From One Reign Of Terror To Another

It only took five years, but in five months it was over. My reign of terror as Daily Egyptian Sports Editor ended (kind of) as of sometime around 8:00 p.m. on Monday night as we published our final daily newspaper of the semester.

And my final act doing the best damn job in the whole damn world.

Well, myself and several current and former members of the DE Sports Desk handed out some hardware in the second annual Saluki Awards. Winners include ... um ... Saluki athletics. Yeah, that sounds about right.

I was even lucky enough to get SIU AD Mario Moccia to throw in his two cents as he took some time out of his busy schedule and meetings with Chancellor Samuel Goldman.

Then there was my final column. Oh, column writing, how I tried to avoid thee until dumb Saluki fans decided to make arses out of themselves. Hey, someone's gotta police the stupid, right? And while I came under plenty of fire for it, I stand by my column 100 percent.

I'm glad it went where it did because it allowed me to touch on topics I normally would not have even thought twice about. At this point at my life, I'm all about expanding my writing horizons.

So that brings us to right here and right now.

I guess this would be a good time to thank those of you who are coming over from the Daily Egyptian Web site, where I shamelessly cross promoted this blog ... which usually cross-references DE stuff.

Unfortunately, it's a 99.9 percent chance that my life as a DEer is over. That's the bad news. The good news is that I am now a WEBsclusive. I'm here for your Internet pleasures ... no, not those Internet pleasures.

That just means a better TBDS is going to be here for you until I get a job that tells me I can't write here any more. At that point I will either find another job, or start writing under my pen name.

More on that if/when that becomes necessary.

Until then: Sit back, relax and strap it down. Welcome to The Big Dead Sidebar: Reloaded.

Life after 'Stay Classy, Carbondale' [Daily Egyptian]

Young Guns a Plenty

So, I have talked numerous times about the young, exciting Chicago Blackhawks. Now, as I wait for Game 3 of the Hawks and Canucks, I am still captivated by the rest of the NHL playoffs. The big series is between the Capitals and Penguins, and it is a hockey marketing man's dream that these two are matched up in the playoffs.

This is because of two kids by the names of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. The talk surrounding these players was there before their second round series began, and you had to think they were not going to be able to live up to the hype. Well, think again. Both stars recorded a Hat Trick today in Game 2. It was the Capitals that came out on top, and they are now up two games to none.

The real story, though, is what guys like this are doing for the game of hockey. The television ratings keep increasing every year, and these young guns on the ice are making people forget about the lockout from a few seasons ago.

The Blackhawks have Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Chris Versteeg and a load of other future stars. Look around the NHL, and there are plenty of other names that are becoming not only the future stars, but stars right now. Crosby and Ovechkin both getting hat tricks is a crazy feat, and no, the NHL is not a fixed game that wants to highlight these stars. I know some dumb "sports guy," who is not really a sports guy, is going to say that.

Hockey is back in Chicago, and it is coming back around the entire country as well. The reason is because of stars like Ovechkin and Crosby.

Bye-Bye Big Z: Cubs Ace Out With a Boo-Boo

There's panic in the streets of Wrigleyville and it has nothing to do with the Piggy Flu. In fact, it has everything to do with the Cubs' horse of an ace, Carlos Zambrano.

Big Z pulled his hammy in Sunday's win after beating out a drag bunt.

Somewhere, Hank Steinbrenner is grinning ... until Jason Bay takes CC Sabathia deep in the new Yankee Stadium.

Eventually, there will be a post mocking the DH ... but that won't come until after I'm done with my finals.

Sigh, priorities.

Zamrbano to DL [Chicago Tribune]

One month in: A look at the NL Central

I went through each division before the season started and give you my predictions and those predictions still stand for the most part.

To Recap, here's who I picked for each division followed by a dark horse candidate:

AL East: Boston Red Sox as the favorite with the Tampa Rays as the dark horse.

AL Central: Chicago White Sox as the favorite with the Kansas City Royals as the dark horse.

AL West: L.A. Angels as the favorite with the Oakland A's as the dark horse.

Wild Card: New York Yankees as the favorite with the Oakland A's as the dark horse.

NL East: New York Mets as the favorite with the Florida Marlins as the dark horse.

NL Central: Chicago Cubs as the favorite with the Milwaukee Brewers as the dark horse.

NL West: L.A. Dodgers as the favorite with the San Francisco Giants as the dark horse.

NL Wild Card: Fightin' Phils as the favorite with the Arizona Diamondbacks as the dark horse.


Alright, so after that long winded rehash where do we stand a month into the season? Well, let's first star with a post about the NL Central.

Like any sane person, I picked the Cubs to win the division en route to their third straight post season appearance. Sadly, sanity has not prevailed as the St. Louis Cardinals sit comfortably in first place without former ace Chris Carpenter.

Chicago is 3.5 games back of the Redbirds with the Brew Crew a half game behind the Cubs.

