sports

Leave a comment Posted on Fantasy Football, Food, sports

Coming Soon To MichaelPiff Dot Com in 2016

For everyone who has followed along or checked in over the last year and a half, thank you so much for doing so. If people didn’t read, I wouldn’t write…Your encouragement for me to to keep doing so is more appreciated than you know.

The plan in 2016 is to continue covering everything in movies, music, sports, TV and food, but to generate more and more fun and entertaining content for all the topics this blog has become known for. Below is a list of things I look forward to featuring on the site and hope to get your input on. I am also always open to ideas and collaboration, so please feel free to reach out on Facebook, Twitter, or email me at piff.michael@gmail.com. I would like to include guest posts as well, so PLEASE let me know if you’re interested.

The Burger Challenge

Screen Shot 2016-01-01 at 1.24.15 PM

Just like the Pizza Challenge a year ago, I’m looking for the Chicago area’s best burger! So far I have visited 10 burger joints and plan to have 40 ranked before summer. Above are some of the awesome items that I’ve tried and I’m always looking for recommendations.  Follow along on Twitter and Instagram as the list grows, and let me know if you’d like to team up for an upcoming burger adventure.

Note: A Wings Challenge has been suggested as the next project. Stay tuned for that.

 

Movie/TV Madness Tournament

An annual tradition for those who have followed my work for the past few years, I’ve conducted a multi-week bracket tournament for both TV shows and movies. In the spirit of the NCAA Tournament, we list 68 competitors and break them up by region with appropriate seedings. Readers vote round-by-round on the winners of each matchup. The madness happens in March, but stay tuned to see if you’ll be voting on movies or TV shows this year.

Ballpark Foodie

Screen Shot 2016-01-01 at 1.57.58 PM

Something I look for when visiting stadiums across the country is a unique and awesome food item I can’t get anywhere else. Starting this Spring, I’ll be reaching out to Major League Baseball organizations to see what baseball fans can look forward to at the concession stands for the 2016 season. I’ll be checking out as many ballparks as possible but if you happen to find something yourself, please send a photo my way on Twitter with the hashtag #BallparkFoodie and I’ll feature it here!

 

TV Show and Movie Power Rankings

BB-8 Thumbs Up

I wrote up a few lists regarding my favorite TV Shows and movies from the past year (The 2015 Movie List will be complete after The Revenant finally hits theaters). Rather than wait months at a time for new lists, I’ll have an updated Power Rankings for new movies and favorite TV shows as I watch them every couple weeks. Look forward to how Batman v Superman stacks up against Captain America: Civil War, and House of Cards with Game of Thrones…There will also be a pre-season 6 ranking of all surviving (or speculated to be surviving) Thrones characters.

 

The 2016 Fantasy Football Draft Board

Cam Dance

ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper will be updating their NFL Draft boards up until the first pick is called…I’ll be doing the same this year with all Fantasy Football positions. If you’re like me, you’re already thinking about your first round pick for next year’s Fantasy draft. From the end of this season until draft time next year, I’ll have a regularly updated version of my Fantasy “Cheat Sheet” for you to prepare.

 

More Mixtapes!

Ron Swanson rectangle

The college radio DJ in me LOVES sharing music and giving people a look into what I’m listening nowadays. It also encourages me to check out new artists and tracks and see if they’re worth including in upcoming playlists. Here are the mixtapes from 2015, and lookout for what’s to come in 2016. Maybe we’ll finally get new Radiohead and Tool that we keep hearing about.

The #Twitter101

Twitter 101

In 2015, I started a new tradition of keeping a list of my favorite follows on Twitter. I plan to update the list every year with new accounts and some of old reliables that make Twitter fun to be on. If you recommend anyone to follow or would like to nominate yourself for consideration, just say so here!

 

The New Piffcast 2.0 (Finally)

Pirate Piffcast

When I started writing this blog, I fully intended to relaunch my podcast and feature it here. This year I’m fully committed to bringing it back, discussing all the topics I write about here, getting YOUR thoughts and opinions on-air, interviews with people and experts who know way more than I do, etc. If you’re interested in contributing to the podcast or would like to even sponsor it, contact me via Facebook, Twitter or email me at piff.michael@gmail.com

 

These are just a few of the plans I have for this year, along with the columns and articles that help make this blog what it is. Looking forward to getting things rolling and to make big things happen in 2016! Follow along for all the fun on Facebook and Twitter! 

1 Comment Posted on Fantasy Football, sports

NFL Week 14 Fantasy Mailbag

If you made your Fantasy league’s playoffs…

Antonio nuts

CONGRATS!

If not, thanks for reading anyway. If people don’t send in questions, there is no Mailbag. So sincerely, thank you for making this fun for me every week to write up and try to help you get where you want to be.

