Author Archives: Kurt Schwerman

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About Kurt Schwerman

To make it short, I'm a total sports nut. I live and breathe sports and enjoy nothing more than talking about them, as well as going to as many games as I can.

MLB Hall of Fame Voting

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roids_bondsTomorrow, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America (BBWAA) will announce this year’s inductees to the MLB Hall of Fame. Some notable names on the ballot for the first time this year include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Craig Biggio, among others. Some guys on the ballot like Mark McGwire, Jeff Bagwell, and Rafael Palmeiro are hoping to get elected after having already been on the ballot in years past. As you may have noticed, every player I just named except for Craig Biggio has been linked to steroid use at one time or another, and that is what makes this year’s HOF ballot so interesting.

sammy_sosa_before_afterHad they never been accused of using steroids, Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, and Palmeiro would all be first-ballot hall of famers (Bagwell is a bit more questionable, and we will soon find out about Biggio). Bonds has the all-time home run record, Clemens has over 300 wins and is third all-time in strikeouts, Sosa has over 600 home runs, McGwire topped the 500 home run plateau, and Palmeiro has over 500 home runs and more than 3000 hits. For those who are unaware, 300 wins, 500 home runs, and/or 3000 hits used to be 3 of the unofficial requirements to get into the Hall of Fame. However, those players who have been linked to steroids and who have achieved those requirements are by no means assured of getting into the Hall of Fame, as evidenced by McGwire’s and Palmeiro’s history on the ballot.

mcgwire-before-afterToday I was listening to Tim Kurkjian talk about this year’s ballot. Kurkjian is a veteran baseball writer and gets to vote on who is elected to the HOF. He said today that he voted for Bonds and Clemens to get into the Hall of Fame, along with a handful of other guys that I have not mentioned. Needless to say, I was shocked. How could a baseball writer of his caliber and his and knowledge vote for guys who have been linked to steroid use? Also, how can he vote for Bonds and Clemens without voting for Sosa, McGwire, or Palmeiro? Like I said before, they all have Hall of Fame-worthy statistics, so why should only Bonds and Clemens get in? If you’re going to vote for 2 who “deserve” it, then you have to vote for all who have qualifying statistics. His reasoning for voting steroid-users into the HOF was that most players were using steroids during the ’90s and that these guys were the best among those players. He said that you have to look at the circumstances and judge a player based off of those. I couldn’t disagree more.

Cheating is cheating, period. No one should be allowed into the Hall of Fame who cheated in the game of baseball by using steroids or other PED’s. I don’t know how to make it anymore clear-cut than that. Regardless of their statistics, if they cheated, they don’t deserve the Hall of Fame. I realize that of the names I mentioned only Palmeiro and McGwire have been proven to use steroids, but I think most of us know that the others are guilty as well, which is something that no professional sports writers will ever publicly state.

Screen-shot-2012-09-10-at-8.53.34-PMOne last thing, and this if for Major League Baseball. How can these steroid guys be placed on the HOF ballot and the all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, can’t be? (In fact, Rose is banned from baseball for the rest of his life for supposedly betting on games while he was still playing and managing.) Rose never cheated while playing. He never did anything to make himself better besides hard work. Yet he is ineligible to be placed in the Hall of Fame, and these cheaters are not. Just think about that one for a while.

I am really anxious to see what percentage of votes these guys are going to get tomorrow. It takes 75% to be put in the HOF, and I will bet that no one I mentioned (besides Biggio) will get more than 50%. I hope I’m right.

We Have a Season!

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580465_491885590858202_1121775306_nThe NHL and NHLPA came to a tentative agreement this morning to end the NHL lockout. This came after an apparent 16-hour meeting between the two sides. It sounds like the NHL would like to play a 50-game season, but 48 games may be more likely. I had said in my blog yesterday that a 40-game season would be played if the lockout ended, but it appears more games will be played.

