Archive for December 2nd, 2009
Chicago Sports Teams – Downright Bad – Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls…
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Chicago 2016 Olympics, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Rio de Janeiro, Sports | 1 Comment
WOW – it has been a rough year for Chicago sports teams. The Bears and Bulls are just continuing the downward trend for Chicago sports teams. Throw in the fact that the City lost out on the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics this past October, and you wonder why they even field teams in the “Second City.”
Both MLB teams allowed August collapses to dictate disappointing finishes in 2009. The White Sox (79-83; .488 winning percentage) finished 7.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central Division, while the Cubs (83-78; .516 winning percentage) finished 7.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the American League Central Division. Obviously neither team qualified for the playoffs.
While the Bears and Bulls had promising starts to their respective seasons, things have quickly turned for the worse for each team.
The Bears started off by winning 3 of their first 4 games, but a current 4-game losing streak has the Bears sitting at 4-7. With games against the Vikings, Ravens and Packers (teams with winning records) still on the schedule, a 6-10 finish looks like a best-case scenario. A Bears loss to either the Rams (1 win) or Lions (2 wins) could end up costing Head Coach Lovie Smith his job. While the defense has been pretty awful all season long, the biggest disappointments come on the offensive side of the ball. During the off-season preceding the season, the Bears traded 2 1st round draft picks and then-starting QB Kyle Orton to acquire “franchise player” Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. Cutler has been a huge enigma in 2009 – while he has thrown for 2671 yards and 16 TD’s and completed over 62% of his passes, he has also thrown a league-high 20 interceptions. His 74.4 passer rating is well below his career 83.9 passer rating. Coupled with Matt Forte’s sophomore slump (1,238 yards rushing with 8 TD’s in 2008 v. 543 yards rushing with 3 TD’s in 2009), it looks like the Bears have a lot of work to do if they want to turn this thing around.
The same could be said for the Bulls. The Bulls started the season with a 6-4 record through their 1st 10 games. But their annual “Circus Road Trip” away from the United Center proved costly. They lost the last 5 games of the trip and now sit at a dismal 6-9. Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas are both injured, and Derrick Rose is still trying to get back to his top form after dealing with an ankle injury during the pre-season which limited his play. There are a few bright spots for the Bulls. #1 – the Eastern Conference is just awful – even at 3 games under .500 the Bulls would still qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today. #2 – Luol Deng (18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game) and Joakim Noah (11.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game) have looked great early on. #3 – the Bulls are set up well salary-cap-wise for the 2010 free agent feeding frenzy – which will include the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Amari Stoudamire and Chris Bosh.
Sorry Chicago sports fans – looks like you better root real hard for the Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup in 2010…
Wins Just Keep on Rolling in for Blackhawks & Head Coach Quinneville
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks were thrilled to be back at home after a grueling 6-game west coast “Circus” road trip. Blackhawks fans were also thrilled as they were treated to an 11-round shootout – the longest shootout in Blackhawks’ history. Marian Hossa made his United Center debut (he had played in the Blackhawks’ final 3 games on the road) and scored in the 2nd round of the shootout to keep the Hawks alive. Cristobal Huet made 10 of 11 saves in the shootout round, and Brent Seabrook’s goal in the 11th round gave the Blackhawks the win. The Blackhawks have now won 8 straight games at home at the UC.
The win was also the 500th of Head Coach Joel Quinneville’s career. Quineville was “thrilled” with the achievement: “I’ve been in a lot of great places. I’ve been fortunate, worked with good teams and great players.”
The Blackhawks had a successful “Circus” road trip winning the 1st 4 games of the trip against the Flames in Calgary, the Oilers in Edmonton, the Canucks in Vancouver and then the Sharks in San Jose (the NHL’s best team). Although the Hawks dropped the final 2 games – 3-0 to the Ducks in Anaheim and 2-1 to the Kings in Los Angeles in a shootout – you can’t complain when you have a winning record on the road.
The Blackhawks are 17-6-3 with 37 points. They are tied with the Flames for the 2nd most points in the Western Conference. Only the Sharks (42 points) and Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins (38 points each) have more points in the NHL.
It has been a fantastic start for the Hawks thus far and with the addition of Hossa back on the ice, look for the Hawks to continue to gel over the next few weeks. 9 of their next 14 games during the month of December are at home in Chicago, so look for the Hawks to try to put a little distance between them and the rest of the good teams in the Central Division…
Tiger comes clean
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Golf, Tiger Woods | No Comments
Tiger is starting to come clean with the events that are going on in his life. He posted this on his website today.
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.
But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.
Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.
I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.” Source: tigerwoods.com
He is not coming out and fulling admitting to any of the women that have said he was sleeping with them, but this statement makes some strong comments. Looks like he knows he can’t keep denying all of this forever, people are starting to realize Tiger could be a cheater. With the voice mail coming out this morning how can he keep saying I didn’t do it? I think the real question is how much money will this cost him?
And here is the voice mail, it sounds a lot like him.
NBA Scores
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | NBA | No Comments
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| Washington (6-10) « | 25 | 30 | 17 | 34 | 106 |
| Toronto (7-12) | 24 | 30 | 23 | 25 | 102 |
|
|
|
|
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| Boston (14-4) « | 29 | 33 | 26 | 20 | 108 |
| Charlotte (7-10) | 18 | 21 | 27 | 24 | 90 |
|
|
|
|
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| Phoenix (14-4) | 28 | 30 | 18 | 23 | 99 |
| New York (4-14) « | 39 | 32 | 29 | 26 | 126 |
|
|
|
|
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| Golden State (6-11) | 28 | 27 | 29 | 23 | 107 |
| Denver (13-5) « | 25 | 44 | 38 | 28 | 135 |
|
|
|
|
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| Miami (10-7) « | 32 | 28 | 28 | 19 | 107 |
| Portland (12-8) | 28 | 22 | 22 | 28 | 100 |
|
|
|
|
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| New Orleans (7-11) | 27 | 15 | 27 | 30 | 99 |
| L.A. Lakers (14-3) « | 31 | 31 | 28 | 20 | 110 |
|
NHL Scores
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | NHL | No Comments
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto (7-12-7) « | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Montreal (12-13-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Three Stars 1. P. Kessel – TOR (Goals: 0, Assists: 2) 2. T. Kaberle – TOR (Goals: 0, Assists: 1) 3. M. Stajan – TOR (Goals: 1, Assists: 0) |
| Final SO | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus (13-9-5) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 3 |
| Chicago (17-6-3) « | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 4 |
| Three Stars 1. D. Keith – CHI (Goals: 0, Assists: 1) 2. M. Hossa – CHI (Goals: 0, Assists: 2) 3. K. Russell – CLB (Goals: 1, Assists: 1) |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa (13-8-4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| San Jose (19-6-4) « | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Three Stars 1. P. Marleau – SJ (Goals: 2, Assists: 0) 2. D. Heatley – SJ (Goals: 0, Assists: 2) 3. M. Michalek – OTT (Goals: 2, Assists: 0) |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (16-10-2) « | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Anaheim (10-12-4) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Three Stars
1. J. Johnson – LA (Goals: 0, Assists: 2)
2. C. Perry – ANA (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
3. W. Simmonds – LA (Goals: 0, Assists: 1)
