By Jim Coffman

How much do we Chicagoans of a certain age really know about hockey anyway?
We barely saw the game growing up in the ’70s and ’80s unless we had a chance to go in person and my parents were definitely not hockey fans. I attended a handful of games through those years. The second balcony experience at the old Stadium was fascinating (it was an awesome view from seats that felt like they were almost hanging out over the ice – until the ever-growing cloud of cigarette smoke began to obscure sight lines after the second intermission).
But this fan never reached the point where I felt as though I could really appreciate the subtleties of the game.

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Posted on March 11, 2013

By Professor Jeff Bergen/DePaul University

The odds of picking a perfect bracket are less than one-in-9.2 quintillion. For those with a solid knowledge of the history of the NCAA tournaments, the odds of picking a perfect bracket increase greatly but still involve numbers with lots of zeroes.

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Posted on March 7, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

If you find yourself in the middle of the line for your fantasy baseball draft, there’s a good chance you could end up drafting Robinson Cano in the first round and have your second base needs taken care of immediately. If you don’t, you might want to forget about second base until much later, as there is value to be had deep into this list.
1. Robinson Cano. Far and away the best fantasy producer at the position, though it’s fair to wonder how a decimated lineup and contract squabbles will affect his production.
2. Dustin Pedroia. The Red Sox’ housecleaning could force him to be an MVP-type player again.
3. Jason Kipnis. A lot depends on the readiness of the youngster to go all-out for a full season, but he’s a solid hitter who could finish among the stolen base leaders.

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Posted on March 6, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Hey Theo, in major league baseball, 78 isn’t just greater than 73, it is much greater.
The Cubs’ general manager opined last week that he didn’t want his team to get caught in the middle ground of not really competing for championships. He said he would rather break up a mediocre team in the middle of a given season and use trades to try to add more prospects than hang in there, maybe add a piece or two, and hope for a hot streak that might put the team over the top.
The money quote: “There’s no glory in 78 wins instead of 73. Who cares?”

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Posted on March 5, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

First base continues to be a very deep position for fantasy baseball team owners. Some of the names have changed – Miguel Cabrera*, for instance, has lost his 1B eligibility in Yahoo! leagues – but there are still many 1Bs capable of delivering the sort of punch traditionally expected of this position.
1. Joey Votto. A lock for a .320-plus BA with typical 1B power, Votto’s biggest number last year was a 1.041 OPS, leading all 1Bs.
2. Albert Pujols. Always a .300 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI threat, and will score more in beefed-up lineup
3. Prince Fielder. A .313 BA last year was overshadowed by declines in HRs and RBIs, but is very promising.

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Posted on February 27, 2013

By Jim Coffman

“I know about this Blackhawks streak,” my seven-year-old daughter said recently (“almost eight!” she would insist). Jenna has potential as a sports fan. She settles in and watches the games for long stretches, much longer than her older sister will usually tolerate.
“They’ve got the most wins in a row ever to start a season!”
Well, no. And I went on to note that the team’s season-opening 16-0-3 run (which was about 12-0-3 at the time, but anyway) isn’t an undefeated streak either. But after a little more discussion I realized we weren’t getting anywhere.
Full appreciation for a stretch of 19 games without a regulation loss requires an awareness of hockey history that is beyond her at this point.

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Posted on February 26, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

Bobby Winkles had been kicking around the White Sox organization for seven seasons, with stops in places like Colorado Springs, Waterloo, Memphis, Tulsa and Indianapolis, when in 1958 the old catcher Walker Cooper, who was the Indianapolis manager, called him into his office and said, “There’s just one thing that’s keeping you out of the major leagues.”
“You tell me, and I’ll work on it,” replied the eager young infielder.
“Your ability,” deadpanned Cooper.
Soon after, Winkles’ days as a player were finished.
The book hardly closed on Winkles’ baseball career when the Sox released him, though; He eventually made it back to the big leagues after establishing himself as one of the greatest college coaches ever.

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Posted on February 26, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

I’ve returned from a long hiatus just time for the start of spring training. Over the next several weeks I’ll have a position-by-position fantasy baseball breakdown, but let’s start with my top 50 players:
1. Mike Trout. Everything he did as a rookie only has us thinking bigger, especially with news he has added 15 lbs. that could boost his power numbers. Totalling .330 BA/40 HR/100 RBIs/40 SBs/140 runs is, amazingly, not unthinkable.
2. Miguel Cabrera. He’ll turn 30 in April, so you can start asking how long the Triple Crown winner will continue to put up seasons of .330 BA, 44 HRs, 139 RBIs, but I think at least one more year. CORRECTION 2/27: Oops. I mislabeled Cabrera as a 1B. He had been a 1B/3B, but with a lack of starts at 1B last year, he is now only a 3B.
3. Andrew McCutchen. I have him higher than most, and I guess a lot of people fear numbers like 31 HRs, 96 RBIs, 20 SBs and .327 BA last year can never be matched, but with his speed I see 30/30 potential.

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Posted on February 21, 2013

Peewees To Pros

The good old hockey game!
It’s the best game you can name!
And the best game you can name,
is the good old hockey game!
1. St. Jude Peewees.

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Posted on February 19, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Somewhere deep down, Derrick Rose must know it isn’t realistic to expect that his knee will return to a pristine 100 percent. And this 110 percent stuff that he busted out last week in his first extended interview in months, well, that’s a little out there and not just because, you know, there’s no such thing as 110 percent.
Rose reiterated that he essentially would not return until his knee felt exactly the way it did before his injury, if not better.
That would be never.

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Posted on February 18, 2013