back, but they often go, Championship, playoff loss, Championship. But Manu may be too hurt.

16. I am pretty sure that David Stern would give away his left lung for an NBA finals matchup of Kobe vs. Lebron.

17. Not excited for the baseball season.

18. I enjoy the Heineken commercial with the girls walk-in closet, followed by the guys Heineken refrigerator walk-in.

19. Winter refuses to give up. Let it go. Seriously.

20. Stay in Memphis.

21. I miss MJ. Watch this clip below. (forgotten Game 1 vs. Celtics in playoffs (i.e. not the 63 point game, just 49 points). Start watching at the 1 min. mark.

March Madness Fogo Challenge Update

2009-03-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

DaChiFan currently leads SagiNasty 99 to 96 in the 1 on 1 tourney challenge. Winner get's treated to Fogo De Chao by the loser. DaChifan succesfully picked 3 out of the 4 final four teams and has UNC beating UCon. in the final. Whereas SagiNasty only has 2 out of 4 teams in the final four, with his champion, Pittsburgh already out. DaChifan can taste that garlic beef steak now.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts: Death of the Basketball Big Man

2009-03-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

1. One thing I’ve noticed from watching the opening round of NCAA games is that there are really no great low post scorers anymore. Besides Blake Griffin or Pitts’ DeJuan Blair, I don’t see any great scoring big men. The college game has trended towards three point shooters. Small and power forwards now typically step outside and shoot the three. Gone are the days of Hakim Olajuwon, Barkley, Duncan, Ewing, and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. Gone are the days of post moves. Gone are the days of the big man.

2. We also see this phenomenon in NBA basketball. Of course, there are still “big men” in basketball. Duncan, Yao Ming, and maybe even that Jefferson kid in Minnesota come to mind when I think of big men that have low post moves similar to the NBA’s glory days when you had guys like Hakim, Malone, Barkley, Jabar, Moses Malone, Ewing, etc., who could post up a man and use a litany of moves to score inside. That’s not to say that guys like Dwight Howard are not “big men”. But Dwight Howard doesn’t have any post moves. Like Shaq, he relies on pure strength and size to get the ball in the hoop. This is fine. It’s still two points. But Howard is no Olajuwon. Hakim had all sorts of pump fakes, up and unders, and spins and hooks. Howard, the new prototypical big man, has maybe a half hook.

3. And of course as an NBA fan I blame this on college basketball. It’s not all their fault, but why don’t college coaches teach big men how to play inside? Out of all the players in college basketball, we can only name 2, 3 or even 4 at most who have the type of skills of a Moses Malone? I would love to go on, but it still puzzles me that a lot of college players do not come to the NBA with skills and fundamentals.

4. Maybe it isn’t the coaches’ fault; maybe it’s the players, the emphasis on the zone defense, great inside defense or college’s 3 point system? You also rarely ever see guards pass the ball down low to big men in the NCAA tournament. For ¾ of the shot clock, all you see are passes near the 3 point line and an occasional weave run just inside the 3 point arc. With all the 3 point shooting and a reluctance of college players to take anything into the paint, maybe the “big man” just says, “fuck it, I’ll just take the ball up top and shoot threes too”. In the big man’s defense, there is nothing more depressing that watching your 5 foot nothing point guard jack up crazy threes, while you bang on the inside. Maybe 1 out 10 possessions Mugsy Boes will pass you the ball down low. But the other 9 times, he’s taking his man for a fall away 3 pointer.

5. I guess I am being my overly critical self again. But, what is wrong with wanting to watch a 6ft 10 player actually play near the hoop. I don’t want to see Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnet hoist up three pointers. I want to go back to the 90’s when the same players were posting up and hitting great fade aways over people, dunking, and using the occasional pump fake for a reverse layup.

6. Instead, I am left with Tyrus Thomas and Y. Noah who have never even heard of the word “post-move”. Gone are the days of a Charles Barkley’s ass maneuver (yes, I said ass. Barkley used his ass like a stripper in Vegas), or a Patrick Ewing 10 foot fade way, an Olajuwon up and under, or a Jabar sky hook. All we are left with are some Antoine Walker like threes.

