• Now that the Bears have signed an all-star team of free agents, one wonders how it translates to the field.  Can Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna make a big difference or will learning a new offense while not upgrading the wide receivers and offensive line and the defensive backfield by too much to overcome? BTW, an expert no less than SI's Peter King thinks free agency is over rated.
• There is one other aspect to the signing of Julius Peppers.  Peppers seemed to indicate that he came to the Bears because of Lovie Smith.  If the Bears finish 6-10 next season and Smith is kicked to the curb, how much enthusiasm will Peppers have for his new team?
• Does anyone really care who the lead announcer on the World Cup Soccer games is if only six people are going to watch it.  Most people interested in it will watch it on a network that speaks a different language. Personally, I think they ought to turn Kenny Mayne and Scott Van Pelt loose.  At least then it might be watchable.(The Big Lead)
• There's an old saying where I come from: You can't fix stupid.
• Ricky writes on of his best blogs about racist Cub fans.  He makes an excellent point: These aren't your daddy's Cub fans.  The Cub fans who embraced Billy Williams, Ernie Banks and even Andre Dawson are not the people causing the problem.  Nicely done, sir. (Tremendous Upside Potential)
• Can someone explain to me why three decorated umpires of the past got fired yet Phil Cuzzi remains employed? Correction, two decorated umpires from the past and Richie Garcia.
• It's been quite an awakening for former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow going from the most decorated player in college football to a potential late round draft pick who has to work out individually for NFL teams.  Proof again that success at the college level doesn't always translate to success at the NFL level.  Of course, if Tebow gets drafted by the right team with the right coaching staff and the right system, he might have a chance of some success.  Of course, Florida quarterbacks do not have a history of setting the world on fire, right Rex?
• While the Bears could use some wide receivers, Jay Cutler's receiver of choice may join the Bengals.
• This could be the most important spring training development for the White Sox.
• And now, a few words from the greatest baseball player in history.  Just ask him. (The Big Lead)

        

I got to watch both Chicago White Sox games today.  And while they are only the third and fourth spring training games played so far, I have to say I'm fairly impressed with what I've seen.

In the game against the Cubs, Carlos Quentin had two home runs.  Okay, they were against Carlos Silva, but still.  Everything good and bad about Q is in his head and those two monsters he hit yesterday are a good sign that he's focused and possibly pain free.

What was encouraging  to see was two stolen bases by Andruw Jones and stolen bases by Mark Kotsay and Tyler Flowers.  It was nice to see bunts actually land where they were supposed to (nicely played, Brett Lillibridge.) 

Daniel Hudson looked pretty good in his three innings pitched against the full Cubs starting line-up.

Meanwhile, at Camelback Ranch, the other Sox team broke open a close game with the Dodgers to win going away 8-4.  Jered Mitchell had a pair of RBI doubles and scored three runs. A.J. Pierzynski had a big single for the Sox.

Brent Morel looked very good at third.  You wonder if he is "third baseman of the future" material or just a farmhand who will eventually be a part of one of Kenny's blockbuster trades.  With Mark Teahen signed for three years, one wonders if Morel will see the light of day at the big league level as a White Sox.

Freddie Garcia and Bobby Jenks did not look especially sharp yesterday, but it is early and yesterday marked the first appearances for both.

Again as in the game against the Cubs, the Sox were running and bunting from the get go and looked good doing it. 

Yes, I know it's early.  Yes, I know the Sox weren't facing Justin Verlander or John Lackey.  But still, it was a good day and you can see the transition in the team that Ozzie has been begging for. Let's see how it shakes down this afternoon against a clearly embarrassed Cubs split squad.

        

Today is the first day of the free agent signing period in the NFL sans salary cap and the Chicago Bears are proving to be players. They've already signed former San Diego tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, which, in effect, signals the end of the Desmond Clark era. Manumaleuna is a blocking specialist and will be a key cog in new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's revised offensive scheme.

As the late Billy Mays used to say "But wait, there's more."

Bears head coach Lovie Smith has been dispatched aboard a private plane to North Carolina to bring back what many consider to be the biggest free agent prize, former Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers.  Rumor has it Peppers may already be in the fold and the Bears will hold a press conference this afternoon to make it official.

If you think Peppers and Manumaleuna may be a pretty good haul for a days work, there is still more.  The Bears are engaged in serious talks with RB Chester Taylor.  Taylor, a backup in Minnesota, could become the starter in Chicago.  He's not a guarantee though as his asking price may be out of the realm. 

And one more free agent, former Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle may also be interested in coming to the Bears.

