Chicago -
By Roger Wallenstein
Forgive me for being foolish or overly optimistic, but I, along with many Sox fans, have to believe that the White Sox’s chances of signing Manny Machado are increasing by the hour.
With reports over the weekend that the Sox are offering $230 million over eight years, this is getting serious.
Posted on January 14, 2019
By Jim Coffman
I knew cutting Cody Parkey would result in a salary cap hit against the Bears in 2019. I didn’t know until this past week that it is a $5.1 million (!) hit. Wow, but Ryan Pace has been the most hit-and-miss general manager we’ve ever seen in these parts.
He was so good with his second coaching hire, his non-quarterback free agent signings (especially in 2018 but also Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan et al in the previous two years) and drafting in the fourth round in 2017 (Pro Bowlers Eddie Jackson and Tarik Cohen). He has been so bad evaluating kickers, quarterbacks and with at least half of the rest of his draft picks. And there haven’t been nearly enough draft picks in general.
Posted on January 14, 2019
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Worst Chicago sports loss ever? Including: What We Still Don’t Know About Cody Parkey’s Double Doink; Hero Or Heel?; Hawk Bearelsons; The Other 59:50 Of That Game; The Vic Vacancy; Another Inside Story Of The Bears Blowing It By Drafting Trubisky Instead Of Mahomes; The Meaning Of Mediocre; and Rewriting Robbie Gould!
Plus: White Sox Making Moves!; Dear Cubs Fans: Your Favorite Baseball Team Can Afford Any Free Agent It Wants; Jim Boylen Sucks, What More Do You Need To Know?; Don’t Believe The Blackhawks Hype (Apparently There’s Blackhawks Hype); and The Four-Part Recipe For The Oily Stew Of Dysfunction That Ousted Tom Thibodeau.
Posted on January 11, 2019
By Arman Hassanniakalager and Philip Newall/The Conversation
“Please drink responsibly” is a familiar plea to those who might be inclined to consume alcohol, and we are also reminded to “gamble responsibly,” a timely reminder during a busy period for Premier League football, full of fixtures and plenty of casual fans with time on their hands.
You can make a reasonable judgement about responsible drinking by using the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) information on the label of whichever bottle has been opened. But how can we determine the strength of a football bet?
In fact, “gambling harm” can also be approximated by a percentage. The “gamblers’ losses” percentage is a measure of the money bet that a gambler will lose in the long term. Short term randomness around this percentage is what makes gambling interesting, but over longer time periods, gamblers will lose this percentage of all the money they bet.
Posted on January 8, 2019
By Jim Coffman
As the ball sailed toward the upright, I started to slide down in my chair. Then, for a moment, it seemed to stop tailing off to the left and I stopped sliding. Then the stupid football hit the upright.
Still, sometimes balls glance off the upright and still go through. This time the ball bounced straight down – still a chance! Then the ball hit the crossbar. Still alive! Then it became clear the ball was coming back into the field of play.
I jumped out of my seat and rushed toward a sometimes-irritating friend who had twice said in the minutes leading up to the kick, “Which upright do you think it will go off?” I didn’t clench a first but I did raise my voice a bit as I asked, “Are you happy?” Then I slumped back into my seat.
It is a killer that Cody Parkey missed that kick but I’m not going to excoriate him here. He had a subpar year and probably would have been released midseason but for Ryan Pace having given him a ridiculous multi-year contract with almost $10 million guaranteed. But plenty of other things went wrong for this team in this game.
Posted on January 7, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
Let’s parse our emotions. I’m not mad at Cody Parkey. He tried his best. I might be mad at Ryan Pace for investing so much confidence in Parkey, but I only get mad at players who seem to be major assrockets, like, say, Jay Cutler. Or players who are lazy, don’t care, spoiled.
Posted on January 7, 2019
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Legion of Boom. Plus: The NFL Season In Review & Playoffs In Preview; Managers-In-Waiting; White Sox Sweepstakes; Bulls(hit) On Parade; and Blackhawks Actually Irrelevant.
Posted on January 4, 2019
