Chicago Women’s Soccer Team Needs a Name

The new Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league will be launched in the spring of 2009, and Chicago will be one of seven cities with a franchise. The only thing is – the team is looking for a name.

On his soccer blog Red Card, Chicago Tribune columnist Luis Arroyave provided six of 10 names that are currently being considered. Those six names are the Chicago Blues, the Chicago Towers, the Chicago Riot, the Chicago Massacre, the Chicago Union and the Chicago Wind.

Beginning next week, the team is having a “name the team” sweepstakes. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite name at the team’s Web site. Here's a link to the online form to vote. Voting ends March 16th.

Looking at the names that are listed already, I would say the best choice is the Chicago Wind. The other names have negative connotations that aren't suitable for a women's sports team. And besides, the Chicago Wind goes nicely with Chicago’s WNBA team, the Chicago Sky. (The wind and the sky -- what a lovely thought).

Clemens' Ship Is Sinking

Loose lips sink ships.

Some years ago, a former colleague would offer those words of advice to his department staff whenever the rumor mill began to work overtime.

Someone should have given that same advice to Roger Clemens. The seven-time Cy Young winner is now being investigated by the FBI for allegedly lying about using steroids.

Clemens can’t really blame anyone but himself for getting into this mess. It seems the more he opens his mouth to defend himself, the worse he makes it for his case and the less people believe him.

If he is innocent as he claims, wouldn’t it have been better if he had simply issued a written statement to the press or on his Web site, then say no more? Instead he had to go on 60 Minutes to convince viewers that he never used steroids, then testified at a House committee hearing earlier this month claiming that his former personal trainer Brian McNamee is lying, not him.

Have we learned nothing from Barry Bonds, who was found guilty of lying to federal investigators about his steroid use just last November? It’s the same story, only the characters have changed. As Bonds learned, and as Clemens is about to learn, you never, ever, ever lie to the Feds.

It’s not the steroid usage that got Clemens into trouble, it’s lying about it. And that can only mean one thing: Clemens’ ship is sinking.

Grossman-Berrian Connection Must Stay in Tact

The Bears re-signed QB Rex Grossman to a one-year deal worth $3 million plus incentives on Saturday, which is good news or bad news depending on whether you’re a Grossman supporter or not. The good news is the Bears have not given up completely on Grossman. But a short-term deal only says the much-maligned QB must play with greater consistency if he wants to stay beyond next season. The bad news is that fans have to put up with this story line for yet another year.

But even though Grossman is signed, it means nothing if the Bears don’t re-sign wide receiver Bernard Berrian, who is also a free agent. Together, Grossman and Berrian make up one of the most electric pass play combinations in the NFL. The team needs to have both in the fold if they are going to see any kind of success in the passing game next year.

Change Is in the Air For U.S. Figure Skating Championships

The Chicago Tribune learned that the U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be spread out over nine days and two weekends in 2010 to provide for live coverage of the sport on NBC leading into the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Under the new format, which will only be in effect for 2010 and other Olympic years that follow, the senior men’s and pairs competition would take place during the first weekend and the ladies and ice dance would be the second weekend. The juniors and novice competitions will take place the week in between. In non-Olympic years, the schedule would revert back to its current setup with all four free skate programs taking place on the same weekend.

The move will allow NBC to telecast the short and free skate programs of each of the four disciplines to give figure skating a bigger national TV audience and generate interest in the Winter Olympics. While I can understand U.S. Figure Skating and NBC wanting to capitalize on its recent successful coverage of the national championships in St. Paul, Minn., which increased 65 percent over last year’s coverage on ABC/ESPN, I think this plan is risky and could harm attendance. I know of few people who would be willing to attend an event over two consecutive weekends. For the diehards, it means staying an extra couple of days. For the not-so-diehard, it means choosing one weekend over the other or staying home altogether. With the sport already struggling to attract fans, it can’t afford to lose more of their in-person audience.

In related news, NBC will provide coverage of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles next year. I would think that this development closes the door on any possible agreement between ABC/ESPN beyond this year when the current contract expires. Furthermore, if NBC’s ratings for these figure skating events continue to rise, look for a longer-term deal with the network after the Vancouver Olympic Games.

