Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Matt Eberflus

With the Cubs recent struggles to play consistant winning baseball, this series has trouble written all over it. Florida always seems to get the best of the Cubs. They have a roster full of talented young players that are finding their nitche at the big league level. They have three starters going in the first three games that have little or no experience pitching against Chicago. That does not bode well the Cubs. They are not good going against starting pitchers they have never seen before. Look for a  couple of Cy Young type performances from these guys.

The Cubs will be lucky to gain a split, but I’m expecting more like Florida taking 3 out of 4. After 20 games, the Cubs are sitting at .500. This is about how I think they will wind up at seasons end. 81 wins will not win a division or wild card. No post season for this Cubs team.

The title says it all. During this entire Bulls/Celtics series, the referees have been all but too kind to the Celtics. Numerous calls going the Celtics way and very few for the Bulls. I about had it and the commisioner David Stern should do something about it. I understand these referees are human also but still, you can tell some of these guys are betting on games.

There were a couple plays involving John Salmons and Derrick Rose when they were clobbered under the hoop in the final minutes of the 4th quarter and no calls were made. But the play that pretty much convinced me that the referees are still fixing games was when Brad Miller got clothes lined in the final seconds and no flagrant foul was called. Stacey King pointed out many other plays during this series that the refs fucked up on that were clear mistakes.

Still don’t think the NBA isn’t fixed anymore? I beg the differ.

The NBA has been fixed for years. Possibly going back to the early 1990’s. This was about a couple years ago but Mark Giangreco who is a sports anchor in Chicago talked about how he got in trouble for saying the NBA was fixed during a news telecast in the early 1990’s. He said on the radio that he was forced to apologize the next day about the comment he made.

I said in my prediction that the Bulls wouldn’t win this series. However, this series should have been won already by the Bulls as they have shocked the hell out of me and just about everyone else. With the refs calling the games they have all series, it shocks me that they have won two of them. They should be heading home getting ready for the next round rather than being down 3-2.

The NBA will continue to be fixed until David Stern does something about it rather than just sit there and act like the problem was fixed when Tim Donaghy was caught and went to prison for it. It is not fixed. It still exists. You want proof? Watch this Bulls/Celtics series from the first game and tell me what you think.

Relax people. It’s just our very own captain kirk landing the enterprise a little early to get a good parking space for the D-Backs series. Have fun Kirk. I have a friend that will be there also. She’s a blonde hottie named Mara that will be sitting near the Cubs dugout on the first base side with a Ramirez jersey on.

This is a series that should go the Cubs way. Arizona has been struggling also, and is without their ace Brandon Webb.

The Cubs walking wounded should be returning at some point during this series, with Bradley being the exception of course. It really pisses me off that Hendry went after this headcase instead of getting Ibanez.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Ramirez and Marmol go down to injury in Friday’s loss in St. Louis. They don’t have any depth on the bench or in the minors to deal with multiple sustained injuries. On top of that, Lou decideds to shuffle the lineup to try to generate more offense. I hope this doesn’t backfire into having the few guys that have been hitting stop.

It’s gonna be a long season….

The Chicago Bulls take on the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Bulls would have been playing the Orlando Magic had they not shit all over themselves against the Toronto Raptors in the final game of the season. Regardless, the Bulls just about shocked me and everyone else when they went 15-6 in their final 21 games including a 15-2 record in their last 17 home games.

The only good news is that Kevin Garnett could be out for the playoffs. In order for the Bulls to have a chance, they have to play some kind of defense. Any kind really because all season long, there wasn’t any defense to be seen. Not one player could guard. Some tried but they failed miserably. This team can score 100 points a game but they also give up the same amount. You can get by that in the regular season. With the playoffs, not so much. It is difficult to shoot 50% from the floor every night as well. That is the only way the Bulls win games: Consistency with the jump shot. With the home court advantage Boston has, the Bulls would need to steal one of the first two games just to have a shot at making this series interesting.

Of course I want the Bulls to win this series but I am a realist too. I’d say the they would be lucky to win two. But hey, I thought about a month ago, the Bulls would be fighting for a lottery pick. As far as a serious contender in the future the Bulls can be, I would say they are a few years away. Even if they find a way to win this series, they would just get their ass kicked by Cleveland. The Boston Celtics win this series in five or six games.

I have been saying this all year and I will say it again:  So far, this season has been exciting and fun to watch for the Chicago Blackhawks and I don’t want it to stop anytime soon. The good times need to keep rolling. I first got into hockey when I was younger while playing NHL ’95 for Sega Genesis so I was into it then. Of course, earlier in this decade, many fans left and now, the re-birth of this franchise has gotten everyone excited and back into it. The playoffs are about to start and I am just as excited as anyone else.

The Blackhawks host the Calgary Flames Thursday night. The Blackhawks won all four games against them in the regular season so they should be the favorites. In order for this team to to advance, Nikolai Khabibulin needs to be at the top of his game. I am sure he will. He has two shoutouts in the last four games so he is ready to go. I do not think anybody wants to see Christobal Thibault out there. Alright. His last name is actually Huet but he plays like Jocelyn Thibault. Remember him? He was the shitty goalie back in I believe the 2002-03 season and he was just as awful. Then I think he had some alcohol problems and I haven’t heard much about him ever since. (Or was that Theo Fleury who had a drinking problem?) Moving on though…

The key to the success of this team in the playoffs will be the health. Khabibulin seems to be ready to go. The same goes for Duncan Keith. Patrick Sharp however still is hurting from that slide into the goalie last week so who knows if he will be available Thursday. I couldn’t write this preview without mentioning Dave Bolland because if I didn’t, the lady would would give me the evil eye for a while. She for some odd reason, has an obsession with this guy for reasons other than playing hockey. So much that when she went to the Blackhawks Store downtown, she got frustrated that they didn’t have a Dave Bolland jersey shirt. Anyway, Dave Bolland is the guy that can step up if needed. He has had some big goals for this team throughout the season. This team however cannot afford another key player to go down.

I think the Blackhawks can win this series but it won’t be easy.  If they do, it could take five or six games. I don’t see a sweep happening however.

Since the Brewers have entered the NL, this has turned into a nice little rivalry. I don’t hate the Brewers the way I do against the Cardinals. With both teams living in such close proximity to each other, it has been a rivalry that has been built on respect, rather than venom.

Friday’s game features Rich Harden against Braden Looper. In the early stages of the season, Lou decided that he didn’t want to start any leftys against them. Is he more concerned with what Ryan Braun could do than Fielder?

Piniella’s philosophy last year was to win series, one at a time. They got off to a good start with 2 wins in Houston. Let’s hope for two out of three in Milwaukee.

The Cubs have a very good ballclub, no doubt. But going into the season there are some holes in the bullpen, and a lack of infield depth to be concerned with. But it’s no different than any other team out there. The Cubs should be able to take the NL Central again, but they must remain relatively healthy. If they have more than one of the starting players lose significant time, they are in trouble.

What are your thoughts going in to the new season?