We Like Our Rose Homegrown

Thanksgiving

by Patrick Ronald

  With Turkey Day behind us I hope everyone had a fun and safe day.  Now it is just an average Saturday.

  A few things I learned on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

  - The Detroit Lions appear to be unraveling before our very eyes.  Ndamukong Suh proved to be a scumbag with his 'stomp' on Green Bay's offensive lineman.  He will likely get at least a two game suspension.  I personally believe he should have a longer absence from the field than that.

  A few years back Albert Haynesworth served a five-game suspension for a similar incident.

  Suh's dirty play is becoming a problem.  Football is a physical, all contact sport, but they is no need for roughing as much as he does.

  He is a coward.

  He denied any wrong doing and says he was misinterpreted by the officials.

  The camera clearly shows Suh pounding Dietrich-Smith's head to the turf immediately before the kick.

  "What I did was remove myself from the situation in the best way I felt,"  Suh said.  "My intentions were not to kick anybody....as you can see I was walking away from the situation."
 
  What an idiot?

  Detroit fell to 7-4 after the loss.  The Green Bay victory was awesome for the Bears, who we hope can pick up the win in Oakland and take a one-game lead on the woeful Lions.

  Detroit may be in trouble with poor decisions made by their youngsters.  Suh just gave America yet another reason to classify 'The Motor City' as the armpit of America.

  - Another thing I learned is that the San Francisco 49ers are nowhere near as good as their 9 - 1 record indicated.

  Baltimore handed the NFC West leaders their second loss of the season with big brother, John, beating up on little brother, Jim, in the 'Harbaugh Bowl.'

  Worst part is the 49ers defense, which is supposed to be a pretty good defense, scored me ZERO points.  Thanks guys.

  It seems like another Bears playoff against the NFC West champion would be a good and semi-easy victory for the 'Monsters from the Midway' in January.

  - LSU.  What can't you say about Louisiana State.  They made me nervous falling to a quick 14 - 0 deficit.

  They quickly got their game back together and dominated Arkansas, who I thought would have put up a great fight.

  The Tigers have beat #2 Alabama and #3 Arkansas in the past couple weeks.

  Remember they also beat Oregon, who was ranked #3, by 13 to kick off the season.  They also beat Mississippi State, Florida, West Virginia and Auburn.  All teams were ranked at the time of their respective meetings.

  LSU is the real deal and it's really, really exciting to watch.  The scary part is next year they will likely be better.

  - At the moment I'm watching Michigan and Ohio State.  After the holding call by Ohio State in their own end zone gave Michigan a safety and a 9 - 7 lead, Wolverines were excited to have their FIRST lead over Ohio State in four years.

  Buckeyes are still in the game.  At 16 - 10 and a Denard 'Shoelaces' Robinson fumble, which just turned into an Ohio State touchdown (17 - 16), it's never a good idea to turn this rivalry game off early because as history would indicate - anything could happen.

  - Big games today

  Penn State at Wisconsin - winner earns bid to play Michigan State in inaugural Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis next weekend.  Go Badgers!!

  Notre Dame at Stanford - the Irish are finally ranked again, but they travel into a hostile Southern California climate against the nation's fifth best team.  Expect Andrew Luck to play big in an attempt to turn heads to obtain the coveted Heisman Trophy.  However, I still will root for my IRISH!!

  Oregon State at Oregon - I can't imagine Oregon will have much trouble against their in-state rival today.

  Alabama at Auburn - 'THE IRON BOWL'  Auburn is a big underdog, but I hope they can pull some type of miracle out to beat 'Bama for LSU's sake.

  Virginia Tech at Virginia - VA Tech will probably mop the floor on the road.  They have an outside chance to sneak into the championship game and the ACC championship game next week.  Frank Beamer said Saturday morning that his team is focused on the task at hand, which happens to be the Cavilers.

  Clemson at South Carolina - I don't like Steve Spurrior.  I have to run with Clemson.

Bear Down

by Patrick Ronald

  I hate to admit it, but the Bears could be in trouble.

  The Bears won their fifth straight game Sunday and have effectivly placed themselves as a NFC contender.

Photo taken by Ken Kay - FoT

  At 7 - 3 they are (or should I say WERE) in the driver's seat for a coveted wild card spot.

  As soon as the offense started to help carry the load and the o-line was protecting their emerging quarterback, disaster struck.

  Jay Cutler apparently fractured his right hand in the fourth after he threw an interception.

  His hustle paid off since Major Wright took the ball back with an end zone interception of his own.

