Windy City Sports

Why the Cubs need to take Fielder seriously

2011-12-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

Now that Albert Pujols has found a new home in California, it is time for baseball to turn its attention to Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, who is also a free agent this winter. I am not all that dissapointed that the Cubs did not pursue Albert Pujols for two reasons. One is that he is not the kind of player that you are going to build a team around. The Cubs are in a re-building stage, and Pujols is too old to be a centerpiece of a re-building team. The second is that expectations would be too high. If the Cubs were to sign the best player in baseball, they would be expected to contend immediately, and I don't think they could.

Prince Fielder, however, is a different story. Fielder is younger, giving the Cubs more time to work with him and re-build around him. Also, he has always remained fairly "under the radar" despite putting up numbers that make him among the best in the game. Fielder is no doubt a superior option for the Cubs. He is an option that the Cubs must take seriously.

Not only is Fielder a great candidate for the Cubs, but he is a necessary one. The proper way to re-build is to re-build around a player that stands out. Without Fielder, the Cubs don't have that player. Ramirez is getting old and Soriano cannot be counted on for anything. The Cubs have done a nice job building up several quality young players, and Fielder would provide a centerpiece for the re-building. After that, you could trade Ramirez or Soriano (if anyone wants to pay him) and start new.

Rumors have been slow-coming over the Fielder situation. A friend of Fielder's reportedly said that his coice would be to play in Chicago, although similar rumors surfaced about Miami. At this point, the Marlins say that they won't be involved in courting Fielder. So who else? The Rangers have been rumored for awhile, and now that division-rival Los Angeles has aquired Pujols, they may want to make a splash. Other than that, Peter Gammons told CSN Chicago that the Cubs are going about the situatiion correctly, saying that he believes that Prince will end up on the North Side. However, a few hours later, Gammons tweeted that the Cubs are not likely to sign Fielder because the money isn't there. The situation appears open.

I trust Theo Epstein and his staff to get this one right. The Cubs are being presented with a prime opportunity to establish themselves as a favorite in the NL Central with Pujols out of St. Louis. Theo knows a thing or two about building World Series teams, and I trust that he will bring that knowledge to Chicago. If the Cubs want to contend in the next 5 years, they need to start making moves now.

Santo voted in

2011-12-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

A committee of 16 baseball writers and former players voted Ron Santo into baseball's Hall of Fame by a margin of 94% to 6%, according to the Chicago Tribune. This is long-awaited news, as Santo has been turned down several times. Santo joins Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, and Ryne Sandberg in the hall. Santo was most famous for his heel-clicks after a victory.

The news is somewhat bitter-sweet, however. A year ago this month, Santo died of complications from his long fight with diabetes. It deeply saddens me that he did not live to see himself inducted into the hall. You may remember him saying that the Cubs' retiring his number was far more important to him than the Hall of Fame, but the pain in his eyes every year that he was rejected was so difficult for all of us to watch. How I would have loved to see his eyes light up after getting the call that he was in.

Nonetheless, I am sure that Ronnie is smiling down from heaven now, watching all of his accomplishments be honored at the highest level of baseball accomplishment. Baseball season this year wasn't the same without turning on WGN Radio and hearing Santo's voice. I am happy to know that Santo is finally being recognized, as he was not only one of the greatest baseball players, but he was a kind and gentle soul who did so many great things for diabetes awareness, the City of Chicago, and baseball fans across the country.

Evaluating the Bears chances without Jay Cutler

2011-11-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

Despite a satisfying victory against San Diego on Sunday, bringing the Bears to 7-3 and looking to take the Wild Card with ease, Sunday turned into a miserable day for the Chicago Bears. A few hours after the game, the Chicago media broke reports that Jay Cutler had broken his thumb and would need surgery, leaving him out 6-8 weeks. The Bears confirmed the injury and said that Cutler would have surgery on Tuesday, but declined to comment on a timetable.

This, of course, has caused many Bears fans to panic about the team's chances. Some are questioning whether or not the playoffs are possible anymore. Today, we are going to take a deep breath and evaluate the Bears chances for the rest of the season.

While the injury has caused panic in Chicago, and rightly so, it is important to remember that the Bears running game is superb. Matt Forte is having the season of his life despite a slight decline in recent weeks, and Marion Barber, a power back, has been a pleasant suprise. Forte as well as the defense will have to step it up as we move forward, but I don't see any reason why that isn't possible. Remember when the Bears went all the way to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman at quarterback? Now all they need to do is win a few games.

There is the possibility of the Bears bringing in a veteran QB to take over until Jay is possibly well enough to play. Names like Mark Bulger and Brett Favre have been brought up. I would be quite optimistic with Bulger at starting QB, but not Favre. Nonetheless, Caleb Hanie has some primetime experience after Cutler went out with a knee injury last year in the NFC Championship, and he is definitely one of the better back-up quarterbacks in the NFL.

Now, let's evaluate the schedule that this Bears team must face without their quarterback. It really isn't that bad. The first stretch of the seaosn was much more difficult than the second half, working out well for the situation. Next week, the Bears face Oakland, which is their toughest game for the remainder of the season other than Green Bay on Christmas Day. They also face Kansas City, Denver, and Minnesota. If they can win 3-4 games, which I believe they could do against the Chiefs, Seahawks, Vikings, and possibly the Broncos, they would be 10-6 or 11-5.

Is that good enough for the playoffs? Two teams can win the Wild Card, and right now the top contenders are Chicago (7-3), Detroit (7-3), Atlanta (6-4), and the New York Giants (6-4). The Lions have a very tough schedule ahead, playing Green Bay twice. The Giants do as well, having to play Dallas twice, Green Bay once, the Saints once, and the Jets once. Atlanta's is not so tough, but they do face the Saints and Tampa Bay, each once. I expect the Giants to fall out of the race with their schedule, making it a three-way race for two spots, unless another team pops up. The Bears have a head start on Atlanta, leading them by a game, and Detroit's schedule puts them at a disadvantage.

Ovwerall, I think that the Bears' shot at the playoffs is not as dim as some may make it seem, but that goes without saying that the defense is definitely going to have to pick up their game. The game against the Broncos will be crucial, as it is possibly the difference between 10-6 and 11-5. We will see how it goes as we move forward, but you never know. With Cutler's toughness, he could be back before the Denver game. Afterall, he's got some unfinished buisness with them.

Multiple reports: Theo Epstein to Cubs

2011-10-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Throughout the day, developments about Theo Epstein's future with the Cubs have taken place. Multiple reporting agencies including FOX Chicago, FOX Boston, WEEI, ESPN's Buster Olney, and the Chicago Tribune are reporting that Epstein and the Cubs have agreed to a 5yr/$15-20mil deal, although the Cubs will not confirm the report.

Epstein won two World Series championships as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, but after the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs in 2011 they started cutting ties with staff, including manager Terry Francona.

Many questions remain with Epstein at GM. I would personally assume that he is going to fire Mike Quade as his first move. The question is then who will be managing the Cubs next year. Many have speculated that Theo will pursue Ryne Sandberg because he asked Ryno to manage Red Sox minor league affiliate Pawtucket. Former GM Jim Hendry took a pass on Sandberg last year, despite Ryno being a fan favorite and a Cubs hall of famer as a player.

I am very happy about this move by the Cubs. Firing Hendry was the right thing to do, as he seemed unwilling to re-build as GM. Hiring Epstein is right because he is a baseball genius and knows how to take a team with little or no World Series experience all the way.

One thing I stress to Cubs fans is to give him time. I have seen many people on the internet today talking about World Series aspirations for the 2012 season. While that is always a great goal, Epstein deserves more than one year to turn the club around. I am confident that he can bring the Cubs a World Series in the five years on his contract, but only if the fans are patient with him.

I will have any updates on the Cubs as well as some football coverage coming up. Remember that you can get sports news quicker by following @WCSBlog on Twitter, and then you can read about the details here later. I look forward to following the Cubs as this plays out. Go Cubs!

Bears Update

2011-08-25T17:42:00.001-07:00

The Bears lost to the New York Giants on Monday, in a game that I would prefer to talk about as little as possible. The offensive line looked horrible yet again and is proving to be our biggest weak spot this season. But, what's new, right?

The Bears will take on Tenessee on Saturday in their third of four preseason games. The countdown to the first regular season game continues, which will take place on September 11 at Soldier Field against the Atlanta Falcons.

Bears 10, Bills 3

2011-08-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

In the first preseason game of the summer, the Bears beat Buffalo by a score of 10-3. For preseason, we will do post-game stories in a "notes" style post, meaning they will be bullet point observations rather than a story.

-Offensive Line: The o-line stole the show on Saturday - in a bad way. They gave up 9 sacks and at some points it didn't even look like they were trying. It reminded me of last year's regular season game against the Seahawks in which Seattle defenders blew right through our line and sacked Cutler within 2 seconds of the snap.

-Marion Barber: He was the most positive story of the night. He had 7 carries for 45 yards and one touchdown. With Forte in contract disputes (although he did show up for the game on Saturday), Barber has a nice opportunity to show what he can do.

-Johnny Knox: Knox impressed in the return game as well as the recieving game. He had a nice return that almost went for a touchdown (although the offense squandered the opportunity) and also made a case for himself at wide reciever. I hope we don't see this guy leave any time soon.

-Kahlil Bell: Bell, who's been under the radar for three years now, carried for 73 yards and raised a lot of eyebrows. Expect to hear a lot of "What the hell, give it to bell!" shouts at Soldier Field this year.

-Robbie Gould: A little bit of a dissapointing night for Gould, as he missed a field goal before making up for it and hitting a 40-yarder. Not anything to be concerned about, of course, but it is mentionable.

-Punters: The Bears are trying out a couple different punters after Maynard's release (he signed with Houston the other day), and I think they will soon regret releasing Maynard. Chicago had some dismal punts on Saturday.

-Bears coaching staff: The coaches stole the show after the game, when it was realized that the Bears kicked off from the 30 instead of the 35 for the entire first half of the game. The rule was changed this year for the kickers to kick closer to the far endzone to increase touchbacks and decrease injuries. The Bears voted against this rule and refused to obey it (although it has been speculated that the real motivation was to get a better look at their players). They complied when instructed to at halftime.

The next preseason game for the Bears is in the Meadowlands as they visit the New York Football Giants. Expect a post-game story from that, as well as any news that pops up concerning Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern, and, of course, the Chicago Bears.

2011 Bears Predictions

2011-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

L vs. FALCONS - A tough opponent for the Bears to open up with, Atlanta is definitely a playoff caliber team. Not to mention, the Bears are a very weak team in their first game, at least in the past few years.

W @ Saints - I don't buy the hype that New Orleans is getting this year. They embarrassed themselves last year in the playoffs, and didn't even look all that strong in the regular season. Their major off-season story was re-signing Reggie Bush, an overrated bust.

L vs. PACKERS - This one could go either way. Green Bay is looking like the best team in the NFL this year, but the Bear fans and players will be hungry for revenge after last year's NFC Championship loss in Chicago. I'm marking it down as a loss, but look for an upset special.

W @ PANTHERS - Carolina is falling apart, drafting yet another QB in the first round, they seem to be run by people who know nothing about football. They won't be any good this year, and the Bears will steamroll through Charlotte, NC, for their first easy win of the season.

W @ Lions - Detroit will be much improved this year, but I still see them finishing behind the Bears. Just like the Green Bay game, though, this one could go either way, but it will go down as a win in my predictions.

W vs. VIKINGS - The Vikings will finish last in the division and return to the mediocrity that they have enjoyed for many years prior to their little run with Brett Favre. Expect two easy wins against Minny.

W @ Buccaneers (London) - Another toss-up here, although playing in London gives an advantage to the Bears, as it is a Bucs home game. Probably a loss if it was in Tampa, but the nuetrality makes this one a toss-up. I will put it down as a "W" though, because I believe the Bears defense can handle Tampa's offense, a key match-up in this one.

L @ Eagles - The Eagles were the most improved team in this short off-season we have had, and they will be very good. I don't see the Bears making that much noise going into Philly.

W vs. LIONS - As mentioned above, the Lions will be much improved this year, and I marked the game at Ford Field as a toss-up, but Soldier Field will prove advantegous for Chicago, and I think they take care of buisness at home.

W vs. CHARGERS - San Diego is another team that I believe is getting more hype than they deserve. They will be in the playoffs this year, but only because the division they play in is so weak. The Bears will get this one at home.

L @ Raiders - Here is my official "Upset Special" for the 2011 season. I don't think the Raiders are going to be that great this year, but they have been improving and should be a little bit better than in past years. More importantly, this is usually the point in the season at which the Bears lose a game that they are expected to win (or in last year's case, two games against Seattle and Washington. Oakland over the Bears by the Bay.

W vs. CHIEFS - The Chiefs raised a few eyebrows last year after making the playoffs, but they do not lack the depth to keep up, and I don't see them returning to the post-season this year. The Bears shouldn't have too much trouble putting them away at home.

W @ Broncos - I don't see the Broncos making much noise this year, either. A weakening AFC West may get them a couple wins, but don't expect anything big. Kyle Orton is a great QB, he just needs some other great players to work with, and I don't see that happening this year.

W vs. SEAHAWKS - With off-season aquisitions Matt Leinart and Tavaris Jackson, Seattle is looking to re-build their offense to what it once was when Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander were in their primes. It's not going to happen overnight, though. Seattle will be helpless in this game, especially without the 12th Man.

L @ Packers - The Packers will most likely be in first place at this point in the season (I went through their schedule and had them at 13-3) and I see them sweeping Chicago this season. The Bears may have a chance a a Wild Card spot, but I'm on board with everyone else's prediction that Green Bay will be very good this year.

W @ Vikings - Like stated above, Minnesota is going to be terrible this year, and the Bears will beat them twice. I love Donovan McNabb, but he is past his prime, and Chrisitian Ponder will take a few years to settle in.

So, I have the Bears at 11-5, with a few games to give or take. In addition to the toss-ups, there are always one or two games that I see as a victory and they end up losing, so the Bears could easily end up at 10-6 or 9-7.