Coaches are going to be in full scramble-mode now to try and get their players into good enough shape for a season. Injuries could be a huge factor early in the season after not much of a training camp or preseason. Since this season will be significantly shorter than usual, it will be the teams that start off hot, avoid injuries and losing streaks, and put together winning streaks that end up making the playoffs. Teams that normally don’t make the playoffs will end up making the playoffs this year. Like I already said, it is going to come down to who starts off on the right foot, who has a hot goaltender, and who can avoid injuries.

The regular season this year will be as intense as ever with each game having a more significant impact on who makes the playoffs. It is going to be a sprint to the finish, and a good one at that. I am pumped and can’t wait for the first puck-drop. Finally, we can say there will be hockey.

An NHL Season?

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940-bettman-fehr-8colReports are beginning to surface from different NHL analysts that the NHL and NHLPA are starting to gain some “traction” and that a deal could be agreed upon within the next 24 hours. While I do not want to jump the gun in any way here, this is some encouraging news and has gotten me thinking about a possible NHL season.

I heard the other day on ESPN that if a deal is made and agreed upon within the next week that a 40-game NHL season would begin on January 19. If a deal is made sometime in the next 24 hours like some sources are reporting, that would give players and coaching staffs about 13 days to prepare and get ready for the season. Keep in mind that a number of players are currently playing in Europe, and there are still some free agents on the market who did not sign on with a team prior to the lockout. Nonetheless, it is safe to assume that all teams will be a bit rusty if a season does being on the 19th.

Heading into the lockout, the Blackhawks had not made any significant moves in the off-season to upgrade their roster. They needed/need to be stronger on defense, they need a more reliable goaltender, and they absolutely need an actual number two center. Before the lockout, they signed defensemen Sheldon Brookbank and Michal Rosival in an attempt to add depth on their blue line. However, those were the only moves that they made. If the season were to begin on January 19th, we would be looking at mostly the same roster from last season.

The Hawks finished the 2011-2012 season with 101 points and 6th in the Western Conference. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by a more physical Coyotes team who also had a dominant goalie. While 101 points is by no means bad, this is a Blackhawks team who underachieved for most of last season and in the playoffs. They have the offensive firepower to contend in the West, but their physicality and goaltending are what will hurt them this year just as was the case in last year’s playoffs. Shane Doan, the most notable free agent who did not sign with anyone before the lockout, is the exact player that the Blackawks need. I talked about him a couple of times over the summer, but I will say it again. He is a big physical presence on the ice and is a great leader in the locker room. Last year, he recorded more hits than anyone on the Blackahwks, and he did this as a forward. He has also been the captain of the Phoenix Coyotes for a number of years now. Both of those attributes would provide a huge boost the the Hawks’ roster. Unfortunately, it sounded like he was leaning toward either resigning in Phoenix, or signing in Vancouver before this lockout began. If and when the lockout ends, I don’t anticipate any change in heart by Doan to sign elsewhere.

From the sounds of it, this may be the closest that the NHL and NHLPA have come to agreeing on a new CBA. If a deal is done and done soon, look for a number of teams to make quick transactions in an attempt to bolster their rosters. At the same time, it is entirely possible for some free agents to stay on the market for a week or two into the season before they get signed. Either way, if a season is played (whenever that may be), it will be extremely interesting to see how each team approaches the quick transition from off-season to season. For now, however, all we can do is hope that a deal is made soon.

Bears Fire Smith

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11860458Yesterday morning as we all know by now, the Bears fired their head coach, Lovie Smith. Smith had been the head coach of the Bears for the last 9 seasons (one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL before his firing). In his 9 seasons with the Bears, he led them to 3 division titles, 3 playoff victories, and 1 Super Bowl appearance. His overall record as the Bears head coach was 81-63.

Smith’s firing did not come as much of a surprise to most Bears fans, some of which who had been growing increasingly upset with Smith as the head coach. While there is no question that Lovie is one of the best defensive coaches in the league, it was his teams’ lack of offense that essentially got him fired. Only once in his 9 years with the Bears did their offense finish the season ranked in the teens or better, and that was ’06 when they ranked 16th in the league. This year, the year that they were supposed to have a deadly offense with the additions of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, the Bears finished the season ranked 28th in total offense. That is simply unacceptable. Instead of scoring touchdowns on drives in which the Bears  started inside the opposing team’s 40 yard line, they regularly settled for field goals or were forced to punt.

