A long time ago in a town far far way, The Fighting Illini and Lou Henson blasted their way into the Final Four with the likes of Nick Anderson, Kendall Gil and Steven Barto. I was much to young to appreciate sports in general let alone college basketball then. Fast forward to Lon Kruger's Illinois Basketball teams. Led by Sergio McClain, Frank Williams, Marcus Griffen and the maniac Lucas Johnson. The buzz created by Kruger landing a couple of McDonald's All-Americans peaked my interest in Illinois Basketball and the NCAA. I've been hooked ever since. Illini Nation took a hit when Coach Kruger left for the NBA, but the upstart Bill Self soon captured everyone's attention. In 3 years he turned Illinois into a powerhouse in the Big 10. He returned an dynamite squad led by Derron Williams, Dee Brown, and James Augustine. He just signed top recruit Charlie Villanueva, and then...
Bruce Weber came in and took Self's players on a legendary run. A regular season with only one loss, a No. 1 overall seed in the Big Dance, that amazing comeback against Arizona, a Final Four, and shot at an NCAA Title. Weber emphatically proved his coaching prowess on the court. However in the seasons thereafter he showed one glaring weakness, recruiting. Losing out on top in-state recruits including Derrick Rose, and being jilted by Eric Gordon left the Illinois cubbard bare of top talent. Bruce Weber needed to realize that he had a chance to take the Illini somewhere they had never been before. Desperately, Coach Weber developed a single recruiting strategy that has finally brought him the talent he can coach up to make another run at a NCAA Championship...RECRUITING IN-STATE.
With Coach Weber shifting his focus on the talent in the state, Illinois has netted top prospects Brandon Paul, DJ Richardson, Jereme Richmond, Meyers Leonard, Crandall Head, Tracy Abrams, Nnanna Egwu, Mycheal Henry and in all likely hood Mike Shaw. In the last three years, Weber has created in-roads all over Illinois, from Chicago to Champaign. He has built a young, talented base who can grow into another powerhouse, and has finally matched his recruiting skills to his coaching. I look forward to the Return of the Illini...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Hangover of Champions
June 9th, 2010
I gathered with co-workers over at Casey Moran's two hours before puck drop and plucked a table right in the middle of their open-air patio. Soon thereafter, the place was packed with Hawks fans, all donning there brand new Blackhawks gear. I just picked up my Towes shirt at Wrigleyville Sports (I was to cheap to buy a jersey). It was another thrilling game, they all had been. The crowd was hung up on every surge, every hit, every goal. OT had just began, people were still rushing back from the bathroom, our bucket of beers just arrived; I noticed Patrick Kane darting around Philly's net, grabbed a beer, looked back up, then I asked myself "What the hell just happened?" Three seconds later, my friends at the table, everyone at the bar & the entire city finally caught up. The Blackhawks were Stanley Cup Champions. We spilled onto Clark St. chanting, dancing and throwing people in air. We were soon followed by the Blackhawks themselves. Surging, as if they were still on the ice, back to Chicago directly to The Pony Inn. Parades seem to follow at every bar in the city as the Hawks did there absolute best to celebrate with Chicago. Fast forward to this season; The Hawks, after some extreme roster turnover and the entire off season of drinking out of Lord Stanley's Cup, seem to be hitting the skids a bit. The season is young, and I'm sure as time passes the new pieces will gel and we'll see more consistency on the ice. But it all seems very familiar to me.
In 2005, my White Sox won the World Series. After 88 years, a party was in order. It lasted through the 2006 season and every game I attended that year was a celebration of 2005. And it was just as important to the players. Every time AJ Pierzynski or Jermanie Dye were at Tavern on Rush or Gibsons, every time Brian Anderson or John Garland were at Spy Bar or Leg Room, every time Ozzie Guillen was at Lalo's or Plush, they were all seriously celebrating that World Series trophy. Fans often joined in, and every night was memorable. A funny thing happened though. I thought for sure the Sox would be competing for another title. They added Jim Thome to an already dominant team, and jumped out to an early lead in the AL Central. But, as most of us learned the hard way, what usually follows a legendary party is a legendary hangover. Come the middle of the season, the White Sox were in a 3 team race with DET and CLE that lasted until the last few weeks of the season where the Sox faded out.
A year long party seems to be the right thing to do after so many decades of heartache. You want to share those amazing times with family, friends, and definitely with all your rivals (here's looking at you Cub fans). The pitfall to the good times is waking up with an incredible headache and having to deal with a new season. The White Sox didn't take advantage of the opportunity to win another World Series. Instead, they had a phenomenal time and finished in 3rd Place. It is my hope the Blackhawks realize the opportunity is there not just celebrate one title, but many; Or at least hope they've packed some Alka-Seltzer.
