North: Wrigley, Cubs shine as White Sox fade away
Time for some random thoughts.
• I know it may take a few years, but Wrigley Field is starting to look nice as the left-field and center-field bleachers reopened on Monday night.
• Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein may eventually have the last laugh as the Cubs are suspiciously looking like a team that is going to make noise sooner than later.
• The Blackhawks will beat the Anaheim Ducks 4 games to 2 in the Western Conference finals and advance to the Stanley Cup.
• The fourth-place White Sox (14-17) are virtually nonexistent; where's the buzz?
• There are rumors of a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao rematch. Please tell me it's not going to happen.
• Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau will go the way of other coaches who are too much their own man. Away, which is too bad!
• When Tiger Woods is 125th in the golf rankings and has to fight rumors about his private life after breaking up with Lindsey Vonn, he not only won't win another major, but he won't even win another tournament.
• Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane was the subject of the movie "Moneyball," and I always wondered why. His 13-23 postseason record makes me wonder even more.
• Some people are saying Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady will have to serve the four-game suspension mandated by the NFL league for DeflateGate. Others say two games, and there is a contingency that believes he won't even serve one. We shall see.
• I watched the New York Rangers beat the Washington Capitols in overtime in Game 7. Not the whole game, mind you, because I just can't watch a full hockey game even for the Hawks, but I did my best to stay with it. Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL's leading goal scorer, made the huge mistake of guaranteeing a victory for the Caps and after a grisly loss (2-1) to the Rangers, he looked more disappointed than almost any guy I have ever seen. I think his window is closing.
• Who knew third baseman Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds, the new official spokesman for the 2015 All-Star game, was leading the National League with most home runs (11)? He's running neck-and-neck with the Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who currently has 12.
• Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo had pitcher Stephen Strasburg miss the 2012 playoffs to preserve his arm. Well, the time off didn't help, and even though he has a respectable 3.14 career ERA, his record is only 24-24 since the beginning of 2013. He seems to have lost his mojo, and a stud needs that to win. Strasburg just doesn't look like a stud anymore.
See you next week.
Program notes:
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