Pro Sports Chatter

Well, after weeks of a futile search for a new voice to lead the Chicago Bears’ offense in 2010, former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz has been named the new offensive coordinator.

An informal poll of friends and co-workers concerning the hire has not been good for the man who had success tutoring quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Mark Bulger in St. Louis, Jon Kitna in Detroit and Shawn Hill in San Francisco.

I got the looks that suggested these Bears fans just drank some spoiled milk. Then the comments. “Won’t get along with Jay Cutler.” “Doesn’t like to the run the ball like Lovie Smith wants.” “Favors a vertical passing game that forces the quarterback to take more hits.”

While I’m not exactly a member of the Mike Martz fan club, I believe he’s better than some of the other names that were mentioned as candidates – Hue Jackson, Rob Chudzinski, Ken Zampese.

Martz does have a background with Smith. With Martz as the head coach in St. Louis, Smith served as his defensive coordinator.

There are some valid concerns about the hire, not the least of which is Martz is known for complex game plans that might not mesh well with a young group of wide receivers, a less than stellar offensive line and the prickly personality of quarterback Jay Cutler.

But with the jobs of Smith and General Manager Jerry Angelo on the line, it’s likely Martz was one of the few candidates willing to take a risk on a job where he could be fired after only one season if things don’t work out.

From the outhouse to the penthouse: About six weeks ago, I called for the firing of Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro after some horrible home losses and overall shoddy play. Several media outlets thought Del Negro was a goner around the end of the year.

But he survived, and recently led Chicago on a historic accomplishment, becoming the first team in NBA history to win five straight road games against teams with winning records. Also, second-year player Derrick Rose was named to the All-Star team under Del Negro’s watch, and the Bulls are currently holding down the No. 7 spot for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

But I’m still not convinced the recent stretch of solid play automatically moves Del Negro into the long-term coach of the Bulls. I want to see more.

Ozzie makes right call with Thome: During Soxfest last month there was hope from White Sox fans that slugger Jim Thome might be added to the 2010 roster as a part-time designated hitter. But after manager Ozzie Guillen met with the 39-year-old Thome, it was decided Thome would look elsewhere to add on to his 564 home runs.

It wasn’t an easy call for Guillen because Thome is one of the most-liked players by fans and players alike in the majors, and gave the South Siders 4 good years before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers towards the end of last season. But I say it was the right one because Thome’s bat was slowing in recent years, and all he can do is be the designated hitter. Guillen wants to try a new strategy of rotating the designated hitter spots with guys who can also play in the field (Andrew Jones, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel)  and also give regulars such as Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko) a break in the field, but keep their bats in the lineup.

I think Thome will be marginal at best as a part-time DH and pinch hitter, though the rival Minnesota Twins did sign him to a 1-year-contract to hold down that job description.

Brett Favre did not disappoint me. He just delayed the inevitable a little longer than I thought after throwing a brutal interception in the closing seconds of regulation Sunday in the NFC championship game against New Orleans.

The pickoff wasn’t the only reason Minnesota would go on to lose the game in overtime, but it will be the play most remembered as the Vikes were driving into New Orleans territory for a game-winning field goal and showdown in the Super Bowl against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

With a third down and 15 yards to go at the New Orleans 38 in the final seconds Favre rolled out, and replays clearly showed the former Green Bay signal caller could have easily run for 7 to 10 yards, or checked it down to a receiver along the sideline for an easier field goal try. And I thought the new and improved Brett Favre – with only 7 interceptions – would take one of these safer options, but no, the old gunslinger didn’t disappoint by rolling right, throwing back across his body and being intercepted. Just as in the 2008 NFC title game, Favre’s final pass of the game and season was picked off. New Orleans won the toss, got a good kickoff return and scored a 40-yard field goal to win 31-28.

After a Hall of Fame career of spectacular plays mixed in with some boneheaded interceptions, I was patiently waiting  this season for the 40-year-old to toss some of his passes to the wrong-colored jersey at the most inopportune time in the name of his gunslinger reputation.

