Thursday, February 26, 2015

Kane and Rose Oh No!

As if it's not hard enough to be a Chicago sports fan, dealing with disappointment and heartache seem to be as much a part of our lives as that second city chip on all of our shoulders.   Tuesday night was a bad night.  I mean the kind of night that you walk around your house, apartment, condo, shaking your head as if a member of the family was hurt, or lost.  This is how seriously we are invested in our teams.  This city is so unique in that.  As that 90's song said, "We get knocked down, but we get up again..." true huh?

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - United Center.  First Period.

Patrick Kane moves toward the boards, and is tripped up falling awkwardly into said barrier.  Gets up slowly, wincing in pain and is helped to the dressing room.  He does not return to the game. Can anyone imagine the Blackhawks winning a championship without the league's leading scorer?  Ugh.

Patrick Kane (USA Today)

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - Advocate Center.  News breaks during Hawks game.

Derrick Rose reports pain in his right knee.  Further examination determines torn meniscus.  Surgery. Out for an extended period of time, maybe the season.  This after the news of Kane leaving the game is like a sucker punch to the "lower body".  The Bulls, were tied for first in the Central Division with Cleveland. Now the former #1 pick and Chicago native Rose is out again.  Double ugh.

Derrick Rose (CBS Sports)

Lets fast forward to present day, and what we know.

Kane had surgery to repair a broken left clavicle, and is out for up to 12 weeks.  To those mathematically challenged like myself, it's 3 months.  That means the playoffs could be in doubt for #88. Can the Hawks hoist the Stanley Cup without the dynamic scorer.  I think we need to delve into that.

The placement of Kane on long term injury (LTI) allows GM Stan Bowman a little more cap flexibility.  Without getting into the technical finances, Bowman can now acquire a player that maybe he couldn't have before the injury.  While I'd rather have Kane than some of the other names out there, at least the Hawks can try to better themselves in the meantime.   According to "The Fourth Period" the Hawks remain interested in Arizona winger Antoine Vermette and Calgary forward Curtis Glencross.   Vermette has scored 13 goals, and has 22 assists good for 35 points.  Glencross has 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points.  The two players combined have one less point, 63, than Kane has 64 (27 goals, 37 assists).   Both players are 32 years old.

Even if the Hawks don't acquire a little scoring help, they do have a talented roster.  Think of Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad and now with Kris Versteeg stepping up the scoring punch, it may not be as devastating as we thought.  It will come down to shoring up the defense to me.

The Hawks have fire power with the above mentioned names, but the blue line to me has been the problem and disappointment to this time in the season.  I wish I had a dollar for every Johnny Oduya turnover in the middle of the ice.  I'll take a quarter for each of the David Runblad miscues as well.  I might be able to have a nice night on the town with those two windfalls.  The other defensive key for the Hawks to sustain themselves in the absence of Kane is goaltending.  Corey Crawford will need to be somewhere between where he's playing now, and the guy that guided the Hawks to the Stanley Cup in 2013 (should have been the Conn Smythe winner).

Obviously this will be a tough road to the Cup without Kane, but I wouldn't ever bet against the grit and determination of Toews, and the coaching ability of Joel Quenneville.  The West is tough, so getting there will not be easy.  I'm still a glass half full guy.

Now as far as Rose is concerned, am I the only one who feels like the team will be ok without him?  Come on, the core of this team (Gibson, Butler, Noah) have probably played more games without Rose than with him over the last few years, and have been able to contend in the East.  These guys are more used to seeing Rose in a suit, than suited up to play with them.  This should not be a mental blow, this should be a "same old song" situation for the group.

This year the team has a little more inside presence with Pau Gasol and his constant double-doubles, and a more efficient Jimmy Butler, who is averaging over 20 points a game.  Tony Snell is starting to emerge, Aaron Brooks is adding 10 points a game and Nikola Mirotic is starting to find his stride in the NBA.  There is talk of adding Nate Robinson to the mix, the guy that starred for the Bulls in the 2012-2013 season, was bought out by the Celtics and is a free agent.

As I stated with the Hawks, the Bulls will have to find a way to compensate for Rose's scoring ability, but it's the defense that has been a disappointment for the team this season.  The Bulls are giving up 98.7 points per game, which is just 12th in the NBA. Tom Thibodeau has stressed defense since he took over the Bulls, and the highest opponent's points per game a team under Thib's has allowed is 92.9, in 2012.  Defense to me will be a bigger priority for this team if it wants to win the conference and get into the NBA championship picture.

Obviously you'd rather have a guy like Rose in your lineup to compete with the LeBron James' of the world, but he may not be there.  Rose has not had a track record of returning early from injury, so let's just say he's out for the season, something that could be a reality.  It's a reality that is far too real to Bulls fans.

