Chicago -
By Thomas Chambers
“The breathless excitement and anticipation of a heavyweight championship fight.”
– Howard Cosell, Sinatra: The Main Event
It’s that big.
It’s as set as racing gets. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will run in the Apple Blossom Invitational Handicap at Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Posted on February 12, 2010
Once again it’s time for the Sun-Times’s entirely imagination-lacking annual sports survey. Here are our answers to selected questions.
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Q. Who is your favorite Chicago athlete?
– Derrick Rose
– Carlos Zambrano
– Mark Buehrle
– Brian Urlacher
– Patrick Kane
Beachwood Sports Desk Answer: Varla Vendetta
Posted on February 11, 2010
There have been some reports that Kobe Bryant may not play in this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game to catch up on some injury rest – not that you’ll be watching. You’ll be out with your honey for a Valentine’s Day dinner, won’t you?
In any case, if Kobe doesn’t play, that probably will drop the Over/Under on this game to about 270 points. Bor-ring . . .
It might also be the best possible thing for Kobe’s fantasy owners, who have seen inconsistent play from him in recent weeks after a finger fracture and a foot injury. He averaged only 19 points per game last week and missed his first game in about three years.
If Kobe is absent from the All-Star Game, he also may cost the West a victory. My pick is East over West 133-129. In other words, a low-scoring affair.
My other picks to click for All-Star Weekend: Sophomores will embarrass rookies; Damilo Gallinari will win the three-point contest; Derrick Rose will repeat in the skills challenge, Omri Casspi will shock the world at H-O-R-S-E; and little Nate Robinson will become the first three-time winner of the slam dunk contest, thereby officially killing what has become the weakest part of the weekend – other than the actual game, of course.
Posted on February 10, 2010
At the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, as I drove my family back from the Super Bowl Party we attended (if my four-year-old stays up much past 8 p.m. the moon gets high enough and she turns into a were-girl), we had a chance to listen to a little of Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason’s call on the radio.
We picked it up as the Colts began the drive that would end in Matt Stover’s missed 51-yard field goal attempt. As it began, Esiason, the former Bengal and Jet quarterback, surmised that the game would still come down to which team could make one key defensive stop. And it did feel that way, despite the fact that what many believed would be a shoot-out had featured just 33 combined points during its first 50 minutes.
Shortly thereafter we returned home, turned on the TV, put it on pause (modern technology!) and took my younger daughter up to bed. A little while later we returned to watch the amazing end of another dramatic Super Bowl (the last decade of football season-enders has featured a half-dozen exciting games following blowout after blowout in the ’90s) at the end of another remarkable NFL season. Ultra-parity lives in the League when two of the teams from its smallest markets meet in the Super Bowl. Indianapolis versus New Orleans should be less likely than the Kansas City Royals against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series, and yet who can imagine the latter happening in this day and age.
Posted on February 8, 2010
By George Ofman
This should come as no surprise. The Bulls lose back-to-back games to inferior teams after doing something no other NBA team had ever done: win five straight road games against teams with above .500 records. Then again, how do you classify the Bulls? Are they a playoff team, simply mediocre or, when it’s all said and done, inferior like some of the opponents they’ve lost to?
MARTZ: I’ve never seen this much ink spilled, voices raised and blogs blogged for an assistant coach. But Mike Martz and the Bears more than welcomed it with the hiring of the offensive guru. First he met with Lovie (who wanted him all along even though Jerry Angelo didn’t), then he courted Jay Cutler in Nashville. Here’s what worries me most about the Martz offense: His quarterbacks have ranked sixth or higher in interceptions thrown during each of the last nine seasons. Last I looked, Cutler was already near the top of that category last year, and that was with Ron Turner. And in each of the last seven years, Martz’s teams have finished sixth or worse in giving up sacks. So remember these two words for next season: pickoffs and maimed!
YEAH, HE SAID IT!: Ron Zook got just about bupkis when it came to recruits. This is what happens when your program stinks and you’re Lovie Lite. Another words, he’s history after next season . . . or during it!
Posted on February 5, 2010
By Dan O’Shea
I must have jinxed Chris Paul last week when I said that hopefully the superstar point guard wouldn’t miss anymore games. Turns out Paul will be out a month or more with a knee injury. He joins other big-name PGs Jameer Nelson and Steve Nash on the bench.
The rash of boo-boos at this point make it a good time to go a-trading for a lesser known PG whose stock is on the rise. How about Stephen Curry, PG/SG, Golden State, who has been playing the last month like he wants Rookie of the Year? Curry is not exactly an assists machine (about five per game), but he pours in about 14.2 points per game, is fourth in the league in steals with 87 as of Tuesday night, and is averaging 1.9 three-pointers per game.
Posted on February 3, 2010
By Jim Coffman
So the way I understand it, just about everyone believes the Bears have totally screwed up their search for an offensive coordinator because a decisive team would have made the call by now.
Really?
Posted on February 1, 2010
By George Ofman
This is not the first time Patrick Kane is accused of Raising Cain. There was that celebrated cab incident in Buffalo. Now it’s those flirtatious photos of Kane in the back of a Vancouver limo. Even the Hawks leading scorer (perhaps in more ways than one) admits it’s time to raise Kane.
“I’m 21-years-old but it’s probably time to grow up,” Kane says.
Spoken like a youngster who just stole another cookie from the jar and got caught. I don’t think the Hawks PR staff had to script this one for the still maturing yet leading man of Chicago’s most dynamic sports franchise.
Being of legal age doesn’t always translate into being of sound mind and judgment. Been there, done that and I’ll bet most of you have been there, too.
Posted on January 29, 2010
By The Beachwood Big Z Affairs Desk
Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano wants to work with Jim Carrey.
– Tribune, Jan. 18
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Carlos Almighty. Big Z is given godlike powers and begins pointing to himself at the end of each inning. Co-starring Lou Piniella as the real God.
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Ace Zambrano: Pet Detective. Big Z finally becomes the ace we’ve all expected him to be when he takes on a side job working with Jim Carrey solving pet crimes. Co-starring Ryan Dempster as Harry Caray.
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Man on the Moon: The Tony Clifton Story. Big Z plays lounge lizard Tony Clifton in this sequel to the popular film about Andy Kaufman.
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The Mask II: The Cap. Big Z stars as a major league pitcher whose personality changes dramatically whenever he puts on his baseball cap. Product placement by Gatorade.
Posted on January 28, 2010
By Dan O’Shea
The NBA season has edged past its literal halfway point. While the NBA All-Star Game isn’t until Feb. 14 in Dallas (at the new Cowboys stadium – let’s hope one of Dirk Nowitzki’s 18-foot rainbows doesn’t hit the overhead video screen), the stars of the first half are already clear, and for the most part, the names we all expected. Here’s my fantasy starting five for the East and West Conferences.
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EAST
PG: Rajon Rondo. Shoots at a .534 clip with 9.7 assists per game. Celtics really need him.
SG: Dwyane Wade. 27.1 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, but 1.2 blocks is the icing.
SF: LeBron James. As expected, the first half MVP does almost nothing wrong, except at the line.
PF: Brook Lopez. 19 PPG, 9.4 RPG and a decent free throw shooter for a big man or any size.
C: Chris Bosh. 23.9 PPG, 11.1 RPG, and having his best season yet.
Posted on January 27, 2010
