Tag Archives: sports

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.

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.

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.

Updated U.S. Cellular Field Critique

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Prior to this past weekend, I hadn’t been to the Cell in almost 10 years or so. During that gap in time, U.S. Cellular Field endured some renovation projects that really did make the park a lot nicer to look at. Before going down to the game this weekend, I didn’t think very highly of the park based on what I had seen when I was there in the past. Now, I have some new and similar opinions compared to the ones that I had before this past weekend.

The outside of the stadium looks pretty cool. I’m not a huge fan of concrete exteriors, but it doesn’t look all that bad on the Cell. Walking up to the stadium from the east you get a cool view of the park from beyond the left field bleachers. You’re also walking over the Dan Ryan expressway at the same time. When you get up to the stadium on the north side of the park, there is a really cool Chicago sports store that sells merchandise for the Sox, Cubs, Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks. I would recommend checking this place out. On the second floor of the store, you can actually have your game ticket scanned and then walk over a bridge (over 35th street) and into the park. The store and stadium are connected by this walkway/bridge.

My seat was in the upper deck for this game. Apparently at U.S. Cellular Field, if your seat is not in the first level, you are not allowed to walk around the park on the main level. You are restricted to whichever level your seat is on. If you have read any of my past write-ups on MLB stadiums, you know by now that one of my favorite things to do is walk around each park that I go to. Well, since I was restricted this past weekend to only the upper level of the park, I couldn’t walk around the whole stadium. This really hacked me off. No other park in baseball that I have been to (17 of them) has had this “rule.” So since I wasn’t able to walk around the lower level of the park, I got a good look at the upper level concourse.

The concourse on the upper level was actually pretty spacious, considering the stadium was built in 1991. The playing field is not visible while walking around the concourse, but that’s the way that every upper deck in baseball is. Along the field-side of the concourse, the wall was lined with old pictures from the White Sox’ history. This was a nice touch and provided something interesting to look at/read while walking along the concourse. The food seemed to be pretty decent. I had a pulled pork sandwich, which wasn’t great nor bad.

The playing field itself is not the most attractive in baseball, but it’s not terrible either. When the park was first built, the big “wall” behind the outfield stands used to be made up of white pillars. Since the renovations were done on the park, those pillars holding up the advertisements have now been painted black, which looks a lot better than the white did. The original seats that were put into the park were blue, but have since been switched to a dark green color. Again, the dark green looks a lot better than the blue. Also, a small deck/patio area was built above and behind the left field bleachers during renovations. They call it the “Fundamentals” area where kids can get some quick baseball tips and lessons I believe. Don’t quote me on that. The scoreboard in dead center field is nothing great. They carried over from the old Comiskey Park the lollipop-looking circles that sit atop the scoreboard. Aside from that, there’s nothing too interesting about it. The screen on the scoreboard that shows replays and videos is pretty small in comparison to other parks. This screen also provides statistics about each player during the game, and give the score of the game obviously. Behind the right field bleachers is another screen that gives more statistics as well as the batting order for each team. Just beyond the center field wall there is a black platform that is covered in green ivy which looks pretty nice. It acts as the batter’s eye.

Going back outside the park, the surrounding area is a lot nicer and safer than what it used to be. There is about a 3-4 block perimeter surrounding the park that has been nicely redone and is now much safer to walk around than it used to be. Just don’t stray too far outside that area…

That’s pretty much all I can write about regarding this park for now. Maybe in the future I’ll get to access the lower level. Even with the renovations, however, I am not ranking this park any higher than I previously had it.

For my other MLB stadium rankings, click here.

Stay optimistic about the Cubs’ future

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While this has not been a good year for the Cubs in terms of their record, there is no reason to believe that things won’t change in the next few years or so. Just look at Anthony Rizzo.

Prior to being called up to the big leagues this season, Anthony Rizzo was being called “the next Babe Ruth,” “a future Hall of Famer,” “the second coming,” and so on. I’m not saying that he didn’t deserve those praises, but those are some tough expectations to try and live up to. As tough as it is to succeed at the Major League level, Anthony Rizzo is doing just that. In the 29 games since being called up, Rizzo is hitting .321, with 8 home runs and 20 RBI, including this past Sunday’s walk-off home run against the Cardinals. Not many players could have lived up to the hype that surrounded Anthony Rizzo prior to his Cubs debut, but Rizzo has done that and more.