  At the moment, Caleb Hanie will be our guy.

  We need to rally around our new starting quarterback and hope he snaps off for at least three wins.

  Remember he ALMOST got the Bears in the Super Bowl.

  Every aspect of the team needs and will step up.  I'm extremely confident with the Bears chances to play into January.

  They ARE in the drivers seat and when Cutler returns in mid January to play in the NFC championship game in Green Bay the Bears will return the favor and embrassass the defending champs at home.

  Don't panic Bear fans.  It's going to work out and the fairy tale will be written properly.

  I'm excited for the next six weeks. 

  BEAR DOWN!!!

  And P.S. Angelo....don't sign Marc Bulger.

Upset Saturday

by Patrick Ronald

    It's an annual event.  Sports fans and analysts alike can't pinpoint upset Saturday in college football prior to it happening, but we know it's a lock every year.

  The top team in the nation handled their business with authority.  LSU smothered Mississippi.

  Meanwhile, other contenders such as Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia Tech and Stanford should be thankful for teams like Iowa State, who knocked off #2 Oklahoma State Friday night, Southern California, who helped their cause with a road win over Oregon's quack attack and previously  fifth ranked Oklahoma, who fell short to Baylor on the road.

  The BCS will manage to sort itself out.  LSU can keep it simple by eliminating Arkansas' hopes Saturday or the Razorbacks can make a messy situation a whole bunch more complicated.

  Listen, the numbers don't lie.  LSU, Alabama and Arkansas are the three top ranked teams in America and they all call the SEC West home.

  So if there's any debate about where the strongest teams in the nation play, then look no further than the southeast region.

  All three teams deserve a chance at the title, but we know that simply won't happen.

  If the Tigers can handle business in their last two regular season games, then everything will be simple.

  Every game is a championship game in the SEC.

  Upset week was fun to watch and I have a good feeling that we have plenty more to come.

Senior Day at ND

by Patrick Ronald

  Yesterday was senior day and the final home game of 2011 for our beloved Irish.  It’s difficult to comprehend where the season went.

  My initial prediction of 10 – 2 obviously can not stand, but after a victory over Boston College Saturday, 9 – 3 can with an honorable victory in Stanford next weekend.

  After a miserable 0 – 2 start, which included an evacuation of Notre Dame Stadium in week one and an embarrassing loss to our bitter rivals at ‘The Big House’ in week two, I must admit I am proud of the Irish turnaround.

  I thought a BCS game was doable in August – and it was.

  However, a BCS game in early January for Notre Dame would probably put me in an angry mood.

  They have played well, but they don’t deserve to be on the same field as Oregon, Oklahoma State and Alabama, even after the losses suffered this weekend.

  I’m sure they would have drew one of those teams in a warm climate game.

  I’m happy Tommy Rees got a chance to shine under center all season.  He did well.  He made mistakes, but he is a sophomore.

  He has two years of eligibility left and I’m excited for him to hit the gym and take his game to the next level this offseason.  We all know the offseason is when champions are made.

  Notre Dame nation will move forward into 2012 with more excitement and anticipation.

  

  Brian Kelly’s third season and Rees’ second season as starter should prove to be a good fall in South Bend next season.

  Finish 2011 strong and DEFEND OUT GLORY!! 

On My Mind

by Ken Kay

    Going into a busy weekend filled with parties, a benefit, bowling, dog training, birthday dinners and football, I wanted to share a few quick thoughts.

- Welcome Dale Sveum.  Hopefully you don't feel too much pressure and take a step back to embrace the "Cubby Culture".  And please, for the Cubs fans sake, try to convince Theo that Prince Fielder should follow suit.  After all, you taught him "that", right?   Good luck Dale.

- The Bears start their AFC West run when they play the entire division four weeks in a row.  They start with the San Diego Chargers on Sunday and I'm actually more scared going into the "Black Hole" in Oakland than facing the Chargers this week.  Rivers has thrown more interceptions this year than he ever has and the Bears are coming off of a week where they "picked-six" twice.  The Bears will win their 5th in a row.

- The Hawks continue their annual circus road trip tonight against the Calgary Flames.  Ben Smith was brought up and Olesz was sent down.  Smith had three goals in the playoff series against Vancouver last year.  He'll continue right where he left off and at least have one point tonight.

- The Bulls, oh yea.  Nevermind.  I think there's something about Deng playing somewhere over seas, I don't know.  No Ball Association.  Way to go guys, way to go.