Football Season

2011-08-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Windy City Sports blog. It's been awhile, unfotunately, with the Cubs making almost no noise. However, there has been a recent revival of news in the Chicago sports world.

Last week, the NFL lockout ended, meaning that there will officially be an NFL season, with the only thing cancelled being the Hall Of Fame game between the Rams and our Bears.

Football season is the most exciting time in sports, in my opinion, and Windy City Sports will be dedicated to bringing you news and analysis of all Chicago football teams throughout the season. We plan on having game previews, especially in the weeks before big match-ups, post-game summaries, as well as other important news and analysis throughout the weeks ahead.

Of course we will be covering the Bears to the best of our abilities (that is expected), but I also want to explain our college football coverage. We are dedicated to bringing in-depth NCAA coverage to our readers in addition to our Bears coverage. We try to meet the demands of our readers, so this year we will be adding the Northwestern Wildcats to our coverage, as they are an up-and-coming team in the area. Of course, we will continue to cover the two schools that we believe have the largest fanbases in Chicagoland: Notre Dame and Illinois. In addition, we will have some stories that will include the Northern Illinois Huskies, as well as the entire Big Ten Conference.

The final thing I would like to address in this post is our Twitter account (@WCSBlog). Throughout the last year, we have had a Twitter account and have experimented with it. We believe it can be a great tool to bring brief updates to our fans, especially throughout the game. We will continue to use Twitter as a supplement to our blog here on Blogspot.

I hope you enjoy our coverage throughout the upcoming season, and if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact me at PackersSuck@yahoo.com, or send me a Tweet on Twitter at @WCSBlog.

Thanks again, and GO BEARS!

Cubs take 3 of 4 from Brewers

2011-06-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

The Cubs finished off their divisional series with Milwaukee yesterday, a series in which the Cubs looked much better than they have in recent weeks. This was due to some good pitching, both starting and relief, especially by Ryan Dempster. Milwaukee remains in first place due to the Cardinals struggles against the Nationals in D.C.

This weekend, the Cubs will have the opportunity to host the New York Yankees. This will be a fun interleague matchup. However, Derek Jeter will not be trying for his 3,000th hit, as he was placed on the 15-day DL earlier this week. Hopefully the Cubs sucess against the Brew Crew will continue this weekend against the Bronx Bombers. Today's pitching matchup is between two veterans, Freddy Garcia (NYY) and Doug Davis (CHC). Gametime today is 1:20pm central time.

Update

2011-06-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

I thought I would post today because there are a few smaller things to talk about.

Notre Dame, Michigan unveil retro unis

Notre Dame and Michigan unveiled the retro jerseys they will be wearing for the 2011 rivalry game in Ann Arbor. Pictures of the uniforms are below. I think both are cool, but I will admit that Michigan's is better.

Cubs beat Brewers

The Cubs beat Milwaukee 1-0 last night in a pitcher's duel. Ryan Dempster looked very good, and the Cubs moved to 11 back in the division. The two teams play again Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. After that, the Cubs get the Yankees and then the White Sox. We'll have more news on those exciting series'.

Blog update

Now that I have more available time, I plan on keeping the blog updated more frequently. This most likely means recaps at the end of each series, as well as some more football news as we get closer to football season.

Jim Hendry needs to be fired

2011-06-12T07:16:00.001-07:00

I haven't talked about the Cubs much this season so far. That's because there hasn't been much to talk about. The Cubs are 25-38, and they don't appear to be improving much. Sure, some injuries have hurt the team, but overall the errors, poor hitting, and a terrible bullpen have been to blame.

It's a much broader problem than just what happens in the game, though. The Cubs haven't made the playoffs since 2008, and while they've had much longer stretches without playoff appearences, they don't look to be improving. Now, you may say I'm overreacting, but this is much different from the playoff-less stretch between 1945-1984. It's been 102 years since 1908, going on 103, and the franchise hasn't won a playoff series since 2003.

But today I want to address an issue that is on many Cub fans minds. This issue is the job status of GM Jim Hendry. Hendry has been here since 2002 and has made 3 playoff appearences with the team. Pretty good, right? Not so much. Sure, in 2003 they went far, but he had just taken over the position, and not too much of the team was his credit. The other two playoff years turned into disasters. In both 2007 and 2008, the Cubs were swept.

But enough reliving the Cubs torturous history. Let's focus more on Hendry's specifics. I am of the opinion that his flaws far outweigh anything he has done well. Look at Alfonso Soriano. Soriano is a decent player, but why are we paying him $20 million a year? I understand that Hendry thought that he was going to be a good player (who didn't?), but I never believed that he was good enough to pay that much.

Another problem I have is his willingness to pay veterans huge sums of money. Sure, it was nice to have Greg Maddux back, and it's nice to have Kerry Wood back, but is it really worth paying these players a lot of money when they come back and don't even help the team that much? Sometimes you've just got to tell players that we don't have room in the budget, and that maybe they could get a job in the organization after retirement.

I could go on and on with his horrible moves. Dusty Baker, Milton Bradley, LaTroy Hawkins, Lou Pinella, Koskuke Fukudome, Rich Harden, Michael Barret, and on and on. I'm not going to, though, because you fans know all of this. You all know how frusterating his reign at the Friendly Confines has been.

Now, don't get me wrong, Hendry isn't the worst GM in sports, and I am all for giving people enough time to show what they can do, but don't you think that he's had enough time? It's been 9 years, and so far he has cost the club a lot of money and the team hasn't completed the one goal he should have: winning the World Series. The Cubs not having won the series in 102 years does not excuse failing to win.

So, it's time for the Cubs to take a serious look at their future. Are we going to keep this guy around who has had his chance and failed for 9 years, or are we going to bring in somebody new to mix it up? The fans are losing faith in the organization, and it's time for them to get their act together.

Indy gets B10 football title, Chicago gets share of basketball

2011-06-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

"It's our home, and to me, it's the best sports city in the country."

That is what Big Ten comissioner Jim Delany said about Chicago right after his conference decided not to give the Windy City the Big Ten title game. Instead, they are giving it to Indianapolis from 2011-2015. Indy provides certain advantages, like an indoor field at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts. Also, Indiana is obsessed with college sports.

Naturally, however, I feel the need to challenge this. Now, the Big Ten Tournament has been held in both cities in the past. Recently, however, it has been held much more often in Indy. This always angered me, but it made sense. After all, Indy was always the closest to the geographic center of Big Ten schools. With the addition of Nebraska, however, you can see on the map below that the geographic center becomes the Illinois-Indiana border, which Chicago lies on. Not to mention that Chicago is also roughly in the north-south center of the Big Ten and Indy is very far south.

If you want to ignore which city is the geographic center, go ahead. There are other reasons Chicago should get the title game. One, Chicago is very close to some major football schools. Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan State are all within a few hours of the Windy City (Sorry, Illinois and NU fans). The closest big-time football school to Indianapolis is Ohio State, a three and a half hour drive. The other Big Ten schools around Indy are Indiana and Purdue, both of which are laughing stocks of Big Ten football.

Another reason that Chicago should get the game is pretty obvious. The Big Ten is headquartered in Chicago. I really don't understand why you would put your title game in a different city than you chose to be headquartered in. If Indy is so much more of a Big Ten city, why not be headquartered there?

Lastly, here in Chicago we have a ridiculous amount of Big Ten alumni and fans. We've got so many Illinois and Iowa alumni, plus quite a few from all the other schools. On top of that you've got NU and Illini fans who cheer for the local schools. All of these alumni and fans would love a chance to go to the title game. But, I guess we're giving it to Indy.

On the upside, Chicago gets to host the basketball title game in 2013 and 2015, while Indy gets it for 2012, 2014, and 2016. Not much to say about this other than that I am happy they're giving Chicago a little love. All I have to say is that it would have been smarter to just give Chicago the football games and give Indianapolis the basketball games considering that Indy is surrounded by powerhouse basketball schools in Ohio State, Purdue, and maybe someday IU will regain their strength.

All in all, though, I am excited for these title games to take place, especially the football game. I am also excited to see Nebraska in the conference. I see them playing very well and making a run for the title.

In the near future, look for an article on changes that need to be made within the Cubs organization, and as we approach football season look for more articles on the Bears, Irish, Illini, and this year we'll be doing some on the Cats as well.

Bulls beat Heat to go up 1-0

2011-05-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Bulls went into Sunday's Game 1 showdown against Miami with some doubts. The Heat had a very impressive series against Boston and looked like they were rolling to the Finals, while the Bulls were not playing the way they had earlier in the year, struggling against Indiana and Atlanta.

The Bulls put any doubt of them them being a contender to rest on Sunday, though, earning a monster 21 point victory after a rough first quarter. In the end, it was the bench who came up big, highlighted by Taj Gibson's two monster dunks, the first shifting the momentum and the second putting the finishing touch on the game.

It is difficult not to mention Derrick Rose and Luol Deng's performances, though, both putting up over 20 points and leading the team to victory. Rose proved to the nation that his MVP trophy is well-deserved, and how fitting that he did it against the "Big 3" in LeBron, Wade, and Bosh.

Last night's win was huge for the Bulls confidence. Going down 1-0 would have put the Bulls in a bad situation, nearly taking the pumped crowd out of the series unless they could win game two, but even then they would have to go back to Miami.

Now they will play on Wednesday at home in Game 2, with the oppourtunity to take a commanding 2-0 lead and guarenteeing at least being tied with Miami when they came back for Game 6. I can't wait for game two and I am so happy that the Bulls went out there last night and proved they were capable of stepping up despite many ESPN personalities counting them out of it.

Stick with WCS for coverage of the Bulls as they make their 2011 playoff run. Next story will be on Thursday in a recap of Game 2. For a more brief but more frequently updated supplement to the blog, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/WCSBlog .

Notre Dame to renew series with "Chicago's Big Ten team"

2011-04-14T11:46:00.001-07:00

Northwestern continues to set themselves up for failure. They scheduled a game against Illinois at Wrigley Field last year to try and prove that they were Chicago's favorite Big Ten team. Now, we all know that they are far from Chicago's favorite Big Ten team, but just to settle it the Illini beat the Cats like they were a High School football team.

Now, Northwestern has decided to take on another team that has more fans in Chicago than they do. Notre Dame and Northwestern will renew their series and play in South Bend in 2014, a great chance for the Irish to establish NU as "Chicago's third favorite college football team." That would look good on a billboard.

The two teams will play again in 2018 so that the Cats will have 4 years in between games to recover from their 2014 beating. I have no doubt that Ryan Field in Evanston will be packed with kelly green that day, just like all other visiting teams do at Ryan Field.

NU is just asking for their ad campaign to go down hill. No, ND is not a Big Ten team, but we all know that they are NU's major competition in the city fan-wise, other than the U of I. I can't wait for NU to come into South Bend in 2014 and get embarassed just like they did to Chicago's true Big Ten team. ND football is having some of the greatest recruiting years they've had since the days of Holtz, and many people see a National Championship for the Irish in the next 5 years. NU doesn't even stand a chance.

Cubs open against Pirates in Friday

2011-03-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

Regular season baseball is finally here! The Cubs will open the season at home against Pittsburgh, a team that is not known to rack up the wins, but a team that the Cubs struggled mightily against last season. They were even swept by the Pirates more than once.

But last year is behind us. The Cubs are coming in with a new manager, Mike Quade, who has been working with the team for a while and a guy the players know well. Quade took over after Lou Pinella's retirement last year with 30 games to go, and the Cubs won more games in that last month than any other team.

The Cubs named their 5th starter to the rotation, Andrew Cashner, on Friday. Ryan Dempster is to start on Friday, opening day for Chicago's NL ballclub, followed by Zambrano and then Matt Garza, a new addition to the team.

I am really looking forward to this baseball season. Lindy's Baseball Report called the Cubbies a "dark horse," saying that they have enough talent to do some damage as long as their pitching does what it is supposed to.

Check back here frequently for news and analysis. WCS is proud to cover Chicago's favorite baseball team!

Notre Dame, Illinois advancing to second round

2011-03-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame 69, Akron 56

Despite a game filled with sloppy play by the Fighting Irish, ND was able to win by a comfortable margin in the end. Hansborough had 15pts and was only 1-4 from three-point land. Akron didn't lead anytime in the game after the Irish overtook the Zips early lead. Still, Notre Dame was never able to pull away with it and take a big lead like other 1 and 2 seeds did against their competition.

Nonetheless, the Irish advance to play Florida State on Sunday. Gametime is 8:40pm CDT and tip-off is at the United Center in Chicago. Florida State looked good against Texas A&M in a game that ended up not being all that close. FSU should provide a good challenge for the Irish.

Illinois 73, UNLV 62

The Illini came out strong against the Runnin Rebels on Saturday. They won by a comfortable 11 points, but the game wasn't really even that close. For much of the game Illinois led by upwards of 20pts. Mike Davis led the team with 22pts, McCamey not too far behind with 17.

The Illini now get a chance they've been waiting for for a long time: a chance to beat former Illini coach Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks. Self left Illinois because he didn't believe the Illini would ever win a championship, and he wanted to go somehwere he believed he could win. Illini Nation is ready to go for this game, excited for a chance to throw Self out of the tournament and to upset a 1 seed. The game is at 7:40 CDT tipping-off in Tulsa, OK.

Rankings: Worst Sports Cities

2011-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

Forbes.com released their list of the most miserable sports cities this week, featuring Seattle and Atlanta at first and second, respectively. I've decided to release my own rankings for the cities that I believe are the worst sports cities. It is a little different than Forbes' in that I am considering not just misery inflicted upon a city, but also how the fans have responded. So, here is my list of the worst U.S. sports cities:

1. Cleveland - Cleveland has always been known to be a suffering sports city. Lebron leaving the Cavs and joining Miami solified Cleveland as number one to me. The Cavs were very unlucky with him on the team, but at least they were competitive and had a big following. As far as their other teams, the Browns are at the bottom tier of NFL sucess, and the Indians are miserable, failing to draw large amounts of fans. The last time any team in the city had a championship was 46 years ago. Clearly, the city of Cleveland suffers. At least they have the Buckeyes.