I knew Minnesota’s schedule was soft in the first half of the season, but figured as the calendar turned to December age and some bad judgment would catch up with his rifle arm and mastery of the West Coast offense. But it didn’t happen. The team did slip a little in the late going of the regular season, but that was more a product of a struggling offensive line, a fumbling Adrian Peterson and some injuries to the defense.

The old man – in football years – played MVP-caliber football during the regular season and dominated a pretty solid Dallas Cowboys defense in the divisional round of the playoffs. He also played well in the NFC championship game, and if not for fumbles by Peterson and Percy Harvin, the Vikings would have likely won by at least 10 points.

But even with the miscues, Minnesota had the ball at the Saints 33 with 1:06 left. Two runs netted zero yards, and an inexplicable 12-men on the field penalty cost the Vikings five more precious yards. Then Favre tried to play hero throwing to Sidney Rice around the 20-yard-line. Instead he ended up a zero.

I thought those days were over for the great No. 4. But to my surprise and delight, Favre didn’t let me down. He just waited until just about the last moment to revert to his old form. That was great theater Brett.

Of course, talk is already focused on will Favre retire or comeback for another try at a Super Bowl. I hope he does play next season. Minnesota will be a good, but not great team not without Favre. But if he returns, Minnesota could make another legitimate run at a Super Bowl title, unless, of course, Favre decides to throw some more of those off-balance passes to the opposition. Read the rest of this entry »

This whole Mark McGwire thing has been an absolute nightmare for him and it should be.  He lied to everyone for almost 5 years, denied that he had willingly taken steroids, and came up with a flimsy excuse for why he took them.  I look at it from this perspective, had he used them for the reasons that he stated – why not come out earlier?  Why lie and lie and lie?  The fact that he’s claiming it didn’t help him at all is frankly too ridiculous to even devote time to.   I was waiting for this though, valiant Tony LaRussa coming in to make every excuse under the sun for this cheat.

Let’s take the baseball, cheating angle out of the equation for a second here.  The use, possession, or distribution of anabolic steroids is illegal unless prescribed by a doctor.  So before we even start delving into Big Mac and Tony’s “reasonable” explanations for why steroids were acceptable here (or at least less unacceptable), let’s start with the fact that just like any cocaine, heroin, or crack dealer he’s a criminal.   Ok, so we got that Mark McGwire is a criminal, however Tony speaks glowing of McGwire’s integrity and character.  Integrity is an interesting word, look I’ve never met the guy, never spoke to him – but people engaged in using and possessing illegal drugs usually don’t get real high praises in those areas.  It’s been said – character is what you do when no one is watching.  When no one was watching, Mark McGwire was sticking needles full of illegal performance enhancing drugs into his veins – you can decide what kind of character that is.

In regards to the baseball aspect of all this – Andy Pettitte had his explanations received well and it would certainly seem that McGwire is trying to go the Pettitte route with his “I just used them to get over injuries” tactic.  Listening to Tony LaRussa blather on and on about how taking steroids is wrong, but he wasn’t trying to cheat the game.  Every word that LaRussa said condemning steroids he qualified it with a ‘but’ as to try to pull McGwire away from all those “cheaters”.  Personally, if I were Mark McGwire, I would have asked LaRussa to not talk – I’m actually more down on Mac now than I was when I had first heard.  Tony used phrases like “at least he owned up to it” – so that’s ok then?  Water under the bridge?  I can commit a crime, own up for it, and not be expected to face any consequences?  Let’s take a little trip to reality Tony if you don’t mind.