The good news is if these four players are all signed up, they may significantly improve the Bears in 2010.  Unfortunately, Lovie Smith is still the coach and the players, as talented as they are, don't coach, game plan or make halftime adjustments.  And, more important than anything NONE OF THESE PLAYERS ARE WIDE RECEIVERS,GUARDS OR TACKLES!

This could be a big day for the Bears, but you've seen before that even adding top tier free agents can be putting lipstick on a pig if there are other problems.  The absorption of Martz's offense, the weakness at wide out and the continuing concern over the health of Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher brings you back to reality.  There's also the fact that my mother-in-law, wife and both dogs can protect a quarterback better than the Bears offensive line.

So, before you think about planing your vacation around Super Bowl XLV, know this; A lot more questions need to be answered first, even if Virginia McCaskey's purse is wide open.

        

You needn't look any further than the recently completed Olympic hockey tournament to realize just how important good goaltending is in hockey.  After the USA beat Canada in their first matchup, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock benched Martin Brodeur and rode Roberto Luongo all the way to e gold medal.  Ryan Miller carried the USA to silver and was named the MVP. 

The bottom line is, you need to have confidence in your goalies and you need to have solid goaltending to get far in the playoffs.  I am convinced that contrary to what you might hear them say, the Chicago Blackhawks have neither, which, down the road, is a big problem.

Last night against the lowly New York islanders, the Hawks gave up goals in rapid fire succession, hastening the exit of starting goalie Antti Nemmi and restoring to the spotlight, if only for a moment, Christobal Huet.  Neither one was particularly effective and the Hawks left the Island with a 5-3 loss.  If this can happen against the fourth worst team in the league, imagine what might happen in a playoff series against Detroit or San Jose. 

Don't give me the excuse that the six Hawks who were in the Olympics had an off night because I'm not buying it.  The fact is that neither Nemmi or Huet scares anyone and if the Hawks are committed to bringing home Lord Stanley's Cup, they need to act now.

There's a rumor that the Toronto Maple Leafs will take Huet off the Hawks hands.  While the Maple Leafs have veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere, he's really not the man we're looking for here.  The other rumor is that the Hawks are looking at Tomas Vokoun of the Florida Panthers.  NOW we're talking.  The rumors also say the Panthers don't want Huet.  So, pull a three way.  Send Giguere to Florida, Huet to Toronto and Vokoun to Chicago.

I knew Vokoun when he broke in with Nashville.  In fact, during the Preds first training camp, I noticed how good he was and had some pretty interesting conversations with Paul Gardner who, at the time, was Barry Trotz' top assistant.  We agreed the kid had a bright future. The Preds eventually brought him up and the legend of "The Vokounator" was born (he love that nickname as he is a Czech and looks up to Domink Hasek.)  He works hard and has gone farther in the NHL than anyone thought he could go.  He's a good guy too and would fit in on a team sprinting for a championship.

Most likely, Stan Bowman won't mortgage the future on finding a goalie upgrade.  The Hawks have danced this far with who brung them.  The question is, how long will Huet and Nemmi let the Hawks dance in May?

        

Growing up in Chicago in the 70's, the Chicago Blackhawks were a pretty big deal.  Much bigger than the Chicago Bulls.  In my neighborhood, we played much more street hockey than we did basketball, largely because we were all Hawks fans.  The Hawks always made it to the playoffs and in the early part of the seventies, they had a couple of near misses in winning Lord Stanley's Cup.

Over time, the NHL somewhere lost it's way and the NBA juggernaut not only passed it in popularity, but wiped it off the map.  There are some who believe that the reason NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, a former NBA employee  was given a glowing recommendation at the time of his hiring by NBA Commish David Stern was that Stern was sure Bettman would, through Bettman's incompetence, bury the NHL.  I don't believe it, but I also don't dismiss it.

Fast forward to this weekend and the 27 million people who watched the USA and Canada play in the Olympic final.  While the USA lost, it was a great victory to have hockey exposed to the masses again. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the springboard to the NHL becoming more popular.  Recent TV ratings and studies have shown the NHL is gaining on the NBA.  And, in some of the NHL's bigger and most important markets like Chicago, Buffalo and Boston, teams are competitive again and the fans have been coming out.

Still, hockey is lagging behind the popularity it enjoyed thirty years ago.

Why? I agree with our hero and role model that hockey on an international scale with all hands pulling for one team and national pride on the line is a far more compelling reason to watch hockey than a Tuesday night game between the Flyers and Devils.  International hockey is played by all-star teams and you get to see all of the best players play at the highest level possible.  Everyday hockey is good, but for every Patrick Kane there is a fourth line stiff who is either too old or too unskilled to have an impact.