2. Seattle - Seattle is a newer addition to this list: within the last 5-10 years. Their sports teams have taken downturns. The Seahawks made the playoffs AND won a game in the playoffs last year, possibly keeping them from number one, but there's no hiding that Seattle is one miserable town. The Mariners are no longer competitive in baseball, and the Sonics left Seattle for a city formerly off the sports market: Oklahoma City. Seattle is just behind Cleveland because the city has a championship in the ladt 40 years: the Sonics won it about 30 years ago.

3. Buffalo - Buffalo has two sports teams, niether of which have ever won championships in their respective leagues. That fact speaks for itself. The Bills won the AFL championship in 1965, the last championship the city saw. Still, their teams hold strong fanbases and do not suffer to the level that Cleveland and Seattle do. The city of Buffalo has one thing Cleveland and Seattle do not appear to have: hope.

4. San Diego - San Diego has the longest drought of any city: 47 years. The Chargers and Padres haven't won a championship since 1963. The reason I don't think of San Diego in the light that I do of Cleveland and Seattle is because their teams have made frequent playoff appearances in the last 10 years and have had their share of thrilling moments. Without question, though, SD belongs on this list because of its' lack of championships.

5. Tampa - Tampa is a very sad city in terms of sports. The Bucs are the only NFL team ever to go 0-16 in one season, and despite having a Super Bowl in the last decade, had none before that. The Rays also have had their share of depression, being know for a long time as the MLB's worst, until they made a small comeback a few years ago. Tampa's hockey team has had limited sucess as well. Despit bad history, recent thrills keep Tampa from being in the top three. Nonethless, they get number five.

The Chicago media's biggest problem: baseball

2011-02-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

"Speaking of losing, we'll be talking about the Cubs after the break."

That was the sign off this morning on Steve Rosenbloom's radio show. I have wanted to do this story for a long time, and now that baseball season is coming, I think it is appropriate timing. It is an obvious challenge for the media trying to cover a town with two baseball teams. But it doesn't even seem like the Chicago media tries.

I rarely ever listen to sports radio in Chicago during baseball season anymore, because I know what to expect. The Chicago media focuses much of their time on the Sox, and it is most evident on the radio.

WSCR, the Sox' flagship station, gives the Sox most of their day during the summer. I understand that they would cover them so much because they are the flagship station, but don't you think they could at least couple in some Cubs analysis. After all, more than half the city cheers for the Cubs, and the Cubs own most of the suburbs, especially northern and western suburbs. The Cubs' flagship station doesn't have much Cubs coverage outside of the games, WGN is mostly a non-sports news station.

Turning to the TV, it is much of the same. CSN Chicago, Chicago's all-sports TV station, is a little bit better, but much of the same. One of their leading reporters, Chuck Garfein, is an avid Sox fan and loves to joke about the Cubs. The station doesn't have an avid Cubs fan who would do the same to the Sox.

In the newspapers, the Chicago Tribune has always been known to favor the Cubs. But, after they sold the team, they have frequently slammed the Ricketts family and criticized their ownership, perhaps out of hostility. Other than that, the papers are the most Cubs-friendly aspect of the media, but I wouldn't say they favor the Cubs, they are equal between the two teams.

So why does the media favor the southsiders so much? That's a good question. To me, the only reason is that the media is out of touch with the people. There are far more Cub fans in the Chicago area than there are Sox fans, but the media doesn't get that. They think that people like the Sox more now. I'm not saying that since we have more Cub fans that the media should favor the Cubs, I just wish they would give healthy coverage to each team. They won't listen to us, though. So, I now have to hunt for my Cubs news on podcasts and occasionally on newspaper websites.

Don't worry, Cub fans, Windy City Sports has got you covered. We know you're there, and we know you feel ignored by the media. WSCR loves to brush the surface of Cubs news and then insult the team and switch to Sox news. Here at WCS, we will have coverage on the Cubs all season long. Hope you enjoyed this analysis of the Chicago media's coverage of baseball, and I may have some analysis on other areas of coverage that I have problems with also, like college sports and the Bears.

Until then, thanks for reading, check back for more coverage, and GO CUBS!

Cubs name new announcer, enter Pujols sweepstakes

2011-02-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

A lot of developments regarding the Cubs have taken place today. Just another indication that baseball season is almost here!

Moreland to be new radio announcer

The Cubs have chosen Kieth Moreland to succeed Ron Santo as the color announcer on the Cubs Radio Network, which contains stations in eleven different states, including flagship station 720 WGN. Moreland was an outfielder for the Cubs in the 1980s and went to the playoffs with the team in 1984.

Moreland is, of course, going to have a hard time filling the spot. Fans loved Ron Santo and will miss his fan perspective. Despite this, I think it was a good selection. Moreland is well-known by the fans, he has experience in broadcasting at the University of Texas, and he filled in for Ron during Cubs games several times. Moreland will announce his first game February 27, the Cubs first Spring Training game.

Deal not met by deadline, Pujols up for grabs

Albert Pujols will be playing his final season as a St. Louis Cardinal this year. Much to Cardinal fans dismay, the team and their superstar failed to make a deal between today's 11:00am CST deadline.

Of more interest to Cub fans is the possibility of seeing Pujols in a Cubs uniform in 2012. BleacherReport.com says the Cubs are the leading contender to get Pujols because their first baseman, Carlos Pena, is only on a one-year deal, Pujols has excellent numbers at Wrigley, the Cubs have already freed up salary room, and it would help eliminate St. Louis as a division contender.

Other teams in contention would be the Yankees and Red Sox, as usual, and the Kansas City Royals. New York and Boston have not spoken much about it, but Kansas City did say they will most likely not persue Pujols because they are not able to financially compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs, three of the richest teams in baseball.

I am excited about this possibility. It would be a huge slap-in-the-face to Cardinal Nation, and it would give the Cubs a player that would lead the team, be the face of the organization. I will continue to watch this story and others as we prepare for the 2011 Cubs season.

WCS IS BACK!

2011-02-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

After a couple weeks of rest following the Bears' heartbreaking loss against Green Bay, Windy City Sports is back in an exciting time in Chicago sports. The Bulls are looking like a contender, the Hawks are trying to make a mighty fight back to the top, Notre Dame basketball is ranked 7th, and Illinois basketball is fighting for tournament contention. On top of all of that, our beloved Cubs are starting Spring Training this week.

Stay updated with WCS as we will be closely watching all Chicago teams currently in action, as well as discussing a major rumor surrounding the Cubs that possibly includes Albert Pujols playing first for the Cubbies.

Also, don't forget to check out our Twitter page (twitter.com/WCSBlog)! Our Twitter account is used to get sports news to you as soon as it happens, and then we break it down further here on the blog.

Bears-Packers: NFC Championship Preview

2011-01-22T13:03:00.000-08:00

We are one day away from the most anticipated Conference Championship in a long time. The Bears and the Packers haven't met in the playoffs since 1941, and they meet again, the winner going to Super Bowl XLV. This is the greatest rivalry in all of sports, and it is going to be a fun and intense game tomorrow. Here is my breakdown of the 2010 NFC Championship.

Offense
The Packers' offense is on fire. Scoring the second most points in a playoff game in NFL history last week, it appears that Aaron Rodgers is getting better and better. Jay Cutler and the Bears' offense was able to produce 35 points last week and got out to an early lead with a TD pass to Greg Olsen. The Packers have a clear advantage in the passing game, even though I was happy to see Cutler make big improvements against Seattle in last week's playoff game. Many will be watching Jay closely to see if he can handle the pressure that will be on him, and it is up to him to prove himself to the skeptics.

Running-wise, Green Bay has started to develop a run game towards the end of the season. The Bears, however, also made a presence last week. Chester Taylor caught a TD pass and he and Forte are looking like a good combination. The Bears have the advantage in the running game, but not by all that much, and not by enough to overcome Green Bay's adavantage passing the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, I think it is clear who has the advantage.

Edge: Green Bay

Defense
Both of these teams have impressive defenses, and both are ranked in the Top 5 overall defenseively. Green Bay's Clay Matthews has been an eye-opener and has emerged as one of the best defenders in the league. Bears DE Julius Peppers has also had a great season, and it is time for Peppers to earn his money, the playoffs is where it counts the most. Bears Safety Chris Harris is questionable for the game, but he says the only way he won't play is if his "leg was cut off." Harris is the only question the Bears have coming into the game. Harris has played well so far and has made the Bears' backfield satisfactory.

I see these defenses as different, yet equal. The Bears have excellent run coverage, while Green Bay has excellent pass coverage. If the Bears can run the ball, they can win. If the Packers can throw sucessfully, they have a chance. Overall, though, this is going to be a close, defensive battle, and niether team has clearly the better defense.

Edge: Split

Special Teams
Special Teams could play a big part in Sunday's game. Devin Hester could give the Bears a lot of momentum by running back a kick or punt. It will be interesting to see if Green Bay kicks to Hester. If they do, he could do some serious damage. Kicker Robbie Gould could also have an effect. I envision this as being a close game, and Gould has hit a number of game winning kicks in his career. He has won games against the Packers, and he has also won games in the playoffs, for his team. Green Bay's special teams have been very questionable. Kick/punt returning has not been a bright spot for the Packers, and kicker Mason Crosby has been just alright. The Bears have been well known for having excellent special teams over the past 5-10 years, and they have a clear advantage.

Edge: Chicago

Coaching
Both head coaches have fallen under scrutiny this year, but both have also had sucess as head coaches. In fact, both coaches have been here before, with their current teams. In 2006 Lovie Smith coached the Bears to the Nfc Championship in which they beat New Orleans, and in 2007 Packers' coach Mike McCarthy brought the Packers to the NFC Championship, losing to the Giants. The head coaches are pretty even, in my opinion.

The Bears, however, have a stacked coaching staff, including three former head coaches on the staff below Lovie Smith: offensive genius Mike Martz, Mike Tice, and Rod Marinelli. The Packers have had some nice signs from their coaching staff, but Chicago has the edge (as long as Martz stays away from the wildcat formation).

Edge: Chicago

Prediction
This is going to be a fun game. It is nice to know that a team from the NFC North will be going to the Super Bowl. It would be nice to have bragging rights over the cheeseheads (those bragging rights wouldn't go away any time soon). This is going to be a very close game that I see coming down to the fourth quarter, or maybe even overtime. I can see either team coming out with a win tomorrow, but my gut tells me Robbie Gould kicks a game winning field goal to send the Bears to the Super Bowl.

Prediction: Chicago 23, Green Bay 20

Lovie Smith said in his first press conference as Bears' head coach, "Our number one goal is to beat Green Bay." Have fun watching the game tomorrow, and GO BEARS!

Bears 35, Seahawks 24

2011-01-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

Bears advance, will play Packers in NFC Championship

Throughout the season, many, including myself occasionally, have doubted the Chicago Bears. Some were worried that the Bears would melt under the spotlight on Sunday afternoon in the NFC Divisional Playoff game, as the Bears sometimes do have a tendency to crumble on the big stage. Doubts were put to rest, though, as the Bears took an early lead on their first offensive drive and never looked back in a game that was not as close as the score may suggest.

I was very impressed with Jay Cutler and the offense. Cutler completed a bomb to Greg Olsen to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead, and the offense shined all game with Cutler completing some big plays, including two running TDs for Cutler. Forte also impressed me. He didn't have too many breakout runs, but also rarely was stopped for no gain. He consistantly got 5-7 yards per carry. The lone concern I had was with a questionable play call toward the end in which the Bears used the Wildcat formation. I advise Mike Martz to stay away from that.

On defense, the Bears were unbeatable. Despite allowing 24 points, the Bears shut out Seattle in the first half, and most of the Seahawks' points came late in the game. That was my big concern with the Bears' defense today. They must play sixty minutes of football. Although it didn't hurt in the long run, they have to be careful not to get too comfotable. When they do that they start to allow points late in the game and that is why it was an eleven point victory instead of a thirty-five point victory. Despit this concern, I saw a lot of positives. Good rushing defense as usual, but also suprisingly good pass defense. They were very good at knocking down passes and held Seattle to no points in the first two quarters.

The special teams was satisfactory. Hester had no returns, but he and Manning gave the Bears good field position. Robbie Gould didn't see much action, but Brad Maynard had a couple of nice punts pinning Seattle deep in their own territory. One question mark was an onside kick toward the end of the game. The Bears did recover Seattle's kick, but it hit off a Bear and was nearly jumped on by Seattle, when Roach barely recovered the kick. Not too much of an opinion on the special team today, though.

The Bears will host division-foe and arch-rival Green Bay next Sunday in a much anticipated game that is sure to be hyped and analyzed this week. This game couldn't have been scripted better. The two teams split the regular season and both had exciting Divisional Game victories. I will have a lot of coverage of this exciting game to see who goes to Dallas for the Super Bowl. Go Bears!

Bears-Seahawks: Preview

2011-01-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

Details
The Bears will host Seattle on Sunday in the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs. The game is at 12:00pm central time. Weather is forcasted to be a high of 21 degrees with almost no chance of precipitation. Ideal weather for the game, in my opinion.

