Blackhawks' Controversial Cover

It is a rare day when hockey graces the cover of Sports Illustrated. 

It's a rare day when hockey makes national news at all, for that matter.

So why did hockey fans flip their sticks when the Blackhawks photo made the front page? 

The cover displays a photo of the team sharing a victory hug on the ice, and reads "The Franchise That Brought Hockey Back: Three months ago the NHL was all but dead; them came the Blackhawks' magical run which not only made the game matter again but made it must-see." 

The story is referring to the Blackhaws' record-breaking point streak, going an amazing 24 games without a regulation loss.

Their story has been gaining attention in all areas of the country, Lebron James even gave them a shoutout on Twitter.

Some hockey fans, however, are all riled up because they don't believe hockey was dead, or in need of saving.

The big controversy sounds to me like pure jealousy. Oh well, the only thing that matters is that Chicago fans, and apparently Lebron, know how much the Blackhawks deserve this cover.

Rose's Return

So obviously Derrick Rose coming back has been a popular topic throughout the NBA. The lager picture is if he should come back or not. With the 2013 NBA playoffs right around the corner, is it a wise decision for him to come back now? Rose has been out since last April when he tore his ACL during the last few minutes of the first playoff game. Last week was the first time this season we even saw Rose on the bench. Many are wondering if he would be a good asset to the team or if he should just sit out since he's been out all season. No doubt he's a very talented player and all of us Bulls fans are missing our MVP but now there is another delay on his return due to his hamstring bothering him. It's one thing after the next... Can the Bulls really afford to take a chance by playing him? The Bulls are currently 35-28 and barely holding on to the fifth seed. Hopefully they decide soon because I know many are looking forward to see our Bulls win it all.

The Loss

The Loss

Brian Tabick

3/11/13

It has been a bad weekend for Chicago sport fans.  All of our teams  ended the seeking losing. Even the Blackhawks who seemed unbeatable.

But Chicago fans should be use to this by now… After all, Chicago is the city that coined the phrase, "What until next year."

We have a team that hasn't won a championship since the early 20th century.  And yet people still have hope that one of these  years they will miraculously win one.

The Bulls have looked good the past couple of years.  Even making the playoffs multiple times.  But yet still have not been able to win a Championship since the Jordan Era.  this year they look like they have a chance to make the playoffs again. Fans don't see them doing anything even with a playoff birth though.

Another team that disappoints comes from the South side.  Sure, they won a World Series in 2005, but after that what have they done?  Last year they spent a good majority of the season in first place.  Only to allow the Tigers to sneak past them in September.

The Bears too have been a little bit of a disappointment to fans.  They have had one of the best defenses in football for several years in a row.  Yet their "O" line is not being worked on to give Cuttler some protection.

So, even though the Hawks lost two games in a row, and the "Hawk Haters" came out on Facebook,  They are still the best team in hockey.  There is no reason to not be excited with the way that they have been playing. They don't show up for a week and still have the best record in hockey.   And they are still undefeated at home.  So why is there no reason to still be rooting for them? As a Chicago sports fan I'm just excited to see one of our teams doing well.

And if they don't win at least we always have next year... and the year after.

Cubs Want Wrigley Field To Be More Kid-Friendly

We all know that the Cubs are looking to make changes at Wrigley Field. 

They're actually looking at a $300 million renovation project that would change Wrigley significantly and upgrade its stadium.

In fact, according to Cubs senior marketing director Alison Miller, they're looking to make Wrigley more kid friendly. 

"We've done a couple things just with trying to get better research on our fans, and just being smarter about what our fans want," she said. "We've done a lot of focus groups in the last couple of months"(Chicago Tribune).

So what exactly are they thinking about bringing to Wrigley? Winning secrets? Winning players? How to break the curse?

Wait for it....

They want to have "batting cages, radar gun zones, kids apps for smartphones and tablets, a kids section, a new Cubs song and interaction with a mascot"(Chicago Tribune).

Um...

First of all, there's about 100 things that's wrong with that. I get it. It's nice to make a stadium kid friendly and all but let's be honest -- it's not a daycare. I understand having family days at Wrigley and having events that cater to children and their families...but renovating Wrigley to add batting cages, radar gun zones and buying iPads?! Can't we find better places to spend that money?

If you ask me, what they should be trying to change is their losing record -- but hey, that's an argument for another day.

