Chicago Sports Management Should Be Called Before Congress

Written by Godfrey, Friday December 11 2009 Playerpress.com

First of all let me say I love the Notre Dame hire of Brian Kelly. The man has a great offensive mind. The Fighting Irish will back on top again very soon. But unfortunately that's about the only positive I have to discuss right now. Neither of the biggest sports teams in the city of Chicago Bulls Bears Cubs or Whitesox will make the post season this season which ends in 2010 for the Bulls. The same Bulls who took Boston to seven games last season in the first round of the NBA playoffs considered the most exciting playoff series in sports I think besides the 2004 Red Sox Yankees series where the Red Sox came back from a three games to none deficit to win that series. The only time in sports that has ever happened.
Not only have our major sports teams under achieved but they have down right stunk. I believe that when a team makes changes to its roster believed to make the team better they should have something to show for it. Yet the Cubs are trying to get rid of the biggest pain in the ass baseball may have ever seen after being dumb enough to sign Milton Bradley to a contract of more than one year when teams that he's played for in the past were smart enough not to do that. For some reason the Cubs felt that it was alright to trade away one of their more popular players in Mark Derosa to make this happen. While Derosa didn'thave as good a year as he had the year before the Cubs sure could have used him when Aramis went down with a shoulder injury when they were leading the division. With Derosa filling the Cubs would have kept their lead in the division all the way to the end and would have had another chance to choke away another post season series. At least they would have been there. I'm not a White Sox fan so I cannot really comment on them but it was obvious that team was obviously too old to be playing baseball anyways.

While it was obvious in the final months of the season that the Cubs or Sox were not going to make the post season I started to focus on the Bears. After all we had a franchise Quarterback for the first time in decades according to the media who heralded the arrival of Jay Cutler. I though it was a good move and still do as we gave away the house to get him here. If you know Jerry Angelo's inability to get his first round picks to make an impact much less get on the field and the fact he does better in the later rounds finding gems like Jonny Knox, it set up well for the bears to go maybe 10-6 and lose in the second round. At least they would have made it and no one would be screaming for Lovie Smith to be fired.

Continuing on to the Bulls who as I said were involved in one of the most exciting and frustrating playoff series in sports history. I though with the changes they made in getting John Salmon and Brad Miller though it was years after letting the man go to another team becoming a star and trading to get him back when he is slower than an old woman using a walker. But he is nonetheless productive. Joakim Noah showed in the playoffs that he is better than the dud he'd looked like he would become when we drafted him out of Florida where he won consecutive national titles. Management still hadn't dealt with the lack of having a big man that could compete with the likes of Dwight Howard and Greg Oden. Yet they still looked like they could be a competitive team. Wrong!

Now I come to my point. The reason for all of the lack of success for these teams: Management. The General Managers who seem to ignore what really ails their teams and doing something to fix it. Every General Manager in charge of the teams I mentioned should be fired right now! None of the players they have put on the field or harwood has any heart. How many times can a team get their asses kicked year after before someone figures out what is wrong? How many times do we have to listen to the same responses during post game interviews with players haveing that ever present hang dog look on their faces? When do we stop blaming the players before we blame the numbsculls who keep putting them on the field year after year? Sure we all realize that Lovie Smith's defensive scheme does not work but maybe it isn't just that. Maybe it is the personnel he has on the field who don't know what the hell they're doing or where they should be. Or maybe it is Jerry Angelo's fault for not getting rid of Ron Turner who doesn't know how to run an NFL offense and put in someone who can score some points to keep up with the other team who moves the ball up and down the field as if they're out there by themselves. How about drafting a running back that can actually shake some defenders instead of running into the pile and falling down?

I watched the Cubs get beat around by the Colorado Rockies like how the Minnesota Vikings spanked the Bears. The looks on their faces said it all for me. This was just another game for them. If I have to listen to them say, "you have to give credit to the other team" again I will puke. Show some heart for crying out loud! Even if you're getting beat at least act like you're trying. Many of these athletes were kids who came from winning programs all through their youth wining mutiple state championships in their sports. What they should do is take it back to the days when if you lost your position your career was basically over. I'm not advocating for players to play with unimaginable injuries but the circumstance would make sure that you get the very best of your players every time they set foot on the field or the court. Heartless players and brain dead management is no way to run a franchise and all you're doing is playing the fans for fools when you raise ticket prices after every losing season and then have the nerve to say it is easy to sit there and think we know better than those who are actually out there playing the games. I say there is space on my couch where we can watch a ball game together because it's pretty obvious that you need to be where we are to see the crap that is going on and who is just out there to get a paycheck. Enough is enough. Let's not turn Chicago into Kansas City but even the Royals have seen a World Series more recently than the Cubs!

