By Thomas Chambers

The stars of Thoroughbred horse racing will glitter brightly Monday night as the horsey set descends upon the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills for the 39th Annual Eclipse Awards, the game’s own Academy Awards.
More than just the annual self-congrats, this year’s quest for the small, heavy statue of the legendary 18th century racehorse and stallion, Eclipse, has reached epic proportions as voters must choose their Horse of the Year from two females (!), both with amazing achievements and historic deeds. Rachel Alexandra. Zenyatta.
The equines will be sending their Sasheen Littlefeathers to accept the awards on their behalf, but don’t think it’s a Brando protest sort of thing. They’re horses. They don’t care.

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Posted on January 15, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

Trade chatter continues to surround Tracy McGrady, SG/SF. As of Tuesday, it was still unclear where he might be going, and who might be destined for Houston, but any trade that happens is likely to involve meaningful names. One of the great things about fantasy basketball is that there are often more trades than you are likely to see in the NFL in a given season, and though fewer than you might see in an MLB season, they almost always affect the everyday lineups, unlike to the minor shuffles and player-to-be-named deals you see in baseball.
It’s Week 12, and we are not yet at the spiritual or actual halfway point of the fantasy basketball season. A potential McGrady deal may be only one of many to come.

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Posted on January 13, 2010

By George Ofman
Greg Maddux becomes a special assistant to Cubs GM Jim Hendry.
Mark McGwire admits to using steroids.
Guess who got the short end of the straw on this one?
I think we can be pretty certain about this: Maddux did not use performance-enhancing drugs to fashion what will one day be his Hall of Fame career.
Mark McGwire should never be a Half of Famer.
McGwire’s revelation splashed across the Internet and on TV as a bombshell. It wasn’t. We all knew.

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Posted on January 12, 2010

By Jim Coffman
It didn’t take long for another seemingly sweet weekend to turn sour for the Hawks. And even if we’re still a ways away from any sort of real concern, if you wanted to see how the home team could end up losing to a considerably less-talented foe in the playoffs, it was on display at the United Center on Sunday.
There have been a handful of games this year (mostly before the 12-wins-in-14-games run capped off by a five-game win streak ended by the Blackhawks’ come-from-four-goals-ahead 6-5 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday) where opponents have managed to take a one-goal lead and hold it for a while. But down the stretch of most of those games the Hawks’ depth of skill and perseverance has eventually prevailed. The squad finds a way to score the tying goal and then hangs on to force overtime to at the very least earn a point (and then the teams have battled for the second standings point in the extra time and, if necessary, the shootout).
The key has been the 1-0 deficit. Once the deficit becomes two goals, the task facing a team is more than twice as hard. Exhibit A is the fact that the Ducks were able to take a 2-0 first-period lead on the Hawks on Sunday and then hang on for an eventual 3-1 win despite a dearth of decent scoring chances (they managed all of 12 shots all game).

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Posted on January 11, 2010

By Jerry Pritikin
As a baseball fan, I have been lucky to see my fair share of ballplayers – visiting or with the Cubs – who came up and stayed much, much longer than for just a cup of coffee. Over the years, I have had Cubs Heroes, and on many occasions met them, too. Sometimes, it is hard to compare today’s stars with those from another era. My dad tried that with me, always comparing his Cubs of 1906-08 with all the Cubs teams since then, but mostly the teams since I became loyal, back in 1945, when I was eight years old, and the Cubs were the National League Champions.
However, when it comes to pick my favorite player who ever played in a Cubs uniform, it would be easy for me to make a choice. On Wednesday, baseball’s Hall of Fame announced its latest member: Andre Dawson. He belongs there.
I watched almost every playing moment he had at the Friendly Confines in a Cubs uniform. I was a Chaplain in Andre’s Army. More of my signs were dedicated to him, and his play, than any other Cubs player of that era. He was the Tribune Company’s best buy ever when they took him up on his “BLANK CHECK” offer.

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Posted on January 8, 2010

By George Ofman
Consider how often we rail against athletes. Not the good guys – the bad guys. Albert Belle and Milton Bradley quickly come to mind. So do Dave Kingman and Ben Wallace. There are others.
Then there are the polar opposites, men like Andre Dawson, a true gentleman who represents his sport the way all athletes should. Too bad guys like Dawson are few and far between.
Dawson all but stands alone in my world. He was a giant of a man when it came to respect and dignity.

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Posted on January 7, 2010

By George Ofman
The quote qualifies as the paradox of the young year.
“Status quo was not an option.”
Bears President Ted Phillips said it often enough during a Tuesday press conference to make us wonder just what status quo means.

Fantasy Fix: Guns, Glory.

I’ll tell you what status quo means: The return of Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo.
Even as Phillips said “We expect to win now, this is not a long-term project in our eyes.”
Phillips must have been wearing rose-colored glasses. The last I looked the Bears do not have a first- or second-round pick in this year’s draft and with an uncapped season ahead, there will be few free agents to pick from.
“Status quo was not an option.”

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Posted on January 6, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

The news that Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton allegedly drew guns on each other in the locker room – in a dispute over a gambling debt – is just one more thing that makes you shake your head about the NBA. I am at the point where a young man’s fascination with the athleticism and grace of basketball has evolved into a somewhat older man’s obsession only with numbers. I know – most of you reached that point a long time ago.
It’s Week 11 of the fantasy basketball season, and here’s a look at a few players we’ll presume to be unarmed unless told otherwise.
Fantasy Find of the Week: Luther Head, PG/SG, Indiana. The former Illini star was only 15 percent owned as of this week. He has been getting a lot of playing time with injuries in the Pacer lineup, averaging almost 20 points per game in the last week.
Fantasy Stud of the Week: Stephen Jackson, SG/SF/PF, Charlotte. I knocked his inconsistency earlier this year as he was traded out of Golden State, but in the last week he’s averaged 29 points per game and 3.0 three-pointers per game last week.

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Posted on January 6, 2010

By Jim Coffman
Hey, would everyone shut up about having Jay Cutler roll out more?
Having Cutler roll out more next season is absolutely not the answer.
Of Cutler’s four touchdown passes against the Lions on Sunday, how many of those happened after rollouts?
None, nada, zip and zilch (okay, he took maybe two steps toward the sideline on the last score – not a real rollout).
And that’s just one of the many meaningful tidbits gleaned from Sunday’s mostly meaningless game against the hands-down second-worst team in the league.

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Posted on January 4, 2010