No Luck for Chicago

The sports gods were not rooting in favor of Chicago this week. The Blackhawks' record breaking winning streak turned into a losing streak. Fans were devastated when the superstar team lost two consecutive games within just three days.
On Friday they were slaughtered 6-2 by the Colorado Avalanche. Sunday's game against the Edmonton Oilers was less embarrassing with a final score of 6-5, but was still an upsetting loss.
The Oilers scored four goals within the first period alone, marking the worst start for the Blackhawks this season. The Hawks fought for a comeback in the second period, and managed to get in five goals. In the end it just wasn't enough.
Luck was not in favor of the Bulls on Sunday night, either. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers with a final score of 90-81. Rose was on the court for warm-ups, but is still out for the games.
Hopefully with St. Patty's day right around the corner we can start getting a little Chi-rish luck on our side.

Hooters, stick to your wings!

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This year at spring training, the Hooters girls are not doing a very good job as stand-ins for ball boys and ball girls. 

Today marks the second time this week that a ball was interrupted while in play at Bright House field, where the Philidelphia Phillies play their spring games.

A pretty blonde donning the signature "hot shorts" can be seen on TV picking up the ball and showing it to the crowd before handing if off to a young fan.

It's not until moments later that she realizes her mistake and trucks back to her seat with her glove over her face. 

At least it's only spring training! Good thing the players and fans can laugh it off when there is a pretty girl on the field. Let’s keep them off the field when the season really starts, otherwise we may see some catfights.

If the MLB needs some new ball girls this season, tell them to call me!

Columbia's Renegades

Columbia College Chicago is among the top arts and media institutions in the country. Students come to Columbia from all over the world for its intimate and hands on learning experience. Although, the school was founded with creative students in mind, it hasn’t forgotten about the athletes. Some students fail to realize that they don’t have to compromise their love of sports to attend the college. Ten years ago the corky arts school created an athletic department. The student run department is called The Renegades. They offer sports like baseball, volleyball, soccer and basketball. Most of the sports are intermural but they have a pretty competitive club division.

“The students compete, they take it very serious,” said Renegade President Abby Cress.

Participating students take their hard work serious but some of their peers are not so sure.

“I didn’t even know we had a sports team. I knew we had a gym. But, I mean…. It’s Columbia. Sports don’t even match,” said Ashley Robinson, 21, a journalism student at the school.

It’s that attitude that president Abby Cress wants to get rid of. Cress says that students should “really want to participate” in the activities offered by the school since they’re already paying for it anyway. The Student Activity Fee (SAF) is included in Columbia student’s tuition so it will behoove students to take full advantage of the opportunity.

The Renegades have gotten much more visible over the years. Their last volleyball game brought in over 30 participants. The department says they plan on spreading the word through posters and social media promotion. 

Dwight Howard, the Laker

What does Dwight Howard have in common with former great Laker Centers, like Mikan, Wilt, Kareem and Shaq?  

Only one thing; Howard plays the same position as them. 

Instead of dominating the league, Howard and the Lakers are barely battling for the eight-seed in the Western Conference. How is this possible? 

The reason it's possible is because one part of the duo is not anywhere close to being a 100 percent healthy. Howard is coming off back surgery last year and he is still recovering. Not to mention he's playing with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The same injury that ended New Orleans Hornets power-forward Jason Smith's season. 

         Fans look at Howard as Superman. They see him as this unstoppable force that dominates the game on both ends of the floor. Well, even Superman had a weakness and that was Kryptonite. The injuries are Howard's Kryptonite, or maybe it's the drama surrounding him in Lakers uniform. The drama of no one, including him, knows where he's going this summer as a Free Agent. 

What's Los Angeles without the drama, right? There are plenty of cases to be made as to why Howard and the Lakers aren’t dominating the NBA.

It could be that teammates Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol don’t mesh well with Howard. Or maybe it’s the coaching of Mike D’antoni and his run-n-gun offense doesn’t suit Howard. It could be the rash of injuries, including Nash, Gasol and backup Center Jordan Hill, have suffered through this season.

There are a lot of issues with the Lakers, but as of late it seems they have turned the corner. Howard and the Lakers have figured it out over the past 22 games. Lakers have won 16 of their last 22 games after starting the season 17-25.

With NBA Playoffs slowly creeping up, so are the Lakers. They’re now in the eight-seed, but they’re only two games out of the sixth-seed in the West.

The last thing the Western Conference favorites, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers, want is to have to face a healthy Lakers team in the first round.

Come Playoff time, Bryant and Howard might do what the young Bryant and O’Neal did for the Lakers. Win the championship.

The Lakers are back so watch out NBA!