Blackhawks Defeat Second Canadian Team in Two Days

For the second night in a row, the Blackhawks beat a Canadian team in amazing fashion.  Coming off a 4-3 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators, the Hawks sent the Edmonton Oilers home packing in front of about 20,000 fans at the United Center.  The Hawks got out to an early lead with a goal by Brent Seabrook, but fell behind 2-1 by the end of the first period.  In the second, the Hawks tied the game at two on a beautiful pass from Patrick Kane from behind the net to teammate Patrick Sharp who punched it in for the goal.  In the third period, Brent Seabrook took off and rocketed a shot that got past Oiler goalie Mathieu Garon for the goal to put the Hawks ahead with a 3-2 lead.  The Hawks would hold onto that lead for good, however there was some excitement with 2:00 to play in the third.  Blackhawk defensemen Brent Sopel received a 2 minute minor for delay of game, which put the Oilers on the power-play for the remainder of the game.  The Hawks, led by goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, proceeded to close the win out at the UC with several stellar saves by the Bulin Wall.  After the win, the Hawks then came back out on the ice for a skate around to salute the 20,151 in attendance and show appreciation for thier fanhood.  Said the game's first star, "It's Christmastime and our fans have been so great this year.  They've supported us through thick and thin."

Minor notes from the game:

• SOG: Hawks-34----Oilers-27
• Blackhawks RW Martin Havlat was out with a groin injury; it is not known how long he'll be out
• Khabibulin stopped 25 of 27 shots
• Seabrook, Byfuglien, and Towes had 6 shots on goal a piece

Vintage Bears Cruise to 35-7 Win over Favre's Packers

Da Monsters of the Midway that everyone remembers from the past couple of years all of a sudden were awakened by a visit from the rival Green Bay Packers.  Right from the get go, the entire team put out a a dominating performance that the Packers could not catch up to.  The opening drive, led by Kyle Orton and a suddenly productive running game and O-line, took over ten minutes off the clock and ended in a field goal.  After falling behind 7-6, due to a 66-yd TD run by Ryan Grant, da Bears took off and never looked back.  The Bears special teams blocked two punts and recovered another.  Darrel McGlover blocked one in the second quarter that resulted in a Bears first down at mid-field, while Peanut Tillman's block in the third was picked up by Corey Graham and taken in for the score.  On a particularly exciting series of plays, Kyle Orton threw a perfect pass to wide open Desmond Clark for the touchdown.  Then, the Bears went for two, and Kyle Orton executed the same play to Greg Olsen who made a great catch and put the Bears ahead 21-7.  Another highlight came on Brian Urlacher's first career interception return for a touchdown.  He brilliantly tipped Favre's fourth quarter pass, pulled into his chest and ran a tiring 85-yds to seal the fate of the Green Bay Packers.

The win gave the Bears some much needed pride and excitement as they have swept the Packers in the season series.  There were good performances all around the field that should give the team and fans some hope for next year.  Kyle Orton managed the game well, and completed the big passes when needed.  The O-line and running game did a nice job throughout, keeping the possession arrow pointing the Bears way.  And that amazing defense, led by Brian Urlacher and Alex Brown today, put in a great performance.  Last, but not least, the special teams did a stellar job (as usual!).

Some key stats from today's game:

Kyle Orton: 8/14-----101 yds-----1 TD/0 INT

Adrian Peterson:  30 carries-----102 yds----1 TD

Garrett Wolfe:  12 carries----29 yds  /  2 rec----38 yds (33 lg)

Brian Urlacher: 1 INT for 85 yd TD, 5 tackles

Alex Brown: 1 INT for 7 yd, 5 tackles, 1 sack

Cubs Introduce New Japanese Star: Kosuke Fukudome

The Chicago Cubs today introduced thier new, highly-coveted, international free-agent to the Chicago media at a press conference held at Wrigley Field.  Fukudome received his #1 jersey with his last name on the back, and then proceeded to answer questions through his interpreter.  He was very honored and humble, and reiterated his eagerness to get started with his new team.  This signing brings tons of hope and intrigue to long-suffering Cubs fans entering the centennial anniversary since the team's last World Championship.  Fukudome will most likely play right field, where he will contribute his stellar defense on the field and high OBP at the plate.  This was a very exciting day for the Cubs organization, and hopefully one of many to come in the future.  The Cubs are reportedley in discussions with the Orioles about star pitcher Erik Bedard and 2B Brian Roberts, and they have expressed interest in Oakland SP Joe Blanton, Colorado reliever Brian Fuentes, and Minnesota closer Joe Nathan as well.

