“No Chance” for Mercy for Reporter

Even before Sunday night’s game between the Cubs and Cardinals was postponed due to the death of Cardinals’ pitcher Josh Hancock, the series had gotten off to a rocky start as early as Friday morning. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch article poked fun at the Cubs’ history of futility and declared that they had “no chance” of ever winning the World Series. Cardinals’ manager Tony LaRussa took exception to the article and refused to answer any questions from the Post-Dispatch reporters during a press briefing later that afternoon. During the war of words that followed, the P-D writer denied any wrongdoing, and instead, put all the blame on his editor. “I don’t assign the stories,” he said. “I’m only doing my job.”

First of all, slamming any team, even if it is meant to be light-hearted fun, is poor judgment. Both the writer and his editor should take responsibility for that. But what bothered me more was the reporter’s snotty and arrogant attitude during the press briefing. I have some words of advice for this guy: As long as your byline appears in the column, you are responsible for everything you write. Wiping your hands clean and putting all the blame on your boss or editor is irresponsible.

Sports reporting is a tough job. So just do what your mom told you to: play nice.

Sky’s Jackson Arrested in Israel

Chicago Sky player Deanna Jackson spent the winter playing basketball for the Israeli league. She’ll have to extend her visit just a little longer while she appears in court on assault charges later this week, according to the Associated Press.

The 27-year-old Jackson was arrested after punching an opposing player in a parking lot following the league’s championship game, and she won’t be able to leave the country until at least this Thursday when she has a date in court. That will mean she will miss the Sky’s preseason opener this Wednesday, but that’s just for starters. Jackson had her passport confiscated by Israeli authorities, and she was suspended indefinitely by the Chicago Sky. Jackson also faces a lawsuit filed by the other player, Ina Gourevitch, whose nose was broken in the attack and is seeking $20,000 in damages.

Now that’s one very expensive trip.

MLB Steroids Scandal Heats Up

Major League Baseball’s steroids storyline may be about to explode.

Kirk Radomski, a 37-year-old former employee of the New York Mets, pleaded guilty in federal court last Friday to charges he distributed performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of MLB players between 1995 and 2005, according to MLB.com. He will be sentenced in September, but could face up to 25 years in prison and fines of $500,000. “During my past employment in Major League Baseball, I developed contacts with Major League Baseball players throughout the country to whom I subsequently distributed anabolic steroids and athletic performance-enhancing drugs,” Radomski said in his plea agreement.

While Radomski did not provide names in his plea agreement, he has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators. That spells bad news for MLB. Because Radomski was never a player and is no longer associated with any of the teams, you can bet he will have few reservations about sharing his little black book of names. When he does, you can bet this entire drug scandal will be blown wide open.

Hancock Death Postpones Cubs-Cardinals Game

It was not a good day for world champions. Not only were the defending NBA champion Heat eliminated from the playoffs, the 2006 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals had their own tragedy to deal with.

Middle reliever Josh Hancock was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning when his Ford Explorer crashed into a tow truck that had stopped on the side of the road to assist another driver. Sunday’s night game between the Cardinals and Cubs at Busch Stadium was postponed while the Cardinals team deals with the tragedy.

Five years ago, a Cubs-Cardinals game was also postponed when Cardinals’ pitcher Darryl Kyle was found dead in his hotel room here in Chicago. It seems odd that these tragedies would link these two teams, not once, but twice. Add the Sammy Sosa-Mark McGuire homerun chase in 1998, and I begin to wonder if there is some karmic lesson to be learned.

No More Baby Bulls

It’s been a long time since I felt so much excitement about the Bulls in the postseason, about nine years in fact. While the Bulls have made the postseason the last two years, they did not make it out of the first round. Today, they took a big step forward by sweeping the defending champion Miami Heat during the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Today’s 92-79 victory was not their best outing in the series. The Bulls shot only 34 percent from the field, but shot well from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, had only five turnovers and dominated defensively down the stretch to earn a meeting with the Detroit Pistons.

Watching today’s game, I could see a hunger and confidence in this Bulls’ team that I did not see last year in the playoffs. They are a more complete team, with a good, healthy balance of experience and youth. This team played with a chip on its shoulder, challenging the Heat to keep pace with them.

But did they leave everything they had on the basketball court in this series? Will they have anything left for the next series? Will they be prepared to battle the more powerful and experienced Pistons team, which won the NBA title two years ago?

