Bears Beatdown by Chiefs

Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears have had one of their worst games in a very long time in yesterday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.  The score was 10-3 and Chicago did not even score one touchdown the entire game.

Along with Jay Cutler (starting Quarterback) and the injury to his hand, Matt Forte (starting Runningback) is also out and sidelined due to getting a knee injury in the last game.

The Bears (7-5) lost plenty in dropping their second straight game to an AFC West opponent, and confidence has to be at the top of the list. In a muddled wild-card race, they’re fortunate the Falcons, Giants and Lions also lost to keep the Bears in the fifth seed. But the focus is within after a stunning defeat that turned on a 38-yard Hail Mary from Tyler Palko — once cut by the United Football League‘s California Redwoods — to Dexter McCluster on the final play of the first half.

A week after the offense posted its largest yardage output of the season, it was anemic. Caleb Hanie completed 11 of 24 passes for 133 yards and received next to no help. He was sacked seven times by a Chiefs defense that entered with 13 on the season, and Roy Williams dropped a potential tying touchdown pass, allowing Jon McGraw to intercept in the end zone with 4:01 remaining.

 

 

Hawks gave St. Louis the Blues

The last time the Chicago Blackhawks met up with the St. Louis Blues, they were shut out with a score of 3-0.  On Saturday’s game, the tables had turned.  The Hawks came to play hard, beating the Blues 5-2.

It was a very rough and and rowdy game from start to finish.  There were plently of fights, scuffles, and front of the net battles.

Marian Hossa had two goals — including a short-handed score — Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp each had a goal and an assist, and Michael Frolik scored to lift the Hawks to their second consecutive victory and fourth in their last five games. The Hawks scored twice on the power play and the penalty-killing unit didn’t allow a goal in four Blues opportunities.
“We played a solid road game; everybody chipped in,” Hossa said. “The special teams were the difference.”

Four Hawks scores came against Blues goaltender Brian Elliott, who hadn’t allowed more than two goals in a game in his first 11 starts this season. Ray Emery was solid to earn the win in goal for the Hawks in a game that featured multiple post-whistle skirmishes.

“(The Blues) are a tough team to play against … (with) that disciplined, grinding style of hockey,” Emery said. “Our big players really stepped up and played that tough, gritty game. That’s a big character game for us.”

 

 

Bear Down Chicago?

After the Chicago Bears five game winning streak, they lost to the Los Angeles Raiders 25-20.

Due to the Bears’ first string quarter back, Jay Cutler, they had to make some changes with their offensive line.  They went with their second string quarter back, Caleb Hanie.

He threw three interceptions throughout the game, and Head Coach, Lovie Smith says that have a lot of work to do this week between him and the team before their next game against their old quarter back, Kyle Orton and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Hanie needs to get better and that involves work on the field and in the meeting room, where he’ll see he made poor decisions on his first two interceptions and that he should have seen Raiders defenders sniffing out his backside screen to tight end Kellen Davis that became a six-point swing just before halftime.

Hanie’s three interceptions turned into only six points as the Raiders got only one touchdown Sunday despite seven trips inside the Bears’ 30-yard line. But those six points meant the difference between winning and losing in a 25-20 final at O.co Coliseum, a tough place for any quarterback to make his debut.

 

 

Mark not coming back to White Sox

Mark Buehrle, 32, who has 161 victories, reportedly has an offer from Miami and is being courted by several other teams coveting a successful a well-rounded left-hander. That could make it even more difficult for the Sox, who have earmarked nearly $92 million to 13 players with a payroll ceiling of less than $127 million.

Ken Williams spoke proudly of the White Sox’s high rankings in starters’ innings and quality starts over the past 10 years, he acknowledged that the possibility of free agent staff ace Mark Buehrle returning appears more difficult than the last-hour decision that resulted in slugger Paul Konerko re-signing with the Sox last December.

“Listen, it’s professional sports,” Williams said at a hotel restaurant at the general managers’ meetings. “There’s a time for everyone to come. There’s a time for everyone to go. I don’t know if this is his time to go. … I don’t want this to come out the wrong way because he has been as consistent of a performer as you’d ever want over the time he’s been here.

“What I will miss more than that is the person he is. And you guys know what I’m talking about. When you
talk about teammates, good teammates, supportive teammates, guys who have fun in the game, know when to be serious, know when to check somebody but know when to make somebody laugh, this is the guy you want. There’s much more that we’re
going to miss than just every fifth day from Mark.

Bulls in NBA lockout

On Monday in New York, either Carlos Boozer or John Lucas III will represent the Bulls at a mandatory meeting of 30 player representatives union executive director Billy Hunter has called.

Their task — and that of Boozer or Lucas — is a big one: Digest all details of what David Stern
has termed the NBA’s final contract offer before a much harsher one follows and convey that information quickly and accurately to the union’s roughly 450 members.

