By Roger Wallenstein

In what has been billed as the beginning of spring training 2015, this month – at least from a won-loss standpoint – looks ominously familiar.
With the trades of Gordon Beckham, Alejandro De Aza and Adam Dunn, the White Sox front office cleared space so that we could get a look at the likes of Carlos Sanchez, Michael Taylor, Andy Wilkens, Chris Bassitt, and Scott Snodgress while observing the progress (or lack thereof) of Jordan Danks, Marcus Semien and Josh Phegley.
This all appears reasonable since the Sox, while interesting to watch prior to the All-Star Game, have truly never been in contention since Opening Day. No one puts much stock in a team’s spring training record – the Sox were 9-14 this year – but our fellows were joined by Boston, Texas and Minnesota at the bottom of the American League last March, and all four teams reside at the bottom of their respective divisions as we painfully trek toward the end of another losing season.
Were we foolish to think that the Sox could finish at .500 or better back on August 1st when the team was 54-56? I mean, isn’t 110 games enough to determine the caliber of a major-league ballclub? Apparently not.

Read More

Posted on September 8, 2014

By Steve Rhodes and Jim Coffman

You Better Bill-ieve It’s A Must-Win! Plus: The Sky Is Flying; The Derrick Rosercoaster; The White Sox In The Thick Of The Race; and The Pageantry Of College Football: Bring On The Creampuffs.

Read More

Posted on September 5, 2014

By Mike Luce

Dating back to 2007, the Big Ten is 17-41 against ranked opponents.
The conference can start the turnaround on Saturday. In games with postseason implications, #7 Michigan State travels to #3 Oregon, Michigan travels to #16 Notre Dame, and #8 Ohio State hosts Virginia Tech.
Our picks: Oregon -12.5 , Michigan +3.5, Ohio State -11.

Read More

Posted on September 5, 2014

By Carl Mohrbacher

Crystal Ball Edition.
Week 1: vs. Bills.
In a proverbial must-win Week One game, Donte Rosario explodes for three special teams tackles. During the second quarter, a mic’d up Mel Tucker is overheard muttering “Who the hell is playing quarterback for these assholes . . . ” on the live Fox broadcast. A frantic Lance Briggs is seen hurling a pulled pork sandwich over his shoulder and yelling “Oh shit, that was today???” into his cell phone while fleeing the The Double Nickel Smokehouse at 9:20 a.m. Pacific Sunday morning. Not to worry, Bears win 31-10.

Read More

Posted on September 4, 2014

By Dan O’Shea

Most decisions we make in fantasy football are based on the historical record. We say we balance the stats we have in hand with the ones we envision for the future, but when it comes time to draft, smart decisions are more like 90% based on fact and 10% based on what we see as the likely future course.
Call yourself a gambler if you like, but when it comes time to draft a running back, are you really going to go with the growing hype around Giovani Bernard over a proven top tier RB? Not likely. The numbers have been established, and they don’t lie. The future is fun to talk about, but a scattershot investment.
Still, the ability and the willingness to take chances is part of what makes fantasy sports so much fun. It’s why we make predictions, track potential sleepers and, every once in a while, draft Cordarelle Patterson over Victor Cruz.
And if you don’t even like taking mid-round or late-round chances, you can still let loose your inner gambler by participating in mock drafts. That’s how I stumbled onto the idea for this little exercise: Forget the numbers, and draft a team mostly based on future prospects and hype (though as I found out, you can’t entirely forget last year’s numbers). Anyway, this is what I ended up with through the first eight rounds in a mock draft when tried to think only about future potential.

Read More

Posted on September 3, 2014

By Jim Coffman

I have no clue. Surely you’re not claiming you have one either. And yes, I’ll stop calling you Shirley.
I have no clue how good the 2014-15 Bears defense can be. Nor am I aware of the existence of any sort of comprehensive metric convincingly breaking down how bad they will be. I’m trying to say that in a “the glass is half full and half empty” sort of way. This defense could be good, certainly. It could also be very, very bad. And no one knows how it will play out – no one.
That makes predicting a record for the Bears a fool’s errand at this point. But I won’t let that sort of trivial detail get in the way of a fearlessly bold and in-the-end entirely inconsequential prognostication!

Read More

Posted on September 2, 2014

By Mike Luce

1. The He-Could-Go-All-The-Way Award Winner: Jake Longenecker.
Auburn wide receiver Melvin Ray stands 6’3″ and can run 40 yards in 4.55 seconds. Jake Longenecker, the team ball boy, has got that beat. In (#6) Auburn’s 45-21 win over Arkansas on Saturday, Ray hauled in a 49-yard pass in the first quarter, streaking down the sidelines to score the first touchdown for the Tigers. In the highlight reel, Ray makes the grab and breaks for the end zone when suddenly Longenecker enters the frame, sprints after Ray and . . . appears to be making up ground as Ray crosses the goal line. Get that boy a uniform!

Read More

Posted on September 2, 2014

By Roger Wallenstein

Jazz great Mose Allison wrote a song more than 50 years ago that could serve as the theme for the surprising turns the American League pennant races have taken since the July 31st trade deadline: “It Didn’t Turn Out That Way.”
Did anyone think then that neither the A’s nor the Tigers would be leading their divisions a month later, heading into the season’s final turn?
The White Sox are doing their part in the drama, having just split a four-game series with Detroit, whom they will see for three more games this month, and consummating a trade with Oakland, whom they will see for four. (They also have seven left against the division-leading Royals, including the last four of the season at The Cell.) If things had gone as planned, those games could already be scratched off as meaningless. Not now.

Read More

Posted on September 1, 2014

By Steve Rhodes and Jim Coffman

Plus: The Sky Is Burning; Prospects Are Suspects Until Proven Otherwise, And So Is Starlin Castro; Cubs Striving For Normalcy; Deadspin Is Dead Wrong; and much, much more!

Read More

Posted on August 30, 2014

By Mike Luce

The 2015 college football season kicks off Thursday night, and as we brace ourselves for the plunge, a season primer is in order. First, the story drawing the most coverage going into Week One:
Ohio State’s starting quarterback and Heisman aspirant (the Report has vowed to avoid the phrase “Heisman hopeful” this year) Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on August 18. The Buckeyes (#5) looked like a national championship contender at 11-1 in futures odds, trailing defending champ Florida State, Alabama and Oregon. Miller underwent (successful) surgery this week, leaving the team in the questionably able hands of his backup. Thus, the storylines for Ohio State’s season, will be – in chronological order – as follows:

Read More

Posted on August 28, 2014