The Bulls passed an important test today. The next test will begin next weekend in Detroit.

Prior's Surgery Should Have Been Done Sooner

Were you too terribly surprised by the news that the Cubs' Mark Prior would miss the entire 2007 season after having shoulder surgery? I wasn't. Now the big question is, will he ever play baseball again? Certainly, I believe his career with the Cubs is over. Will any other team want to take the chance on a player who has tons of talent but is so injury-prone that he has become more a liability than an asset?

The question I have is -- why wasn't this surgery done sooner? With the exception of an occasional start here and there, Prior has essentially missed the last three seasons, and he has landed on the DL at least once every season since he came up in 2002. I don't know if the decision to forgo surgery so long was Prior's decision or Cubs' management. But I wonder if the Cubs and their fans would be seeing a healthy Mark Prior on the mound this season if he had the surgery sooner.

This is just another example of how the Cubs, their trainers, or team doctors have mismanaged the health of their players. They've also done a fine job with Kerry Wood. As I wrote several weeks ago when the regular season began, it may be time to bid Prior and Wood farewell.

ESPN Target of Poison-Pen Letters

I guess someone doesn’t like the way ESPN covers college cheerleading competitions and professional female athletes. In dozens of letters sent to the network and its affiliates, the writer complained that the network’s use of camera angles exploited cheerleaders, WNBA and WTA Tour players “for their own personal entertainment,” according to one letter obtained by the Associated Press. Some of the letters also contained a potentially harmful insecticide. The FBI believes the author has some knowledge of college athletics, cheerleading or TV production. The agency is offering a $5,000 reward for any information about the case.

IOC Nixes Boxing Championships in Chicago

The 2007 world boxing championships may not take place in Chicago afterall, according to Chicagosports.com. As I reported several days ago, the international boxing federation (AIBA) stripped the event from Moscow due to organization issues and gave the event to USA Boxing, which had to find a host city. Chicago was considered an ideal choice since it had just been named the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. But the idea of hosting the boxing championships has yet to earn the approval of the IOC, which believes that it could violate the rules in how bid cities can promote themselves. Chicago could be perceived internationally as having an early advantage in the Olympic bidding process.

5 Keys to Beat the Heat

With one victory safely tucked away in the best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat, the Bulls have a chance to really show the NBA reigning champions that they mean business with a win Tuesday night in Game 2 at the United Center. The Bulls have several factors in their favor this year that they did not have last year when they faced the Heat in the first round in the NBA playoffs. Here are my five keys to the Bulls’ playoff success.

1) Home court advantage. In a strange playoff setup, the Bulls have home court in this opening series because they have a better record than the Heat, even though the Bulls are the fifth seed. The Bulls have one of the best home records in the NBA this season and they can really put that advantage to good use in this series.

2) Youth and experience. The Bulls have a good blend of experience and youth. After having faced the Heat last season, they know what they need to do to beat them this year, and this time, they have more experienced players like Ben Wallace to help them. The Bulls are beginning to understand what it takes to win in the postseason. They’re gaining experience with each playoff game they play.

3) Dwayne Wade's injury. Wade is still not 100 percent and still appears to favor his injured shoulder. The Heat cannot depend on Wade to carry them this time around as they did last year.

4) Ben Wallace. Wallace provides the inside dominance that was lacking on the Bulls teams of years past. He also brings a wealth of playoff experience which should rub off on the younger Bulls.

5) Luol Deng. The talented Bulls’ forward was injured last season and missed the playoffs. While most fans look to Kirk Hinrich or Ben Gordon as the go-to guys down the stretch, the guy that could really make a difference is Luol Deng, who is clearly the most consistent player the team has. I expect to see him make his presence felt on the court at some point in this series.

Pitching for a New Deal

The 25,000+ fans who braved the wind and cold at U.S. Cellular Field Wednesday night witnessed a rarity in sports -- a multiple homerun game, a grand slam and no-hitter in the same game.

Starter Mark Buehrle was brilliant in a 6-0 victory over the Texas Rangers, facing the minimum of 27 batters and striking out eight in a speedy two-hour, three-minute game. It could have been a perfect game had it not been for a fifth inning walk to Sammy Sosa, whom Buehrle promptly picked off. It the first no-hitter by a Sox starter since Wilson Alvarez did it in 1991 against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Sox brass has said that Buehrle, as well as outfielder Jermaine Dye and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, should consider free agency when this season ends, but after Wednesday night’s performance, they may want to reconsider. In addition to Buehrle’s no-no, Dye hit a grand slam in the fifth inning after fouling off seven pitches. DH Jim Thome added two solo shots.

