Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

And the Chicago Blackhawks have a chance. It begins in just over two weeks. Getting to August 1st is going to be tough. Just over two weeks from now, the Blackhawks will play the Oilers in a best-of-five for a chance to get into the traditional playoffs.

I mentioned to people I talked to months ago with the season winding down, it would take a miracle for the Blackhawks to have a chance. I guess this is the so-called “miracle.” I don’t like the circumstances. But when there is an opportunity, it needs to be taken. I usually have faith in this team. Even the last two seasons when they didn’t make the playoffs, I was trying to stay optimistic that they had a run in them to get in somehow. It wasn’t over until they were mathematically eliminated. It’s hockey and all a team has to do is get into the playoffs.

Now, the Blackhawks have that chance. I’m nervous because of the circumstances. I’m worried someone may get sick. If they can steer the course by the time they reach Edmonton, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen.

Alright, I’ve shut my mouth long enough about this. Keep in mind, this is not a political rant taking a certain side. This website is still a “political-free zone.” I was a Political Science major in college and that was enough for me to realize I shouldn’t have a bias either way. THIS IS NOT A LEFT OR RIGHT ISSUE. THIS IS AN ISSUE CAUSED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST FUCKED UP TO BEGIN WITH. But this shit needs to be addressed. I know I don’t write here that much anymore. But this is still the place I go to air my annoyances with sports.

Long-time and loyal readers Erniesarmy and Pie In the Sky have posted their thoughts on the current climate with sports and the shitty, sensitive humans who are trying to ruin whatever is left of sports. Their comments can be read in the previous thread by Genrebuster or by clicking here.

Now, onto my thoughts:

Sports brings us together. I cannot really put it any simpler than that. Whatever is left of the group of people that came together about 15 years ago to talk about how shitty Dusty Baker was is still hanging around here. We all had a common belief in that the Chicago Cubs sucked fucking ass for our entire lives and we needed a place to rant about it. To this day, I still cherish the conversations we all had about that and the silly shit that came with it. We talked other sports as well and found common interests. The worst thing that is now seen as silly were some of you were Packer fans while the rest of us cheered for the Bears. That’s sports, though. We can give each other shit for that and even make fun of ourselves.

I am getting tired of this fucking bullshit that nobody logical asked for. Politics have no place in sports. Sports brings people together of all different opinions. When I am at a game, I don’t ask myself what the person next to me thinks of what the governor did last week with a certain bill or what the shitheads in Washington are doing. I go to a game to watch the fucking game and not to think of politics or really anything else that’s pissing me off in life. Anyone who posts at this website does so for the same reason. It’s an ESCAPE.

Are there issues in this world? Absolutely. Are they more important than sports? Sure. But when you mix the two together, that’s like mixing oil with water. You are just going to make things worse.

Michael Jordan said it best almost 30 years ago: “Republicans buy shoes too.” This is the greatest basketball player I have ever watched in my life and someone who is known by everyone, even the people who don’t know the first thing about basketball and he’s saying this. Take notes, current athletes. It’s okay to feel a certain way and have a certain opinion. But keep it to yourself just like people did 30 years ago. That’s why they have curtains in voting booths.

I don’t want to see political propaganda on basketball courts or jerseys. I don’t want to hear any other kind of anthem other than the National Anthem that’s been played in sporting events since I can even remember.

I saw stories online that teams like the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians are possibly changing the names of their team. I am not going to touch the Redskins issue. But how the fuck is “Cleveland Indians” racist? HOW? That’s been their team name since they started over a century ago, right? History books taught us that Indians were kind people. There are reservations in our country that show their history. HOW THE FUCK IS THAT OFFENSIVE? Fuck. Do fans of their team not want a name that describes a group of people that are known to be strong? Warriors? Great, now I’ve opened up the can of worms about the Golden State Warriors. My bad.

I cannot stand baseball due to how much the game has changed since I stopped giving a shit almost 12 years ago. All of the rule changes that I heard about ruined the game for me (who use to love it more than life during childhood). Now, with all this going on, I took off when I did. This shit is unbearable.

Now, I’m hearing the Kansas City Chiefs are being scrutinized as well. A “Chief” is a leader of a tribe, right? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH A NAME LIKE THAT? Do you want your team to not be leaders? How about if they changed their name to the Kansas City Subordinates since that’s the opposite of Chiefs? Your team will have a mascot that’s just starting out and has to work their way up the ladder. YEAH! This will appease the sensitive little fucking pricks.

