DG '08: Bill Clinton Offers Insight

Are You Ready for Some Football?

 

 

Football season is upon us as a slew of preaseason games went down tonight accross the NFL. Among them, the Chicago Bears took on the KC Chiefs at home at Soldier Field.  Despite the 24-20 loss, it was a great chance to get a look at some of the new players, as well as players who don't get much playing time during the regular season.  During the first half, the Bears were held to just a field goal, however rookie RB Matt Forte got 7 carries under his belt to start his NFL career, as he rushed for 25 yards.  The second half was where the Bears really started to shine and show some depth.  Backup LB Rod Wilson had an interception, which opened the door to a 25-yd TD on a Grossman-to-Wolfe screen play.  On that offensive play, Wolfe showed extreme speed and elusiveness that could prove valuable in the regular season.  Wolfe had that reception TD, as well as 64 rushing-yds on 7 carries (including a 42 yd burst).  RB PJ Pope also provided some steady running, as he had 8 carries and 4 receptions for a total of 56 yds.  Another surprisingly solid performance came from young Bear QB Caleb Hanie, and undrafted free agent out of Colorado State.  Hanie entered the game in the third quarter and went 9/16 for 101 yds and a TD.  He showed great poise as he led the Bears on a scoring drive in the 3rd quarter that included a 25-yd completion to rookie TE Kellen Davis, and 13-yd TD pass to WR Brandon Rideau.  Hanie then led the Bears on the final drive of the game, again showing poise down the stretch.  He made two fine passes (which could have won the game for the Bears) that were unfortunately dropped by rookies Marcus Monk and Earl Bennett (rookie jitters, hopefully).  In other notes, the young O-Line provided some nice pass protection, despite the news that first-rounder Chris Williams had undergone back surgery the night before to repair a herniated-disk.  Also, youngsters S Kevin Payne, DT Marcus Harrison, and LB Nick Roach turned in solid performances on defense.  Overall, this was a good night that gave the players some valuable game experience, and also gave us a look at some of our rookies who may be able to fill key roles during the regular season.

Tonight's stats:

Passing- Caleb Hanie 9/16...101 yds...1 TD

Receiving-Pope 4 rec/39 yds...Wolfe 1/25 yds/TD...Davis 1/25 yds

Rushing-Wolfe 7 car/64 yds...Forte 7 car/25 yds...Hanie 2/21 yds

ESPN Box Score

NFL Game Center

"Oh, crap. I think I've made a huge mistake."- Broadway Brett

Is a picture worth a thousand words, or what?  Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets for a conditional 2009 draft pick.

