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As we head into the Thanksgiving Holiday, there is a feast of sports news to catch up on. Starting with our “beloved” Chicago Bears…
Last night the Bears continued their winless streak in San Francisco as the Bears were pounded on by the 49ers by a final score of 32-7.
This was a battle of the backup quarterbacks as both Jay Cutler for the Bears and Alex Smith of the 49ers were sidelined with concussions sustained in their respective games last week.
Second year Niners quarterback Colin Caepernick had his way with the Bears defense. He was dual threat both passing and rushing.
The Frisco ground game also pitched in, but the biggest story was the 49er defense. Their pass rush made the Bears’ offensive line look like statues as Jason Campbell was sacked and hit multiple times.
The offense had no answer or solution to the dominant 49ers defense. To make matters even worse, the Bears defense looked lost out there.
The consequence of last night’s loss is that the Bears are now tied with those damn Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North (7-3 record).
The Packers also own the tie breaker over the Bears due to their victory at Lambeau Field back in week two.
Jay Cutler will speak with the media at 11am today to update the masses on his recovery. It is still unknown as to whether or not he will play this Sunday.
Perhaps today’s press conference at Halas Hall will shed some light on the situation. Regardless of who starts under center this week, the Bears still have to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Both sides of the ball will be tested as the Bears will have their hands full. On the offensive side, they will need to protect either Cutler or Campbell from Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.
Allen is a fierce pass rusher and can stop the run when needed. On the defensive side, the Bears will have the daunting task of trying to either stop or contain Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
Peterson has had a remarkable recovery from ACL surgery, and has put up solid numbers this year.
If the Vikings can’t get it done on the ground, they will turn to second year quarterback Christian Ponder.
Ponder has been having a pro bowl year so far. He makes the big throws, he’s not afraid to take a hit, and he can make the Bears pay if they focus too much on Adrian Peterson.
The schedule from here gets a little harder for the Bears. They need to win if they are to keep pace with the Packers.
The Bulls haven’t done much better than the Bears as they have also lost two in a row. The 5-5 Bulls are in the final stages of their annual “circus road trip”.
Tonight they make their way into “Clutch City” to take on the Houston Rockets. This will be a good opportunity for the Bulls to take advantage as the Rockets have lost their last three and only sport a record of 4-7.
The blockbuster James Hardin trade at the beginning of the season hasn’t quite worked out the way the Rockets were hoping.
Their other big acquisition, Jeremy Lin, has also struggled. Lin hasn’t been the same since he had knee surgery which caused him to miss the second half of last season.
Hopefully the Bulls can take advantage of the Rockets woes and get back into the win column. As for the other United Center tenant, the Chicago Blackhawks are still in limbo as the NHL is still on strike.
Both the NHLPA and the NHL Owners remain at a stalemate and it doesn’t look like this will end any time soon. The league has already cancelled the annual New Years Day Winter Classic.
Our good friends at the Chicago Rush have been very busy during the Arena Football League’s offseason.
Yesterday the team announced that it had re-signed some key players from the 2012 season. Defensive linemen Derek Walker and and Darrel Campbell, fullback J.J. Payne, offensive lineman Ryan O’Neill, and defensive backs Semaj Moody and Jorrick Calvin will all be returning for 2013.
While all of these men were key players last season, the biggest re-signing has been top wide receiver Reggie Gray.
Reggie Gray has been the leading receiver for the Rush the last couple of seasons. He is also a fan favorite, and he is very involved in the Chicago community and with charitable causes.
After teasing fans about a possible move to another team on his Facebook page over the last couple days, Gray officially announced just after 5pm on Monday that he will indeed to return to the Rush.
These transactions are just a small portion of what the Rush have done since the free agent signing period in the AFL began. You can see the rest of the Rush’s offseason activities here: http://arenarush.com/news/rush/?article_id=238
There are also rumors swirling that the Rush could see either a change in color scheme, logo, or both.
Nothing has been confirmed so stay tuned. This weekend I will be back on the beat as I will be covering the Wolves game this Saturday night.
The 8-5-2-0 Wolves will play host to the Milwaukee Admirals who have become one of the Wolves’ biggest rivals.