Thought I had more, that's it for now.  If I think of anything else, I'll add it.

Thanks.

Predators' Forward Craig Smith Misses Empty Net Goal

If you watch closely (slow motion replay at the end of the clip), Smith air mails the puck into the stands.    Notice how he fooled everyone - his teammates, the fans, and the "spotlight" guy.  Now that's top-shelf!

Mr. Smith, you have my pity.

NFL Recap

Pack top Vikes, remain unbeaten

Saints survive Falcons

Steelers ‘D’ steps up late against Cincinnati

Bills back to reality, routed by Cowboys

 

Eagles flounder against Cards

Chicago dominates division rival, Detroit

Seattle stuns Baltimore

Jets barely show up against Pats

Giants fall short in San Francisco

College Football Recap

LSU stays focused on a national title bid, remains atop nation

Oklahoma State plays like they deserve number two ranking

‘Bama rebounds in Mississippi State

Oregon mops the floor with Stanford

Boise State proves they’re not eligible for BCS bid with loss

Nebraska gives Nittany Lions exactly what they deserve

Houston continues to dominate Conference USA

Irish creep back into top 25 with seventh win

K-State victors in four OT's

Clemson survives Wake Forest

South Carolina escape Gator attack

Big Play 'D'

By Patrick Ronald

Big ups to the Bears secondary.

The first quarter was great.  The defense provided two strips on the first two possessions, which led to the first 10 points.

Then Devin ‘Superman’ Hester ran back a kick that led to a field goal. 

Major Wright returns an interception against Detroit

You know he was picked on by his teammates on the sideline because he got dragged down by the Detroit punter.

So, what did he do?  He took it personal and ran back the next one.

20 – 0.  Dub smackin’ these Detroit Lions.

It seemed liked they wanted to climb back into the game.

20 – 6 at halftime.

I thought the Bears were settling at 20.  They ended the first half soft.

They started the second half the same way with a three and out, which was under a minute.

Then MAJOR RIGHT reminded us that DEFENSE RULED CHICAGO with an amazing pick six.

THEN PEANUT reminded us that DEFENSE RULES THE LAND with another amazing pick six, which Matt Stafford gave up on.

Big ups to the ‘BIG PLAY D!’

I loved it.  So did everyone.  I’m proud of the Bears.

The defense looked phenomenal.  The special teams did great.  The offense didn’t have to even play.

Good game Bears.  Keep playing like this and I put my bet on you to beat Green Bay in a playoffs game this year.

We all enjoyed the stomp on he division rival, who dominated us a few weeks ago. 

We are better than them, hands down and we proved it today and we are a contender in the NFL.

When the Bears play like this they can beat ANYONE.

We’re in the driver’s seat.  LET’S GET IT.

Hawks Report

by Jason Ruminski

  Have you gone into panic mode yet? After starting 8-2-2 the Hawks have lost three games in a row (one in OT) and have blown up their line combos twice in an effort to spark their play. While the OT loss in Tampa Bay wasn’t exactly pretty it looks like a gem compared to the beatings the Blackhawks have taken from Vancouver and St. Louis the past two games. Those are both games the Hawks should have won but their lack of power play prowess is hurting the team.

The Blackhawks are now the worst power play in the league, sitting behind the Columbus Blue Jackets who 2-11-1 on the season. Fortunately enough for the Hawks, they face the Jackets tonight. And guess what? The Blue Jackets happen to be ranked 28^th overall on the penalty kill. If ever there was a game to get your guys back in gear and back on the score sheet after a shutout loss this has to be it.

The Hawks aren’t exactly struggling at the right time (is there ever a good time to struggle?) but they do have two very winnable contests on the horizon. Tonight the team plays in Columbus where the Jackets have their only two wins of the season and then tomorrow night the Hawks will host the Calgary Flames (6-7-1).

Pick up any newspaper and you’ll see some very similar ideas being tossed about for the Hawks to fix their woes. Most will say something like, “make the simple play not the fancy one”. Last game they actually out shot the Blues so their decision making is definitely something worth looking at. The problem is that there isn’t any simple solution. It’s not about simply dumping the puck or taking a shot instead of making yet another pass. If it were then they wouldn’t have been shutout on Tuesday.

What’s happening is that the team is taking bad penalties. The most prevalent thing on Sunday against Vancouver was how easy it was for the Canucks to goad the Hawks into taking retaliation penalties. How many times did you see a Sedin twin in front of the net giving Corey Crawford a snow shower after the play? And how many times did the Hawks go to the box right after that? The Blackhawks are being pulled into playing their opponents’ style of play.

