Swimmer Phelps Piling Up the Gold

Tiger Woods may dominate on the golf course and Roger Federer on the tennis court (unless he’s facing Guillermo Canos of Argentina), but 21-year-old American swimming sensation Michael Phelps is making a splash in the pool.

At the FINA World Swimming Championships this week in Melbourne, Australia, Phelps has already earned five gold medals and smashed four world records (as of this writing). He slashed nearly a second off his previous world record to win the 200-meter individual medley final, and set the best ever times for the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly.

Unfortunately, the only way you can watch Phelps’ amazing races is to subscribe to WCSN.tv (World Championship Sports Network). The rest of us will have to wait until next summer for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Also see USA Swimming

Cubs Should Part Ways with Prior, Wood

The Cubs’ 2007 season begins next week, and neither Kerry Wood nor Mark Prior will be on the team roster on opening day. Wood was placed on the disabled list earlier this week with what is described as shoulder fatigue, and Prior was sent down to Triple A to work out his pitching problems. It is not known how long either of them will be absent, or if they’ll return at all.

This might seem like distressing news for Cub fans who have envisioned these two pitchers to be part of this star-studded cast on the north side. In reality, it might be the best thing for the team. The Cubs’ brass has spent millions in the off season to rebuild the team and is looking for immediate results once the season begins. Fans too expect a lot from this year’s team. A Chicagosports.com poll yesterday found that nearly 41 percent of fans think the Cubs will finish in first place.

With Prior and Wood off the roster, it will be interesting to see how the team fares without them. If the team does well, and I suspect it will, Cubs’ management may decide that the team does not need their two injury-plagued pitchers after all. In fact, it may be time for the Cubs to cut their losses, and let Prior and Wood go – permanently. Sometimes you need to clear away the old in order to bring in the new, like cleaning out closets to make room for new clothes.

There is nothing in the players’ recent history that convinces me that they are able to stay healthy for the long term, pitch consistently and make a meaningful contribution to the team. Hanging onto them may be more of a burden than this team needs. With every pinch or tweak they experience, the media pounces on them as if they are the only Cubs' story worth covering. But to really move forward, the Cubs may have to part with the past, and that means letting go of two players who are taking up too much closet space.

Federer Upset Again

Several weeks ago when Roger Federer broke Jimmy Connors' 30-year record of consecutive weeks as the number one player in the world, I wondered if anyone was able to beat the Swiss champion.

Apparently there is. His name is Guillermo Canas, and for the second time within two weeks, the Argentine player upset the top-ranked Federer. The first defeat two weeks ago at Indian Wells, Calif., ended Federer's 41-match winning streak. On Tuesday, Canas defeated Federer in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(5).

Canas isn't one of the better known players and is currently ranked 55th in the world, according to the ATP Web site, but he'll go down in tennis history as one of the few players who could beat the world's top-ranked player. Remember his name: Guillermo Canas. It might make a good trivia question someday.

The Umpire Strikes Again

Last July, I wrote about Ria Cortesio, a 30-year-old female umpire who worked the Futures Game and the Home Run Derby during the 2006 All-Star festivities in Pittsburgh. Cortesio just got assigned a new gig: working a spring training exhibition game this Thursday in Mesa, Ariz. between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs. This is her ninth year as an umpire, and her fifth year in Double-A, but it will be the first time that she will be working a game with a major league umpire. She hopes to move up to Triple-A this season; she’s next in line when a vacancy opens up.

So what do the players think about a woman ump calling a game? Derrek Lee of the Cubs loves the idea. “I think it’s about time,” the Cubs’ Lee was quoted in a Chicago Tribune article. “Female eyes are as good as male eyes. Why can’t they be umpires?”

My sentiments exactly.

Skating Championships Produce Surprises and Disappointments

Leading up to the World Figure Skating Championships last week, I expected the American skaters would bring home two medals. I was hopeful for three, but in the end, we were lucky to get one – a bronze in ice dancing. The championships had their share of surprises and disappointments. Among them:

Surprises:

* Miki Ando of Japan won the women’s title. Did anyone expect her to even finish in the top five?

* Thomas Verner of Germany finished fourth, moving up from ninth after the short program. In a very talented field, he wasn't mentioned among the top contenders. I don’t think anyone thought he would be that close to the podium. But Verner, the 2007 European silver medalist, had an outstanding free skate while other skaters ahead of him faltered.

* Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the U.S. silver medalists in ice dance, finished seventh in their first world championships. Of all the American skaters, they probably had the best overall competition, and will likely move up quickly in the international ranks in the next few years.

Disappointments:

* The U.S. team only earned one medal – a bronze in ice dancing by Belbin and Agosto. And they only got the bronze because two other dance teams behind them made more mistakes. With the exception of Davis/White, the U.S. ice dance silver medalists, I don’t think anyone else had a solid competition. I can accept third, fourth or fifth place finishes, but not with such sloppy performances.

Men’s competition. After seeing the thrilling men’s free skate last year at the World Championships in Calgary, I fully expected the same level of competition this year in Tokyo. But it didn't live up to its billing. It seemed that all the guys were bit by nerves, and everyone made mistakes in their short program. Even the men’s world champion, Brian Joubert of France, lacked a spark and played it safe in his free skate, completing only one quad jump when he could have put everyone away.

* Delayed-broadcasts of the events. By the time ESPN aired the event, the men’s and pairs events had already been decided and you could read about them on the Internet. The time difference took a lot of the drama out of the telecasts.

For all the results, visit www.isu.org.

And Then There Were Four…

So the NCAA Final Four is set for this weekend in Atlanta: Ohio State vs. Georgetown; and UCLA vs. Florida.

What are the chances that the national title will be decided between Ohio State and Florida – a rematch of the NCAA football championship? You couldn’t write a better script than that.

CBS must be drooling over that potential matchup.

Is It Live, or Is It Tape Delay?

There is nothing like seeing the spontaneity and drama that unfolds during the live telecast of a sporting event, like the NCAA tournament or the World Series. Tape-delayed broadcasts seem like such a waste of air time. With the Internet making news available almost immediately, why would anyone tune into tape-delayed sports events when they can get the results online? Most sporting events should be broadcast live as it happens, even if it means showing them in the middle of the night.

The World Figure Skating Championships, which wrapped up this weekend in Tokyo, is a case in point. While the NCAA tournament was being shown live on CBS, the figure skating championships were tape-delayed and shown on ESPN in the same time slot as the tournament games. Because of the 14-hour time difference between Tokyo and Chicago, the results of the skating competition were posted on the Web. In fact, the pairs’ and men’s events were already concluded before ESPN even showed any of the competition.

ESPN handled the Australian Open in January differently. The men’s final between Roger Federer and Fernando Gonzalez was broadcast live at 3 a.m. Chicago time, then replayed at noon later the same day. Would more fans have tuned in to see the free skate programs if they were broadcast live from Tokyo, even at 4 a.m.? The network could still rebroadcast the events in primetime.

What do you think? Would you watch a live sporting event on TV if it was broadcast in the wee hours of the morning?

NIU and ISU Introduce New Head Coaches

While the Southern Illinois Salukis were fighting their way through the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last weekend, two other state schools were shopping for new head coaches.

Patton to Lead the Huskies
At Northern Illinois, former Colorado coach Ricardo Patton was named as the new head coach. In 11 seasons with Colorado, Patton posted a 184-160 record, and six of his teams won 18 games or more. Twice, he took his teams to the NCAA tournament. He is brought on at NIU to turn around the fortunes of the Huskies who finished the season with a 7-24 record.

From Jayhawk to Redbird
Meanwhile, my alma mater, Illinois State University, announced the hiring of Kansas assistant Tim Jankovich as their new coach. He has been an assistant at Kansas for four years under Bill Self as well as at Illinois. He was also an assistant at Vanderbilt, Texas, Oklahoma State and Colorado State. The ISU Redbirds finished the season at 15-16 and lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to Indiana State, which had a worse record. The MVC has become highly competitive with Southern Illinois, Bradley, Wichita State, Creighton and Missouri State making either the NCAA or NIT tournaments the last two seasons.

As an ISU alum, I love the hiring of Jankovich. Here’s hoping he’ll bring the Kansas playbook with him to Normal, Ill.

Hockey in the English Channel?

A work colleague shared this story with me from the Toronto Star, in which her former boyfriend and semi-pro hockey player, Dave Williams, was interviewed about his team, the Wightlink Raiders in Ryde on the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. (I had no idea they played hockey in that part of the world.)

In any case, the Raiders are so bad, they make the Chicago Blackhawks look champions. How bad are they?

* They won only three games out of 43 this season and six games all last season.
* Opponents average 80 shots on goal a game.
* The team is often on the losing end of double-digit scores – 12-2, 11-0, 10-1, and 15-0.
* They average 700 fans per home game in a 1,200-seat arena that is old and deteriorating.

