By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
State of the Bears. Plus: Bulls Season Peaks In First Quarter Of Opener; What’s Up With Corey Crawford And Brandon Saad?; and AL Rules.
Posted on October 19, 2018
Chicago vs. Michigan, 1903
By The Silent Film Channel and Wikipedia
“[Michigan’s] head football coach was Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines played their home games at Regents Field. The 1903 team compiled a record of 11-0-1 and outscored opponents 565 to 6. The only points allowed came on a touchdown in a 6-6 tie with Minnesota. All eleven wins were shutouts. The 1903 Michigan team was the third of Yost’s ‘Point-a-Minute’ teams and has been recognized retrospectively as a co-national champion by the National Championship Foundation,” according to Wikipedia.
“Michigan concluded the 1903 season with its traditional rivalry game in Chicago against Amos Alonzo Stagg’s Chicago Maroons. The New York Times reported that the game was attended by a record-setting crowd: ‘All records for attendance were broken, fully 20,000 enthusiastic spectators braving a heavy snowfall to see the game.’ Another account placed the attendance at 15,000. The Michigan Alumnus noted that Michigan men regarded Chicago as ‘their dearest rival,’ and the Thanksgiving Day game at Marshall Field marked the culmination of the season.”
Posted on October 18, 2018
SportsMonday: Come On, Vic!
By Jim Coffman
This one is on the defense. It isn’t even close.
Yes, the offense had two brutal red-zone turnovers and another killer fumble late in regulation of the Bears’ 31-28 loss to the Dolphins. And yes, Matt Nagy did some strange things at the end of the Bears’ final possession.
Oh, and the refs sucked, what with the “Brushing the Passer” (thank you, Steve) call on Leonard Floyd and the infuriatingly ridiculous offensive pass interference on Trey Burton in the end zone. The zebras capped it all off with a crushing unwillingness to flag obvious holding down the stretch as Dolphins obviously grabbed Bear pass-rushers Khalil Mack continuously and Aaron Lynch on one huge play in particular.
But this was a supposed better-than-average defense against a back-up quarterback with limited arm strength. And that unit stunk it up all day long. Just like the Packers game when the Bears completely failed to take advantage of a hobbled Aaron Rodgers, Vic Fangio’s unit failed to take advantage of an obvious, extended mismatch.
Posted on October 15, 2018
The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #221: Are The Blackhawks Back?
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Sort of, but not really. Plus: Chili Cook-Off; MLB’s Final Four; Non-Jew Tarik Cohen And The Bears Taking Their Talents To South Florida; Jimmy Hollywood vs. Toledo Thibs; 2018 Bulls Should Get Sponsorship From Elon Musk’s Boring Company; and Golf At The Grate.
Posted on October 12, 2018
It’s Naive To Think College Athletes Have Time For School
By Jasmine Harris/The Conversation
From my first day as a sociology professor at a university with Division I football and men’s basketball teams, education and athletics struck me as being inherently at odds.
Student-athletes filled my courses to take advantage of the fact that the classes met early in the morning.
The football and men’s basketball players – most of whom were black – quickly fell behind due to scheduling constraints. Only so much time was set aside for academics and, often, it wasn’t enough. Academic rigor and athletic success were simply incompatible goals.
Now – as a researcher who is studying college athletes through the lens of race and class – I have compiled evidence to show just how much more time college athletes devote to sports over academics.
Posted on October 11, 2018
Did The Jackson Park Community Football Team Just Play Its Last Homecoming?
By The Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition
The Wolfpack is a community football team that plays on the field in Jackson Park where the Obama Center will be located. On Sunday on the field in Jackson Park at 61st and Stony Island, they played their 21st, and what might be their last, homecoming game there.
“We are concerned that with the construction on the new field halted, we may not have anywhere to go,” said Wolfpack head coach Ernest Radcliffe. “I want the Obama Center, and the new field in Jackson Park, but I also want a CBA ordinance to make sure our youth participants don’t get pushed out of the neighborhood.”
Posted on October 9, 2018
SportsMonday: The Plan
By Jim Coffman
So what should the Cubs do now? I have some thoughts.
Trade Albert Almora and move Jason Heyward to center. And have the switch-hitting Ian Happ spend extra time during the off-season hitting right-handed because when he isn’t subbing for Heyward against tough lefties he’ll be subbing for Kyle Schwarber over in left.
The Cubs should give Schwarber, who hit all but one of his 26 homers in 2018 against righties, 550 more at-bats to take one last shot at his becoming the big-time, almost-everyday power hitter they projected him to be. If a hitter is going to be much better against one sort of pitcher than another, better it be against righties just because there are so many of them among humans (usually estimated at 90 percent of the population). In other words, Happ will usually sub for Heyward. Unless Happ is playing second base.
Posted on October 8, 2018
The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #220: Worst 95-Win Team Ever!
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Offense cold as The Freeze. Plus: Judging Joe; Back To The Future; Joe’s Job (In)security; Jason Benetti’s Awesome Statcast; The 2018 Cubs Lacked Killer Instincts; Dr. Theo & Mr. Epstein; Bring Cole Hamels Back; White Sox Season In Verse; State Of The Bears; Blackhawks Should Get Used To Winning Ugly; Bulls Set To Open Most Boring Season Yet; There Is Nothing To Say About College Football; TrackNotes, Racing Luck; Ugly Light-Up Christmas Sweaters Now With Audio!; and Tempered Expectations For 2019 Cubs.
Posted on October 6, 2018
New NFL Bluetooth® Ugly Christmas Sweater Has Fans Dancing Into The Holiday Spirit
By BRANDed PR
Forever Collectibles (FOCO) introduce today the first series of Bluetooth-enabled ugly Christmas sweaters. It’s never too early to prepare for ugly Christmas sweater season, and if you’re a sports fan, the time is now. The officially-licensed knitted NFL team light-up Bluetooth sweaters for the 2018 holiday season have arrived! The sweaters, debuting this fall with the National Football League, will also be released across all major professional and collegiate sports and availability will vary by team and league later this fall.
Posted on October 4, 2018
SportsMonday: Trumagic
By Jim Coffman
It was still a stupid trade. But maybe ol’ Mitch will justify it after all.
Ryan Pace was still negotiating against himself when he traded three draft picks to move up one spot (from No. 3 to 2) in the first round of the 2017 draft to draft the quarterback from North Carolina named Trubisky. He was fleeced by a rookie general manager (the 49ers’ John Lynch) in his first 10 minutes on the job of drafting players for San Francisco.
Don’t believe me? Ask Hub Arkush, who has way better sources than you do. Our man Hub has said on numerous occasions that there were no other offers for the 49ers’ pick (and even if there had been, none included the No. 3 pick, the primary asset the Bears sent away – if the Browns had made the trade with the Niners, the primary asset would have been their next pick, No. 12). Pace got it in his head that he was going to be Mr. Aggressive and there was no stopping him.
But now we have the first evidence that it wasn’t just justified, it was totally justified dude! In other words, the team that obliterated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-10 Sunday looks like it has enough depth to be successful despite the lost picks. And the guy they did it for, the young quarterback with the glorious arm, has written a first chapter in a book of greatness.
Posted on October 1, 2018