Cubs Fri Nov 20 2009
There have been more than enough rumors involving the Cubs dealing irrascible outfielder Milton Bradley to someone...anyone, so why not throw one more long on the fire.
A Tribune "breaking news" report has the Cubs sending Bradley to Texas in a three-team deal that would also see Rangers pitcher Kevin Milwood going to the New York Mets and the Mets' second baseman Castillo here.
However, a NYC blogger says it ain't gonna happen.
— Ken Green /
Bears Thu Nov 19 2009
The Bears after a promising, if not hollow, 3-1 start to the season with wins over Pittsburgh, Seattle and Detroit to its credit are now doing their best impersonation of the "Edmund Fitzgerald." The team has steered headlong into the teeth of a brutal scheduling storm and find themselves facing down the very slim prospects of a playoff berth particularly when you look at the next month of games starting with Sunday's tilt against the playoff-craving Philadelphia Eagles.
Donovan McNabb, celebrated Chicago-reared quarterback/"tough guy who always gets hurt and then bounces back to throw ungodly numbers," will be looking to torch the Bears still very flammable secondary [Don't let the "Alex Smith" adjusted San Fran passing stats fool you, Bears fans --Ed.] Sorta filed under "good scenario/bad scenario" is the fact that Philly's Swiss Army Knife running back, Brian Westbrook will not play thanks to a concussion suffered in Washington.* Of course this is filed under "good/bad" and not just good because instead of the defensive front seven of Chicago getting pounded into dust, the secondary is that much more likely to be burned by the be-dreadnaughted artillery fire of Donovan The Cannon-Armed and his cadre of speedy receivers.
Continue reading this entry »
— Brian Lauvray /
Cycling Thu Nov 19 2009
Things have gotten really crazy in Chicago's cyclocross races. Mad crashes, a few ambulance rides, and of course, the Avenue of Bacon. Whereas in the Tour de France, the course on the climbs winnows down by the crowds to a small thread of pavement, in Chicago, it's the same, albeit enhanced with fried pork product. Yes, bacon. Bacon, and the dispensing of bacon into racers' mouths, has somehow become the defining characteristic of this madcap 2009 'cross season. And it's even now featured on a billboard.
There are only two more races left at which to savor the bacon and mud, this Sunday's blast in Woodstock, and then the Illinois State Championships on December, 6 at Montrose Harbor.
It's a little bittersweet to be running down to the tail end of the all-too-brief Chicago 'cross season. It's such a shame that such fun only lasts for about two months before it says goodbye. Racing mountain, road, and track is good fun, but in the parking lot before and after we're talking about how we can't wait for 'cross. We miss the racing and the challenge of riding all-out for 30-60 minutes, but we love being able to have fun after our race is done. Hanging out at crits and the track is a good time, hanging out at road races, not so much. But 'cross -- you actually can become part of the racing as a spectator. In Spring, when I'm off the back of a hilly road race in Wisconsin or Ohio, I'll be muttering to myself or to anyone nearby, "I'm putting up with this to get ready for 'cross."
On other sad news, Roger Delanghe, local cycling official and founder of the Quad Cities Criterium, has passed.
— Zach Thomas /
Cubs Thu Nov 19 2009
The Cubs have agreed in principle a two-year deal with lefty reliever John Grabow. Grabow was acquired from the Pirates on July 30 along with Evergreen Park native Tom Gorzelanny. The deal is expected to be $7.5 million over two years.
— Brian Livingston /
Bears Thu Nov 19 2009
Thanks to a relatively minor blurb 
by Tribune columnist/blogger Steve Rosenbloom, national sports blog Deadspin has the rest of the nation convinced that Bears fans want to run quarterback Jay Cutler out of town on a rail. Now, of course we're not happy with the early results of Cutler's first season here (a 4-5 record, 17 interceptions by Cutler), but we're don't think people have washed their hands of him so soon. Most Bears fans seem to have varying opinions of where the problems lie: offensive line, receiving, the running game, offensive play calling, head coaching, general manager and/or all of the above. But Cutler as the sole souce of the ire? We're going to have to call bull...er, hockey on that one.
