By Mike Luce

The entire Midwest is awash in commentary on OSU-Northwestern, so we can’t hope to add much to the conversation. But we will point out this quote, from Buckeye special teams coach Kerry Combs, on the unique demands of punting for Ohio State: “[T]here’s a lot more that goes into being the punter, particularly here, than just talent, just being able to catch a ball and kick it.”
If you watch on Saturday, and we hope you watch from home because ticket prices are ridiculous are ridiculous, keep an eye on the OSU punter, Aussie Cameron Johnston, and try to divine if he has whatever more goes into being a punter than catching and kicking. Our guess: the ability to not only catch the ball and kick the ball, but to run half-heartedly afterward. That is the mark of a true punter, one worthy of the scarlet and gray.

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Posted on October 4, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

Sure it’s a loss, but if you take away the fumble return, and Matthew Stafford loses the ball on the goal line, Jay Cutler remembers that he is to distribute the ball to members of his own team, a modicum of clock management is practiced in the last eight minutes, Henry Melton miraculously recovers from a torn ACL in four days and Reggie Bush rushes for only 80 yards in the first half . . .
. . . the Bears still lose 33-30.

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Posted on October 3, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

In May 2012, just Dale Sveum’s second month as Cubs manager, I started preparing a post called “Dale Sveum Is Making Me Dizzy.” I never got it finished and posted, but the gist was that Sveum had already developed a curious habit of saying one thing one day and then reversing himself the next. My examples up to then included whether Steve Clevenger would platoon with Geovany Soto; where Starlin Castro would bat in the lineup; where Alfonso Soriano would bat in the lineup; who would bat leadoff; whether Chris Volstad had earned a place in the starting rotation; if Casey Coleman would be in the bullpen; if Kerry Wood had an issue with his back (he did); and more.
One of my citations was going to be this one, from the Sun-Times’s Gordon Wittenmyer:

Cubs manager Dale Sveum apparently set his starting rotation for the season Saturday during a series of media interviews, though he said he won’t actually do that until Wednesday.
Huh?
Exactly.
In a sequence of confusing, at times conflicting, media interviews Saturday morning, Sveum reiterated that two rotation spots remained open. Then he told SiriusXM radio’s Jim Bowden that Chris Volstad has pitched well enough to fill one spot. Then he told beat writers he didn’t say that, after which Bowden provided the audio that refuted the denial.

Players – and management – notice that sort of thing, even if reporters never developed the theme further. And it was a theme that should have been developed because it kept happening. It was a pattern that continued through the 2013 season.

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Posted on October 2, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Are we sure Marc Trestman actually has an offensive system?
Because so far the Bear offense is uneven except for when it’s downright choppy. And that is the case whether the team is moving the football or not.
Of course it is still early. Of course the team has won three of four featuring two victories at home and one on the road (let me be the millionth analyst to point out that a general rule for sports success is win at home and split on the road). Yesterday’s 40-32 loss in Detroit was frustrating but into each football season at least a few losses must fall, except for maybe this year’s Broncos.

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Posted on September 30, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

When my pal Tom suggested we get a 14-game package for the 2013 White Sox, I agreed that we should get in on the action right from the start.
After all, the team had come within a week of winning the division a year ago, and these guys appeared capable. On the basis of Chris Sale outdueling (Big Game) James Shields 1-0 on Opening Day on the strength of Tyler Flowers’ solo home run – this is a true story – and a 4-2 record on the first homestand, we basked in our good judgment, having another 13 tickets in hand.
No jumping on the bandwagon at the beginning of September. Not us. We were in it from the get-go.
Of course, that’s not quite how things turned out.

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Posted on September 30, 2013

By Mike Luce

To date, the 2013 college football season has produced only seven Top 25 match-ups, such as the blockbuster #1 Alabama vs. #6 Texas A&M rematch in Week Three, and #23 Arizona State vs. #5 Stanford, the lone game featuring two of the Top 25 last week.
With so few big games in the first four weeks, the story this year hasn’t revolved around high-profile teams, but instead on the woebegone Directional Creampuffs, i.e., schools from the FCS.
Three results last week exemplify the issue: Florida A&M, Florida International and Savannah State lost by a collective margin of 218 points. By comparison, the 54-6 drubbing #8 Florida State administered to Bethune-Cookman looks restrained.
Louisville coach Charlie Strong struggled to explain the #7 Cardinals’ lopsided (72-0) box score over Florida International: “I know this: They had a lot of injuries over on that side of the football, and we weren’t trying to embarrass them.”
But a glance at the play-by-play tells a different story. In the fourth quarter, Louisville took the ball leading 58-0 and proceeded to call five passing plays, scoring again to extend the lead to . . . 65 points. After a series by FIU that netted -6 yards, U of L ran the ball exclusively on the ensuing possession but still saw fit to call a timeout to regroup prior to punching in the game’s final touchdown.

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Posted on September 27, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

I’m beginning to think that Marc Trestman is still under the impression that the Bears are playing some kind of Canadian-style football in which there are three quarters, moose wearing flannel shirts roam the sidelines, the orange coolers are full of either Labatt Blue or maple syrup, everybody is polite yet gainfully employed and Rush performs the national anthem every night.
I’m glad that the Bears are so confident in their offense that they believe that every single rushing play in the third quarter should be a “shit run,” or “draw” as they’re more conventionally known, but at least in the first 3/16ths of the season (is that a metric quarter? Damn you, Canada!) the truth of the matter is the defense either produces a turnover or does not stop anyone.

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Posted on September 26, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

Trades don’t happen in the NFL with the regularity they occur in pro baseball or even the NBA, so when one does happen, and early in the season, it becomes just about the only thing anyone can talk about.
Just about a week ago, RB Trent Richardson, a consensus first-round fantasy draft pick, was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Indianapolis Colts for two draft picks (the real kind). Assessments of fantasy experts have varied a bit, but almost everyone sees this move as at least a cautious positive for Richardson’s fantasy owners, since he has moved to a better team with a more prolific offense that will give him more chances to score on goal- line rushes (which he did on his very first play with IND).
I agree with all that in theory, but I find myself a little bit down on the fantasy implications of The Trade. In Cleveland, Richardson was the offense. In Indianapolis, he’s just another piece of an offense with one great WR in Reggie Wayne, a couple more talented young receivers, a good young TE, and another multi-talented, if injury-prone RB in Ahmad Bradshaw. And QB Andrew Luck was not hired to hand off the ball to someone else, or dump off safe, five-yard passes all game long.

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Posted on September 25, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

It is more fun to be a Pirates fan today than it is to be a Cubs fan. Just let that soak in.
Dusty Baker is also returning to the playoffs.
So are the St. Louis Cardinals.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are apparently thinking about firing their manager.
And you know what? He deserves firing.

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Posted on September 24, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

It’s time to think pleasant thoughts as the baseball season winds down to a merciful – at least here in Chicago – ending this Sunday.
No reason to bemoan Saturday night’s jaw-dropping loss to the Tigers as our fellas blew a 6-0 ninth-inning lead in Detroit and robbed the brilliant Chris Sale of a chance to be a .500 pitcher this season.
The first cool, crisp, clear days of autumn are upon us. Soon the landscape will be ablaze with its fall majesty. The Bears are 3-0. The more astute among us stopped gnashing their teeth over this forgettable baseball season long ago. Complaining about the White Sox has become as passé as getting pissed off about the gaggle of cyclists who make driving in this city seem like a daily driver’s test at the DMV. It’s just the way it is.

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Posted on September 23, 2013