Thursday, September 27, 2007

Grossman to Sit Out Against the Lions

Bears fans have been begging to see Brian Griese as the starting quarterback since the beginning of the 2006 season. Now they’ll finally get their wish. Griese will start for the Bears this Sunday against the Detroit Lions while Grossman watches from the sidelines.

I’ve always been a staunch supporter of Grossman, even after some of his worst performances last season which prompted most other fans to beg for a change in the quarterback position. But after seeing his showing during the Super Bowl last February and three subpar performances to start this season, I have to agree with coach Lovie Smith that it is time for “a breath of fresh air.” If there had been steady progress in Grossman’s play on the field – namely, fewer interceptions, better ball control and more touchdowns – I would have stuck with him as the leader on this team. I’m sure Lovie would have too. But I have seen nothing in recent weeks which leads me to think that Grossman is comfortable in the starting role. That might be the best thing for him right now. Mind you, this is a temporary solution. Griese is 39-33 as a backup in the NFL and has some solid credentials to his name. Despite his limited success, I don’t expect Griese to be the starter for the remainder of the season, only until he falters himself, gets injured or Grossman regains his confidence, whichever comes first.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Thome’s 500th Homer Clinches Victory

White Sox slugger Jim Thome sure picked the right moment to club his 500th career home run on Sunday.

With the game tied 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, former Angel Darin Ersted led off with a base hit to right field. Thome followed with a dramatic, game-winning home run to left center field which sent 35,000 fans into a state of delirium. It is perhaps the most memorable moment in Sox history since Game 2 of the 2005 World Series when Scott Podsednik’s deep fly ball landed in the seats to clinch a victory for the Sox.

Until Sunday’s magical moment, Thome had gone 0-11 in the series, and the Sox had climbed back from a 7-1 deficit to tie the game. You couldn’t have scripted a better ending than that.

There have been 23 players who hit more than 500 home runs in their careers, but Thome’s homer on Sunday was the first as a walk-off game-winner.

The fan who caught the ball, Will Stewart of Austin, Texas, who flew into town that morning for an accounting conference, promptly returned the ball to Thome during a post-game interview. At a time when most fans would rather grab the ball and sell it to the highest bidder, it’s rare to see a fan remain humble and modest in the face of so much excitement. In fact, Stewart said he did not know until that morning that Thome was on the brink of a major career milestone.

Thome and the Sox offered a generous gift package to the person who caught the home run ball that included season tickets for the 2008 and the use of Thome’s skybox for a Cubs-Sox game next year. Stewart, who is not from the Chicago area, accepted the skybox, but declined the season tickets. Instead, he donated the tickets back to Thome’s charity. You don’t see that very often.

With everything we’ve been hearing these days about what is wrong about baseball, Jim Thome is everything that is right about it.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Biggest Cheaters in Sports History

As a follow up to my story yesterday, the New England Patriots will pay some steep penalties for violating the NFL’s rules that ban videotaping on the sidelines. Coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team $250,000 for what the NFL deemed was stealing signals using video taping equipment. In addition, the Patriots will lose a 2008 first-round draft pick if they make the playoffs this season. So, does this make the Patriots the biggest cheater in sports history?

The editors at the Miami Herald came up with their list of the biggest cheaters in sports history. I agree with most of the entries on their list, with one exception: the Chicago "Black" Sox, who were charged, acquitted, and subsequently banned from Major League Baseball for throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. It seems to me that cheaters are trying to gain a competitive advantage. They’re trying to win games. The Black Sox weren’t trying to do either. So while they may not have played fair and square, I can’t really count them among the biggest cheaters in sports history.

I also think the Herald’s list is missing one important name: Pete Rose. Surely a lifetime ban from baseball for betting on his own team’s games makes him one of the world’s biggest cheaters.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Patriot Games: Is New England Spying on the Competition?

With everything that has been happening in the world of sports this year — Michael Vick’s dog fighting allegations, NBA referees charged with gambling, ongoing debates about steroid use in baseball — I probably shouldn’t be too surprised to find out that an NFL team may have violated league rules that ban videotaping of the opponents’ sidelines. I just never thought the New England Patriots, arguably one of the best teams in the NFL during the past decade, would be the culprit.

The NFL is investigating several reported incidents involving the New England Patriots’ use of video cameras to “steal” signals from opposing team coaches on the sidelines.
The most recent incident occurred Sunday when NFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from a Patriots’ employee during their game against the New York Jets. Last season, a similar incident occurred when the Green Bay Packers complained to the league when they noticed a man with a Patriots’ staff credential was carrying a video camera on their sideline.

Earlier this week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick about his “interpretation” of the league’s rules, and an ESPN.com reported that Goodell feels the Patriots did violate the videotaping ban. The NFL is expected to rule on the incident on Friday.

It’s understandable that any team or athlete would want to gain some kind of competitive advantage over his opponent, but a team as deeply talented as the Patriots shouldn’t need to resort to those tactics. Yet if these allegations are true, what do these actions say about their team and coaching staff? Are the Patriots insecure about the talent on their team or are they simply playing head games with the NFL and the other teams in the league?

