No Fans Allowed

May 29, 2020

Baseball seemed to be on the cusp of returning. The owners proposed an 82 game regional schedule, starting July 4. The playoffs would increase to seven teams from each league, which was likely to be the plan in the future. There is also a plan in place for safety protocols, among them are bench players wearing masks and massive testing. No fans will be allowed for quite some time, probably not until next season. However, the problem that has plagued the league in the past leaves the season in doubt. It’s all about the money.

It sickens me that billionaire owners and millionaire players can’t get their acts together when millions of Americans are unemployed and families struggling trying to put food on the table. The blame should go to both parties. The owners can afford the losses that are sure to accrue. They did originally offer the players prorated contracts for games played. When it became evident fans, a major point in revenue, would not be allowed, they changed to a form of revenue sharing. The players are adamant in getting what they signed for. At this point negotiations have stalled. They must reach an agreement to start the season, knowing that when the pandemic is more under control things will return to normal. The return of baseball can be a morale booster and will bring a sense of normalcy this country desperately needs. Owners and players, WAKE UP!

It looks as if the NHL is ready to resume sometime in August. The good news for Hawk fans is they will be part of 24 teams vying for the Stanley Cup. It’s hard to believe there are teams worse than the Hawks that won’t be involved. However, don’t get too excited as the Hawks will probably be gone after their best of five match-up with the Edmonton Oilers. You can watch on TV.

Basketball is moving slower than other leagues. Facilities in Florida are open for players to work out. All games may shift to Florida or other areas that are bouncing back from the coronavirus. I haven’t heard of many plans to start up. I imagine the NBA will start with some playoff schedule. I have no idea when this will occur. There will be no fans allowed.

Football looks like it may be safe to open the season on time or be delayed by just a couple of weeks. The determination will be based on when they can start training camps. Then Bear fans can watch the competition between Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles for the starting quarterback position. Regardless of who wins the job, with Matt Nagy making the calls you’re looking at an 8-8 season.

Bears Draft Grade B This would be an A if they could draft a new coach

April 27, 2020

Prior to the 2018 season the Bears traded for Khalil Mack, one of the top defensemen in the NFL, ceding two first round draft picks. This may seem to be a high price to pay. However, this did prevent general manager Ryan Pace from picking another number one draft bust. You have to give Pace credit for his picks in subsequent rounds.  Defensive lineman Eddie Goldman and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair were second round picks. Eddie Jackson and Jordan Howard were fourth round picks. All four have been selected to play in a Pro-Bowl. The problem is that somehow his moves left the Bears without a third and fourth round pick.

In the 2020 draft the Bears chose Cole Kmet to be the tenth tight end on the roster. There is a feel good angle to this pick. Growing up in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, he has always been a Bears fan. This was a dream come true. He was a standout baseball and football player in high school and decided to play football at Notre Dame. He is very athletic and the best tight end in the draft. I guarantee he will be better than Pace’s last tight end pick, Adam Shaheen. He was a second round pick in the same year they drafted quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the first round. That could be one of the worst drafts in Bear history. Among the sea of tight ends is free agent Jimmy Graham, once a premiere player. However, he is 33 years old and there may not be much more left in his tank. Kmet should get plenty of playing time this year and is probably the tight end of the future.

Pace was smart enough to know that before his next pick the cornerback they needed would be available. Unlike many rookies, Jaylon Johnson should be able to start immediately. He was a first team All-Pac 12 selection and an All-American in his junior season. The reason he was available in the second round was due to injuries. He played most of last year with a torn labrum in his right shoulder and had surgery. The Bears feel he’ll recover in time especially if the season’s start is delayed. He also had two labrum injuries in his left shoulder that were successfully repaired.

Now that free-agency and the draft are over, what is there left to do? The defense can return to 2018 form with Robert Quinn replacing Leonard Floyd at outside linebacker and players staying healthy e.g. Akiem Hicks. It would be nice to acquire another safety.

I have a different slant on the Bear quarterback situation. Many are assuming Nick Foles will be the starter. Presently, I think this is Trubisky’s job to lose. The Bear brass see no reason to extend Trubisky’s contract and guarantee a fifth year. Unless he has a remarkable turn-around, this is his last year as a Bear. If Foles is the quarterback this year and next, it will be important for Pace to draft a franchise QB in the first round whom Foles can mentor. The Bears are in need of a speedy receiver. They did choose a speedster, Darnell Moody out of Tulane. However, he is 5’10”, 175 lbs. and was the 26^th receiver selected. If the Bears hadn’t frittered their way out of round three and four they could have gotten a much better prospect.

SPORTS Yes They Still Exist

April 9, 2020

The world of sports may have stopped but there has been news looking forward. Golf’s Masters Tournament has been rescheduled for November. Wimbledon tennis has been canceled, so I’ll just have to settle for the movie

.

