By Wes French
Highlighting the sports scene in Chicago, one deep-dish slice at a time…
Barnum & Bailey & Noah
The Chicago Bulls are never too fond of the annual circus trip. Hell, Joakim Noah didn’t even know why it was called the circus trip (It’s because B&B circus invades the UC every November). This is the type of thing that would have sparked plenty of stoned/intelligence jokes and related them to just why the Bulls are so bad early in the season. Thing is, Noah and his double-double average, including 12.4 rebounds/game to lead the league, to start the season have he Bulls more than optimistic about this year’s trip to the west.
The team earned a victory last night in Sacramento with great defense to close out the win. The 1-0 start to the six game roadie is encouraging, especially given their early season woes with finishing games. The same trend was their biggest problem last year, but it’s good to see them overcome their issues before they face actual western powers like the Lakers, Blazers and Jazz. Up next is a date with Kobe, Phil and the rest of the lakeshow on Thursday night.
Hawks hoping to spill ink, not blood in the near future
The Blackhawks are up against the cap this season and that led many to believe they’d have to choose two of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith to sign, all upcoming restricted free agents. GM Stan Bowman must be the magic man then, because reports out of TSN in Canada have the Hawks set to sign all three to long-term deals. Toews and Kane, who have the same agent, would sign identical five year, $30 million deals and Keith would be inked to a Hossa-like 13 year extension. If the reports are accurate Bowman did well for the organization, making sure they’ll be competitive for years to come. It also means that now he really needs to start working.
Locking up the young core is great, but it means the team will be just over the cap with money committed to just 15 players in 2010. Guys like Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Adam Burish, and Niklas Hjalmarsson among others will all be free agents and it’ll be tough to keep just half of them even if Bowman can move Brian Campbell($7.9M/yr) or Cristobal Huet ($5.6M/yr). Bowman has proven he has some magic in his talents with these reported signings, he’ll need to show it over the next nine months to prove it’s more than just smoke and mirrors.
Bear Necessities
Jay Cutler is who he is. He is not a savior. He believes he can fit a football anywhere, and will try no matter the situation. He takes his anger out on officials. Even when he’s falling down, he still won’t admit Devin Hester isn’t a suitable number one. He wants to score touchdowns, not field goals and that’s where management wants to change him. The Bears are trying to convince him three points are better than none. Cutler leads the universe in Red Zone interceptions with five, including two in last Thursday’s six point loss at San Francisco. Cutler seemed to be warming to the idea of settling for three during his press conference this afternoon.
“We’ve got to be careful with it. If we have to take three points, we have to take three points…At the end of the day, if you get down there(redzone) you want to at least get three”.
The guy is a competitor and obviously wants to hit paydirt every time he starts a drive, but he’d better realize that three is worth it when the play isn’t there. It’s one thing to say you know what’s right and another to throw the ball away on third and goal rather than forcing it between two or three defenders. We’ll find out when the Bears host the up and down Eagles by the lake this Sunday. Another awful performance on national television will end the Bears playoff hopes and really get the “who’s losing their job” rumors flowing, just in time for the holidays.
Luke warm stove report
Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, John Lackey and the rest of MLB’s free agents are ready to hit the market this Friday and things is Chicago are…quiet. Neither team is expected to be a major player in free agency, but that didn’t stop one man from starting major rumors on the South Side. A blogger reported that the White Sox were involved in talks that would send Paul Konerko to Anehiem, Adrian Gonzalez to Chicago and a combo of prospects from each team to San Diego. The rumor was picked up by local papers and ESPN which gave it legs, but don’t waste your time. This deal has almost no chance of happening because A) the Sox were linked to this rumor in August when Kenny Williams said they were told they didn’t have what it takes to get A-Gon and B) why would the Angels take Konerko and his $14 Million for 2010 and use their prospects to help Chicago get the best player in the deal? The only way this happens is if Chicago includes Gordon Beckham. I suggest you move on.
The Cubs are not the subject of any ridiculous rumors-yet-and have stayed out of the postseason news for the most part. The Ricketts deal was news enough for a few weeks but soon people are going to wonder how they plan on filling the rotation, bullpen and moving that trouble maker Milton Bradley. If they can’t find a taker through the GM Winter Meetings December 7-10 they may be hard pressed to find a taker at all. I can’t wait until the talk goes from “Bradley is gone, no matter what” to “Bradley can totally turn it around with his old hitting coach Jaramillo in town”.
Priceless.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
You should have included a Chicago hotdog breakdown in here as well. The highlight of story would have been an argument as to why I get nasty looks anytime I grab the ketchup. No worries, just like Cutler, you can’t change people, how they think, or what they know. Like mustard, or throwing red zone interceptions.
Priceless.