I heard a statistic on the radio the other day that I found really interesting. Since Lovie took over as head coach of the Bears, he has hired and fired more assistant coaches/coordinators than any other coach in NFL history over a 9-year span. What this tells me is that Smith is obviously bad when it comes to picking out effective assistant coaches and coordinators. Not once in his tenure with the Bears did Smith hire a decent offensive coordinator. Ron Turner was awful, Mike Martz was better (but still bad), and Mike Tice was no better than Martz this year. When you are competing against teams in your division like the Packers and Lions who have good offenses, you cannot afford to continuously end up near the bottom of the league in total offense. That will get you nowhere.

A lot of fans who liked Lovie are saying that a 10-6 season should not have gotten him fired. While a 10-6 record is not a bad record by any means, you have to look at how the Bears started this season, as well as Smith’s history as the Bears head coach.

The Bears started this year 7-1. They were on their way to a top 2 seed in the NFC. Then, they lost 5 of their last 8 games and missed the playoffs. During their 7-1 start to the season, the Bears gained a ton of national attention for their defense and the amount of touchdowns that the defense was scoring. While this was all great for the Bears, it was also covering up their offensive struggles. The defense was putting up points almost every game, and the offense (and fans) became too relied upon that trend. When the defense finally came back down to earth and stopped scoring touchdowns every week, that is exactly when the Bears began losing games with regularity. The offense had zero consistency and had a tough time putting enough points to win games, even though the defense was still keeping them in the games by not allowing many points.

Denver's Mike McCoy.

Denver’s Mike McCoy.

So here we are today waiting to see who will take over as the next head coach of the Bears. Most analysts are saying that the Bears’ GM, Phil Emery, will be looking for an offensive head coach. A few names have been mentioned already as possible candidates. One name that sticks out to me is Mike McCoy, the current offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. The Broncos ranked 2nd in points-scored this year, and 4th in total yards. I personally think he could be the best option when it comes to guys who have never been head coaches. Some other names being tossed around are Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Andy Reid, and Brian Billick. Of those 4, Bill Cowher would be my choice, however I think it is very unlikely that this will happen. Jon Gruden is a good coach, but I don’t see him and Cutler getting along too well. Andy Reid may be the best offensive-minded coach on the market, but it sounds like he is headed to Arizona. Brian Billick coached some teams in Baltimore that were very similar to the Bears that we have seen over the last 9 years, however, Billick took one of his teams to the Super Bowl and won it. I think he could work well with the Bears’ defense, but I don’t think he is the right choice.

It is going to be very interesting to see what the Bears do over the next couple weeks. I am hoping that they sign a more offensive head coach this time around and that they hang on to Rod Marinelli as their D-coordinator. Unfortunately for me, I have no say in what they do.

Reinsdorf doesn’t want All-Star Game in Chicago

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United_Center_InteriorThe last time that the NBA All-Star Game was held in Chicago was 1988 at the old stadium. Since then, the Bulls have won 6 titles, the old Chicago Stadium has been torn down, and the United Center has been built.

The United Center, which opened in 1994, has the second largest capacity in the league, only behind Detroit’s Palace of Auburn Hills. It is also regarded as one of the nicest arenas in all of basketball (or hockey for that matter). Yet, it still has not played host to an All-Star Game in basketball or hockey.

The other day, I was browsing the internet when I came across an article written last February that talks about the Bulls hosting an NBA All-Star Game. Certain teams have hosted the game more than once since the last time the Bulls played host. One of those teams, the Houston Rockets, will be hosting it for a third time this year. In the article, Jerry Reinsdorf (the Bulls owner) explains why the Bulls have not hosted the game in so long.