Monday, September 10, 2007

Federer Still Tops, But Are Competitors Gaining?

Roger Federer may have won the U.S. Open tennis championship Sunday for his 12th Grand Slam title in his career, but after watching the championship match against No.3 Novak Djokovic, one wonders if Federer’s competitors are closing the gap. The Swiss champion has reigned supreme for the past two years and no one has really challenged him on the court. That is, until this season. Spain’s Rafael Nadal, ranked number two in the world, has dominated Federer on the clay court at the French Open, and is the only current player to have a winning record against him. In a thrilling final match at Wimbledon in July, Nadal extended Federer to five sets and had several match point opportunities before Federer grabbed the title.

Earlier this week, American Andy Roddick played one of his best matches of his career against Federer at the U.S. Open, only to lose to him in the end. In his first Grand Slam title appearance Sunday at the U.S. Open, Djokovic had Federer on the ropes and squandered seven set points in the first two sets, which were both decided by a tie breaker. While most tennis fans would look at this as more of the same Federer dominance, you have to admit that the matches are becoming more competitive, more balanced. Federer is not blowing out the top competitors anymore, but instead has been scrambling to keep his championship crown, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat.

Federer has raised the sport of men’s tennis to a whole new level, and for awhile, no one came close to beating him. But if the competition level we saw at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open is any indication, we may be seeing signs that his closest competitors – Nadal, Djokovic and Roddick – are closing the gap. These players have raised their own games and the matches are more tightly contested, which has created some exciting matches for fans to watch. And that’s great news for men’s tennis.

Bears’ Running Game Going Nowhere

Tribune sports columnist David Haugh was right on in his assessment of the Bears’ ineffective running game in Sunday’s opening season loss to the San Diego Chargers. Heading into this season, I was more concerned about the Bears’ ability to run the ball and control the clock than I was with QB Rex Grossman’s offensive struggles. With the departure of running back Thomas Jones, who was traded to the New York Jets during the off season, the Bears must rely on Cedric Benson, a first-round draft pick from Texas now in his third season. Up to this point, Benson has shown little of his talent or promise on the field.

Ideally, an established running game will open up the passing game for Grossman who will have better play options available to him and the offense becomes a more balanced attack. But without a running game, Grossman will have to pass more, which means forcing passes he should not throw, miscues, interceptions and so on.

It all starts up front for the Bears. The offensive line needs to open up holes for Benson. They need to give Grossman plenty of time to see the whole field and make the right pass play choices. And they need to make sure defenders are properly blocked so they’re not running into Grossman’s face.

If the Bears cannot straighten out their offensive attack and running game any time soon, this could be a long, disappointing season for the Bears.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

U.S. Gymnasts Show They’re Ready for the Olympics

The U.S. women gymnastics team will enter the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing as a slight favorite after capturing the world gymnastics title in by a slim one-point margin over the favored and defending champion Chinese team. After a couple of spills from the balance beam that put them behind China in the standings going into the final rotation, the Americans rebounded with three winning routines on the floor by Shawn Johnson, Shayla Worley and Alicia Sacramone. The only other time the U.S. won the world title was 2003.

The U.S. men finished fourth in the team event in Stuttgart, Germany.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Zambrano Must Start Winning to Drive Away Boo Birds

Cubs’ ace Carlos Zambrano apologized to fans and the media yesterday (surely at the urging of Cubs’ coaches and management) after ripping fans at Wrigley Field Monday for booing him as he walked off the field in the fifth inning of an embarrassing 11-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zambrano can apologize all he wants, but it won’t make fans readily forget the comments he made after Monday’s game in which he said that Wrigley fans “just care about them.” Never mind that Big Z ran through third-base coach Mike Quade’s stop sign and was tagged out at home plate in the bottom of the third inning and allowed eight runs on seven hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings. His performance Monday, combined with poor outings in his previous four starts, makes you wonder what is going on in his head of late. Clearly, this is not the same pitcher the Cubs signed for $91 million just a few weeks ago.

His post-game remarks were arrogant and disrespectful for sure, but it also showed immaturity. Some fans find his excitable nature rather endearing at times, but how many times have we excused his hot-headedness simply because he is so good on the mound? One wonders if now that he has that nice little contract in his back pocket that Big Z has lost some of his motivation. Someone needs to remind him that the Cubs are in a divisional race, and that he needs to channel his energy to fight the team in the opponents’ dugout, not the people in the stands.

I generally don’t advocate booing teams or players on the field when they are performing poorly. Doing so just seems counterproductive to me. However, in this instance, I can understand Cub fans frustration. They have a right to show their displeasure with Zambrano, not just for how he played on Monday, but how he has performed over the past few weeks. The fans expect big things from their ace, especially while they are in the playoff hunt, and Big Z simply has not lived up to those expectations. It’s time for Zambrano to do more than apologize; it’s time to perform at the level he is capable of. It’s time to start winning some games. That will surely drive the boo birds away.