NCAA Tournament Bracketology: SportsMaven vs. President Obama, First Round

Virtually every college basketball fan who watches ESPN knows that President Barack Obama is a HUGE basketball fan.  it is also well known (or at least it should be by now) that President Obama took a moment to step away from blistering AIG executives for handing out bonuses and in true American fashion, filled out his own 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket, which is posted on ESPN and now becomes some form of public record, visible to the entire sports loving, internet consuming, content craving public.

Photo by: Pete Souza

In the American spirit of competition and for love of comparative analysis, I wondered how my picks compared to basketball-crazy, sports passionate President Obama’s picks.  It is well known that the President loves to talk smack about all things basketball, so lets see how he compares to the SportsMaven:

The photo of President Obama’s picks:

President Obama's 2009 NCAA Basketball Picks

For those who don’t recall my picks, here is a link to the full post.

So how’s the comparison after the first half of the first round games?

• President Obama went 11-5, missing picks on BYU, Butler, Illinois, Clemson, and the upset special, VCU.
• SportsMaven went 14-2, missing picks on Illinois and Clemson.

Stay tuned for an updated post on the final results for the first round, but so far, looking strong against President Obama.

Winter Classic Is Chicago Blackhawks Coming Out Party

It can be very easy to say that the star of this afternoon’s NHL 2009 Winter Classic is Wrigley Field, and even easier to say the game is a showcase for NHL power, defending Stanley Cup Champions, and this year’s Stanley Cup favorite, the Detroit Red Wings.  But lets not be mistaken any longer than needed.  The NHL Winter Classic is the coming out party for Rocky Wirtz/John McDonough led, new, improved, and revived Chicago Blackhawks team.  And it’s exactly what the NHL needs for an Original Six team that has been down on it’s own luck.

(Tribune photo by Charles Cherney / December 31, 2008)

Of course, the young Chicago Blackhawks team has been doing it’s part, especially of late, winning a franchise record 9 games in a row.  That streak was broken yesterday in Detroit, with the Red Wings pitching a shutout, adding to the already incredible hype of today’s game, making it into a nationally televised grudge match.

At least two generations of Hawks fans have been disenfranchised by the draconian methods of management under long time owner Bill Wirtz.  When the older Wirtz died in September of 2007, his son Rocky was tapped to run the team, and it seemed that Rocky learned all the “lessons” of his father’s mismanagement.  In 188 sweeping days, Rocky has reversed all the negativity of past mismanagement, with his first move, stealing the marketing genius McDonough away from the Chicago Cubs.  That move alone signaled to Hawks fans that Wirtz was committed to reviving the sagging fortunes of the once-proud Blackhawks franchise.

The rest is marketing history.  As we ring in what we hope to be a better year in 2009, hope springs eternal in the City of Chicago, for the Chicago Blackhawks, and their fans.  Regardless of the outcome of today’s game, the Winter Classic marks the coming out of a young Chicago Blackhawks team, the unveiling of a new, historic direction for a historic Original Six team.  For those not fortunate enough to secure tickets for the Classic, the game will be brodcast on television, as will every single game the Blackhawks will play this season.  This is a first in the 82-year history of the team.

So let the celebrations begin, hopefully the first of many celebrations for the new, improved Chicago Blackhawks.

Blackhawks Extras:

ESPN has extensive coverage of today’s NHL Winter Classic:

• Gene Wojciechowski notes that if the Blackhawks can win, others have hope…
• In E.J. Hradek’s blog, 10 players are deemed The Winter Classic Players to Watch
• Ever wonder how hockey ice is made?  Scott Burnside lets us in on the family secret of the NHL ice guru…
• Now that the day is here, lets drop the puck and play…
• Hawks and Wings tap their inner child by playing outside, becoming the latest teams to feel the outdoor magic
• The Winter Classic pits NHL Central Division Rivals, Original Six teams, and the #3 and #4 teams in the NHL Power Rankings

On the local front, the popular stories of the week on the Winter Classic:

• The outdoor rink at Wrigley is just like any other backyard ice rink, according to the Sun-Times Carol Slezak.
• Chris Chelios says Wrigley brings back sweet memories of Chicago in his glorious return to Wrigley Field
• Blackhawks President John McDonough’s long awaited dream is about to come true…
• Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc notes that the sun could cause the players problems
• Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald says it’s time for the Hawks to take it outside and get physical with the Red Wings

Chicago Bears Devin Hester Signs New Extension

Thank the higher powers above that Devin Hester’s wobbly hamstring healed just enough for him to sign a 4 year extension for a reported $40 million dollars, with a guaranteed $15 million.  The contract also has another $10 million in incentives if Hester develops into a #1 receiver, for which he has the potential to accomplish.

(Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune)

Word on the street is that the Hester deal has all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed:

• David Haugh from the Chicago Tribune reports that “Hester becomes the 10th Bears starter and fifth Pro Bowl player the Bears have signed to a contract extension this off-season. It is believed this new contract will make Hester the highest-paid return man in NFL history.”
• David Haugh also reports that Hester is at the top of the list of recent Chicago Bears re-signed by Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo.
• Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times reveals that “[Hester's] extension adds four new years for Hester meaning he is a Bear through 2013. He was under contract through 2009 and he is the first player with a four-year contract for the Bears to get new money after only two seasons.”
• ESPN reports that “This [contract] was probably the most difficult one we’ve had to do and probably ever will do because we’re not only rewarding a special player,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. “If you look at it as a returner, we blew that [money total] out of the water. It was now looking at him as what he might be or could be as a receiver. That’s where the real difficulties were and a real challenge.”

Any way you look at it, it seems that Devin Hester is happy (and potentially $40M richer) and the Bears are happy (a difficult, challenging, but creative and fair contract).  Hester celebrated by catching a 40-yd pass from QB Rex Grossman in Sunday afternoon’s practice.  Seems as though the hammy is healed.

Other Devin Hester commentary:

• Windy City Gridiron notes that “[Bears] check another off theirs list” with the Hester signing.
• Matt Loede from Bearsgab.com notes that “We’ll see now with a lot more cash in his pocket if that hamstring suddenly feels better today”
• AOL Sports Fanhouse reports that “virtually everyone things [Hester signing] is a good move.”

Chicago Cubs Run Into A Mid-Season Rut

No doubt, so far in the 2008 season, Chicago Cubs fans have been treated to great baseball above and beyond any fathomable expectations. The Cubs entered June with the best record in baseball and have played most of the month of June with that same label, but as June comes to a close, the Cubs are limping to a well deserved and needed break for the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium in New York.

For the first time this season, the Cubs are facing adversity. The Cubs have played so well that even fickle fans have been spoiled by the lengthy and meaningful success the Cubs have enjoyed so far this season. Their season long dominance at Wrigley Field has provided a sense of dominance in the somewhat weak National League, but injuries are starting to pile up and it’s beginning to take it’s toll on the Cubs dominant run.

When RF Alfonso Soriano went down with a broken hand in the Braves series, all was not lost, as the Cubs lost Soriano earlier in the season and responded as though he was never missed in the lineup. But with this injury plus injuries to RHP Carlos Zambrano, CF Reed Johnson, LHP Scott Eyre, and nagging injuries to CF Jim Edmonds and RF Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs are finding that all is not well on the “It’s Gonna Happen” bandwagon.

During this weekend’s Sox series, the Cubs started an OF of a mis-cast RF Eric Patterson, injured CF Jim Edmonds, and just returned from injured RF Daryle Ward. The White Sox ran on Patterson all day on Friday and he has yet to see the lineup since. RHP Ryan Dempster also picked a bad time for his worst outing of the season, and P’s Sean Gallagher and Sean Marshall couldn’t stop the bleeding.

The Cubs can’t seem to shake the pesky, smoke and mirrors miracle of the St. Louis Cardinals, now only 2.5 games ahead in the standings. The Milwaukee Brewers are also sneaking up, moving to 4.5 games back. The Cubs played the Sunday night prime time game on ESPN tonight and now have to fly all night to San Francisco to start a 4 game series with the improving Giants (fortunately missing on all world Giants starter RHP Tim Lincecum) and a July 4th weekend series in St. Louis with the Cardinals.

I though Cubs manager Lou Piniella actually did a great job of reminding the Cubs and the fans that although the Sox series has serious emotional hooks in a north/south divide, that this series was one of many series over the course of a full season. Piniella elected to juggle his starting rotation a little, but rested key players such as 2B Mark DeRosa, Kosuke Fukudome, and C Geovanny Soto over the weekend, with the implicit message that the season isn’t won in June by overextending regulars in an interleague matchup that is more glitter than substance.

With Reed Johnson and Carlos Zambrano due to come back this week, and Alfonso Soriano healing very quickly, reinforcements are on the way. With the All-Star break in less than two weeks, much needed rest will soon follow. Once the Cubs are back to full strength, the cream should rise to the top again in the National League. Lets not panic just yet…..

What Will The Chicago Bears Do In The 2008 NFL Draft?