— Ken Green /
Cubs Thu Nov 19 2009
We all know that "Cubs" and "omens" go together like "Wrigleyville" and "drunken frat boy", but is there something oddly fortuitous about the family name of the new Cubs owners? The blog Bleed Cubbie Blue takes a look...
— Ken Green /
For the average Chicagoan, things are starting to turn cold, grey and miserable. For the college hoops heads among us, things are just starting to heat up.
College basketball revs its engine this week as the season gets underway and Chicago has no shortage of teams to keep an eye on. Sure, the flags of Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana may obliterate the local landscape, but hometown fans have a few teams they may want to keep an eye on. So, to get you caught up...
Northwestern
Chicago's Big Ten connection kicks off a four-game homestand tonight with a game against 11th-ranked Butler in Evanston. The Wildcats are coming off a 77-55 win over Northern Illinois, impressive considering their two senior stars, forwards Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan, are out for the season with injuries. NU leads the series with Butler 16-7.
The Northwestern women also won their first game of the season 73-64 over Toledo. They now play eight games in a row at home (starting with SIU Evansville on Friday), including the Doubletree White Tournament Nov. 27 and 28.
Continue reading this entry »
— Ken Green /
They may have come up short in this year's Women's Flat Track Derby Association Tournament, with a second-round loss to Philadelphia, but next year, Chicago's own Windy City Rollers should have a definite home-track advantage as hosts of the 2010 WFTDA Championship Tournament.
The Rollers boast a strong fan base which has only increased since their move to the UIC Pavilion and it's a pretty good bet they'll be out in force for the "Uproad by the Lakeshore" on November 12-14, 2010. The host city for the WFTDA finals is determined by an application process and league member voting.
To show their appreciation to their fans, the Rollers will hold a nationwide contest to design the logo for the "Uproar". The winner will receive $100 and a pair of VIP tickets to the tournament. Details will come later.
Read more about the Windy City Rollers on their website.
— Ken Green /
As Sox fans (and yes, I place myself in that camp), we have a lot of chips balancing on our shoulders with respect to respect (and/or the lack thereof). From the perceived amount of local media coverage heaped on the Cubs to the way certain players openly snub the team when talk of trade or free agency crop up (like Jake Peavy before he realized no one wanted him BUT the Sox), we have a sense, not always openly expressed, of getting the short end of the stick no matter what happens with our team.
So, yeah, you can call us bitter if you like. But we've got 2005, so, you know, suck on it.
But Gordon Beckham? Fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting? We figured first might be a longshot, even after he picked up two similar awards voted on by the players. But fifth?
If we had a handkerchief and were wearing a tie, we'd be Rodney Dangerfield-ing all over the place right now. No respect indeed.
I don't want to lay out all of the arguments as to why this seems to be a slight to Beckham and White Sox fans. The Sun-Times' Chris DeLuca does a good enough job of it here. And if you're of the camp that Beckham is where he belongs in the voting, ESPN.com's Rob Neyer goes point/counterpoint with DeLuca here.
Beckham, for his part is playing it cool, saying only that he's a little surprised at how he finished but it won't ruin his day. He seems to be learning to accept being shortchanged. He's one of us.
— Ken Green /
Fire Sun Nov 15 2009
It was an unfortunate end to the season for the Chicago Fire. After a scoreless game against Real Salt Lake, the teams went head to head in penalty shots. Both teams hit four of their five shots, pushing it to extra kicks. The Fire sent two shots that were blocked. Salt Lake sent one high, but their second made it past Jon Busch. Salt Lake one 5-4, and will now head to the finals against the L.A. Galaxy.
Heartbreaking for Chicago. Even with the loss, the team played a strong match, holding Salt Lake off both halves. Now the Fire will set their sites on next year, hopefully making it to the MLS Cup Finals--and winning.
