Tuesday, August 31, 2010

ESPN's Handling Of Jay Mariotti Incident Lacks Professionalism...



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Who weeps for Jay Mariotti?

The longtime scribe of the Chicago Suntimes and current ESPN panelist on "Around The Horn" as well as his work now on AOL's Fanhouse.com was arrested on August 21st following an alleged domestic incident with his girlfriend at their Venice, CA apartment.


Known for his brash and outspoken views on everything from Ozzie Guillen to women's table tennis, Mariotti drew the ire of everyone from sports fans to athletes to owners to other members of the sports media. I have never met Mariotti although did have some small contact with him in booking him as a guest on random talk shows on WSCR 670AM. Like you I merely was a reader of his work at the Chicago Suntimes and occasionally Fanhouse.Com.

Yesterday I was outraged watching a video that was posted at thebiglead.com where the topic of the reaction to Mariotti's incident was brought up for discussion on the panel. Why did ESPN feel the need to bring up this topic with their own employees on a national stage?


CLICK HERE TO READ MORE....

Monday, August 30, 2010

Memo To Lovie Smith: Play The Bears Offense For One Half On Thursday....



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Merriam-Webster Online lists 15 synonyms for the word "ugly." They include grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, monstrous, unappealing, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly, and vile. You could use any of these words to describe what many call the most important pre-season game for the Chicago Bears which occurred Saturday evening on the lakefront against the Arizona Cardinals.

Now between Julius Peppers calling pre-season games "scrimmages with scoreboards" and Lovie Smith in Saturday's postgame saying game #3 was "a glorified practice", someone needs to let the folks up at Halas Hall that the season starts in less than two weeks. Pre-season football is supposed to be the time where the kinks are worked out for the regular season, but so far NOT so good as this Bears team continues to show old holes and new problems.

Simply put, Lovie Smith needs to play the first team offense for an entire half on Thursday night.

NO IF'S...AND'S....or BUT'S.


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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Manny Ramirez To White Sox Makes Little Sense....



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Welcome to the final hours of Kenny Williams search to prove a point to Ozzie Guillen.

The search for the power bat that the White Sox have desperately needed all season long at the designated hitter position could almost be over as the White Sox are the odds on favorite to land Manny Ramirez if he indeed clears waivers. A 38 year old Manny Ramirez who is batting .313 with eight home runs and 40 runs batted in playing in only 60 games this season. Simply put, this is not "Manny being Manny" of his Boston days and it's not Manny Ramirez of the American League Champion Cleveland Indians days.

This is the Manny Ramirez who was suspended 50 games by MLB for use of a performance enhancing drug, and one who LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke called "a selfish knucklehead of a human being."

Do the White Sox really need Manny-Wood to come to the south side?

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Time For Ozzie Guillen And Kenny Williams To Bury The Hatchet



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Enough is Enough!

Cut The Crap!

Speak The Truth!


Since this past spring training the topic that has dominated the airwaves and print/online media about the Chicago White Sox was the growing feud within the organization between Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams.


In the last eight months alone, we've seen the inner workings of a male soap opera that rivals any that the WWE has ever put out. On one side you have an ego driven general manager who prefers silence when it comes to business but cannot stray away from a camera if it's near. On the other side you have a loudmouth brazen and extremely cocky manager who may be able to control a baseball team but not the comments of his own son.

This soap opera has once again reared it's ugly head into the limelight of what is a compelling division race in the AL Central, and this White Sox fan is sick of it. It's time to bury the hatchet Ozzie and Kenny, time to sack up and expose what all the fuss is about.

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Friday, August 13, 2010

Should Cubs Fans Support The White Sox Down The Stretch?

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Here is another reason why I am such a fan of Twitter. While watching the White Sox fall for the second time in three days to their arch rival with my wife who was more concerned with updating her facebook status,

I got into a real interesting conversation on the social network involving my 613 followers and one Joe Cowley of the Chicago Suntimes. The debate was about the attendance issues at US Cellular Field for the much hyped Twins/White Sox series.

The conversation started with Cowley tweeting the following:

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Now Joe Cowley has been covering the Chicago White Sox for several years now both with the Chicago Suntimes and the Daily Southtown (now dubbed "The Southtown Star" owned by Suntimes Media). I was confused by what Joe meant with this 140+ character opinion. Should Cubs fans really drop their season and team on the north side of town and fill the Cell to watch winning baseball in Chicago?

This age old argument had a new twist to me, should Chicago come together twice during the year....Bears season, and baseball season?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ozzie Guillen Demands Credit....FOR WHAT?

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As a White Sox fan myself, there is a lot to be upset about right now. The White Sox who had gone from nine and a half games back to three and a half in front in a matter of 40 days fell flat on their face last night losing to their hated rival from Minnesota 12-6.

Giving up five home runs on the night, the White Sox are now trailing in the division for the first time in a month. Even with the bad loss last night I was more upset by some comments that manager Ozzie Guillen made before the game about how the White Sox do not get enough credit for where they are right now.

On May 17th, 2010...I declared the Chicago baseball season over and dead. Also on March 30, 2010 I stated that if the Chicago White Sox do not make the playoffs that manager Ozzie Guillen needs to go. I will continue to stand by those statements, but Ozzie Guillen thinks that his club does not get enough credit for the situation they are currently in.

Why does Ozzie think that his team needs credit when they have accomplished nothing?

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Could The Chicago Blackhawks Lose Marian Hossa Next??

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I will admit that when it comes to athletes contracts, collective bargaining agreements, no trade clauses, team and player options, and all things contracts....I am no expert. This is why people with business degrees and journalism degrees get paid what they do because for bloggers like me, I am a bullet points kind of guy. Give me the cliffsnotes version of a ruling rather than the 300+ page verdict any day. Call me lazy, call me a slacker....you would do the same thing.

Yesterday an independent arbitrator named Richard Bloch determined that the NHL was within its legal right to reject the 17-year, 102 million dollar contract of superstar LW Ilya Kovalchuk with the New Jersey Devils. Bloch heard arguments from both the NHL and the NHLPA (the player's association) over two days in Boston last week. His decision came late Monday afternoon. As a result of Bloch's ruling, Kovalchuk immediately returns to unrestricted free agent status.

The contract Ilya Kovalchuk signed is actually very similar to that of Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa. Could this mean big trouble for the Blackhawks??

It just might!