Offense
Last time the Bears faced the Seahawks, Cutler was sacked six times and the Bears O-line was embarrassed and out-played. The Bears are going to need to keep the run game open to remain umpredictable. They've made big strides on offense since the last time the two teams faced eachother, and they can't go back to their old ways of being predictable, and also letting the opponent get to Cutler. I'm looking for the O-line to continue to improve, and the Bears need to open up the run game so their pass game will develop. Lynch and the hype surrounding him mixed with Hasselbeck's playoff experience give them a slight advantage.
Edge: Seattle

Defense
The Bears defense is back this year and I see the defense being able to take control of this game. If the offense does their job, the defense should be able to hold Seattle's offense to minimal success. Julius Peppers has lived up to his hype this year and I expect him to be a force in this game, hopefully he can give Hasselbeck a piece of his mind. Also look for the Bears to focus on containing Marshawn Lynch after his big week against New Orleans. The Bears have one of the best defenses in the league, and I expect it to show.
Edge: Chicago

Special Teams
The last time the Bears faced Seattle, Devin Hester ran back a punt for a TD, which included a memorable block by Earl Bennett on the Seahawks' punter. Pete Caroll told ESPN 1000 that they will be kicking to Hester, so I expect good field position for the Bears, if not more. When the Bears played Seattle in the 2007 Divisional Playoffs, Robbie Gould kicked the game winning FG. I don't see any problems with his kicking this weekend. The Bears' Special Teams has been one of the most talented in the NFL since their '07 run.
Edge: Chicago

Coaching
Lovie and the staff will be tested this weekend after a regular season that featured a few questionable calls on their part. I expect to see varied play-calling on offense and hopefully Lovie will be smart on the defensive end. Pete Caroll is still inexperienced in the NFL, whereas the Bears have four once-head coaches on their staff.
Edge: Chicago

Prediction
This will be a close game. The Bears defense vs. Seattle's offense is the key match-up, but the Bears defensive talent is too powerful for the Seahawks to do anything. Kicking to the Bears' returners will prove costly and Hester will have a big game. It will be cold and the crowd will be loud, Seattle will be overpowered by the Bears' defense and the playoff athmosphere inside Soldier Field.
Prediction: Bears 24, Seahawks 17

Cubs agree on deal for Garza

2011-01-08T06:17:00.001-08:00

The Cubs and Rays have agreed on a trade involving Matt Garza coming to Chicago and the Cubs sending possibly five minor-leaguers to Tampa. The teams could finalize the deal this weekend, as physicals are still needed.

This is a great move for the Cubs. I have really liked Hendry's willingness this off-season to go out and work out some deals. Carlos Pena and Kerry Wood will be with the organization this year, which I was happy about. Matt Garza is another great addition. The Cubs biggest concern, in my opinion, coming into the season, is lack of big name starters. Garza just helped fix that.

Garza first caught attention when the Rays started to improve and compete in the AL. He had an off-year in 2009, but he came back in 2010 and posted 15 wins, his career high, with a 3.91 ERA. He could do even better in a pitcher-dominated National League.

Many are concerned about the money situation and how the Cubs cannot renovate Wrigley any further if Hendry continues to spend. As far as I am concerned, the stadium's renovation money should come from the state or city. The Bears and White Sox both get government funding, so why not the Cubs? Anyhow, these players are more important than automatic flush toilets or something of that nature.

So, overall this was a good grab by Hendry and I am excited to see what Garza can do for the Cubs in a year where they are looking like they might make their return to contention.

Bears playoff situation

2011-01-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is playoff time for the Bears, the first time since their '07 Super Bowl run. The Bears are the #2 NFC seed heading into the postseason, which means they get a first round bye and home-field advantage over every NFC team except Atlanta, the #1 seed. The Bears will host their first game on Sunday, January 16, at Noon. The opponent in that game is undecided, but it will be either the Eagles, Seahawks, or Saints.

The Bears are going to have a tough time getting to the Super Bowl, having to get passed some teams that looked weak early, but came back big, like the Eagles and Saints. The Falcons are also a big challenge, as they have shown that they can do a lot of damage.

Overall, however, any team could go to Dallas. The Falcons look to be dominant, but New Orleans has already beaten them once, and Green Bay nearly beat them. It will be interesting to see how things go.

Make sure you stay with Windy City Sports both here on Blogspot as well as on Twitter (search WCSBlog and click follow). WCS will have in-depth coverage with statistics and opinion on the Bears as they make their playoff run.

Sports Update

2010-12-15T05:03:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot going on recently in the world of sports, including locally, so I thought I would give a brief on what is happening and give my opinions.

Cubs sign Pena, now looking for pitcher

The Cubbies signed 1B Carlos Pena to a one year, $10 million dollar contract last week. Pena had only a .196 batting average last year, but did hit 28 home runs and drove in 84 runs. His batting average never has been very high, but he has had a number of years with large numbers of home runs including 39 in '09 and 46 in '07. It is a risky pick-up for the Cubs, but it is good that they only signed him to one year in case anything goes wrong.

The Cubs' next move is likely to involve a pitcher. Two names have been thrown out as strong possibilities: Brandon Webb and Matt Garza. In this situation, I would go with Garza. Webb has been injured quite a bit in his career, especially recently, and Garza has suprised a lot of people.

Bears in prime position

It makes me very happy to say that the Bears have a chance to clinch the NFC North division this weekend. The Bears will play the Vikings in Gopher Stadium, the University of Minnesota's OUTDOOR facility, due to the Metrodome's inflatable roof collapsing due to snow (as mentioned in the Favre story). If the Bears should go into that game (a Monday night game) with the Packers having lost to New England on Sunday, a victory would clinch. I see this as a likely scenario. The Patriots are a great team and should be able to handle injury-plaqued Green Bay. Then, the Bears should beat Minnesota, who is in the middle of an extremely dissapointing season. There is always a possibility that the Bears will lose OR the Packers will win, but if everything goes as planned, the Bears are division champs on Monday night.

Favre's streak ends

Brett Favre's consecutive start streak ended Monday night at 297, a streak that lasted 18 years. Favre missed Monday's game that was played in Detroit between Minnesota and the New York Football Giants (played there because the Metrodome roof collapsed) due to a shoulder injury. "It's probably long overdue," Favre said, "There's probably been a lot of times the streak should've ended." That's true, he's played a number of times that he shouldn't have just to keep his streak alive. This most likely his final season in the NFL, and he leaves behind an interesting story.

Hawks, Bulls seasons progressing

The Hawks are 16-13, a so far mildly dissapointing start to the season for the defending world champions. They lost to the Avalanche in their last game, 7-5. The play Colorado again tonight at the United Center.

The Bulls have had a more pleasant start to the season. They are 15-8, sitting comfortably at third place in the Eastern Conference and first in their division. They had a suprise victory over the Lakers last week, and beat Indiana on Monday night. They play Toronto tonight on the road.

Ron Santo passes away at age 70

2010-12-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Cub fans woke up to the worst possible news about their baseball team this morning. Legend Ron Santo died Tursday night after going into a coma due to complications from his long struggle with diabetes and bladder cancer. He was age 70.

Santo was one of the best players the franchise has every seen. He was an all around player, winning awards for both his defensive skills and his offensive play. Santo never was elected to the Hall of Fame after being denied many times. I find it disgusting that so many Hall of Famers repeatedly deny great players from the Hall because they want to be the only ones from their position, era, etc. Santo was better than them, he did more for the game. Santo's number is retired and he has been repeatedly honored at Wrigley for his devotion.

Ron announced for the Cubs later in his life. He made the games fun. It was fun to listen to him because he wasn't professional, it was like listening to a fan, someone you could identify with. Santo will be greatly missed in the Cubs organization and fanbase and throughout baseball. Ronnie will be missed and WSC sends our condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace, "Old Cub."

Illinois 41, Northwestern 27

2010-11-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Huge college football developments took place Saturday, including the first college football game played at Wrigley Field since the 1930's.

In a much anticipated battle between in-state rivals at Wrigley Field on Saturday, the Illini started strong. When it appeard NU was coming back, the Illini shut the door and established themselves as "Chicago's Big Ten Team" and gave themselves state bragging rights, which come along with the Land of Lincoln Trophy the two schools play for each year. Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure ran for 330 yards and carried the Illini victory.

As you know, I have been talking about this game for a long time. I saw this game as Northwestern trying to establish themselves as Chicago's team, I saw it as a direct shot at the Illini. I saw it as a way for them to get positive publicity and finally establish themselves in the area. While they definitely increased publicity, most off all their efforts were ruined by the Illini victory, a victory that has given Illinois bowl eligibility. Illinois is the best team in the state, and is Chicago's team.

Moving forward, I could see and would like to seethis develop into a great rivalry. It would be excellent if Illinois and Northwestern could set up, like the Trib suggested, playing their annual meeting at Soldier Field each year and making this into an intense, fun rivalry every year like it was this year. It was great to see these two teams get together in a historic stadium in a game that benefeited both programs. Of course, I wouldn't reccomend doing a yearly meeting at Wrigley. It was a fun event, but too difficult to do each year.

The Illini are now bowl eligible. They'll go into Fresno next weekend to try and solidify chances at a bowl oppourtunity/increase the prestige of their bowl game. For now, however, the Illini shouldn't be thinking about next weekend. It's time to soak in a win that feels so good because of NU's marketing jabs at the Illini in the past year and because the Illini have finally won their sixth game to become bowl eligible.

WCS's other college team, Notre Dame, beat Army Saturday night in Yankee Stadium, also giving them bowl eligibility. It was a satisfactory day in Chicago sports, and hopefully the Fighting Irish and Illini can continue to make improvements in their programs, two programs that are definitely looking up.

So, let NU fans know that they played a great game, that it was a lot of fun, and that the Illinois Fighting Illini are Chicago's Big Ten team. Oh, it feels so good to say!

Bears 16, Miami 0

2010-11-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Bears are 7-3. They beat the Dolphins on Thursday night football in a convincing win that featured great defense. The Bears are one of only two NFL teams this year to shut out an opposing team. Robbie Gould had three FGs and an extra point. Cutler did alright, but the game was clearly a defensive game. The Bears defense showed up, sacking Miami third-string QB six times.

Some say that there is no reason for celebration because the Dolphins were starting their third-stringer. I would not say that this single game is reason to celebrate, or even the whole season, but it is perfectly acceptable to sit back and be satisfied with the Bears' record at 7-3. The Bears are in a good position, they are in first place with the Packers going into the Metrodome this weekend, a place that is tough to play. If the Packers lose the Bears would have sole possession of first place record-wise (they had it last week because they had the tiebreaker over GB).

The win Thursday Night gave the Bears their 700th all-time win, the most of any franchise, the first franchise to reach 700. Congrautlations to the organization, especially to the Halas-McCaskey family. It is amazing that the team has stayed in one family's hands for so long, and they have done a great job. The Chicago Bears have brought memories to people for ages: thank you for doing such a great job running the Bears.

The Bears have Philly next week, but it is too early to think about that. Watch the games on Sunday and don't think about the Bears. It will be good for the Bears because it is like a second bye week. I don't care how much momentum they have, the rest will benefeit them. Hopefully Minnesota can pull it off against the Packers, and then we'll start thinking about the Eagles. Go Bears!

Sports Brief

2010-10-23T06:13:00.001-07:00

There is a lot of activity going on in local and national sports. This post will touch on each of the big recent events.

Texas to World Series

The Texas Rangers clinched a spot in the World Series last night, beating the Yankees 6-1. It is Texas' first trip to the Series in franchise history. They will take on the winner of the Philly-SF series. Game six is tonight, the Giants are trying to clinch as well. I would personally love to see a Texas-San Francisco series.

Hawks lose to Blues

The Blackhawks lost to the Blues in St. Louis, dropping their record to 5-4 and ending their win streak at four games. Their next game is Saturday against Columbus at the United Center.

Saturday hosts big College match-ups

There are some great College Football games going on this Saturday, many of them Big Ten. Missouri and Oklahoma face off in primetime, both unbeaten. Michigan State takes on Northwestern, a true test for the Wildcats. My "game of the week," however, would be Wisconsin @ Iowa. The Badgers are coming off an upset of the formerly #1 Ohio State Buckeyes, while Iowa is yet to prove themselves, but looks to have a great team. That game is at 2:30 on ABC.

Bears prepare for Redskins

The Bears welcome Washington into Soldier Field tomorrow. Hopefully the Bears defense can get to McNabb like they have been to other QBs this year. I'm looking for the O-line to improve, which, according to Mike Martz, already has (I disagree strongly). Cutler needs to get more time, but he also needs to get rid of the ball quicker.

NFL Preview: Week 2

2010-09-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys

I am really excited for this game because I see big possibilities for the Bears. Both teams enter after very dissapointing first weeks, the Bears in a win over Detoit that was way closer than it should have been, and the 'Boys lost to Washington in Week 1 after being predicted to be one of the NFC's best.

The big match-up I see in this game is the Bears' line vs. the Dallas offense. If the line can eliminate Romo from the equation, the Cowboys will be forced to rely on the run, making them one-dimensional, and I would consider that dimension their weaker one.

I also will be paying close attention to the play calling, which was a weak spot last week, as well as the passing game, which looks to be improving.

I could see the Bears pulling off the upset in this one, but the advantage lies with the team from Texas. I can't wait for this game and I really hope that the Bears can prove everyone wrong, including me.

My Prediction: Dallas 17, Bears 14

I have decided to also predict the other NFC North games for this weekend.

Buffalo Bills @ Green Bay Packers

My Prediction: Green Bay 28, Buffalo 2

Miami Dolphins @ Minnesota Vikings

My Prediction: Minnesota 21, Miami 7

Philadelphia Eagles @ Detroit Lions

My Prediction: Philly 20, Detroit 14

College Football Preview: Week 3

2010-09-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame @ Michigan State

This is going to be a great game, as have many past ND-MSU games. The Spartans are the favorite by 3.5 points, but I see this one going either way. Michigan State is yet to face a major opponent, but they look like a decent team going into their first test. Notre Dame has looked good in the first two games, and if Dayne Crist stays healthy they could be a very good team.

I see the Irish taking this one assuming that Dayne Crist plays the complete game. He look very strong last week for the part of the game that he played, and I believe he is going to develop into a star player. Notre Dame has played pretty well in East Lansing in recent years, and I see them pulling it off.

My predicition: Notre Dame 30, Michigan State 28

Northern Illinois @ Illinois

The U of I had a strong outing last week against SIU, and I look for it to be a very similar game, full of deep passes and big-play defense. NIU has become a well known football school, but they still are no match for the Big Ten.

The Illini will not have too much trouble with the Huskies this Saturday, and will go 2-1.

Illinois 28, Northern Illinois 0

Follow WCS on Twitter!