December is the month that matters now, ask Russell Wilson. In December, Wilson is 13-2 as a starter which is the highest win percentage for a quarterback since 2000. All of a sudden the Seahawks look like a team nobody wants to play against and so do the Steelers. That’s who you have to be now as a Fantasy owner, and it doesn’t hurt having players from both squads either.

Quick Hits

  • Speaking of the Steelers, having any of their top 3 WRs for the last 2 weeks is not a bad thing. Sunday night was further proof Antonio Brown is the best weapon in the NFL right now (118 yards and 3 total touchdowns). Markus Wheaton is lighting things up, likely from your league’s waiver wire, with 19 targets, 12 catches, 251 yards and 3 touchdowns in that time. Then there’s Martavis Bryant, who has scored in 5 of the 7 games he’s played in since returning from suspension and injury. The trio faces a Bengals defense that is thin at cornerback with Leon Hall and Pacman Jones banged up, and is allowing more than a touchdown to opposing WRs per game.

  • Very quietly and unsuspectingly, Saints running back Mark Ingram was put on IR for the shoulder injury he was nursing the past two weeks. It seems as though the Saints are shelving him with nothing to play for, just in time for your playoffs. It’s the year of the backup running back though! CJ2K has given the reigns to DJ2K (David Johnson) in Arizona. DeAngelo Williams is doing his best Le’Veon Bell impression. And Thomas Rawls has a higher touchdown rate in the red zone (21.4%) then the league leader in touchdowns, Devonta Freeman (20%).Go snag Tim Hightower now, if you haven’t already, as he’s expected to get Ingram’s early down workload.

Rawls vs Vikings

  • If the Titans have anything going for them, besides a good shot at the #1 overall draft pick for a second year in a row, it’s Delanie Walker. Over the past 5 weeks, Walker has the most targets, catches and yards of any tight end in the game. He also faces a Jets defense this week that will be missing Revis Island and safety Calvin Pryor.

Delanie Walker TD

 

Mail Time!

Screen Shot 2015-12-10 at 12.12.05 PM

RB: Despite Giovani Bernard having more rush yards and 300 more receiving yards than Jeremy Hill, Hill is getting an actual starter’s workload with 20 more touches than Gio over the last 2 weeks. You should feel good going with him. Doug Martin has the New Orleans dumpster fire D this week. Now you’re left between Javorius Allen and Todd Gurley. Go with Buck. He’s averaging 123 yards per game since taking over for Justin Forsett. Meanwhile, Gurley is on the back of a milk carton and we can’t find him.

TE: Close call, but I would go with ASJ for matchup reasons. He played limited snaps last week but still managed to be the 2nd most targeted receiver by Jamies Winston.

 

Screen Shot 2015-12-10 at 12.12.21 PM

Even though I gave a ton of love to both Wilson and the Steelers to start this post, I’m going against them for this choice. Andy Dalton has 3+ touchdowns in half of the games he’s started this season and could be in for a total shootout with the Steelers this weekend. Considering what Russ was able to do against Pittsburgh, you should like ADalt even better.

 

Screen Shot 2015-12-10 at 12.14.16 PM

First reaction – Yikes.

*Taking a second to process*

Ronnie Hillman. CJ Anderson is playing on a bum ankle which opens up a lot more for Hillman against Oakland. As stated earlier, Gio’s usage doesn’t give me enough confidence to start him when I have other options.

 

Screen Shot 2015-12-10 at 12.14.31 PM

WR: I really don’t like the Bucs as much as I sound, but I hate the Saints defense way more. This is a great week for V-Jax because the Saints have given up 9 touchdowns to #2 WRs over the last 5 weeks.

FLEX: Going against one of the worst run defenses in the league, it’s a good week to play Shaun Draughn. I feel weird typing that, but Draughn has turned into the 49ers’ everything back and Cleveland has allowed at least 95 yards or a touchdown to RBs in 10 of the 12 games they’ve played this season.

Have more lineup questions? Feel free to ask on both Facebook and Twitter! Also, don’t hesitate to post any questions for next week’s Mailbag. Good luck this weekend! 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

First Day of December and MLB Is Already Winning Twitter

Professional sports have caught up with social media and any team not having fun is just doing it wrong.

Major League baseball just started an excellent Twitter thread that will brighten your day if you need it. It began with a happy greeting and an Anthony Rizzo grinning gif…

 

…then the Indians…

 

…and the Red Sox…

 

…and then…

 

…it took on a life of its own.

 

Braves

 

Phillies

 

Tigers

 

Diamondbacks

 

Padres

 

Rockies. They were late, apparently…

 

…but had a decent excuse.

 

The DBacks allowed it.

