It's Official: Headed To Tampa Bay!!

I figured today would be a perfect time to write this being that the next couple of weeks are going to be a little busy with the move and all. I wanted to write a thank you letter to all the great people I was privileged to work with in my eight years here in the greatest city in the world, Chicago.

For those that do not know, I have accepted the Assistant Program Director position with 620AM WDAE in Tampa Bay, FL and will begin working there on Friday April 29th. My final day at 670AM WSCR will be Thursday April 21st. This position is a great move not only for my career but also for my family, and I look forward to the new challenges/people/places I am scheduled to face in the next month.

With that being said....A huge thank you to the people I am about to list and forgive me if I forget someone. My time in Chicago has been filled working with many people in many areas, and my memory only holds so much as I'm sure you can understand.

To my current staff on Mike Mulligan, Brian Hanley, Dustin Rhodes, DJ Nozar and Dennis Gambino:

Thank you for the past few years for accepting me into your show. I feel we have grown tremendously since the first days of morning drive, and I only hope that you enjoyed our time together as much as I did. I know your show will only continue to grow as you have become the voice of the Chicago sports fan in the morning. Thank you so much, I am humbled for my time with you guys.

Mitch Rosen - Thank you so much for helping me grow as a producer and allowing me the opportunity to grow as a talk show host in the #3 market in the country. Although we have had ups and downs in our working relationship, I value all the experiences we have shared together. Thanks for all your help and I only hope to stay in touch as you help the Score grow and I do my best to make The Sports Animal the best AM station on the dial in Florida.

To the Chicago Bears Radio Network crew at WBBM.

Ron Gleason, Jim Schwantz, Jay Hilgenberg, Joe Bartosch (the hardest working man I know), Adam Franklin, Andy Giersher, Brad Robinson, Tuan Coleman, Al Rosen (God Bless you my friend!), Zach Zaidman, Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, the entire Zerang crew (the best engineers in the city), and all the wonderful people who give up their weekends at WBBM NewsRadio 780AM during the long 10-11 hour broadcast. You are the most professional group of individuals I've ever worked with and your success as a crew will only continue no matter who sits behind that soundboard. I have learned so much in my time there, and I thank you for the many memories we shared each NFL Sunday for the last 6 seasons.

To All My Colleges At WSCR 670AM The Score (Past And Present) among others.....

Russ Mitera, Chris Collins, Matt Abbatacola, Laurence Holmes, Jason Goff, Jay Zawaski, Nick Shepkowski, Ben Finfer, Adam Harris, Joe Ostrowski, Chris Tannehill, Herb Lawrence, Adam Hoge, Craig Miller, Chris Rongey, Connor McKnight, Dave White, Brendan McCaffrey, Kerry Sayers, Mark Grote (Focker), Mark Joliffe, Dan McNeil, Matt Speigel, Terry Boers, Dan Bernstein, Mike Esposito, Les Grobstein, Hub Arkush, Dan Hampton, Barry Rozner, Brad Biggs, David Haugh (Thank you for all your kind words), Joe Cowley, Paul Sullivan, Brett Lyons, Mellissa, Michaels, Otter!!!, Cy Strezo, Ryan Sudol, Dave Kerner, Julie Swieca, Dan Zampillo, Drew Hayes, Matt Fishman, Mike and Bebe North, Jen Patterson, Matt Weber, Fred and Pat Huebner, Mike Murphy, Steve Buchman, Anne Maxfield (Thanks So Much For Everything!), Paul Agase and all the people in sales/traffic!, Rachel Stob, Jackie Spencer, Ande Saldivar (Thanks for putting up with my stupidity), Ernie!!!, David Schuster (Take a day for gosh sakes!), George Ofman, Andy Garcia, Chris Hubble, Dan Jiggetts, Dan Pompei, Danny Zederman, Dave Eanet, David Kaplan, Doug Buffone, OB, Doug Warnicki, Jesse Rogers, J-Hood (Blue Collar!), Joy Dinaro, Maribel Lopez, Matt Peebles, Nick Scafiezzo, Oney and Ozzie Jr., Ray Flores, Steve Goffman, Tim Bock, Steve Koscik, Steve Stone, Tim Doyle and any one I may have forgotten.....Thank you so much for everything.

Thanks to everyone at the former JACK FM (WJMK): Bob Lawson, Floyd, Penny, among others.

Thanks to The Down and Dirty staff!!! Frank Fontana and Mike Piff!!! Much Love Fellas!

Thanks to WDUZ in Green Bay for having me each of the last three seasons as a Bears Expert: Thanks to Sportsline's own Chris Havel and Mark Haley. Go BEARS!!!

Thanks to Scott Davidson and everyone at Rebel Radio. (Still hungover from that Hatebreed Concert)

Thanks to Michael Caserno for his help with "The Point" and allowing me to go on the road and live a dream of interviewing bands like Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, DragonForce among others.

Thanks to everyone at the former WCKG 105.9 FM.....for that one magical night with the Bulls!

Thanks to the Illinois Center For Broadcasting for the schooling I needed to break into this crazy business we work in. Kevin O'Connor (RIP), Brian Halford, Mike Pentz (congrats on the baby!), Stacey, Maribel, Mark D., Adam, Stan, and all the other students I spent time with in the studios with. Hard work does pay off....

To Jimmy Greenfield and the staff at ChicagoNow.com. I can only hope that The Rock Report was a success. Every person who spent a second reading what I thought about the day in sports.....you know I was always about the conversation. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity on the best online blog in Chicago.

To anyone who listened/texted/messaged on facebook or tweeted.....thank you for giving me a chance. I only hope I was able to entertain you. Thank you so much.

