By Jim Coffman, Mike Knezovich and Steve Rhodes
Coach-killer Cutler kills Kromer. Plus: Professional Baseball Comes To Chicago! And: Blackhawks Bungle.
Posted on December 13, 2014
South Side Hope
By Roger Wallenstein
Let’s try this for openers: The White Sox’ newly acquired David Robertson, a first-time closer due to the presence of the great Mariano Rivera, shut down the opposition 39 times in 44 save opportunities for the Yankees last year – a success rate of 88.6 percent.
At the risk of dredging up unpleasant memories, White Sox relievers last season were successful 63 percent of the time when it came to nailing down leads in the ninth inning. That’s not very good.
Now consider for a moment if the Sox had converted 88 percent of those opportunities. Had that been the case, the Sox would have finished 87-75 instead of a disappointing 73-89. All of which creates a beacon of optimism for the South Side in 2015.
Posted on December 11, 2014
The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report: The Drugs Begin To Take Hold
By Carl Mohrbacher
Year-End Review
While it was one of the more frustrating seasons in recent memory, it wasn’t completely without its highlights.
Let’s take a minute to raise our glasses and salute the Chicago Bears for putting in another year of hard work. Here are the top ten moments of the 2014 season.
10. Chris Williams returns a kickoff 101 yards against the Packers in Week 10 to pull the Bears to within 60 in the fourth quarter . . .
. . . huh?
There are three more games?
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk.
Posted on December 11, 2014
Fantasy Fix: Johnny Fantasy Football
By Dan O’Shea
It’s been a strange season in fantasy football land, with almost nothing going anywhere near as expected. It’s been a season many of us would like to write off, but, wouldn’t you know it, the Week 15 slate will feature one of the biggest must-see games for anyone still in the fantasy playoffs or planning to play fantasy football next year.
Johnny Manziel is set to start for the waning Browns this week against the Bengals. If Mr. Football is no longer available in your league, it’s probably because someone looking for a playoff punch or a keeper for next season has already snatched him up. If he is still available and manages to score anywhere north of the 13-14 fantasy points he’s projected for, he very well could factor into some fantasy league championship games next week.
Meanwhile, for the most part, the fantasy football season is just about over, so here’s my parting shot:
Posted on December 10, 2014
SportsMondayTuesday: If Only Kirk Hinrich Couldn’t Breathe
By Jim Coffman
What would’ve really made a difference would have been Kirk Hinrich warming up in the “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirt.
As veteran center Joakim Noah recently reminded us, Hinrich grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, which is about as pale as the Bulls’ veteran guard.
The 2010 census recorded that 80.6 percent of the population (a little more than 84,000) is Caucasian and less than three percent is African American. That is down from 85.2 percent white in 2000, so I suppose things are trending in a slightly positive direction if you believe in the whole “America has been as remarkable as it is because it is a melting pot” thing, as I do.
Posted on December 9, 2014
The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #28: Deja Bears
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Team has an identity after all. Plus: The Bulls Make The Regular Season Like Lovin’ – Fun; Blackhawks Are Like Carlos Santana With Rob Thomas – So Smooth; Adam, Ricky and the Duke; and Cubs Get Their Man!
Posted on December 5, 2014
The College Football Report: A Color-Coded Pile Of Kernels
By Mike Luce
This is it, people, the last weekend of the regular season. (Well, not really. The last weekend – Week 16 – is actually next weekend for the Army-Navy game, possibly the best tradition for closing out a year in any sport.) After all the jockeying, polls, rankings, and blather expended on same, we get to see how the playoff spots shake out. We will get answers to questions such as: Does Florida State merit a playoff berth just because they’ve gone undefeated? Will Ohio State have an opportunity to embarrass themselves on a national stage (again)? Will the Committee ignore a head-to-head victory in favor of the “eye test?” What does eye test mean? Does it have anything to do with tiny lines of blurry letters? Did Ohio State clone Braxton Miller in the offseason? How many yards does Melvin Gordon need to lock up the Heisman? And finally, how badly do we miss the BCS HAL 9000?
Posted on December 5, 2014
Jay Cutler For MVP?
By ESPN’s First Take
All the pieces are in place!
20/1.
Who bought it?
Posted on December 5, 2014
The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report: In The Hunt?
By Carl Mohrbacher
We’ve gotten to that time of the season where all television networks are obliged to display a graphic detailing which teams would be playoff-bound if the season were to end during Week 13, and which teams are “in the hunt.”
This digital display usually appears near the beginning of the broadcast; right after Fox analyst Moose Johnston’s “Keys To The Game” segment.
Fox then displays it again in the third quarter. And as though you had forgotten during the last 20 minutes, once more during the fourth.
Aaaaaand lastly, at the game’s conclusion the graphic is paraded out there again with updated standings coupled with hard hitting audio commentary like “at a record of 3-9, the G-Men are going have a difficult time making the playoffs in 2014.”
Posted on December 4, 2014
Fantasy Fix: Playoff Push Possibilities
By Dan O’Shea
Many fantasy leagues starting their playoff schedule this week (Week 14 on the fantasy calendar). While you might think there is no way at this point to improve a team sitting on the playoff bubble enough to sneak into the championship round, you could very well be wrong.
In Week 13, and in recent weeks, we’ve seen a number of players trending upward at just the right time.
Posted on December 2, 2014