Court Sport now on Chicago Now

Courtney will be blogging on Chicago Now from now on!

She is their newest Sport's Voice

Here is her page

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/courtsport/

The Dance

In the spirit of March Madness this blog uses this year's tournament to reflect on the NBA and a question which many NBA people might find interesting. This years Elite 8 consists of: 1 Big10 team, 1 Big East team, 2 SEC teams, 1 Horizon League team, 2 Big 12 teams, and 1 ACC team. Clearly a field dominated by the six BCS conferences, with the one exception being the Pac-10. I thought I would take this idea of major conference domination one step further. Linking the idea of NBA players (who went to college) and their conferences in a six-team tournament of their own. First, I will determine a 5 man starting line-up of current NBA players, with today's stats representing each of the six BCS conferences. Then we can decide which conference's NBA talent dominates.

Without further delay, your NBA starting five from each conference, in order from worst to best:

6. Pac-10: Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Brandon Roy, Aaron Brooks and Gilbert Arenas

5. Big Ten: Carl Landry, Deron Williams, Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson and Eric Gordon

4. Big 12: Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kirk Hinrich

3. SEC: Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Joe Johnson, Rajon Rondo and David Lee

2. Big East: Rudy Gay, Caron Butler, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Troy Murphy

1. ACC: Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Anthony Morrow and Luol Deng

There you have it, this can't be much of a surprise to anyone. I will take any comments and disagreements. I have a feeling some of those conferences would have liked to have Kobe or Lebron on their side. -Schatz Man, jonathankschatz@gmail.com

Hawks Can Learn From The Bachelor

The Blackhawks are hitting a rough spot, losing 5 out of the last 7 games. As we all know our defense if falling apart due to injuries causing them to completely rearrange lines and positions.

Behind our shaking defense is our goalie debate which has been going on the entire season.

Being a female obsessed with sports, I feel that I need to watch girly shows to even it out.

While watching the Bachelor a couple weeks ago, everything clicked.

Joel Quennville needs to conduct a rose ceremony.

On the Bachleor, he has a rose ceremony at the end of every episode where he gives the remaining girls roses. Those who do not get roses get elimited.

Before the ceremony the Bachwlor will sit and reflect on the girls he has left. He will stare at their pictures and reflect on their good and bad qualities so that he can make the best choice for himself.

While watching the last episode, I pictured Quennville doing this with Huet and Niemi.

I imagined Q holding both their pictures and reflecting on their good games and bad games. For example, he would have flashbacks Niemi's 3 shut outs this season and Huet's battling. He needs to make the best choice for the team and conduct his own rose ceremony. Well more of a mask ceremony.

The last episode of the Bachelor there is only one rose, for one girl. And Q needs to give one mask to one goalie and stick with it.

He'll do it just like the Bachelor finale. They'll be standing on the beach dressed in suits, Q will be nervous and will have to apologize to the loser and say "You have a friend for life". They will cry, then move on and a winner will be named.

Easier said then done, but this put him out until the out team rallies and switch method is not working. How many times have we heard that "Niemi is the guy!" then a week later "Huet is our guy".

This flip flopping is not working and as we come closer and closer to the Stanley Cup playoffs we need to pick the right man for the job. Q needs to reflect, pick them apart, and decide who's his man and who he's giving the mask to.

Chicago White Sox... The new Jersey Shore

The latest drama concering the Chicago White Sox has been all over our Chicago sports radio stations.

Oney Guillen came on both ESPN 1000's Waddle and Silvy AND The Score's Muley and Hanley to further discuss it.

I would have turned it off had it not been my intern duty to listen to both.

I don't know about my fellow White Sox fans out there, but I am sick of the Kenny Williams-Ozzie Guillen Soap Opera that has continuously been going on since the announcement of Ozzie's Twitter.

I want to hear about the team and how they're looking, not about this ongoing drama.

Are the details of what's going on in the club house important? Absolutely.

But as a fan, I am getting sick of it. I have the next season of Jersey Shore to look forward to for drama and trash talking. It's time to get it out of the White Sox organization.

It all started with talk of Ozzie's twitter. As soon as it was announced, it was EVERYWHERE... Chicago sports radio, Comcast Sportsnet, and even ESPN's SportsCenter...

When I first heard the news, I thought, "Cool, I'll follow him". But then I got over it and moved on to hear news about real sports and real baseball stories and couldn't find any. I got frustrated.

Who really cares that much about someone's twitter?

Well, The White Sox do.

The RUMOR is that Oney Guillen got the boot from the Sox because he was tweeting controversial things about the team that the club house did not want to hear (read).