The Blackhawks are built to be a finesse team with a couple of enforcers to handle the dirty areas of the ice when necessary. Instead they spend most of their time getting into petty shoving matches and then having to sit for two minutes. Smart hockey is knowing when to fight and knowing when to let your opponent make the mistake.

It’s no secret Daniel Carcillo is the man to target if you want to see your team go on the power play so it’s on him to know what the right time is to get into those scraps. But that’s the tricky part. It’s his job to get into those situations. The Hawks didn’t sign him because he’s an offensive machine. He’s an antagonist. And he needs to be the one antagonizing again, not the other way around. How many times have you seen a penalty for kneeing someone? Well if you watched on Tuesday you saw Carcillo commit that penalty.

The team’s star players need to make their presence known these next two games. Jonathan Toews needs to step up tonight and tomorrow and lead the team by example. He may not tear up the score sheet but he should be playing a more focused game and that will lead to the other big stars getting the opportunities to bury the puck.

The Hawks need these 4 points that are dangling in front of them. Nashville continues to quietly go about their business and now sit at 8-5-2 on the season, just one point behind the Hawks for the lead in the Central Division.

Joe Pa Fired

By Patrick Ronald

  I never thought I would see the day.  Until two days ago.

  Joe Paterno is out as Penn State Head Football Coach.  This is disturbing from top to bottom.  I know EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US CAN AGREE ON THAT.

  Did he know about this whole situation?  I got to believe he did.

  Does he regret it?  I got to believe, absolutley.

  This is more than a black eye.  It's the death of an institution because so many grown men acted like cowards instead of adults.

  No one had the courage to stand up for what IS right.

  How many more accusers will crawl out of the wood works?  How many innocent young boys were harmed by this monster?

  How are we to defend people like Joe Pa?  He didn't touch their 'genitals' or expose his 'penis' to these kids, but he could have stopped it nine years ago, in 2002.

  It's scary to think this type of shit happens.  It's a black eye for mankind.

  You ruined your legacy Mr. Paterno because you could have done more....A LONG TIME AGO.

Penn State Scandal

Former Penn State Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Sandusky,
who is accused of sexually molesting at least eight boys.

Easily the most disturbing story in sports

The 23-page Grand Jury report

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2011/1107/espn_e_Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment.pdf

Penn State University senior vice president, Gary Schultz, who is named in the report several times.  According to the report, he was made aware of Sandusky's actions with a victim during a 2002 meeting with Penn State Head Football Coach Joe Paterno and a graduate assistant, who witnessed Sandusky in a shower with an underage boy.

Penn State Athletic Director, Tim Curley, allegedly attended the same 2002 meeting.

This weekend's picks

Pat

Arkansas   (W)
THE LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY (WINNER)
Green Bay (W)
Arizona (W)

Ken

South Carolina (L)
Alabama   (L)
San Diego (L)
Cincinnati  (W)

Overall

Patrick Ronald   27 - 13
Ken Kay  16 - 24



AND FOR THE RECORD.....LSU over STANFORD is Still possible

Hawks Insight

by Jason Ruminski, Hawks Insider


  The Blackhawks are currently 11 games into the young season, and at first glance they appear to be in much better shape than last year.

  The Hawks sit atop the Central division at 7-2-2 with 16 points, which is four more than 2^nd place Nashville. The new additions over the summer appear to be gelling with the team and the much maligned experiment of moving Patrick Kane over to center.

  Kane’s move has paid dividends.  He is leading the team in points with four goals and seven assists.


  Not far behind are the “core guys” that the Hawks brass has invested so much in.

  Second in scoring for the team is Marian Hossa (5G, 5A), followed by Patrick Sharp (3G, 7A) and the captain Jonathan Toews (4G, 3A). But are they doing that much better than last year?

  Last season the Hawks sat at 6-4-1 after 11 games (13 points) after dropping some heartbreakers early.  Seven contests were decided by one goal early last season with the Hawks losing three of them and winning the other four (two in regulation, one in OT the other in a shootout).

  They have let a few slip away this season as well, dropping the season opener in Dallas (by one goal) and then letting wins against the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins and the Colorado Avalanche slip away. Both were shootout losses.

  The difference this year is subtle. The Hawks are closing out games and picking up the points when they probably wouldn’t have last season. The Blackhawks have allowed a league-worst 15 goals in the 2^nd period of play this season, but lead the league in goals allowed in the 3^rd period with 6.