More random thoughts……

7. SagiNasty and I dismissed Syracuse on our chat last week. They actually have a lot of skill players who can shoot the ball. They are fun to watch and should be given a lot of credit for advancing to the Sweet 16. But, luck has a huge part in this as well. They played S.F. Austin who resembled a high-school team. Two of Austin’ss starting players were below 5 feet 4 inches. I submit that almost any team in the bracket besides maybe Morehead St. would have beaten them. Syracuse then beat Arizona State, a team that should be described simply as a “poor man’s” Syracuse. No big man presence and basically a bunch of guys jacking up three pointers. Syracuse deserved to win those games, but they also got lucky playing a high school team and the Syracuse JV team. I haven’t even mentioned that Syracuse unfairly received a 3 seed in the tournament. They went 11-7 in their conference. Meanwhile, Marquette who finished 12-6 in the same conference received a 6th seed. So the tournament officials gave Syracuse a 3 seed and matched them up in a bracket with an automatic win in the first round and an Arizona State team (who hadn’t made the tournament since 2003 ) in the 2nd round. All of this because they got second place in the Big-East tournament, while playing every game on its home court in NY? Considering that the NCAA tournament committee rarely places any emphasis on conference tournament games, it seems quite suspicious that Syracuse got such an easy schedule into the Sweet 16. Also consider that Marquette, who finished with a better record than Syracuse in the Big East, had a 6th seed and had to play Missouri (the 3 seed in that regional) in the 2nd round. I wonder what would have happened if Marquette and Syracuse switched places?

8. This just goes to show how much luck plays a part in the NCAA tournament. Luckily, with the Sweet 16, on average the better teams are going to win and luck will play less of a factor.

9. The Bears continue to sit out the NFL. They are just taking a pass on this whole off-season thing. Lovie Smith believes that free agency is a red herring. From his comments, he believes that free agency is not a magic silver bullet that could cure the Bears’ troubles. TJ Housh? No, he won’t help us. Jay Cutler? Why bother when you have neck-beard on your team. No, instead Lovie believes that his role as a defensive coordinator and the brilliant Marinelli can turn around the Bears’ fortunes.

10. Actually, I am sort of okay with Lovie’s strategy. Because if the Bears’ fail again this year, we will only have him to blame. The buck stops at you Lovie!

11. The USA got ousted by Japan in the RCBC, the Random Country Baseball classic.

12. Arsenal plays Villareal in the next round of the Champions League. A pretty good draw if you ask me. Liverpool takes on the hated Chelsea.

13. Condoleezza Rice spoke at the NFL owners meetings this past week. She supposedly offered the owners and management words of wisdom. Here are my words of wisdom. Don’t listen to anything Condoleezza Rice tells you. Based on Peter King’s column she advised the owners to look overseas for expansion. King’s quote specifically stated, “Condoleezza Rice tells the NFL to look globally” and that she was quoted as saying, “history has a long arc”. You can’t make this sort of shit up. Let’s hope the NFL doesn’t invade a foreign country, come in, occupy land to play football, before realizing that no country outside of the US likes football, which would eventually require some sort of “exit strategy” to pull out the NFL “troops” (aka players) from said foreign country. Besides, has Rice never heard of NFL Europe? What’s next- a speech from Dick Cheney discussing “in-game torture” tactics?

14. The Bears open the NFL season AWAY at Green Bay. Again, for what seems like the 10th straight year, the Bears open up away. It was Baltimore, then San Diego, Detroit a couple of times, and now its f’n away at Green Bay. Why can’t the Bears start the season at home?

March Madness Fogo Challenge.

2009-03-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

As of today, SagiNasty holds a 52 to 47 lead against DaChiFan in the Fogo Challenge (winner pays for Fogo de Chao). DaChifan correctly picked 13 out of the 16 Sweet 16 teams. Unfortunately, Wake Forest's first round exit had devastating results for his bracket.

SagiNasty correctly picked 14 of the Sweet 16 teams. He also had Wake Forest beating Louisville to the elite 8. The only real difference between the two was DaChiFan's stupid pick of FSU to the Sweet 16.

To win, DaChifan could use losses to Oklahoma (Sags has Oklahoma over NC) and even Pittsburgh (Sags national champion).

All in all it was an okay first round. Actually, it wasn't that great. We were forced to watch a lot of Wisconsin basketball, which is sort of like watching a 1-0 baseball game. No big surprises. No Cinderellas. Just a lot of three pointers.