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You might recall how just a couple years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox were by and large considered the tremendous favorites to win the World Series. It was going to be one of those teams, and chances seemed good that both would be there in the end after an off-season that those two clubs make the biggest acquisitions. And instead, well ... neither lived up to those expectations. Not that too many people complained about the World Series we did get that year (other than residents of the Lone Star State, perhaps).
So a quick look around at predictions made elsewhere makes it pretty clear that this year, we're seemingly destined for a Detroit Tigers-Washington Nationals World Series, or at least one of those teams is going to beat somebody else. Being the contrarian that I am (other than 2011, of course), I'm immediately concocting reasons to pick any one of the other 28 teams.
OK, except for the Marlins. I won't be making that mistake again. This year, at least.
This update marks a somewhat sad moment for the Bulls because, for the first time since I started doing the little quarterly graphics in 2010 as part of the regular posts about the team, Chicago is not a first place team. The only real surprise is that it took this long. Hell, even I picked the Pacers to win the division this year. This was a season the team was going to be without Derrick Rose for a majority of it, after all.
While I entirely regret (for now) having also picked the Lakers to get to this year's Finals, I have not seen anything outside of, say, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that might dissuade me from still thinking Miami is going to repeat as champions in the end. As soon as news broke, of course, that Derrick Rose's doctor cleared the star to play, there was not only hope, but an actual belief being expressed that the Bulls are suddenly contenders again. Which is ridiculous—and not in a Devin Hester sort of way.
While I'm as much of a fan of No. 1 as anybody else, and I know there's amazing recoveries from torn ACLs, I'm also reminded that experts agree "there's no such thing as a full recovery from an ACL injury." Some people seem to believe the Rose returning to the court is going to be the exact same Rose he was before he tore the damn thing. Let us get real though. If Derrick Rose never steps on the court once this year to play a game, it should be seen as more time he gets to heal. I'd rather have him be as healthy as possible for the opportunity to play all of next season than risk that by having him come back sooner than he's ready to join a team that will be lucky to get out of the second round of the playoffs.
Or as Manti Te'o would say, a "faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar" more impressive streak. I'm of course referencing the "comparison" that was being discussed on the Mother Ship and the reliably asinine commentary we should expect from one Stephen A. Smith, who was promptly and justifiably ridiculed. As this post on the HockeyWriters.com noted, whereas the Blackhawks have been setting various NHL league records, Miami's then 14-game winning streak at the time was fairly modest in comparison to a number of other NBA winning streaks in recent years. But, you know, "ties."
Look, I get that there's always some grumbling in sports when a teams record has to include a second hyphen and a third digit, usually to denote "ties" if we're talking about, say, the NFL. But this is hockey, and ever since the lost 2004-05 season, shootouts have been used to settle games tied after 60 minutes of play. And sure, as the great Bob Verdi once wrote, awarding a point in the NHL to a team just for forcing overtime was "piling mistakes upon errors" in the grand scheme of changes enacted for regular season games when hockey returned.
Still, absolutely none of that detracts from what this team has accomplished thus far. We are now halfway through a shortened regular season and the Blackhawks still have yet to lose a hockey game. Sure, Chicago has lost three skills contests. Whatever that's worth. Considering that the gimmick disappears once the playoffs begin, I'm going to say "not a whole helluva lot." Right now, I find it hard to believe that any team in the league stands much of a chance in a seven-game series with this Blackhawks team.
I apparently spoke too soon when I wrote in reaction to this year's Oscar nominations:
With Affleck and Bigelow denied that shot, the race seems to be all but sewn up for Spielberg and Lincoln—the film with the most nominations—is all but a certainty for Best Picture. At the moment, three of the four acting awards also seem to be foregone conclusions.
So, you know, "Oops."
Since I last wrote about the Academy Awards, Argo has in fact gone on to win pretty much all of the major guild awards. It would be generous to suggest that three acting categories are "foregone conclusions." There may still be a good deal of uncertainty about more than just a couple categories.
