By Jim Coffman

Who to believe, who to believe?
On one side, we have the sycophantic local media who write things like “Inside Matt Nagy’s Beautiful Mind” and continue to assert that moving up to draft Mitch Trubisky was a good idea despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Those guys kept telling us that first-round draft pick and projected starter Roquan Smith would be in camp soon enough and there was nothing to worry about – just a little “language.” Now they’re reporting that Smith is seeking language in his contract that would protect him from losing guaranteed money if he breaks the new tackling rules often enough to get suspended.
On the other side, a bunch of national voices arguing that the Bears are blowing it again, arguing that wholly at fault in refusing to give Smith something that at least some other rookies have apparently already received. They are saying the Bears should cave and give Smith what he wants even if it means everyone else on the defense would want the same language when they sign their next contracts.
I have to say at this point, as loathe as I am to back usually pathetic Bears management, I find their case more persuasive.

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Posted on July 31, 2018

By David Pozen/TakeCare

The 2018 World Cup was the first to use Video Assistant Referees (VAR). VAR allows decisions by the head referee involving goals, penalties, direct red cards and “mistaken identity” to be reviewed, immediately afterward, with the aid of video footage. Not coincidentally, the 2018 World Cup was also the first to feature upward of 20 penalty kicks. At the 2014 tournament in Brazil, a total of 13 penalty kicks were called, not including shootouts. In Russia, the number was 29.
The criteria for awarding penalty kicks have not changed. According to the official laws of the game, if a player commits a foul punishable by a direct free kick inside her own penalty area, “[a] penalty kick is awarded.” Each and every time a player inside this zone pushes an opponent, trips an opponent, handles the ball deliberately (unless he is a goalkeeper), and so on, the opposing team gets a penalty kick.
In legal-theory parlance, the criteria for awarding penalty kicks are “rules” rather than “standards.” They are clear and precise – not completely clear or precise, as terms like “trip” and “push” go undefined, but relatively so – and they give little discretion to the referees who enforce them.

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Posted on July 31, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

The suspense, the drama, the anticipation. Heart-pounding tension building day-by-day, hour-by-hour. Each season it’s one of the most ballyhooed highlights of major league baseball.
Of course, we’re talking about the Trade Deadline, and we’re right in the midst of it. The Dodgers landed the biggest prize by prying loose Manny Machado from the Orioles. According to FiveThirtyEight, this singular move enabled the Dodgers to overtake the Cubs as the National League team with the best odds of winning the World Series.

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Posted on July 30, 2018

By Thomas Chambers

Fedora’d and vested, impeccably complemented and contrasted in a perfect gray with a wealthily spaced pinstripe, Charles Howard gingerly bulled his way through the thicket, guided by the dancing light of the campfire and the smell of its smoke.
Over there was an all-white colt, seemingly with a tree branch growing out of gauze wrapped around his left front leg. Hackles up, but beat down by The Crash’s aftermath, quickly instinctually hospitable with a “ya hungry?,” the cowboy greeted the stranger, who took a seat on a fireside log.
“What’s in his bandage?” Howard asked. “Oh, that’s hawthorn root. It increases circulation,” Tom Smith answered.
“He gonna get better?” “Already is, a little.”
“Will he race?” “No, not that one.”
“Why you fixin’ him?” “Cuz I can. Every horse is good for somethin’. He could be a cart horse, or a lead pony, and he’s still nice to look at. Know, you don’t throw a whole life away, just cuz he’s banged up a little.”
“Is that coffee?” “Yeah. It’s bad though.”
“You always tell the truth?” “Try to.”
The owner and the trainer teamed up and went to unimaginable places with a horse who just needed some patience and a little more time. Given the chance, he soared the Thoroughbred horse racing firmament, capturing the imagination of an America that needed someone just like him right at that moment.
That won’t happen in 2018, as we learned this week that Justify, the 13th winner of America’s Triple Crown of racing, of all things, has been retired to stud. “Filling in an ankle,” a dodge as weak as it is unexplained, was the hook.

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Posted on July 28, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Theo settles for Cole Hamels. Plus: Rodon!; The Biggest Underreported Story In Chicago Sports; and We’re Talking About (Bears) Practice.

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Posted on July 27, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

What some people call a gimmick just might work for the White Sox.
After Reynaldo Lopez put his team in a 5-0 hole after one inning in Seattle on Sunday, might manager Ricky Renteria follow the lead of the Tampa Bay Rays and use one of his bullpen guys to pitch the opening inning (or two) before Lopez enters the game?
This is a legitimate question since the promising righthander has been absolutely miserable in the opening frame of his 20 starts this season. After Sunday, Lopez has been tagged for 16 earned runs in those 20 innings for an ERA of 7.20. His season’s ERA climbed to 4.13 Sunday. Toss out the first inning, and that number shrinks to 3.51.

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Posted on July 23, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Someone get the young man some help. Plus: Viva La World Cup!; Rarity: Home Run Derby > All-Star Game; The Good/Bad News Cubs; White Sox Reportedly Still Playing; There Is A Thing Called The Chicago Pro Hockey League, And Jonathan Toews Is Playing In It; Coach Coffman Couldn’t Be More Excited About Bears Training Camp!; and Schweinsteiger!

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Posted on July 20, 2018

By Craig Anderson/The Conversation

France has been crowned football champions of the world, after beating Croatia 4-2 in a thrilling World Cup final. Les Bleus timed their run to perfection, having been unconvincing in the group stage, with narrow wins over Australia and Peru and a draw with Denmark, but stepping it up in the knockout stages, sweeping aside Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium and Croatia to lift the trophy.
France’s success was all the more impressive given that they battled through what was widely considered to be the much tougher half of the draw. But how did their route to victory compare to previous World Cup winners?

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Posted on July 18, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

One in an occasional series tracking the movements of those who have worn Cubbie blue.
1. Bill Mueller.
Mueller lost his job as the Cardinals’ assistant hitting coach in the purge of manager Mike Matheny and staff. Mueller hit .295 with a .403 OBP for the Cubs in 2001 and .266/.355 in 2002. He served as the Cubs’ hitting coach under Rick Renteria in 2014, then resigned after the season when the team fired his assistant, Mike Brumley. He was then picked up by the Cardinals.

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Posted on July 18, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

Few days pass when I don’t check the agate type in the sports section under “Deals” in the Sun-Times and “Transactions” in the Tribune. I can’t pinpoint the logic behind this impulse that draws me to investigate the minutiae that no one except the people involved care about, but I rarely miss a day.
Who possibly could be interested other than the athletes themselves in the roster changes in the Frontier League, an independent circuit with no big league affiliation? The new softball coach at Oklahoma Christian? Why is this information in my daily newspaper other than to fill space?
Most days I venture no farther than the comings and goings of major league ballplayers. I never watched the reality TV show made famous by “You’re fired!” but I can understand how that might have been compelling. Perusing the deals in baseball, some perverse instinct leads me to discover who in essence has been axed, terminated, or demoted.

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Posted on July 16, 2018