Face off is just after 7pm from the Allstate Arena, and you can follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
You can also friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GabeSalgado82
I am also on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gws1182
Well the big story of the night is our beloved Chicago Bulls. They soundly defeated the Orlando Magic on their home turf by a final score of 85-59. Although Magic Center Dwight Howard still had a double-double, the Bulls were able to keep his numbers low with just 12 points and 18 rebounds. The Bulls defense was just overwhelming tonight.
The rest of Orlando’s starters only scored a total of 27 points, while Orlando’s bench players {which include former Bulls Guard Chris Duhon} only scored a combined 13 points. I wonder if “Superman” regrets not getting traded after this loss. The Bulls have now won 4 in a row without both Derrick Rose and Richard Hamilton.
Rose is still day to day with a pulled groin, and Hamilton is still day to day with that separated shoulder. There is no timetable set for their returns, but with back to back games against the Toronto Raptors coming up, the Bulls are in no rush to bring them back unless they are %100. Plus the Bulls have proven they can win without them.
Even more good news for the Bulls is that tonight’s victory has given Head Coach Tom Thibideau his 100th career victory as a head coach. He is also the fastest coach to accomplish this feat. I see red and perhaps a championship.
After all, they did embarrass the Miami Heat last week. We got a lot of hockey news to cover. The Blackhawks ride a 3 game winning streak into Columbus tomorrow night to take on the division rival Blue Jackets. Johnathan Toews and Niklas Hjalmarsson are still questionable, but the Blackhawks are confident that they can beat Columbus without them.
After defeating Lake Erie and Toronto over the weekend, the Wolves are off for the next couple of days before finishing their three game road trip against believe or not, Lake Erie. The Wolves are 7-1 during the month of March and because of their amazing play they have moved up to 3rd in the AHL’s Western Conference playoff picture.
The Wolves are still a ways away from clinching a playoff spot, but they are on the right track. And there is the Chicago Express. Of course as I reported on Sautrday night, their 4 game winning streak was broken by the Trenton Titans. Well the Express had a rematch with the Titans on Sunday night. However instead of starting a new winning streak, their losing streak is now 2 in a row.
They lost once again to the Titans 5-4 in overtime. The Express are now finished with non-division games and will only play division games for the remainder of the season. But all hope is not lost, thanks to the Cincinnati Cyclones losing 2 in a row of their own over the weekend the Express managed to gain a point. And because of that point they are now tied with Cincinnati for the final playoff spot in the ECHL’s Eastern Conference.
The Express are off tomorrow but will go head to head with Cincinnati on Wednesday. The Express have a chance to take that #8 spot, and have their own destiny in their hands. After Wednesday, they play a home-and-home series with the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday and Saturday. And then on Sunday afternoon the Toledo Walleye come calling to the Sears Centre, face off is at 4pm.
And I will be in the press box for that contest so keep your browser locked on Q101.com for my live reports. In college hoops, the DePaul Lady Blue Demons fell to the mighty Tennessee Lady Volunteers 63-48. Their hopes of finally reaching the lady’s Sweet 16 were dashed on their home court at Allstate Arena. Pat Summit proves to be the better coach once again.
On the men’s side, Illinois State had a date on the west coast with Stanford in the 2nd round of the 2012 NIT. But it would wind up being the last game of the season for ISU as they fell 92-88 in Palo Alto. Despite having three players scoring 20 points in the game, the Redbirds just did not have enough firepower to keep up with the Cardinal. But the Redbird nation does have something to look forward to for next season.
In soccer, the Chicago Fire will have most of the week off before facing Philadelphia on Saturday. The Fire just came off a 1-1 tie with Montreal in their 2012 regular season opener over the weekend. The Fire hope to gain their first victory of the 2012 season this weekend.
The only big NFL story of the day is that former Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning has signed with the Denver Broncos. And as a result, the Broncos are looking to trade Tim Tebow. Despite the progress Tebow has made, Broncos Vice President John Elway felt that the Broncos needed a veteran signal caller now instead of building for the future.
And with that in mind the Broncos offered Manning a contract reportedly worth $95 million. Hopefully the Broncos have made the right decision.
As for Arena Football, the Rush continue to practice in preparation for game #2 on the 2012 season. The Orlando Predators fly into Allstate Arena on Thursday night with kickoff at 7:30pm. Rush Quarterback Russ Michna and Linebacker Kelvin Morris won player of the week awards last week, both men are looking to add to their accolades.
