By Jim Coffman
So much more satisfying to see a hockey game end in overtime isn’t it? Shootouts are dramatic and they beat a tie, that’s for sure, but they are contrived. I love the regular season NHL overtime with the four-on-four format that almost always produces end-to-end excitement. And sure enough the Blackhawks’ impressive early Sunday evening victory (love those 6 p.m. starts!) over the team with the best record in the league, the San Jose Sharks, benefited greatly from a thrilling overtime finish.
Only about 30 seconds had elapsed in the five-minute extra period when the Hawks gathered themselves in their own end and then busted out toward and then through center ice. A moment or two after entering the Shark zone, Jonathan Toews slipped the puck toward the goal knowing that Troy Brouwer was rushing up the slot and had a great shot at a redirection. Sure enough, Brouwer did tip the puck on net but Shark goalie Evgeni Nabokov stopped it and the rebound ended up behind the net in the possession of a Shark defenseman.

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Posted on November 16, 2009

By George Ofman
I hope Jay Cutler doesn’t throw a fit after watching films of his performance in San Francisco. I’m sure it would intercepted.
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SportsFriday: Lovie’s Next Job Dr. Dude’s College Football Police Blotter Best Breeders’ Ever

Are you beginning to think the tag of “Franchise” Cutler is wearing doesn’t fit? It’s not as if redzoneitis is something new. He threw four picks inside the 20 last year. He has a league-high five now. This isn’t a problem, it’s a disease. And I’m thinking Ron Turner does not have the cure.
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LeBron James suggests Michael Jordan’s No. 23 should be retired for all NBA players to honor the recent Hall of Fame inductee. Say LeBron, Michael’s not dead so keep wearing your 23 when you sign with the Knicks next season. As much as Michael did, the guys who brought the league back from the dead are Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. How about retiring their numbers first?

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Posted on November 13, 2009

By Mike Luce
The Week 11 Preview: You Can’t Spell Stickup Without “UT.”
Steve Spurrier, now the wise old man of SEC coaches, famously needled rival Tennessee by saying “You can’t spell Citrus without UT.” In light of the news coming out of Knoxville, I wonder if current top Gator Urban Meyer might be tempted to revise his predecessor’s legendary zinger.

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Posted on November 13, 2009

By Thomas Chambers

It started great and ended spectacularly.
The 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Championships was the finest and funnest stretch of horseplaying I’ve ever experienced. Oh, and I turned a profit too.

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Posted on November 13, 2009

By Eric Emery
Last week, I predicted that the Kool-Aid Nation was finally going to turn against Lovie Smith. And turn they did! It’s safe to say that last week’s debacle transformed the Kool-Aid to a bitter, semi-fermented swill.
Here’s the problem: The city’s sportswriters insist that Lovie isn’t going anywhere because Halas Hall hates the idea of eating two years of his contract. Here at the Kool-Aid Report, we know that isn’t true. The real issues is that Bears management is simply too loyal. And with unemployment topping 10 percent, Bears management knows that Smith cannot survive in today’s job market.
Bears management could, however, work with an outplacement agency to line up a job for Lovie before launching him. Here are a few ideas that might work.

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Posted on November 12, 2009

By George Ofman
There are two general managers with two dilemmas. The one on the North Side has a much bigger one than the one to his south.
Jim Hendry has to get rid of you-know-who.
Ken Williams let go a World Series hero.
And it’s possible both players could wind up teammates next season.
Talk about schizophrenic symmetry!

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Posted on November 12, 2009

By Dan O’Shea
There’s some interesting news in the fantasy basketball world that I want to turn my attention to at the outset because the reports are about two certified stars, Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson, and another player who might just be certifiable, Stephen Jackson.
First, it appears that McGrady will be back in uniform sometime next week after knee surgery. That’s good news for fantasy hoopsters who took a flyer on him because a Houston Rockets team without Yao Ming this season will be putting the rock in his hands early and often. Still, don’t depend too much on an early boost because McGrady is bound to see limited minutes per game until sometime next month.
On the bad news front, The Answer owes one to the Memphis Grizzlies, who took a flyer on him for this season. Iverson was hurt in the pre-season and, after a slow start, requested a leave of absence from the Grizzlies. There seems to be a nebulous family reason behind that leave. He reportedly is thinking about retirement. This may not have too much fantasy impact because anyone who drafted him probably did so recognizing that his days as a top-flight scorer were mostly behind him.

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Posted on November 11, 2009

By Mike Luce
We’ll gloss over the bulk of last weekend’s action today to focus on the four games that had most affected the BCS picture: Iowa vs. Northwestern, LSU vs. Alabama, Oregon vs. Stanford, and Notre Dame vs. Navy.
Off we go!
Iowa vs. Northwestern
The other shoe finally dropped on Iowa. I haven’t been rooting against the Hawkeyes, but I have been skeptical. Iowa played too many unexpectedly close games. The Big 10, while not top-heavy with elite teams like Florida and Texas, simply has too many solid teams to coast through an entire season.
Sadly, an injury to QB Ricky Stanzi in the second quarter effectively ended Iowa’s bid for a perfect season and a shot at the national championship. After 14 straight wins (dating back to last season) and four comebacks in the fourth quarter, the dream was over.

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Posted on November 10, 2009

By Jim Coffman
Good quarterbacks kick Lovie’s ass.
It doesn’t help that Tommie Harris is the stupidest player in the NFL. And that just as Hunter Hillenmeyer was settling back into the middle linebacker spot he re-injured his ribs during the first Cardinal drive (he came back after some time on the sideline and was ineffective).

Ofman: Blame Lovie

But just as Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer carved up Smith’s Bears defense last month, so did Arizona’s Kurt Warner on Sunday. It was downright eerie to watch the Cardinals find a way to tack on the final field goal just before the intermission to ensure they would match the Bengals’ 31-point halftime total of two weeks prior.

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Posted on November 9, 2009

By George Ofman
Jay Cutler threw for 369 yards, the seventh most in Bears history, yet the considerable angst Bears fans were feeling has now turned into total anger.
Do you blame them?
Their anger is vented mostly at one man, Lovie Smith, who is starting to resemble a punching bag more than an NFL head coach.
Blistered after a 45-10 loss at Cincinnati and highly criticized following an ugly 24-point victory over Cleveland, Lovie is feeling the brunt force of yesterday’s flogging by Arizona as if Hurricane Katrina found new life off Lake Michigan.
And he deserves it.

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Posted on November 9, 2009