The NFL is looking to start up in September or October. The Bears starting quarterback should be Nick Foles. He is already familiar with Coach Matt Nagy’s offense and so is the rest of the league because he calls pass plays 70-80% of the time. In the second game, Charles Leno Jr. misses his block and Foles gets sacked and injured. Mitch Trubisky replaces him and has MVP season leading the Bears to the watered down NFL Playoffs. Fairy tales can come true…

Baseball is looking at a 100 game season, which is good news for the Cubs. A decreased schedule could be a benefit for the aging Jon Lester. Jose Quintana may also rebound after faltering last September. He went winless and had an ERA over 11.00. That figure may not indicate how bad he was, however 38 hits in 18 innings does. Games being only seven innings is another option being discussed. This could lessen the appearances of Craig Kimbrel. You can’t have a one inning closer with a 6.58 ERA. He gave up nine home runs in just a little bit over 20 innings.

The biggest problem could be that MLB is looking at playing games at neutral sites. Therefore, the Cubs don’t get the advantage they have at Wrigley Field. You can take solace that they probably won’t have a September collapse.

Though the shortened season may stunt the growth of top prospects Luis Robert and Mick Madrigal, the White Sox   have enough talent to contend. In a short season you can’t have too much pitching.  Michael Kopech should be ready to go and Carlos Rodon will return batting sometime in August. The line-up is filled with speed and power. They have the major league leader in average in Tim Anderson. Yoan Moncada will be in the conversation when talking about the best third basemen. These two also possess blazing speed. Jose Abreu, who hit 33 home runs and  led the league with 123 RBI is joined with power hitting free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal and DH Edwin Encarnacion.  I believe Eloy Jimenez will put up MVP type stats.

The NHL and NBA are looking to resume the season. They may not finish the season and start with the playoffs.  With no fans, the major reason for continuing is TV money.  The play will probably look sub-par.  As usual the Blackhawks and Bulls won’t be involved. They should cancel the season. That would make it extra special when the games return.

When the Blackhawks return, they will have the dilemma that Corey Crawford is a free-agent. The Hawks should coax Tony Esposito and Murray Bannerman out of retirement to share the goaltending duties. Training camp will start by getting players in shape, skating from the defensive zone to center ice to practice dumping the puck. Scrimmage fools the Hawks that this a good strategy because their defense can’t clear the zone. In the regular season, more often than not, they turn the puck over. Skating and passing to get into the offensive end and winning scrums and making good passes to get out of their own end should be their top priorities.

The Bulls have hired Arturas Karnisovas, well respected General Manager of the Denver Nuggets to replace John Paxson as Vice-President of Basketball Operations. It’s about time. The most pleasant surprise is that a Reinsdorf owned team went outside the organization for a replacement. His first order of business will be hiring a GM to be his right-hand man. The next move is firing Coach Jim Boylen.  Anyone not in a coma would be a better option. Next move is to open talks with the teams who have the top three picks in the draft. Hold on to Coby White and Lauri Markkanen and offer them your first round pick plus any four players on the roster. I’m not sure if teams would make this trade but it’s worth try. Does Phil Jackson want to coach again?     

I want my I want my sports TV

March 19, 2020

I now know how Don McLean felt the day the music died. The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the sports landscape. Not only have the professional leagues shut down, but we are deprived of other major sporting events. You won’t get a chance to see Rafael Nadal continue his dominance at the French Open. Golf has canceled the glorious Masters tournament.  Regarding golf, I am wondering if the players and caddies are virus free, why not play in twosomes with no fans in attendance?

I was extremely disappointed with the cancellation of the NCAA college basketball tournament. At this time of year, I am looking at my busted brackets. This tourney usually has its share of upsets, Cinderella stories, buzzer beaters, etc. You have slugfests involving the cream of the crop reaching the final four. This is always compelling TV. To make matters worse, my alma mater, the University of Illinois, was going make the field for the first time in five years.

The NHL and NBA have suspended their seasons. It is highly doubtful they will resume. Despite the fact that the Blackhawks and Bulls are disappointing, I still enjoy the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs. I sense you won’t see these until 2021

.

What I am missing most is the start of the baseball season. I always have thought the season starts too early. Until baseball figures how to schedule a majority of early games in warm climates or cities with retractable roofs, I would rather cut out some games and start about April 20^.  Early projections have the season starting in mid-May. This is also a longshot due to the growth of the virus. I also believe the teams will need some sort of spring training before the season starts. In a year where there will be excitement on both sides of town, I hope the season can start in June.

The only thing happening right now is NFL free-agency. The top free-agent, Tom Brady, chose Tampa Bay. Why? After playing in frigid temperatures with New England, he is assured of playing all his home games in warmer temperatures. As they play in the same division, two road games in Atlanta and New Orleans are in domes.