Oney said on both Chicago Sports Radio stations this morning that he was never warned or talked to seriously about his tweets or actions and that he would have appreciated respect from the Sox had they approached him about it.

Oney, are you serious? If you are going to tweet controversial things about the organization you work for it's common sense they are going to be upset with you.

I wouldn't dare tweet bad things about my work place for fear of termination or being yelled at and sent to get an even larger amount of coffee than I thought possible.

One thing that I find funny is that all this drama is coming out AFTER the announcement of a reality show staring Ozzie Guillen, and other members of the White Sox organization.

As we know from everyone's favorite reality show, Jersey Shore, a reality show isn't a success with out constant drama.

What the fans are seeing right now is a previewing of the juicy drama they will see on the show. Infact, it's like the drama is an ad campaign for it.

Funny how it all comes together.... Could it be staged drama for viewership? That's more the Hills style, and we all know we got a situation here.

Cheap Shot

I took no greater pleasure during Sunday morning's Blackhawks game versus the Washington Capitals than booing Alex Ovechkin as he skated towards the penalty box. His first period boarding penalty was a prime example of the type of occurrence that needs to be eradicated from hockey altogether.

Without fail, every season there are outcries from the fans who witness vicious hits on the ice to make it more of an offense, or to find some other way to stop these unnecessary "glamor hits". As one of the superstars of the NHL, as well as the captain of his franchise Ovechkin should understand his status as a role model and a representative for the league. His hit on Brian Campbell Sunday morning was evidence of nothing more than Ovechkin's incompetent decision-making abilities and vicious instincts.

Campbell had just released the puck around, behind the Hawks net when Ovechkin, who was "glamor hit" hunting the entire way shouldered Campbell into the boards going full speed. Campbell was already leaning over when Ovechkin hit him, and as a result his momentum took him shoulder/chest first into the boards. He sprawled out on the ice in agony for several minutes before being carried to the locker room. Ovechkin lingered around Campbell, before being directed to the penalty box and then off to the visiting locker room after his game misconduct had been credited.

Campbell is likely out for the rest of the season according to sources, he has broken several ribs as well as his clavicle. Ovechkin will be fined and the incident will be up for review with the NHL commissioner about possible suspensions. However, this is not nearly enough, his actions not just today but throughout the season condemn him as a cheap and malicious head-hunter. He has already served a suspension this season for similar conduct and has three prior game misconducts THIS SEASON.

Ovechkin deserves a punishment far worse than he will receive, because the NHL will choose to protect its assets (in other words: Ovechkin sells tickets, and makes people watch games). His league-leading 96 points will draw in the crowds, like they did at the United Center, but what we saw was an example of something the NHL must seriously resolve. This type of behavior does not strike the other three major leagues, because Albert Haynesworth took his licks for a similar-in-nature incident and the NFL properly dealt with the situation. And the NBA dealt with its issues but the NHL continues to tolerate a fine line of policy towards fighting and illegal hits. The other three leagues have always taken a no tolerance policy towards the same type of behavior exhibited by Ovechkin on Sunday. I am outraged, the athletes are too big, too strong and too fast these days for this to continue.

By the way, Ovechkin stated in the locker after the game "I didn't hit him hard. He fell bad. But you can see, every shift this happens -- little pushes, little battles." You don't break ribs or your collar bone without being hit hard, and once more in a completely unnecessary fashion, the puck was well out of Campbell's possession when he was hit. Ovechkin clearly doesn't understand what he did wrong, and that's probably the worst part.

Beckham, the next Mr. Franchise

As we all know the White Sox love to hold on to their big names for at least a decade. They then like to take that big name and make him the face of the club house, even when five years later his numbers are fading.

Our first Mr. Franchise was Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas. I remember idolizing him as a four year old, never leaving my seat when he was up to bat. I also remember being at the Cell ten years later when he homered for the 500th time.

However, after 14 seasons with the White Sox and in the bit of a slump (for about four years) the Sox finally decided to trade their Mr. Franchise away to the A's.

This year I almost cried when he got the Lifetime Achievement Award from Comcast SportsNet's March of the Dimes awards. But I didn't when I realized that somewhere between The Big Hurt's key years, a second Mr. Franchise was born, Mr. Paul Konerko.

Pauly came to us in 1999, when he gave us a great season hitting .294. Pauly continued to give us great seasons from 1999 to 2006 (with the exception of '03) and officially adopted the Mr. Franchise job when Frank the Tank was given the boot after the 2004 season.

If you look at Pauly's last 3 seasons, it's anything but impressive for someone who's the face of a franchise. Pauly went .259 in 2007, .240 in 2008, and a decent .277 last season.

The 6-4-3 double play has been Nick-named the Konerko special, due to his ability to ground into more double plays than any two players.

