Monday Chicago Sports Outcomes

The Bulls rollercoaster season continued tonight, with a loss to the Dever Nuggets. What seemed like a good basket in over time was called off my the referees for offensive goaltending.

Marco Belinelli tossed a baseline shot to the basket with 1.7 seconds left in over time. The Nuggets were up 119-118. Joakim Noah saw the ball coming in short and tipped the ball into the hoop. What seemed like the game winning field goal, was disallowed after review by the referees.

Tom Thibodeau's head looked like it was going to blow up. This makes for the 7th Bulls loss in the last 11 games.

While the Bulls weren't doing so hot, the other guys who call the United Center home, were making Chicago fans proud.

The Chicago Blackhawks faced the Colorado Avalanche this evening. Blackhawks were looking for revenge after giving their first loss of the season to the Avalanche earlier this month.

The Blackhawks got off to a hot start scoring two goals in the first five minutes and it was smooth sailing from there.

The Blackhawks now 24-2-3, show no signs of slowing down after their 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Colorado.

The Blackhawks face the second-place Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night. This will be the biggest game of the season.

The Bulls next match-up is Thursday against the Portland Trailblazers.

Baltimore Ravens May Not Host NFL Kickoff Because Of The Baltimore Orioles

It's been a tradition since 2004 for Super Bowl-winning teams to host NFL's Thursday night season opener. But unfortunately for the 2012 champs, the Baltimore Ravens, they may not get that chance...no thanks to the Baltimore Orioles. 

The Orioles have a 7:05 p.m. game against the Chicago White Sox and because the two teams share a parking lot, both teams playing at the same time is impossible.

The Ravens have reached out and have tried to compromise with the Orioles and have even suggested playing a football-baseball double header. 

The Ravens President Dick Cass reached out to fans on Twitter and said, "We have had discussions with representatives of the Orioles and we have offered to make them financially whole. We've left it there. Now the commissioner [Goodell] is trying to find if he can find a solution"(Twitter). 

The NFL has moved games to Wednesday nights in the past with last year's Democratic National Convention, but Goodell says that moving it to a Wednesday this year is not an option with the Rosh Hashanah holiday falling on the same day. If the Orioles won't work with the Ravens, the Super Bowl-winning team will have no choice but to have a starting game on the road. 

The Orioles and the Ravens have certainly found themselves in a pickle, but it's actually funny that it's gotten to this point. The MLB over the NFL? In what country does that make sense? Not this one.

The Orioles need to remember what kind of baseball team they used to be before their one successful season in 2012. Let's not forget that this is the same team that has consistently lost 93 games each season since 2006. They have one successful season last year and now they're being divas? 

Listen up Orioles, you're lucky the Ravens, let alone the media, are even giving you the time of day. You can have your spotlight when you can beat the Yankees and win the division. Until then, let's give the real winners the night they deserve.

Mistakes Cost Games

I was 13 and in sixth grade when my dad last coached me in baseball.  I can remember a time very vividly.  My team was in first place the whole season.  We had only lost  a total of two games all year long.  We were in our last game before the playoffs started and losing to the fourth place team.  I was standing on second base with only one out.  The batter at the time hit a high ball into the outfield.  With no hesitation I took off for third.  I remember my dad yelling, "Go Back, Go Back", but it was too late.

My dad made me run around the outside of the field for 5 laps to ensure that I never made that mistake again.  I can only hope the Puerto Rico Coach made Maldonado run a few extra laps for his base running error against the Dominican Republic.  In a one nothing ball game I can understand a player doing this in regular season play.  You do need to make up that one run.  But it is unacceptable when the game was as big as this one was.  Every player on the PR baseball is an offensive threat.

Dumb mistakes cost games. This running error is something expected of little league players. I think Puerto Rico is lucky to still be playing after losing that game and having to go against a strong team USA again.  PR is now going to go up against the winner between DR and the Netherlands.  And if they don't figure out how to run the bases like professional baseball player, they will be beat.  By either team.

My team ended up losing that game and still finishing the season in first place.  So my running mistake did not cost our team any great amount.  But I never made a running error like that again.  And I can only hope Maldonado will do the same.  

Lets go Puerto Rico!

Nick Diaz disrespects GSP

The week before the big UFC welterweight championship fight, the media interviewed both contenders. When Georges St. Pierre (GSP) was asked his thoughts on the fight, he said how Nick Diaz was a good fighter and how he was going to be a tough person to fight. He was giving Nick compliments, and out of nowhere Nick decided to be his own ill-mannered, disrespectful, un-classy individual that he is. He started talking smack about how he was going to crush Pierre. Pierre laughed and said, "You really think I'm scared of you man, are you crazy in your head?" It was a bad move on Diaz to talk down to arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He portrayed himself as the enemy, instead of a good sportsmanship fighter. They didn't even pound gloves before the fight. It was on a personal level. Diaz talked all that smack only to get demolished for five rounds. Then, after all the hype was over...Diaz announced his retirement. GSP remained humble after maintaining his title. He still also gave respect to Nick Diaz after he won even though he didn't do the same. If Diaz won it would of been bad for the UFC.

March Madness

It's March and that means millions of NCAA Tournament brackets are being filled out. Every fan hopes their school wins the championship and their bracket is as perfect as possible so they can cash in at the end. 

People will fill out only one and others will fill out dozens, but it doesn't matter how many you fill out because predicting a perfect bracket is almost impossible. According to TurboTax, you've got a one in 35.36 billion chance of filling out a perfect bracket. So, don't get mad when the 12-seed beats the five-seed you've got advancing. 

There is one fact that's still true about the NCAA Tournament. There has never been a 16-seed that's beaten a one-seed, but is this the year it'll happen? Odds are no, because it hasn’t happened, but then again never say never. 

The fanatics want buzzer-beaters, they want big upsets, but when the team they had winning the championship gets upset, well then they’re unpleasant to be around.  They are ripping their brackets into pieces as they yell out every possible curse word, and swearing they won't watch another game. They have a serious case of March Madness. 

Just remember one thing.

You can’t possibly be madder than the coaches, players and staff members who get upset by a lower seed.

This is still about college teams trying to win a national title, but what happens along the way no one can truly predict. That’s the beauty of it and that’s why everyone watches.

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.