 

Hey Blue Jays…

 

…welcome to the party.

 

…and the Defending NL Champs

 

[UPDATED]

 

The Cubs had thoughts…

 

…to which MLB happily replied.

 

 

We’ll update this post as more teams jump in on the thread. For more, follow along on Facebook and Twitter. 

1 Comment Posted on sports

5 Potential Bears OC Candidates To Replace Adam Gase

After winning 4 of their last 6 games, the hottest topic regarding the Chicago Bears this week seems to be “Can they keep Adam Gase?” It’s a fair conversation to have as Gase is presumed to be one of the top head coaching candidates to fill any of a number NFL openings for next season. In 9 games, Gase has the Bears offense looking as respectable as any with Jay Cutler playing his best football since coming to Chicago. He was also very close to being the 49ers head coach after last season, had San Francisco’s higher-ups not been so sold on this guy…

Daisy Tomsula

Vacancies across the league already include Tennessee and Miami, unless Dan Campbell continues to work wonders. Other teams that are expected or rumored to be looking for a new head coach include the Colts, Saints, Lions, Browns, Chargers, Rams, and the aforementioned 49ers. I wouldn’t anticipate this to be appealing to Gase, but there are several major conference openings in college football as well. The point is, there are plenty of options for Gase to move up in the football world and Bears fans shouldn’t be shocked to see Cutler working with yet another offensive coordinator next season.

Is it possible the Bears will do everything in their power to keep Gase? Sure. They could make Gase an offer similar to the Cowboys’ Jason Garrett deal, making him the highest paid coordinator in football with assurances he’ll be the next head coach after John Fox is done. In 2008, Garrett was making $3 million as an assistant waiting in the wings behind then Cowobys coach Wade Phillips. League rules prevented Jerry Jones to name Garrett as an heir to take over for Phillips, but it was the worst kept secret in football.

The likelihood of Gase staying in Chicago after this season isn’t particularly probable, but one could be confident Fox will have a strong candidate in place to fill the opening. After all, Fox did bring the best two available coordinators with him after taking the Bears job, Gase and Vic Fangio.

What do Fox’s OC options look like for the 2016 season?

 

Mike McCoy

Current Chargers Head Coach

Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 11.46.06 AM

With the team’s likely move to Los Angeles and another underwhelming season, the Chargers organization could be looking for a fresh face and a new voice in the locker room. The Bears interviewed Mike McCoy in 2013 before he took the Chargers job. McCoy had just reshaped the Broncos offense from accommodating Tim Tebow in 2011 to Peyton Manning in 2012, with Fox as his boss and Gase as QB coach. Fox and McCoy are already very familiar with each other. Gase has also credited McCoy on multiple occasions for being one of the better influences on his coaching style.

 

Dowell Loggains

Current Bears Quarterbacks Coach

Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 11.48.04 AM

The transition for Dowell Loggains to offensive coordinator, on paper, looks seamless. Loggains is already working closely with Cutler on a daily basis and would essential continue using Gase’s playbook. He isn’t inexperienced when it comes to play-calling either, as he served as Titans OC in 2012-2013 under Mike Munchak. The concern, however, is that Loggains could leave with Gase if he’s hired elsewhere.

 

Ken Whisenhunt

Former Titans Head Coach

Ken Whisenhunt

Ken Whisenhunt keeps getting head coaching jobs because he continuously gets it done as an offensive coordinator. Before his 1 and a half year Titans tenure, Whisenhunt called plays as McCoy’s OC in San Diego in 2013. The Chargers had improved from 31st in total offense to 5th with Whisenhunt on the sidelines. The Chargers also ranked 4th in touchdowns and 5th in passing yards that season as Ryan Matthews had his best year rushing with 1,255 yards.

 

Bill Lazor

Current Dolphins Offensive Coordinator

Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 11.54.40 AM

This really depends on what the Miami Dolphins chooses to do about their head coaching situation. If Campbell drops the interim tag, I would expect Bill Lazor to either stay put or leave for a head coaching position (although unlikely). Lazor has said that he let down former Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin before his dismissal in October. Since then, the Dolphins have played like the high powered offensive team they were expected to be. Lazor runs a quick-hitting read offense works similarly to Gase’s current system. It operates best when the running backs are the central focus. Case in point, Lamar Miller: 124 total yards per game and and 9 touchdowns since Philbin’s firing with a 3-2 record.

