By Dan O’Shea

First base continues to be a very deep position for fantasy baseball team owners. Some of the names have changed – Miguel Cabrera*, for instance, has lost his 1B eligibility in Yahoo! leagues – but there are still many 1Bs capable of delivering the sort of punch traditionally expected of this position.
1. Joey Votto. A lock for a .320-plus BA with typical 1B power, Votto’s biggest number last year was a 1.041 OPS, leading all 1Bs.
2. Albert Pujols. Always a .300 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI threat, and will score more in beefed-up lineup
3. Prince Fielder. A .313 BA last year was overshadowed by declines in HRs and RBIs, but is very promising.

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Posted on February 27, 2013

By Jim Coffman

“I know about this Blackhawks streak,” my seven-year-old daughter said recently (“almost eight!” she would insist). Jenna has potential as a sports fan. She settles in and watches the games for long stretches, much longer than her older sister will usually tolerate.
“They’ve got the most wins in a row ever to start a season!”
Well, no. And I went on to note that the team’s season-opening 16-0-3 run (which was about 12-0-3 at the time, but anyway) isn’t an undefeated streak either. But after a little more discussion I realized we weren’t getting anywhere.
Full appreciation for a stretch of 19 games without a regulation loss requires an awareness of hockey history that is beyond her at this point.

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Posted on February 26, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

Bobby Winkles had been kicking around the White Sox organization for seven seasons, with stops in places like Colorado Springs, Waterloo, Memphis, Tulsa and Indianapolis, when in 1958 the old catcher Walker Cooper, who was the Indianapolis manager, called him into his office and said, “There’s just one thing that’s keeping you out of the major leagues.”
“You tell me, and I’ll work on it,” replied the eager young infielder.
“Your ability,” deadpanned Cooper.
Soon after, Winkles’ days as a player were finished.
The book hardly closed on Winkles’ baseball career when the Sox released him, though; He eventually made it back to the big leagues after establishing himself as one of the greatest college coaches ever.

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Posted on February 26, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

I’ve returned from a long hiatus just time for the start of spring training. Over the next several weeks I’ll have a position-by-position fantasy baseball breakdown, but let’s start with my top 50 players:
1. Mike Trout. Everything he did as a rookie only has us thinking bigger, especially with news he has added 15 lbs. that could boost his power numbers. Totalling .330 BA/40 HR/100 RBIs/40 SBs/140 runs is, amazingly, not unthinkable.
2. Miguel Cabrera. He’ll turn 30 in April, so you can start asking how long the Triple Crown winner will continue to put up seasons of .330 BA, 44 HRs, 139 RBIs, but I think at least one more year. CORRECTION 2/27: Oops. I mislabeled Cabrera as a 1B. He had been a 1B/3B, but with a lack of starts at 1B last year, he is now only a 3B.
3. Andrew McCutchen. I have him higher than most, and I guess a lot of people fear numbers like 31 HRs, 96 RBIs, 20 SBs and .327 BA last year can never be matched, but with his speed I see 30/30 potential.

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Posted on February 21, 2013

Peewees To Pros

The good old hockey game!
It’s the best game you can name!
And the best game you can name,
is the good old hockey game!
1. St. Jude Peewees.

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Posted on February 19, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Somewhere deep down, Derrick Rose must know it isn’t realistic to expect that his knee will return to a pristine 100 percent. And this 110 percent stuff that he busted out last week in his first extended interview in months, well, that’s a little out there and not just because, you know, there’s no such thing as 110 percent.
Rose reiterated that he essentially would not return until his knee felt exactly the way it did before his injury, if not better.
That would be never.

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Posted on February 18, 2013

By The University of Minnesota Athletic Department

“The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Hockey team travels to Wisconsin this Friday to take on the Badgers in their fight towards the top of the WCHA Standings.
“Then on Sunday, the Gophers will play in the first ever Hockey City Classic against Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago. The game will be played outdoors at 3:30 p.m. following the Notre Dame vs. Miami game.”
1. Unveiling The Uniforms.

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Posted on February 14, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

He was a big, gangly kid who wrapped his meaty right hand around a baseball and seemingly made it vanish. Not that Shaen Bernhardt knew quite where the horsehide was destined once he let loose, but he sure could throw hard, and he loved to play.
That was a quarter-century ago when he was a high school junior on our ballclub at Francis Parker where I was the coach. Of course, this was small-school, private-league baseball, but we were decent.
We played a lot of games, and Bernhardt patiently waited for his turn behind three senior pitchers whose concept of the location of home plate was – shall we say? – more developed than his.

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Posted on February 12, 2013

By Jim Coffman

I drove from Chicago to North Central Indiana early Sunday (to LaCrosse if you must know, located sort of between Valpo and South Bend) and I had a chance to listen to long stretches of sports talk. The aggravatingly lazy cynicism that so frequently passes for humorous commentary around here forced me to turn away at times. So many of the guys on our stations love to tell you how much whatever sucks, don’t they?
Sometimes they are clever about it but more often less so.
Here I must pause to point out that the Mr. Bright Side part of me realized he was enjoying a little music interspersed with stretches of talk. I would also like to point out that this column eventually makes its way around to some Blackhawk talk. But anyway.

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Posted on February 11, 2013

Pretty Great

“Outdoor college ice hockey is coming to Soldier Field for the very first time!
“This one-of-a-kind doubleheader will feature four of the nation’s premier men’s college ice hockey programs: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin and Notre Dame vs. Miami. The puck drops Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 at noon when Notre Dame faces off against Miami University, followed immediately by Minnesota vs. Wisconsin at approximately 3:30 p.m.
“The Hockey City Classic will be preceded by two weeks of winter festivities including two days of free public ice skating, high school hockey events, youth and adult hockey events, private ice rentals and much more.”

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Posted on February 8, 2013