2010-09-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend, get updates on the Bears, Irish, and Illini, as well as big news throughout High School, College, and Pro football! All you have to do is search WCSBlog on Twitter and click to follow us. Go Bears, Irish, and Illini!

ND wins, Illini lose

2010-09-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame 23, Purdue 12

Notre Dame entered the Kelly era on Saturday with a victory over Purdue. The Irish had quite a few problems, including allowing a safety and not always giving Freshman QB Dayne Crist the time he needed to get a pass off. Purdue made it an 8 point game late, but the Irish put an end to any comeback hopes. Many are worried that the Irish underperformed, as Purdue is expected to underachieve this year, and next week's opponent in the University of Michigan, came out very strong in their opener against UConn.

In my opinion, it was nice to get a victory, and I am looking forward to an excellent game in Ann Arbor this weekend between two teams that started going under at about the same time, and are now looking to revive their historic programs at the same time.

Missouri 23, Illinois 13

Illinois played well in the first two quarters of the season-opening game against Mizzou, going into halftime with a 13-3 lead. But, it all fell apart in the second half. A half littered with failed 3rd down conversions and bad play calling is leaving Illini fans frusterated with the teams performance since its' last bowl game, the 2008 Rose Bowl. To me, the only way the Illini are going to redeem themselves is to take a serious look at their coaching staff, and to recruit better throughout the state of Illinois, which has been up for grabs between a number of schools for a long time.

Illinois plays Southern Illinois in their home-opener this Saturday at 6:30pm. SIU scored 70 points in their game against Quincy on Saturday, which Coach Zook said would be "tough to do against air."

2010 Bears Predictions

2010-08-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Bears have begun preseason and the regular season is less than a month away. I have decided this year to post my predictions, so here we go.

LIONS...............W
@ Cowboys...........L
PACKERS.............L
@ Giants............W
@ Panthers..........W
SEAHAWKS............W
REDSKINS............W
@ Bills (Toronto)...W
VIKINGS.............L
@ Dolphins..........W
EAGLES..............L
@ Lions.............W
PATRIOTS............L
@ Vikings...........L
JETS................W
@ Packers...........W

As you can see, I have the Bears finishing the year at 10-6. However, I could see the Bears pulling off a win against New England or maybe Dallas, which would put the Bears at a very satisfying 11-5. However, I could also see the Bears dropping predicted wins to the Jets or Green Bay.

Overall, additions in Julius Peppers, Chris Harris, Chester Taylor, and OC Mike Martz will help the Bears improve from last year. The Bears will make the playoffs and it will be a satisfying regular season, but they will lose in the first round. If I am correct there will be plenty of people calling for the firing of Lovie Smith, and also many praising him for returning to the playoffs. It should be an interesting season and post-season! Go Bears!

NU launches new marketing campaign

2010-08-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Northwestern is at it again. Back in April, when the Cats decided to play Illinois at Wrigley, I said that their motivation wasn't that they wanted to play a competitive game in a historic stadium. I said that it was that they were trying to establish themselves as Chicago's favorite college football team, which most people currently consider the Illini or Notre Dame.

Well, NU has made it official. "We want to remind sports fans that incredible Big Ten action is taking place in their backyard," Athletic Director Jim Phillips said. That is why they are launching a new ad campaign starting this week, which will feature ads in local newspapers and on local radio stations. The ad campaign is summed up in one, simple slogan: "Chicago's Big Ten Team." My reaction? Pathetic.

We all know Northwestern is far from Chicago's team. The campaign is obviously a direct slam at Illinois, who fills the United Center every year for a basketball game. However, the U of I isn't the only Big Ten team with more fans in Chicago than Northwestern. I would be willing to say that Iowa does, too. Probably even Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan have more fans than the Cats.

I can't believe that NU is even trying this campaign. At NU football games, visiting fans often outnumber Northwestern fans. The only reason the NU athletics department is limiting the availability of tickets to the NU-Illini game at Wrigley is because they're afraid that they will be outnumbered in fans, because they know the place would go orange. So if they know they have to put so much effort into making sure that those tickets go only to NU fans for a game that is being played in Chicago, how is Chicago their city? If NU was already "Chicago's Big Ten Team," as it says it is, they wouldn't have to market it. The only reason they market it is because they want it to be that way.

So, say it with me, Chicago. Go out onto your porch this fall and yell it for all of your neighbors to hear:

GO IRISH
GO ILLINI

College sports update

2010-06-13T06:22:00.001-07:00

A lot of developments have taken place this past week in College sports. Here are explanations and reactions to recent news involving Big Ten expansion and USC's scandal.

Big Ten accepts Nebraska

The Big Ten and the University of Nebraska confirmed on Friday that Nebraska would be joining the Big Ten, the start of Big Ten expansion that has been talked about for years. The Cornhuskers will begin playing in the Big Ten, or what ever it will be called, in 2011.

Illinois athletic staff is already reacting, and all reactions are welcoming. "“Nebraska has a great football tradition as well as a high level of success in many other sports," Illini football coach Ron Zook said. Basketball coach Bruce Weber added, "Nebraska is a great addition to our league as another strong state school with a passionate following like so many in our conference."

But the Illini aren't the only ones reacting quickly. Wisconsin football coach Brett Bielema talked about playing the Huskers and Notre Dame (foreshadow?) way before talks between the conference and Nebraska started, and he is very excited. Bielema has already asked the Big Ten if they can be paired with Nebraska as their end of the year rivalry game.

What does this mean?

For the Big Ten, it means a conference championship. Nebraska brings the Big Ten's total to twelve, which allows the Big Ten to play for a championship. This means that the Big Ten will split into two divsions, most likely down the eastern border of the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. The western division would be Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The eastern half would be Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Penn State.

For the rest of college football, this is one more giant step towards the end of the Big 12. The Big 12 has already experienced the loss of Colorado to the Pac-10, and many other Big 12 schools are talking of leaving for the Pac-10, Conference USA, or the Mountain West. Nebraska to the Big Ten is another big loss for the Big 12, and they are likely to not exist in 2011.

I like Nebraska in the Big Ten. They have a huge following, great football tradition, and are culturally very similar to Big Ten schools. I am excited to see the excitement that they will bring to midwestern football. Now all we need is some Irish influence in the Big Ten.

NCAA brings down the hammer on USC

USC has been undergoing a sacndal involving football star Reggie Bush and basketball sensation OJ Mayo recently, as it has been discovered that they were recieving "gifts" to play for the Trojans. The NCAA has finally taken action, however, and what action it is.

The NCAA announced that Southern Cal is not eligible for any Bowl Games or the NCAA Tournament for the next two years, and that they must forfeit a number of victories, one of them the "Bush Push" game against Notre Dame in 05. This doesn't mean that the Irish get a win added to their record, however, just the USC gets one taken away.

Bush is also going to be forced to give up his Heisman Trophy, which saddends me because he was a great running back.

Overall, it is said to see such a dynastic program have to do this, yet it brings me some inner joy as a Notre Dame fan. I have always hated the Trojans and I am happy to say that the Irish upset the #1 team in the nation that Saturday evening in South Bend. GO IRISH!

Estimate: 2 million turn out for Blackhawks parade

2010-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

What a tribute!

The city estimates that 2 million people were at the Blackhawks parade and rally yesterday. Despite reports that the estimate may be a little generous, there is no doubt that what occured on Wacker and Michigan on Friday was spectacular. As a person that attended the parade, I can attest that it was at least 1 million, probably 1.5 million people packed together with little room to move and body temperatures raging, but nobody cared, it was worth it.

The parade led to where Michigan Ave. meets the Chicago River, and a rally took place in which Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Dennis Savard, Hawks greats, were introduced. Eddie O introduced them. GM Bowman, Rocky Wirtz, Mayor Daley, Governor Quinn, and others spoke.

Then, Toews, Kane, Seabrook, Kieth, and Versteeg spoke, making the crowd go wild for the team that just brough them a Stanley Cup. Toews marveled at the number of people in the crowd, Versteeg rapped, Kieth joked about his teeth, and Kane sent a shout out to cab drivers, a reference to last year's offseason incident between him and a Buffalo taxi driver.

At Wrigley, the Crosstown Classic kicked off, but the Hawks were on the minds of the fans at that game, as Cubs and Sox fans joined together and cheered throughout the National Anthem, a Blackhawks tradition.

The Hawks have really made a difference in this city. It was so nice to see everyone so happy as they celebrated downtown on Friday. Thanks again, Blackhawks, let's do it again next year.

VICTORIOUS

2010-06-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

CHICAGO IS FEELING GOOD TODAY

The Blackhawks are Stanley Cup champions, and how sweet it is. Pat Kane's goal in overtime last night sealed the deal for a team that has been enveloped in non-stop attention and TV coverage for three months now. Although no one else was sure if it was a goal, Kane knew it, and his attitude pretty much sums up the Hawks' season: NO DOUBT.

The team arrived at O'Hare just before 4am and they have been partying with the fans since, making bar stops at Harry Caray's of Rosemont and they left Pony's Restaurant and are going to another location now.

The players weren't the only one's celebrating, though. Fans clogged the streets, dancing and cheering for what is Chicago's first championship in five years for Sox fans, but everyone else has been waiting since 1998 when the Bulls won. Wrigleyville seemed to be the location choice, as traffic stopped on Clark St. and fans attempted to tip a police truck.

The celebration will continue, as the Blackhawks are having their victory parade and rally tomorrow on Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue. The parade will begin somewhere between 11am and 11:30am. We need all Hawks fans there! Here is the map for the Parade route:

It is really amazing what the Hawks have done. In three years they have gone from the laughing stock of the NHL, to Stanley Cup Champions. They've done so much for the sport and for their fans. What an amazing story they have put together: it will be told for years and years.

Congratulations to the players, coaches and staff along with their families. Congrats to all of the Hawks fans, especially the ones who have been waiting 49 years for this. Thanks to Rocky Wirtz for taking this team where it has. Thanks to Joel Quennville, Jonathan Toews, and the rest of the Hawks staff and players. It feels different saying this as Stanley Cup Champions: GO HAWKS!!!

Hawks play to clinch on Wednesday

2010-06-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Despite roughing out a series that has, so far, been much more difficult than the series' against San Jose and Vancouver, the Hawks are in Philly, set to play on Wednesday, June, 9, 2010, with ONE GOAL: to bring the Stanley Cup home. The Blackhawks made the series 3-2 in a fairly uncontested win on Sunday after a string of very close games.

The Hawks are being careful not to be too optimistic, though, as they are yet to win a game in Philly this series.

The battle between Chris Pronger and "Big Buff" will likely continue, they guarentee it. Pronger displayed sarcasm to the media after Game 5, saying, "I'm hurt. My feeling are hurt." The two have been going at it from the very beginning.

The puck drops tomorrow at 7pm midwest time on NBC Network TV (Ch 5 in Chicago) and Radio 720 WGN (Chicago, IL).

Tribune Reports: ND-Miami to renew rivalry

2010-05-15T05:28:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Tribune reported on Friday that the University of Notre Dame and the University of Miami are close to finalizing a renewal of the "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry for 2010, between two teams that haven't played since 1990 because of the chaos that occurred during games throughout the 80s.

College football is moving more and more towards nuetral sites, and Northwestern and Illinois have had the spotlight since they announced that they are playing at Wrigley Field this fall. Notre Dame is scheduled to play at Yankee Stadium vs. Army this fall. However, Notre Dame wanted to make their game against Miami even more special, so they decided to play it at a nuetral site. That site? Soldier Field.

I think that this is a brilliant idea. Of course, there is nothing like South Bend, Indiana on the day of a Notre Dame football game, but the athmosphere thatmake ND famous will be no less accross the border. There are tons of Irish fans in Chicago, second only to the Fighting Illini.

Irish and Hurricane fans remember well the rivalry that stirred fights in the 1980s, and this game is sure to be a game to remember, it is sure to "Wake Up the Echos" of this intense rivalry. People haven't forgotten, either. The game was announced on Thursday or Friday, and T-shirts are already being ordered: http://www.zazzle.com/catholics_vs_convicts_tshirt-235562748946221185

Hawks advance: Blackhawks 5, Vancouver 1

2010-05-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

The Hawks went into Tuesday night's game with, as the team's slogan says, "ONE GOAL." That goal was to end their quarterfinal series with the Vancouver Canucks in an intense series that shifted momentum multiple times. Not only did they win, they made a statement.

The San Jose Sharks, who finished off Detroit last Sunday, the Red Wings making only a wimper, are the favorite to advance to the finals, and the Blackhawks' loss in Chicago on Sunday, a game that was watched closely, made it look even more that way.

Boy, did they change that. The Hawks scored five goals in their Tuesday night clinching of the series, despite Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo's stellar night, and Antii Niemi held Vancouver to only one goal for the first time this series.

The win means the Blackhawks advance to play San Jose, in a series that will start either Friday or Sunday. San Jose will be a tough opponent, but the Hawks have proven themselves so far, and hopefully they can play with the dominance that they played with on Tuesday night. The first game of the semifinal will take place in Northern California, as the Sharks beat the Hawks to home-ice advantage by one game. I look forward to watching the series and continuing to participate in the excitement that the Blackhawks have created.

GO HAWKS!!!

Football at Wrigley

2010-04-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

Football returns to Wrigley Field, but not the Bears this time. Northwestern University has been working with the Cubs for a while now, trying to bring college football back to Wrigley. It isn't just any game, however, the Wildcats have chosen their in-state rival, the Fighting Illini, to oppose them in the Friendly Confines, making the locals happy.

The field will be purple, and so will the flags, but playing for the "Land of Lincoln Trophy" was no mistake. This move will help NU fill the stadium. NU is keeping 30,000 tickets for themselves, giving 3,000 to Illinois, and 5,000 to the Cubs (mostly which will sell to the U of I). Northwestern chosing the Illini is key, because it will help them fill Wrigley is they cannot. It will also help the atmosphere in the area, as many Illini fans will fill the bars on the northside that day.

The game will be on Nov. 20, 2010. NU season ticket holder will have access to tickets, and the students will have access to bleacher tickets.