Pauly has also only stolen 8 bases in thirteen seasons...

Given these last few points one would wonder if there is still room for Pauly on a re-developing young team like the White Sox, but then we remember the rule of Mr. Franchise. Once a player has given us 10 seasons, we can't let go.

I have also learned through my minor connections to the sports broadcasting world in Chicago that the media loves Paul Konerko because he will always talk to them and that he's the leader in the club house.

Which brings me to my next point. Is Mark Buerhle co-Mr. Franchise with Paul Konerko? Some would argue yes, he's been here for 9 seasons and lead us to a World Series victory, started an All-Star Game, and gave us both a perfect game and a no hitter.

But there's one problem with Buerhle. He's not a clubhouse guy. He doesn't like media attention and we all know he wishes he were pitching for the Cards.

So is he or is he not a Mr. Franchise? You be the judge.

My prediction is that Gordan Beckham is the next Mr. Franchise.

Many trade rumors of Beckham being traded for Adrian Gonzalez have been floating around us. Some say do it. The Sox need left handed hitting, but is it worth the trade?

I say no. I see great potential in Beckham. He came close to winning Rookie of the Year and he has quickly become a fan favorite. You couldn't go an inning without seeing a sign stating "Marry me Beckham".

Most importantly, he works hard and he comes ready to play every day.

Look at the solid effort he gave the Sox last season. He was taken out of his normal position of short stop, where he played his entire college career, and moved to third base. He was no golden-glove nominee, but he gave us a solid performance there and we could count on him every game.

He may not be a club house leader, yet, because of his young age of 23. Give him a few more years and he will be the face of the White Sox.

Finishing Finland

Could it be a "Miracle on Ice" all over again? Team USA is on its way to play for the gold medal. USA hasn't won a gold medal since the miracle against Russia in 1980. After making it to the goal medal game in 2002 but ending up with silver and only finishing 8th in 2006, USA wants it more than ever.

USA dominated against Finland in the semi-finals 6-1 to play for the gold. However, most of that action was in the first quarter, where USA scored all 6 goals.

Patrick Kane netted back to back goals to make it 6-0 in the first. The funny thing is, Finland had only let in 4 goals during the entire tournament, but somehow USA was able to break them down and secure their win early in the game.

USA will take on Canada for the gold medal. USA already beat Canada 5-3 but that doesn't mean we have it in the bag. USA depended on the outstanding goaltending of Ryan Miller to win it.

USA was able to tear down the frightening Canadian line of San Jose Sharks but can they do it all again?

Canada's size and talent is fascinating with guys like Sidney Crosby, Jerome Iginla and Joe Thorton.

But... putting the best of the best together doesn't necessarily make them THE best. You have to have chemistry and it's quite obvious that USA does.

Canada wants that gold medal win on home ice and USA wants to take it from them. We'll see who takes it home on Sunday.

Niemi 4 Starts, Hawks 4 Wins...

Antti Niemi has been the main man in goal for the Hawks, starting four in a row. With those four starts came four wins by the Blackhawks.

This is the first time that Quennville has started Niemi more than twice in a row and Niemi is now 5-1 in shootouts for the season.

“He’s playing well,” coach Joel Quenneville told the Hawks’ team Web site after the game. “He’s coming off three straight wins. It’s an easy decision. We’re off for a long time. Playing back-to-back. Give him a chance to keep going.” (ESPN.com).

With Niemi on the hot streak and now the Hawks number one man in goal, could we possibly be smelling a trade?

Cristobal Huet has quite a large contract, $5.6 million a year. It doesn't make any sense to keep $5.6 million on the bench as the back up goalie. But we would need to find a team willing to buy out his large contract.

Speaking of riding the bench, Quennville showed little love for Kris Versteeg yesterday, as he only played 4:54 minutes, his season low.

“I didn’t like the way he was playing,” Quenneville said.

Let's hope he can get out of his slump and back on to the ice. Versteeg went 14 games without seeing a goal until his shootout goal that brought the Hawks to victory over the Stars.

A man who's been racking up the points for the Hawks has been Mr. Troy Brouwer. Headlines everywhere are saying "Brouwer Power" or some pun like that.

Brouwer scored the winning goal in last night's shoot out, his second time saving the Hawks in overtime. The shinning sophomore now has 19 goals on the season.

The Hawks went in to the Olympic break with four wins in a row, let's hope they can keep this momentum up when they return. We will miss them over the next two weeks, but at least we have six Olympians that can keep us entertained.