As it turns out, we will not be hosting any Oscar party this year, so my picks won't be going toward winning any Oscar pool this year either. And that's probably a good thing, because I can't lose any money either. I certainly wouldn't express the confidence I've had in years past when compared to the overall list of this year's nominees. My prognosticating ability for the Academy Awards has not been particularly sparkling these past few years, but maybe this year can be the turnaround. In the end, I fear, I will be blaming the lone Best Picture nominee we did not see, Life of Pi, for ruining my final score.
So, there is what I imagine an objective person might call a "good start" to a season. And the Blackhawks winning 10 of their first 12 games to start this year would probably qualify. To put it another way, out of a possible 24 points in this first quarter of the 2013 season, Chicago has earned 22. That alone is pretty impressive.
However, in addition to that solid start, there is also the fact that 10 of those first 12 games were all on the road. The team has yet to lose a game in regulation this year, with the only two blemishes coming on account of oh-so-lame shootouts.
There is no "told you so" coming from this Hawks fan, of course. I was among those who anticipated a St. Louis team that won the Central last year to benefit from having a strong defense and two solid goaltenders, but instead, Chicago has come out of the gates clicking in just about every facet. The passing is precise instead of being overly showy thus far, the defense is limiting opponents' shots and the special teams have been astoundingly effective. Last night, Corey Crawford broke a shutout dry spell that had exceeded 600 days, and Ray Emery turned in a courageous, unforgettable performance in Calgary that should make every fan feel comfortable turning to him as the back-up plan.
My inner meatball held out hope that starting the season on the road and watching the defending champion Los Angeles Kings raise a championship banner might provide a little bit of a spark, and the following contest against the Phoenix Coyotes club that ousted the Hawks in the playoffs last year could serve as a little more motivation. It seemed silly, but whatever it has been has worked. The Blackhawks have shown up for every game, and I have listened to or watched every game myself. If they keep showing up, I expect I will be doing the same—hopefully all the way into June.
What looked for a while like a game that could turn into a blowout reminiscent of the Super Bowls I had become accustomed to throughout my youth instead turned into one of the more memorable big games of all time. According to Deadspin, the seventh-best Super Bowl of all time.
Not only did San Francisco mount an amazing comeback, but the game was delayed for a little longer than a half-hour because of power failure. Many people loved Beyonce's halftime show, although I'm still inclined to believe the Prince performance at Super Bowl XLI ("Purple Rain" in the rain!!!) was the greatest. MVP Joe Flacco completed a legendary run of playoff performances that now elevates him from being viewed as a liability to now being among the elite QBs in the game.
And because all great games have an element of controversy, this year's Super Bowl was no exception. There were many 49ers players, coaches and fans who expressed their displeasure with the lack of a flag on a 4th and goal play that could've given San Fran the lead. However, the Niners did themselves no favors with some of the playcalling on that final drive. And had San Francisco completed the miracle comeback, how would the reaction have been in Baltimore, where the Ravens had complete control of the game until the inexplicable delay?
For this observer, the result was grand because the 49ers that had never lost a Super Bowl finally got to feel what it's like to lose a big game. It's not as though I know an overwhelming amount of San Fran fans, but their past success always seemed to make me loath them that much more. So I took a little extra joy in seeing them lose this year, and the anger about how the game ended is just a bonus.
All in all, it was certainly a memorable playoffs for Baltimore fans, with the miracle win over Denver probably being the most compelling game of the playoffs. That victory sold me on the Ravens this year, but we should make no mistake: this San Francisco team is very likely to be back in the final round of the playoffs very soon. Maybe as soon as next season, although I've always been a believer in the hangover for losing teams. We will see how the remainder of this off-season plays out for the rest of the NFL.
While I had anticipated the fortnight leading up to the Super Bowl to be dominated by being reminded over and over and over again that the brothers Harbaugh would be standing on opposite sidelines this Sunday, a number of other stories have made it such that I can't wait to just get the game going already. With the exception of the foolish remarks made by San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver, perhaps I should not have been too terribly surprised that retiring Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis dominated a lot of discussion these past two weeks. In addition to the revelation about deer antler spray, there was the inevitable revisiting of the 2000 murders that—for many people—will forever overshadow Lewis' accomplishments on the field.
