Lo End Theories

What an amazing week in sports! I don’t believe I’ve ever experienced a week that contained so many impactful events in the sporting world. It was difficult to keep pace with the lot – and most had to pick and choose which to follow. I did the best I could in spite of a busy schedule…and here are my thoughts, otherwise known as the Lo End Theories.

1. The major event of the weekend, IMO, was the NFL Draft. For the first time in almost 50 years it was held outside of New York City. It landed in the mecca of my sports world – Chicago. The NFL has done a fantastic job of marketing the draft. Let’s be honest, it’s really not that fascinating of television programming. But the NFL is the king of sports, so they can not only put it on prime time during the week, but have it broadcast on TWO stations. That’s amazing. Personally. I’m an NFL Network guy. ESPN and Chris Berman jumped the shark for me years ago. Although it is fun to reminisce about the Mel Kiper/Bill Tobin feud, I’ve long since grown weary of Berman’s shtick and prefer other networks. At the same time, I enjoy the fact that the NFL dropped the hammer on reporters revealing the picks on social media before they were actually announced. This really sapped all the drama out of the picks. This year there was heavy drama for me and my Chicago Bears. If I could have picked one single player in the draft that I wanted the Bears to pick, it was Leonard Williams of Southern California. The first three picks went as I expected: Winston to TB, Mariota to TEN and Fowler to JAX. The fourth pick was a precursor of the Bears pick since Amari Cooper of Alabama was high on my watch list, as well as the Bears list. I figured the Raiders would select either Cooper or Kevin White of West Virginia. Oakland took Cooper. So Leonard Williams was dropping; I was ecstatic. The fifth pick (WAS) was really the most important precursor to the Bears pick because, in my simple logic, the NY Jets, who picked right before the Bears, had two Pro Bowl defensive tackles and wouldn’t pick another in Williams. The Redskins pick was revealed to be….Brandon Scherff of Iowa. I was jumping up and down thinking we were going to get our man. I paused the broadcast to gather my thoughts and pray the Jets wouldn’t, ummmm…swerve us. As the pick came in for the Jets I was nervous and it wasn’t even my team! As Goodell made his way to the podium I was getting more and more excited. He announced the pick – Leonard Williams of USC. I fell to the floor, absolutely devastated. TWO years in a row, the stud DT in the draft got picked THE PICK BEFORE THE BEARS. Last year it was Aaron Donald of Pitt and this year it was Williams. My sons could sense my dismay as they proclaimed to my wife that I was upset because Michael Leonard got picked. It calmed me down a little to see my sons take an interest in my interest of the pick. The Bears then picked Kevin White, the WR from West Virginia, which I’m happy with at this point. Again, drama on television from a drafting of college players. The NFL is genius.

2. Speaking of the NFL Draft being in Chicago, the Cubs took full advantage of this opportunity and lassoed as many NFL dignitaries as possible into Wrigley Field. The marriage of the NFL and the Cubs was a great one, except for the seventh inning stretch that took place on Tuesday night. As a side, as with my feelings for Chris Berman, I have grown extremely weary of the “guest conductors” of the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field. I’ve maintained that the Cubs should play a recording of Harry Caray singing the stretch and leave it at that. Now that they have installed a video board – here’s a thought – play a video of Harry singing the stretch. By the way, if you feel as I do about the guest conductors, go here and let your vote be heard. Anyway, the NFL Network crew of Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci and Melissa Stark were slated to sing on Tuesday. As he stated on the Waddle and Silvy show on ESPN1000 in Chicago, Eisen was partaking in libations in the spirit of Harry Caray. He was asked to leave the Cubs television booth to prepare for the stretch but wanted to stay and continue to converse with Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies. Therefore, he was not able to get his earpieces put in before singing. He could not hear the organ music playing; hence the music and the singing were desynchronized. It was abysmal. I give Eisen kudos for admitting how dreadful the moment was on radio. However, this brings us to the logical conclusion that the guest conductors needs to end, yesterday. Whether it’s bad singing or celebrities nobody knows – the Cubs should do the right thing in honoring Harry and that’s playing him on the video board for the stretch.