In the end, this was a great move by NU and the U of I to bring this in-state match-up to the world's most historic stadium. I am excited to watch it, it is a great way for the U of I to get some fans to watch them closer to home. Football in Wrigley: how cool is that?

Angelo puts Alex Brown on trading block

2010-03-27T05:08:00.001-07:00

After making a crowd pleasing move by aquiring Julius Peppers, Jerry Angelo is back to his usual ignorance of the fans' will. He has announced that he plans to trade, or even release, fan-favorite Alex Brown.

I believe that this is an ugly move. Alex Brown has long been one of the better players on the Bears defense, had 48 tackles in the 2009 season and is known as a friendly guy to both the media and the fans, and has long been one to pump up the fans after making a big tackle.

The saddest thing about this is that it is all about money. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that it is even more likely that the Bears will release Brown and get nothing out of it in order to avoid paying Brown the remaining $5 million dollars on his contract. I have a better solution, Jerry Cheapelo and Virginia McCheapsky, KEEP HIM!!!

Windy City Sports blog is back!

2010-01-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months, but this blog is active again!

Bears, Irish win; Illini lose

2009-09-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

The Bears beat the Seahawks yesterday on a game-winning touchdown catch by Devin Hester from Jay Cutler. It was a little too close for comfort. However, Jay Cutler had a fair game, and Forte improved from last week. Bears LB Hunter Hillenmeyer, Urlacher's replacement, was injured in the game. Third-string Nate Roach game into the game and forced an interception from the endzone. Roach is proving to be a fitting replacement and might even exceed the talent of Hillenmeyer. Final score: 25-19.

Notre Dame beat Purdue with a last minute touchdown. The Biolers drove down the field to take the lead with a field goal with about three minutes left, but the Irish quickly drove to regain the lead and finish off a win. Final score: 24-21.

Illinois was dominated by Ohio State over the weekend. It was a combination of Terell Pryor's dominance and Illinois recievers' inability to run the correct route. OSU, who was defeated by USC the previous week, is shaping up to be one of the best college football teams in the NCAA. Final score: 30-0.

Buehrle Pitches Perfectly

2009-07-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a Cub fan. Yes, I hate the White Sox. However, history was made on Thursday. I will lose my bias for now and send out congratulations to Mark Buehrle. The Sox' number one starter went into the game on Thursday trying out a new catcher and having a pretty good season. But, he never expected the following.

Buehrle pitched a perfect game yesterday, his second no-hitter in three years. There is no doubt Buehrle will be remembered as one of the best- if not the best -pitcher in the history of the Chicago White Sox.

There was plenty of irony in Buehrle's perfect game. The umpire behind the plate on Thursday was the same umpire that umpired his no-hitter a couple of years ago. Also, Buehrle tried out a new catcher on Thursday. His name was Ramon Castro and he played for the team that Buehrle threw his first no-hitter against in 2007.

Buehrle's perfect game was saved by an unbelieveable catch by Dewayne Wise in the top of ninth to rob Gabe Kappler of a home-run, which would have been hard to take.

Buehrle's perfect game was the MLB's 18th. Only six other pitchers have thrown both a no-hitter and a perfect game in their careers.

^Buehrle celebrates with teamates^

^Wise falls to ground after robbing home-run^

What happened to a day at the ball field? The Sox fan vs. the Cub fan.

2009-06-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

On the eve of the Crosstown Classic, I have been thinking about the difference between the Cub fan and the Sox fan. Both fans have very different way of expressing emotion.

In my opinion, Cubs fans are the best in baseball. There is nothing like the Cub fan. Cubs fans are die-hard and love to root for their team. They are passionate and treat baseball as a big part of their lives. The thing I like most about the Cub fan is that they hold players accountable. If a player makes an idiotic mistake, they will let them know. However, they do not take it too far. For instance, Cubs fans never swear or insult a player of either team for no reason.

On the other side of town is the Sox fan. Sox fans are, like Cub fans, die-hard and love their team. They are passionate about the game, just like Cub fans. However, they often take it way too far. What got me thinking about this whole story was something that aired on the radio during the White Sox-Brewers series. "Homer" on ESPN Milwaukee was having a discussion with former ball players about bad fans. They began talking about Sox fans. One shared a story about an experience he had in Milwaukee. The pitcher was warming up in the bull pen and heard a fan dropping F-bombs somewhere near him. He looked up and saw it was a small boy. Nice, right? But, it gets worse. He looked up and saw the boys dad. The boys dad said, "That's right! Listen to him because you F--king suck! You know it!" That's is why Cub fans hate Sox fans. Also, Sox fans care more about the Cubs losing than the Sox winning.

Just thought I would add those thoughts on the eve of the big series. The first game is tomorrow, June 16, at Wrigley Field. The match-up is John Danks (CWS) vs. Carlos Zambrano (CHC). The game begins at 7:05 and will be broadcasted on WGN-TV (Chicago station that can be seen throughout the US and parts of Canada) and on Radio 720 WGN (can be heard throughout most of the US and some of southern Canada).

^Sox fan displays more hate for the Cubs than love for the Sox^

^Cubs fans celebrate clinch of the NL Central^

Back the bid

2009-06-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

I strongly encourage you to support Chicago in its bid for the 2016 Olympics. To support the bid, go to www.Chicago2016.org

Bradley makes mental errors in Cubs loss, fans upset

2009-06-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

In the top of the 8th inning in Friday's Cubs game against Minnesota the Twins had men on first and third with one out. Milton Bradley didn't know that. The next batter hit a fly ball directly to Bradley and he caught the ball. He thought that was the third out. Bradley stood with the ball for a while and then threw it into the bleachers. The man on third had already easily scored, but his mental error allowed the man on first to advance all the way to third.

In the seventh inning, Bradley lost a ball in the sun and missed it, allowing the Twins to score a pair of runs. This was another mistake that really angered a lot of people.

Bradley was met with loud boos both after the mistakesand the next time he went to bat, especially when he flew out. I think that this was the last straw for Cubs fans. Many fans were upset with recent losses and a lot of anger has been building up. I think the booing was Cubs fans releasing anger over everything that has happened and the Bradley errors are what set the off.

After the game, Bradley said told the media that "everybody's got to relax" and that "we're [Cubs] 2 1/2 games out. We're right there. Just have fun. Relax." This concerns me because I think that Bradley is taking this way too lightly. I understand that he likes to have fun, but that was a serious mistake. The errors are definitely a sign that he doesn't have his head in the game when he's out there. He needs to start playing better along with the rest of his team.

To watch the videos of his mistakes, copy and paste the following link into your browser and choose one of the videos:

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5025941&c_id=chc

^Bradley listens to boos after defensive mishap^

Why the Cubs are missing out

2009-05-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

The other day the Padres and White Sox worked out a deal to bring Jake Peavy to the South Side. However, Jake Peavy did not give approval on the deal, so it fell through. Peavy has made it clear that the only team he wants to go to is the Cubs.

The Padres were willing to make a deal with the Cubs back in February at the Winter Meetings. However, Jim Hendry decided he didn't want to make a deal for unknown reasons. That was a big mistake. It couldn't be any easier for him to bring in talent, and he's pushing it away!

All he had to do was work out a little deal with San Diego, who is going to be very generous since they're having trouble getting rid of Peavy. Hendry is missing out on a major oppourtunity. If a star pitcher says that you are the only team he wants to go to, you should be able to work something out.

Hendry better get his act together, or people are going to start getting very angry at him and he'll eventually be out of a job.

For response to this blog post e-mail me at ChicagoIllinoisGuy@yahoo.com

I want to hear from you!

2009-05-19T19:03:00.001-07:00

I encourage those who read my blog to actively participate in the conversation!

Please feel free to comment on my blog posts!

I invite you to e-mail me with opinion, suggestions, complaints, comments, etc! You can contact me at ChicagoIllinoisGuy@yahoo.com!

ChicagoIllinoisGuy@yahoo.com
ChicagoIllinoisGuy@yahoo.com
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Blackhawks renew rivalry in conference championship

2009-05-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Blackhawks have made it past the first two rounds of the playoffs and are set to go for the conference finals. Blackhawk fans were excited to hear their opponents in the thrid round would be the Hawks' long-time rivals: the Detroit Red Wings.

The series squares off on Sunday in Detroit, Michigan and it is no doubt going to be a very exciting series. Hawks vs. Wings has proven to be a very even matchup when they played in January at Wrigley Field. This is the most exciting series in the NHL in a long time. The Hawks have been hot lately, playing a lot better vs. Vancouver in the last two games than they had the rest of the playoffs.

Tomorrow's game is being broadcasted nationally on NBC (Ch. 5 in Chicago) and is on the radio at Chicago's 720 WGN (broadcasts throughout much of the US and Canada.

After Sunday the series has a game in Detroit on Monday, two games in Chicago, then a game in Detroit and one in Chicago (last three games are if necessary). Go Hawks!

The Perfect Day

2009-04-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

Chicago sports were rockin' on Saturday as the city's sports teams went 4-0 in some thrilling games, two of them being playoff games.

The Bulls started their playoff series with the Celtics in Boston. The two teams fought hard all game and would go to overtime where the Bulls would prevail. Rose scored more points in that game than Michael Jordan scored in his first Bulls playoff game. The Bulls won the game by a score of 105-103. It was a team effort as Rose showed great leadership and the Bulls now lead the series, 1-0.

The Blackhawks went into Saturday's game with a 1-0 lead on Calgary after an OT thriller a few nights ago. The Hawks played very bad at the beginning of the game as they were losing 2-0. The Hawks later woke up and mounted a comeback and went on to win the game with a tally of 3-2. Jonathan Toews, Blackhawk captain, scored two of the Hawks' three goals, his first career playoff goals.

On the North Side the Cubs got set to take tto the field against the hated Cardinals. The regular season series with a playoff athmosphere was tied at 1-1. Ryan Dempster had the start for the Cubbies and struggled early as the Cubs went down 4-0. The Cubs would mount a slow comeback that was capped by a D-Lee triple and the Cubs went up 5-4. The Cardinals sent the game into Extra Innings at 5-5. Neither team scored until the bottom of the 11th when Aramis Ramirez stepped to the plate and delivered a walk-off homerun to win the game. Final score, 7-5.

The White Sox were in Tampa to play the Rays. The Sox went up early and their pitching pinned the Rays to only 3 runs. Mark Buehrle pitched seven innings of good baseball and Paul Konerko homed and collected three RBI's as the Sox polished a nice win in Tampa, 8-3.

It was an exciting day in Chicago sports that featured overtimes, comebacks, records being broken, and walk-off homeruns. Go Chicago!

Some Day, We'll Go All The Way

2009-04-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee 4, Cubs 3

2009-04-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

The first game of the big 3-game Easter series in Cheeseland turned out to be a disaster. It was a game where the Brewers and Cubs both looked like they were going to pull away, but neither did.

The Brewers started off strong in the first by taking an early lead and looked like the dominant team for a few innings until Koyie Hill's HR gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead and it looked like the Cubs would be victorious. As the fans were heading to the exits in the ninth they were pulled right back when the Brewers put togther a run ending in a walkoff hit by Ryan Braun as Rickie Weeks was safe at home.

Koyie Hill did not agree with the call at the end so he drilled the ball into the ground. Hill later commented that it was "the wrong way to act."

Getting the loss, new Cubs closer Kevin Gregg. This brings me serious concern as the Cubs have struggled with closers in the past and it is scary for me to think of the possibility of the Cubs not making the playoffs because of their closer like in 2004 with Hawkins.

It also brings serious question to Jim Hendry's decision not to go out and get a big name closer, something that is way overdue on his part. I am fine with him giving up someone like Fukudome for a good closer. If the Cubs do not get a reliable closer, it is going to be a long year.

It was good to see a solid performance from Rich Harden today.

Big Z will be on the mound tomorrow in Milwaukee. It is definitely not time to hit the panic button on the closer situation, as it is early. However, it IS time to ponder the thought of maybe needing to go after a new closer.

Tomorrow's game is at 6:05 on CSN TV and WGN Radio.

Koyie Hill spikes the ball in frusteration after the Cubs' loss to Milwaukee.

Cubs, Sox gear up for opening day

2009-04-05T05:33:00.001-07:00

Steve Goodman's song goes, "Baseball season's underway. Well, you better get ready for a brand new day." That is exactly what Chicago's baseball teams are doing. Both of their seasons start Monday. The Cubs play in Houston and the Sox host the KC Royals.

In Houston it will be Carlos Zambrano taking on Houston's best, Roy Oswalt. This is going to be a good game because both pitchers pitch with so much emotion. Big Z and Oswalt both pitched in the WBC. Whether that is a good thing, you decide. The key for the Cubs is to not get too excited and keep to keep their cool, especially Z.

As the South Siders open Monday they will take on the usually laughable Royals. However, there is rumor that KC may suprise you in their ability to jump out quick. That pitching match-up is Meche vs. Bhuerle.

The opening game of the season is Atlanta @ Philly tonight, April 5.

Cutler coming to Bears

2009-04-02T15:00:00.001-07:00

Jay Cutler is headed to Chicago. The Bears and Broncos made a deal today, Thursday, in which the Bears ship Kyle Orton to Denver along with two draft picks, but Cutler comes to Chicago.

I believe that this is a great move for the Bears. I wrote a couple days ago that the Bears were interested and I encouraged them to trade for Cutler. Many experts said the Bears had nothing but a slim chance, but they got him. That just shows what Jerry Angelo can do when he puts his mind to it.

Bears may go after Cutler

2009-04-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best oppourtunities for the Bears in the decade. The Bears have a chance to put away all those QB problems they have been having for so long and pick up a proven QB with a decent past, for once.

Jay Cutler grew up an Indiana Bear fan and went on to play football successfully. Now he has a chance to come home and play for his favorite team: the Chicago Bears. This deal would be a mutual one. We all know that Cutler hasn't been happy in Denver, and now he has the chance to sign with a team that he knows he'd be happy with.

I strongly push the Bears to go after Cutler.

