Chicago Drive-By for February 28th

BPD can’t use Quick Hits because that is a Sun-Times piece but I find it to be too fluffy.  Don’t get me wrong I love the gratutious photos but if you are gonna hit em…hit em hard.

BLAM!!! Bernard Berrian is a good receiver and a good person.  He is NOT worth the money he is asking.  The Bears feel pressured because of the mediocre free agent and college draft talent available this season.  However, the Giants showed the world you can win without top notch speed at the wide reciever position.  That being the case let BB go and sign free agent WR Bryant Johnson and Dante Stallworth and draft 6′ 4″ James Hardy from Indiana. 

BLAM! BLAM!  Mark DeRosa stood strong all winter against the rumors that Brian Roberts was coming to Chicago and there would be no starting position for him.  He was confident saying the starting job was his.  Well Mark, we love confidence but it does you no good if you drop dead in between 2nd and 3rd base.  Cubs, go get Roberts and stop screwing around.  Mark will be utility man and that is that.  Something tells me his heart isn’t in it anyway.

BLAM!  BLAM!  BLAM!  Kirk Hinrich should be excited about the new fire power on this Bulls team.  They are the youngest team in the NBA.  They are more athletic than any team in the NBA.  Finally, they have been scoring over 120 points per game lately.  How does Hinrich celebrate this accomplishment.  By playing like a little bitch against rival Indiana.  Newbie Larry Hughes stepped up.  Newbie Drew Gooden stepped up.  Hinrich took a step down…and out.  Kirk was benched by Bulls head coach Boylan who is taking a tough stand against lazy play.  I think maybe it is time to activate Duhon of the scratch list and add Whiner Hiner.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!  Final drive-by of the day is towards the mighty Blackhawks.  They had every opportunity to deal the overpaid, often hurt Martin Havlat over the last few days.  Teams wanted him and Montreal was close to getting him.  So what happened?  The Hawks couldn’t get a deal done and Havlat goes out and hurts himself last night.  Way to go BLACKHAWKS!

Who are the Hottest Women in Sports

OK, I am tired of talking about losing Chicago sports and baseball is still to far away for my liking.  As I stood in line waiting to buy a paper the other day I was distracted by this months SI cover.  There is an amazing blonde, topless model on the cover and she was the inspiration for my latest article.  Who is the HOTTEST woman in sports today?  I can’t tell you how many arguments I have heard over the years in local Chicago bars on this subject.  

So, that being said I have decided to come up with my own TOP 10 list.  These women have to meet 2 main criteria to be eligible for my list.  #1 they have to be hot and #2 they have to be relevant.  I can tell you right now there are going to be dozens of people who say “Where is Anna Kournikova?”  Well, despite being HOT she is not longer relevant or playing so we move on without her.

#10 US Soccer defender Heather Mitts

 

Ben Gone and Fans Still Bitch!

Big Bad Benny Boo Boo is gone and thank God for that.  We were hoping and praying the Bulls had the brass balls to unload him and they found a taker.  So, with smile from ear to ear I get in my car and flip on the radio.

To my surprise some hack, b-team announcer is slamming the Bulls for the deal, not having any ‘big men’ and John Paxson in general.  I was confused at first but then pissed as it went on.

LOOK PEOPLE…you can’t have it both ways.  Either you like Ben and are disappointed it didn’t work out or you are happy that it is gone.  I get less and less impressed with talk radio the more I listen.  They screen callers so that they only air the idiots or someone that completely agrees with their point. 

BPD, back on target.  I was happy he was signed originally, although I thought we paid too much.  I was disappointed it didn’t work out.  I, however, am not going to sit here and slam John Paxson for all of this.  At what point to we put this soley on the coaches and players.  John put an incredibly young, talented group of players together.  At that point you hire a coach and tell him to win.  Skiles did, for a while, but slow starts and locker room issues sealed his fate.

