By George Ofman
Try putting yourself in the Bears shoes. Why would you want to talk to Bob Costas? Why would you want him to grill Jerry Angelo on the warts of his football organization? Why would you want him to probe Lovie Smith about some of the decisions he’s made? Why would you want him to have access to Jay Cutler only to undress him about all those interceptions?
Can you blame the Bears for being arrogant and stupid?
Yes!
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Major league baseball won’t add replay but it did decide to tighten its playoff schedule, which is a relief. I didn’t want to watch the World Series in December.
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If Notre Dame won’t fire Charlie Weis, can it at least send him the Bears? That way Costas won’t be able to interview him, either.
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I’ve written about, read about and heard about reasons for and against Curtis Granderson being a Cub. He should be, but not at all costs. The native Chicagoan is a good player and fits everything the Cubs need from a solid defensive centerfielder, to a left-handed hitter with power who can run and has a good resume as a lead-off man. He can’t hit left-handed pitching but if the Cubs hired Rudy “The Guru” Jaramillo to aid their ailing bats, think what he could do for Granderson.
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This just in: Milton Bradley is still a Cub but I’m willing to bet my house, so long as it’s not foreclosed, he won’t be by spring training.
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This just in part two: The Cubs have agreed on a two-year deal with John Grabow. This is a good thing.
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Patrick Kane is 21. Yippee! Did the Buffalo cab driver send him a gift?
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Kane and teammates Joanthan Toews and Duncan Keith are about to get mega-contracts. And do you know what that means? Several popular teammates of theirs won’t be here next season. This is called the NHL’s hard salary cap. Who could go? How about Patrick Sharp or Kris Versteeg or Dustin Byfuglien or Adam Burish. I’ll be willing to bet one of them is playing for someone else next season.
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Today marks the two-year anniversary of John McDonough becoming president of the Blackhawks. It’s been a remarkable two years highlighted by increased attendance (like full houses every night), increased value of the franchise by 26 percent, a trip to the conference finals, etc. It’s also been marred by the firings of Denis Savard and Dale Tallon (history will say smart moves), some bungling of money and a somewhat controversial contract to Marion Hossa, who almost immediately underwent surgery. Despite that, the Hawks arrow is pointing up and with a bullet!
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Jay Cutler has 17 interceptions, five in the red zone. Derrick Rose averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and shot .475 from the field during his rookie year. Going into last night’s game against the Lakers, Rose’s numbers this year were 13.4, 5.5, 2.9 and .438. So, are these guys seeing the same tarot card reader?
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Can we say this loud and clear? Ireland’s soccer team got screwed!
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George Ofman, an original member of The Score and a veteran of NPR, has covered more than 3,500 sporting events over the course of his career. Comments welcome.
Posted on November 20, 2009