 

Rob Chudzinski

Current Colts Offensive Coordinator

Rob Chudzinski

Chuck Pagano’s fate in Indianapolis has felt all but sealed as his Colts team has gone from predicted Super Bowl contenders to a playoff battle with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rob Chudzinski has run up and down the ranks of offensive coaching staffs since coming into the league in 2004. “Chud” is best known for innovating the original 2-TE system and helping Cam Newton breakout during his rookie season with the most passing yards of his career so far in 2011. Chudzinski has recently taken over as Colts OC following Pep Hamilton’s scapegoat dismissal in October. He’s a play-caller with head coaching chops but probably a little out-of-the-box in terms of schemes for the Bears and their current path. You can’t help but notice though, how good the Bears offense has looked when utilizing both Martellus Bennett and Zach Miller in recent weeks.

 

Have another potential Offensive Coordinator candidate in mind for the Bears? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter. 

 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

Who The Bears Are 8 Games Into 2015

Following their win on Monday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers, the Chicago Bears are a 3-5 team. Your team is what your record is, which has the Bears placed 3rd in the NFC North and 3 games back behind the 6-2 Packers and Vikings. Being 0-3 in the division doesn’t help and the playoffs are the last thing on anybody’s mind, but finding their identity is more encouraging than you would expect.

The Bears are a much better coached team than they were the last 2 seasons. A Matt Forte quote from Week 1 seems to have held true for most of the season.

The benefit of good coaching is most evident in Jay Cutler’s play so far. It’s amazing that it took 7 years for the Bears to hire an offensive coordinator who would scheme to Cutler’s strengths. OC Adam Gase’s offense allows Cutler to get the ball out faster on quick hitting pass plays, roll out and throw on the run, and to also check in and out of play-calls at will. A commitment to the running game sets him up very well in play-action and limits the opportunities to turn the ball over. As of now, Cutler is just 20th in interceptions through Week 9 with 5. That’s half as many as Blake Bortles and Sam Bradford, and 8 less than league-worst Peyton Manning with 13. Andrew Luck is one pick behind Peyton.

Cutler isn’t perfect, of course. He has 4 fumbles on the season, that have come as the result of both poor blocking and an inability to protect the ball. Cutler has also thrown interceptions at costly moments, notably on a comeback drive against the Packers and in the Lions’ end zone. The difference this season, as opposed to those with Marc Trestman, Mike Tice, and Mike Martz calling plays, Cutler and Gase shake off the bad turnovers with a more aggressive attack. Case in point, following a pick-6 by Jason Verett on what appeared to be a misstep with Alshon Jeffery on the outside, Cutler answered with a touchdown in 3 minutes on 7 plays. In the four games prior, we’ve seen very similar drives giving the Bears chances to win at the end of regulation.

Zach Miller touchdown

The Bears are a project, but one that is improving as the season goes on. After starting 0-3 against a murderers row of Green Bay, Arizona and Seattle, the Bears are 3-2 in their last 5 games. Just a handful of unfortunate plays have resulted in the Bears losing by field goals to Detroit and Minnesota. It’s probably sad to find optimism from that, but it beats the average margin of 15.3 points per loss a season ago. The coaches and GM Ryan Pace are accountable of their players, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Rather than allow Jared Allen to take up snaps and be unproductive as a 3-4 linebacker, Pace moved him to Carolina for a 6th round draft pick and opened a spot on the roster for Sam Acho. While the Bears are paying Alan Ball $3 million to play cornerback, DC Vic Fangio has plugged in 8-year veteran Tracy Porter instead, who has proven to have better coverage and ball instincts. Porter is making $850,000 on a 1-year deal.

The coaching staff’s trust in young players has also been a positive sign for the team’s growth. Rookie safety Adrian Amos has started all 8 games this season and has provided some stability to what’s been a glaring need for years at the position. Amos is always where he needs to be and tackles well. After injuries to Ego Ferguson and the eventual release of Jeremiah Ratliff, 2nd round pick Eddie Goldman looks as good as advertised. 2nd-year defensive lineman Will Sutton has transitioned well from 3-technique to end. Then the inside linebacker position has been manned better with Christian Jones and Jonathan Anderson in place of Shea McClellan. Both Anderson (rookie) and Jones (year 2) were undrafted and spent time on the Bears practice squad.

Jeremy Langford’s performance against the Chargers was another case for optimism as the Bears move forward, possibly without Forte after this season. Not knocking Forte at all, but Langford has a very similar skill set running, receiving and pass blocking. Langford also has fresher legs, less mileage and an exceptional 2nd gear once he breaks the line of scrimmage. It will be interesting to see what Forte’s prospects are after the season. Whether a team closer to contending is willing to pay big or if he’s just more comfortable in Chicago, the Bears appear to be fine at the running back position.

