White Sox Loyalty Outweighs Baseball Common Sense.....

As the Chicago baseball season comes yet to another disappoint close, I feel compelled to express my thoughts (even though it could be old news by now) on the return of Ozzie Guillen. As I stated earlier this year, I thought that if the Chicago White Sox were not to make the postseason that Ozzie Guillen's time as manager of this club had run out. Of course with the news earlier this week we all found out that the meeting of the minds (Kenny/Ozzie/Jerry) had occurred and the decision had been made to stay status quo and have both Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen return in the 2011 baseball season.

While this was met with excitement by many Chicago White Sox fans, I on the other hand was extremely disappointed in my baseball club. For five years now and only one postseason appearance since winning a World Series, the Chicago White Sox have been a disappointment. Year after year of being good but not good enough to make the postseason after reaching the pinnacle of the baseball world in 2005 is frustrating and has taken it's toll on this lifelong White Sox fan.

Jerry Reinsdorf's (who I still consider the best owner in Chicago sports) level of loyalty to his personnel is almost sickening. However as the Chicago White Sox head into the next decade of the new millennium, Sox fans need to ask themselves the question.

"How much longer of mediocre are you willing to take?"

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With Each Bears Win, Lovie One Step Closer To Staying Longer.....

Are you enjoying the Chicago Bears season so far?

How can you not?

But....

There are a select group of fans that watch Chicago Bears football, that are punching themselves in the gut with every "W" (lucky or not) that the Bears put on their 2010 schedule. It is not the media who judged this team from a 2009 season of disappointment and a lackluster (at best) preseason. I have not backed down from my prediction of this Bears team finishing 8-8, but I always hope I am proven wrong by my team. The select group that I am talking about is the Bear fan that roots for change, meaning roots for losses even though their heritage tells them the opposite.

At 3-0 and with every "W" that the Bears put on the board, Lovie Smith is that much closer to a contract extension after the conclusion of the 2010 season.

Feeling like you have been punched yet?

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Has Fantasy Football Killed The Die Hard Fan?

One of the great joys I experience in my job is learning from those that played the game. Every Sunday during Bears football season I get to sit down next to guys who experienced what I am watching in their life at some point. Working the WBBM AM broadcasts of Bears games with Jay Hilgenberg and Jim Schwantz, you also get into some great conversations about how the game has changed since the days when they put on the pads and played the game. The best conversation we get into is about how fantasy football impacts how fans react to certain games especially when it involves your "favorite" team.

For example, tonight as the Packers invade Soilder Field in what has become football's oldest rivalry I find myself at a fork in the road. Do I root for my beloved team who are off to a shocking 2-0 start to the season, or do I root for my own personal gain hoping Aaron Rodgers/Brandon Jackson/Donald Driver light up the Bears defense for points? I am sure (especially tonight) that I am not alone in this situation, but has fantasy football (with the millions of people who play it) ruined what we used to/still do term a "die hard fan"?

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Why Are Bulls/Fans "High" On Noah Over Carmelo Anthony??

I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest basketball fan in the world. I just find the game extremely boring until the last five minutes of the last quarter of the game. Yes, I am your typical bandwagon NBA fan. Sue me!

As a sports fan however, I know that the NBA is a league where you do not rely so much on team play, but on compiling superstars to compete for titles. This past summer we all witnessed the single greatest recruitment job by Pat Riley and Chicago's own Dwayne Wade inking Lebron James and Chris Bosh to multi year deals forming what could be considered (in time) the greatest threesome in NBA history.

Chicago Bulls fans were for the most part were ok missing the LeBron sweepstakes because they knew that the organization had plenty of money under the NBA salary cap to go out and form a better team than the one that took the floor in 2009. New Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and General Manager Gar Forman went out and signed veteran forward Carlos Boozer and 6'7 swingman Kyle Korver among others to form a team which includes only five players from last years roster. The Bulls have had a busy off season to say the least and have been one of the most active teams in the NBA this summer.

Earlier this month rumors began to surface that Denver Nuggets superstar forward Carmelo Anthony was demanding a trade out of Denver with only one year remaining on his contract. One of the rumored teams that Anthony was interested in joining with was indeed our own Chicago Bulls. For the past month sources have said that Carmelo Anthony would be dealt to the Bulls in a deal involving center Joakim Noah, who is (if not the top) a fan favorite at the United Center. For the past couple of weeks, fans have debated back and forth about if they would trade Noah for "Melo".

