Five Things to Look Forward to in 2010

Happy New Year! The holidays have come and gone, but there’s still plenty to look forward to in the coming year. Here are five sports events I’m looking forward to watching in 2010.

1. Blackhawks Stanley Cup run — The way the Hawks are playing lately, winning eight of their last 10 games and currently sitting atop their conference standings with 61 points, you have to believe this is their year to make it to the Stanley Cup finals.

2. White Sox starting rotation — While most of the lineup and bullpen is still a big question mark, the White Sox starting rotation of Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddie Garcia makes me yearn for the start of the baseball season.

3. Winter Olympics in Vancouver — The Olympic Games are one of my favorite sports events, and this year is no exception. Several athletes will be worth watching, including: skier Lindsay Vonn, who could medal in four of the five alpine ski events she’s participating in; Apolo Ono, who could surpass Bonnie Blair in number of Olympic medals won, speed skater Shani Davis, who could win several medals, and figure skater Evan Lysacek, the current world champion who will challenge a very deep men’s field for a gold medal.

4. Illinois colleges in NCAA/NIT post-season play — Illinois, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Loyola (Chicago) and Northwestern are among the state-based schools with winning records in college basketball. Look for most, if not all of them, to be involved in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments.

5. Better performances by the Chicago Bears — After a disappointing 7-9 season, the Bears can only get better, right? Give Cutler another year in the Bears’ organization, with a new offensive coordinator who can create a game plan that will capitalize on Cutler’s talents. Give him a stronger, faster offensive line and better, faster receivers. Then watch this team take off in 2010.

Sports Betting and Networking Sites Raise New Legal Concerns

If you’re a sports fan who likes to participate in office pools or visit betting sites on the Web, listen up. Sports betting and social networking sites don’t mix.

The Chicago Tribune reports that some people are hosting online betting pools and collecting fees on sites like Facebook and may not realize that it’s against the law. In essence they may be operating an illegal online gambling operation, and if caught and found guilty, they could face criminal charges and jail time.

With the NCAA tournaments starting next week, it pays to be cautious. Follow the advice your mother gave you: don’t give money to strangers. Instead, stick to your office pool.

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.

Ohio State Playing For Pride

In a most unlikely scenario, Ohio State will face Florida in the NCAA men’s basketball final tonight, the same two teams that square off in the BCS football championship in January. When asked about the rematch yesterday at a press conference, both OSU coach Thad Matta and Florida coach Billy Donovan downplayed the significance of the rematch, saying they were focusing only on the game at hand, not what happened several months ago.

While that may be true for the Gators, who have enough motivation to win back-to-back national basketball titles for the first time since Duke did it in 1991 and 1992, OSU has to be thinking about payback time after Florida upset them in the BCS football title game. OSU’s football team was ranked number one going into its championship game, just as its basketball team was number one before the NCAA tournament began. You have to believe that the Buckeyes are playing for school pride, not just for a national title.

As much as I’d like to see the Buckeyes win, I’m afraid Florida will reign supreme again.

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.

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.

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.