Talking Trades

As the trading deadlines for both the NBA and the NHL quickly approach we have to talk about some of the rumors in town. Both the Bulls and the Blackhawks are playoff-bound, and as a result the normal shake up of contenders trading to cement their rosters is about to occur. For the Hawks, they haven't been playing their usual game (explosive offense, effective defense) they've been vulnerable defensively and stagnant offensively. I am confident the offense will return soon. However, the ineffective defense is a bigger problem, players are hurt and tired but the next month is an important stretch of the season. Since the Kovalchuk trade-scare has ended with his trade to New Jersey, the latest Hawk trade rumors are aimed at James Wisniewski, the former Blackhawk. The sure-handed defender was traded to Anaheim midway through last season for center Sammie Pahlsson. Now with some defensive issues needing to be resolved, the Hawks have the prospects/roster to make a move to bring American James Wisniewski back to Madison Ave. (The only specific name involved in the trade rumor for the Hawks was Cam Barker, who hasn't been having a good season)

The Bulls have more pressing issues because they have recently jumped from the 8th and final playoff spot in the East to the 6th playoff spot, which could potentially bring another first-round playoff match-up with the Celtics. Ironically, the biggest trade rumors for the Bulls involve Boston. The Bulls need to make some moves for players that will come off the books at the end of this season so that they can make cap room for free agents. The T-Mac trade I liked is still on the table, but now it appears there is a new trade rumor about Ray Allen and Eddie House coming to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich plus potentially one more expiring contract. I like this idea, get rid of the maligned, underachieving Thomas and bring in a pure shooter. Allen and House are on the last years of their contracts so this makes fiscal sense. House would be a good backup for Rose just like he was for Rondo, better ball-handling skills than Hinrich. This gives the Bulls more guard depth, something they haven't had in years. The NBA and NHL All-Star Breaks are both in the next two weeks and they have potential for some significant changes as these seasons head for the home stretch.

For the Pro-Antti Fans

ST. LOUIS- The Hawks and goaltender Antti Niemi, beat St. Louis 2-1, finally getting out of their three game losing streak.

The ongoing debate of the season has been whether Huet or Niemi should get the start... or if we should trade for a goalie.

Well looking at the three game losing streak, one thing is for sure. Our goalies are performing, our offense just isn't racking up the points.

What happened to the 4 plus goal games we were having? The win that took us out of the awful losing streak was an uneventful 2-1 game (well minus the fights). Have the Hawks lost their rhythm?

One man we can count on (and I wish Quennville did a little more) is the man behind the mask, knocking biscuits out of the basket, Antti Niemi.

Niemi has improved to 14-4-1 and saved 34 shots Saturday against St. Louis and had just recovered from the flu.

Niemi, who has two shut outs on the season, could quite possibly be the best back up goalie in the league.

So why sit such good talent? Ask Joel Quennville, even he can't give an answer to the ongoing Huet vs. Niemi debate.

Smelling the Roses

Tuesday night the Bulls take on the LA Clippers at the United Center. It is their first home game since January 15th. The Bulls played the Clippers in LA on the 20th, where they lost 97-104, but they were a seemingly different team back then. It's been eleven days and since that loss in the Staples' Center and the Bulls have gone undefeated. Pivotal wins against the Suns, Spurs, Rockets, Thunder and Hornets highlight a long road trip which seemed destined for disappointment at first. No other team in NBA history has won 5 consecutive games against teams with winning records. The Bulls have won 9 out of their last 11 and made an important trade, sending sluggish seven-foot bench hog Aaron Gray to the Hornets for productive journey-man guard Devin Brown. The addition of Brown brings a legitimate perimeter scorer to the Bulls, of which they have none right now.

Also significant during the road trip was the continuation of Derrick Rose's scoring explosion. He has truly shifted his game and taken it to another level, which was evidenced by his addition to the All-Star game roster. In his second year he's accomplished more than any Bull since Michael Jordan. I have to admit this team is exciting right now, hopefully they are able to get healthy, put the losses to the Clippers and Golden State behind them. They need to take the momentum of the All-Star, the winning streak and the return home into Tuesday's game.

POWER BROUWER

Troy Brouwer netted the over time goal against the San Jose Sharks, on their last road trip, bringing the Hawks to their third victory (second over time victory) against the Sharks this year. His heroic biscuit in the basket was his second of the game.

As we know the Hawks are full of big names: Toews, Kane and Keith..but let's add Troy Brouwer to the list.

No, he's no all star... yet. But 17 goals (29 points) on the year is not bad for this sophomore. In fact Brouwer scored the team's high, 5 goals, of the road trip.

Brouwer was named MVP of the Hawk's road trip by Chicago Tribune.com and I'm not surprised.

Brouwer is doing what the team needs him to do: make hits, score goals and play hard and he deserves some recognition for it.