The timing of this is just perfect too, as Mac has been hired to be the new St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach.  I’m not as skeptical about that as some may be, I think it’s a good idea to get that spring training distraction out of the way – but just like Bonds and A-Roi…Rod he still is going to be at the ball park and have to face the backlash from the fans he cheated.  I think I would admire Tony’s loyalty if he said anything that wasn’t off the wall contradictory.  Look at it this way, on his ESPN interview he said something along the lines of: one thing that hasn’t been said about Mark’s performance in Congress was that he didn’t lie and I don’t think he would.  Let’s get one thing straight – he didn’t lie, but he didn’t tell the truth either.  He refused to answer the question, basically admitting to everyone who happened to see or hear those proceedings that he had used steroids, then he lied to everyone for almost  5 more years, and then came out with an admission cloaked in cop-outs and lack of responsibility.  Big, courageous guy.

Most fans don’t appreciate being treated like children, we all knew something was going on.  Sure we couldn’t pinpoint the fancy name of the drug, but there was something that wasn’t right in the Summer of 98 (other than the fact that the pitchers kept challenging these guys).  In January of 2010, 11 long years after the chase for 62 we finally know a little bit of the truth.  To all those who are willing to swallow the injury reasoning that Big Mac is serving – keep this is mind – he lied to you for 5 years, what would possess you to believe him now?

-frosty

It’s hard to imagine that the Chicago Blackhawks haven’t played their best hockey yet, but I firmly believe the best is yet to come.  The Hawks sent the Minnesota Wild to fourth straight defeat tonight, earning a 4-1 victory in the Madhouse.  Most fans wouldn’t complain about a 4-1 victory, honestly a pretty good drubbing in the NHL by most standards, but I was actually somewhat underwhelmed by this victory.

The Hawks lead the NHL in defense and play a puck control game, and they do it quite well.  They generally outshoot their opponents and create many good scoring opportunities in the process, an obvious result of keeping the puck in the offensive zone.  The last 2 games though, tonight’s 4-1 win against the Wild and Mondays 5-2 win over the Ducks have really lead me to believe the Hawks can actually be better.

The Hawks have started out relatively slow defensively the last couple games, the puck control hasn’t been there early and the Ducks and Wild had a couple of good scoring opportunities early.  In fact, tonight the Wild briefly had a 1 goal lead in the first period.  If not for the wonderful job Huet and Niemi have done between the pipes, they’d be playing from behind a lot more; at least early on.  There’s a point in the game though that this team turns it on and when they turn it on they’re tough to stop.

John Madden scored the equalizer later in the first and from that point on the Hawks were off.  Hossa added 2 more goals, giving him 4 in the last 2 games and the production from the fourth line has been a bright spot.   Let’s not lose sight of reality though, while I didn’t feel this was the Hawks best effort of the night; they’ve been down right dominant.  The win tonight ran their home record to 20-4-1 the best in the NHL, they have more points than any other team in the NHL at 63, and through this marvelous run they’ve beat some pretty darn good teams.

While I would have liked to see the Hawks play their game a little bit earlier on, I’m not going to complain.  Not with the way the baseball season ended, not with the way the Bears season ended with the top executives skirting any real responsibility for what happened, and not with the way the Bulls are playing.  The Hawks are the Kings of Chicago, people that never were into hockey are suddenly tuning in.   There’s a stir, there’s a palpable anticipation – these Hawks are much more than a good team.  These Hawks are the best team in the NHL right now.

Ugh!!!

As expected, the Chicago Bears retained head coach Lovie Smith and General Manager Jerry Angelo even though the team finished a third consecutive season without qualifying for the playoffs, and had four embarrassing blowout losses.

Then, we had to hear the same old song and dance from Angelo, Smith and President and CEO Ted Phillips during today’s news conference about how it was a disappointing season, it was not acceptable, and things will change for the better in 2010.

Many irate Bears fans were hoping Smith and/or Angelo would be cleaning out their desks at Halas Hall. Instead, offensive coordinator Ron Turner, quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, tight ends coach Rob Boras, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, and assistants Luke Butkus and Charles London were shown the door.