— Vanessa Day /
While the Blackhawks-Maple Leafs Original 6 matchup tonight is one of tradition, hockey's also a sport that's full of superstition, as ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers found out in an entertaining query of the Hawks' gameday rituals in honor of this Friday the 13th tilt.
One thought: Brent Seabrook's superstitions have to be insanely complex to be called out by nearly half the respondents; I wish he'd detailed the full extent of them in his answer.
— Jeremy Piniak /
Fire Fri Nov 13 2009
This Saturday's Conference Final game between the red-hot Fire and Real Salt Lake is a sellout. But you can still get in on the action if you're lucky enough. Text the word "playoffs" to 95248 and you could be the lucky Fire-head who'll win a prize package that includes two seats ON THE FIELD (west sidelines), folding chairs autographed by a Fire player, two Stadium Club passes, two Fire scarves, a team-signed Fire jersey, a parking pass and two tickets to the Fire's 2010 season opener against San Jose on April 10. Yeah, it IS pretty cool. You'll be signing up to receive Fire text alerts when you enter the contest, but if you're that big on the Fire, you probably won't mind that. Hurry, the winner will be picked TODAY.
— Ken Green /
Bears Fri Nov 13 2009
Yesterday when I previewed this game I predicted points galore, that both offenses would make mincemeat of the defenses, albeit in different ways: San Fran on the ground and Chicago through the air. I was wrong, dear readers, dead wrong. That over/under of 43? That was comically generous for a game featuring a grand total of 16 points and 31 first downs! Hell, the Bears had as many first downs via the pass (12) as the 49ers had total and still lost. But why and how did this tragedy occur? And make no mistake this was an Oedipus-level tragedy. Peep the box score and tell me this wasn't some other level ancient Greek downer of a game?
How did it happen? Mistakes on so many levels by so many players on both teams. And who made the most mistakes? None other than San Francisco Team MVP, Jay Cutler! What's that? You thought Cutler was the Bears quarterback? Sure is, but he threw 5ive!!! interceptions (two in the red zone) which definitely qualifies him for 49ers Team MVP.
Continue reading this entry »
— Brian Lauvray /
Fire Fri Nov 13 2009
It will be six years to the day since Chicago last hosted an Eastern Conference Final. On November 14, 2003 the Fire defeated New England at Soldier Field to advance to the MLS cup. This year, Toyota Park will be the scene of the deciding game versus Real Salt Lake.
The Fire and Salt Lake will have their third meeting of the season tomorrow. While the Fire dominated in the regular season against Salt Lake, with a record of 1-0-1, it will still be an intense match, especially with a trophy in sight. Salt Lake qualified for the playoffs in the final week of the regular season after having five teams seeded ahead of them. They defeated Colorado to claim a wildcard spot and then downe the first place Columbus Crew to make it to the final. Clearly, this is not going to be easy.
But Chicago has a strong team, and coming off a solid win against the Revolution last weekend has heightened their momentum. Plus, they are playing at home, and the crowd at Toyota Park is nothing short of intimidating. Hopefully playing at home will be an advantage for the Fire as it was last week. We will have to wait and see.
The winner of the game will be awarded the Eastern Conference Trophy by the Major League Commissioner Don Garber on the field following the match. And with a win, the Fire would advance to the 2009 MLS Cup Final in Seattle on November 22. The game starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, November 14. It will air on
— Vanessa Day /
Cycling Thu Nov 12 2009
OK, it's a bit late notice, but registration for this Sunday's Indian Lakes ChiCrossCup race closes at midnight tonight. This is a Saturday race, the only one of the season, on the golf course of the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. Lodging is available at a special rate for racers and the hotel has lifted limits on the number of people to a room -- yes, you can snuggle up to four of your favorite stinky teammates without fear of incurring the wrath of the night porter.
The South Chicago Wheelmen, the organizers of this particular race, have a raffle, included goods autographed by Chicago's most famous cyclist, Christian Vande Velde.
There are only a handful of races left before State Championships at Montrose Harbor. Make 'em count.
— Zach Thomas /