DG Live: Trade Deadline '08 Looking to Impress

When it looked like all was going to be relatively quiet, MLB GM's sprung into action moving star players left and right.  After the previous weeks had seen such large deals as C.C. to Milwaukee and Harden to the Cubs, another big deal went down days before the deadline.  The Atlanta Braves traded star, switch-hitting 1B Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  This move, made by baseball's best team (statistically, of course) is clearly a addition in ammo meant for October.  Tex adds another huge bat to an offense already featuring Vlad, Tori Hunter, and Garret Anderson.  Then, today (a day before the July 31 [non-waiver] Trade Deadline, the Yankees made a move to replace their star catcher (Jorge Posada who is out for the season with a shoulder injury) with another star catcher, acquiring "Pudge" Rodriguez from the Tigers for reliever Kyle Farnsworth (a move that nearly brought Yankee manager Joe Girardi to tears, because of their close relationship after Girardi caught Farnsworth in Chicago).  Now, with less than 24 hours remaining before the Trade Deadline, there looks to be a third major trade on the brink of happenning.  The Boston Red Sox seem set on trading Manny being Manny, seemingly sick of his personality.  There is a trade on the table, according to sources citied by MLBTradeRumors.com, which would send Manny to the Marlins, while the Red Sox get Jason Bay from the Pirates, and the Pirates get Hermidia from the Marlins (with prospects also involved to all teams).  Now to me, this trade seems extremely stupid.  While Manny may be causing distractions for the Red Sox front office, he is still producing on the field (.301 AVG/20 HR/68 RBI) and is one of the greatest hitters in history.  And they want to get him off the team for Bay, a guy who would certainly be a downgrade from Manny:  1)he is not the seasoned hitter mentally that Manny has proven to be, 2)you'd be losing Manny's electric personality in Fenway, 3) you'd be losing the invaluable friendship between Manny and fellow partner-in-crime David Ortiz.  If I had those two in the middle of my lineup, I'd ride the power wave to championship town (2 WS titles in last 5 years) as long as I could.  Now if this deal was made, it would certainly be a steal for the Marlins here.  They'd be acquiring a proven hitter for the middle of their lineup, who along with Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla would give them a nice core to compete in the N.L. East (of which they're only 1.5 games out right now).  In other trade news, the Cubs are looking great, beating the Brew Crew the last three games in convincing fashion.  They already bolstered their team this year by adding released center fielders Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds who have been key cogs to the offense (along with much-improved Mike Fontenot and Ronny Cedeño).  They also traded for a true #2 (actually an ace of his former staff), Rich Harden who has been stellar in three outings.  In addition to the offense and starting staff, the bullpen has also become a strength as the emergence of Jeff Samardzija, Chad Gaudin, Neal Cotts, and Sean Marshall adds to the already stellar Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol for a solid staff of late-inning, shut-down arms that Lou can feel confident in calling upon.  However, there have been rumblings that the Cubs have inquired on a few left-handed, outfield bats.  Most notable, according to MLBTradeRumors.com, Brian Giles, Raul Ibanez, and David DeJesus.  One last item that this blogger would like to touch upon, is the stunning availability of a major offensive threat to any of the 30 MLB teams.  There is a player out there who can be had for no prospects or players of any level.  He can give you instant help to the tune of major power, a +.400 OBP, a leadership prescence in the clubhouse, and a serious offensive boost for the fall.  And he'll only cost around $300,000.  Who is this player?  The answer: Barry Bonds.  He is still a FA, who told the Yankees last week (before they acquired Nady and Pudge) that he'd play for them for $300 K and donate it all to buy tickets for kids.  If you're worried about his legal troubles, he doesn't have a court date of any kind until next spring.  If you're worried about his clubhouse consequences a signing will have, he has been said to be a great clubhouse prescence who improves younger players.  And if you're worried about his offensive production, well he said he could be ready in about 10 days, he is BARRY BONDS!!, and he has produced every single year he's been healthy.  I don't think there is a question about his offense.  If I was a GM, I would sign him in a heartbeat.  And looking at teams like the Rays, who seemingly need one DH/OF bat to be serious contenders, I think it'd be a smart idea.

Cubs Acquire Harden, Gaudin in 6-Player Swap

Before this evenings' Cubs game, it was announced that Jim Hendy had pulled the trigger on a 6-player deal sending talented Oakland ace Rich Harden to the Cubs along with reliever Chad Gaudin.  As part of the move, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and minor-league catcher Josh Donaldson have been sent to the Oakland A's.  Gallagher is expected to join the A's rotation, while Murton and Patterson will be sent to Triple-A Sacramento (Donaldson may be promoted to the A's Double-A team).  The Cubs, meanwhile, gain a talented, young, right-handed ace pitcher to pair with Carlos Zambrano and strengthen the rotation.  In Gaudin, they also receive a valuable bullpen arm.  Harden is expected to make a start for the Cubs this weekend against the San Francisco Giants.  This move will no doubt add more depth to the Cubs starting rotation by allowing the Cubs to match-up with any N.L. club (including Milwaukee's C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets).  Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, and Marquis/Marshall combination are expected to fill-out the remaining three slots.

Cubbie Blue in the Bronx

For this year's All-Star Game in New York City, hosted by the Yankees, the Cubs will have eight representatives playing key roles for the National League.  In the N.L. starting lineup, rookie C Geovany Soto will start behind the plate, while fellow rookie Kosuke Fukudome will get an outfield start alongside teammate Alfonso Soriano (whose status is questionable due to injury).  The N.L. pitching staff will have Cubs' starters Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, while Kerry Wood will be one of the closers.  In addition, 3B Aramis Ramirez will be on the roster as a reserve at the hot corner.  On the National League bench, Lou Piniella was added as a coach to assist Rockies' manager Clint Hurdle.  This is the highest number of Cubs sent to the Midsummer Classic ever in club history.  On the American League side, the defending World Series champion Red Sox also have seven players on the team.  The All-Star Game will be on July 15th at Yankee Stadium.