At some point you have to just come and play.  These guys make millions more than I do so they should just shut the F-up and play the damn game.  The ‘odd’ kid in the bunch, Joakim Noah, plays his ass off every night.  He doesn’t know all the plays or schemes yet but he plays hard every night.  Other players have been disappointing.  They sulk on the bench, complain about headbands and let other things bother them.  Those days are nearing an end.

Another pre-deal complaint was THE BULLS DON’T HAVE A TRUE SHOOTING GUARD other than Thabo.  Well, now they do in Larry Hughes.  He isn’t the Larry of 2001 but he is still a guy that can score 14 to 16 points a night with enough minutes.  The additon of Drew Gooden is also a great pick up.  He is a solid person and player.  Losing Joe Smith was disappointing but you are getting something for something. 

We do have a lack of big men now but we did in 2006 too and we made the playoffs.  I say let Gray and Noah hold down the middle for the rest of the season and solve this issue in the draft.  My suggestion is a package of players and picks to move up and get Hibbert, the AWESOME big man from Georgetown.  We will see if John does that.

At any rate, stop the blame game.  Ben didn’t work out, the players failed, the coach failed and now Paxson is enemy #1.  In my eyes John did his job of putting young talent on the same floor.  He can’t make them play, or score or even win.  They were on the right path until this season.  I say leave John alone for this year and let’s see how he will fix it. 

The team is full of role/situational players.  Add one superstar and a low post scoring threat to the mix and you have a team that could win 50+ games for many years. 

Cubs Scare Almost No One

We are about one week from pitchers and catchers reporting and most of the national media has the Cubs the favorites to repeat as champs…of the NL Central Division.  What’s not to get excited about.  The Cubs finally have an every day left fielder in Fukodome to go with an already impressive lineup.  The Cubs bullpen should be one of the best in the NL and Marmol could turn into one of the best young closers in baseball.  All of this is great but none of it matters if they aren’t carrying a trophy down State Street in October.  The Cubs are good, but not great.  The Mets Pedro and Santana scare teams.  The Diamondbacks lineup and rotation scare other teams.  The Red Sox scare teams PERIOD!  The Cubs scare no one.

The Cubs need two things.  Yes, only two more things to be considered a WORLD SERIES CONTENDER.  They need a #2 starter in the rotation and they need a leadoff hitter. 

Zambrano is a good ace.  He would be a better #2 on a staff with another ace, but he has all the right stuff to be an ace in MLB.  After Carlos it drops off considerably.  It is not that Ted Lilly and Rich Hill are bad pitchers.  They are not bad pitchers.  However they are middle to end of the rotation pitchers.  Lieber and Dempster, both near the end of their careers, are back end of the rotation pitchers.  NY has Pedro and Santana.  Philadelphia has Hamels and Myers.  Arizona has Webb, Haren and possibly the BIG UNIT.  LA has Penny and Lowe.  San Diego have Peavy and Young.  Atlanta has Smoltz and Hudson.  Are you seeing what teams to succeed?  You need awesome #1 and #2 starters if you are serious about contending at the next level.  The Cubs have Zambrano and a collection of 3-5 type of starters.  That will get you into the playoffs with their lineup, but not much farther.

The solution, deal some of your precious minor leaguers and come up with a #2 starter.  Now Santana wanted to be on the East Coast and their isn’t much the Cubs could have done about that but Bedard is about to go to Seattle.  The Cubs have been talking to the O’s about 2B Brian Roberts so why wouldn’t you package that together and get a starter too.  Joe Blanton is on the block in Oakland.  Why wouldn’t the Cubs make a play for him?  He is not only good enough to be a #2 but he is young.  I haven’t even heard their name mentioned when it comes to mentioning some injured former aces Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia.  If either of these men are remotely healthy they are better than what is sitting at the back of our rotation. 