Lucas, who subbed for Boozer last week after Boozer’s grandmother passed away, tried to communicate with several teammates regarding critical information emanating from last week’s player representatives’ meeting. However, the disparity between players’ knowledge within the union is large given what’s at stake.

“Communication has been non-existent,” said one player who requested anonymity so as not to embarrass his team rep or union
leadership.

Hawks Put out Flames and Sting Blue Jackets

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Calgary Flames with the score of 4-1 at the United Center.

Extending the momentum they built during Thursday’s road thrashing of the Blue Jackets, the Hawks rode a 24-save effort from Ray Emery and goals from Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Viktor Stalberg and Patrick Kane to improve to 6-1-2 at home.

“We’re getting that swagger and energy
back,” Jonathan Toews said.

Emery helped, improving to 3-0-1 with a sparkling performance that likely left Mikael Backlund, among others, muttering his way
out of town.

Emery snuffed Backlund’s close-in rebound chance early in the first and gloved his partial breakaway chance early in the third.

For good measure, Emery saved Curtis Glencross’ full-on breakaway following a brutal Steve Montador turnover late in the second period.

“That was a huge save,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “The game was pretty even and that could’ve turned it around.”

For the second straight night, the defense contributed offensively.

Hockey Hall of Fame gets four new additions

The National Hockey League (NHL) introduces four new members into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

As Joe Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour and Mark Howe took their place in the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, they reflected on careers that had them standing together on the sport’s grandest stage.

“It’s what makes it such a special place,” Nieuwendyk said.

“It doesn’t discriminate. I think the common bond with a lot of these faces that I see on the walls, especially the recent ones that I have some history with, is a real genuine passion and a love for the game and high competitive spirit in all of us.”

Nieuwendyk attended Cornell at a time when the NCAA route was far less traveled and went on to an NHL career that included three Stanley Cups with three different teams.

Belfour was considered eccentric — even for a goaltender — but managed to compile the third-most victories in NHL history despite never being drafted.

Gilmour was passed over by just about everyone before being selected in the seventh round in 1982 and wound up playing almost 1,500 career NHL games with a heart-and-soul style that belied his modest size.

Monsters of Midway go Charge

The Chicago Bears just had a victory in their last game.  The next team up is the San Diego Chargers.  Let’s see if Lovie Smith and his team can keep this awesome winning streak alive.

The Chargers are a talented team, but they have not played up to their
abilities. They have lost games in crazy ways. The Chargers have outgained their
opponents by 63 yards per game and been outscored by an average of only 1.3
points per game.

Injuries to key players such as linebackers Shaun Phillips and Larry English, defensive end Luis
Castillo, safety Bob Sanders, guard Kris Dielman, running back Ryan Matthews have been a problem.  Philip Rivers is widely regarded as one of the best passers in the NFL (National Football League), yet he leads the league with 15 interceptions.

The statistics and rumors say that the Chargers will lose to the Bears 30-23

Lions, Bears and Football, oh my!

A lot of players contributed to the Bears‘ 37-13 victory Sunday over the Lions, but no one was more responsible than Julius Peppers.

He was the wild card on the defensive line, as Peppers moved around in order to create favorable matchups and avoid extra blocking attention.  Of the 39 snaps Peppers played against Lions dropbacks, he lined up at right end, his usual position, 28 times. He lined up at left end, where he could go against right tackle Gosder Cherilus, six times. And he lined up at left tackle, where he was over right guard Stephen
Peterman, five times.

On third-and-5 or longer, Peppers played as many snaps at left tackle (four) as he did at right end. He also took a snap at
left end on third-and-10.

Peppers made seven impact plays in the game. Two of them came from right end. Two came from left end, including a forced fumble that set up the game’s first touchdown, and a pressure that helped lead to an interception by Major Wright.
And three impact plays came from left tackle, including his only sack.  Peppers is a great player, but he was made even better by the way he was moved around Sunday.

 

Hawks victory over Oilers

The Chicago Blackhawks have done it again and got a 6-3 victory over the Edmoton Oilers.  This was their seventh win in 10 home games.

The Hawks improved to 7-1-2 at home and 11-4-3 overall as they hit Oilers
goaltender Nikolai Khabibulinwith  (former Blackhawks goalie) a barrage of goals, including two each by Jonathan
Toews and Steve Montador. Duncan Keith added a goal and an assist, and Daniel
Carcillo also scored as the Hawks won their third consecutive game and now
have the most points in the NHL with 25.

“We’re going on the road for two weeks, so you want to win the
last game at home and gain some momentum,” said goaltender Corey
Crawford, who earned the victory with 20 saves.

“We came out with a really good game. Offensively and defensively, we were
putting the puck in the right areas. Our best players were making good plays and
capitalizing on our chances. You can’t ask for much more.”