Below are three links to further reading on Kosuke Fukudome:

Fukudome unveiled in Chicago

Press Release: Cubs sign outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to four-year contract

Fukudome Japanese Stats

Wild Card Post: Stephen Colbert can too eat grits!!

 

Fukudome has Defense!

Just a quick video to show that not only are the Cubs getting great OBP, speed, and power, but they're getting a some gold-glove caliber defense. Paired with Pie and Soriano, the Cubs should have one of the most athletic outfields in the league!

Let's Get Some Runs presented by DG Sports ©

Welcome to Let's Get Some Runs, a sports blog dedicated to bringing you the best and most insightful news and commentary on happenings around the globe.  We strive to present our thoughts in a creative, thought-provoking manner with videos, pictures, and links whenever available.  From Go Cubs Go and Bear Down in Chicago to Tiger's Sunday prowl in red and black (with some wild card topics thrown in), shake and bake 'cause we're on a mission from God to rock the sports blogosphere!

This blog is copyrighted 2007 by DG.

Let's Get Creative

The Bears offense is simply anemic.  In Monday Night's contest, they managed only 32 total rushing yards (with the longest carry being only 5 yds).  The Bears Postgame Live Crew, however offered some interesting insight that I think every fan has had on their minds.  "Let's Get Creative!"  There is absolutely no creativity in this offense, which analyst Jim Miller credits to the inability of Ron Turner to effectively utilize all of his weapons.  If we have to live with a shaky quarterbacking crew and ineffective offensive line, there are many plays that should be put into effect.  The one main weapon the offense has available is: Devin Hester!  Why don't the Bears utilize his elusiveness and speed more by designing special plays for him, and running them more often.  Using him in special plays out of the backfield has to be more effective than running Adrian Peterson up the middle to no avail.  Steve Rosenbloom of ChicagoSports.com had an interesting take before the Giants game:

"If I'm the Bears and Peterson gets hurt, I scrap the running game altogether and go with five guys in the pattern--Greg Olsen, Desmond Clark, Bernard Berrian, Muhsin Muhammad, and Devin Hester.  I would use Hester on every play.  Split him wide.  Send him deep.  Force the Giants to account for him on every play.  If Hester gets singled up, Grossman throws the ball up quick and lets him run under it.  If Hester gets double-covered, Grossman hits a slant or an out--some quickly developing pattern where Fred Miller can't hurt you.  This is all out of the shotgun, too, by the way."

This is a great plan that also brings up two other big names: Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark.  Tight Ends are such a great commodity in the NFL (Dallas Clark/Peyton Manning, Jason Witten/Tony Romo this year) and can allow for such a great weapon on offense.  They are a great bail-out play for a quarterback that perhaps is the most effective.  Dan Jiggets said on Bears Postgame Live that the outside receivers catch only 15% of the passes thrown to them, while guys over the middle (TE, slot receivers) catch over 80%!  If the Bears could utilize the three great weapons that they have in this capacity (Hester, Olsen, Clark), they would be so much better off than running it this year.  Why run it so much when the O-Line and RB position is so weak right now.

This brings us to possible solutions for the future.  Here is my take:

• Bring in a quarterback next year through FA/Trade such as Derek Anderson or Donovan McNabb who can have an immediate impact with the group of guys this team has right now
• Use the first couple of rounds in the draft to address the offensive line with some quality picks to help make them younger and more athletic
• Now, with a younger offensive line, see if that has an impact on the running style of a healthy and hopefully rejuvenated Cedric Benson; if it doesn't, you always have your new quarterback, behind a new O-line to effectively utilize all of your other weapons
• Fire Ron Turner if a better option is available who can effectively handle the offense with the more creative playcalling mentioned above
• As an aside, if Rex Grossman cannot find work as a starter, bring him back as a backup on a cheaper contract if possible.  Maybe with a couple of full years under his belt and some tutoring from a new quarterback he will be better in the future.  He has shown much potential at times in the past (first half of 2006)

Oh, and by the way...the Defense is awesome!!  The return of Mike Brown, with the health of Nathan Vasher next year and we should be good!