In addition to the rotation issue, the Cubs need a leadoff hitter.  Adding Fukodome was crucial.  His OBP and batting average are great.  His hitting style reminds me of a young Ryne Sandberg.  He is the perfect #2 hitter in the lineup.  However, who is he going to move around the bases.  Soriano is a great slugger but he should be hitting #5 or #6 in the lineup.  His OBP is terrible.  Theriot’s on-base stats are a little better but he is not consistent enough to hold down the lead off spot.  There is still a free agent option that could appeal to a team contending for a championship.  Kenny Lofton is one that comes to mind.  Now, he won’t be able to play 140 games but he could start 100 games in CF with Pie or Fuld spotting him in the other games.  More importantly you are getting him for the post-season.

Via trade I have already briefly mentioned Brian Roberts who would be an awesome editon but if they can’t land him there are other options.  Juan Pierre, formerly of the Cubs, is very fast and gets on base.  The Dodgers acquired Andruw Jones which leaves him as the #4 outfielder.  It is possible a straight up deal of Murton for Pierre may get him back.  Dave Roberts of the San Francisco Giants is also another outfielder who can lead off and steal bases.  Another guy to look at might be Marlon Byrd of the Rangers or Carl Crawford of the Devil Rays. 

There are solutions out there for the Cubs problems and they should address it before Game 1 on March 31st.  For 100 years it has been either poor teams or excuses.  The Cubs have a very good team and are two deals away from eliminating the excuses. 

So, lets make the deals and put a scare into the rest of the NL.

Now batting for the Chicago Cubs…Jim…Hendry!

      

Super Bowl Observations and Tid-Bits

1 – OK, loved the inspirational fly by before the game but what is the point…ALL THE PEOPLE ARE IN A DOME. 

2 – And, speaking of flying, why have a blimp at ANYTHING held in a dome?  “Well, there it is, the desolate wasteland of Arizona and a building containing the Super Bowl!”  Now that is exciting.

3 – Now I want to address FOX and there choice of singer of the National Anthem.  It is the biggest sporting event in the world of sports and the best you can do is American Idol’s Jordin Sparks.  The game is held in the America’s southwest and they can’t get a country or Hispanic star?

4 – Speaking of entertainment…TOM PETTY IS OLD.  His career is over and his music is on the oldies channel.  If your plan was to pick an act so vanilla and plain that nothing contraversial would happen,  than Fox gets an A+.  However if your goal is to get something relevant and energentic than they failed miserably.

5 – On with the game!  Could that 1st half have been any worse.  It was filled with defense and poor offense.  Like the rest of the world I was expecting a score like New England 21 NY 17 at halftime.  There were a few nice defensive plays in that half but not much else.

6 – The poor 1st half didn’t only exist on the playing field.  WOW, commercials were really uneventful.  Horse training like Rockey…meh.  Go Daddy?  Not happy DADDY!!! 

7 – The 2nd half is great.  It was very exciting.  The Eli scrambling for his life, heaving the bomb for a complete was amazing.  The fade route to Plaxico was also money.  It would have been better if someone covered him.

8 – The 2nd half commercials were great.  Will Ferrel in the basketball shorts telling people to suck on a beer.  Awesome!  The baby puking into the Web cam was funny.  And, the best in my opinion was Underdog battling Stewie for the Coca Cola.  Surprise ending…Charlie Brown gets the Coke. 

9 – Alright, is it just me or did you see the illegal pick play to set up the Plaxico TD.  Eli launchs the amazing pass…COMPLETE!  Next play, slot receiver to the flat and the receiver wide slants and takes out 2 DBs.  Not just screens them…he takes them out!  WHERE WAS THE FLAG?!?!

10 – Bellichik leaving the field before the final snap.  I understand he already shook Coughlin’s hand but if your soldiers are on the field you stay on the field with them.  I have never liked him much as a human but I had tremendous respect for him as a coach.  Now, I think he is a little spoiled brat and a complete ASS for lack of a better word.

UP SOON…DRAFT NEWS AND PICKS.  Stay tuned.