The Bears are not a team with much depth. This comes from years and years of bad drafting and poor offseason signings, but the Bears don’t have much after either of their offensive or defensive starters. You know things are bad when the drop off from Bryce Callahan to Sherrick McManis at the nickel results in a game-tying Stefon Diggs touchdown against the Vikings, before losing to a Blair Walsh field goal in Week 8. A pleasant surprise at tackle has been Charles Leno Jr. filling in for former pro bowler Jermon Bushrod, and apparently keeping his starting spot. But if the Bears lose another interior linemen, they may have to start converting defensive tackles to the position…(sorta kidding).

Outside of the quarterback position, the difference between Jeffery and the rest of the Bears’ healthy wide receivers is probably the vastest. It’s a shame we haven’t had a chance to see Jeffery paired with 1st round pick Kevin White yet, which would have allowed Eddie Royal to be the slot receiver he was intended to be this season. Having to throw to Cameron Meredith, Josh Bellamy, and Marc Mariana isn’t particularly ideal for Cutler on key passing downs and important drives, but he’s had to do it. Marquess Wilson has been a bright spot though as a downfield option with quality speed.

Despite low expectations the rest of the way, the Bears are likable. There’s something to be said about the team’s resiliency when having to deal with so many injuries and adversity. Besides their 48-23 loss in Week 2 to the Cardinals, they’ve always had a chance to win. After going to the pro bowl in each of his two seasons as a guard (the first to do so since 1970), Kyle Long is developing into an excellent right tackle. Also moving over from guard, Matt Slauson has taken on line calls and has had to start as the 3rd string center with injuries to Will Montgomery and Hroniss Grasu. Both Slauson and Long have provided the leadership, along with Cutler, that seemed to be missing from the offense since Olin Kreutz departed from the team 5 years ago.

Big free agent signee Pernell McPhee is doing the same with the defense. When McPhee is pressuring the quarterback, good things tend to happen and he sets the tone for his unit as well. He ranks 6th among DL/OLB pressures on the quarterback with 31 (JJ Watt, 1st with 45) this season. For a fan base that talks a lot about having pride in being all “blue collar”, there’s definitely a workman like personality that the McPhee and the front 7 bring.

The next 3 games for the Bears will be quite a test. They face the two best defenses in the league, St. Louis and Denver, back-to-back and then have the Packers on Thanksgiving night. Realistically, the second half of the season will be for evaluation going into 2016, but the Bears are competitive, entertaining, and a lot less painful to watch than they were a year ago. Stay tuned to see if that keeps up…

For more, follow along on Facebook and Twitter. 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

Go Home Bills Fans…You’re Drunk. The Drunkest In The League, Actually.

“Year One” of the Rex Ryan era has driven Buffalo Bills fans to drinking.

That’s not a joke. With data from smartphone breathalyzer app BACtrack, cross-referenced with Twitter’s fan allegiance map, Bills fans are leading the league in average Blood Alcohol Content.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 3.39.50 PM

BAC levels among NFL fans were gathered and examined from games starting in the pre-season through October 26th. Atop the list on game day were Bills fans with an average 0.076 BAC. Tied for 2nd behind Buffalo are Detroit Lions fans (0.069) and Philadelphia Eagles fans…with batteries in their pockets, waiting to be thrown.

Drinking the least on game day are Cincinnati Bengals fans (0.015) and Tennessee Titans fans (0.021). However, left off the list are Raiders, Jaguars, Jets, Rams and Buccaneers fans due to insufficient data. Curious Bears fans can see they are ranked 11th with a BAC of 0.054.

The study was conducted to find out if an NFL team’s record was had an impact on their fan base’s drinking habits. That correlation was unfound with the 1 win Titans being the “case in point.” Drinking levels were proven to increase with 2/3 the NFL audience as BAC averages rise from the pre-season to the regular season.

It should be noted that BACtrack Consumption Reports are released in order to provide insight to the drinking habits around the country so consumers can consider the effects of alcohol…

…or you end up like Dizzy Bat Guy below.

Dizzy Bat

For more, follow along on Facebook and Twitter. 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

NFL Is Picking The Wrong Fight With Recent Equipment Fines

During a month commercially recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the NFL appears to be taking steps backwards in their efforts PR wise. The recent fines against Pittsburgh Steelers teammates Cam Heyward and DeAngelo Williams are becoming tougher to justify. Heyward was fined earlier this month for honoring his late father and former NFL player, Craig, with “Iron” and “Head” on his eye black. Williams was fined today for promoting Breast Cancer Awareness, but not in the way the NFL would allow it?

