By George Ofman
Vinny Del Negro is still the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Lovie Smith is still the head coach of the Chicago Bears. And Milton Bradley is still property of the Chicago Cubs. Do you like your strychnine with milk or sugar?
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While many are foaming at the mouth for Vinny’s head (and let’s face it, he’s not exactly an Einstein at Xs and Os), look what he’s coaching, or in this case, what he’s not coaching. What’s worse, what big-name free agent wants to venture here unless he knows a big-time coach will be waiting? If the boys in the front office don’t get it right this time, the Bulls are doomed to mediocrity – or less – for years.
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Wonder why the Packers are only three-point favorites at Soldier Field this Sunday? It’s Lovie’s Super Bowl. He seems to coach his best against the Packers. Final score: Green Bay 28, Bears 17.
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Chet Coppock picked his best and worst Chicago sportscasters over the past 25 years. I didn’t check but did Chet put himself on both lists?
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Milton the Martyr hasn’t been traded, yet. And no matter what transpires, take this to the bank (only make sure it’s FDIC): Bradley will never wear a Cubs uniform again.
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Didn’t you enjoy the myriad rumors having Bradley all but traded to several teams? None of those rumors came to pass. I’ll give the rumormongers a C. I’ll give Twitter an A+.
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Speaking of rumors, did you hear the one about the Sox hiring Carl Everett as a translator should Hideki Matsui sign a deal with the South Siders?
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It’s official: someone finally got the Notre Dame Job and damn, it was that Brian Kelly guy from undefeated Cincinnati. Better check his resume, his political persuasions and whether he knows Rachel Uchitel.
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By the way, has Tiger reached a dirty dozen yet?
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Why didn’t Notre Dame even consider Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald? Didn’t he seem to be the right man at the right time?
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Did you see the Blackhawks’ games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers? If you didn’t, you missed some terrific theater. The Hawks won both in overtime by 2-1 scores. This is must-see TV. This is also how you win Stanley Cups.
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Please tell me how a guy decides to tie his show in the middle of an NBA game and the defensive team looks befuddled if not stupid trying to figure out what to do. Now you have a better idea why Del Negro’s shelf life is short.
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“It’s easy to sit back on the sidelines and everyone has all these great ideas. People think they know what they’re talking about. But until you live it and do it, no one has an idea”.
I think Del Negro’s shelf life got a little shorter.
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Milton Bradley is still a Cub while Chicago native Curtis Granderson is a New York Yankee. Take a breath and a have a swig of that delicious strychnine.
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And in its infinite lack of wisdom Major League Baseball wants to expand the first round of the playoffs from best-of-five to best-of-seven while cutting down the off days during the endless post-season. Here’s some better ideas: get rid of some teams, shorten the regular season schedule, play the World Series in early October and put Curtis Granderson in charge of public relations.
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George Ofman is now with WGN radio after a 17-year run with The Score. He also now blogs for ChicagoNow under the banner That’s All She Wrote. Comments welcome.
Posted on December 11, 2009