The Bears have been quite active. The first player they acquired is former Pro-Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham. This  may have excited me four years ago But if Trey Burton can return to the form he had prior to his injuries, the combo will improve the tight end position. They also obtained Robert Quinn formally of the Cowboys. As a bookend for Khalil Mack and with a healthy Akiem Hicks, the Bears pass rush will be greatly improved. Not only did they obtain a great pass rusher, they were able to release Leonard Floyd. He joins Kevin White as a first round draft bust. Both were top ten picks. In the draft the Bears need to fill out the secondary behind Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson.

The Bears have partially admitted that Mitch Trubisky would be general manager Ryan Pace’s third first round bust by trading for Nick Foles. Foles has a checkered career; however, he has guided the Eagles to the Super Bowl and was MVP in the upset of the Patriots. Trubisky isn’t the player the Bears envisioned when picked second overall. He hasn’t improved in three years. This may be partially due to his addle-brained play caller coach Matt Nagy. Although they said there would be an open competition, this is Trubisky’s position to lose. I’ve seen this before. Trubisky will get most of the snaps with the first round team. If Nagy doesn’t change, Bear starters won’t play in exhibition games and Foles will be stuck playing with the second string. Foles may be the starter by game three or four.

Baseball News as the Season Nears

March 2, 2020

The big story during the off season was the sign-stealing scandal perpetrated by the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros. Current Oakland A’s pitcher Mike Fiers blew the whistle on his former team. The Astros used electronic video and a banging trash can, most likely telling batters that a breaking pitch was coming. What’s surprising is teams in their own division, who play 9 games a year in Houston, didn’t notice that the banging of a trash can mean something. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred immediately fined the Astros five million dollars and stripped them of their first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. He also suspended Astros Manager A. J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhrow for one year. Astros owner Jim Crane proceeded to fire them. The Boston Red Sox, who are being investigated, fired their Manager Alex Cora for his involvement. Former Astro Carlos Beltran was fired by the Mets before he managed his first game. Every player was complicit, yet were given immunity for information.  Astro players apologizing and saying it won’t happen again doesn’t cut it for me. What I would like is for all players to give back their World Series shares and donate that to a worthy charitable organization.

Baseball will initiate some new rules for the upcoming season: Increasing the rosters from 25 to 26 players; changing the DL from 10 to 15 days; decreasing the time a manager can appeal a call from 30 to 20 seconds. The most talked about rule change is that a relief pitcher must face at least three hitters unless they end an inning.  This is a good way to speed up the game. Managers like to match up from batter to batter. Some can use four or five pitchers in an inning, which to an average fan is annoying. Most managers don’t like this rule because it requires more thinking.

The one thing being bandied about that I don’t like, is increasing the playoffs to 14 out of thirty teams. This really puts a damper on the 162 game schedule. Speaking of rules, when will the National League adopt the designated hitter?

Locally, optimism is high on the south side of Chicago. At the end of last season White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn, pointed out positions they needed to fill. He made a trade with the Texas Rangers, netting 24 year old right fielder Nomar Mazara. He signed former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel and veteran Gio Gonzalez to fill out the starting pitching staff. The designated hitter they needed is Edwin Encarnacion, who hits 30 home runs a year. Hahn went one step further signing all-star catcher Yasmani Grandal, whose defense and framing of pitches will help the young starters. He is also capable of hitting 30 home runs.

 

On the North Side most of the conversation has been about the re-signing the marquee players that make up the core of the Cubs. One thing for certain, when the time comes, management will pony up whatever Javier Baez wants or they will have a mutiny on their hands. Right now the focus is on Kris Bryant. Bryant is salivating about his upcoming free agency. The question for the Cubs is do they trade him? They can probably get a good return (maybe some sorely needed top pitching prospects) or keep him for two years and get nothing in return. The Cubs should have tried to sign Bryant after his third year. He may have signed a security contract for seven years. Even if you made him the highest paid third baseman, that would be a bargain compared to what present player salaries are. In contrast, the White Sox are negotiating with Yoan Moncada after his third season.

United Center Blues

February 26, 2020

The stench from the garbage emanating from the United Center is so bad you should be wearing a face mask. For the third consecutive year, neither the Bulls nor the Blackhawks will make the playoffs. This is hard to accomplish when half the teams in their respective conferences reach the post season.

What I can’t figure out is how good the Hawks were prior to the All-Star break. They had pulled to within three points of a playoff spot. They came out of the break and lost 4 out of 5 games to teams they were battling with for the final playoff spot. The next two games were home games and the thought was maybe they could get back on track. However, the problem is that they have a losing record at home. This should never happen. The first game was a 6-3 loss to the N.Y. Rangers where they didn’t register a pulse. The next game, the Hawks beat the Nashville Predators. Because it was an overtime win, they only gained 1 point. They reside in last place in their division.

