Chicago -
By Roger Wallenstein and Steve Rhodes
The (Relatively) Sad Saga of Derrick Rose. Plus: The Jimmy Butler Trade That Wasn’t (Yet); Breakfast In America; The Vincible Cubs; White Sox Are Red Sox Hot!; and The Mundanity Of Modern Mascots.
Posted on June 24, 2016
Laughter, Tears And Misfires
The trade of Derrick Rose to the Knicks on Wednesday kicked off the inevitable Twitter storm of laughter, tears and misfires. Mostly, it was a variation of the same theme.
Let’s take a look.
DERRICK ROSE HAS ARRIVED IN NEW YORK!! pic.twitter.com/twaNIa9CEh
— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) June 23, 2016
Posted on June 23, 2016
By Dan O’Shea
It’s not easy to trade your players while they’re on the disabled list, and considering trading for injured players certainly can be risky. However, it can be a good tactic for middle-of-the-pack fantasy teams either looking for an edge or admitting they don’t have one and need to stock up with keepers for next year.
As a seller, if you trade someone who currently isn’t supplying stats, your fantasy fortunes could take an immediate upswing, and if you’re a buyer, you’re banking value you hope can pay off during a late-season run to the playoffs, or possibly next season if you’re in a keeper league.
Taking a look at the list of top 100 fantasy players currently on the DL, there are several who could be worth trading/trading for:
Posted on June 22, 2016
By Steve Rhodes
Willson Contreras didn’t just become the 119th player in history on Sunday to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, he became the 31st player to hit a home run on the first pitch thrown to him in his first major league at-bat.
He wasn’t the first Cub to perform the feat, though. Jim Bullinger (a pitcher) also did it, in 1992.
Stepping back from the first-pitch metric, Jorge Soler and Starlin Castro also hit home runs in their first major league at-bats.
Posted on June 20, 2016
By Eric Emery
Part of learning a new sport is knowing the terminology. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as adding a superfluous “u” to words (like in labour and flavour and Illinois Governour Bruuce Rauneur). Don’t worry, I’m here to help.
Term: Pace
Meaning: Running speed
Used in a sentence: Hillary Clinton shows great pace at pandering.
Term: Back Room
Meaning: What Americans call a sports team’s Front Office. The support staff of a club.
Used in a sentence: Much of Illinois’ politics is run from the Back Room.
Term: Own Goal
Meaning: A goal scored by a defender on his/her own team.
Used in a sentence: Bruce Rauner and Michael Madigan seems to have their own goals in solving Illinois’ financial woes.
Posted on June 20, 2016
By Jim Coffman
Cleveland! Clevelaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!
Was it just me or did LeBron sound a little like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky crying out to Adrian in the aftermath of the Cavaliers’ incredible 93-89 Game 7 victory Sunday night to break the Mistake by the Lake’s 52-year sports losing streak?
Posted on June 20, 2016
By Roger Wallenstein
“The only thing this circus is missing is a top on it.”
So said Matt Underwood, the Indians’ play-by-play TV voice, amid the devastation Saturday during the second inning in Cleveland as the Tribe took a 7-0 lead. The seventh run crossed the plate in the person of ex-Sox favorite Juan Uribe, who had singled to chase current Sox non-favorite James Shields, who retired just five of the 15 hitters he faced prior to his departure.
Posted on June 20, 2016
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Milkshakes at the Tastee Freez to soothe another painful Blackhawks departure. Plus: It’s Silver’s Series Now; Hollywood Butler Going Minnesota?; The Welcome Willson Wagon; #FreeRickHahn; and KOPA Kabana.
Posted on June 17, 2016
By Jim Coffman
Leave it to the NBA to come with a make-up call three-and-a-half weeks later.
That’s what Draymond Green’s one-game suspension was last night – the make-up call for not suspending Green when he kicked Oklahoma City center Steven Adams in the balls during the Western Conference Finals way back when.
Otherwise, it was an extraordinarily ridiculous disciplinary action (more on that later) handed down against the Warriors forward. And that is saying something, given the NBA’s penchant for getting this sort of thing wrong.
In the aftermath of all that, and of the Cavaliers’ 112-97 victory over the Warriors (they now trail three games to two with a Game 6 coming up Wednesday night), it is up to fans to decide how much they care that the NBA believes two such wrongs make a right. It also gives all the teams in the league a nice little revenue boost by extending the Finals.
Posted on June 14, 2016
By Eric Emery
Original Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report writer Eric Emery has given up American football and is now devoted to the real kind. As such, he begins today a new column called Breakfast in America, with the goal of spreading interest in the beautiful game – satisfying his wife’s wishes that he “write more” in exchange for watching more footy.
Which EPL team should you support?
This a multifaceted decision that takes careful consideration. It took me five months of careful research and meditation before settling on the Cherries of AFC Bournemouth. One way to proceed is to think about which presidential candidate you support, because that tells you a lot about which teams you should consider.
Candidate: Donald Trump
Teams: Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea
Why: Like Trump, these teams talk about the past (like it was better) and making football great by revising football structures like the Champions League, but they are really about lining their own pockets. Unsurprisingly, their fans have little grasp of reality. Look to YouTube for examples.
Posted on June 13, 2016
