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.