The Hawks have goal scorers. Jonathan Toews is having a good season and Patrick Kane remains one of the best players in the NHL. Brandon Saad is having his best year since rejoining the Hawks. Alex DeBrincat is snake bitten and his goal production is down, though he is creating multiple chances.  They are getting contributions from Dominik Kubalik, who leads all rookies in goals, and fellow rookie Kirby Dach keeps improving. So what’s the problem? It may be lack of speed, as they continue to employ the dump and run offense, while opponents pass and skate the puck into Hawks territory.

A bigger problem is the defense can’t get the puck out of their own end. When they finally do clear the zone, the offense dumps it in to change lines because they are exhausted. Therein lies the big problem: the only reliable defensemen are Connor Murphy and rookie sensation Adam Bovqist. Duncan Keith is still good. However, at this stage of his career he has too much ice time which leads to mistakes, particularly takeaways. They also never come out with a possession when fighting for the puck along the boards

.

The Blackhawks problems are nothing compared to the Bulls. In the third year of their rebuild, they’ve gotten worse. People point out to me that the Bulls are plagued by multiple injuries. Even without the injuries they wouldn’t be much better. To start the season, prior to injuries they were 2-6.

Believe it or not, there are teams worse than the Bulls. As of right now the Bulls have the eighth worst record in the league. The Bulls would have to be extremely lucky to avoid another inconsequential pick in the draft. The Bulls need an impact player and should put together a good offer to a team with a top three pick. Maybe Zach LaVine and your first round pick?

The only positive is, rumor has it that there will be changes in management. John Paxson will probably will be in charge of hiring a new General Manager. If this person has complete autonomy, his first move should be getting rid of Coach Jim Boylen. Boylen continues to say and do stupid things. Calling time-outs when the Bulls are being blown out. There are many examples, but my personal favorite is, the Bulls were losing by 25 points to the Raptors and he called a time out with 1:04 left in the game. He continues to refer to games as good losses. To me, there is no such thing.

Hawks Slogan One Goal Now Refers to Making the Playoffs

January 31, 2020

Three seasons ago the Chicago Blackhawks were swept out of the playoffs in the first round. The following year they missed making the playoffs. Last year with the team struggling, the Hawks let go Joel Quenneville, the coach of three Stanley Cup championship teams. He was replaced by 33 year old Jeremy Colliton, coach of their minor league affiliate the Rockford Ice Hogs. Initially under Colliton the Hawks were an unmitigated disaster. They were playing their worst hockey since Rocky Wirtz took control of the team. The Hawks had fallen out of playoff contention by the All-Star break.

Colliton made changes that turned things around. When he inserted Erik Gustafsson on the point, the power play was the best in the NHL. By putting Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the same line, both had career years. Playing inspired hockey, the Hawks were making a push to reach the playoffs. However, the hole they had dug for themselves was too deep to overcome. They ran out of gas and missed the playoffs.

Buoyed by their play at the end of last year, I was optimistic about this season. Once again the Hawks started slowly.  Bad and inconsistent play landed them in last place in their division. However, it seemed  as if a light switch went on and the Hawks went on an 11-5 tear prior to the All-Star break. This stretch  gives them a legitimate chance of reaching the playoffs.

Part of the blame for the poor start was that the Hawks suffered a number of injuries.  Connor Murphy, who I think is the Hawks best defensemen,, missed the first nine games. Calvin de Haan, acquired in a trade, was injured for the first two games and played a total of only 29 before going down with a season ending injury. Duncan Keith had to sit out a few games. Luckily, Brent Seabrook is out for the season. The defense is being saved by the outstanding goal tending of Robin Lehner.

Let’s start with two injuries to key players. Brandon Saad was having his best season since the Hawks reacquired him. After missing a month he is back and still playing well. Goal scorer Dylan Strome has been in and out for most of the year. He is close to returning. Hopefully when he comes back he can help Alex DeBrincat regain the form that netted him 41 goals last year.

The kids are all right. The decision to hang on to 18 year-old Kirby Dach is paying off. Although he’s not filling up the score sheet, he is getting better and better. Defenseman, 19 year-old Adam Boqvist has looked really good and will also improve. I believe both will be NHL stars. Then there is 24 year-old Dominik Kubalik who leads all rookies with 21 goals.

u are tempting fate if he has to save 35-40 shots a game. This is exasperated by the dump and run offense. More often than not, the opponents take possession and head up the ice. The other obstacle in reaching the playoffs is their February schedule is brutal.  It includes eleven road games all against contending teams. We’ll know a lot more regarding their playoff aspirations when March arrives.