Williams lost his mother to breast cancer a year ago and wished to honor her all season with pink in his weekly uniform. He asked the NFL and they rejected his request. Williams has been wearing the same message on his eye black for 5 years though, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The NFL has a penchant for weird timing when “setting a precedent” handing down punishments. After reducing Greg Hardy’s 10-game domestic violence suspension to 4 games, they elected to hand Tom Brady the same sentence for maybe deflating footballs (we know how that went). While trying to come back from dv backlash, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Ray McDonald and Hardy all included, the NFL chose to also fine a third Steelers player for wearing purple cleats in honor of his mother, who was killed in an act domestic violence. William Gay was fined today $5,787 for his cleats, which he’s worn for the past two seasons. NFL.com actually ran a story just a year ago promoting Gay’s purple cleats.

The fines come off as petty because they are. October is widely regarded as both Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence month, thanks in part to NFL marketing. It seems like two players, who have both worn their own personal messages for their respective causes for years, are being fined because Heyward was punished first. All three cases are even tougher to justify when the league and its network partners promoted former Bengal Devon Still’s “Leah Strong” campaign for his daughter and never fined him for wearing his eye black. Still pointed this out himself after hearing about Heyward’s fine.

This past weekend, Heyward wore eye black again with “Tackle Cancer” written because the NFL sanctioned that specific message for players to use. He won’t be fined for it. So now it’s okay to promote a message toward a cause as long as it’s consistent with your organization’s marketing?

While the NFL is enforcing this storm trooper uniform culture, we are still talking about the causes that Williams, Gay and Heyward were hoping to raise general awareness for. In a sense, that honors the memories of their parents who suffered but at the expense of the NFL looking like an evil empire. What’s the point? No, it doesn’t hurt the NFL’s popularity. Yes, I’m still going to take Fantasy Football questions later today for tomorrow’s Mailbag. I’m still going to watch on Sunday with the millions of others wearing NFL products. And so will you. However, you and I both will add this to the long list of issues the NFL has proven to be inconsistent and insensitive with.

For more, follow along on Facebook and Twitter. 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

My Reason To Watch the World Series: Juan Uribe

The Fall Classic kicks off in Kansas City tonight on FOX at 7:07 PM CT. The Royals are making back-to-back trips after a nearly 30-year World Series drought. It’s been 15 years since the Mets were in the World Series and they haven’t won since 1986, the year after the Royals last did. Fun Fact: Neither team has ever won Game 1 of the World Series. Combined both teams are 0-7 in that regard. Also, Joe Buck will have the call and everyone will be convinced he hates their team. Both Royals and Mets fans are readying their angry tweets.

Both teams are very exciting for the objective baseball fan. The Mets have an incredible starting rotation and the Royals have the best bullpen. Daniel Murphy is doing video game things hitting 7 home runs in the playoffs and Ned Yost doesn’t give two shits about your baseball sensibilities when it comes to bunting and running. I, however, don’t care for either team.

As a fan with illogical and irrational feelings, I hate the Royals the most. I’m a White Sox fan and while people in Chicago struggle with my lack of Cub-hate, I target my frustration and dislike to the other teams in the AL Central. Whichever team is preventing the White Sox from making the playoffs the most (besides themselves), that’s who gets the majority of my distain. The Detroit Tigers used to be that team, but now the Royals carry the torch for my White Sox rivalry rage.

Sox Fight Gif

The Mets receive a different brand of loathing from me. Having grown up around Chicago, there’s natural detest in me and many for that giant east coast city, their tough-guy accents and pizza arrogance. For the record, I love New York but love when my teams face theirs way more. However, there’s one player who was just named to the Mets playoff roster who I can’t say a single bad thing about. His name is…

Uribe Puppies

Juan Uribe.

Juan Uribe is everything that is good about baseball. He has fun. His teammates love him. He’s also no stranger to the big moment. Over his 15-year career, this will be Uribe’s 3rd appearance in a World Series. He made the final throw-out to win it all for the 2005 White Sox, homered for the Giants in another winning effort in 2010, and now he’s back to keep the 5-year trend alive.

Uribe makes the Mets’ World Series roster wearing his third different uniform this year alone. He joined the Mets in a trade with Kelly Johnson from the Atlanta Braves, and started the season as a Los Angeles Dodger. Uribe actually ended the 2014 regular season as acting manager of the Dodgers, while also paying tribute to Don Mattingly and Tommy Lasorda.

As a manager, Uribe has a 1.000 winning percentage and a Gatorade shower as well.

Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 12.47.37 PM

Now Uribe can end this season with his third World Series ring. He has a chance to become the 4th player in MLB’s expansion era to win 3 world championships with 3 different teams, after Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, and Lonnie Smith. His Mets tenure hasn’t been particularly special, batting .219 with 6 home runs and 20 RBIs in 128 at-bats (Murphy has matched that production in these playoffs alone), but it’s hard not to root for the guy.