We have yet to see just what can come from the Power Brouwer.

Hawks Caught With Their Pants Down and Shirts Off

Many of you are aware of the Blackhawks scandal that has occured all over the internet today. Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg, and their grandpa aka center John Madden were photographed in a limo partying with some young party girls in Vancouver. Here is the link to the orginal blog where it was found.

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/kurtenblog/archive/2010/01/26/chicago-blackhawks-shirtless-partying-pictures.aspx

My personal favorite is the picture of John Madden flexing. Let us remind you, Mr. Madden, you are 36... and married. Aren't you a little too old to be flexing shirtless and drunk especially with 20 something young girls.

Other than Madden, Kaner and Versteeg are youngans. We understand they're humans, who have party lives. But if we remember anything from Patrick Kane's partying days this summer in Buffalo, we know it brings controversy. Has he not learned anything? Please party smart.

It's a very bad idea to give young twenty year olds millions of dollars and not give them any guidance. Too bad Patrick Kane is just a tad too old to still be claimed by his parents. Maybe then the Blackhawks won't be constantly embaressed by his controversies.

I did enjoy the first picture of Kris Versteeg where he is fashionably fabulous wearing a pair of ladies sunglasses. He's definetly living up to one of his nicknames.. Verstud.. but definetly not his other... Verjesus..

The morals of this story are listed below:

1.) Hawks.. trust no one in Vancouver, this city is constantly publicly humiliating all of you.

2.) If you are 36 and married do not take your shirt off in a limo with a bunch of chicks and take pictures of it... especially do not flex...

3.) When you are a public figure and have thousands of fans, be smart and do not document your stupid decisions.

4.) When you are going to be photographed parting, make sure you shave your chest and all body hair (the onlProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

thing we learned from them).

5.) When photographed shirtless make sure you wear some form of religious jewelry so incase we start to judge you, will say "oh at least Patrick Kane is wearing a cross, he'll still go to heaven".

6.) When your wife finds out try to say the pictures were photoshopped from when the players made a shirtless calender for charity.

The Hawks have yet to put out a statement. I can only wonder what Quennville's thinking right now.

Hopefully now the Hawks know to stay away from everything related to Vancouver so they don't get caught with their pants down. I just wish there was some way we could avoid the Olympics...

A Familiar Sound

As Chicago sports fans we are accustomed to a lot of great things: US Cellular Field's hot dogs with onions are better than anything on the planet, the Jesse White Tumblers may appear at any Bulls halftime show, everybody will cheer as loud as they can during the "Star-Spangled Banner" before Hawks games, there will always be a smoking hot girl participant in "Shoot the Puck" during the 2nd intermission of Blackhawks games and she won't know what she's doing, and there will always be giant rats running around the field at Cubs games, oh they also have a rodent problem. It is these things that we love, they are the character of Chicago sports outside of the sports themselves. They are things we can discuss in social circles, we can reminisce about them to people at bars and use them to challenge the traditions of other sports markets.

There is another example of these traditions that many people probably don't even realize, but once you know it you will cherish it. Except it's not really an "it" it's a "who" and he is Gene Honda. Many of you probably don't know who Gene Honda is, others may know him for only one of his roles.

Gene Honda is the PA announcer for the White Sox, the Blackhawks, DePaul Basketball, the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament Final Four. Once you read that list and think about it, it all makes sense, you put that voice in the background of so many great games that you've been to. He's a true Chicago icon, though you may never have thought about it before. Isn't it weird to put a face to a voice that you've heard so many times? I think so, especially in this case. Ladies and Gentlemen the voice of Chicago sports: Gene Honda.

Sox Announce One Year Contracts

The White Sox announced on Saturday that they will be giving both Bobby Jenks, 28 and Carlos Quentin, 27 one year contracts.

They Sox, like all of us, see potential in both of these players because we have seem them perform.

But both their years last year probably kept the White Sox from giving them longer contracts.

Jenks, deal is worth $7.5 million and Quentin's is $3.2 million. The Sox were able to avoid arbitration with both players.

Jenks went 3-4 with 29 saves and a 3.71 ERA last season. Sadly, he fell one save short of his four straight 30- save seasons.

Quentin had a rough season in 2009, hitting .236 with 21 homers. His slump towards the end of the season can be blamed on his month and a half sit on the disable list from May 29 to July 19 due to a foot injury.

Let's hope Carlos can dig himself out of his slump.

Let's pray that Jenks takes care of himself so his ERA and blown saves don't rise this year.

Road Warriors...not

How do we evaluate this latest Bulls implosion? Kicking off their seven-game road trip in disappointing fashion, the Bulls were out-dueled by the Golden State Warriors 114-97 yesterday.