“They’d have to force me to take the All-Star Game.” That is Jerry Reinsdorf’s stance on this topic. He goes on to say, “They take over the building, your season-ticket holders have to be in a lottery to see if they get tickets and then they don’t get a good ticket. Really, no good can come out of it and all it can do is upset your fans.” Really, Jerry? All it can do is upset Bulls fans? Why would Bulls fans become upset if the Bulls were to host the All-Star Game for the first time in 24 years? Do you really think that watching the league’s best players all play in one game on the court of our favorite team would actually upset us? Come on.

I understand that the season ticket holders might not get to keep their specific seats for the All-Star Game, but that should not keep the game from coming to Chicago! The game will sell out regardless of who is sitting in which seats.

I had to go back and reread Reinsdorf’s comments when I first saw them simply because I could not believe what I was reading. How can an owner have that type of attitude and expect the fans to like him? I just don’t get it. It is a disgrace that no All-Star Game has been played at the United Center yet, and now we know why that is in the case of the Bulls.

Bears head into bye-week at 4-1

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Coming off of two straight dominating performances against the Cowboys and Jaguars, the Bears head into their bye-week this weekend with a record of 4-1 on the year. It took a few games, but the Bears have begun playing like legitimate contenders.

Coming into this season, all the hype surrounding the Bears involved their new “explosive” offense with the additions of Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Michael Bush. While the offense has show some explosiveness through the first 5 games, I believe the real story for the Bears has been the play of their defense.

They were being called “old,” “broken,” “slow,” and so on. If you look at the Bears defensive roster, they are old. Their top four players, Urlacher (34), Peppers (32), Briggs (31), and Tillman (31), are all over the age of 30. Having your top defensive players all that old is not exactly the recipe four success. However, the Bears defense is off to one of its best starts in recent memory. Through the first 5 games, their DEFENSE has scored 5 touchdowns (4 from Tillman and Briggs combined), which is first in the whole league. They also lead the NFL in interceptions, with 13, and takeaways, with 17. Right now, they are playing and executing Lovie Smith’s style of defense perfectly. Odds are that they won’t continue to play at this same pace as the year progresses, but getting off to such a hot start is never a bad thing.

Offensively, the Bears have been pretty streaky. They were miserable against the Packers in Week 2, they somewhat struggled to get going against the Rams Week 3, and they only put up 3 points in the first half this past week against the lowly Jaguars. However, they looked great Week 1 against the Colts, Week 4 against the Cowboys, and during the second half against the Jaguars. Brandon Marshall is playing out of his mind right now, as he is on pace to set the franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season. The rookie, Alshon Jeffery, is showing signs of becoming a promising receiver as he ranks third among all rookies in receiving yards, and is tied for the rookie lead in TD receptions with 2. (Unfortunately, he injured his hand in the game against the Jaguars and could miss a game.) Jay Cutler has had an up and down season, much like the offense as a whole. Matt Forte has looked decent while healthy, and Michael Bush is proving to be the perfect backup to Forte.

The bottom line here is that this may be the best all-around team that the Bears have put together in quite some time. With the Packers and Lions severely struggling right now, the Bears seem to have all the stars aligning. Odds are that Minnesota won’t keep playing the way they have, and if you look at the remainder of the Bears schedule, they really only have 2 tough match-ups remaining; Week 10 at home against the Texans, and Week 11 at the 49ers. Until the Lions and Packers start to look legitimate again, I am not going to count those 3 games as “tough” ones.

Maybe I am just another optimistic Bears fan, but I don’t see the Bears losing more than maybe 2-3 more games the rest of the way. The path to the NFC North Division Championship seems to be as good as it is going to get for the Bears, but the season is still a long way from being over.

White Sox near bottom in attendance

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Let me make this clear… I am a die-hard Cubs fan and always will be. I have never liked the White Sox and never will. Having said that, it still bothers me that the Sox can’t seem to draw fans for the life of themselves.