There have been countless mock drafts, endless expert analysis and general watercooler, beer garden, happy hour sports conversations on what exactly the Chicago Bears will do with their draft picks in today’s NFL Draft. The consensus? Nobody knows exactly what the Bears will do…..and that’s exactly the way that Bears GM Jerry Angelo likes it.

ESPN’s expert NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper thinks the Bears will go with a offensive lineman, specifically Vanderbilt OT Chris Williams. Todd McShay from Scouts, Inc is going with Boise State OT Ryan Clady (personally, I think he’ll be long gone by pick 14). Fox Sports analyst Jay Glazer has the Bears picking Illinois standout RB Rashard Mendenhall. And finally, the guru of all mock draft analysts, the most accurate mock draft expert, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning Star has the Bears choosing Virginia OG/OT Branden Albert. Other late circulating rumors have the Bears entertaining trade offers and the possibility of moving down in the draft (which is real, since Jerry Angelo seems to prefer that strategy over all others.)

One thing is certain about this draft: This is a make or break draft for Jerry Angelo. He has to hit big in this draft and he has to hit big with picks on the offensive side of the ball. The Bears have many holes to fill: OT, OG, WR, RB, possibly QB. The Bears need at least 2 starter grade picks out of this draft and and probably 4-5 major contributors in order to compete in the NFC this coming season.

The NFC will be a vastly improved conference this coming season, and in particular, the NFC North Division. The Minnesota Vikings look drastically improved with the addition of WR Bernard Berrian to strengthen the offense and DE Jared Allen to a underrated defense, the Detroit Lions look to make a step up from last season if they play their draft cards correctly and the Green Bay Packers are the reigning division champions, who many feel will drop off after the retirement of QB Brett Farve. (I believe the Packers will be in contention for the division title all season long.) In addition, teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Seattle Seahawks are bulking up to compete for the NFC crown.

The Bears hold 11 draft picks and 4 of the first 100 picks. The Chicago Tribune ranked the top GM’s in the NFL in terms of draft picks that went on to become starters in the league. The top GM was, surprisingly Arizona Cardinals GM (and former Bears Director of Pro Personnel) Rod Graves. The Bears Jerry Angelo made it into the top 10 at #10, mostly on the strength of his defensive picks. Offense has not been good to Jerry Angelo draft picks, which puts even more pressure on hitting this draft big. The Bears need playmakers, explosive players, football players, not combine gym rat types. Jerry Angelo stated this week that this was a 10 man draft at the top, which is not good if you hold the 14th pick. While I don’t envision Angelo trading up, it wouldn’t surprise me if he traded down. The OL pick in the first round seems to be the majority opinion in mock drafts and analyst opinions. Which means that it’s most likely Chris Williams. 2nd round RB and third round WR/OL. After that, it’s more of a crapshoot, which makes predictions a waste of good time. Good luck, Jerry Angelo……you’re going to need a lot of it.

By the way, some of the players I like in this year’s draft that I would be thrilled to see the Bears pick:

RB – Rashard Mendenhall, James Stewart, Ray Rice, Matt Forte

WR – Mario Manningham, Malcolm Kelly, Eddie Royal, James Hardy, Jordy Nelson

OL – Ryan Clady, Branden Albert, Chilo Rachal, Duane Brown, Anthony Collins, Chris Williams

QB – Chad Henne, Joe Flacco, Dennis Dixon

Safety – Tom Zbikowski

DT – Marcus Harrison, Pat Sims

LB – Jordon Dizon, Xavier Adibi

Musings On The Chicago Bulls and the NBA

The NBA playoffs started this weekend and noticeably absent are the Chicago Bulls. While the best teams in the NBA begin the “money” season, teams like the Milwaukee Bucks hire disciplinarian coaches like Scott Skiles. Other teams like the Chicago Bulls are holding their off season team meetings and wondering what to make of the mess of a wrecked season.

In the NBA, like other major professional sports leagues, teams win with a combination of athleticism/talent and desire. With talent and desire, you are the San Antonio Spurs or the Boston Celtics. With lack of athleticism/talent, but an abundance of desire, you can be teams like this year’s Philadelphia 76ers and in the past, teams like the Chicago Bulls. Teams with neither talent or desire become the Memphis Grizzlies or the New York Knicks.

What exactly happened with the Chicago Bulls this season? The Bulls were a team with little talent but with great desire. They worked, hustled, played defense according to the gospel of John Paxson and Scott Skiles. It brought the Bulls 49 wins last season, a playoff series win against the rapidly aging Miami Heat, and a heated playoff series loss to the Detroit Pistons. Entering this season, the Chicago Bulls had a high draft pick, compliments of the New York Knicks and all their starters returning from last season’s successful run. Many picked the Bulls to win the Eastern Conference and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since the Michael Jordan era.

