Fury jammer Kola Loka (center) leaps through a Hell's Belles blockade at the May 13 playoff bout. (Photo by Steve Stearns)
It's been a year of surprises and tumult and for the Windy City Rollers' four teams: The Hell's Belles broke The Fury's 14-game winning streak, and the Double Crossers celebrated their first win in, well, forever, though they forfeited their win. After much roller-skating ado, it's come down to the two top teams -- The Fury and the Manic Attackers -- duking it out on the track in the Windy City Rollers' Ivy Cup Championship on Sat., June 2.
The Manics have been unbeatable this season with ramped-up blocking skills building defensive brick walls that stymie opposing jammers.
The Fury have had an uneven year, but remember that 14-game winning streak? Yeah, they didn't earn that by being slouches. The gals in the white and orange will definitely give the Manics a run (or skate) for their money.
This is it, folks -- the derby game you want to be at. The 2012 championship will take place at 6 p.m. at the UIC Pavilion (525 S. Racine)
Tickets start at $20 in advance. Find yours online or at the door.
The White Sox went to Wrigley and swept the Cubs fairly easily this weekend, outscoring their North Side counterparts 16-6 while smashing eight home runs. The season's first interleague series was exactly what the Sox needed as they improved to .500 before a six game homestretch against Minnesota and Cleveland.
Too caught up in the NATO protests to watch baseball? Here were some of the highlights and lowlights of the three game set.
Players rarely retire at the right time. Some leave early and starve us of the opportunity to witness their continued greatness (Barry Sanders), while some players continue playing long past their effectiveness (Brett Favre) or return after an iconic moment (Michael Jordan).
Kerry Wood nailed it perfectly.
Prior to Friday's game, Wood announced he'd be retiring after his next appearance, which was expected to be on Friday or Saturday. With one out and a man on in the eighth inning, starter Jeff Samardzija was lifted for a reliever. Wood shook the hand of bullpen coach Lester Strode, and made his way to the mound at Wrigley one final time.
Just in time for the start of the Crosstown Classic, Craig Robinson and Nick Offerman return in New Era's "Chicago vs. Chicago" commercial series. This round, Robinson asks Offerman how far he'd go to see the Cubs win the World Series. As you'd expect, it's pretty far.
Athletes are held under a tight microscope, both criticized as villains and heralded as gods for things that any other man might just call a full weekend. To some extent, an athlete must be allowed the right to make mistakes, and even drink to excess every so often, like any other person. However, as a society, there is the hope that the people who wield extraordinary talent will also demonstrate extraordinary self-control and prove themselves worthy of being a role model beyond their jersey. Somewhere in the middle though, an athlete's image is also a brand, and poor maintenance can be bad for business.
Patrick Kane is one such athlete. The kid likes to drink. It's not surprising when he goes out and gets himself into a little bit of trouble (or a lot, depending on which side of the cab you're on.) He likes to celebrate too. Who knows how much of the Stanley Cup parade he remembers from 2010, though he held himself together pretty well - enunciating most of his words during his speech, and even throwing a shout out to cabbies. In his latest outing, he joined hoards of other inebriated 20-somethings in Wisconsin and was raked over the coals for it.
Apparently the first full week in May is the time to start throwing out random trade ideas if you're a Chicago sports writer (Or just Phil Rogers). Being in last place does tend to accelerate the timeline, but the Cubs have actually been playing good baseball. Who's going where? Let's lay an eyeball on the rumors and throw some crap against the wall like everyone else to see what sticks.
While most of Rogers' love-fest has involved the White Sox trading for him (won't happen), he also mentioned the Cubs possibly having interest in a deal involving Dempster (Matt Garza too, but we'll get to him later). His argument for the deal is that, "He's the perfect guy to show a rebuilding lineup how to work a count and would bring a welcome intensity to Wrigley Field."
The White Sox didn't do so well against the fourth place Royals this weekend, dropping the final two games by a combined 13 runs. The Sox played well in the opener though, and the top offensive performer in the victory was a now not-unlikely name: Adam Dunn.
Much has been written about the slugger's resurgence. Perhaps the best indicator that Dunn's hot streak is for real is that he's keeping it up. Usually, once you notice that a player is tearing it up, he quickly returns back to earth. Not in this case, though.
In Friday night's 5-0 win over Kansas City, Dunn had one of his finest games of the season. Not only was his power evident and his OBP at 1.000, he even broke his season-long strikeout streak.
Just how did Dunn do it? Let's look at it at-bat by at-bat.
Leading Game 6 by a point with 12 seconds left, Watson took the inbounds pass from underneath the Bulls basket, streaked up court (blowing through an uncalled intentional foul by Philadelphia) and passed to quite possibly the WORST FREE THROW SHOOTER IN THE NBA!
Sure, Omer Asik was 4-of-5 from the stripe before missing two free throws (on a blatant, but also uncalled, flagrant foul) with seven seconds remaining, but don't blame him. It should've never gotten to that point. An NBA point guard should be able to read a scoreboard without the assistance of coach explaining the situation during a timeout. It's utterly inexcusable!