Aside from Rizzo, the Cubs have guys like Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney already producing at the Major League level. In the minor leagues they have players such as Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, Jorge Soler (a recently signed Cuban outfielder), and Albert Almora (their number 1 pick in this year’s draft). While those guys still have yet to prove themselves at the Major League level, their futures look pretty bright.

Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein went into this season’s trade deadline with a sole purpose of acquiring young talent, especially in the form of pitchers. Monday night, Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm were dealt to the Atlanta Braves for 2 minor league pitchers, one of which was rated the Braves number 3 prospect last season. Also on Monday night, they traded Geovany Soto to the Texas Rangers for another young pitcher. Today, Ryan Dempster was traded to the Rangers as well, but the details involving the trade have not fully come out yet.

As I have stated before in previous blogs, I have total confidence in Epstein and Hoyer. They know what they are doing when they trade for, sign, and develop young prospects. Just look at what they did in Boston if you need proof. Odds are that the Cubs will not be too good next season, or the next season, or maybe even the next season. But if you give Epstein and Hoyer time, there is no reason to believe that they won’t fulfill their promise of putting a winning team on the field. In the mean time, we can all sit back and watch the whole future develop right before our eyes in players such as Rizzo and Castro.

Stay optimistic Cubs fans.

Now what for the Blackhawks?

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Today was a huge day in the hockey world. Both Ryan Suter AND Zach Parise signed huge contacts with the Minnesota Wild. Each contract is for 13 years at approximately $98 million apiece. Prior to today, the Blackhawks had been linked to both Suter and Parise as a potential destination. Unfortunately for us Hawks fans, that obviously didn’t happen. So the question now becomes, what should the Hawks do next?

It was no secret that the Hawks wanted to improve their defense this offseason. They made a strong push for Ryan Suter, but that did not pan out. The next best available free agent defenseman is Matt Carle, who played his last 4 seasons in Philadelphia. It would be huge if the Hawks could bring him into the organization, however it does not appear that will happen. After Carle, the caliber of free agent defenseman remaining really weakens. My guess is that if the Hawks do add another defenseman, it will be through a trade.

Aside from defenseman, the two biggest free agent forwards remaining are Shane Doan and Alex Semin. Shane Doan has been the captain of the Phoenix Coyotes for a number of years now (I don’t know the exact number). He has averaged in the mid 50’s for points throughout his 16-year career, tallying 50 last season. Despite his age (35), he still has a lot to offer. He is a born leader and a positive influence on and off the ice. Aside from his ability to lead and tally points, Doan is a physical presence on the ice. Last season, he registered 205 hits. The hit leader for the Blackhawks, Brent Seabrook, had 198. If the Hawks can sign Doan, they will be adding both an offensive and physical player to their lineup, both of which would really strengthen their team.

Alex Semin is one of the most talented players in the NHL. He has the ability to score 40 goals in a season, as he did just a couple of years ago. The drawback with Semin is his attitude/personality. Apparently, he is not the greatest teammate in the league, nor is he the best player to coach. With the Hawks having had some friction in the locker room and amongst the coaching staff the past couple of years, they really don’t want to bring in a possible problem-maker in Semin. However, if they could find a way to make it work with Semin, he would be a huge addition to the Hawks’ roster.

Unfortunately, neither Doan nor Semin are centers. Arguably the Hawks biggest need is a number 2 center. There are a handful of free agent centers still available, but none of them are standouts. If the Hawks are going to add a good center to their roster, it will most likely be through a trade. I don’t know who they might try and trade for, but my guess is that they will attempt to trade for a number 2 center.

As for Rick Nash, the only way the Hawks will get him is by trading Kane, and I doubt that will happen. They are more likely to sign Doan or Semin than they are to acquire Rick Nash.

According to hockeybuzz.com, the Hawks have shown some interest in goaltender Jonathan Bernier of the L.A. Kings. This is something to keep your eye on moving forward. Although it is unlikely, the Hawks would like to upgrade at goalie.

