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The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #288: Comical Cons

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Rickey and Ricketts. Plus: The Houston Asterisks; The Green Bay Packers Are Not In The Super Bowl; The Byzantine Bears; The Blackhawks Might Be Back!; Is Zach LaVine An All-Star?; Bulls Attendance Finally Rightsizing; Illinois Hoops It Up!; and TrackNotes: Death, Destruction & The Pegasus.


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SHOW NOTES
* 288.
* Coffman: “We were promised change!”
* Rutter: “Tom Ricketts is irritating not because he’s rich, but because he’s greedy.”
1:52: The Houston Asterisks.
* Black Jack McDowell:


* The Daily Beast: Did This Notorious Internet Troll Dupe MLB Fans And Players Into Believing A New Astros Conspiracy?
* Whit Merrifield: “Jose Altuve took my spot.”
* Star Tribune: Five Twins Potentially Impacted By Astros Sign-Stealing Scandal.
* AP: Metrodome Superintendent Admits To Adjusting Ventilation System.
* Wall Street Journal: Was The ’51 Giants Comeback A Miracle, Or Did They Simply Steal The Pennant?
16:10: The Green Bay Packers Are Not In The Super Bowl.
* Coach picked ’em, to his everlasting shame.
* Coach leans Niners, Rhodes leans Chiefs.
23:08: The Byzantine Bears.
* Vikas A. of North Potomac, Md., writes to Brad Biggs:

Matt Nagy is the head coach who designs and calls offensive plays. Bill Lazor is the offensive coordinator who doesn’t design or call plays. Dave Ragone is passing-game coordinator but not the run-game coordinator. John DeFilippo coaches the QBs, who are the primary component of the passing game, and Juan Castillo coaches the O-line, an important component to the passing and running game. Am I the only one whose head is spinning from confusion? I’m concerned that with so many cooks in the kitchen the meal is going to be a total mess. Has a current or former team employed such an organizational structure with success, and if not, why should we believe the Bears can pull it off?

Click through to see Biggs’ answer.
* Raheem Mostert appeared in two games for the Bears in 2016 and did not get a carry or a reception.
32:35: White Sox Con!
* “Starring” Rickey Rentamanager.
* Coach is correct: Luis Rojas is the son of Felipe Alou and the half-brother of Moisés Alou.
42:57: A Different Kind Of Cubs Con.
* Rosenthal: What To Know About The Marquee Network.
50:45: The Blackhawks Might Be Back!
* Five-game winning streak before dropping game to Panthers this week.
* ESPN NHL Power Rankings:
“Signing little-known Czech forward Dominik Kubalik last May to a one-year, $925,000 contract looks genius. The 24-year-old (whose rights were acquired from the Kings last season) is a dark horse Calder Trophy candidate, with 21 goals through 49 games.”
* ESPN’s Midseason Analytics Awards:
“The John Gibson Award –
“Criteria: Given to the goalie who does everything humanly possible to carry his team to victory on a nightly basis, despite getting nothing resembling help from the players who are supposed to be defending in front of him. Honoring the +53.4 goals above average that John Gibson saved from 2016 to 2019 (the second-best rate, behind Sergei Bobrovsky, among all goalies in that span), ultimately netting Gibson a grand total of one third-place vote for the Vezina Trophy – because the team in front of him wasn’t good enough to get him enough wins.
“Winner: Robin Lehner, Chicago Blackhawks”
56:15: Is Zach LaVine An All-Star?
* Coach: No.
* Rhodes: No.
* David Kaplan: Yes.
59:24: Bulls Attendance Finally Rightsizing.


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1:00:30: Illinois Hoops It Up!
Loyola Women:


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Northwestern Women:


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Loyola Men:


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DePaul Men:


* Illini Men:


* UIC Men:


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1:07:15: TrackNotes: Death, Destruction & The Pegasus.
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STOPPAGE: 11:58
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For archives and other Beachwood shows, see The Beachwood Radio Network.
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Comments welcome.
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1. From Tom Chambers:
Pegasus World Cup Invitational to-day is in Florida.
The Dubai World Cup in late March is the climax of the Dubai World Cup Carnival, United Arab Emirates.
There’s also a Japan World Cup.
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships aren’t that worldly. BC is like hoping the Queen, or even Charles runs, but they send Harry, the permanent third-stringer.
The Arlington International Festival of Racing is very similar. Knockabout English or Irish benchwarmers visit. The British accents are irresistible.
Back when, I thought what a stupid name for the Pegasus. “World Cup” is both pretentious and lazy branding. Invitational implies exclusivity. It’s probably more like a phone call: “Wanna run?”
You not only landed on the best of this bunch, you even know Dubai’s race exists!

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Posted on January 24, 2020