This was considered one of the Bulls more winnable games on this long road trip, because the Warriors were dealing with a three-game losing streak, and a depleted roster with some key bench players out injured. Contrasted to the Bulls, who were on a four-game winning streak and had just come off a 2OT win at home against the no-quit Wizards. This game was particularly irritating because the Warriors seemed at times to be so physically exhausted. However, they rode Corey Maggette's 32 pts and Andres Biedrins' 8 blocks to victory outscoring the Bulls 31-18 in the 4th quarter. They also got nice play from the exciting rookie Stephan Curry, who couldn't keep himself out of foul trouble long enough to score too many points. Speaking of foul trouble, Tyrus Thomas fouled out in the 4th quarter. It seemed like the Bulls could have taken a stranglehold on this game with a few defensive stops and some clutch baskets anytime until there were 5 mins left in the 4th.

The Bulls progress now to play another "winnable" game against the LA Clippers, before things get more challenging as they play the Suns and then the Rockets, who keep blasting off despite their superstar-less squad.

So are we worried about the Warriors loss? It robbed the Bulls of their momentum starting out a tough road trip....but the Bulls were never going to win a shootout. This team was built to play defense and stay in the game not beat teams with their offense. I'll see how they do against the Cursed Clips before I start calling for Vinny Del Negro's head again.

One Positive from this game: Derrick Rose is continuing his offensive EXPLOSION, his assists are way down but his points are way up...I'm not going to complain about this. One Negative about this game: apparently there's a Bull Flu, H1N2.0, taking out one player a night every night. Hinrich was out against the Warriors, now he's back and Salmons will be out against the Clips with it. We still have yet to see any sighting of the following "bench" players: Aaron Gray, Jerome James, and Lindsey Hunter. Either they're injured, overweight or hanging out at Karma everynight. I hope it's the latter.

Sox '05 Stars... Where are they now??

As Sox fans we are constantly defending our religion, White Soxism, to attacking cubs fans. 2005 gave us a few years of defense to our attackers. But five years later, the defense is up.

Last year we all know Jermaine Dye struggled and Bobby Jenks blew numerous saves and Paul Konerko is STILL on the team. Why are we so connected to these players like a newborn to their mother? Because of their success in 2005 and bringing us to the first White Sox World Series Championship of our generation.

Let's take a look at our studs then and now.

In 2005 Dye hit .274 with a slugging percentage of .512. He also had 145 hits and 31 Homers. Last season he hit .250 and slugged .453 with 126 hits and 27 homers. We know Dye can hit for power since his homer run number is the only stat that didn't decrease by 20, but one thing is for sure; the man can not run anymore. In 2005 he had 11 stolen bases; last year he had zero. So why keep a man who's been on a decrease since '05 (minus his great 2006 season)? We can as fans feel guilty turning our back on the man who helped get us that World Series Championship and who was the MVP of it.

Bobby Jenks gave us a ride for our money in '05, starting his rookie season off hot. Let's see what happens, when a fastball pitcher doesn't take care of himself. While his wins increased and his strike outs remained the same (about 50), it is only because his innings pitched has increased. In fact the only stats that have increased are the ones that should be decreasing. In 2005 his ERA was 2.75, in 2009, 3.71. In 2005 he only had 2 blown saves and in 2009 he had six. While these starts are not a huge difference, they are quickly changing. Jenks has a beer drinking, chin sweater wearing reputation and if he doesn't start taking care of himself soon, his ERA and blown saves will sky rocket.

Paul Konerko's stats are decreasing, as anyone's would after ten seasons with the same team. Paulie hit .283 in 05 and .277 in 09. He had 163 hits in 05 and 151 in 09. His RBIs also decreased from 100 to 88 and homers 40 to 28. The only thing that did increase from 05 to 09 were his doubles. Could it possibly be because he's loosing his power? What is Paulie without his power? We all know he can't steal bases. Could this be why we traded for both Kotsay and Viscal?

Buerhle has been the only one to give us some excitement since 2005. But we do know he's far from our Mr. Perfect. He's either turning our stomach when he's lost his control or covering every newspaper in town with a no hitter or perfect game.

Lots has changed since our 2005 season and I didn't even get to Pierzynski, Garcia, Contreres, and Scotty Pods. One thing that's for sure, the Sox have some house cleaning to do.

Canada's Cormier Still Playing Dirty

Canadian world junior team captain Patrice Cormier has continued a pattern of playing dirty. The New Jersey Devil's draft pick gave Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's defenceman Mikael Tam one hell of a cheap shot in the face on Sunday.

One Cormier's average attacks happened against Canada's rival Sweden in December. Cormier elbowed Sweden's Anton Rodin into the kisser. Rodin has just come off the bench.