Hawks Add Top Talent as NHL Free Agency Begins

At noon eastern time Tuesday, the NHL Free Agency signing period officially began; and signifying a commitment to winning in the new era of Chicago Blackhawks hockey, GM Dale Tallon set off on a spree of signing two of the best available players.  In shoring up two areas of need, the Hawks acquired defenseman Brian Campbell and goaltender Cristobal Huet.  Campbell, who was traded to San Jose from Buffalo at last year's trade deadline, signed for an astounding 8 years/$56.8 million.  He is self-described as a complete player, but is known for contributing on the offensive side.  He will add a perfect dimension in quarterbacking the Blackhawks power-play attack (which was weak last year), as well as adding depth to a young, defensive core on Chicago's blueline.  Huet, meanwhile, signed for 4 years at just over $5 million/year.  He was one of the league's top goaltenders last year for both Montreal and Washington, to whom he was traded at the deadline.  Had had 32 wins last season, including 9 straight wins to help the Capitals make the playoffs.  Hawks GM Dale Tallon stated that his intention right now is to have Huet split time with current Blackhawk netminder Nikolai Khabibulin (who is being paid over $6 million in the last year of his deal).  In regards to the day's events, Dale Tallon had this to say:

"Habby and Cristobal give us great goaltending to go with a really good defense.  We scored goals last year.  We were in the top 10 despite injuries.  But our goals against was too high and our power play was not very good, so shoring up our defense and goaltending will help get us to where we want to go...There's only so much money that goes around.  We paid a lot of money for the services of these players.  We have to be careful now and give our young players an ability to come in and play some of those other positions."

Now, the Hawks are $3 million over the salary cap for the coming season and seemingly have some good talent going into this season, but some big names still remain for the taking in the NHL Free Agency pool.  Among them are Marian Hossa, Brendan Shannahan, and Jaromir Jagr.  I believe that it would be an outstanding move if the Hawks could somehow sign one of these players to add to the top offensive lines, and give them another lock they could count on to produce big numbers.  Another signing I'd like to see by the Hawks: Pens-UFA enforcer Georges Laraque.  He's done a nice job protecting Sid the Kid and the rest of Pittsburgh's young talent, I believe he'd be a good addition to do the same in Chicago with Kane/Towes and the rest of this young roster.  The Hawks could be looking for an enforcer-type now that David Koci signed with Tampa Bay.  One player in the system, however, who could fill this role (and much more) sooner, rather than later, is recent 1st round draft choice Kyle Beach.  Beach is not only a tough guy, but also was rated as the top 2 or 3 forward in this year's draft with great offensive talent.

Here's some links to articles about today's Blackhawk signings, as well as some overall NHL rumor/news sites:

Chicago Blackhawk's Official Site-Campbell Says Yes to Hawks

ESPN-Hawks add D Campbell after agreeing with G Huet

HockeyBuzz.com

TheFourthPeriod.com

SecondCityHockey.com

In some other, marquee news from today's NHL signings, a goalie-shuffle transpired as Jose Theodore signed with the Capitals, pushing Olaf Kolzig to sign with Tampa Bay, and Andrew Raycroft replaced Theodore in Colorado.  Minnesota sniper Brian Rolston signed a deal with the Devils, and D Wade Redden signed with the Rangers.  We now keep an eye out in the coming days to see where superstars Jagr, Shannahan, Hossa, and Sundin end up!

DG Update on 06/29

After a week for the Cubs that was kind of a downer, I didn't feel like posting much.  However, there were two important items this week that were worth checking in on.  First of all, the NBA Draft went down on Thursday night from the WaMu Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden.  In that draft, the Bulls selected Memphis' Freshman PG Derrick Rose with the very first pick.  Rose is expected to be a special player who can lead the franchise to success, just like Deron Williams (Jazz) and Chris Paul (Hornets) have done with their teams in recent years.  As expected, Michael Beasley went second to the Miami Heat, followed by a flurry of other NCAA and International stars.  In some of the more notable picks, SoCal freshman stars O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love swapped spots at #3 and #5 ending up in Memphis and Minnesota, respectively.  Portland also landed top PG talent Jerryd Bayless to lead their young nucleus of Roy, Aldridge, and Oden.  On the Bulls front, Rose is expected to be the starting PG (in spite of GM John Paxson's comments that he'll have to earn his spot), meaning that Kirk Hinrich is expendable.  He could be traded for another big-man up front.  Denver has been mentioned as a possibility (Nene? Camby?).

