Five Things About Sports to Be Grateful For

It's that time of year again when we pause from our daily activities and give thanks for our many blessings. Even amidst our difficulties, we can always find something to be grateful for.

While it's been a trying year (to say the least) in the Chicago sports world this past year, here are a few things I'm grateful for (in no particular order):

* The Chicago Blackhawks -- The resurgence of the Hawks is one of the most incredible comeback stories in recent times. Last night, they dominated the San Jose Sharks en route to a 7-2 victory, they currently lead the league in penalty killing, and they've won eight games in a row. Winning the Stanley Cup would be the cream on my pumpkin pie.

* The Chicago youth movement -- Derrek Rose of the Bulls, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane of the Hawks, Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, and Randy Wells of the Cubs lead the youth movement in Chicago sports. Even while our local teams struggle (except the above mentioned Hawks), these young, talented athletes are fun to watch and give us hope for a brighter future.

* Two Chicago professional baseball teams -- Imagine living in a city that did not have a baseball team, or any professional sports team for that matter. We get so caught up in the on-field play and off season personnel moves, that we forget to appreciate the fact that we HAVE not just one, but two ball clubs to follow throughout the year. Many places in the country don't even have one.

* Universal Sports -- Part of the NBC network, Universal Sports broadcasts Olympic sports. It's nice to have an outlet like Universal to keep up with my other favorites sports, like swimming, gymnsastics and figure skating.

* The Internet -- Where would we all be without the Internet these days? Thanks to the World Wide Web, we can find out everything we want about our favorite sport, team or athlete. It makes blogs like Woman's Eye on Sports possible, and for that I am truly grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ESPN Expands Hometown Coverage

I guess it’s not enough for ESPN to be a global presence in 200 countries and cover college sports as well as the pros. The New York Times reports that ESPN is expanding its reach into several local markets after a test run in Chicago has shown that the sports network can compete with local broadcast outlets . Since its launch in April, ESPNChicago.com has become the city’s top sports site, attracting more than 590,000 unique visitors in June, according to comScore, an Internet measurement company. The network plans to add three more sites in Dallas, New York and Los Angeles beginning later this fall and early 2010. The Chicago site covers the city’s seven professional sports teams and sports at nine area colleges. It plans to add high schools sports coverage.

ESPN entering the local sports market is like a major big box retailer opening up a store in neighborhood with independent retailers, only to see those smaller businesses go out of business. Seems kind of unfair, like a big bully picking on the smaller kids on the school playground. Granted, ESPN has the staff, the money and the branding behind them. It’ll be difficult for any smaller site to compete at their level. Sadly, as ESPN gains a stronger foothold in localized sports coverage, look for smaller sites to fall by the wayside.