Also, Smith will not call the defensive plays, and the organization will hire a new defensive coordinator. Of course, Smith and Angelo will have a say over who fills these coordinator positions. Therefore, it’s more than likely Bears fans will suffer through another season of mediocrity minus maybe a few less Jay Cutler interceptions.

Look, Smith is a good, but not great coach. His Cover 2 defense he takes such pride and joy in has not worked in Chicago for several years. The offense has been so predictable a former Bears player told the media he recently watched a Chicago game and correctly guessed just about every play on offense that was run based on field position, down and distance.

Then there’s personnel. Take a look at the rosters of the teams in the playoffs. Take a look at Chicago’s depth chart. Not very pretty.

Change can happen pretty quick in the NFL. Look at the Green Bay Packers. The Pack switched to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Dom Capers and finished as one of the top units in the league. Not surprisingly, after a dismal 6-10 mark in 2008 that included many close losses, Green Bay is back in the playoffs with an 11-5 mark this season.

But with Lovie and Jerry still in charge, I don’t envision the same type of quick improvement with the Bears. Unless, they stop feeding us the same company line, and actually make the necessary improvements to earn more victories and a playoff appearance.

Today is Black Monday in the NFL, when some head and assistant coaches will get their pink slips after poor seasons. So far, Jim Zorn of the Washington Redskins and Interim Head Coach Perry Fewell of the Buffalo Bills have gotten the boot. With the status of Chicago Coach Lovie Smith and his assistants still not determined, I will wait until that time for comment about the Bears’ coaching staff moving forward.

But the topic I want to debate right now is what are being called “lay down games” by some members of the media. These are games in the final weeks of the NFL season when a team has already qualified for the playoffs and is locked into its seed, so there is no incentive to win the game. Several coaches this season have chosen to treat these contests as a preseason game, playing their key players maybe a quarter or a half, with a basic game plan to prevent injuries and give playoff opponents less to prepare for on film.

The downside is losing the rhythm and momentum that made your team successful in the first place.

The Indianapolis Colts upset many of their fans as Coach Jim Caldwell decided to send quarterback Peyton Manning to the sidelines in the third quarter of a game on Dec. 28 they led the New York Jets 15-10. This wouldn’t have been much of an issue except for the fact the Colts were 14-0. Predictably, with Manning and other key cogs of the team on the bench, the Jets wound up winning the game. Caldwell and members of Colts upper management were hammered for this action, but they continued to tell the public a Super Bowl title, and not a perfect regular season record, is the goal.

Problem is, have the Colts lost their swagger? Manning and most of the starters were lifted early again yesterday in the snow at Buffalo, and were blown out 30-7 against a mediocre Bills team that fired their coaching staff today. Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers have won 10 consecutive games and have probably passed up the Colts as favorite in the AFC to reach the Super Bowl. As great as Indianapolis has been in the regular season for the past decade, it has played about .500 in the playoffs with just one Super Bowl trophy.

Another reason for some coaches deciding to play the junior varsity on Sunday was the inordinate amount of teams having rematches this weekend in the opening round of the playoffs. Arizona quickly pulled its starters after falling behind Green Bay early since Minnesota clinched the No. 2 seed earlier in the day, knowing the Packers would make a return trip to Glendale, Arizona next weekend with much more on the line. Green Bay Coach Mike McCarthy played his regulars much longer and the Pack earned a 33-7 victory. By the way, Arizona backup quarterback Matt Leinart was horrible when he was on the field.

The biggest benefactors of teams “laying down” were the Jets. After the gift-wrapped 29-15 win in Indianapolis, the Cincinnati Bengals cooperated by falling 37-0 to give New York a wild-card berth just a few weeks after even Coach Rex Ryan said his team was pretty much eliminated from playoff contention. This Saturday, New York travels to Cincinnati to open the playoffs.

In the spirit of fairness, there were also some problems with teams deciding to play most of its regulars. New England Coach Bill Belichick paid a huge price with a season-ending injury to the left knee of wide receiver Wes Welker in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against Houston. Welker had 123 catches for 1,348 yards as a slot receiver. Quarterback Tom Brady also played most of the game even though he reportedly has an injury to his ribs and a finger on his throwing hand.