Thank You Dennis Green! The Bears Are Worse Than We Thought They Were!

Written by Godfrey Logan, Monday October 26 2009 playerpress.com

I don't want to hear about the Bears vaunted defense. Or ever hear the words, Monsters of the Midway" again! I don''t want to hear we get off the bus running ever again. The Bears are barely better than the Detroit Lions and by chance the last team they beat.
The Bears are average at best. The Bears defense hasn't been dominant since the days of Ditka and Buddy Ryan! It's getting hilarious to hear other teams say the know how good the Bears defense is but they still have to go out and play their game. This video of yesterdays game will make the rounds of every NFL lockerroom and possibly every blooper reel for the next decade. No they didn't get beat 59-0 like the Tennessee Titans and they are not winless like the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but they are way overrated and way over hyped. They have put so much money and personnel into this defense and going as far as hiring the former Detroit Lions head coach to work with their defensive line, yes the same coach of the same Detroit Lions who became the first team ever to go 0-16 last year. Is it the defensive scheme or is it the ones coaching it? Is it time for Lovie to go? I would say so but there are ten games left for him to help himself out the door without an uproar from the fans. Everyone thought the Bears would be better just because we got a franchise quarterback. But Jay cutler cannot play defense even though he is heling out the other defenses by throwing a bunch of picks. I still do not believe that this loss is his fault. You cannot win a ball game with just 35 yards rushing while your former running back goes for 189 yards and swears revenge has nothing to do with it. The offensive line has been a bust for years now and signing Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale has done nothing for the offensive line. You cannot just say this was a bad day that happens from time to time or the Bengals just had a good day at home. For a team that has not scored this many points the entire season they just showed every glaring weakness the Bears have on both sides of the ball. I think the key word is preparation. They were not prepared to play against the Falcons or the Bengals and they had a bye week to do just that. It's not possible that I am the only one who saw this coming. But Dennis Green said it best in 2006 and it still holds true today. The Bears suck!

Cubs Bring On Third Hitting Coach And I'm Expecting Nothing Different

Written by Godfrey Logan, Thursday October 22 2009 playerpress.com

The Cubs fired Gerald Perry who has had a ton of success with Lou Piniella in the past. He couldn't get the offense started this season though he was part of the reason for them winning 97 games in 2008.
Then they fired Von Joshua the man responsible for the hitting success of the young Cubs minor leaguers who have made an immediate impact since being called up. He is credited with being responsible for Geovanny Soto having his success in the minors which translated to being named Rookie Of the Year in 2008. None of these men had any success with helping the Cubs out of their late season slump and Soto barely batted .220 last year. My point is the Cubs not having the talent to win and the hitting coach having nothing to do with the lack of success. With all of the changes in hitting coaches Derrick Lee still had an amazing year. Is it possible that the guys on the field around Derrick Lee besides Aramis Ramirez are not major league talent? I would say yes. We do not have a major league quality short stop or second baseman thanks to Jim Hendry sticking with the Cajun Connection but they only fall apart at the end of seasons. He traded away Mark Derosa for nothing and he ends up on the division winning Cardinals. Alfonso Soriano is down right offensive in the outfield a spot Manny Ramirez has proven that you only have to be somewhat cometent to play the easiest outfield position in baseball. While it is true that the new hire for hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo from Texas has had a lot of success with the likes of Soriano and Milton Bradley whom it seems like will be with the team next season after having been told that he was on his way out I'm more concerned about what he will have to work with. Players have had success with Rudy Jaramillo in the past but I cannot think of the last time the Rangers made the post season in that weak American League West. Instead of replacing the hitting coach who might get replaced midway through the season anyways after having signed a three year contract with the Cubs because the players we have stink why not replace the general manager before he makes another bone head choice?