If I’m Kenny Williams or Jerry Reinsdorf, I have to reconsider my game plan where these Sox players are concerned. After Buehrle’s shaky performance in the second-half of last season, Williams was reluctant to commit to giving the lefty a new contract. But if Buehrle continues to pitch the way he has in his last two starts – he’s only given up one hit in his last 15 innings – the Sox may have to find the dough to offer Buehrle a new deal.

Chicago’s Flexing Its Boxing Muscle

I’m not too keen on boxing, but believe it or not, I’m excited about the possibility that Chicago may host the 2007 World Boxing Championships next fall. It would mark the first major international competition in Chicago since being named the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the International Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) has awarded the 2007 World Boxing Championships to USA Boxing, which now must find a host city. The championships were scheduled for Moscow Sept. 15-30, but the AIBA pulled it because of uncertainty over the event’s organization. If Chicago is chosen to host the event, more than 600 athletes and 400 officials from more than 100 countries would converge on the city. The 2007 championships are also the sport’s first qualifying event for the 2008 Olympics.

VT Gunmen’s Family Are Victims Too

Like many of you, I was truly saddened by the violence that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech Monday morning. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased and the survivors.

While most of the focus has been on how this tragedy has affected the VT students, faculty and families, the people I think about most are the gunmen’s parents. They must be devastated by the knowledge that their son was responsible for killing 32 people. Perhaps in time, they will be able to talk about this tragedy and shed some light on their son’s behavior. In the meantime, I hope people everywhere will allow the family to grieve in peace and give them time to cope with their loss. They are as much a victim as those who were killed and injured Monday morning and deserve our kindness, patience and understanding.

Homecoming Week

It was odd to see former Cubs’ pitcher Greg Maddux in a San Diego Padre uniform at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Somehow Navy just doesn’t look as good on him as Cubbie blue did.

On the other side of town, the White Sox are hosting the Texas Rangers and Sammy Sosa. It's Sosa's first visit to Chitown since making a disgraceful exit from the Cubs at the end of the 2004 season. The crowd at U.S. Cellular Field booed Sosa each time he came to the plate. Sosa hit
his 591st career home run Tuesday night en route to a 8-1 Texas Rangers’ victory over the Sox.

This isn’t the first time the Sox have made a former player feel so welcome. Last May, Frank Thomas hit two home runs for the Oakland A’s in his first two plate appearances against John Garland.

Games 2 and 3 take place tonight and Thursday.

Running in Space

While runners were competing in the Boston Marathon Sunday, astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams was running her own race on a treadmill 210 miles above the Earth in a space station traveling 17,500 mph. She started her race at 10 a.m. strapped in a harness to the treadmill so she wouldn’t float away while one of two laptop computers provided a live feed of the race from Boston. By the time she completed the first 9.5 miles of 26.2-mile race, the space station had already circled the Earth once. The 41-year-old astronaut qualified for the Boston race by finishing the Houston Marathon in January. In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Williams said, “Marathons are hard on the body. It’s hard on the machine [treadmill]. I hope both of us survive.”

That’s what I call dedication. Most people probably would have skipped the marathon if they knew they were going to be out of town, or in Williams’s case, out in space.

“Charmed” Actress Joins MLB Blogging Team

Actors such as Bill Murray, Vince Vaughn and John Cusack are known for being huge Cub fans. Now you can add actress Alyssa Milano to the list of celebrity fans.

On her blog at MLB.com, Milano, who starred in the TV series “Charmed,” says when she was a girl she would watch Dodger games while sitting in her father’s lap. She says she never leaves a game before the final out, always participates in the “wave” and occasionally eats tofu hot dogs which, when chased by a diet coke, makes her burp for days. And she swears she is writing her blog because she really loves the game and isn’t doing it to promote her new line of MLB apparel for women. Yeah. Right.

But seriously, Milano has some interesting things to say about the Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, cold weather and all things baseball.

Robinson’s Legacy Extends Beyond the Color Barrier

It was a special day in the baseball world Sunday. Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the day that Robinson became the first black player to play in the major leagues. Yesterday, thanks to the Reds’ Ken Griffey, Jr., who approached MLB Commissioner Bud Selig a week ago about wearing the number 42, more than 200 players, including all of the L.A. Dodger players, donned jerseys with Robinson’s number 42. Before last night’s ESPN Game of the Week between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the league had a touching tribute to Robinson’s memory.