Clearly, it is not easy to predict what might happen in the near future for the Hawks, but there is nothing wrong with speculating.

Thanks for reading.

Interesting Rumor day for the Blackhawks

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When I went to bed last night (Sunday), I was under the impression that it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Zach Parise would be signing with the Penguins today. I also thought that the Hawks were no longer in contention to sign Ryan Suter, and that they had a much better chance of inking Martin Brodeur. Well today flipped my world, and I am sure many others’, upside down.

I woke up this morning only to find out that Brodeur had re-signed with the Devils for 2 years. At this point, I had lost all hope that the Hawks would be making any big moves this summer.

Later in the morning, Hockeybuzz.com began reporting that the Blackhawks had emerged as major contenders to sign Zach Parise. This seemingly came out of NOWHERE to me. A little while after that, the same website reported that the Blackhawks were again definitely “in” on Ryan Suter. So now, in just a few short hours, all of my thoughts and opinions on this whole free agent situation had completely changed.

As of this moment, according to many sources on Twitter and Hockeybuzz.com, the Blackhawks are still in the running for both Suter and Parise. Parise came out earlier this evening and said he wants to talk with his family before making a decision as to where he will sign. It sounds like we won’t know that decision until sometime tomorrow, but who knows…

Ryan Suter’s decision could come at any moment it would appear. I wouldn’t be surprised if he waited until tomorrow, at the earliest, to make his decision based on the way things have been going the past 36 hours.

Odds are that the Hawks won’t sign both players. That would require way more money than they have to offer. If they are able to sign one of the two, it would greatly improve their team. Parise would add yet another lethal, offensive threat to their lineup, while Suter would provide some much needed defense and offense to their blue line.

I would recommend checking out Hockeybuzz.com to get the latest information regarding Parise, Suter, and other free agents in the NHL.

I’ll be crossing my fingers that Parise and/or Suter will be a Blackhawk by the time this is all said and done with.

Blackhawks Update

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With NHL draft now behind us, we can really start to speculate as to what types of moves the Blackhawks will be making this summer. Whether they make trades, sign free agents, or do both (most likely), one thing is for sure. The Hawks will begin next season with some new names on their roster.

About a month or so ago, there were rumors going around that the Hawks would be looking to trade away Dave Bolland and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The reasoning for these proposed moves was that the Blackhawks felt Kruger could take Bolland’s spot as a shut-down center, and trading away both of those salaries would free up a lot of cap space to sign top free agents. As of right now, I am not hearing any rumors involving a Dave Bolland trade. Whether or not it stays that way, only time will tell. As for the possibility of Niklas Hjalmarsson departing via a trade, that remains very true.

Just about everywhere I have looked regarding a trade involving Hjalmarsson has indicated that the Blackhawks are aggressively looking to trade him for most likely a center who can win face-offs. As we all know, the Blackhawks were not very good at winning their draws last year, with the exception of Jonathan Toews. One rumor I saw stated that the Hawks were talking with the Ottawa Senators about a trade that would send Hjalmarsson to Ottawa in exchange for Zack Smith. Smith is a 24 year old center who has won over 50% of his face-offs throughout his career. This trade makes sense for both teams in that Ottawa needs a defensive-defenseman like Hjalmarsson, and the Hawks need a center who can consistently win face-offs. I heard about this trade about a week or so ago, but I have not heard anything more about it. The only thing that do know for sure is that Hjalmarsson is very much so still on the trade block.

After the Hawks resigned Johnny Oduya for $3.5 million, it sure looked like they wouldn’t be in on trying to sign Ryan Suter this summer. However, that was before all of the Niklas Hjalmarsson rumors began to appear. If the Hawks do end up trading Hjalmarsson before July 1 (the day free agency opens), they will for sure be in on the “Suter Sweepstakes.” If they do not trade him before July 1, then don’t expect them to trade him at all. The only reason they would trade “Hammer” would be to free up a roster spot and cap space for Ryan Suter. Otherwise, it would make no sense to trade away their best shot-blocker. If the Blackhawks do find the right deal that would send Hjalmarsson elsewhere to allow themselves to bid on Suter, I would be all for it. Ryan Suter is exactly what the Blackhawks need. He is a superior defensive-defenseman, as well as a superior offensive-defenseman. It’s no secret that the Hawks want a lot more production out of their powerplay next season, and Ryan Suter would greatly help in that area. But again, unless Hjalmarsson gets traded between now and Sunday, don’t expect him to get traded at all, or for the Hawks to go after Suter.