Then, two things happened that led to the downfall of this year’s team. First, Bulls GM John Paxson knew that he needed a superstar talent to lead this team. Every successful team in the NBA, short of the Detroit Pistons, have a superstar player, a team leader, the guy that will take over in crunch time of a game and impose the will to win on his teammates. Paxson missed badly on acquiring C Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves and whiffed a couple of times on trades for C Pau Gasol. Paxson had drafted some very nice complementary players from solid, winning college programs after cleaning up the mess left by previous Bulls GM Jerry Krause, but none had proven to be the superstar, athletic talent that teams require to compete in the upper echelon of NBA championship contenders. Paxson correctly determined that he needed to acquire that superstar player, and as timing would have it, during the NBA pre-season, Kobe Bryant, arguably the best player in the NBA was vocally unhappy with his situation and publicly stated he desire to get out of Los Angeles. To his credit, Paxson inquired about the availability of Kobe Bryant and rumors ran rampant over the airwaves. Bryant was sure to be traded, as there has been no love lost between Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, supposedly Jackson had enough with his moody star player. The table was set for a blockbuster deal with prime players identified from the Bulls being some combination of Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich, and Ben Wallace. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon were also offered what each player considered lowball contract offers going into the preseason, but combined with the trade talks, led to a bad taste in every player’s mouths. In the end, the teams never came to terms on players and the deal fell through as the season began.

The second thing that happened was most likely residual from the events above, for some reason, most every player on the Bulls had stopped responding to the playing and coaching style that brought great success to the Bulls. The Bulls stopped hustling for loose balls, stopped playing hard nosed defense, lacked hustle, with team play virtually non-existent. Both Deng and Gordon admitted that the Kobe Bryant trade rumors plus the perceived lowball contract offers affected their play. Each played as through they had to individually prove they were worth not only bigger contracts, but to justify not being traded for Bryant. Their play dropped off dramatically, along with the other potential players in the trade, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace, and Tyrus Thomas and the fate of Coach Scott Skiles and the Chicago Bulls was sealed.

So where does that leave the Bulls now? John Paxson had two of the most difficult tasks to complete in last year’s off-season. He needed to find a superstar, talented player and needed to move Ben Wallace and his albatross contract. Paxson was successful in unloading Wallace to the Cleveland Cavaliers after this season was lost, but has been glaringly unsuccessful in getting that superstar athletic stud talent, and without the high draft picks that can yield that player in the NBA draft. If the Bulls get lucky to land one of the top 2 picks and be in a position to get C Michael Beasley or G Derrick Rose, they can still leverage a combination of Larry Hughes, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, or Drew Gooden to land a second superstar type player to fuel their rebuilding process. The Bulls need athletic, talented players that have the desire to compete and win every night and need to complement those players with a supporting cast of complimentary players. Right now, they have the complimentary players, but they still lack the superstar.

The Bulls also need a coach that will bring the team spirit back, a coach that can get the players to buy into the team concept once again. Rick Carlisle is available, as is Larry Brown as well as a slew of other ex-NBA coaches that work for ESPN, TNT, or any other network that employs ex-basketball coaches. This offseason is mission critical for GM John Paxson. If he doesn’t get it right, his next moves will be as ex-GM of the Chicago Bulls.

Chicago Cubs Fall to Astros in 10; Patterson Makes Debut

One thing I can say about last night’s game — Eric Patterson does look like his big brother, Corey.  And he got the bunt down, which is also nice.  He also turned a routine out into a close play with his speed out of the batters box.  Now lets see what he does tonight as a starter.  I will say that Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella has no fear in throwing the guys from the Iowa Express right into the mix with starting assignments and appearances in key, potential game changing situations.  This is a clear departure of the Dusty Baker regime, where guys like Neifi Perez would steal valuable time away from the development of younger players (how did Dusty miss out on Ryan Theriot?)

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

The Chicago Cubs lost another 1 run game last night to a Houston Astros team that is on life support.  Their bullpen is about the worst in the National League, and their starting lineup would hardly scare a good little league team.  The game wasn’t over for a minute before both Bob Brenly and Dan Pleasac of Comcast SportsNet were already throwing out the excuse that the Sunday night ESPN game forced the Cubs to arrive late in Houston, thus they didn’t get enough rest.  Jim Hendry echoed the same in a Chicago Tribune interview.   Better have gotten your rest tonight, boys because you have to win this series….