What Robinson did is open a door to a sport that was previously closed to black players. Football, basketball and track and field weren’t the only games in town for black athletes. Baseball was another option. Despite the fact that there are fewer black players today than there were in 1975 when 25 percent of players were black, the door is still open. And not just for black players but for all minorities.

Since that fateful day in 1947 when Robinson took the field for the first time, the league has seen growing numbers of Hispanic players from the U.S. and around the globe. More recently, players from Japan have joined our playing field. While there are still fewer black players today, the league is also becoming more international. And I believe it all began with one door opening 60 years ago.

Eyeing the Olympic Competition

Now that Chicago has been named the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Olympic Games, there’s a lot of work ahead for the Windy City. Chicago will have plenty of global competition for the privilege to host the Olympics, including Tokyo, Madrid, Prague and Rio de Janeiro. Other possibilities are Rome; St. Petersburg, Russia; Monterey, Mexico; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.

Here’s how I analyze the competition:

** With London hosting the 2012 Games, the IOC may be reluctant to choose another European city in back-to-back Games. So Madrid, Prague, Rome and St. Petersburg may be eliminated.

** With Beijing hosting the Games in 2008 and Sydney, Australia in 2000, would the IOC bring the Games back to the Asian-Pacific region (Tokyo) for a third time in five Olympiads?

** The two Middle Eastern states, Qatar and Azerbaijan, are located near the Iranian border, so security could be a concern.

** Atlanta was the last North American city to host the Games in 1996, so the Games may be due to be hosted by a North or South American city. That’s why Chicago has a solid chance to host the Games in 2016. But no South American city has every hosted the Games which is why Rio de Janeiro is considered one of the frontrunners. Monterey, Mexico, will make have a hard time competing against the heavy-hitters.

It may all come down to Chicago vs. Rio. It’ll be hard to bet against either one.

A Bear of a Schedule

One of the few downsides to winning your division with a 13-3 record is earning a much tougher schedule the following season. By the look of the Bears’ 2007 regular schedule released today, the players and fans won’t have to wake up so early on game days. Ten of the team’s 16 games will be played in the late afternoon or evening, including a Monday night affair against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 17. Also, for the third consecutive season, the Bears will open on the road, this time against the San Diego Chargers. In addition to playing two games against their division rivals – the Vikings, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers – the Bears also face Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, N.Y. Giants, Washington, Oakland and New Orleans.

Cut the Mic on Imus

I don’t know if there’s anything I can say about Don Imus’ ill-advised racial and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team that hasn’t already been said. To claim that he said what he did for comedic reasons is a bunch of B.S. I think if anything, his comments showed his true colors as a human being. I hope that when the Rutgers’ women meet with Imus, as they said they would do, they’ll use his head as a basketball.

It makes me wonder two things: 1) What kind of people would tune in to listen to this jerk? 2) How in heaven’s name did he get this gig?

Imus was suspended for two weeks for his comments. Frankly, I think that’s a bit too lenient. The shock jock has said many offensive things about people over the years (to my knowledge, he’s not on the airwaves in the Chicago market -- thankfully), and no one complained. Based on his comments, not just in this situation but over the years, it may be time to cut the mic on Imus for good.

Baseball Is Here, But Winter Still Lingers

As cold as it has been in Chicago this past week, things could be worse. I could be living in Cleveland where a spring (It is spring, isn’t it?) snowstorm forced the postponement of the Indians’ series against the Seattle Mariners last weekend. The Indians’ series against the Los Angeles Angels this week was moved to Milwaukee’s Miller Park with its retractable roof.

It’s not the first time that a baseball series has been moved to a different city for weather-related reasons. In 2004, the Florida Marlins’ series with the then Montreal Expos was moved to U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago when Hurricane Ivan threatened the Florida coastline.

If the wintry weather continues, which it might — the weekend’s forecast calls for rain and snow showers with temps in the upper 30s — it’s possible that the Indians’ series against the White Sox could also be moved to Miller Park. If so, I expect that a caravan of Sox fans will make the 90-minute trip to Milwaukee for the series.

I understand that weather is part of the game. Why not start the season in late April and end a week earlier in late September? Perhaps a shorter schedule would help the teams through these weather-related dilemmas.