Even I, a 34-year old guy of Middle Eastern descent that was born and raised in the cornfields of Illinois is fucking tired of this shit. I’m getting very exhausted from sports and that’s with all of it still being paused. Can you imagine how much worse this will be when things resume? This is why many don’t give a shit about baseball anymore. This is why fans will start tuning out of the NBA. The NFL will probably see a dip for a while as well. What’s next? Are the Detroit Lions going to change their name because it’s offensive to zookeepers who take care of lions? Lions are fierce animals. You want your team to be fierce and aggressive. Not be a bunch of fucking pansies.

This is so unfortunate. I am glad I have this website and it will turn 12 years old next month. So much has changed. But bullshit like Twitter and Facebook have killed our society and sports as well. I am so glad I never had any social media. I am so glad it wasn’t around when I was a kid. This is fucking brutal.

So, to Ernie and Pie, thank you for expressing your thoughts. I am with you on all of this. It seems like the entire fandom of sports is on a collision course to divide us because of bullshit like this. I wanted to say you both have always been great posting here. And I hope the both of you and others will continue to chime in. It’s important that we do. But we cannot let this shit divide us. Not at this site.

Greetings to all and apologies for my prolonged absence…current events have thrown a wrench into many things, and like many I’ve been affected. Between scrambling to make ends meet, and how to release an album that was scheduled for a mid-March release (I held it back for awhile) my plate has been full.

That said, I’m healthy and doing my best to remain that way; here’s hoping that the same is true for you and yours.

Under normal circumstances, we would be 2 months and counting into the 2020 baseball season. But the way things are looking, I won’t be surprised if baseball is canceled until 2021….what do YOU think is going to happen?

As for the Cubs, I honestly haven’t been keeping up with what’s happening/new. If anybody wants to post an in-depth analysis to spark a new thread, please comment here. Upon request, I’ll start a new thread with your post featured and a credit to you.

As weird as things are, a summer without baseball makes everything worse…(for me).

In 2016, the Cubs surprised (shocked?) most of us by winning their first WS since 1908. Now we sit and wait…

tick fucking tock…

Unbelievable. I can understand fans of other teams being frustrated, but I’ll take it. With 12 games to go in the regular season, the Blackhawks were six points out. Certainly, they weren’t consistent the entire year to put together a long winning streak to make a push. Regardless, I’ll take it.

They would face the Edmonton Oilers in a five-game “play-in” series. And need I remind you, I’ll gladly take it.

Anything is possible.

The season in order: Lions, Giants, Falcons, Colts, Buccaneers, Panthers, Rams, Saints, Titans, Vikings, Packers, Lions, Texans, Vikings, Jaguars and Packers.

If this was a team that had an actual head coach, you would think the Bears could actually get off to a great start of 3-1 or so. However, we’ve seen the Bears be 3-1 before (last year and 2014) and we all know that means nothing.

For now, here are my predictions as the Bears will go 5-11:

Wins: Lions, Buccaneers (the proverbial one game a year where no single soul expects the Bears to win), Panthers, Lions and Jaguars.

Losses: Giants, Falcons, Colts, Rams, Saints, Titans, Vikings, Packers, Texans (Watson shoves it up the Bears’ asses), Vikings and Packers.

Your predictions in the thread.

January – “We believe in Mitch. Mitch is our starter.”

March – (Trades for Nick Fucking Foles)

April – Doesn’t draft a quarterback

Also in April – (Refuses to pick up Mitch’s fifth year option)

This guy is setting back the Bears even more. Fuck. Even Jerry Angelo tried harder than this guy by trying to get a franchise quarterback.

Mitch Trubisky may be good. But we aren’t going to find out with him playing for the Bears. I’m not going to go all “meatball” on this saying he’s going to be in The Hall of Fame by playing for another team. But he’s been put in a position to fail as soon as he was drafted. Call me bitter, but I’ll never get over Ryan Fucking Pace passing on DeShaun Watson for Trubisky. I just hope when the fans boo the Bears when games do start again, that it won’t be directly at Trubisky. Instead, it will be directed at Pace.

Where the fuck is George McCaskey at to fire this turd? What him and that dumbass Matt Nagy are doing to this team is criminal. Fuck.

I don’t really understand this move. John McDonough didn’t do much as far as hockey operations is concerned. That being said, I would have to guess that general manager, Stan Bowman, is next.

It’s been five years since the Blackhawks last won the Stanley Cup. I felt strongly that they had a great chance in 2017 with the best record in the conference. Instead, they were swept in the first round by the Predators. They haven’t made the playoffs since.

On the other side, this shows that Rocky Wirtz does not tolerate losing. It’s been three years since they’ve been to the playoffs and that was enough for him to make a change. He’s the only owner in Chicago sports that when he sees his team losing, he makes changes. It took the Bulls 17 years to finally make changes. The Bears make changes every few years, but that’s not saying much.

We’ll see what happens as the summer gets underway.