Cormier flew his shoulder/elbow into the head of Teemu Harikainen (Oiler's draft pick) in another pre-tournament game.

Many were outraged by his dirty playing, but they have no had enough after his hit on Tam on Sunday. Tam went into convulsions on the ice moments after his head smacked. He was hustled off on a stretcher and it was announced Monday that he has brain trauma.

Cormier is suspended until the disciplinary process is completed. Many feel that suspension is not enough and that he should be banned for life.

Let's hope his punishment is more than just a slap on the wrist. An intense hit into the boards by Willie Mitchell could work.

Watch his hit against Tem on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aplfhPu4iiU

Hawks On Top of Detroit This Time

Not only have the Blackhawks continued to play great hockey (minus a "two game losing streak") they have continued to put on one hell of a show. The Hawks continued their eight game road trip with a shoot out overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings yesterday.

Patrick Sharp scored the winning goal in the fourth round of the shoot out and he had much to say about the hawks victory. “It had a little bit of everything,” Sharp said in the dressing room after the game. “It had a nice fight with [Kris Versteeg], back-and-forth chances [and] some highlight reel goals in the shootout there. I’m sure it was a lot of fun for the fans.” (ESPN.com).

The Blackhawks are now the pride and joy of Chicago, being their only winning team this year and Chicago sports fans are quickly jumping the bandwagon.

It's funny how last year Detroit was our biggest rival and we struggled to win a game against them. But this year the Hawks are untouchable, even to Detroit.

Detroit, whose record is 24-16-8 lay 16 points behind the Blackhawks and are third in the Central Division.

The Hawks, 34-11-4, have been able to steadily coast in first place in the division.

So this year at the United Center, when we hear the 300 level (and drunk fans) chant "Detroit Sucks", we don't have to feel embarrassed because, this season it's sort of true.

This is Purple Nation

The must-see team in Chicago right now is the Blackhawks. But for those of us looking for another thing to cheer about, especially as the Blackhawks just started their 8-game Disney-On-Ice road trip and won't be in town until Feb. 3rd, I offer an alternative. There are five (not including University of Chicago) major college programs around Chicago, and if you stretch it a little you can talk about: NIU, Illinois State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Valpo, Bradley, Marquette, UW-Milwaukee...etc. In short, there's no shortage of plurality amongst nearby college hoops, but there is only one team which has the potential to take the city by storm this week. Northwestern University has been whispered about by college basketball experts since their 10-1 start to the season. They even cracked the AP top 25 for the first time since 1969 going into the Big 10 season. NU is the only major conference team to never have made the NCAA Tournament and that was evidenced as the 'monkey on the back' of the Wildcats when they stumbled into the Big 10 season and lost two straight (Illinois and Michigan State) and have gone 3-2 overall in conference. However, the two wins were significant (Michigan in Ann Arbor and #6 Purdue in Evanston) and most of the faithful believe they should have pulled out a win against #16 Wisconsin in Evanston. Coming off the big win against Purdue last Saturday they now play Ohio State away and Illinois @ home this week before the schedule gets a little easier. As I watched the Cats scratch out a win against Purdue I noticed something I've never seen before in Welsh-Ryan Arena, pride. So watch this team, watch them because no other college team mentioned in this article is worth watching. Watch them because they can and want to make history. Watch them because they are exciting. Let them know this city is Purple Nation.

Ozzie Wants Rotating DH

Chuck Garfien from Comcast SportsNet Chicago sat down with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in Arizona this week. Reinsdorf gave his two cents about the recent trades and his thoughts on the approaching season.

One thought I found quite interest was Ozzie's plan for a rotating DH. With Jim Thome gone the spot is now open. Instead of filling it with one specific person. Ozzie wants to change it up. I couldn't agree more. One man that I can guarantee will see the spot is White Sox first basemen, Paul Konerko.

One man who probably won't see that spot is Jermaine Dye. Rumor has it he could possibly get picked up by the San Diego padres.