Final Four Set

2009-03-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Final Four is set and ready to go for next weekend. The Final Four consists of N Carolina, Villanova, UConn and Michigan St. Two one seeds, a two seed, and a three seed.

Some very exciting games occured over the weekend to make the Final Four this way. MSU had a big win over Loisville and the Spartans advance to the Final Four. UConn and Mizzou duked it out 'till the end when UConn pulled out. My favorite game was Pitt and 'Nova. I have been pulling for 'Nova for a little while now, a very likeable team. I also dislike Pitt.

Final Four games are next Saturday in Detroit. Also, don't forget to watch Notre Dame vs. Penn State Tuesday night at 8 central on ESPN.

Sears Tower to be renamed

2009-03-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

It is official. The Sears Tower is going to be re-named Willis Tower. Willis Group, a broker agency in London purchased the naming rights and is going to re-name the building "to display it's loyalty to the city." I'm sorry, but what they are saying is bogus.

Chicagoans are in an uproar over the re-naming of the historic landmark, the tallest building west of the Prime Meridian. Something must be done to stop this. Many other Chicago landmarks have already been re-named, and we can't let Chicago's most sacred be re-named also. Chicagoans have always been very proud to have one of earth's tallest buildings, and now that building is being disrespected.

Please visit the website www.ItsTheSearsTower.com and sign the petition. Then copy and paste this address into your browser: http://www.willis.com/Contact_Us/Feedback/ and send Willid Group a message about what you think of all of this. We need your help. Chicago needs your help. Even if you aren't from Chicago, do this. It makes a big difference.

Tournament update

2009-03-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Now that we are well through the tournaments and only the good teams are left, this is where it really gets interesting. Here is some fact and opinion on the tournaments so far and in the future:

NCAA: It is Sweet Sixteen time, basketball fans. The games got back going last night in two very interesting games. Mizzou upset Memphis, putting down all the media expectations and hype over the Tigers. Also last night the 'Nova Wildcats beat up Duke. The action continues this weekend. My prediction from how things currently stand is that our Final Four will be Louisville, UConn, 'Nova, and N. Carolina.

NIT: The NIT is moving along well, and there is a local team still in it. My favorite, Notre Dame, has advanced so far with their most recent win over Kentucky. Notre Dame will play on Tuesday night against long-time football rival Penn State. The game is in New York City on Tuesday, March 31 at 8:00 central time zone. Penn State will most definitely pose a threat for the Irish. Other teams still currently in the NIT include most noteably San Diego State, the number one seed.

I look forward to a great end to the basketball season. Please stay updated with Windy City Sports. From Chicago, good night and GO IRISH!!!

My New Video

2009-03-20T19:18:00.001-07:00

I recently uploaded a video to YouTube. Please watch it. Just click the play button below.

Brackets released, Illinois goes solo

2009-03-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

The NCAA March Madness brackets were released Sunday evening. The four number one seeds are Louisville, UConn, Pitt, and N Carolina. I was definitely suprised and dissapointed that Louisville got a 1 seed. Louiscilly really didn't impress me all that much during the season. Notre Dame beat them by 20+ points in the most recent game.

As far as the local teams only one college in the state of Illinois got in and that was U of I. The Illini got a 5 seed, which kind of suprised me, and will play W Kentucky. They are playing in the Southern regional. Other midwestern teams that got in were Marquette, Purdue, Michigan St, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio St, and Wisconsin.

Local teams that had their bubbles burst are Notre Dame and Northwestern. Both of these teams had slim hopes anyways and blew their chances tword the end of the season.

The most interesting regional in my opinion is the Southern regional. Illinois and Michigan are both in this regional. However, what is most interesting about this regional is that UNC is the 1 seed and Duke is the 2 seed.

Should be an interesting March/April. GO ILLINI!!!

Cubs 13, Sox 0

2009-02-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon the Chicago Cubs blew past the Chicago White Sox in Spring Training action. The event occured in Mesa, AZ and the Cubs remain undefeated in Spring Training.

Now, we all know that the games don't mean much now, but it definitely is a good sign for Cubs fans as they continue to blow past opponents, most noteably the Brewers and White Sox.

The attendance of the game was the highest attendance ever reached at the spring home of the Cubs, HoHoKam Park.

Most starters, of course, did not play. However, there were a few that did, and there were some back-ups that played. Some highlights were Michah Haffpoiur and Koiye Hill, who both played well. Also, Neal Cotts threw a scoreless inning.

The Cubs first Spring Training game broadcast on TV will be on Wednesday at 9:05pm on WGN. The game is being played in Las Vegas and is a split squad. The game is against the White Sox.

It is a happy Spring for the Cubs so far. GO CUBS!!!

North Suburban High School Basketball Report

2009-02-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

The HS basketball scene is heating up as we approach the playoffs, so it is time to analyze Chicago suburban high school basketball. Here is something to note:

Many Chicago sports fans will be dissapointed that I am ranking the suburbs instead of the city teams. Please remember that the suburban games are the ones that I watch, so if I were to attempt at ranking the city teams they would be inaccurate. Better to not do something than to do it poorly.

Here is my current Top 5 Rankings of Chicago's Northern Suburbs:

5. North Chicago- North Chicago has been a pretty good team this year. They are in the easier division of their conference, but they still look like a decent basketball team.

4. Warren- Warren's Brandon Paul has shown Chicago why Warren will be a serious contender for the State Finals in Peoria this year. Paul will attend the Univeristy of Illinois.

3. Waukegan- Waukegan was looking like the best team in the area until their loss to Zion. Waukegan's Jereme Richmond shines as one of Lake County's best. Waukegan has a great chance of going down state as well.

2. Lake Forest- LF has been a suprise to many people this year. They have beaten both Warren and Z-B, but they still are not my number one. Lake Forest does have a great chance to go down state this year, but they'll have a lot of competition. They will get to match up against Z-B this Friday. If they win, then they will be my number one.

1. Zion-Benton- Zion, last year's state runner-up, is my favorite in Lake County to go down state. They have a talented basketball team that can pile it on their opponents. They have defeated Waukegan and Warren so far, but have lost to Lake Forest. Z-B plays the Scouts this Friday which is going to be a huge game and will decide who is the best in the NSC. The Zee-Bees are stacked with Lenzelle Smith (Ohio State) and other talented players. Ronald Stewart is one to watch out for. He is a short one and, for that reason, has recieved little attention from colleges, but he will suprise you.

Please note: my favorite high school team is not on this list so I have no bias. This is my opinion of these teams from watching them play in person.

The city teams better watch out, because the Northern Suburnbs are stacked with talent this year. I can almost guarentee that one of those five teams on my list will go down state this year, and it could be any five of them.

Steelers, Cards gear up for XLIII

2009-01-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

It is Super Bowl time once again! The greatest time of the year in football. This time the Cards take on the mighty Steelers. Gametime is, as usual, Sunday night at 5.

Looking forward to it and will have reaction on Monday or Tuesday.

Illinois left out of Top 25

2009-01-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Fighting Illini continue to be left out of the Top 25 rankings in NCAA Basketball. The Illini have more than proven themselves with great overall play and the upset of Purdue and now Michigan, but they are continueously left out of the rankings.

Hopefully the next issued rankings will include Illinois, or they will truely be getting ripped off. The Illini deserve it. They have worked hard, played well, and I think that they will end up suprising many temas before the season is over.

Milton Bradley is coming to Chicago

2009-01-13T14:37:00.001-08:00

It is official: Milton Bradley is a Chicago Cub. He will be playing this year in the same ballpark that he once dove into the stands at and attacked a fan for stealing his hat. Bradley is no doubt a hot-head and may cause trouble in the clubhouse.

However, he is coming at the perfect time. Milton Bradley brings to the Cubs what they lack: fire. I am sick of seeing the Cubs not care about losing and not care about anything and only try when they feel like it. This guy is emotional and firey and that is what the Cubs have none of except for Carlos Zambrano.

Milton Bradley is a decent hitter with around a .280 career average. He played in Dallas last season with the Texas Rangers with a .321 BA and a .436 OBP. He will play outfield for the Cubs and hopefully will bring a glove with him.

Bradley is getting paid $10 million/yr on the deal, which I believe is a good deal for the Cubs, considering what they're paying Soriano who hit only .280 last year compared to Bradley's .321 BA of last year.

Overall, this is a move that I am happy to see Jim Hendry make. It is risky, but it is a risk that I, as a Cubs fan, am willing to take for my beloved Cubs. Jim Hendry has been too cautious in the past and afraid to go out there and get the big, risky names. He now has gotten over his fear and has made a move that could drastically change the Cubs' future.

Mike Ditka for United States Senate!!!

2009-01-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Mike Ditka has been considering running for Senator for a long time, now, and the perfect oppourtunity has opened up.

The corruption level in Illinois has skyrocketed recently, and Mike Ditka will fix up our state. Gov. Blago was impeached by the Illinois House on Friday, and that could increase attempts to push Burris out of the Senate seat, which would mean an open senate seat, and a possible Special Election.

This is the perfect chance for us to get Mike Ditka as Illinois senator!!! It is amazing that simply taking a single minute out of your day can help change the direction of our country.

All you have to do is sign the petition that is going to be sent to Mike and he will hear your voice. So, here you go:

To sign the "Draft Ditka" petition, copy and past this URL into your URL box: http://www.petitiononline.com/SenDitka/petition.html

For more information go to: http://www.DitkaforSenate.com

Hendry ships DeRosa to Cleveland

2009-01-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

Jim Hendry traded Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for three Minor League pitchers.

As much as I love to plan for the future, I want a world series win now, not in 5 years. DeRosa would have helped us get there this year but these pitchers will not.

On the bright side these pitchers should help us somewhere down the road.

GO CUBS!!!

Bears ruin their season

2008-12-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Bears went into today's game with the possibility of making the playoffs by winning the division or wild card. The possibility of the division was put out when the Vikings won on a last second field goal vs. New York. However, everything fell into place for the wild card. Both the Bucs and Cowboys lost, meaning that a Bear win would mean the Bears would live to fight another day.

However, the Bears were embarrassed in Houston by the Texans. They played as if nothing were on the line. It looked similar to the Green Bay game. All game they didn't try and then only when they must score do they turn it on. It is unexcuseable. These guys are getting payed millions to go out there and play their hardest and they don't even do it until the end.

But why didn't it work like the Green Bay game? Because even though they began to play better at the end, they made mistakes.

The biggest thing is the offensive play-calling. Ron Turner needs to go. I am sick of his bullshit calls in tight situation. Why would you put Adrian Peterson in when you need a score? Matt Forte has been great this year and now your going to take him out? Adrian Peterson got a screen and ran down to the inch but chose not to reach over the plane, but instead tuck the ball in to avoid the touchdown. All year Turner has dissapointed me. He didn't do anything right when he was the Illini head coach, so why would he now? Let's get a new Offensive Coordinator.

Also, Robbie Gould's onside kick at the end was a disgrace. It was directly to Houston. They practice that situation all year and then when they perform it they stumble and fall.

Another thing is Kyle Orton. Every year we find ourselves calling on the Bears to draft a new QB, but they never do it. Kyle Orton continues to struggle with Devin Hester. It seems as though every time Kyle passes to Hester he either overthrows him or throws way too hard of a bullet. Today he overthrew Devin again.

Also, the Bears use of Hester has been a problem. They should've started using Manning much earlier than they did.

Something else that has been talked about all season is Peanut Tillman's bad play. I love Peanut, but he has made some bad plays this year. It started off with the game that I went to, TB @ Chicago. The Bears went to overtime and forced the Bucs three and out. However, Tillman jumped on top of a pile after the play and was called for unessacary roughness. Also @ Minnesota he left his man and Berrian took it all the way. Tillman again played his man too loosely today. Peanut's daughter currently has a heart problem and needed a transplant earlier in the year and thankfully it went well, so I understand that he had some stuff on his mind. We must remember that the players family is the priority.

Overall, this season can be learned from, and the Bears need to make changes. This year I want a new Offensive Coordinator, a new QB, and new Offensive Line, and some new WRs. It would also be nice if I could get some defensive improvements.

It's time to focus on basketball. Over the course of the next few months I will have intense coverage of the Bulls. I will also have analysis of college basketball, especially Illinois, Notre Dame, and Northwestern.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T07:36:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take the time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful day.

ON THIS DAY A KING WAS BORN!!!

Gov. Blagojevich Arrested

2008-12-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

"This is a sad day for Illinois," is what Barack Obama told the media commenting on the recent news that the Illinois governor had been arrested on corruption charges. This is the first time many have heard of Blagojevich, but I've been following him for years, so it doesn't suprise me that he'd do something like this.

Remember when Gov. Blagojevich raised taxes on the already over-taxed Illinoisans so he could build a governors mansion? Yeah he built it, but he doesn't even live in it. Illinois is one of the highest taxed states in the nation, that's because of Illinois democrats like Blagojevich and President-elect Barack Obama.

This is just another mistake added to the long list of what Blagojevich has done to make Chicago look like the most corrupt city in the world...which it probably is. It's time to clean up Chicago politics once and for all. Let's get these democrats out of office.

Syracuse upsets Notre Dame, NU beats Illinois

2008-11-22T18:07:00.001-08:00

This is not a good season in Chicago area football. Let's start off with that.

This was a horiffic game. The Irish played horribly in a 24-23 loss to the 2-8 Syracuse Orangemen, a team that just fired their head coach and has a program that is simply falling apart.

Speaking of head coaches, after this game Charlie Weis' job needs to be hanging on a thread.

Why didn't they throw the ball in the first quarter? That's always been their forte, right? Weis' thought that if he started calling the plays that maybe that would improve something. I DON'T THINK SO! The first half consisted of mostly all runs. However, he decided to throw a 7 yard pass on 2nd and 47! That helped, right? NOPE!