Their home ice rink measures 165-by-65 feet compared to the NHL standard 200-by-85. It is so tiny, Williams says, “You can step out from behind your own net, take a shot and have a legitimate scoring chance. The game is so fast you can shoot from practically anywhere and have a chance to score.”

The Raiders won four championships in the early 1990s, but fell on hard times as other teams became more competitive. The league has no salary cap, so the small-market Wightlink Raiders lost many of their best players to other teams with better funding.

So Hawks fans, relax. Things could be a lot worse.

NCAA Doubleheader at the United Center

UNLV Upsets No. 2 Wisconsin; Kansas Too Much for Kentucky

It was a beautiful afternoon in Chicago yesterday. So where was I? At the United Center for Round 2 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Having the first two rounds of the tournament in Chicago was a treat for me, and I could not resist the opportunity to watch two of the games in person.

Game 1: No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 UNLV

UNLV came out shooting on Sunday. Wisconsin had a difficult time defending the outside shot, and the Rebels smoked the Badgers with a bunch of three-pointers early in the game. It was reminiscent of Wisconsin’s first-round game on Friday when they fell behind to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi before the Badgers came back to win it. UNLV led by 12 points at half time, but Wisconsin went on a 16-2 run for a five-point lead in the second half. But the Badgers could not close it out, and UNLV joins the Sweet 16.

Game 2: No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats

During the first half, Kentucky kept the game close and I began to wonder if I would be seeing a double upset. But Kansas showed why they are a number one seed in the tournament. I know a lot of people like North Carolina and Florida, but don’t count out the Jayhawks. They’re quick and very talented.

While these were both entertaining games, the most exciting contest was Xavier vs. Ohio State in overtime on Saturday. Billed as a “Battle of Ohio,” Xavier had the Buckeyes on the ropes late in the game with a 9-point lead with less than three minutes to play before the Ohio State tied the game with two seconds left on the clock to put the game in overtime.

That’s why I love watching this tournament.

Council Approves $500 Million Olympic Guarantee

Despite heated debate, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution to approve a $500 million guarantee for the 2016 Olympics by a vote of 45-5.

Ever since U.S. Olympic Committee officials left town last week after touring Chicago and seeing our presentation for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, I have watched in amusement while aldermen, civic groups, columnists and bloggers have debated the Olympic guarantee issue. Why is it that everyone is so gung ho on the idea of bringing the Olympic Games to Chicago, but as soon as you mention the price tag, they balk at the idea?

Opponents to the city’s Olympic plan were (and still are) reluctant to put forth the money because they’re not sure the investment is worth it and they don’t have a clear picture of what the city will get out of it. That’s understandable because a lot can happen in nine years. But that is true of any financial investment. If you invest in the stock market, you do so knowing you could lose money or you might make money.

The fact is, putting on the Olympics is a huge endeavor that will showcase the city in a way that no other event would do. And yes, it will cost money – lots of it. Just like running a business, you have to invest money in order to make money. It's too soon to push the panic button. After all, if the USOC chooses Los Angeles over Chicago as its American candidate city on April 14, all this debate will be pointless. I prefer to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Chalk One Up for Da Coach

Last week, former Bears’ head coach Mike Ditka announced he sold his 1975 NFC championship ring for $12,000 in an online auction to raise money to assist former NFL players who have become disabled. Ditka, and Jerry Kramer, who both played for the Dallas Cowboys during the 1975 championship season, believe that the NFL isn’t doing enough to help these players.

It looks like Ditka’s emotional announcement made an impact. Earlier this week the NFL and the players’ association announced the formation of 88 Plan, a joint effort to provide funding to families of former players with dementia to help pay for their care and treatment. So far, families of 22 former players who are suffering from dementia have been designated to receive the benefit.

This seems like a great start for the program, but it’s a shame that the NFL did not have a program in place already. It took a couple of high-profile players like Ditka and Kramer to make the public aware that former players need help. In today’s sports world ruled by ego-driven players with mega-million dollar salaries, we often forget that the old-timers who played in the 1960s and 1970s didn’t have the same benefits and advantages that today's players have. At this point, we don't even know how many ex-players are affected.

While I think it's admirable that the league and players union are finally doing something to help former players, I also wonder if it presents questions than it solves. How much financial support is enough? Who gets the support and who doesn't? And will today’s players expect similar treatment in the future?

NBA Witch Hunt?

Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson claims that his star player Kobe Bryant is being picked on by NBA officials who called a flagrant foul 1 on Bryant Monday after he elbowed a Philadelphia player in the face three days earlier, even though officials did not call a foul on the play during the game. Bryant has served two one-game suspensions this season for hitting players in the face while shooting. Jackson is calling it a “witch hunt” and “a vendetta.”

This all makes me wonder who is picking on whom. The way Jackson is carrying on, you’d think that NBA officials were bullying Jackson’s kid on a playground. But this is the NBA, which has rules that govern players’ behavior on the court. Jackson and Bryant both know that. Jackson’s whining is just another form of bullying except he’s picking on the officials. Bryant has his own form of bullying; he just chooses to use his elbows to do it for him.

Briggs Lets His Ego Do the Talking

For the past few weeks, Bears’ linebacker Lance Briggs has taken to the airwaves to complain about how the Bears are not willing to give him a long-term deal. Their offer of $7.2 million for one year just isn’t good enough, Briggs told ESPN, saying that there was not job security in the deal and he wants to be traded. If he wanted job security, why didn't he accept the Bears' six-year, $33-million dollar offer last season? He has threatened to sit out the entire 2007 season.

Briggs also complains that he wants to be treated as the number one guy on defense and as long as he is with the Bears and playing with Brian Urlacher that will never happen. He says that the Bears don’t respect him, but it seems like they respect him enough to offer a deal worth $7.2 million for one year. I know a lot of people who would not turn that kind of money down.

If you listen closely to Briggs, you can almost hear an echo of another high-profile NFL loudmouth – Terrell Owens. It’s no coincidence that the two players have the same agent – Drew Rosenhaus. I don't remember Briggs being so arrogant, so you wonder if this stunt is coming from him and if Rosenhaus is pulling the strings. I picture Rosenhaus manipulating the strings of a marionette puppet, while Briggs is the puppet.

I say, let Briggs sit out the season. After sitting out a whole year whining and grumbling, he'll realize that the six-year, $33 million offer was a pretty darn good deal after all.

Simon Says He’s Sorry

The New York Islanders’ Chris Simon was suspended for the remainder of the hockey season as well as the entire Stanley Cup playoffs after his slashing attack on the Rangers’ Ryan Hollweg last Thursday. The suspension could mean Simon is out a minimum of 25 games, which would be one of the lengthiest suspensions in NHL history.

The league determined that Simon attempted to deliberately injure Hollweg after Hollweg checked him into the boards. Hollweg needed several stitches to close a gash on his chin but did return to practice on Friday.

Simon was contrite with his apologies to Hollweg, his team, the league and fans, saying, “What you saw Thursday is not the person, player and competitor that I am.”

That’s an interesting comment, considering that this is the sixth time Simon has been suspended, five times for “violent acts on the ice,” and once for uttering racial slurs against an opponent, according to Reuters.

Considering Simon’s history, I think the NHL’s suspension is too lenient. Why not ban him from the sport altogether and let him be an example for other players? How much is the NHL willing to tolerate? The NHL does not need goons like Simon; what it needs is a stricter policy against player brutality.

NCAA Tournament Gives Employees Another Excuse Not to Work

How much time do you think the average college basketball fan will spend at work reading about, talking about or watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which begins next week?

Chicago-based consulting firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, estimates that employers could lose more than $1.2 billion due to employee lost productivity during the tournament. The first two days of the tournament alone on March 15 and 16 when 32 games are scheduled could cost employers as must as $260 million in wages because employees will be watching the games instead of working. An additional $86 million could be lost as a result of fans watching games online over the first two days, courtesy of streaming video of 56 games on NCAAsports.com.

An estimated 22.9 million working fans with Internet access will spend an average of 13.5 minutes per day checking on scores and getting tournament updates.

And these figures don't even take into account all the conference tournament games that are played the week before the tournament.

The consultants also suggest that employers can use the tournament to build camaraderie among the staff with office pools, have the games on in conference rooms or encourage employees to wear apparel of their favorite team.

That’s what I call team spirit.

Jones’ Deal Opens Door for Benson

With the trade of running back Thomas Jones to the New York Jets on Monday, Cedric Benson now becomes the apparent starting back for the Bears next season. Jones’ trade was sudden and surprising, but then I suppose the two backs could not live happily ever after on the same Bears team. As rivals for the starting running back job, I got the sense that the two did not like each other. The fact is, if the Bears had kept both backs, both Jones and Benson would continue to be unhappy – Benson because he wasn’t getting enough playing time, and Jones, well, I guess he just didn’t like being a Bear. For the sake of keeping the peace, one of them had to go.