Of course my White Sox sentiments have a heavy influence on my admiration for Uribe. In the 10th anniversary year of their World Series win, at least one of the players from the roster are competing for it again. He’s one of 5 players from the 2005 White Sox roster who were still active in 2005 (AJ Pierzynski/ATL, Mark Beuhrle/TOR, Neal Cotts/MIN, Brandon McCarthy/LAD). Uribe also gave me one of my favorite baseball memories, catching a ball in the stands during the World Series that I’ll contend was better than Derek Jeter’s famous dive…somewhat irrationally, I’ll.

A year ago, I actively avoided the World Series. I had seen the Giants thing before and you already know my feelings about the Royals. This year, I’ve got Juan Uribe and will happily buy his jersey if he gets to light victory cigars again.

Uribe WS

Who are you rooting for to win the World Series? Let me know on either Facebook or Twitter. 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

2015-16 NBA Season Predictions

Tuesday night, a new NBA season tips off with 3 games featuring the league’s biggest stars. TNT will feature a doubleheader with the Cavaliers and. Bulls in Chicago (7 PM CT), then the Pelicans visiting Golden State for the Warriors’ banner raising ceremony (9:30 PM CT). Also facing off will be the Pistons and the social media savvy Atlanta Hawks. Sure it will all be going on before the World Series, but that’s what sports bars are for with multiple monitor setups.

A new season means new storylines and intrigue that only the NBA can produce. The defending champion Warriors are very much the same team, built to score plenty and defend as well as anyone. The Spurs Big-3 (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker) have one last ride (at least) in them with rising superstar Kawhi Leonard and newly added LaMarcus Aldridge. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving still rule the Eastern conference, but the Bulls are playing the Star Wars “rebel” role with a healthier Derrick Rose and new head coach Fred Hoiberg. Don’t forget Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have a new coach too…

There’s plenty of drama I could go on about and plan to cover for each team, but for now we’ll just make some predictions for who will be making the playoffs and who will be taking home hardware by the end of the 2015-16 season.

Eastern Conference Playoffs

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers
  2. Chicago Bulls
  3. Washington Wizards
  4. Atlanta Hawks
  5. Toronto Raptors
  6. Boston Celtics
  7. Indiana Pacers
  8. Milwaukee Bucks

Eastern Conference Finals

Bulls vs Cavs

1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs 2. Chicago Bulls

Western Conference

  1. San Antonio Spurs
  2. Golden State Warriors
  3. Memphis Grizzlies
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder
  5. Los Angeles Clippers
  6. Houston Rockets
  7. New Orleans Pelicans
  8. Minnesota Timberwolves

Western Conference Finals

Spurs vs Grizz

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. 3. Memphis Grizzlies

NBA Finals

BASKET-BKN-BKO-NBA FINALS-GAME 5-SPURS HEAT

Spurs vs. Bulls (Spurs in 6)

Most Valuable Player

AD MVP

Anthony Davis (NO)

Defensive Player of the Year

Tony Allen DMVP

Tony Allen (MEM)

Rookie of the Year

Jahlil

Jahlil Okafor (PHI)

Coach of the Year

Billy Donovan

Billy Donovan (OKC)

Sixth Man of the Year

Taj

Taj Gibson (CHI)

Most Improved Player of the Year

NBA: OCT 23 Jazz at Clippers

Rudy Gobert (UTA)

ALL-NBA First Team

Stephen Curry (GS)

James Harden (HOU)

LeBron James (CLE) 

Anthony Davis (NO)

Marc Gasol (MEM)

Marc Gasol

All-NBA Second Team

Russell Westbrook (OKC)

Kevin Durant (OKC)

Kawhi Leonard (SA)

Blake Griffin (LAC)

Pau Gasol (CHI)

Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls

How do your predictions look? Let me know on Facebook and Twitter. 

Leave a comment Posted on sports

Regular Season Can’t Start Soon Enough for Jimmy Butler, Bulls

In a recent interview with Chicago Magazine, Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler spoke to staff writer Bryan Smith about his new $95 million contract, celebrity friends, Nerf guns, and his difficult past. Smith describes just how tough it is for Butler to discuss it.

“…he loathes reliving the past—so much so that he has removed the rearview mirror on his car (yes, really) as a symbolic reminder to never look back. His coach at Marquette University, Buzz Williams, says Butler was so sensitive about his upbringing that he swore Williams to secrecy while playing for him.”

Of course sports media, the internet, and even I had a field day with that detail about the rearview mirror.

He cut his brakes because he CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP….but seriously, Jimmy, put the rearview mirror back. Otherwise, get someone else to drive you while you’re in Chicago. I don’t need to get in anymore silly accidents downtown and neither does anyone else. There’s also A LOT OF MONEY INVESTED IN YOU. So safety matters. – End mini rant.