Story after story, some featuring comments from the victims' families, and even Lewis' likely future employer couldn't resist. However, I thought that one of the true must-read columns about the Lewis coverage came from former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Stephen White. While I completely understand the people who have become annoyed by Lewis' frequent Bible-thumping, White made some important points about how many in the media characterized the linebacker's role in those murders and the prosecution's case afterward:
I can't and won't try to tell people how to feel about Ray Lewis, I just feel like if anyone in the media wants to write about the murders they should at least include more than their own characterization of his testimony which may or may not be accurate. At the very least include a link to the testimony so readers can come to their own conclusions about how cooperative he was and how much it helped the prosecution. It only took five hours to find Oakley and Sweeting not guilty, how long do you think it might have taken without Lewis' testimony?
Anyway, at long last, we'll finally have a game on Sunday. And it should be a pretty damn good one at that.
After focusing on the mere possibility of acquiring Kevin Love during the last quarterly update, I suppose that the ongoing disaster that is the Los Angeles Lakers means I should spend this quarter discussing the possibility of trading for Pau Gasol? Oh sure, in years past, I'd probably be quick to suggest pushing one Carlos Boozer out the door in such an offer. The only problem this year—especially since the turn of 2013—is that "the consolation prize" in the great free agent frenzy of 2010 has been playing relatively inspired basketball lately.
The Bulls are not only tied for the top spot in the Central Division, but even more remarkably, are a mere three games back in the Eastern Conference. Amazing because all of this has happened without the services of Derrick Rose, whose image typically graces the graphic of these quarterly updates.
As encouraging as the standings might be, I would not say the regular season success to this point necessarily will translate to a lengthy playoff run. At best, you're might be talking about the Eastern Conference Finals. Even then, it still seems like all signs are pointing to another Heat-Thunder Finals this year. If nothing else, at least when Rose returns to the court for Chicago, he will not be coming as a piece desperately needed to turn around a sinking ship, but rather to contribute and hopefully make what has been a fairly good team an even better one.
NOTE: Photo taken from here
I have been a supporter of Lovie Smith more often than not during his tenure as head coach of the Chicago Bears. It is an times thankless job, with many fans of the most popular sports team in Illinois calling for your job following any loss. There were the repeated cries that Lovie never showed emotion on the sideline, as though that meant something. Still, it seemed to me that he essentially got whatever players he was given to perform way beyond their abilities. I would be remiss not to recall how ecstatic I was when he led the team to a Super Bowl six years ago, albeit one the team ended up losing in.
However, I also cannot deny how in the years since, I have routinely noted Lovie's condescending attitude toward the media. Perhaps he might be more comfortable with the press in, say, Jacksonville. Beyond how he dealt with reporters, there was simply the fact that Lovie could not close the deal. Last year, it was his offensive coordinator and the general manager who lost their jobs instead, but this season's fall from sitting atop the division with a 7-1 record to a third place 10-6 finish that saw the team missing the playoffs was the last straw.
For as long I have been alive, the Chicago Bears have been built around being a defensive team. The trade for Jay Cutler was supposed to finally inject some much-needed hope on the offensive side of the ball, but Lovie struggled to run a system that manufactured the points the league now requires. And so one year into his new gig, Phil Emery appointed a fellow named Marc Trestman as the 14th head coach of the beloved Bears.
And Chicagoans were quick to note: this dude's got a couple of hot daughters.
The New York Giants will not be be repeating as World Champions this year, but three of the other four teams that were in this round last year have returned. So, you know, parity, folks.
There were indeed two close games last weekend that provided a bit more excitement than we got opening weekend (it was the highest scoring divisional round in history, if you're keeping count). The consensus opinion seems to be that a San Francisco-New England Super Bowl is not just likely but preferable to any of the three alternative scenarios. I certainly would have no problem with the prospect of a Pats-Niners title game two weeks from now, although for the sake of my own entertainment, I hope that there's at least one more fairly competitive contest this weekend even if that is the ultimate result.
Rest assured, there's probably a storyline for you to root for somewhere among this Final Four.
You might recall how just a couple years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox were by and large considered the tremendous favorites to win the World Series. It was going to be one of those teams, and chances seemed good that both would be there in the end after an off-season that those two clubs make the biggest acquisitions. And instead, well ... neither lived up to those expectations. Not that too many people complained about the World Series we did get that year (other than residents of the Lone Star State, perhaps).