I liked Jones; he was reliable and productive, especially with the game on the line. I’m not convinced that Benson can do the same under similar circumstances. Perhaps with Jones safely tucked away in New York, Benson can step up and perform the way the Bears think he can, and give third-string RB Adrian Petersen an opportunity to contribute more. If Benson doesn’t deliver, the Bears better have a decent back-up plan.

Top 10 Bogus "Sports"

How many times have you tuned in to ESPN or some other sports network only to find some pseudo sport you didn’t expect to see? If you’re like me, you probably scratched your head and asked, “Why is this being covered on ESPN? What makes this a sport?”

Apparently, the sports writers at the Winnipeg Sun noticed what I did and came up with a list of their top 10 bogus sports. After reading their list, I felt inspired to create my own. These are not in any particular order. Feel free to agree or disagree.

Poker
Spelling bee
Food eating contests
Scrabble/chess/board games
Billiards
Dog sledding
Fishing
Paintball
Tractor pull
Auto racing

I think there’s an important distinction to be made here between sport and competition. What many of us refer to as sport is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “any activity done for enjoyment or pleasure, or an athletic game.” Under the first definition, you’d have to consider sex as a sport, wouldn’t you?

Competition, however, implies a contest where someone wins. It’s not necessarily an athletic activity either, such as a spelling bee. ESPN’s programming emphasizes competition, not sport per se. Perhaps they should change their tag line to read, “The Wide World of Competition?”

Bears Fans Pay the Price for Success

With a successful 13-3 season behind them and a trip to the Super Bowl, you knew it wouldn’t be long before the Bears raised their ticket prices. Besides, the team has to find a way to pay for Lovie Smith’s new contract extension, worth $22 million through 2011. Fans are hearty souls; they’ll dish out the dough if they believe it will get them another trip to the Super Bowl.

Figure Skating Museum Moving to Chicago?

Our fine city of Chicago is being considered as the new home for the World Figure Skating Museum, which is currently based in Colorado Springs (which is also home to the U.S. Figure Skating Association), according to a Chicago Sun-Times article. The board wants to raise the museum profile and attendance, and is looking at several larger cities that are connected by an international airport.

While Chicago has produced some notable skaters over the years, such as Janet Lynn, Timothy Goebel, and more currently, Evan Lysacek, the city is an odd choice considering it has never hosted a World or National Championships. It doesn’t have the cachet in the sporting world that other American cities seem to have. Most fans are likely to associate the city with Bears football or Cubs baseball long before they think of figure skating. I can see Detroit or St. Paul, Minn., or even Vancouver, providing a better location for the museum because of their rich skating history and more active skating clubs.

Onthe other hand, it may not be a bad idea to bring the Figure Skating Museum to Chicago, especially if it’s at a well-appointed Michigan Avenue location. I'd volunteer to be a docent in a heart beat. Could the National or World Figure Skating Championships in Chicago be far behind?

The board will vote on a new location later this month.

Hamm, Foudy in a Class by Themselves

I was thrilled to hear that Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, two of the stars of the U.S. women’s soccer team, will be inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in August. They make up a women’s-only class for this year’s Hall selections. Hamm became the face of women’s soccer in America, and has been a role model for young girls. She received 137 of a possible 141 votes, the highest number of votes ever received by a player for election into the Hall. Foudy’s contributions have been just as impressive. To read more, visit http://www.soccerhall.org/.

In related news, U.S. Soccer announced the formation of a new women’s soccer league with six teams, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and a sixth market to be named later. The league is expected to launch its first season in the Spring 2008.

P.S. Mia Hamm and husband, Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra, are expecting twins in mid-April.

Santo Snubbed Again

I know there are a lot of Cub fans who are terribly disappointed that Ron Santo did not get voted into the baseball Hall of Fame. But after so many failed attempts to get into the Hall, you have to begin to wonder if committee members are seeing something in Santo that the rest of us are not. His lifetime batting average is .277, and hit only 342 home runs. Granted, he had more than 1,300 RBIs and 2,254 base hits and a slugging percentage of .454. While those are solid numbers, there’s nothing in his stats that jumps out at you. Santo was clearly a very good ball player in his day, and very popular in Chicago. But compared to other players who have been elected to the Hall, his numbers fall short.

Let’s face it. If Santo had the numbers the Hall members were looking for, he would have been voted in by now.