The Cubs, one of the 3 worst teams in baseball this year, are TENTH in attendance in the MLB. Being in tenth place in attendance is really not that great of an accomplishment for most teams. But when you are as bad as the Cubs are this year, being tenth in attendance is something to be proud of. The White Sox on the other hand, who, oh by the way are battling for their division title right now, are TWENTY-FOURTH in attendance. There is no way to sugar-coat that statistic whatsoever. It is flat out pathetic.

Living in the Chicago suburbs as I do, I often hear some of the reasons as to why Sox fans don’t go to White Sox games. They don’t like battling the traffic to get down there, they don’t like the location of the park seeing as how it’s on the south side (the area around the park is actually very safe nowadays), etc. Actually, some people dislike the Sox’ owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, and the policies that he has put in place at U.S. Cellular Field, which has turned them away from attending games.

Whether it is the traffic that you don’t like, the ballpark’s surrounding area, or the team’s owner, White Sox fans should be putting all of that aside right now and selling out every single home game at this time of year. Your team had been in first place for over half the season, and you didn’t show up! Your attendance is good for twenty-fourth place out of 30 teams. And now, with the regular season coming to an end and the Sox one game out of first, there is not a more important time to sell out every home game. I bet if you ask the players on the White Sox, they would unanimously agree that having a sold-out home stadium really helps them on the field. By not showing up, as has been then case all year, Sox fans are sending the message to the players that they really aren’t interested in the team or what they are doing on the field.

The one thing that prompted me to write this blog today is something that I saw while briefly watching the Sox game last night on TV. Apparently, it was “bring your dog to the park” night at the Cell. Now to me, that is about as low as any team can get in trying to lure fans into the stadium. I mean seriously. You’re in the middle of a heated battle for the division lead, and you have to implement this kind of promotional night to try and get fans to show up? That’s a disgrace.

The Sox are playing their final home series of the regular season this weekend against the Rays. You can bet I’ll be checking the attendance for each game of that series. For the sake of the White Sox players, I hope that some fans do decided to show up this weekend.

Bears Cruise to Victory; Packers Next

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Sorry for the delayed article on last Sunday’s Bears victory, but better late than never!

The expectations heading into this season for the Bears have been higher than ever since the mid 1980’s. I wasn’t around back then, but I would be willing to bet on that last statement. With the additions of Brandon Marshall, Michael Bush, and Alshon Jeffery to their offense, many people have been predicting the Bears to have one of the most potent offenses in the league. Defensively, they are getting older, and Brian Urlacher’s lingering knee problems have had the Bears faithful, myself included, very worried.

It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that the Bears would walk away with a victory against the Colts this past Sunday, and they did by a final score of 41-21. Although the first 2 offensive series’ were dreadful for the Bears, they ended up turning things around and put on a great offensive performance. The reunited tandem of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall put on a show and lived up to the hype as Cutler finished with 333 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was to Marshall. Marshall ended the game with 9 receptions for 119 yards and one TD.  Another pleasant sight for us Bears fans was Matt Forte looking 100%, and Alshon Jeffery coming up with 80 receiving yards and a touchdown.

On defense, the Bears didn’t look like anything “special,” but they were good. Tim Jennings had his best game as a Bear as he made two interceptions and finished with 4 tackles. Brian Urlacher didn’t look bad, but he definitely wasn’t his normal self. He sat most of the second half once the Bears took a commanding lead. Major Wright and Kelvin Hayden tied for the team lead in total tackles with 7 apiece. The defensive line looked decent, but the coverage down-field seemed a little shaky. There were too many times when Colts receivers were being left wide open for big gains. Hopefully that was just a case of some off-season rust that needed to be shaken off.

Looking ahead now, the Bears next game is Thursday night in Green Bay for what should be an epic showdown. The Packers are coming off of a heartbreaking loss at home to the 49ers, while the Bears will be riding high after their win over the Colts. It’s not too often that you can say a Bears-Packers game could be a shootout, but that could very well be the case on Thursday night. Both offenses are loaded with deadly weapons, and the two defenses are going to have a tough time trying to limit the scoring. A couple of things to keep an eye on heading into this game will be the health of Greg Jennings and Charles Tillman. When healthy, these are two of the league’s top players at their respective positions.