Chicago Cubs Lose A Heartbreaker to Phillies

Well, who said the Chicago Cubs could win them all?  With ESPN in the house at Wrigley Field (including Erin Andrews in the Wrigley Field scoreboard) and only 4 MLB games on the slate for tonight, the Cubs had a chance to tie the idle Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the suddenly competitive NL Central race, but they ran into a buzzsaw named Cole Hamels and lost 4-1 tonight to the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Cubs are still a game out of first, but lost a golden chance to move into a tie with the Milwaukee Brewers, who have been at the top of the standings for most of the season.

(AP Photo/Jerry Lai)

The amazing thing about tonight’s loss is the sense that even though the Cubs lost, they are still making the move to the top of the division standings.  Most years, one loss would prompt pending disaster from the Wrigleyville faithful, but not tonight, not this team, not this season.  Even the lovely Erin Andrews was sporting a “It’s Gonna Happen” t-shirt while hanging in the Wrigley Field scoreboard during the game.

So July is ending and August begins the push to the playoffs.  Do the Cubs have enough to get them there?  Do they make a trade?  I am thinking the Cubs stand pat, get RP Kerry Wood back in the bullpen, and make their run to the division title.  There is a sense of confidence on this Cubs team that I have never seen before.  It is time…..It’s Gonna Happen, you wait and see.

Mr. Hendry, Your Bullpen Flat Out Stinks

I usually try to wait until after the emotions of a particular event subside before writing about that event, but today, I simply can’t wait.  I just finished watching the Chicago Cubs enter the bottom of the 9th inning against the New York Mets with a 5-1 lead and with closer Ryan Dempster on the mound.  Starting pitcher Angel Guzman pitched a heck of a game and has battled for over two years to get his first major league victory and was in line to do that today until that Cubs bullpen in typical format, gives up 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to give away yet another game and lose in walk-off fashion, 6-5.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Now I realize that every man in that bullpen is working hard and trying to get outs.  Nobody is trying not to win, but this is just unbearable to watch.  I mean, I recall a bitter game on July 28, 2002 against the St. Louis Cardinals on an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast when Antonio Alfonseca and others gave up a five run lead to lose a game by 1 in the ninth inning (Cards were losing 9-4 in the bottom of the ninth; Edgar Renteria hit a three-run homer to top off a 6-run comeback to win the game for the Cards, 10-9) and today’s game brings back memories of that painful night.  The Cubs went on to finish that season 67-95.

The end of today’s game was completely crushing for Cubs fans.  Yes, the Cubs are 3 games under .500 for the season, but this seems like a team that is going nowhere fast.  There is no consistency on this team, unless you count the fact that they are consistently inconsistent.  One day it’s the offense not hitting, going 0-16 in bases loaded situations until Aramis Ramirez’ grand slam homer on Tuesday night, one day, it’s the defense not making plays or making errors.  Most every time, it’s the bullpen blowing leads, giving up runs in mop up duty.  The bullpen has clearly been the achilles heel of this team, racking up a 2-12 record so far through the not so young season.  This is quickly turning into another lost season unless something is done now.  Better get some new bullpen guys and fast.

So, for $300 million, we get this?  The new ownership can’t get here fast enough, in my opinion…..

Chicago Bears Trade For Adam Archuleta — Good Move?

This just in — the Chicago Bears made an off-season move and it was actually a good one. ESPN.com has reported the the Bears and Washington Redskins made a trade, S Adam Archuleta for a reported 6th round draft pick in the 2007 draft and a reworked contract. Archuleta will make $8.1M over 3 years with $5M guaranteed.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

So what do I like about this trade? The Bears pick up a talented, mis-used, playmaker at the line of scrimmage safety. I look at this deal as essentially a trade straight up for S Todd Johnson. Archuleta is more talented than Todd Johnson and only a year older, but it will remain to be seen if Archuleta will step on the field to play special teams and fill that role that both Todd Johnson and S Cameron Worrell vacated when they left for St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins respectively. This also provides big-time insurance for S Mike Brown as well as taking safety off the board for the early rounds of this year’s draft. Putting Archuleta close to the line of scrimmage, something the Redskins outright refused to do, brings a talented playmaker in run-support, a clear Bears weakeness in the second half of last season and especially in the Super Bowl.

I believe that Adam Archuleta will be a terrific fit for the Bears style of defense (just don’t let him cover anyone one on one too often!) and will provide a slight upgrade in talent in the safety position.