North: Random thoughts plus 2016 sports predictions
My first column of 2016 is a smorgasbord of my comments and observations from 2015 and a few predictions for 2016.
• I'm not surprised the movie "Concussion" is doing so-so at the box office, and I am being kind with that description. Liberal sports columnists and pundits are disappointed.
• Congratulations on 24 years for WSCR 670-AM radio.
• I was thrilled to hear the Fox Sports radio show I co-host with Andy Furman was picked up by a Denver radio station and also by 95.7 The Game in San Francisco.
• Hall of Fame defensive end Doug Atkins, who played for the 1963 champion Bears, could easily have played in the current era. My favorite on-the-field story about Atkins was when the Bears left him unprotected and he went to the expansion New Orleans Saints and recorded 17 sacks in his first season there. He was just a great player!
• The Big Ten played OK in the bowl games. The Pack 12 and SEC ran the show this year. Iowa played in the Rose Bowl, which believe it or not was a come down. I thought they would lose to Stanford but not by such a lopsided score (45-16).
• It figures the Bears like Michigan's Connor Cook, a moody and just-above-average QB. He won 36 games, but he hurt himself losing to Alabama 38-0.
• Stanford running back Christian McCaffery, The Associated Press Player of the Year, was Gale Sayers-like on New Year's Day.
• The Bears should easily have had one more win amid those seven home losses and I would have felt a lot better with a 7-9 record than a 6-10 one.
• Some people still think Jay Cutler is Johnny Unitas the way he was being talked about this season. Did I miss something?
• It's still early in the NBA season, but I'm not seeing as many players taking nights off like they have in the last few seasons. Maybe it's because Steph Curry plays almost every night. It's hard for other players to sit when the best player sets the tone. I didn't see Michael Jordan take many nights off either, and it seemed to work for him.
Predictions for 2016:
• The Cubs will play in the wild-card game in 2016 and lose.
• The White Sox will finish in third place and manager Robin Ventura will be tendered a new deal.
• The Bulls will lose in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
• Tiger Woods will be hard to find on the tour this year and will officially retire at the end of the year.
• The New England Patriots and the Golden State Warriors will repeat as champions in the NFL and NBA, respectively.
• Please give Patrick Kane the Conn Smythe Trophy as the league's MVP right now!
Happy New Year!
Program notes:
Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.
• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.