Hang in there fans, and remember if it gets too tough for you to take, and the Hawks and Bulls go into a tailspin without their two superstars, baseball season starts in a little over a month!



Andy Masur is a freelance broadcaster with over 15 years of MLB and NCAA Hoops play-by-play to his credit.  Andy is an amateur photographer and occasional blogger.   You can follow Andy on twitter at @Andy_Masur1 and keep up to date with him on his personal website, www.andy-masur.com

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Let the Boys be Boys...

I was in a Wrigleyville Bar, when the JRW Little Leaguers won the US Championship, it was a crazy scene...



A bunch of 12 year olds, captured the hearts of this city, and in some respects this nation. Just footsteps from where Major Leaguers get paid big bucks to play the same game.  I couldn't believe the response from this fairly crowded bar.  Everyone was hooked.  It was cool.

Forget that this was the first all African American team to represent the US in the title game and forget that every politician was clinging to this group of youngsters.  This was pure.  This was the way the game of baseball was supposed to be.  A group of kids, coming together, playing hard, hustling, making plays, hitting homers and enjoying playing this game.  Our National Pastime. Kids being kids.  It brought back memories of playing little league myself.  It reminded me of gathering my friends on a warm summer day, scrounging together enough money to buy a rubber baseball for a game of "fast pitch" at the park.

Suddenly though, those memories were interrupted by the unbelievable news, that the JRW Little League was stripped of it's US Championship, because the league used players from outside the actual boundaries of it's district.  What?!?

Winning was that important to a group of adults, that they would jeopardize the hard work, and dedication of kids, playing a game meant for them.  What drives this?  Is it a case of not succeeding enough as a kid themselves that adults have to win at all costs?  Living vicariously through some 12 year olds?   Grow up.  This was supposed to be about the team.  There is no excuse that can ever be uttered by the "adults" in this case.  You are supposed to be the example.  You are supposed to be, well, the ADULT.

I'm not naive enough to think that cheating doesn't go on.  Trust me.  With all the baseball, football, and college basketball scandals, it's hard not to know this exists.  In those money making sports, you understand that it's about money, and usually winning translates to money for a team, a player, or a school.  What was to gain here in this case?  What was to gain by the Bronx, NY team several years ago, when Danny Almonte toed the mound at the age of "12" in 2001, when in actuality he was 14? Don't waste my time trying to explain a motive.  You cheated, you got caught and you cheated your players.  End of story.

I'm just glad that the players on the JRW team, got to enjoy the tournament and their moment in the sun.  It was cool to see a city the size of Chicago with all it's pro teams, embrace a group of kids. Even the pro teams got behind them.  Both the Cubs and White Sox had the JRW team to the ballparks to honor them.  Nobody can take that away from them.  They played those games, they won those games and showed a lot of character in doing so.  Too bad the coach and league director didn't show the same.   Just because the title has to be vacated, the little leaguers are still champions to me.  They showed a lot of class in rallying a community and city.  They were fun to watch and see interact with their heroes of baseball.  These kids don't need a trophy to prove they are winners.  

Sunday, February 8, 2015

How Do Rumors Get Started...

Ok, if you believe the 80's 'hit' by the band, Timex Social Club, this is how rumors get started...
They're started by the jealous people
And they get mad seeing something
They had and somebody else is holding...
Well it's not quite like that in the way 'rumors' are reported in this "Social Club", aka, Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets.  Reporting in the industry has really changed over the last few years with the popularity of blogs, and social media.  What do you believe?  Who do you believe? Is the information coming from a credible source?  Is the information accurate?  All reasonable questions.   Here was just today's talk about James Shields, and what team he'll choose today or tomorrow or whenever....









It's fun isn't it?  Everyone has a source.  Everyone has an 'inside' view.  Now to be honest, the tweets I featured here, are from what I would consider extremely credible sources.  These are veteran reporters, former GM's, and those with the knowledge to know WHO to believe, and what information they received from "team officials", "sources close to the situation" and player agents is real and what is propaganda.

This is fun for fans, feeling as though they are in the know through all this social media frenzy.  For some of us in the industry, it's seen as a battle that has to be won.  Be the person with the right information.  Be the person with the excellent source.  Be the person, not just to have it first, but to have it correct.  Shouldn't that be the goal after all?

Who knows, by the time this blog post is published, James Shields will pick his team, and the salary will be somewhere in the range of 1 trillion dollars for 30 years!

Again to quote the 80's song:
When you look at all these rumors surrounding
Me every day I just need some time, some time
To get away from from all these rumors
I can't take it no more, my best friend said
There's one out now about me and the girl next door
So in the meantime, enjoy the Tweets, enjoy the mass of information and pendulum swings to your team and away.  This is an exciting time to be living, information is right there at our fingertips, constantly updating, constantly changing and evolving.  Enjoy the ride!