Bears Woes Not Cutler's Fault

Written by Godfrey Logan, Tuesday October 20 2009 playerpress.com

Has anyone thought that maybe the reason the running game for the Bears is so bas is because Matt Forte is bad? They went out and drafted a Forte because they were looking for a bigger back like Justin Fargas of the Oakland Raiders after he had a solid running performance against the Bears a few years ago.
The Bears have not done well in recent years at drafting running backs but they always end up in a situation where it's better to keep that player than to let him go or trade him because he will most likely do well for another team. See Cedric Benson. Personally I was happy to see him go but am not happy to see him doing well for the Bengals. The Bears traded Thomas Jones to the Jets and once again I was happy to see him go because I thought he was soft. He couldn't move the pile. He had a career day Sunday in a loss to the Bills.

Matt Forte may one day turn out to be a solid back but right now he isn't showing that he can be that or that he can make defenses miss. Yes the offensive line is very porous so he never gets a chance to make plays but sometimes it would help if he were somewhat elusive so that it isn't so easy to tackle him.

And when are the Bears going to get rid of Ron Turner? Since he's been here he's made me scratch my head about his play calling. I think he has to take much of the blame for the fact the Bears cannot develop a quarterback. I know Rex Grossman was a terrible quarterback but part of the blame for his lack of success has to be attributed to Ron Turner. Now you have Kyle Orton in Denver doing what he should have been doing in Chicago. But the Bears are so focused on a qb managing the game that he never gets to show what he can do, throw the ball down the field. To be honest, with Cutler the Bears will be a 9-7 team this year. They were a 9-7 team last year with Orton so what exactly have they done to better this team? With Ron Turner calling the plays and Orton still at quarterback the Bears would be lucky to finish with a winning record. Enough with the prime time games already the Bears are not even on the level of the Minnesota Vikings right now.

Speaking of the the Vikings they are getting so much hype because of Brett Favre. The truth is that team would do well with or without Brett Favre. I could probably play for that team as long as all I have to do is hand off to Adrian Peterson or throw a short pass to Percy Harvin and watch him go.

Frankly Jay Cutler is who has kept the Bears respectable at this point. The defense is a strong defense as usual but I wish Lovie Smith would stop saying that, "we come off the bus running." That hasn't been the case for years. The Bears haven't had an NFL offensive line since Thomas Jones was here which in my opinion is why we lost the stinking Super Bowl in '07 besides Peyton Manning picking our defense apart. The Bears are what I thought they were the same old team but with a franchise quarterback. That's all you hear nowadays. We finally have a "Franchise Quarterback." The truth is we had one before but with our bad play calling he never got a chance to flourish. Also let's not jump on Cutler for his turnovers. If we had a decent running game we wouldn't have to rely on the pass so much. But until some personnel changes are made on the offensive side of the ball the offense will continue to be, well, offensive.

Rush Away From Limbaugh As Fast As Possible

Written by Godfrey Logan, Tuesday October 13 2009 playerpress.com

Rush Away From Limbaugh As Fast As Possible

Written by Godfrey Logan, Tuesday October 13 2009

If Rush Limbaugh wants to own a professional franchise let him go to the UFL where no one will notice that one of the biggest race baitors is leading a franchise. Since it will soon be defunct, I say hell let him have the entire league.
For years minority professional athletes have been asking to be treated fairly and respected for the contributions they have made on and off the field. They have been asking for years to be remembered for coaching and ownership opportunities when their playing careers are done. They make up such a large percentage of the professional population in the four biggest sports in the U.S. and many have admitted they cannot have winning programs without these same minority players. Baseball once had a racist past and many of their members who espoused racist views are in the hall of fame and no one thinks to remove them because of their beliefs but rewarded them for what they did on the field. Though we have moved years beyond those days the numbers of minority coaches in major division one college sports has lagged regardless of legislation or rules passed to make them a part of the search process in replacing a coach that has left a program/team. Now you are asking players to consider playing for a man who makes much of his money degrading minorities and has stated that he hopes the first black/mixed race president this country has ever had fails. If President Obama fails the country fails. While Limbaugh has not said he wants the country to fail because if it does then who will come out to watch any team he might own play? I cannot imagine that there are many fans who come out now to support the St. Louis Rams who look like they will be the next team to lose 16 games in a season. For any minority athlete I would consider it a slap in the face to let this man who once told a black caller to his show to "take the bone out of his nose" own a professional franchise.