You know the story from there: Bulls announcer Stacey King explicitly tells the world that, "Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson have to watch the runout," followed by Andre Iguodala grabbing the rebound, running down the court uncontested, and being fouled by an exhausted Asik.
Iguodala hit both free throws with 2 seconds left, and the Sixers had a 79-78 win and a date with Boston in the East semifinals.
This has been a confounding White Sox season so far.
Sometimes, they look good. They look like a postseason-contending team when Adam Dunn is driving the ball, when Jake Peavy is dominating on the hill, when Konerko is putting up a stream of 2-for-4s, when Philip Humber is literally unhittable, and when the entire lineup chips in - Wednesday's 8-1 win over Cleveland was an example of that.
But then again, the Sox can look pretty bad, like they are truly a 72-win team masquerading as a .500 (or better) squad. Prior to their last two wins over the Indians, the Sox had a stretch where they were 3-11, and their current record is 15-17.
The Blackhawks' coaching staff has been doing some shuffling in the wake of the season. Assistant General Manager Marc Bergevin left to take the General Manager job with the Montreal Canadiens and his space was quickly filled by the promotion of Director of Player Personnel Norm Maciver.
In a surprising move a day later, Mike Haviland, who is recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the NHL, was relieved of his duties, and the Blackhawks are searching for a replacement. Amid the whispers of new leadership and coaching shifts, a story rose to the top that coach Joel Quenneville might be leaving Chicago as well.
There is a conspicuous vacancy in Montreal's staff for a head coach. Bergevin has already begun to recruit old friends like former Blackhawks colleague and current Leafs Director of Player Personnel Rick Dudley, who will likely be the next assistant coach for the Canadiens. A familiar face, Quenneville would be a welcome addition to the staff, and after a season of turmoil, a new challenge with a blank slate could sound tempting.
It was ugly. It was appalling. It was (insert repulsive adjective here). But despite playing a game that would have driven James Naismith to drink, the Bulls limped away with a 77-69 win in Tuesday's Game 5, sending the series back to Philadelphia down 3-2.
Limped, unfortunately, wasn't a figurative use of language.
With 2:06 remaining in the third quarter, Taj Gibson rolled his right ankle badly when he stepped on Lavoy Allen and was forced back to the locker room to be evaluated. He returned to a resounding ovation usually saved for Derrick Rose, but was relatively ineffective late in the game while favoring his right leg. Even though Gibson was able to finish, you have to think his ankle will swell and limit motion, perhaps making him questionable for Thursday's Game 6.
We like to think the athletes we dole out hundreds of dollars to see are superhuman. They're far from it. Despite the amazing things they can do with a ball, a flu bug can take them down just as hard as it does us peasants. So much so that it cost another player his job.
With Matt Garza too sick to make his scheduled start on Sunday (after being pushed back a day already), the Cubs were in a bind. A trip to the disabled list was out of the question, so the Cubs designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment for the second time this season - making room for Travis Wood (acquired in the Sean Marshall trade) to make his regular season debut in a Cubs uniform.
It was far from what the Cubs wanted to do, but a virus that had overtaken four other players left the team with no other choice. DeWitt was hitting just .138 with no homers in backup duty at second and third base, but the Cubs are hoping he clears waivers and re-signs with the team. It's unknown if he'd immediately be brought back to the majors if he does re-sign.
Already down from Derrick Rose's season-ending injury, the Chicago Bulls faced another setback Sunday afternoon as starting center Joakim Noah was benched with a sprained ankle sustained in Friday's loss. The absence was glaring, allowing Philly center Spencer Hawes to have his second great game in a row, leading the 76ers to an 89-82 win.
The victory gives Philly a 3-1 series lead heading back to Chicago, where the No. 8 seed will try to close out the Bulls on Tuesday night.
Even though the Sox lost their rubber match against Detroit on Sunday, Adam Dunn hit a home run.
We are slowly getting to the point where that is not a surprise anymore.
Dunn connected off the Tigers' Rick Porcello, driving a low and outside changeup just over the fence in right field. Dunn hit the pitch about as well as any hitter could; the hit was the one bright spot the Sox offense had against Porcello (only one run on four hits allowed) all afternoon.
The big 1B/DH has been swinging the bat well over the last few weeks, specifically the last 18 games. For the first few weeks, Dunn looked like he was continuing last season - he had one home run (way back on Opening Day), and was batting .179 with a .256 OBP. He had four extra-base hits, and two of them came in one game against Detroit.
Not just Joakim Noah's ankle roll in the third quarter that made his foot bend like a flexi-straw, but the improbable collapse Friday night that saw Chicago lose a 14-point lead in the final few minutes to fall to the 76ers, 79-74.
It was a gut punch of a loss, the kind that makes you wonder, with no exaggeration, if there's any chance this team can come back.
Players rarely retire at the right time. Some leave early and starve us of the opportunity to witness their continued greatness (Barry Sanders), while some players continue playing long past their effectiveness (Brett Favre) or return after an 
What in the hell was C.J. Watson thinking? 
The Blackhawks' coaching staff has been doing some shuffling in the wake of the season. Assistant General Manager Marc Bergevin left to take the 