Why the Bulls can't afford to pass up T-Mac

This blog is about numbers. My argument is that Tracy McGrady is beneficial to the Bulls now and in the future. The great T-Mac has been working out in Chicago (presumably meaning he has a residency or temporary residence here already) in order to return to form from a micro-fracture of his knee. McGrady brings to the Bulls a potentially good scorer (maybe 15-19 pts/gm average, his career average is 21 pts) and someone who can take clutch shots. He can still play 30-35 mins/gm and he's someone who can end games and who can help some of the young talent on this team mature. T-Mac is an ex-superstar and still carries with him the ability to lead (which the Bulls desperately need as they seem likely to be an 7 or 8 seed in the East) Now to the numbers, T-Mac's current contract with the Houston Rockets has him slated to make $24 million in the 09-10 season and then it's over. The Bulls 09-10 salary is $69 million and there are five players coming off the books at the end of the season (with the possible exception of Aaron Gray because he signed a qualifying offer). Once that happens, the Bulls 2010-2011 salary looks like it will be around $41 million. This would seem promising for cap space, except that the NBA has come to grips with reality and in anticipation of the impact that the world recession will inevitably have on it they have lowered the 2010-2011 cap threshold. It will be around $50-53 million without a luxury tax. Which means the Bulls will only have around $10 million in cap space to pursue the Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson, Lebron free agent spree. John Salmons has a player option for the $6.7 million he makes next year. So, if he opts out of the option or gets traded than the Bulls cap goes up almost $7 mil. If GarPax, the General Monster of the Chicago Bulls can make the right moves (Salmons + whoever Houston wants with the exception of Rose and Noah) for Tracy McGrady and deal with the $24 million contract, than the cap space explodes for the Bulls and they can offer maximum contracts for 1st choice free agent (Wade or Bosh) as well as competitive contract offer for their 2nd choice. There you have, the numbers are there, the logic is there, the i's are dotted. Oh, and by the way, Tracy McGrady wants to play, don't forget, he would be playing for a new contract after this season. (Thank you hoopsworld.com and nbaroundtable.com)

Mark McGwire Admits Steroid Use... Surprised?

Mark McGwire finally admitted to using steroids today. Can't really say that I'm surprised. It appears to be the perfect time for McGwire to give his confession and take his penance so that he can still get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cardinal fans say that they are willing to forgive their former player and new hitting coach. But should he be forgiven?

No one could forget the season where he broke Roger Maris' *61 home run record. But think about how many home runs Maris would have had if he had taken steroids or how many "the Babe" would have had? So does McGwire's record even count?

McGwire was quoted saying that he had both bad seasons and good seasons when he was taking steroids and also when he wasn't. He went on to say that he's deeply sorry for ever using the drug. Blah Blah Blah Mighty Mark, it's too late now.

We'll hold your spot for you in the Hall of Fame after you complete your ten Hail Mary's and five Our Father's.


~Court

Rid the Demons

DePaul University Athletic Department has decided to part ways with Jerry Wainwright. Leaked Sunday night, this decision will be announced Monday morning at a press conference. The Blue Demons are 7-8 this season and 0-3 in the Big East. They have some bad losses such as American University at AllState Arena and Florida Gulf Coast. The Blue Demons basketball team boasts a national record setting 22 consecutive conference losses, I don't think even Lovie Smith could have survived with that looming statistic. DePaul basketball needs a new direction, it hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2004 and since having joined a much tougher Big East conference it hasn't shown any hints of improvement. Hopefully this is the start of shift in direction for an ugly looking program.

Hawks Nauseating Loss

Who is to blame for the hawks god awful 3-1 loss to the Ducks tonight?

Was it the defense? Who only allowed 12 shots on goal?

Perhaps.. you could blame Niemi, who allowed 2 goals in only 11 shots on goal? But we do know a goalie can not carry the the team so we could possibly blame the offense who had 43 shots on goal with only one goal.

Hiller, a 15-12-2 goalie, is a slightly winning goalie, but in my opinion shouldn't be able to knock 42 biscuits out of the basket... So what the heak was going on???

The hawks haven't lost two games in a row since their circus trip in the beginning of december...

So my theory is simple. A team that is 31-11-4, the NHL's best, simply can not win them all and it is better than they lose one now then in the playoffs when we need them most.

New Jack City

Tonight's Blackhawks game vs. the Anaheim Ducks will feature a newly recalled Jack Skille. The promising young forward has played five games with the Blackhawks this season so far and has been fantastic, with a goal and an assist. He brings a lot of energy and speed to the Hawks forward platoon. The downside is that he is replacing someone on the Hawks roster which has gone 5-0-1 in the last six games, rumors are Kris Versteeg may have been injured in last night's shootout loss to Minneasota. While you're flipping back and forth between the Hawks game and the 20th Anniversary Simpson's special tonight keep an eye out for 'Skilleful' Jack Skille and prepare to be impressed.

Welcome to the Sports Lounge Blog

Courtney and I want to offer a chance for listeners and fans of the Sports Lounge on DePaul Radio to get more exposure to one of the most dynamic duos in sports radio. Now you can get insight into Chicago sports and other significant or insignificant topics all the time. Send us your thoughts on our Facebook (Sports Lounge with Schatz and King) and listen every Thursday from 3-5 at radio.depaul.edu.