Honestly I found it shocking how much love Noah was getting from fans/bloggers/columnists/TV personalities for a guy who does very little on the stat sheet but a lot on the court. The latest news today is that the Chicago Bulls are out of the running for the services of Carmelo Anthony with a deal in the works involving the New Jersey Nets among other teams.

Is Joakim Noah really that much of a centerpiece to winning a title?

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Decision 2010: Keep Kenny, Fire Ozzie.....

Reading an article today on ChicagoSports.com by long time veteran baseball scribe Phil Rogers in which he makes a case that White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams is as much to blame for the White Sox struggles as of late. In the article Rogers points out the numerous times Kenny Williams has gone out and traded prospects for veterans and has failed in building a strong (or at least moderately good) farm system. Rogers points out that Williams trading prospects for vets and bungled, ineffective efforts in Latin America have resulted in one of game's weakest farm systems.

While I do agree with Rogers on some points in his article. I believe if you want to put blame on anyone for the failures of the past five seasons as far as building off a World Series title you have to look at the man running the team. For all the money and prospects traded away by Kenny Williams, the fact is he has given Ozzie Guillen the talent to win the American League Central in four of the last five seasons (excluding the 2009 campaign).

If the White Sox need to make some drastic changes to the front office/management of this team, I think you keep Kenny Williams and show the once coined "Blizzard Of Ozz" the door.

Here's why.

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Why Can't I Believe In This Chicago Bears Team Yet??

Remember 2009? Come on, it was not that long ago! In fact the memories of good times and bad times should be as fresh in your mind as anything.

Try to remember being a Chicago Bears fan on this date (September 21st) last year. Can you remember how you felt about your Chicago Bears the day after they beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers? In case you forgot, the beloved won 17-14 on a game winning field goal on the foot of Robbie Gould to move the Bears to a 1-1 record on the young season less than one week after losing their superstar middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. When times seemed tough, the Bears defense held Ben Roethlisberger and Jay Cutler was masterful in the fourth quarter going 9-10 for 92 yards and a touchdown as well as leading the Bears into field goal territory for Gould to seal the win.

All was good in Chicago Bears land. The Bear fans welcomed in the "savior" of the Chicago Bears offense. A true quarterback at the helm led a fourth quarter comeback against the defending Super Bowl champs. The Bears went on to win their next two games to start the year 3-1 headed into the bye and we all know how the season ended winning only four of their next 12 games.

This season is different. The Bears are 2-0 for the first time since the Super Bowl season of 2006, but why am I not jumping on the bandwagon just yet? Do you have this same problem?


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Why The White Sox Need To Move On From Paul Konerko.....

So often in this city we let our emotions overtake common sense, especially when it comes to the teams we love. For example White Sox fans were sad to see the great Aaron Rowand go to Philadelphia not even two months after winning the World Series in a trade for Jim Thome. Blackhawk fans were sadden that Denis Savard was fired four games into the 2008 NHL season and was replaced with a person simply known as "Coach Q." Emotion makes sports important, and what makes sports great but sometimes when we let our emotions get in the way of rational thinking (myself included) it can lead to some horrible decision making.

The Chicago White Sox face numerous decisions this coming off season. Some decisions on personnel, some decisions on management, some decisions that could change the face of the organization as a whole. So many questions need to be answered:

Can Kenny Williams And Ozzie Guillen ever be on the same page again?

Does the White Sox biggest investment recover from an unique injury? (Jake Peavy)

But the biggest question of all is what to do with Paul Konerko with his contract ending at the conclusion of this disappointing 2010 campaign? I hope that the White Sox and the White Sox fans do not let emotion get in the way of what could be the easiest decision they will make this winter.

It's time to move on from Paul Konerko.

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Ines Sainz Latest Example Why Women Shouldn't Be Allowed In Men's Locker Rooms.....

By now you have heard of the incident involving Azteca TV sports "reporter" Ines Sainz and a reported incident involving the New York Jets locker room. According to a report, Sainz was in the locker room waiting to interview quarterback Mark Sanchez when players began making comments about her after having footballs thrown in her direction by a Jets coach earlier in practice. The NFL began a league investigation into the matter and Owner Woody Johnson called Sainz (as well as put out a press release) to apologize to her.