In other news, Indy Racing was under the lights Saturday in Richmond, where Tony Kanaan ran away with the checkered flag.  Helio Castroneves finished a distant second, as Marco Andretti finished ninth.  After the race, Kanaan commented about his first win this season, how they're charging up the standings, and how "I feel bad about Marco.  I think he has as strong a car as I had."  Said Helio about finishing second: "I wasnt' the fastest, but second is pretty darned good."  Andretti Green Racing had a good race, as winner Tony Kanaan led 166 of the 300 laps, Marco led 90 laps, Danica finished sixth, and Hideki Mutoh was competetive until DNF'ing on lap 220.  The drivers will be back at it next Sunday from Watkins Glen at 2:30 PM CT on ABC.

Celtics Win 17th Banner in 2nd Biggest News Item of Day

Late last night, the Boston Celtics pounded the Los Angeles Lakers with their signature defense and teamwork, and won their 17th NBA Finals Championship by almost 40 points.  The regulars sat out for most of the 4th quarter, as everyone got their shot to contribute in stellar fashion.  After the clock wound down to 0.0 seconds, the new Boston Garden erupted as the Big 3 (along with the rest of the team) finally got what they coveted not only after a long and memorable season, but long careers without a ring.  As if nothing could top an emotional and huge night from Boston, MA, the world awoke this morning to the shocking news that Tiger Woods will miss the remainder of the 2008 PGA Tour Season, including the last two majors (British Open and PGA Championship).  Tiger Woods revealed that he did not want to trump the efforts of the USGA's US Open, but their was some news he now needed to reveal.  Apparently, after last year's British Open, Tiger ruptured his left ACL while running at his home in Florida, but continued to play the rest of that season and this season while obliterating his competition.  Playing through pain through most of this year (including his runner-up finish at the 2008 Masters) he decided that he needed arthroscopic surgery in his left knee to clear up the cartilage damage caused by the ACL injury.  Still in pain, he had planned to return in this year's Memorial Tournament, but a double-stress fracture in his left knee was also found.  Determined to play through the pain, Tiger finally made his return in this past weekend's US Open at Torrey Pines.  Looking back on the injuries now makes his accomplishments both this past weekend, as well as over the past year, all the more amazing.  However, after the pain he experienced and the condition of his knee, he announced today that he needs to undergo reconstructive knee surgery on his left ACL, which will cause him to miss the remainder of the year.  Tiger said in a statement: 

"While I am obviously disappointed to have to miss the remainder of the season, I have to do the right thing for my long-term health and look forward to returning to competitive golf when my doctors agree that my knee is sufficiently healthy. My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong and there will be no long-term effects."

Woods also said that he'd "like to thank his fans and partners for thier continual support and can assure everyone that I will be as dedicated to rehabilitating my knee as I am in all other aspects of my career."  Best of luck to Tiger's surgery and recovery, and we'll will probably see him back on the golf course competing in next year's PGA Tour tournaments.  Tiger's dramatic win at Torrey Pines gave him his 65th PGA Tour victory, and his 14th career major victory, just four behind all time leader Jack Nicklaus.  You can read all about Tiger's injury at this ESPN.com article, or on Tiger's official website, tigerwoods.com.

DG Video: Tiger Outlasts Rocco

After 91 holes of golf over five days, Tiger Woods outlasted Rocco Mediate to win the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines for his 14th career major victory.  It was a back-and-forth battle all day, as each player had the lead moments of time.  Tiger made some great putts early in the day to hold Rocco back, eventually gaining a three-shot lead with about half of the course to play.  Then, things took a big swing as Rocco regained the lead and took a one-stroke advantage to the 18th hole.  At that 18th hole, Tiger was making all of his shots, as Rocco struggled around the bunkers and fairway.  Even then, it came down to Tiger making his birdie and Rocco missing his, and the tournament went to a 91st hole in sudden death.  On that sudden death, Rocco missed his par putt to extend the championship, as Tiger Woods took home the hardware in what he called his "best [championship] ever."  It was an amazing five days, filled with Tiger memories, as he continues to prove why he is the best player in the world, and going to be (if not already) the best ever.  He made putt after putt, eagled three times, amazed himself, long drives, great iron shots, stellar chips, and remain driven and focused---all on one healthy knee.  Rightfully so, Tiger said that he will take some more time off now to give his knee time to fully recuperate to get back to the 100% Tiger we all know.  With his 14th major victory under his belt, he is now four behind Jack Nicklaus on the career major victories list; and the British Open and PGA Championship still remain this year.  For all the ESPN highlights of today's playoff and Tiger's victory, see the link to the video below.

US Open Playoff Highlights