I contend, however, injuries can happen anytime, anyplace, and momentum is crucial to playoff success. The Colts have lost momentum. The New Orleans Saints, who started 13-0 in the NFC, chose not to play quarterback Drew Brees in the regular-season finale against Carolina, and enter the playoffs on a three-game losing streak. Meanwhile, teams with lower seeds but playing better down the stretch – such as Dallas and Green Bay – could end up going deeper in the playoffs.

Former Chicago Bulls coaches Tim Floyd and Scott Skiles were fired on Christmas Eve. Will current coach Vinny Del Negro be the next to get the heave-ho just as Santa is ready to hand out the gifts?

After a decent start to the 2009-10 season, the Bulls are now 8-14 following a 106-80 blowout loss to Boston last Saturday at the United Center.

Chicago was an acceptable 6-4 before the annual circus road trip last month. The West Coast swing resulted in a predictable 1-5 mark. But a 2-5 record since the circus left town, including embarrassing home losses to Boston, the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets have many fans and members of the media wondering how much longer Del Negro will coach this uninspiring team that fires up too many jump shots and plays too little defense.

These are not the kind of results Bulls fans were expecting after taking Boston to seven games before being eliminated in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

I’m sure some Bulls apologists will point to the loss of free-agent guard Ben Gordon, and injuries to guard Kirk Hinrich and forward Tyrus Thomas.

But it’s rather obvious Del Negro is feeling the heat, giving some defensive comments in recent days when asked about his job status.

Del Negro had no head coaching experience prior to being the Bulls’ third choice for the job. However, after blowing a golden opportunity to land former Phoenix Coach Mike D’Antoni, and then having former Bulls coach and current TNT analyst Doug Collins back out of taking the position, Del Negro was in, and hasn’t looked very comfortable as coach.

Even when the critics questioned his use of star guard Derrick Rose or managing timeouts in late-game situations in Del Negro’s rookie season as coach, his players often bailed him out of these coaching blunders as the team improved after a trade deadline deal for veterans John Salmons and Brad Miller.

Now, the squad often looks uninspired and going through the motions. In the game against the 1-19 Nets, Salmons jacked up a three-point shot in the closing seconds with Chicago only down one point. Why? Yeah, Rose was supposed to get the ball, but Salmons could have taken the ball to the basket to draw a foul, or attempt an easier shot.

What are these lackluster efforts going to do to the development and confidence of Rose, third-year player Joakim Noah and rookie Taj Gibson, some young pieces that have talent.

An argument could be made firing Del Negro during the season wouldn’t make that much difference because the list of coaching candidates wouldn’t be that great, and maybe he would grow on the job.

However, with this offseason featuring free agents such as Chris Bosh and Chicago native Dewayne Wade, getting Del Negro out of the way right now might not be such a bad idea.

Chicago’s next opponent? Only the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Good luck Vinny. And have a Merry Christmas!

You’re on the road and you’re down 20 points – you look over and what do you see?  You see your opponent dancing, while he’s on the floor getting ready to shoot a free throw.  Name the last NBA superstar to do that on the court?  Name the last superstar to not shake hands after being knocked out of the playoffs?  LeBron is in his own, self-centered world and the commentators on TNT are absolutely 100% wrong for condoning this.  For those of who you missed it, let’s face it probably most of you; since the Bulls are about as exciting as a WNBA game – LeBron’s doing his goofy dance at the top of the key before shooting his first free throw.  Joakim Noah, who is sitting on the Bulls bench, takes offense at the extremely disrespectful act and starts jawing.

LeBron sinks the free throw, and because he’s a child walks over to the bench.  He receives a technical, no punches, shoves etc, just some grown men jawing a little bit.   It ends, bam done over with.

