Ranting and raving a part of Chicago sports history

Waiting for the coach of your favorite Chicago professional team to finally unload on his underachieving players?

That's exactly what happened recently as both the Bulls' and Blackhawks' coaches sounded off. For many fans, the reaction was, "It's about time."

But be careful what you wish for.

While a well-placed rant may provide immediate dividends -- see Lou Piniella's dirt-kicking, hat-tossing spectacle last summer -- overall, a manager or coach's railings against his own players appear to be about a 50-50 proposition to get his team kick-started again.

Here's a look at some of the best rants in Chicago sports -- some of very recent vintage and some decades old -- and the results they produced:

Cubs

The date: April 29, 1983

The site: Wrigley Field

The scene: After a loss to the Dodgers dropped the Cubs to 5-14 -- a game in which the few fans on hand at Wrigley really let their team have it -- manager Lee Elia returned the favor in the mother of all Chicago rants.

The rant (PG-13 version): "They're really, really behind you around here … my (bleepin' bleep). What am I supposed to do, go out there and let my players get destroyed every day and be quiet about it? For the nickel-dime people who turn up? The (bleeps) don't even work. That's why they're out at the game. They ought to go out and get a job and find out what it's like to go out and earn a living. Eighty-five percent of the world is working. The other 15 percent come out here …

"I'll tell you one thing, I hope we get hotter than (bleep), just to stuff it up them 3,000 people that show up every day, because if they're the real Chicago fans, they can kiss my (bleep) right downtown -- and print it."

The result: Elia was fired late in the year and replaced on an interim basis by Charlie Fox, who finished out the season with a 17-22 mark.

Jim Frey took over in 1984, and we all know how that turned out.

White Sox

The date: Aug. 29, 2007

The site: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas

The scene: After a lack of clutch hitting led to a 5-4 loss in 11 innings -- the 15th loss in 18 games -- to drop the White Sox to 57-76 for the season, manager Ozzie Guillen just unloaded.

The rant: (PG-13 version) "They're killing me. They're killing my family. They're killing my coaching staff. Killing the White Sox fans. They kill the owner. They kill everyone. I hope they feel the same way we feel. I hope somebody out there cares the way we care.

"Good guys or nice guys finish (bleeping) last. I'm tired of seeing that (bleep) day in and day out. And I don't want to spend a miserable September seeing the same (bleep). … If it's my fault, I should be moving out of here. If it's my fault, fire my (bleep)."

The result: The Sox didn't fire Guillen's (bleep), and as it turned out, the team responded by finishing up a disappointing 2007 season by going 15-14 in its final 29 games.

Bears

The date: Nov. 26, 1989

The site: RFK Stadium in Washington

The scene: The Bears came into Washington struggling with a 6-5 record and looking to avoid a second straight loss following a heartbreaking 32-31 loss to Tampa Bay. It didn't happen. Washington toyed with them en route to 38-14 victory, a win Bears coach Mike Ditka didn't take too well.

The rant: It wasn't as memorable as, "See that? That's your IQ buddy … zero," but Ditka's postgame rant was terse and to the point:

"This was about the worst exhibition of football I've ever seen. I refuse to stand back and give other people credit because we stink."

Ditka was then asked about the Bears' postseason possibilities.

"It's over," he said.

The result: This time Ditka was right. A little over a month earlier, he had famously announced that "I don't know if we're capable of winning another football game." They did, winning twice, but that would be it for the rest of the lost season. The Bears went on to lose their final four games to finish at 6-10, good for fourth place in the NFC Central. The 1989 season was the beginning of the end for Ditka, who was fired after going 5-11 in 1992.

Blackhawks

The date: Jan. 24, 2008

The site: United Center

The scene: It was the last game before the all-star break, a game the Hawks desperately needed to win to keep their playoff chances alive. In front of a big home crowd and against division rival (Columbus), the Hawks came out and laid an egg, falling 1-0 and earning the wrath of usually even-tempered coach Denis Savard.

The rant: "I'm disappointed and ticked off about the effort. This is a divisional game and we're fighting for our lives here. We want to get to the playoffs, we have a nice crowd, and this is what they give us?

"I think they forgot last summer or two summers ago, or three summers ago what we gave them. We committed to them (with contracts). They were very happy when they signed. Well, commit to us, commit to the jersey, commit to the people here. (If) they don't want to commit to the Indian, let's go upstairs and get them out of here."

The result: After a much-needed break and a few spirited practices, the Hawks came out flatter than a pancake against Colorado and dropped an ugly 6-3 decision. They followed that up with a much better effort over the weekend (a 3-2 shootout loss to San Jose).

How the Hawks play during the remainder of their current 17-day road trip may decide their playoff fate.

Bulls

The date: Jan. 30, 2008

The site: Target Center, Minneapolis

The scene: After taking the opener in a home-and-home series against league doormat Minnesota, the Bulls followed it up with one of their worst performances (an 83-67 loss) in a season full of them. Following the loss, interim head coach Jim Boylan finally reached his personal Boylan Point.

The rant: "I'm really disappointed in the way we performed in the second half and the way some guys out there just seemed to shut it off.

"They stopped playing with energy; they stopped playing with focus. They went into their own little world -- acting kind of childish at times -- instead of doing what we know we need to do against a team like this."

The result: The Bulls put together a much better effort Saturday, falling by 4 points at Sacramento, but if the season to date is any indication, Boylan could stand on his head for an entire game and things still wouldn't change. And yet, remarkably, the Bulls still might sneak into the playoffs this season.