The Cubs are still the pick to click in the division but the two-way battle between Chicago and Milwaukee is turning into a three-horse race with a potential wild card berth as a compensation package for not winning the division..

Catcher Geovany Soto needs to get his act together and start hitting while third baseman Aramis Ramirez continues to recover from a sore left calf.

Ryan Dempster, he of the one-year wonder starter status, is back to his old mediocre ways again. He has an ERA of 5.40 and his strikeout to walk ratio is nearly equal. Yikes.

The bullpen has been a mess for the Cubs as well and with Neal Cotts as your primary lefty, things are going to be ugly.

So what can the Cubs do? Wait this out and hope Jim Hendry makes a move to acquire a legit lefty out of the bullpen.

The Brewers on the other hand must be wishing they dealt shortstop J.J. Hardy in the much talked about potential deal with the Giants for pitcher Matt Cain.

Hardy is batting .160, having killed of his trade value at the moment, while Cain has an ERA of 3.01.

Yovanni Gallardo is anchoring the pitching staff and Braden Looper's 3.16 ERA has been an early surprise but Milwaukee is still in need of another pitcher to fill the void left by both Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia's departures.

The answer to the pitching problems is simple send third baseman Bill Hall, Hardy and a slew of prospects to the San Diego Padres for Jake Peavy and Chris Young. This will fortify the Brewers rotation into a serious contender and give the Padres a legit shortstop and a third baseman along with a beavy of prospects from the talent rich Brewers system.

Milwaukee could then call up Mat Gamel to play third base and make Alicedes Escobar its full-time shortstop.

San Diego could either flip Hall again for more prospects or keep him and move him to right field as the replacement for an aging Brian Giles.

I'm Back, And So are the Hawks

It has been a week since I last caught up with you guys. I was getting ready to broadcast Saluki softball this past weekend, and I just got back from the radio work in Terre Haute yesterday. In that time, I have continued to follow the Blackhawks, and I am seeing that this team can score in bunches.

In Game 2 at Vancouver, Chicago fell behind by two very early in the contest. The goals came about a minute apart, and it looked like a 0-2 deficit in the series was inevitable. Then the second period rolled along and so did the Hawks. Three goals in that period, three goals in the final period, and you have yourselves a 6-3 win (Canucks scored another in the third). Patrick Kane led Chicago's comeback effort in a Game 1 loss, and Patrick Sharp got things going in Game 2 with two goals to tie it, a comeback that they were able to finish.

With crazy Vancouver fans and their white rally towels surrounding the ice, Chicago came through and silenced the exuberant crowd. It is hard to do such a thing in Canada, and the Blackhawks have been witnesses of how exciting hockey nights up there are. Playoff hockey is great everywhere, but playing the first two rounds against Canadian teams is even more special.

This was a big win, as the Hawks are now tied 1-1 in the series. Things shift to the United Center, where a sea of red will support the the only remaining hometown team in the playoffs. Good effort by the Bulls, but they could not get it done in Game 7. All the UC has to focus on now is playoff hockey, and I guess the occasional concert.

Anybody can score for the Blackhawks, and they are doing just that against goalie Roberto Luongo. Luongo was the story in the Canucks' first round win over St. Louis. He stopped virtually every shot his way, but this series has been different. Chicago has scored nine goals in the first two games (one on an empty net), and they will look for more of the same Tuesday night in the Windy City.

Pardon The Interruption: Chicago Baseball Week In Review Will Be Seen Later

Who needs Chicago Baseball Week In Review when you've got Mariah Carey?

Sorry, loyal readers. The good news for you is that we've got some good stuff in store for you later in the week.

Before you complain, you could write my three-page paper on Saluki softball, a 2,000 word paper on whether or not student-athletes should get paid or not and a five-page paper on media relations.

That's what I thought.

So enjoy Mariah and the canned heat we've got coming to you this week.

Photo Credit: Chickipedia

Does Game Seven At 7:00 p.m. (CT) Mean Seven Overtimes are forthcoming?

Will fight night take its stuff to Boston? via Awful Announcing

What does Rajon Rondo have to do to get suspended for a game?

Long story short, Rondo has turned his fued with the Bulls into a WWE grudgematch. A rake of the eyes to Brad Miller in Game 5 was one thing, but tossing Kirk Hinrich onto a scorers table and perfectly executing a flying elbow drop from the rafters is something else.

So, what will we see tonight? Hogan's leg drop? Some Sweet Chin Music? How about the People's Elbow? Personally, I can't wait until Rondo takes a steel chair and blindsides an official.

On to the game...

While some experts say there is no pressure for the Bulls to perform as they come into the series' final game, I respectfully disagree. The Bulls will head into hostile territory in a winner-take-all Game 7 ... that's pressure in its own right. But having already won once in the new Garden, and having only lost the other two road games by a combined total of five points, it wouldn't surprise me if the Bulls put it all together.