And with the AFL’s labor dispute now in the past, the Rush will no longer have distractions and can focus on football. I will be covering the Rush game this Thursday night, so keep it here on Q101 for my reports from Allstate Arena. As for the other indoor football team in town, the Chicago Slaughter will take their 1-2 record into Cedar Rapids on Friday night.
And finally, in Spring Training the Cubs beat Seattle 12-7 and the White Sox lose to Cincinnati 1-0 in the Cactus League. If you plan on attending the Rush game on Thursday and/or the Express game on Sunday. Don’t be afraid to say hi if you see me making my way through the arenas.
You can follow me on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82 Hashtag: #Q101Sports
You can friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GabeSalgado82
Either last night’s game went by way too fast or the NBA All-Star game has lost it’s swagger. The 2012 NBA All-Star game had all of the stars, but none of the star power. Derrick Rose scored 16 points in the game but I didn’t notice. Luol Deng played 6 minutes but I don’t remember him entering the game. Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibideau didn’t seem to care if the Eastern Conference won or lost. The West won 152-149 but it seemed like the lowest scoring game of the century. Kobe Bryant passed up His Airness {Michael Jordan} on the all-time list for most total points scored in all-star game appearances but for some reason I didn’t care.
Mary J. Blige was amazing with the national anthem, Pitbull had a decent halftime show, but then Chris Brown killed it for me. Even worse, I failed to realize the significance of that. Is that bad? Ever since TNT won the rights to broadcast the NBA All-Star game, the only memorable year that I can remember was in 2003 when Michael Jordan in his final all-star game tied the game in the 4th quarter to force overtime. Although the East wound up losing in overtime, Jordan gave everyone something to remember for many years to come.
Since then, the TNT version of the all-star game has failed to deliver in my book. I mean c’mon, if I forget that the game is even on television most years then something isn’t right. When NBC had the rights to the annual game, the star power was there, the games were memorable, and they didn’t need a flashy halftime or pre-game show {Like TNT does now} in order to attract viewers. Plus not to mention the names that played in the game during the NBC era: Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, Magic, Bird, Olajawon, Mullin, Thomas, Dumars, Lambieer, etc.
The players in today’s all-star game are more hated then they are respected. The players during the NBC era were always respected despite the tension among rival fans. This day and age, not so much. There were plenty of Kobe, LeBron, and D-Wade haters in attendance in Orlando last night. Where has the excitement of the NBA All-Star game gone and how can we get it back? My fear is that one day the NBA All-Star game will become obsolete like the NHL’s All-Star game has. Don’t get me wrong, regular season ball is great, and playoff ball even better.
But the all-star game which one was a proud tradition is all about the flash and bling instead of celebrating the games best players. This attitude needs to change if the NBA All-Star game is to remain within the fabric of the sports society.
And just a friendly reminder to all of my readers out there, please tip your waiters and waitresses accordingly: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/banker-insulting-tip-incites-class-warfare-between-1-164624882.html
You can follow me on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82
How easy was it for the Chicago Bulls last season?
Well they won the Central Division by a whopping 25 games over Indiana and the Pacers, Bucks, Pistons and Cavaliers finished a mighty 207 games below .500 collectively with a winning percentage of .369.
Led by MVP Derrick Rose the Bulls cruised to a 62-20 season that ultimately saw them lose in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat in five games. A fifth game by the way that saw them blow a 12-point lead with less than three minutes to go and Rose missing a free throw that would have tied the game then a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Given the state of the NBA and superstars choosing to leave, the Bulls made certain their leader wouldn’t be going anywhere and signed Rose to a five-year contract extension just last week.
The Bulls that take the court on Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Lakers won’t look much different than the team that left the court against Miami back in late May. The one big addition, though, will be shooting guard Richard Hamilton, who comes to the Bulls after spending the last nine years with Detroit.
“On this team, there are no ball hogs,” Hamilton said recently. “There are guys trying to make plays for each other, guys always helping each other out. That makes the game so much easier.”
2010-11 Results: 62-20, first in Central; Lost in East finals to Miami.
READ MORE INCLUDING THE KEY CHANGES WITH THE ROSTER
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-tsn-acn-outlook-chi-20111223,0,857763.story
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