Kidding/judging aside, I get the symbolism. Butler had an unbelievably tough upbringing. His father wasn’t around and mother kicked him out of the house as a 13 year-old before he was taken in by a high school teammate’s family. Butler doesn’t want his past to define who he is now. Since being drafted at the end of the first round of the 2011 draft, 30th overall, Butler worked his way to where he is today.

Butler’s points per game have increased every season. During his rookie campaign, Butler averaged 2.6 points over 42 games coming off the bench. In 2014-15, Butler started 65 games and averaged 20 points per. Then after being named to his first All-Star game, his second All-NBA Defensive Team, and leading the league in minutes per game (38.7), Butler led the Bulls in playoff scoring but was ousted by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the conference semis.

The last meaningful game the Bulls played, fans saw a team that had given up on their coach, Tom Thibodeau, in an elimination game against the best basketball player in the league. Even after keeping pace with the Cavs in a high scoring first (33-31 Cavs), Butler and his teammates stopped looking for easy baskets and settled for lazy jump shots. After leading all scorers in the first quarter with 10 points, Derrick Rose looked disinterested and so were fans by the 3rd quarter. The result of Game 6 left the worst taste in your mouth if you were at all invested with a Bulls team that was surrounded by drama between the coach and the front office, Butler’s contract situation, and Rose’s health.

While the Bulls’ roster is virtually the same as it was a year ago, there’s a new head coach and a new philosophy in 2015-16. Fred Hoiberg is the anti-Thibodeau and he brings a strong emphasis on scoring. If you haven’t already, get the defensive oriented try-hard Bulls teams of the past 6 years out of your system and get used to multiple 100+ free Big Mac games at the United Center. Hoiberg is also a “players coach” and Butler further expressed his appreciation for that in a revealing Q&A with NBA.com’s David Aldridge at the start of October…

“I think Fred is a bigger person, where he’s going to come in, he’s going to check on you. Over the summer, he came and visited everybody. I think every coach is different. Thibs wasn’t like that. Thibs was a guy that, he was going to be in that office studying ways to win a championship…Fred is trying to teach me that you’ve got to be a people person, too. Because you’ve got to balance both. You really do.”

As I noted earlier, Butler did get paid and he was paid very well. After betting on himself during the season last year and proving he’s worth more than the original extension the Bulls offered him, the restricted free agent and the team that drafted him agreed on a 5-year $95 million deal with a gradual rise in salary per year. It seems Butler understands that the new paper means more responsibility for him…

“I hired my trainer full-time. I have my own weight, strength and nutritional guys, full-time. I’m investing money into my body and into my craft, which is a wise investment…help my team win, I’ve got to be healthy. To help my team win, I’ve got to be able to score the ball. To help my team win, I’ve got to be able to guard. This whole summer was all about that — playing all 82 games, and the playoffs.”

There also seems to be a general agreement throughout the organization that the team isn’t built around Rose anymore, and Butler wants to take the mantle as the leader on the floor. If you were paying attention to the Rose-less Bulls for the past few seasons, the leaders were certainly Joakim Noah and Luol Deng on both ends of the floor. That’s where Aldridge’s interview with Butler gets interesting…

“I have to be a leader. I think I can lead vocally, and obviously with my actions on the court. I can’t tell anybody to do something if I’m not doing it. I can’t ask one of these rookies to dive on the floor if I’m not diving on the floor, take a charge if I’m not taking a charge. Leadership is one of the only things that this team has really been lacking. We’ve had a little here and there, but I think you’ve got to have that guy to come in and get it done in the leadership role.”

Dude…Noah’s still on your team. You know that right? I’ll be the first to admit Noah’s presence on the offensive end of the floor last season was more of a hindrance than helpful, but you can’t deny how he put the team on his back and carried them into the playoffs in 2013-14. Noah finished 4th in MVP voting that season, with all the chest pumping glory you could ask for. You also have Pau Gasol on your roster with two NBA Finals rings on his hand.

I appreciate a lot of what Butler has had to say since committing to the Bulls for the next five seasons. I like that he’s talking like a superstar, now that he’s being paid like one. I hope Butler improved on his long-range shooting and ball handling though, so the other four guys on the floor can play off him in space. If he wants to take the reigns as the “face of the franchise” and leader, Butler also has to continue playing like the two-way player that his teammates, fans, and piers around the league have come to respect. Most importantly, win basketball games and win them in the playoffs. At the end of the day, the players who go to championships are the ones you trust the most.

I want the season to start already so Butler, Rose and everyone else in a Bulls uniform can simply let their game speak for them. The Bulls open the season next week at the United Center, Tuesday Oct. 27th, against the Cavaliers. It’s only the start to another long season, but one that couldn’t come soon enough.

For more, follow along on Facebook and Twitter.