IOC Eliminates Chicago First (Update)

From the Chicago Tribune Web site's front page. It's like they took this picture at Wrigley Field in 2008, 2008, 2003, 1998, 1989, 1984, 1969, 1945...

In my eyes, the "presentation" must have looked like something straight out of a Second City improv.

Host: "OK, let's do some improv.  Shout out your suggestions, as usual.  Someone give me a baseball team."

Crowd Member 1: "2008 Chicago Cubs."

Host: "Did I hear 2008 Chicago Cubs? Alright, I need another team."

Crowd Member 2: "2008 Los Angeles Dodgers."

Host: "I like that.  Dodger blue.  Alright, give me an event.  A place."

Crowd Member 3: "The 2008 NLDS."

Crowd Member 4: "A pirate ship."

Host: "I like where this is going. Alright.  We've got the Cubs, Dodgers and the 2008 NLDS on a pirate ship.  Ready?  Set.  Go."

Portrayed on the stage is a group of "Cubs" being battered, bullied and pushed off the plank.

In the end, Chicago being eliminated first comes to a shock to some people pulling for the Windy City.  As a life-long Cubs fan, I say "meh."  I've been there before.

Chicago 2016? Nah, I'll Pass

Chicago brought out the heavy lumber in order to secure an Olympic bid that I totally do not want.

Unless we're talking about a Cubs-White Sox World Series, I don't want to hear anything about Chicago 2016.

Now, I'll be fair and say that I like the idea of money flowing into the city like a club when Pacman Jones walks in.  Or the increase of jobs and job opportunities the Olympics could provide the area.  That's fine and dandy.  I like that.  Who doesn't like that?

But if you look closely, the bad outweighs the good.  As a life-long Chicagoan, this city's commitment to the Summer Games really shows how out of line our priorities really are.

Many Chicagoans think hosting the Olympic games would cement its spot as a world-class city.  News flash: Chicago is already the best city in the world.  As always, I'm up for a debate if you think to the contrary.

Sure, Chicago would get a boatload of money that would help restore the the rough-and-tumble image of the South Side, while even more would go toward rehabbing a public transit system that has more problems than post-redhead Lindsay Lohan.

But I say screw it.  You want to make the South Side better?  Let's start with throwing money at the schools that rank among the worst public schools in the United States of America.  Let's get specific.  Chicago "boasts" four of the 25 worst public schools in America.  Stat Boy says that's 16 percent of the worst schools in America are in one city.  That's bad.  Is there anyone out there besides me that wants to invest some money in better books, better buildings and better teachers for these kids?

The city is rife with violence and undereducated people.  And I'm just talking about fans at White Sox games.  We don't need the Olympics.

How can the city expect kids to make rational decisions in their lives when the people they look up to can't.  Throwing money at the Olympics is like watching your brother throw money at an Escalade he can't afford while skipping out on his student loan payments.  His argument is that it will help his image.  Your counter argument is that his hard-earned degree should be all the image he needs at this stage of the game.

As for the public trans system, look, enough of my money has been sucked into that trap.  The CTA recently took some of the loot that was supposed to go to the alma mater's library refurnishing project.  Instead, it went to bailing out the CTA -- pushing back the project I thought would never get done before I graduated.  Besides, traffic in the city already sucks.  How much would you really look forward to rush hour traffic with a million other strangers?  If you thought finding a crowded train was easy before, wait 'til the Olympics come -- if they do.

I took an un-official tally and it turns out that more Chicago suburbanites are pro-Olympics than people that actually reside in the city.  Not much of a shocker to me.  They're not planning to build in your neck of the woods, are they now?

And to those of you who think you're getting seats to any of these events, good luck.  You'll be paying exuberant amounts of money you don't have and probably won't have even if you started saving today.  Personally, all I watch is the basketball -- and that's only if Team U.S.A. is playing.  The United Center would have that covered, while Soldier Field would host the outdoor events.  But where are we hosting the swim events -- in Lake Michigan or the Chicago River.

And since we're talking Summer 2016, the Olympics will also be fighting for local air time with the Cubs and White Sox runs for a pennant and preseason Bears football.  And we all know nothing comes between Chicagoans and their football team.

So in regard to the 2016 Chicago Olympics, you can count me out.

Unless, of course, someone needs a beat writer...

Kobe > LeBron: Game, set & match

Allow me to get this out of my system, please.

LeBron James is a man among boys.

He's a point guard in a power forward's body.

He cuts through defenses like a hot knife through butter.

He passes as if he has eyes in the back of his head.

He has the potential to be one of the all-time greats.

But when push came to shove in the Gold Medal game, Kobe Bryant threw the punch.

Bryant put the entire United States on his back and scored 13 fourth-quarter points en route to bringing home the Gold for the Redeem Team. It was sweet redemption for Bryant, a part of the 2004 team that finished with a bronze medal.