As for Patrick Kane…..I don’t think he’ll be traded. The only elite winger that is being shopped by their current team is Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets. While I do see some upsides to trading Kane for Nash, I don’t think it will happen. The biggest reason is the fact that the Blue Jackets’ asking price for Nash seems to be too high for just about every team in the NHL. They want more than just a Patrick Kane-type player in return, and that “more” is something that the Hawks and most other teams are unwilling to give up. So if you want my opinion, don’t read too much into those rumors.

Neither Zach Parise nor Roberto Luongo will be playing for the Hawks next year, so forget about that.

Other than that, I don’t have much else to say. The one guy that I really felt would fit the Hawks perfectly was Jarret Stoll. He is a center for the Kings who wins the majority of his draws and is not afraid to throw his body around, not to mention his offensive skills. He played a huge roll for the Kings these playoffs. He could have chosen to enter free agency this summer, but instead he re-signed with L.A. for less money than he could have gotten somewhere else.

Keep your eyes and ears open here in the next week. If they Hawks are going to do anything significant, it will happen between now and Sunday.

Thanks for reading.

Target Field

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Check back here sometime next week for my review of Target Field.

Ryan Suter to the Blackhawks?

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I’ve been wondering about the possibility of this happening ever since the beginning of this season. Could Ryan Suter really sign with the Blackhawks this summer?

Believe it or not, there is a chance that the unrestricted free agent could be a Hawk next season. After reading up on this topic online multiple times, and watching NHL analysts on TV talk about where Suter might land, here is what I have learned about the Hawks’ possibility of signing him:

  • One of the big factors that will play into Suter’s decision as to where he will sign this summer is his family. He wants to play for an NHL team that is close to his hometown of Madison, WI, so that he can be near his family. Well, guess what? The closest NHL arena to Madison is located on West Madison Street in Chicago (irony?).
  • His uncle, Gary Suter, spent a number of seasons with the Blackhawks and still has a good relationship with the team. Ryan Suter grew up a Hawks fan because of this as well.
  • The Blackhawks have a solid, core group of young players (that have already won a Cup), which is appealing to any free agent. With the addition of Suter, they would have 3 defenseman who could be considered a number 1 defenseman on most teams. While this might seem like a turnoff to a star player like Suter who most likely wants to be “the guy” wherever he goes, it could also increase his desire to come to Chicago. His minutes would be slightly decreased, but that would help to prolong his career. The amount of pressure on Suter to perform at a Norris Trophy-type level would be reduced as well. Also, with 3 top defenseman of Keith, Seabrook, and Suter, the Hawks would instantly become a better team.
  • Suter will be demanding a large amount of money with his new contract. Most likely, he’ll end up getting anywhere from 6-8 million wherever he signs. A lot of teams have the money to sign him, but only a couple of them are on his “list.” If Nicklas Lidstrom decides to hang up the skates this summer, Detroit will be looking to fill his place with a top end defenseman. Were this to happen, the Wings would have that much more money to go out and spend since they would no longer have Lidstrom’s contract. They could spend it on Suter, or they can use it to resign key players such as Datsyuk, Franzen, and Zetterberg in the future. That’s a tough decision for them to have to make. As for the Hawks, if they do not resign Oduya and decide to trade away someone like Bolland or Hjalmarsson, they would have more than enough money to sign Suter.

It definitely seems possible that Ryan Suter could be calling Chicago his new home come training camp. While I still wouldn’t give it the best odds, this is something that Blackhawks fans should pay attention to. The Hawks have a lot of decisions to make this off-season. Will they trade some key players to free up cap space, which they would then use on free agents? Will they stay put and try to get better by developing their prospects? These are questions that only time will answer. Hopefully, time will provide us with an answer that pleases us all. But that’s a lot to ask for, right?