  What makes up for that? They’re fourth in the league in goals scored in the 3^rd with 15 and are also fourth in winning percentage when trailing after two periods of play (.400).

  The numbers aren’t staggering, but the point is they are getting points that could easily slip away. The Hawks also rode a seven game points streak in these first 11 games. Last season it took until their 8-game winning streak in February to do that.

  Towards the end of last season when they were fighting just to make the playoffs the talk was all about how they should have gotten more points earlier in the year. While three extra points through 11 games may not look like a big deal it certainly doesn’t hurt.


  Also worth noting, by November 3^rd last season the Blackhawks were entering the 15^th game of the year, this year they’re on their 12^th (Florida Panthers). If you look at where they were on this exact date last year the Hawks sat at 7-7-1. That’s only 15 points earned in 15 games.

Cause for concern?

  Not everything is sunshine and roses for the team though. While Corey Crawford hasn’t exactly regressed, he is currently 28^th overall in Goals Allowed Average with 2.38 and 33^rd in save percentage with a .914.


  And, just in case any of you were wondering Antti Niemi is 41^st in both categories with 2.65 GAA and .902 SV%.

  Sorry, I just wanted to point it out. These aren’t terrible stats by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s certainly not the .960 that another former Hawk Nikolai Khabibulin is putting up either to lead the league.

  The most notable problem the Blackhawks have this season is their powerplay. Currently ranked 29^th the Hawks have converted four of their 45 powerplay chances (8.9 percent). 
  
  The only team worse is the St. Louis Blues (5-6-0).

  Coach Joel Quenneville is a firm believer that whoever comes out on top of a 5-on-3 advantage will control the game. The Hawks have one goal in five opportunities 5-on-3, good for 4^th place in that category.

  Not too bad when that’s a point of emphasis but you can’t hang your hat on one goal, despite the advertising campaign. The Blackhawks will need to be better on the PP as the season progresses.

  The good news is that the Hawks are playing well when they’re down a player which helps when you’ve got players like Daniel Carcillo and Jamal Mayers. Although to be fair Carcillo only has two penalty minutes whereas Patrick Sharp leads the team with 20. Boasting a 91.7 percent in the penalty kill category the team is 3^rd overall so far. 

  This next month will be crucial for the club as only four of their 14 games this month are at home. They hit the “Circus Road-Trip” in the middle of the month and try and gather as many road points as they can out west.

  There’s still a long way to go but a foundation is being set. The young stars are now veterans and the team is playing a more focused game. Finding a winning edge early helps set the tone. But, to be cliché, only time will tell now.

Quade ousted from new regime

  By Patrick Ronald  

  Well I can’t say I didn’t see this one coming from a mile away.

 

  As soon as Theo Epstein took over the controls of the Cubbies, his first order of business was to oust the club’s lousy manager.

 

  Mike Quade, who only managed the Cubs for one full season, was fired today.

 

  "The managerial search process begins immediately," Epstein said. 

 

  Epstein and Jed Hoyer, general manager, met with Quade last week at Wrigley Field and spoke again by phone Tuesday after Hoyer's introductory press conference.

  Epstein flew to Florida to tell Quade that he would not return.

 

  “The next manager must have leadership and communication skills.”

 

  Epstein, who was introduced as the Northsiders president of baseball operations Oct. 12, said the new manager must put an emphasis on preparation and accountability.

 

  “He must establish high standards and a winning culture; he must have integrity and an open mind; and he must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level."

 

  Quade, who had one year remaining on his contract, was 24 – 13 after being named the interim manager in 2010 and suffered a 71 – 91 record in 2011.

 

  Fan favorite, hall-of-famer, and former Cubs double-A manager; Ryne Sandberg was overlooked by Jim Hendry last year and will also be excluded from Epstein’s wish list.

 

  "Theo called me 10 minutes after they issued the press release and told me that they have a list of guys and I'm not on it,'' Sandberg said.  "He wished me good luck and said he hoped I got a chance somewhere soon.

 

  “He didn’t owe me that,” he added.  “It was a classy move.”

 

  The Cubs still have a long way to go before they ever can achieve the coveted World Series trophy, and although I think Epstein absolutely made the right decision today to get rid of Quade, the Yale graduate will happily screw the Cubs organization out of close to $20 million.

 

  Mark my words.  The Loveable Losers are in the mist of a brand-new curse, which will end with Epstein and company ultimately laughing all the way back to Bean Town, while the Cubs faithful stand heart broken and played like fiddles - once again.