1.  The officials did a wonderful job handling it – I was a little surprised that Joakim didn’t also get a T, but my guess is the Refs saw boy-wonder doing his little dance and couldn’t fault Noah for speaking up.

2.  This isn’t the first time the Cavs have taken their dancing too far…seriously why are we even having to waste time talking about the Cavs dancing?  These are basketball players, right?  The sad part is that it wasn’t a one time mistake, or probably intended to irritate the Bulls – it’s an atmosphere of disrespect starting right in the middle with number 23.

3.  Someone is going to point out that Joakim was demonstrative in his days with Florida – that’s true, and I feel the same way about it.  I can’t believe I’m going to say this, Joakim actually seems like he might have grown up a little.  Although, the fact that he’s been humbled by better competition may also have a lot to do with it.   There’s a difference with showing emotion, displeasure, and just not using your head.

4.  The commentators on TNT were absolutely attrocious – “I don’t know what Joakim is talking to him about” to the “well, the dancing started well before the game” – as if that’s supposed to make it ok.  My favorite though was “I’m surprised an assistant coach didn’t tell Joakim to knock it off” – WHAT?!  They just sat there and watch LeBron disrespect them while up 20 points.- I’m frankly surprised that none of the other Bulls players were upset.  Luol Deng looked like he was watching a rerun of Judge Judy and at one point the assistant coaches appeared to be chuckling.

5.  The NBA is not the NFL, in fact the NBA has fallen on some pretty tough times.  The referee scandal, no one really wanting to watch, and if you add in the crybaby entitled millionaires that the other major sports have, you’ve got a pretty wretched product.  LeBron is trying to take a page out of Ochocinco’s book – the problem is that Ochocinco is better at it and does it in a sport where it’s more acceptable (at least for right now).

I’m not silly enough to believe that LeBron was trying to show up the Bulls, even though he did show up the Bulls.  I’m not all that worried about the intent, if I’m intending to shoot a target with a gun and miss and hit someone – the whole “well I wasn’t trying to shoot them” excuse won’t fly very far.  It’s the same thing, just not for LeBron.  Don’t get me wrong he’s good, he’s young, I get the appeal.  But I never thought I’d see the day where a player would come along with similar skills to Kobe Bryant and be less likable.  I was never really a big Kobe fan, but in all honesty he doesn’t bother me that much anymore.  He loves the game, he’s the best player in the NBA right now, and he wins.  That puts him up 3-0 over LeBron and he handles himself with class in most situations on the court.  Why?  Because not only does he love the game, he respects the game and he respects those who came before him.

I think Noah probably improved his stock, at least in the locker room; I thought what he did was perfect.  He didn’t start a fist fight, but he told LeBron where to stick that dance.  It seems like Noah is the only person in a Bulls uniform with a little bit of professional pride, which is sad; but also encouraging to see at the same time.  Now he just has to avoid becoming a hypocrite by doing the same types of things.  He’s lucky he’s playing now and not 20 years ago, 20 years ago that kind of obnoxiousness would have gotten you an elbow to the teeth.  It’s bad for basketball, it’s bad for LeBron’s image, and it’s bad that he’s got all these young players doing the same thing.  It’s unfortunate, but I’m now a Witness…to what, I’ll let you be the judge.

-Matt

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher usually has little or nothing of value to say to the Chicago media. Sometimes he will grunt something out, or talk real fast and say very little.

But when the national media comes a calling, it’s a different story.

The latest example was when Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports spent some time with No. 54 last weekend as the Bears were getting thrashed 36-10 in Minnesota while all Urlacher could do was watch the game in frustration back in Chicago as his season-ending wrist injury heals.

The juiciest comments from Urlacher that had talk-radio phone lines lighting up were remarks made about the Bears changing their style of play to suit new quarterback Jay Cutler.

Urlacher said he likes Cutler, and still believes the QB can lead Chicago to a championship, but … he doesn’t like the team relying less on the run game and not having the defense counted upon to make momentum-changing plays. Urlacher also said though former Chicago quarterback Kyle Orton wasn’t flashy, he won a lot of games in a Bears uniform.