On the other hand, I would not be surprised if the Celtics came out firing on all cylinders and beat the Bulls by double digits. And if that happens, The Greatest Playoff Series Ever will quickly turn into just another playoff series in which a Chicago team fell flat on its face.

So what the Bulls need to do? Ben Gordon needs to score at least 20. Derrick Rose needs to stay out of foul trouble. Kirk Hinrich needs to continue to hit shots and play defense. And Tyrus Thomas needs to not take 20-foot contested jump shots. If all that happens, the Bulls still might lose ... but they'll have a much better chance at winning.

In either case, I'm ready to witness Game Seven: The two most exciting words in sports.

Chicago Playoff Teams Keeping Chicago Baseball Fans Sane

The Chicago Cubs are playing bad baseball. And the White Sox are mediocre at best through April.

And thanks to the Bulls and Blackhawks' playoff runs, it seems as if no one is noticing.

The Cubs, who have lost seven of their last nine games after last night's soul-crushing extra-inning loss to the Florida Marlins, were pegged by almost every baseball expert as the runaway favorites to win the NL Central. Yours truly was more cautious and the proof is in the first month's play.

The offense is offensive as the Cubs continue to struggle getting guys on base and pushing runs across the plate.

First baseman Derrek Lee is batting .189. Second baseman Mike Fontenot is batting .232, and suddenly the artist formerly known as "Little Babe Ruth" is looking more like "The Great Bambi." Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto is batting .109. Other than Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome, the offense has been horrendus.

Right fielder Milton Bradley is batting .118, but hey, two of his six hits have been home runs ... so that's a good sign, right?

The pitching has been average at best, with Rich Harden (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 35 K in 21 IP) being the best of the bunch so far. Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, who were All-Stars last year need to regain the touch soon because if they don't, the Cubs will not be able to dig out of the early hole they have dug themselves.

The White Sox have had solid offensive numbers posted by Paul Konerko (team-best .333 batting averagte ) and Carlos Quentin (team-high 8 home runs) and the hitting conditions aren't even favorable yet. And Mark Buehrle (3 wins, 3.00 ERA ), Gavin Floyd (team-high 26 Ks) and John Danks (team-best 2.74 ERA) have been solid on the mound. But the lack of a center fielder (is Scotty Pods really the answer?) and the back of the rotation could eventually take its toll down the stretch.

Eh, who cares? Let's hope the Bulls and Blackhawks go deep into June and that the Chicago baseball bums get their act together in that time.

Photo Credit: NBC Sports

Sincerest Apologies To John Paxson

Back in February, everything was going against Bulls GM John Paxson.

Reports of being a lame duck GM on his way out surfaced, and then the Bulls failed to acquire Amare Stoudemire ... a rumor that had been picking up steam and looked close to happening but fell apart.

Instead, Mad Pax brought in Brad Miller, John Salmons, Tim Thomas and others while trading away fan-favorite Andres Nocioni and a bunch of scrubs.

So what does Miller do in Game 6? 23 points, 10 rebounds and five key points down the stretch in regulation when I was ready to wave good-bye to Chicago playoff basketball. Including a 3-pointer. Kinda makes this statement by yours truly seem silly.

Nothing says block dominance like a 7-footer spotting up for three -- unless his name, of course, is Dirk from Dallas.

Miller was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.

As for Salmons: a team-best 35 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists ... making my claim of Salmons being Thabo's American clone seem very silly.

Yet, there is one person who saw it all coming. Our NBA expert, Jeff.

I disagree sir.

It's a good trade. Brad Miller is a great passer and will finally take up space down low and John Salmons is a jack of all trades.

For once the Bulls will have a guard with some length that can shoot and defend pretty well.

And that's why he is our hoops expert.

Again, my sincerest apologies to Pax. My bad.

Is John Paxson asleep at the wheel? [The Big Dead Sidebar]

Noah Bull: Joakim Dunks on Paul Pierce

For two years, Joakim Noah has been the premier whipping boy for Chicago Bulls fans. He was Tyson Chandler before meeting Chris Paul; he had all the energy, athleticism and ability in the world, but without a low-post move to be seen.

Yet, the first six games of this series has proven why Noah was a projected top pick after his sophomore year and a top-10 pick after coming out his junior year. He's catching ally-oop passes and throwing 'em down. He's grabbing every loose ball and rebound like a man possessed. And last night's steal and dunk over Paul Pierce was absolutely the sickest dunk I've seen all year.

The only thing that would have made it better if he would have given Kevin Garnett (in all his fine linens) the Planters treatment.

Noah's maturation might give Bulls fans hope that they will only need one low-post scorer who can play a complimentary role to what Noah does on the grind.

But it's easy to say that after a Game 6 win.

Let's talk after Game 7 Saturday in Boston.