4,000 Refs “Calling for a Cure”

Nearly 4,000 basketball referees who work women’s college and high school games are doing their part to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. During a week-long “Calling for a Cure” program Feb. 8 – 17, referees for the NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA and high schools will wear pink whistles during the games in conjunction with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) “Think Pink” initiative that was launched in 2007. Many of the referees will also donate portions of their game checks to benefit the Kay Vow WBCA Cancer fund, which was established in partnership with the V Foundation, a not-for-profit group founded by ESPN and Jim Valvano, an ESPN broadcaster and former basketball coach for North Carolina State who later lost his battle with cancer. Fans can donate to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund online at JimmyV.org.

U.S. Figure Skating Championships -- Rewind

Miscellaneous thoughts and musings from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minn., which concluded last weekend.

I was as stunned and suprised as everyone else when pairs skater John Baldwin proposed to partner Rene Inoue after their free skate program. A touching moment to be sure, but if that happened to me, I'd smack him. Wouldn't it be better if he proposed in private?

The overall quality of the skating in all four disciplines was much better than I expected, and I think much of that has to do with the young skaters competing at the senior level for the first time.

As I watched Caroline Zhang perform to “Ava Maria” I was spellbound and nearly moved to tears. I said to myself, “We may be watching the second coming of Michelle Kwan.”

The future of women’s figure skating looks very bright. Not only did Zhang sparkle in her free skate, but 2008 national champion, Mirai Nagasu, silver medalist Rachel Flatt and bronze medalist Ashley Wagner also impressed me. Three of these four ladies participated in their first nationals at the senior level; this was the second year for Flatt. And they all skated with a poise and maturity that was far beyond their years. It is going to be wonderful to watch them grow and compete at the national and international level.

How young is too young? Because of the ISU’s age requirement, the only medal finisher to go to Worlds this year will be Wagner, along with Meissner and Bebe Liang, who finished fifth. In order to keep three places on the ladies team, our top two American women must finish with placements equaling 13. For example, if two women finish fifth and eighth, we’ll keep our three spots on the team. If they finish worse than that, then the U.S. will only be able to send two ladies to the 2009 World team.

Is Kimmie Meissner’s career finished? The 2007 national champion fell three times during her free skate to finish seventh overall. Clearly, she lacks confidence in her skating. She’s got the talent, but does she have the desire to keep competing, especially with the likes of Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang entering the foray? If Meissner wants to reach the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, she’ll need to make some changes and work on her mental approach, which may mean working with a sports psychologist or changing coaches. (Note: Yesterday, Meissner announced that she has left long-time coach Pam Gregory and will be working with Richard Callaghan for the next six weeks leading up to the World Championships in Sweden.)

I was encouraged by the TV ratings for NBC’s telecast of the championships. The ladies event which was broadcast live Saturday night had a rating of 3.8, a 65 percent increase over last year’s telecast on ESPN. The men’s free skate on tape delay on Sunday night drew a 3.5 rating compared to 0.59 last year, when it got buried in late night coverage on ESPN. Overall, the telecasts of the championships reached 12.5 million people compared to 4.7 million last year. NBC and U.S. Figure Skating need to continue to telecast these competitions in primetime to rebuild their audience. As the young faces of skating become more familiar, more people will likely tune in next year.

Evan Lysacek may be focusing much of his time and energy on the quad jump in competition, but his straight line step sequences are impressing audiences and judges alike. Both sequences were given a grade level 4 for difficulty, the highest possible mark, plus a grade of execution of more than two. You may not like his style, but it’s getting a lot of points.

So was Johnnie Weir robbed of a gold medal and a national title? Most fans seem to think so, and I certainly did at first when the men’s competition concluded. But in a fluke of the judging system, both skaters had the identical score 244.77, but Lysacek was awarded the national title for winning the free skate, the tie breaker. Looking at the scores for both skaters (available on U.S. Figure Skating’s Web site), two things stand out: Lysacek’s straight line sequence was a full two points higher than Weir’s, and a base value of 1.80 was given to Weir’s upright spin. According to the Pioneer Press, a change of edge in mid spin was not visible to the judges, who gave the spin a base value of 1.80. With the change of edge, the base value would have been 3.00.