Joe Buck Should Follow Madden Out The Door

With the news of John Madden's retirement from NBC, I immediately started thinking about who's next. Actually, it got me to thinking who should be next.

And that's Joe Buck.

The fact of the matter is that the young Buck (not that Young Buck) has failed to live up to his father Jack. The late, great elder Buck was not only the voice of a generation of Cardinals fans, but he was also the voice of a national audience. And no matter your team affiliation, you loved Jack Buck.

As for Joe, well, not so much.

First of all, he sounds like he is the be-all, end-all and all-knowing in football and baseball, even though he has only been doing football for a handful of years.

When he does football games, he sounds awkward and out of place, and it does not help his sound that he has been out shined by the insights of color analyst Troy Aikman. I feel as if more fans would acknowledge this if Aikman had a better play-by-play guy (Al Michaels?) or if Buck decided not to show up one day.

As for Buck's baseball coverage, that is where he should be at his best. It's in his blood. It's in his soul. He should have learned from his daddy, for if not for Jack Buck, I am unsure whether or not Joe would have his foot in the door. And maybe that is where he gets his pompous, know-it-all attitude from.

Then there's Buck and his coverage of the Grand Old Game and how he is so over-the-top he as he attempts to delikver"fair and balanced" coverage. Buck goes out of his way to make himself appeal to both sides of the equation, and it is hard to take him seriously knowing his Cardinals homerism. I say bring on the homerism ... didn't your momma ever tell you don't change for nobody? Maybe working with Tim McCarver is hindering his ability not to suck. Or maybe that's the worst broadcast combo out there.

Anyway, Buck acts like is above the game. And really, that shouldn't fly with anyone. It doesn't fly with me. Remember in July 2008 when he said he didn't care about the game he gets paid millions to call once a week.

I do ... and so does Daily Motion. Run the video:

Buck_0001
by bsap11

And as much as I like bachlorettes, I don't like to watch The Bachlorette on TV ... especially over a ball game. (Well, that probably explains why I'm single). In the end, you don't have to throw me millions to broadcast a baseball game. Heck, I might do it for free if you pay for my travel expenses.

So, Joe, see that door John Madden just walked out of? Follow him, and don't let the door hit ya on the backside on your way out.

BOOM! John Madden retires

It's a dark day for broadcasting if you like John Madden.

Of course, there's a slew of people who didn't like him but he was so over the top, how could you not like him.'

More thoughts on that later.

Kanye West: NBA Playoffs Are Amazing

Chicago rapper Kanye West penned an amazing (no pun intended) track for his No. 1 selling album 808s and Heartbreaks ... and now it will be featured in the 2009 NBA Playoffs.

If you want the entire track, well, I'll be nice. Here's one of my favorite tracks from the album that helped me get through an awfully cold winter.

The Jay Cutler Era Begins With A Bang

I've never been excited about an NFL schedule in April, but when there is a legit quarterback on the roster, I can't help but to do so.

Jay Cutler will get tested early as he will be immediately thrown into pro football's most storied rivlary: Bears vs. Packers on Sunday Night Football In America at the frozen tundra. (Maybe you'll see a TBDS Civil War?) Then the Bears come home to host the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

If the Bears can at least find a split of its opening games, Cutler should cut up the Lions and Rams in weeks three and four before the Week 5 bye. After a game against the Michael Vick-less Atlanta Falcons, the QB of the Present and Future should be able to pick apart the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns in Weeks 7 & 8. And if Ben Roethlishotdogpolishberger's performance against the Arizona Cardinals on that Super Bowl-winning drive is any indication, Cutler could breeze by the Redbirds in Week 9.

As for playing Mike Singletary's San Francisco 49ers (that just doesn't sound right at all) in Week 10, you can expect every Chicago sports columnist and blogger to call for Singletary to come home to replace Lovie Smith if the Bears lose ... or are struggling.

Other than a Week 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens, I'm liking the Bears' chances down the stretch. That Ravens game is sandwiched between games against the St. Louis Rams and Packers before mention closing out the year against the Minnesota Vikings and Lions.

It's only April, but I'm ready for some football!

David Haugh: 2009 schedule breaks Chicago Bears way [Chicago Tribune]

God Save The Blue Demons: Darrrrrrrr!

DePaul men's basketball star Dar Tucker is basically holding Jerry Wainwright and the rest of the Blue Demons hostage.

Tucker declared for the NBA Draft, but has yet to hire an agent. And with the late signing period starting today, I'm pretty sure Wainwright would appreciate knowing whether or not he's got an extra scholarship to use to build one of the Big East's bottom feeders.

The ultra-athletic 6-foot-5-inch stud said he would only jump ship to the NBA if (and only if) he was guaranteed to be taken in the first or second round. And according to any draft board I've looked at, Dar Tucker's name is missing.

And while straight ca$h might be appealing to a young man who played on one of the worst teams in recent DePaul history, there are worse places to play in the NBA.

Most notably, the L.A. Clippers.

Oh, There You Are Ted Lilly. We've Been Looking For You

When Ryan Dempster was walking everyone in Dodger blue during Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS, Cubs fans searched for help in the bullpen.

Help could have came in the form of Theodore Roosevelt Lilly. The solid southpaw was not scheduled to make a start in the series and could have been the cure to what plagued the Cubs early. He never got into that game (or into any game for that matter) and the rest is history.