3. It took a while, but I finally watched some NBA Playoff basketball this weekend. And to be honest, I don’t think I need to watch anymore. Why, you ask? Because after watching the last half of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter of Game 7 between the Spurs and the Clippers, I don’t think the playoffs can get any better than what I saw. It was fantastic basketball. If the NBA was like that all the time, I’d be a fan. So many big plays by so many different guys – Kawhi Leonard, Blake Griffin, Tim Duncan, Matt Barnes, Manu Ginobli, JJ Redick, Danny Green, and finally, Chris Paul. The last shot by CP3 was unbelievable. How it went in I’ll never know. Add to that the fact that he was playing on one leg and it was a career-defining performance for Paul. Had the Clippers lost the game they could’ve blamed the inability to secure a defensive rebound in the 4th quarter. I was floored as I watched San Antonio grab offensive rebound after offensive rebound. The Spurs are just old school and enjoyable to watch. Realizing that this might be the last time that Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker are together on the Spurs was sad, and for this to be a first round match up wasn’t fair either. This series should have been the Western Conference Finals. But as we know, sports aren’t fair.

4. MLB had a frightening moment last week as Archie Bradley of the Arizona Diamondbacks took a line drive off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez to the face. Thankfully, he was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power. But watching it was extremely frightening. Below is the video of the play:

According to this ESPN.com article the ball traveling off the bat of the Rockies Gonzalez was traveling at 115MPH. If you do the math (I did it for you), Bradley had all of .33573 seconds to react to the batted ball. That’s impossible. Imagine if the ball had been hit by an aluminum bat? Baseball, as a whole, has to do something more to protect pitchers from getting hit by a batted ball. In the last few years, there have been quite a few pitchers get drilled from comebackers – J.A. Happ, Brandon McCarthy and Alex Cobb come to mind. And it’s not even a new phenomenon. Herb Score’s life was changed back in 1957 when he took a line drive to the eye off the bat of Gil McDougald of the Yankees. His career only lasted a few more years after the incident as it greatly affected his effectiveness. All of the options so far protect the head of the pitcher, but the face needs to be protected as well. This needs to happen before there is a fatal injury on the baseball diamond.

5. Finally, there was the “Fight of the Century” on Saturday night between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Where do I start? The stinkfest that was the actual fight? The female reporters getting credentials pulled? The domestic abuse cases reported on by the aforementioned reporters? Pacquiao’s alleged shoulder injury that turned out to be a partially torn rotator cuff? Holy smokes, does this story have layers. I have not, nor will I ever be a fan of the “sweet science”. I wasn’t about to pay $100 either for a fight that should have happened five years ago. However, through the wonderful world of social media, I was able to follow the fight up through the sixth round before I tuckered out. Had I actually been watching the fight I might have fallen asleep sooner according to all of the pundits on Twitter. It sounded more like Manny and Floyd were at Prom then fighting for a title with all the hugging and dancing being publicized. We’ll most likely never know if Pacquiao could have won with a healthy shoulder. If it took them this long to fight once (all on Mayweather’s terms, BTW) then chances of a rematch are slim to none. Personally, I considered disclosing the shoulder injury in the post-fight presser the next day to be akin to sour grapes. Now that we’ve heard that Manny’s injury is serious it does remove the perception of whining. But why not wait to disclose the information until the severity has been determined? At that point you can reveal the non-allowance of the shot to help the pain. Anyway, I digress. The bigger issues came from the other corner. My goodness, Floyd Mayweather is a lightning rod. As we drew closer to the fight many news outlets circulated stories of Mayweather’s history of domestic violence. If there is one issue the public does not receive well, even with apologies, it’s domestic violence. I am 100% on that team. In no circumstance should a man ever lay hands on a woman. But to ignore it as if it never happened is shortsighted and ignorant on that camp’s part. Michelle Beadle and Rachel Nichols were out in front of this story and made sure the masses knew of Mayweather’s discretions. They are reporters, yes. But they are women first and that belies the angles of the reports given by both ladies. I get that. And then on fight night, the game changer occurred. Even if you are upset by the misperceived “shots” by the female reporters, lending credence to their claims by pulling their credentials the day of the fight just shouts guilt, arrogance and entitlement. After the “dispute” was settled, Nichols and Beadle had their credentials restored but neither attended the fight. Good for them. Apparently some people don’t get it either. Take two current/former Minnesota Twins players, Jacque Jones and Torri Hunter. Both tweeted on Saturday about rooting for Mayweather, which in and of itself isn’t bad. However, when you are trying to justify Floyd’s actions outside the ring just to make yourself feel better about rooting for him? Not a good route to take. Both men deleted said tweets. Here’s Hunters:

Torii Hunter apologizes for tweet about Mayweather http://t.co/89LHcjtr0K pic.twitter.com/GC0WNd7uov

— Sporting News MLB (@SN_Baseball) May 3, 2015

Back to the actual fight itself – it was a bore. They could have at least salvaged what little credibility they have left in putting on a good show for the paying customers. But they didn’t. And it if truth be told, it was the perfect bow to wrap up this entire debacle. This article on Deadspin is spot on in the analysis of the entire circus that was the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Again, I don’t condone the language, but the perspective is perfect.

Until next time,
Shawn

Lo End Theories - 4/22/15

First and foremost - a shout out to my lovely wife who has a birthday today. Love ya!!

You’d like a midweek edition of Lo End Theories? Well, it’s your lucky day! Here we go….

If you haven’t noticed, the Cubs are FUN to watch this year. The Northsiders are currently 8-5 and a scant half-game behind the division leading Cardinals (with a game in hand). Please understand that I have been screaming from the rooftops, pun intended, that 2016 is the year I expect them to make a run in the playoffs. That, however, does NOT mean that the Cubbies won’t be fun to watch this year. Theo and Jed called up yet another uber-prospect, Addison Russell, yesterday to start playing at 2B. He fared about as well as the other can’t-miss kid, Kris Bryant, did in his first game, 0-5 with 3 K’s. But that’s beside the point. After five games Bryant is now hitting .444 with an OPS of 1.194. Yes, you read that correctly. And last night he hit a bat that was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. Watch where this pitch is headed and then see where Bryant deposits it in the OF. It’s not human.

Rizzo is hitting .302, Soler is hitting .327 and Castro is hitting .352 with another bomb last night. The offensive lineup is….studly. The most exciting component of this team is they are never out of a game. When Jason Motte gave up a three run triple in the 7th last night to the Pirates I wasn't ready to turn the television off, as in past years. This offense is by no means out of any game. And sure enough, the Cubs got a single run back in the 8th on Castillo’s HR and then proceeded to get 3 in the 9th off the Pirates closer, Mark Melancon, to get the W. It’s an exciting time to be a Cubs fan. I’m still holding back on the “this is the year” talk until they prove they can consistently win with their youth this year. But in 2016 and beyond….:)

The NHL Playoffs are the best playoff in profession sports. The NFL is a one and done system, which can be exciting, but there’s nothing like a Game 7. MLB is my sport, but the intensity of the NHL trumps their playoffs. At the same time, I DESPISE the All-Star Game winner getting home field advantage in the World Series. The NCAA Tournament is awesome, but only once in a great while, sans Butler, do you get underdogs that make it to the penultimate event, the Final Four. The feelings that the NHL Playoffs produce are insane – it borders on a combination of passing out, elation, vomiting, euphoria and holding your breath for 60 minutes….and that’s only if the game doesn't go into OT. The playoff series have been fantastic so far and we’re only in the FIRST ROUND! Here are some recaps:

In the Western Conference:

• The upstart Minnesota Wild who have been on a hot streak since they acquired G Devan Dubnyk are poised to take a 3-1 series lead over the St. Louis Blues, who tied the Anaheim Ducks for the best record in the West. That’s playoff hockey.
• Brent Seabrook scored in the THIRD overtime last night to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The interesting part of this series is the Hawks number 1 goalie, Corey Crawford, has been relegated to backup after the first two games. He was pulled after the first period in Game 1 after giving up 3 goals. Chicago came back to win that game 4-3 in OT because of Scott Darling’s 42 saves in relief of Crawford. Corey was back in net for Game 2, but lost 6-2. Since then it’s been Darling’s job. A hot goalie can take you a long way in the hunt for Lord Stanley. 
• The Calgary-Vancouver series has been an absolute brawl so far. A donnybrook at the end of Game One produced over 132 penalty minutes for both teams. Thy DO NOT like each other. At the same time, there’s another goalie controversy. The Canucks signed Ryan Miller in the off-season but started Eddie Lack in the playoffs. After falling behind in last night’s Game Four, Miller was called to the rescue but to no avail as the Canucks are now down 3-1 and on the brink of elimination. 

In the Eastern Conference:

• Montreal v Ottawa has had the same “bitter enemy” feel as has Vancouver v Calgary. The Habs are up 3-0 but not without some dispute as well. A very suspect penalty was called on the Sens in overtime of Game Three and the Canadiens capitalized and scored in the extra frame to gain a 3-0 series lead. In Game One, Montreal’s start defenseman, PK Subban, slashed the Sens Mark Stone so hard that he broke Stone’s wrist. And there’s been goalie flip-flops in this series as well for Ottawa.
• The other three series in the East are absolute dogfights. Tampa Bay and Detroit has been up and down, but Detroit stole home ice advantage with a win in Game One in Tampa. The Lightning were a popular media pick to make it out of the Eastern Conference yet they are struggling in their first round series.
• The Rangers v Penguins is a match made in heaven for the media. A New York team playing against the most popular player in the game, Sidney Crosby? What more could you ask for? The Rangers represented the East last year in the Finals and the Pens barely squeaked in the playoffs. Each game has been a one goal game and those are the most nerve-wracking as a fan.
•  Finally, the Capitals and the Islanders are having a great series as well. The Caps are regarded as the best team not to win the Cup in recent years. Alexander Ovechkin can never seem to get the Capitals over the hump. On the other side, the Islanders made the playoffs for only the second time since 2006-2007. A young nucleus of players including Kyle Okposo and John Tavares has Isles fans giddy with excitement about their potential. They are tied with the Capitals 2-2 after four games and Game Four was a doozy. The Caps scored late to send it into OT where John Tavares of the Isles scored :15 in to give New York the victory.

The NFL released their schedules for the 2015 season last night in a 2-hour special on ESPN and the NFL Network. Seriously? I honestly can’t understand why people would watch this; especially with playoff hockey and baseball on the tube. At the same time, I was watching Twitter hours before the shows were to air and I already knew two-thirds of my Bears schedule. So why again would I care about a scheduling show? Whatever. I feel like the NFL is trolling the networks by offering random programming just to make money. It works. The Draft is in EIGHT days and it will be broadcast on TWO networks and the NFL will make a ton of money off of it and garner a ton of viewers. That I get. But the schedule? I guess it makes sense now why the executive vice president of media and CEO of the NFL Network made $26.1 million in salary in 2012.

Finally, we are ten days away from the epic fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio. At this point in a major event as this title fight, the little details are the ones being covered to ensure a great event. This fight? The contracts have not been signed and NO tickets have been sold. Seriously? This is weird. And it smells fishy; like something strange is going to happen and the fight will be postponed. But would that surprise us at all at this point? This duel has taken so long to come to fruition anyway on account of two different viewpoints of the camps. In addition, word has leaked on the referee’s salary for the fight. It’s $25,000. Doesn't sound bad until you consider both fighters stand to make that PER SECOND of the contest. That’s ridiculous. Anyone else sense that this whole thing is a giant Punk’d episode and Ashton Kutcher is dying laughing somewhere….?

Until next time,

Shawn