The same with goalies.  Some are stand on your head good like Ryan Miller and Roberto Luongo.  Others are Jeff Deslauriers or Chris Mason. 

If the NHL is going to improve their product, it needs to contract.  Merge some of the teams that aren't successful into a smaller, more concentrated league offering a better product.  You need twenty players and two goalies on an NHL team where in the NBA you need only twelve and three really good ones. 

The second thing that needs to be done is find a cable operator that people can actually find on basic cable.  The only reason I know where Versus is on my cable system is that it's between the Food Network and Nat Geo, two channels we watch a lot at my house.  It's doubtful ESPN will take hockey back, especially since they finally got what they always wanted, the NBA.  But someone that's in a majority of homes (even ESPN 2) would be better than where hockey is now.

I want to see hockey become popular again because I enjoy it and increased popularity means increased exposure.  Unfortunately, once the euphoria fades and reality settles back in, I'm afraid it will be back to business as usual.

        

Kevin Martin is not someone you would ordinarily know in the USA.  He's the skip of the Canadian Curling team.  Curling, is probably less popular than soccer in the US (if that's possible) and not a whole lot of kids are signing up to take lessons.  But in Canada, Curling is a huge deal and Kevin Martin has been called "the Michael Jordan of Curling."

In his storied career, the "Old Bear"has won just about every Curling tournament known to man...except one.  That was the Olympics.  In 2002, Martin and company were upset by Norway and Saturday night, it was the Norwegians in their garish pants that stood between Martin and the one thing he needed for his impressive resume, Olympic gold.

And so, it came to pass that martin led his team to victory with some very impressive shots late in the match and finally got the gold.  At 42, his future is uncertain and if he never throws another 42 pound stone in the Olympics again, he will still have the satisfaction that in front of a world wide audience and the crazies jammed into the rink, he was a champion.

It was quite an ending to what was a pretty great Olympics.

        

Can you imagine White Sox General manager Kenny Williams in Las Vegas?  Maybe playing Texas Hold 'Em?  You'd get that steely glare right before he barked "all in" and pushed his pile of chips into the center of the table.

That may be what Kenny is doing in pursuit of San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. 

Rumors (and that's what they seem to be) are rampant that Williams is willing to bet the house (and perhaps his house) on somehow putting together an impressive enough package to acquire the left-handed power hitter. 

While the pieces to the puzzle are still a mystery, there have been some good guesses.  The Padres are in a rebuilding mode and are looking for young players to anchor their future while shedding payroll in the process.  The rumors that a key piece to the puzzle may be the savior himself, Gordon Beckham.  Would Kenny be crazy enough to trade the best Sox prospect since Robin Ventura away after only a year on the White Sox roster?  If it meant winning a championship, yes he would.

Assuming that Beckham is involved, the Padres would most likely take Paul Konerko off the Sox hands for the remainder of the season.  Paulie would probably waive his no-trade clause for the Pods who are not that far away from his home in Arizona.  The Sox would also have to give up a couple of prospects, like pitcher Daniel Hudson, Clevlan Santeliz or Lucas Harrell.  And possibly an infield or outfield prospect like C.J. Retherford,  Brent Morel or Jordan Danks.  The Pods may even be interested in a more developed prospect like catcher Tyler Flowers.

So, does Kenny do this Chinese restaurant style (one from column "A", two from column "B") or does he hold the line and trade only the players he really thinks aren't going to see the light of day with the Sox?

I have no problem with the Sox moving Paulie.  It's the last year of his deal, he probably won't be back next year and he's clearly in decline.  But trading Beckham?  I have major issues with that.  The kid is a stud, he'll be the leader of this ballclub when Paulie, A.J. and Buehrle are gone (which could be as early as the end of next season) and he's got tremendous character.  I would just assume they trade six players not named Beckham and kill the entire farm system just to keep the Savior in pin stripes.  I'd even consider trading the Cuban Sandwich if it meant keeping Beckham.  Plus, the Pods would have plenty of spare parts to choose from like Jayson Nix and Brett Lillibridge. 

Winning at all costs and gambling the future away is one of the things Kenny does best, but hopefully even he isn't so desperate that he doesn't mortgage the future's best player at a one or two year dance with A-Gon.  Although with Kenny Williams, it's all in all the time.

        

ESPN has suspended Peter Pascarelli's podcasts perhaps permanently, after he took a couple of subtle and fairly harmless shots at the Commissioner of Baseball.