Monday, a well rested Lilly threw 6 2/3 hitless innings en route to a 4-0 Cubs win on Opening Day.

Maybe Lou Piniella just wanted to save him for the home opener. If that's the case, I'm glad it worked out.

Hear ye! Hear ye!

I've got the same news resources as you do.

Google and Google news are nice tools. So are sites such as rivals.com and scout.com. But call me old fashioned when I say I appreciate a good tip via a phone call ... or even an e-mail. Nothing in the snail mail inbox though. Mailman must be late.

Message boards are nice. At times, they are what is good about the fandom of college sports. Passionate people who want to see their team win by any means necessary. Dr. Harold Bardo once told me the best things about fans is that they know how to coach, recruit, shoot, pass, dribble and defend. And that's why we should listen to them.

It's true. It's very true, in fact.

I saw Lamar Owen play two years at SIU and admired his playing style ... to the point where I was disheartened when Chris Lowery inserted freshman Matt Shaw into his starting spot. It was one of many times Lowery proved to me why he is the coach and I am the guy asking coach questions.

I also fell in love with Tyrone Green's play in his two years as a Saluki. Not as much as, say, my mentor Jeff (yes, TBDS' NBA writer), but you I appreciated the fact that Green could play the kind of demanding man-to-man defense SIU has become known for.

That's why I want John Freeman to be that guy for SIU. Not because some guy on some message board wrote it. Because I saw how good that kind of player was to this program. I watched courtside and in press row as Osiris Eldridge, Shy Ely, Theoren Wilson and others picked apart the Saluki defense and thought to myself Tony Young would never let that happen ... and guys like Tyrone Green and Lamar Owen would have at least softened the blow. It's no surprise to me that others share my feelings.

As for Teague, Jr., well, look. Here's an thought: Go to C-Lo and ask him his top priority for his program and he'll probably say graduate his kids before winning. Winning has become expected for this program, so last season's 13-18 mark was a downer ... especially for yours truly who was spoiled by MVC titles and NCAA appearances his freshman, sophomore and junior years (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07) and expected more as he fell in love with the Carbondale community to the point where I stayed five years.

So, when I say my first concern is if a kid is academically eligible ... it's probably the top concern of the staff and the university. And it should be the top priority to its fans. Because seriously, no matter how skilled a kid is, how much is 6'8" 290 worth sitting at the end of the bench?

Like UNC head coach Roy Williams once said: "When I recruit a kid I think will be one and done, I tell him you've got to do the things in the class room. I can't have you sitting around campus all spring semester after the season's over. I never heard back from that kid."

The point here is that I know you're out there and you know that I'm here. We're on a level playing field ... except you probably have much more free time on your hands than a 22-year-old kid balancing a full-credit load, a full-time job, editing the stories of two rookie reporters who he is trying to prime to be just like him, graduation, etc.

I love my job at the DE more than anything (even my BlackBerry). I love working for the DE more than anyone ever should. I've paid my way to travel to cover the team to Indianapolis, New York City and all around the Missouri Valley Conference ... including St. Louis. I'm in your boat ... I love this school and I love the Salukis.

So, if I happen to view the similar view points as you ... it's probably because at least 51 percent of me bleeds Saluki Maroon (the other 49 percent is Carolina blue). Maybe you should be honored we share the same mindset ... isn't that old saying "great minds think alike?"

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Verbal committments could spark Saluki signing class [Daily Egyptian]
The DE article about Teague! [Saluki Talk]

Thoughts on Dirty-30 and Scotty Pods

It's too early to call the Dirty-30 departure a loss but if anything, the best case scenario for the Chicago White Sox is that they can consider the Nick Swisher for New York Yankees prospects trade a wash for both.

Otherwise, things aren't looking too good so far.

First off, Swisher is leading the league in just about every category. He even pitched last night.

Even worse, or perhaps more importantly, we really didn't get jack in return for him. Pitcher Jeff Marquez has looked terrible in his brief stint in the minors thus far and Wilson Betemit may become a nice option off the bench.

To makes matters ever more terrible, we gave up a glutton of prospects to get Dirty-30 in the first place. Thankfully, none have panned out as potential stars quite yet.

It also remains to be seen if the Swish can keep this up. He's never been more than a .250's hitter so clearly a breakout season at this point at these numbers is difficult to fathom. There's not even a chance he continues playing first base when Mark Teixera returns.

He's never really been a center fielder, either, so don't expect him to assume that position.

But while he hits like this, he's a pleasure to be around. But when Tex comes back, we'll see how happy go luck he really is.

Moving onto the next topic of Scott Podsednik returning to the White Sox via a minor league deal when Dewayne Wise went down with a shoulder injury.

Sure, he probably isn't the answer in center and frankly, no one is really available who could be that answer (cept maybe Juan Pierre? nevermind....). But he certainly has to be slightly better than Jerry Owens, who has boofed every opportunity to lock down the job with little competition.

It'll be an interesting couple of weeks for both players to see who comes out on top.

Scotty Pods is back

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9455118/Source:-White-Sox-reach-deal-with-Podsednik

WOW!

Hey it's better than nothing right?

More thoughts on this and Swisher coming up soon.

Swisher Rant COMING

Sometime early Tuesday.