In the past few days Urlacher has had to explain why he made those remarks, and Cutler and a lot of his teammates have had to respond to the article.

Not a very good example to be set by Urlacher, a team captain, as the Bears suffer through a 4-7 season that could put the jobs of Coach Lovie Smith and General Manager Jerry Angelo, in jeopardy.

- Tom

Watching the once-great Orlando Pace this season jump offside, whiff on blocks and then suffer a groin strain during Sunday’s loss in Minnesota made me think of past-their-prime stars playing on Chicago sports teams.

Pace was supposed to be at least a short-term solution for the Bears at one of the offensive tackle positions, but it has quickly become evident why he was so available.

White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams also went in the Way-Back Machine last week signing free agents Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones. Ten years ago, these would have been headline-grabbing signings. Even five years ago, these would have been major upgrades.

Now? Vizquel, 42, is only a few years younger than Manager Ozzie Guillen, and no doubt will be counted on to mentor Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham and any minor league youngsters on the fine art of playing the infield.

Jones is only 32, but seems much older since he started with Atlanta at 19. In the past two years his weight has ballooned up, while his power and batting average have all but disappeared playing a season each for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers.

Here are some other players – at least in fairly recent memory – that came to Chicago on the downside of their careers:

• Adam Archuleta, Bears: The former first-round draft choice of the St. Louis Rams had some standout seasons as a safety when Lovie Smith was the defensive coordinator there. But his one season (2007) in Chicago was a disaster, as he was run over several times, looking slow and out of position.

• Kordell Stewart, Bears: Another one-and-done nightmare in 2003, Dick Jauron’s final season as the head coach of the Bears. Stewart was the starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, benched in favor of Chris Chandler, then started a few more games, then was benched for a second time for rookie Rex Grossman, and Bears fans know how he turned out.

• Ken Griffey Jr., White Sox: A future Hall of Famer, and probably the best player in baseball in the 1990s, but a series of injuries this decade and age took its toll on the slugger by the time the Sox acquired him for the stretch run in 2008. Griffey hit .260 with 3 home runs and 18 runs batted in 131 at-bats for Chicago. At least he had one bright moment in a Sox uniform, throwing out Minnesota’s Michael Cuddyer at the plate in Game 163 to help Chicago beat the Twins 1-0 and win the AL Central.

• Roberto Alomar Jr., White Sox: Same as Griffey, there will be a plaque waiting in Cooperstown for this second baseman, but not for his performance during two short stints for the South Siders in 2003 and 2004, when he hit a paltry .253 and .180 as his Hall of Fame career was winding down.

• Ben Wallace, Bulls: His veteran presence and defensive prowess were supposed to help a young, talented Bulls team to deep playoff runs. Didn’t happen. Just a few games into his Bulls career, he and then Coach Scott Skiles were arguing about Wallace wearing a headband. The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year with Detroit was still a serviceable – but not dominant – defensive player. He didn’t even last two seasons in Chicago, being dealt to Cleveland at the 2008 trading deadline.

• Jacque Jones, Cubs: The offensive stats say his two-year stay on the North Side in 2006-07 wasn’t that bad, but his multi-hop throws from the outfield and frequent target of boo birds at Wrigley say otherwise. A Sox killer in a Minnesota uniform, Jones has been cut loose from Detroit, Florida and Cincinnati since leaving the Windy City.

• Nomar Garciaparra, Cubs: Dealt from Boston in a trading deadline deal in 2004, the All-Star shortstop was supposed to spark Chicago to the playoffs. Instead, the husband of soccer star Mia Hamm could only provide 4 home runs and 20 RBI as the Cubbies collapsed in the final weeks of the season, missing the playoffs. In 2005, Garciaparra missed a lot of the season due to injury, playing in only 62 games.

- Tom