And months after his championship aspirations were dashed by the Boston Celtics in June, it looked like Kobe took out his frustrations on Pau Gasol and the Spaniards.

Yes, Dwyane Wade led U.S. scorers with 27 points, but when Team U.S.A. needed a key basket all eyes were on Kobe and he did not disappoint. He was ESPN classic "en fuego" and Spain "couldn't stop him, they could only hope to contain him" ... and they couldn't.

As Chris Bosh, Deron Williams and Chris Paul enter their primes, Team U.S.A. should only get better as they try to reclaim the strangle-hold they had on the world's top spot.

And just like Superman, Kobe will be there when you need him the most.

Usain Bolt picked the wrong Olympics to be a star

You know what has happened to all that good will built up by U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps?

Jamaica's Usain Bolt has taken it, ran with it and shattered records in the process.

Bolt's success should be more welcomed than it is, seeing that he's done something NO ONE has ever done before, but it'll be ignored to a point while everyone continues to profess their undying love for Phelps.

And I don't blame them, but if it were not for Phelps' dominance, Bolt would be up for the nomination of Greatest Olympian Ever.

Heck, if Usain Bolt from Jamaica was Michael Bolt from Miami, Florida he'd probably be an American if not world icon.

Instead, we watch from afar as Bolt continues to fly by the competition because apparently, he chose the wrong Olympiad to try to be a show-stopper.

Michael Phelps: The 8th Wonder

I never thought I would have to do a swimming post, but when someone wins eight gold medals their feats must be brought to the light.

Michael Phelps' eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics is outstanding, for somewhere Mark Spitz is tearing up and fading into the distance where he will never be heard from again.

Enter Phelps, a golden child (no pun intended) who not only is the new face of U.S. Olympians, but also the face of this Olympiad which was intended to showcase China's economic growth as a nation. Instead, the smog and the drama has taken a backseat to the coronation of a new Olympic hero and...dare I say...the greatest athlete of all time?

Jim Brown had linemen opening holes for him throughout his pro football career. Michael Jordan, whose sidekicks grabbed boards and made jumpers, assisted his ascent to glory. Babe Ruth had eight men in the field when he was on the mound and protection in the line-up.

And yes, three of Phelps' medals came with the help of his teammates, but the overall eight gold medals are even more incredible if you take into consideration the seven world records broken in the process.

That's like if Brown broke the rushing, receiving and passing records. Or if Jordan shattered the scoring, rebounds, assists and steals records. And still, each player would be short a few from statistical glory.

Phelps is a one-man wrecking crew, who has four years to figure out what else he can dominate as he attempts to hold on to the moniker of Greatest Olympian Ever.

Olympic Hoops '08: Size Doesn't Matter

What the 2008 Olympic Men's Basketball team lacks in size, it makes up in star power.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James headline a squad looking to erase the memories of a Bronze Medal finish in 2004. With Bryant and James leading the way, it will be up to head coach Mike Krzyzewski to mold the rest of the players into a fluid team concept.

And that supporting cast reads like an All-Star team in its own right. Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Chirs Bosh, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade and Deron Williams.

And if you're not impressed with that, flanking Coach K on the bench are Hall of Fame Syracuse head boss Jim Boeheim, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan and newly-appointed New York Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni.

USA Basketball is basically running with a fresh start, for only James, Wade, Boozer and Anthony return from that nationally televised disappointment in 2004. Coach Larry Brown is gone and so are Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury, Richard Jefferson, Lamar Odom and Emeka Okafor.

On paper, the '08 squad should wipe the floor with the '04 team despite the leadership of The Big Fundamental (Duncan) and the man with the biggest heart in the world (Iverson.)

And thanks to the national media, it's not going to be all butterflies and rainbows with this squad as the media folk would like you to believe that this team lacks big men.

And yes, it does lack height as there isn't a 7-footer to be seen. However, don't be fooled by the hype. Howard, Bosh and Boozer can handle the four and five spots on the floor because any of those guys can put up 25 and 15 on any given night. At 6-10, Tayshaun Prince can handle the three and the four on both sides of the floor and at 6-8, 'Melo can do the same.

The team's strength will be in the backcourt. Think about it, Coach K's system at Duke made Bobby Hurley, J.J. Redick, Trajan Langdon and William Avery look so good that NBA front office types used lottery picks to draft these guys. Imagine what kind of offensive juggernaut that Coach K and D'Antoni will have at their hands with CP3 and D-Wade running a fast break with Kobe and LeBron.

Don't worry, I'll wait.

And as you wipe the drool off your chin, imagine the alleys D-Williams and J. Kidd could throw up and the oops that Howard, Boozer and Bosh could throw down.

Lost in all this is sharpshooter Michael Redd, who will thrive against the 2-3 zones that most international teams will be using this August.

So keep your immobile big men. Give me athletes, sharpshooters and some revolutionary minds on the bench and I can almost guarantee the Gold will be coming home to the U.S. of A.