Now onto Tampa Bay, Florida where new beginnings shall begin and new challenges must be met. I can only hope that everyone that I've worked with/met/worked for has enjoyed the time we spent together as much as I did.

Thank you.

-John

Lebron James' Bathroom Stunt Unacceptable.....

No athlete is above the game they play, especially one that has yet to do anything of significance in their respective sport. That is what LeBron James fails to realize in his latest stint which occurred last night in his former home town of Cleveland. Like any NBA game, the pre-game introductions went off without a problem. Big lights, loud music and a raucous crowd waiting for their former hometown hero to return one more time to face the music he created with his "decision".

The lights on and music rolling, the crowd welcomed back the self-anointed king with a rousing sound of boo's.....yet the King was fashionably late.

Just the latest insult the King has thrown to his former minions in Cleveland. Further proving that LeBron James does not care about anyone else besides LeBron James and LeBron James Incorporated.

Here is why I (like many who posted tweets to his @KingJames Twitter account) say LeBron James is a b***h.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....

The NCAA Couldn't Have Scripted The Final Four Any Better.....

March Madness is in full effect. You want to know how you can tell? Look at your own bracket and compare it to the real thing.

Who in their right mind would have picked these final four teams in their bracket as the ones who would be standing tall headed to Houston, TX attempting to win college basketball's greatest prize? Some may have picked UCONN and Kentucky based on their runs in their respective conference tournament championships. Some could have picked Butler because of their unpredictable run last year and thought it could carry over to this season. No one could have predicted the last team to enter the tournament field as one of the Final Four.

How many people even knew what VCU stands for?

While some may criticize the way the tournament was seeded or why certain teams got snubbed over others, the NCAA is sitting on a great finish to a mediocre tournament.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....

Why Is Jay Cutler Not Being The Leader Of The Chicago Bears?

Nothing is more irritating than waiting on millionaires and billionaires to figure out exactly how to divide a $9,000,000,000.00 pot of revenue. With over 9% unemployment in the United States, the NFL (owners and players both) should feel ashamed of themselves for not figuring out a way to make a successful business continue on in this economic climate. While there have been no training camp time or games missed as of yet, football is a 365 day a year sport which rolls on like a steamroller on the American sports landscape.

One of the effects of a NFL lockout is the fact that the players and coaches cannot organize workouts in the off season let alone even talk to one another. Like many Chicago Bears fans, I was waiting to see exactly who would be the one to step up for the players and try to organize off season workouts with other members of the team.

You would think the captains of the team (Urlacher, Peppers, Cutler, Kreutz, Mannelly) would be the ones to take the bull by the horns and get the ball moving on theses off season workouts. Unfortunately we come to find out in today's Chicago Tribune (via Vaughn McClure) that free agent wide receiver Rashied Davis is the one organizing the workouts.

While we all remember the way the season ended for the Chicago Bears, how come Jay Cutler is not organizing these?

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE....

Geno Auriemma Needs To Shut Up About Attendance Figures....

One thing that I have never understood in my time working in sports media is why players/coaches/organizations fire back at their fans. The relationship between a fan and his/her team is something special and should by no means become a burden. My personal experience with the Chicago White Sox led by a displeasure of the direction of the franchise officially ended this past off season because of their lack of forward thinking.

However while fans can pick and choose who they root for/root against, the same simply cannot be said about the opposite. Collegiate and professional teams rely so much on their fan base financially that any criticism toward the fans is a fight that teams will never win. If you insult the people who support your program/team through the good and the bad, it simply is the beginning of your personal end.

Geno Auriemma is a seven time national champion as head coach of the University of Connecticut women's basketball program. He has over 700 wins in his career and is the current leader among active coaching in career winning percentage (.861%). Auriemma is a six time Naismith College Coach of the Year award winner and has led the UCONN women to four undefeated seasons in his 26 seasons as head coach including back to back perfect seasons in 2008 and 2009.

With all the success the UCONN women have had in his tenure as head coach, the last people "Geno" should be taking on are the fans of the UCONN lady Huskies.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE....

Proposed NFL Rules Changes On Kickoffs Open Pandora's Box....

I have never seen a league adapt to outside pressures so much than the current day NFL. For example the famous "tuck rule" established after the 2002 AFC Championship Game, or just this past off season when the new OT rules came into affect following an overtime loss to Brett Favre's Minnesota Vikings. The biggest issue outside the current day NFL lockout is the increasing amount of concern about concussions in the sport of football.

Remember this past season where the NFL increased punishment for what was once termed "devastating hits"?

While to longtime football fans and players these new regulations may seem like the NFL is going "soft" on the simple physical nature of the game, the NFL Competition Committee is not stopping there. The NFL is proposing new changes to the game which would affect an entire phase of a team's offensive game.

Could it be the NFL Competition Committee fears the extinction of their game so much that the special teams phase of the game could be abolished?

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....

Jake Peavy Injury May Look Bad, But Could Be More Of A Blessing...

What does winning the lotto, cheeseburger diets and Jake Peavy all have in common?

Sometimes things are too good to be true.

Yesterday the Chicago White Sox put out a statement that pitcher Jake Peavy is experiencing some right rotator cuff tendinitis, and has been since the early part of the month. Jake Peavy is attempting to return to the White Sox starting rotation since he detached his latissimus dorsi muscle in his right shoulder on July 9th of last year. This revelation comes after three straight weeks of the White Sox doctors and coaching staff saying that their 16 million dollar starting pitcher was "ahead of schedule" and on his way to a miraculous recovery.

Then again this latest setback could be in fact a good thing, here is how.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....