As an apparent aside, Pascarelli dared to make light of  the new statue of Bud being constructed in Milwaukee and said something about pigeons finding it and conducting their business upon it..  Last year, Scott Van Pelt took aim at Bud on ESPN radio and was benched.

I don't know what's going through the minds of the people running the network, but I have a sneaking suspicion. 

ESPN is fighting the MLB network for the hearts and minds of baseball fans.  They've already lost two key pieces of their coverage, one through his actions (Steve Phillips) and the other through a better deal with MLB (Peter Gammons.)  In order for ESPN to remain competitive, they pretty much have to service Bud at every opportunity.  Making fun of Bud just makes MLB mad and they have the leverage with their own network to make ESPN miserable.  So, the network actually becomes a pawn in the effort to keep Bud in a positive light.

ESPN has been very arbitrary in some of these suspensions, some don't make sense and in many cases a simple "I'm sorry, I went a bit over the top" would have sufficed. 

Just the buzz of an apology is enough to get you some pub.  Benching star players makes your team weaker not stronger. ESPN should run a disclaimer that says "The opinions of ESPN hosts are the opinion of ESPN because if it's not, you can count on them getting their asses suspended."

        

• I don't "tweet."  I think I can best discuss the mundane details of my life here.  Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has embraced Twitter and is now "tweeting", mostly with the help of his sons, who are ghostwriting for him.  Kenny Williams does not "tweet" and he has no use for his manager doing so either.  With any luck, Ozzie's "tweets" will be filtered, unlike Ozzie himself.
• Happy birthday to my favorite ball player as a kid, Ron Santo, who hits the big 7-0 today.  The first major league game I ever went to, Ronnie hit two homers (I went to maybe five or six Cubs games before going to my first White Sox game.) I hope number ten gets everything he wants for his birthday except for the one thing that eludes him. And I'm not talking about the hall of fame, of which he is richly deserving.
• I would be really disappointed if NBC suspended Mike Milbury for his "Eurotrash" comment yesterday.  In context, what he said was fine. Even out of context, which is the way it's being reported to titillate, 'm sure we said a lot worse about the Russians during the cold war.  Everybody move on, please.
• A hockey announcer in Montana was kicked out of a game for being critical of officials.  This was an announcer who does his games on the Internet.  Next, they will probably come to your home.
• I couldn't disagree more with this guy.  Chicago has always loved hockey and with the Hawks finally competitive again, a Stanley Cup parade would be huge.  Of course you have to be older than 35 to know that.  The guy is obviously a Bulls fan. And a Cubs fan. And, under 30.  And, an idiot.
• Scott Linebrink will endeavor to choke less.
• The faces of Curling.  (Slate)
• Good afternoon and welcome to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa for today's game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ole Miss Ackbars.
• Tiger Woods, Steve Phillips and Dave Stewart will be disappointed, but it may become next to impossible to get a Hummer.

        

I'm not a fan of Tony Kornheiser, but I have to laugh about his suspension at the hands of the WWL.

In case you live under a rock (or in Mississippi), Kornheiser drew two weeks worth of game misconducts for taking some shots at ESPN morning anchor Hannah Storm's wardrobe.  Nothing bad, a little provocative maybe, but certainly nothing in my opinion that warrants two weeks off.  Maybe a day and that's just to appease what ever hurt feelings Storm may have had.

Are we now so sensitive that if we publicly call out a co-worker for dressing like a refugee from 1968 that we get put in time out? Apparently that is the policy at ESPN.

Certainly, if the comments were sexual in nature or profane or mean spirited, then, yeah, sure, okay.  But saying  Storm's choice of wardrobe was""horrifying," and that her shirt was too tight and looked "like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body" really isn't as malicious as it sounds.  Not where I come from anyway.  I've said worse things to my wife and I'm not only still married, but I didn't even have to sleep on the couch.

Back in the day, ESPN would have encouraged Hannah to come back on Tony, making fun of his bald head and his garish ties.  But that ship sailed with the Mayflower.  Now, to poke fun at a co-worker gets you benched because some, including lawyers, find that an opportunity to bring suit.

Tony Kornheiser apologized on-air and privately to Hannah Storm.  That should have been the end of it right there.  But instead, he has been removed for two weeks and a mini firestorm has erupted over what some feel is an overly aggressive policy.  I've heard worse things at my office and I'm sure that you've heard worse things in yours.  Nobody promised Tony Kornheiser fair, but no one promised him unfair either.