While I believe it is not even debatable that Ms. Sainz is in no way a professional journalist judging from her work at Super Bowls measuring biceps over covering the event. This brings back to an age old question that has been around for over 20 years now. Should women be allowed to enter men's locker rooms in the first place?

This is just the latest example of why women should not be granted that access.

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Bears Win Over Lions Brings Up More Questions Than Answers......

Game #1

Let me run some numbers past the reading public to illustrate how memorable this game truly was. The Chicago Bears had 463 yards of total offense in yesterday's 19-13 win over the Detroit Lions which was the highest offensive output of the NFL day. The Chicago Bears defense held the Detroit Lions to 168 yards of total offense which was second best in the NFL only two yards behind the defensive efforts of the Miami Dolphins holding the Buffalo Bills to 166 yards yesterday. Looking at these stellar numbers you would think that the Bears absolutely dominated the entirety of the game and rolled over their division foe. Yesterday's numbers from this division tilt may have been great for fantasy players, but they do not begin to tell the story of how the Bears BEARLY defeated the Detroit Lions at the lakefront Sunday afternoon.

The saying "a win is a win" does not apply to yesterday's victory or any other victory for the remainder of the season. In fact if you catch yourself saying that phrase, you indeed have some pretty piss poor expectations for this team.

Here's why.

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NFL Will Suffer Losses With A Lockout in 2011....

Last night was a celebration in many ways shared by millions of people of different classes and creeds. Football is back in business for the year 2010. We all celebrated by getting together with our friends watching Taylor Swift and the Dave Matthews Band ring in the new year of America's current favorite professional sport. We all saw the numerous mentions of the rise of New Orleans since a storm leveled the city, and the inspirational story of how a team beloved by the locals won the first Super Bowl in their history. What a truly special evening planned properly by the National Football League.

However before one snap, one pass, one rush or one kick we were all reminded that football could indeed not be around for our consumption this time next year. In one showing of togetherness, a line has officially been drawn with fans and the sport itself. We as fans hope that the NFL learns from the mistakes of pro sports past.

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Top 10 Worst Facial Hair Experiments In Sports History

There are few things that "floor" me anymore. I am extremely blessed to have been given an opportunity to work in the business that I currently do and in my time I have seen a lot of things that have changed my perspective on sports and how sports influence life itself. For example the New Orleans Saints of last year raising the Vince Lombardi Trophy less than five years after a storm washed away the hopes and dreams of that city. I have seen athletes go from face to heels (yes, a wrestling term) and vice versa that I never would have imagined doing so.

This morning watching the replays of Sportscenter.....I was floored again.

I do not know when Chris Berman of ESPN thought it would be a good idea to pull a Paul Blart, but someone up top needs to make this stop as soon as possible.

So in the good spirit of having some fun, here's ten more mistakes made by athletes or personalities with their facial hair.

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White Sox Fans!! Here's Your Dose Of Reality....

Yesterday's 9-1 loss to the hands of another division opponent surely did not help the odds of the Chicago White Sox making the postseason. In fact, for most of this 2010 campaign the White Sox have had to defy the odds to even get back into this pennant chase of the American League Central. This 2010 Chicago White Sox team has taken its fans on a true roller coaster ride this year but I find it amusing at times how some are still holding onto hope of only their second postseason birth since the 2005 World Series title.

I hope the following provides some perspective on exactly why the 2010 Chicago White Sox season will end in another disappointing finish and the questions that must be raised because of such failure on the part of Ozzie Guillen.

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Is Manny The Greatest To Ever Wear A White Sox Uniform?

Who doesn't love a good barstool sports debate?

Now that the hype for Manny-pa-looza is over and we can move on to how Manny will fair in his 30 day trial with the White Sox, it's time to debate where Manny Ramirez fits in White Sox lore. As I was enjoying my daily workout at the YMCA and the picture after picture of Manny popped up on Sportscenter, I got to thinking if he is the greatest player ever to wear the Chicago White Sox jersey. While some may say without question he is not because he has not swung a bat for the White Sox until this afternoon, consider the greats of the game simply to play for the White Sox organization.

There is an extreme difference in debating who is the greatest White Sox of all time, and the greatest ever to wear the uniform. You can thank Curt Flood for starting these types of arguments. However using the argument of greatest players ever to wear the White Sox uniform, is "Manny Being Manny" the greatest of them?

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