I am a Chicago Cubs fan and I remember when there was a huge buzz about Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban possibly purchasing the Cubs. It was said he would be a black mark on the sport of baseball with his flamboyant ways and that other owners in baseball would not allow that to happen. I could not imagine that NFL owners would allow Rush Limbaugh to own an NFL team especially after his remarks that the liberal media wants a black quarterback to succeed. If a man whose only flaw is that he is free with his money and feels that it allows him to yell at referees during games is too divisive to own a baseball franchise what makes you think it would be a good idea to let Rush Limbaugh own any professional franchise?

If not for black players there would be not professional leagues. As it stands most players in the NHL are from Canada and Russia. Take a god look at hockey and realize what the other major sports would look like if minority players decide they would not play. Considering that they are basically regarded as not intelligent enough to be in positions of power as it was once believed that they were not smart enough to even play quarterback. I agree this is the land of opportunity but someone once told me that people can think you are a fool until you open your mouth and prove them right. Guess what Rush, you opened your mouth one too many times and it has come back to bite you. Stick to politics and pills and leave sports to those who at least keep their bigotry behind closed doors.

I Drank The Miami Kool Aid Too!

Written by Godfrey Logan, Monday September 28 2009 playerpress.com

The question in the days leading up to the Va. Tech game was, "Is the "U" back?

I wanted to believe that they were. I've been a huge fan since the bad old days when they were destroying their opponents and self destructing at the same time for believeing that they ouldn't be stopped. As bad as those days were they were one of the most feared football programs in college football. This is a different Hurricane program now. It seems as if college football is down if Miami isn't in the top ten and showing up in fatigues for a bowl game. I was one of them who drank the Kool Aid believing they would run and pass all over the Hokies. But as they say this is why they play the games. I saw the score of the Va. Tech game against Nebraska and felt that they would have trouble scoring points against this miami defense and the Hurricane offense would certainly put up 30 or more. Instead they were down 21-0 at half and didn't put up much of a showing in the second half even though they had plenty of chances to score. Dropped balls many of them did them in in the second half as they were already looking to the Oklahoma game. What makes this loss particularly difficult is that it would have put Miami with a solid lead in the conference regardless of what happens against Oklahoma. With the chance that Bradford wouldn't play the "Canes could have been 4-0 and they would have no choice but to roll through the weak ACC Conference. They can still be 3-1 after the Oklahoma games just as much as they can be 2-2 after the Oklahoma game at Landshark Stadium. At that point they begin to fade from the national scene and can only play for a chance to be the big name in some little known bowl game like the Papa Johns Bowl. As they say that is why they play the games.

Cubs Have No Heart!

Written by Godfrey Logan, Tuesday August 11 2009 playerpress.com

Bear with me for a moment with my rambling because I'll probably say some of the craziest things ever heard. Such as combine the two Chicago Baseball teams and let Ozzie Guillen manage them.

The Colorado Rockies have no chance to win their division but don't tell them that. We're it not for the Dodgers being nearly eight games ahead of the second place team in the National League West that would be one of the hottest three team races for a division title in the National League. But the Cubs LET the Rockies win three of four from them in Colorado by playing as badly as they could play possibly as bad as they have played all season. The Rockies hit everything the Cubs pitchers lobbed at the plate. It didn't matter that Troy Tulowitzki nearly missed hitting a grandslam he still launched a two run homer in the first inning and hit for the cycle acounting for SEVEN runs by himself!

The Rockies early in the season made a managing change to former Cubs manager Jim Tracy. A managing change for this team wouldn't matter in the least bit. They let good old "in Dusty we trusty," Dusty Baker go because he was too laidback and didn't seem to discipline his players for firebrand "Sweet Lou," Lou Piniella. Lou looks just as lost as when he managed the Former Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Is there a chance he could quit before this season is over because these guys are just as heartless as his former team? The man looks lost in the dugout as no matter what moves he makes they backfire. They have the Phillies coming up next and if the series in Colorado is any indication it's going to be an ugly series. All I can say is bring on football!