Chicago -
By Dan O’Shea
There are plenty of players worth drafting in fantasy baseball leagues, but sometimes real gold can be mined from among those who don’t get drafted, at least not in every league. They may not even be late-round sleeper material, but they could be worth watching as possible pick-ups, particularly in the opening weeks of the season.
Let’s reach deep into our rankings for some players that might be off the radar:
Posted on March 28, 2012
Dads In Bloom, Year Of No Excuses
“San Siro has a capacity of over 80,000,” J.J. Stankevitz writes for CSNChicago.com. “The home of Serie A giant Internazionale is one of the most intimidating venues in professional soccer. While Paolo Tornaghi never appeared in a match with Inter, he had an up close and personal look at world-class soccer in a world-class environment.
“And yet, the 23-year-old Italian was impressed by the atmosphere at Toyota Park for the Fire’s home opener, which was played in front of 18,075 [on Saturday].
“‘It was very emotional,’ Tornaghi said. ‘It was amazing coming into the field with all these people all for us, the fireworks, that was a great environment.’
“Thanks to the efforts of Tornaghi, though, that environment stayed great for 90 minutes as the Fire defeated Philadelphia 1-0. With the Union going with an all-out attack in the final 15 minutes, Tornaghi made a handful of outstanding saves, preserving the Fire’s first victory of the season.”
Let’s take a look at the season ahead for the Fire, beginning with a video directed by defenseman Dan Gargan.
Posted on March 27, 2012
By Jim Coffman
I was worried about the Bulls but then I watched the Thunder blow out the Heat on Sunday evening and I felt better.
The Bulls have struggled of late (they are still winning of course but the competition has been weak) and in particular, the play of Luol Deng is a problem. He is trying to fight through a torn ligament in his left wrist but it is clearly having a negative impact on his game. And it is an injury that will almost certainly plague him until he gets it surgically repaired. The problem there is if he goes for surgery, he is out for the year.
On the bright side, Deng executed a glorious, last-millisecond tip-in in overtime to win Saturday’s game 102-101 against the Raptors. But on shots longer than lay-ups, he is struggling mightily. He missed all six of his three-point attempts on Saturday and barely drew iron on four of them.
Posted on March 26, 2012
By Roger Wallenstein
This is a true story. I was there. I saw it with my own eyes.
It was last Thursday in Glendale, Arizona. The Royals were visiting Camelback Ranch, and Adam Dunn played first base for half the afternoon. He stepped to the plate three times, all against left-hander Bruce Chen.
Although most of us have short memories, and, as baseball fans, we tend to be very forgiving – especially with a winter’s passage – we remain aware that the big left-handed slugger went 6 for 94 against lefties in 2011. Don’t bother with the math. I already did it: .064 en route to a .159 mark for the season.
However, last week Dunn hit a towering opposite field two-run shot off Chen in the first inning. With a 3-2 count, no less. After flying out in the third inning, the big man strolled to the plate in the fifth with the bases loaded, and produced a long, high fly ball that settled on the hill behind the right-field fence. Grand slam! Joy! Life is good!
Posted on March 26, 2012
By Thomas Chambers
It was one of those that broke badly and then broke worse. And it ultimately cast a pall over two separate entertainment industries.
But as the sickening details filtered out, it became clear that there are just about enough villains to fill the Kentucky Derby starting gate. From the California Horse Racing Board down through Santa Anita and its horsemen and squarely on the heads of executive producers and alleged taskmasters David Milch and Michael Mann.
The decision to cancel the Thoroughbred horse racing-themed Luck came one day after a horse used in the filming of the Dustin Hoffman-Nick Nolte vehicle’s second season was being led back to her barn. She reared up, her legs slipped out from under her, and she fell and hit her head hard enough to require euthanization.
We soon learned that two other horses had broken down during filming of racing scenes in episodes of the first season.
Posted on March 23, 2012
By Nick Shreders
First some notes, then the brackets:
* The state of Ohio is sending four teams in the Sweet 16: Ohio State (2), Cincinnati (6), Xavier (10), and Ohio (13). No state has ever done that before, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. (See their Ohio trivia quiz.)
* Cincinnati and Xavier engaged in a pretty nasty bench-clearing brawl earlier this season, complete with punching, stomping and real blood. It’s not gonna happen, but they are on opposite ends of the bracket and would meet in the final if they both won out.
* For the first time ever, two 15 seeds defeated two number 2 seeds in the round of 64.
* Kansas State (8) loses Jamar Samuels to another surprise suspension.
* UNC (1) point guard Kendall Marshall fractures his wrist, is questionable.
Posted on March 21, 2012
Even If They Don’t Read The Paper Sponsoring The Show That Sells Them
The 44th annual Chicago Sun-Times Sports Collectibles Convention was held in Rosemont over the weekend and – from the looks of the lineup – what a show it was.
We’re just not sure it’s annual, because the 45th show is scheduled for November.
At any rate, let’s take a look.
1. 41 Jeters.
Posted on March 20, 2012
By Jim Coffman
We pause for a moment in the midst of wall-to-wall coverage off the NCAA tournament to point out that the Blackhawks are now 8-4-1 in their last 13 games. That would be a strong stretch in any circumstances but it is especially so because the team has played that baker’s dozen without captain Jonathan Toews. And before we take a closer look at that streak, let’s take a closer look at Toews’ injury.
Toews has been out for about a month now with what the NBC Sports Network broadcast last night of the Hawks’ 5-2 victory over the Capitals still described as an “upper body injury.” One of the broadcasters noted that the Hawks still describe their young star’s injury that way.
Everyone else has now gone ahead and reported that Toews has a concussion.
Posted on March 19, 2012
By Nick Shreders
* Breaking news: Syracuse center Fab Melo ruled ineligible for the tournament due to largely presumed academic issues.
* Three of the four number one seeds lost in their conference post-season tournaments: Syracuse, Kentucky and North Carolina. Michigan State gets a one-seed with seven losses, the most I can remember any one-seed.
* If you still haven’t filled out your bracket and are completely clueless or stuck somewhere, check the Wall Street Journal’s interactive Blindfold Brackets.
As always, the usual March Madness conventional wisdom applies:
Posted on March 14, 2012
By Dan O’Shea
From the looks of my top 10 starting pitchers, you would assume I’m picking Phillies vs. Angels for this year’s World Series. I’m actually not a big believer in the Phils, so it feels strange to have the majority of their rotation in my top 10.
I feel the real value at SP comes after the top 10, when you get into guys like Stephen Strasburg, Yu Darvish, Adam Wainwright, Josh Johnson, Ian Kennedy – well, you get the idea.
The corps of relief pitchers is typically uninspiring. I showed how good I am at judging closers last year when I ranked Carlos Marmol first. This year, I’m taking a different tack, putting the best SP/RP on my list as my top reliever.
My top 10 starting pitchers:
Posted on March 14, 2012