In 2005, my White Sox won the World Series. After 88 years, a party was in order. It lasted through the 2006 season and every game I attended that year was a celebration of 2005. And it was just as important to the players. Every time AJ Pierzynski or Jermanie Dye were at Tavern on Rush or Gibsons, every time Brian Anderson or John Garland were at Spy Bar or Leg Room, every time Ozzie Guillen was at Lalo's or Plush, they were all seriously celebrating that World Series trophy. Fans often joined in, and every night was memorable. A funny thing happened though. I thought for sure the Sox would be competing for another title. They added Jim Thome to an already dominant team, and jumped out to an early lead in the AL Central. But, as most of us learned the hard way, what usually follows a legendary party is a legendary hangover. Come the middle of the season, the White Sox were in a 3 team race with DET and CLE that lasted until the last few weeks of the season where the Sox faded out.
A year long party seems to be the right thing to do after so many decades of heartache. You want to share those amazing times with family, friends, and definitely with all your rivals (here's looking at you Cub fans). The pitfall to the good times is waking up with an incredible headache and having to deal with a new season. The White Sox didn't take advantage of the opportunity to win another World Series. Instead, they had a phenomenal time and finished in 3rd Place. It is my hope the Blackhawks realize the opportunity is there not just celebrate one title, but many; Or at least hope they've packed some Alka-Seltzer.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Bye Bye Buehrle...
A couple of weeks ago on the Bores and Bernstein show (The Score 670 AM Mid-Day Show), Bernsy let on that according to his White Sox "Guy", they were going to be making a serious run at Carl Crawford. The preface being they'd be shopping Carlos Quentin to do so. Now I'm not entirely against shopping Quentin for the right price, but I believe that this not the trade the Sox should be investigating to create the flexibility needed to make a run at top notch free agent. The emergence of Chris Sale has afforded the White Sox the opportunity to look into trading Mark Buehrle.
Buehrle has cemented his legacy with the White Sox (World Series Champion, 2 No No's, and 1 Perfect Game). A move to the National League is now in order. The Sox could look into trading him back to his hometown, St. Louis or either of the other contenders (Braves, Marlins, Phils, etc.) All have deep farm systems and Buehrle will command a legit prospect or two. Either way, Buehrle would be able to compete at a very high level in the National League and make a run at another World Series.
For the White Sox, its all about flexibility within their budget. Trading Buehrle, along with letting Jenks and Kornerko walk, allows the Sox to not only clear a ton of money, but add to a farm system that already has some top flight talent (Jerrod Mitchell, Dayan Viciedo, Brent Morel,Jordan Danks, and Tyler Flowers)
The Sox rotation sets up like this w/o Buehrle:
1. Peavy
2. Danks
3. Floyd
4. Jackson
5. Sale
Re-signing Freddy Garcia to another minimal deal as a long reliever/Peavy insurance gives the White Sox a rotation they can win with for the next 3 or 4 years. Making this move gets them younger, creates salary space to sign a top tier free agent, and enhances their farm system. Making this move gets them closer to another World Series. Buehrle has had a legendary career with the White Sox and I'll always appreciate him, wherever he plays.
Buehrle has cemented his legacy with the White Sox (World Series Champion, 2 No No's, and 1 Perfect Game). A move to the National League is now in order. The Sox could look into trading him back to his hometown, St. Louis or either of the other contenders (Braves, Marlins, Phils, etc.) All have deep farm systems and Buehrle will command a legit prospect or two. Either way, Buehrle would be able to compete at a very high level in the National League and make a run at another World Series.
For the White Sox, its all about flexibility within their budget. Trading Buehrle, along with letting Jenks and Kornerko walk, allows the Sox to not only clear a ton of money, but add to a farm system that already has some top flight talent (Jerrod Mitchell, Dayan Viciedo, Brent Morel,Jordan Danks, and Tyler Flowers)
The Sox rotation sets up like this w/o Buehrle:
1. Peavy
2. Danks
3. Floyd
4. Jackson
5. Sale
Re-signing Freddy Garcia to another minimal deal as a long reliever/Peavy insurance gives the White Sox a rotation they can win with for the next 3 or 4 years. Making this move gets them younger, creates salary space to sign a top tier free agent, and enhances their farm system. Making this move gets them closer to another World Series. Buehrle has had a legendary career with the White Sox and I'll always appreciate him, wherever he plays.
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