Then, with five seconds left in the game, Weis decides to send Brandon Walker - who had already missed a 26 yarder earlier in the game - out for a 53 yard field goal attempt. It's time for Weis to go back to the Pros. He cannot expect a below average college field goal kicker to make a 53 yarder! He should have thrown a quick 10 to 15 yard pass and attempt a field goal from there. 5 seconds may not have been enough time to get that pass off and still have time for a field goal, but it's worth the try.

Notre Dame football is spiraling down and unless they make some changes, Notre Dame football isn't going to be what it once was for a LONG time. First, Weis needs to go. They fired Ty Willingham after 3 years and he went over .500 all three years. If the Irish finish 6-6 then Weis would've accomplished 2 straight seasons at .500 or worse and that's more deserving of a firing than 3 straight winning seasons.

Now, I want to say some stuff about Charlie Weis. I'm being harsh on him. He is a great guy. He does so much hard work for his mentally handicapped daughter and is so nice to his son who stands on the sidelines with him during the games. He is an ND graduate and always wanted to coach at Notre Dame. I just think he'd be a much better coach in the Pros.

The Irish travel to L. A. to face the hated Trojans of USC in the beautiful weather of Southern California. If the Irish pull off a win there they should definitely get a bowl and possibly not too bad of one.

In Evanston Northwestern beat Illinois by a score of 27-10. This drops the Illini to 5-6 and oficially guarantees that they will not get a bowl. Northwestern finishes 8-3 overall and is looking at a nice bowl spot. It has been a great year for Northwestern and a fairly dissapointing one for the U of I.

Hopefully the Bears can salvage the weekend in sports as they travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams.

A tribute to our beloved Bears

2008-11-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

We love the Bears here in Chicago and after last week's heart-breaking loss in Green Bay I think it's time we start appreciating the team we have and the Bears teams that have come before us.

Here's a great, heartfelt, spine-chilling video.

Green Bay 37, Chicago 3

2008-11-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

WHAT THE HELL?!?

That was everyone's reaction as the Packers demolished the Bears in Lambeau Sunday afternoon. It was a game that just was simply not fun. However, some positive things can be drawn from this game.

The Bad: Geez. Could it have been any worse? A blow out and the old "Bears still suck!" chant louder than ever in Green Bay. Kyle Orton played like Rex Grossman--even worse-- and really couldn't get anything going at all.

The defense also let me down as they played like shit--but no one is going to blame them, of course. Brian Urlacher looked a little better than before but he is supposed to be the face of the defense--even the franchise.

Special teams could've been better, but you really can't count on your ST to win you the game.

The Good: The Bears are tied for first place atop the NFC North. There ya go. Thats about it. The Bears need to realize that just because they lost this game doesn't mean that it is a lost season.

Also, it can be a learning experience. Learn from mistakes.

Overall this was an extremely dissapointing game for the Chicago Bears. EMBARRASING.

A laugh in tension

2008-11-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

The tension is growing here in Chicago as the Bears gear up to travel to Wisconsin to play the rivaled Packers. So, I thought I'd lighten the mood in this time of tension.

The week in review

2008-10-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

This week was an interesting week in sports. From baseball to football, here's the week in review:

Baseball:

What happened:
The series kicked off in Tampa as the Phillies visited the Rays. The Phillies took the first game and the momentum, but the Rays would come back and win the second game to even the series at 1-1.

Last night the series shifted to the city of brotherly love, Philly, and the Phillies looked good throughout the entire game until the 8th when the Rays tied the game at 2-2. The Phillies would go on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth on a walk off hit.

My take:
Both teams look fairly even in the series so far but I think the Rays' inexperience and unreliability is showing. However, I could easily see the Rays coming back to win the series, as they still are a very good ball club.

Football:

What happened:
Notre Dame beat Washington 33-7 as they take a little revenge on Ty Willingham, their former coach.
Wisconsin defeated Illinois 27-17 in a much anticipated game as the Illini continue to struggle and the Badgers break their losing streak.
Penn State conquered Ohio State 13-6 in a huge game in Columbus.
Georgia takes out LSU 52-38 proving to me their for real.
Texas beats Oklahoma State 28-24.

My take:
Notre Dame impressed me as they get their first road win.
Illinois was dissapointing as I thought they'd handle the Badgers who were previously 0-4 in the Big Ten.
The PSU-OSU game was a great game and a fun one to watch as Penn State proved to me that they are a GREAT team.
I had my doubts about Georgia before but I think that they are for real now and I could see a National Championship in their future.
I love the Texas-OSU matchup...so much hate yet so much fun.

The Bears didn't play this week but next week they Detroit in Chicago.

It's been a great week in sports and I'm looking forward to another one.

When it comes to politics...

2008-10-22T17:32:00.001-07:00

I know some out there might be groaning right now because many people do not like politics. However, many people do like politics. I thought that because many newspapers and blogs are releasing endorsements around this time so I thought I would, too.

However, I couldn't get every single race in all of Chicago in so I did the major ones and the most important and closely contested local races.

Here are the 2008 Windy City Sports Blog's Political Endorsements:

President of the United States: John McCain (R)
Vice President of the United States: Sarah Palin (R)
10th Congressional District of Illinois: Mark Kirk (R)
7th Congressional District of Illinois: Steve Miller (R)
Illinois Senator: Steve Sauerberg (R)
Cook County State's Attorney: Anthony Peraica (R)
Illinois State Senator (Chicago): Jason Allen Braswell (R)

I hope you'll take these endorsements into consideration as I believe that they are the right candidates to lead.

Week 7 NFC North Predictions

2008-10-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

It's time for some predictions on Week 7 in the NFC North.

Minnesota @ Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

The Bears will be wearing their unique orange jerseys as it is getting close to Halloween. It is also an "Orange-out" so if you're going to the game WEAR ORANGE!

I look for the Bears to come out strong in this one. Yes, both teams have the same record, 3-3, but I think that Chicago is the better team. Last week the Vikings beat Detroit on a last second field goal. They're going to have to play much better than that if they want to beat the Bears in Soldier Field.

My pick: Chicago

Detroit @ Houston
Houston, Texas

The Texans have looked like a much better team than they have in the past, and definitely than the Lions have looked this year.

The Texans running game should flourish and the Lions will be scrambling to avois yet another loss.

This game was an easy pick.

My pick: Houston

Indianapolis @ Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin

This will be a good game, but the Colts are not the team they once were.

Peyton Manning is not playing like he used to (sucks for me, I have him in Fantasy) and Addai (who I also have in Fantasy and is playing horribly) is out.

Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers has looked to be a decent QB and Greg Jennings (finally, a good player that I have in Fantasy) has looked very good.

As always, Lambeau's "G-Force" will have a great deal of home-field advantage affect on Indy.

My pick: Green Bay

If my picks are correct, these will be the standings after the weekend:

1. Bears (4-3)
2. Green Bay (4-3)
3. Minnesota (3-4)
4. Detroit (0-6)

Thanks for reading my post. For more on sports in Chicago and throughout Illinois go to www.windy-city-sports.blogspot.com

Bulls beat Jazz at the U of I

2008-10-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

The Bulls faced Darron Williams and the Utah Jazz at the Assembly Hall Friday night in a preseason game. It didn't mean much to fans in Chicago, but it meant a lot to the Illinois students as they got to see their favorite NBA team and favorite former Illini basketball player in the NBA.

The Bulls were down by 4 points late but would come back to win, making Illinois students happy. Personally I think it is great that they do this because down in Champaign they don't have an NBA team and they get to see Williams play again too.

Now, some may not care much about this story, but I just thought I'd talk about it anyway.

Bears Blow It...AGAIN

2008-10-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

It is less than five minutes after the Bears game as I am typing this and I am pissed off. The Bears lose to Atlanta 22-20 on a third heart breaking loss of the season. The defense, again, could not hold a late lead.

The Bears were down 19-13 and the Falcons were driving in their own territory. The Falcons were forced to fourth down and attempted a field goal, which they missed. This was a good sign for Chicago, as it was still a one score game. The Bears got the ball back and drove down the field to score a touchdown to Rasheed Davis. A winning touchdown, right? The Falcons then got the ball back around midfield with only eleven seconds left. Atlanta threw a great pass down twords the thirty which was caught. Then, with one second to go, Atlanta kicked a winning field goal.

This is horrible. Chicago's famed defense needs to stop giving up late leads. First it was Carolina, then Tampa Bay, now Atlanta. If the Bears would like to remain in first place of the NFC North then they need to learn how to hold teams when you have a late lead.

If I were Lovie Smith, I would get angry at the team, which is something he has failed to do when the team makes mistakes in the past. If I see another half-ass performance by the Bears one more time I think I am going to go crazy.

It is time, actually overtime for the Bears to step up and hold their leads, and until they do, I will continue to bash them.

Next week the Bears will play Minnesota at home in a division game that they must win to re-group. The Bears will need to stop Adrian Peterson to get that win. Oh, yeah, and incase I haven't already made this point: They need to hold late leads.

Thanks for reading and for more go to http://www.windy-city-sports.blogspot.com for more news and opinion on sports in Chicago and throughout Illinois.

Cubs swept, fans upset

2008-10-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Last night the Cubs lost to the Dodgers by the score of 3-1. The Cubs had very high expectations going into the playoffs this year and many Cubs fans, including me are very upset with them for blowing another one. They've almost become an embaressment.

I think I am speaking for many Cubs fans when I say that this failure needs to stop ASAP, which is next year. I have not been through as many of the failures that many have been through, but I can tell you that I have already had enough. I witnessed 2003, 2007, and now 2008, and other years that they got so close and couldn't get there and I cannot take it. The Cubs need to wake up and realize what they're doing wrong.

Lou Pinella said after the game that if the Cubs continue to only score six runs in a three game series that it will be another 100 years until they actually win the world series, and I agree. Chicago has had enough of this, and it needs to stop.

Players like Alfonso Soriano, who are leaders throughout the regular season and then choke in the playoffs, need to step it up. It is unbelieveable that a player can choke that much in the playoffs after years of playoff experience. Soriano went 1 for 14 in this years playoffs, meaning he's only had a few hits in the last two years in the playoffs. Soriano check swung to end the game last night and send the Cubs into hibernation, thinking about what time their golf game for the next day is.

But, it wasn't only Soriano that cost the Cubs. Fukudome struggled practically the entire second half of the season, and he was supposed to help turn this franchise around. Ryan Dempster showed us that he fails when under pressure, again. A-Ram did not come up clutch like he usually does, same with DeRosa. The entire infield looked horrible throughout the series. My point is, there were many players on the Cubs that cost them this series. One didn't choke, two didn't choke, they all choked.

To dampen Cubs fans spirits a little more, the Brewers beat the Phillies last night, meaning that Milwaukee made it farther than the Cubbies in the playoffs, and has now won more playoff games than Chicago's north side team since 2003.

On a bright note, theree is always next year. Cubs fans, stay loyal, even when frusterated, remember:

"We are one with the Cubs, with the Cubs we're in love. Yeah hold our heads high as the underdogs.

We are not fairweather but farweather fans, we are like brothers in arms in the streets and the stands.

There's magic in the ivy and the old scoreboard. The same one I stared at as a kid keeping score.

A world full of greed I could never want more. Someday we'll go all the way."

-Eddie Vedder's "All the Way"

Cubs, Sox in 0-2 hole

2008-10-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

Both the Cubs and White Sox are in an 0-2 hole in the first round of the playoffs. One more loss and it will eliminate them from the playoffs, and their seasons will be over.

The question I now ask is: Why? Why are both teams in this situation? Why does it seem impossible for either of these teams to win a playoff game?

It is simply because of expectations. The Cubs and Sox were way ahead of themselves before the playoffs even started! Both teams were thinking world series, maybe even against eachother. What they weren't thinking about was the Dodgers and Rays. These teams were overconfident and now it is going to be extremely difficult for them to comeback.

The Cubs thought they were sitting pretty. With the number one seed in the N.L. playoffs, they thought they'd easily make it to the world series. They underestimated the Dodgers and how they can really suprise you.

The Sox thought they had all the momentum. Coming off a one game playoff win, they though that if they could beat the Twins they could beat anybody. Except there is this one team from Florida. You know, the Tampa Bay Rays? The best team in baseball? They thought they had the power to upset Tampa, and now they are down 0-2 as well.

Both of these teams made huge mistakes in being overconfident, and it's costing them.

Bears 24, Philly 20

2008-09-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

The Bears upset the Eagles last night in a 24-20 win. The Bears were leading by that score late in the fourth quarter when the Eagles drove down to the goal line. The had to go for it on fourth down and the Bears famed defense came through again with a stop on fourth and goal. The Bears went on to win the game.

Much like Notre Dame, the Bears showed that they can compete this year. Many thought that they were not going to make much noise, that the defense couldn't come up big when it mattered. However, on Sunday night in front of a national audience, they did. The Bears showed that they could beat one of the best in the NFC.

With a Green Bay loss, the Bears moved into a first place tie with the Packers. Next up for the Bears is the Lions in Detroit.

Notre Dame 38, Purdue 21

2008-09-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Irish of Notre Dame conqured the Boilermakers of Purdue in South Bend (IN) at Notre Dame Stadium. Jimmy Clausen had a career-high 275 yard passing day for the Irish, leading them to 3-1.

The Irish suprised many people as many thought the Irish looked very bad against the Spartans in East Lansing (MI). Many people thought the Irish would have another off year but I believe that the Irish should have a decent year. They handled Michigan well who, by the way, beat Michigan yesterday. San Diego gave the Irish a testing but the Irish were just getting back to buisness. The Irish obviously had a tough time with MSU but they are a good team and it's hard to play your first road game of the year.

So, the Irish play Stanford next week who they will hopefully do well against and the rest of the season the Irish look to get a bowl win unlike they've been able to do this century.

Penn State 38, Illinois 24

2008-09-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

The Illini fell to Penn St. last night by a score of 38-24. The Illini gave the Lions a game on Saturday Night Football, but Juice and the twenty-second ranked Illini fell to No. 12 PSU.

CUBS CLINCH DIVISION

2008-09-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Cubs are the 2008 N.L. Central Division Champions!

They will play the L.A. Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday, September 31, 2008.

GO CUBS!