Okay, folks. The Bears have two picks tonight. Will Ryan Pace trade both of them to move up one spot and get that punter everyone is raving about? Or will he just give them to another team because he’s in the giving mood? Tune in tonight!

I will once again reiterate my stance on Trubisky. We will never find out if he is any good or not because of the village idiot, Matt Nagy. When you are put in a position to fail, its impossible to overcome. I would think football is no different. I will never trust a coach that blows a lead of 23-3 or whatever it was when he was the offensive coordinator for the Chiefs the year before he came to the Bears. That was the playoff game against the Titans. What’s even more PATHETIC is that the very next game he coached, he promptly lead the Bears to blowing a 20-0 lead against the Packers. If that wasn’t enough to to prove that this idiot is exactly that, then I don’t know what else will convince you.

I’m not saying Mitch is going to be the greatest quarterback ever. All I’m saying is that without an actual head coach, we aren’t going to find out. If he goes elsewhere, it may be too late as other teams may think he’s damaged goods. His mind could be fried now or by the time his contract is up with the Bears. They have until May 5th or so to give him that extra year on his deal.

The Bears have seven picks tonight. Here’s what I feel they need: Running back, wide receiver, offensive lineman (maybe two of these), defensive tackle and cornerback and a safety. Yeah, that’s how bad this team is. They need help all over the place, but I’ll say they definitely need help on the offensive line. But I’m sure Ryan Pace really feels strongly about that one punter from a junior college in South Dakota. He may just have to trade all seven spots just to move up an extra few to get him.

Oh, fuck all of this!

Well, it only took 17 years (or 22), but the Bulls seem to have finally brought in someone who knows what they are doing. Arturas Karnisovas comes from Denver and is now the president of basketball operations. A general manager is yet to be decided as of this writing.

Regardless, it’s good riddance to Gar Forman. It’s too bad Paxson is somehow, still around the team. I don’t even want Paxson working the concession stands for the Bulls. He should have been long gone a long time ago. Get him as far away from the team as possible.

I have to look at the bright side of things. There is no other choice now. This is the guy that robbed the Bulls many years ago and ended up with Nikola Jokic, who’s become one of the top big men in the game. The Nuggets are near the top of the standings.

Whether or not he can do the same with the Bulls by making them relevant for the first time in 22 years is yet to be decided.

We have no idea when we will see basketball again. But whenever it does, the Bulls will be under new management. I’m praying this works.

Hey everyone. I know it’s become routine for me to apologize for not being here much. But I just don’t know what else to say. My job has been stressing me out. I’m doing a bunch of shit around my house. And quite frankly, our teams just fucking suck.

Oh, and this bullshit that has taken on our society in the last several months has affected all of us. I know it’s bigger than sports, but damn.

Here are my takes on the teams:

Illinois Fighting Illini: Here I was all season being excited for this team. For the first time in seven years, I was ready to see the Illini in the NCAA Tournament. And some of the “experts” were saying that the Illini had a legitimate chance to WIN the National Championship. 15 years after my heart was broken in the National Championship, some thought they had a chance this year. Now, some players may go to the NBA and they have to start over again. Fuck.

Chicago Bulls: I’m tired of it. I’m tired of Mr. Clean acting like he’s a basketball coach. I’m tired of Jerry Reinsdork keeping all of his favorite people employed for the last two decades (or more). Just like the Blackhawks (see below), I am probably happy that this season is cut short to put us out of our fucking misery.

Chicago Bears: Fuck Ryan Pace. This offseason has been embarrassing (no pun intended). Jimmy Graham? What’s with Chicago teams signing players past their prime? Ryan Pace also released Leonard Floyd. This is Ryan Pace showing everyone what a failure he is. PATHETIC. This Draft is just going to expose him some more. If there is an NFL season this year, it’s going to be a disaster again for our Bears. Hey, speaking of an NFL season…

NFL Players’ Union: Fuck these stupid, uneducated fuckwads. Voting for a 17-game season? So much for wanting to be protected. All this time, players wanted to be safer. Yes, I agree about the owners being scumbags. Fuck those guys. There is another league now, albeit not as popular. But if those players decide to go to the XFL, the owners would be put into a corner on negotiations at some point. Now, we’re dealt with watching the Bears in another meaningless regular season game for years to come.

Chicago Blackhawks: Fuck. Just, fuck. Get within a few points of a playoff spot and what happens? Two or three really shitty losses in a row. At least that season is probably over. More rest equals more of a chance to be fresh and ready to go come this Fall. I don’t know if this is the closing of that proverbial “championship window,” but it’s been great. I got to see them win three Stanley Cups in the previous decade and that was three more than I thought I would get about 13 years ago at this time. So, I’ll take it. But damn, this current team has been frustrating to watch.

I welcome all thoughts about this and anything else you feel is on your mind. It’s open season.