My prediction for Thursday night’s game is that the Bears will come away with a victory, and I’ll set my own over/under at 59 points scored. Any other predictions?

Yankees, A’s have same record

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If someone told you that an MLB team with a payroll of $55 million would have the same record as a team with a payroll of $197 million with just 28 games remaining in the regular season, would you believe them? Probably not. But, that is the case currently in the MLB. The Oakland A’s, who have the second lowest payroll in baseball, have the exact same record as the Yankees (76-58), who have the highest payroll in baseball.

This isn’t the first time that the A’s have been able to pull something like this off. Remember the movie “Moneyball” that came out last year? That movie told the story of how the 2002 Oakland A’s were able to compete with the highest paid teams in baseball, regardless of the fact that the A’s had one of the lowest payrolls. It is almost as though we are watching “Moneyball” all over again, but this time it features the 2012 Oakland A’s.

Give credit where credit is due. Billy Beane, the A’s General Manager, always seems to make the most out of what he is given monetarily. The A’s play in one of baseball’s smaller markets, in one of baseball’s worst stadiums (which they share with the  Raiders), and have the second lowest attendance rate in the league. That is a recipe for low income and a low payroll. Yet Billy Beane continues to put competitive teams on the field. He spends his money wisely and is able to sign “under the radar” players to small contracts. On top of that, the A’s continue to bring up quality players from their minor league system who were drafted by Beane.  The bottom line is that Billy Beane is a baseball genius. He is able to pick out the players with the most potential that were passed on by other teams in free agency, sign them to small contracts, and then get them to perform at high levels. It is literally unbelievable how he is able to do this time and time again.

This just proves that spending the most money on players in baseball is not always a guarantee to win the most games. Sure, the best players earn the most money, but that doesn’t always mean that they will make up the best team. Sometimes humbleness, hard work, and the love of the game prove to be the deciding factors in which team comes out on top at the end of the year. What the A’s are doing this year is no fluke, either. They have had even better years than this one earlier in the 2000’s with even lower payrolls.

It’s a shame that the A’s don’t get more attention from the national media. What they are doing and have been doing is something pretty special, and Bille Beane deserves a ton of credit.

 

Top 10 MLB Jerseys

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10. Minnesota Twins

I like the pin stripes on their home jerseys, and the navy blue and red go together very well on both tops.

9. Milwaukee Brewers

The colors are what make these jerseys as good as they are. The font that is used on the front of their jerseys is nothing unique, but it looks good.

8. Baltimore Orioles

A lot of teams have tried to pull off the orange and black look in sports (professional and collegiate), but the O’s own that look.

7. Cincinnati Reds

The thing with the Reds is that their logo has never really changed, and I like it a lot. I also like red and black together even though those are two prominent jersey colors throughout sports.

6. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers’ “D” logo is one of, if not the best, in baseball. It is a true classic logo. Their home jerseys have that old time, classic look to them that I love. The away jerseys aren’t bad either.

5. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are one of the oldest teams in baseball to wear pin stripes. It is a very original, neat, classic look. Their alternate blue jerseys are great as well. The logo on the alternates is one of the better secondary logos in baseball.

4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

I really like the font that they used on their jerseys. The colors are very attention-grabbing. The collars on their jerseys are different than just about every other team in baseball in that they have a trim color.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates

I love yellow and black together. The Pirates have been using those colors ever since day one, and for good reason. Their white home jerseys definitely have a throwback look to them, while their black ones also have a throwback look as well but with a modern logo.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

This is my favorite logo in the MLB. It hasn’t changed since they started using it decades and decades ago. Their color scheme is great as well.

1. New York Yankees

This is possibly the most recognizable logo in sports. Their home whites with the navy blue pin stripes are as classic that a jersey can get. Many players consider it the biggest honor in baseball to put on that jersey.