Super Sad

Forty years ago Monday, the Bears beat the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. They have not won a Superbowl since and have appeared in only one other, a 29-17 loss to the Colts on February 4, 2007. Clare was a high school freshman waiting to start her first year on varsity softball. She’s now a mother of two and waiting to start her first year as a t-ball coach. Also on Monday, WGN/Channel Nine sportscaster Jarrett Payton called the ’85 Bears the best football team ever, or words to that effect. Payton won’t deny his bias; his father was Walter Payton, a force of nature who played on that team. But other people without that kind of connection pretty much say the same thing. The ’85 Bears receive recognition even today that the 2005 White Sox or 2016 Cubs never will attain. How sad, and weird the way Chicago media buys in to the McCaskey nostalgia machine. The Seahawks will be making their fourth Super Bowl appearance since 2006, to the Bears’ one. The Patriots, well, do you really want to know? This will be the eleventh time…since that 1986 beatdown. Oh, and they have six championships, with a possible number seven to be determined a week from Sunday. So, please, don’t confuse greatness with lightning in a bottle.

That's Why

The Bulls gave it the old college try, so to speak, last night against the visiting Lakers, even pulling to within seven points with just over five minutes remaining. But the third straight pretty-good opponent proved one too many. Lakers 129 Bulls 118. Luka Doncic scored six of his 46 points in the fourth quarter, and the Bulls had no answer either for the big guy—a 6’8”, 230 pound point guard—defensively or offensively. That’s why most teams try to build around a superstar. Get it right, and you can win a game like last night going away. The best the Bulls could counter with was Coby White with 23 points. Did I mention White’s four turnovers? Doncic had three, half of the Lakers’ total. The Bulls turned the ball over fifteen god-awful times. You can’t do that, especially without a superstar to bail you out. Did I mention that Doncic scored 46?

Marking Time

In January, time just doesn’t stand still. It’ll go in the wrong direction when you’re not looking. Today is yesterday, and tomorrow never comes. Except, maybe, on the coattails of football. Yesterday was the league championships, and, so far, no repeat today of the Patriots or Seahawks winning. I must be enough of a Bears’ fan to note that, not only did the Rams lose, but the Seahawks allowed them more points (27) in regulation than the Bears did in overtime (20). Wait till next year, or whenever. If I can make it through the arctic chill the rest of the week, again, assuming time doesn’t go backwards, SoxFest starts on Friday. That should be good for a few stories, force the Bears to share media coverage, if only for a weekend. Then, another week and it’s Superbowl Sunday, February 8. Pitchers and catchers report to White Sox camp two days later. With that, time should start moving in the right direction again.

Curioser and Curioser

Thursday night, the Bulls reached .500 with a road win against a pretty good (27-18) Minnesota team. Last night, they climbed one game over with a home victory against an equally good (28-17) Boston team. Kevin Huerter hit the game-winning three with .2 seconds left on the clock. Bulls 114 Celtics 111. The thing is, Huerter might’ve been sitting on the bench if not for Tre Jones’ hamstring injury, suffered against the T-Wolves. Yup, another injury for another Bulls’ guard. At first, it looked like Jones would be out two-plus weeks, but now it’s looking more like two weeks. What a difference a day makes. It was another all-hands-on-deck performance by the home team, with eight of the nine Bulls who saw action scoring in double figures and, instead of ten or more points, Josh Giddey managing ten assists in 23 minutes of play. How often does a team commit fifteen turnovers to the opposition’s six and still win a game? Maybe it helps to hit 21 three-pointers. Again, the question becomes, who do you trade? Coby White hit five of those three-pointers on his way to a team-high 22 points. Jalen Smith impressed again, and his pairing with Nikola Vucevic seems to have energized Vucevic. Did I see a couple of defensive stops from the big guy? So, decisions to make before the February 5 trade deadline. As to Derrick Rose having his number retired in postgame ceremonies, Rose didn’t talk about altered grades in high school or suspicious SAT scores, so I won’t talk about him.

Everything New is Old Again

Yesterday, the Tribune printed a listing of organizational job titles for the White Sox and the people filling them in the upcoming season. By my count, of the hundred or so listed, no more than eight went to women, and not one of those was in coaching or the GM-track in the front office, unless “education coordinator” or “nutritionist” qualifies. Apparently, the person hired for “player development biomechanist” just had to be a guy.

How Long Can This Go On?

The Bulls travelled to the Great North Woods, where they vanquished the Timberwolves, 120-115. Think David over Goliath or, better yet, the wee folk toppling a roster full of Paul Bunyans. Trust me when I say Nikola Vucevic looked kind of puny matched up against the T-Wolves’ frontcourt. So, great win, and Josh Giddey is back (fingers crossed, prayers going out for his hamstring). Now what? Does Billy Donovan spend the rest of the season playing the hand Arturas Karnisovas has dealt him, or does Karnisovas start moving some of those expiring contracts and bevy of guards he’s accumulated? You tell me. I do know that I love guard Tre Jones, a cleaner version of the late, great Norm Van Lier. What Jones lacks as a defender (and he he’s OK) compared to Stormin’ Norman, he more than makes up as a playmaker. Last night, with just 31 seconds left in the game, Jones—all 6’ 1” of him—drove the lane, Bunyans be damned, for what proved to be the game-winning basket. This is not a player to be undervalued. Ditto center/forward Jalen Smith, who contributed seventeen points in a starting role. If Vucevic gets dealt, Smith steps in as center, with Zach Collins as backup, assuming Collins’ big toe ever heals. As with Jones, Smith is a talent worth keeping. Who, if anyone, should go, then? My vote would be Coby White, who’ll be testing free agency come the offseason. You have to appreciate White for his determination; this is someone who willed himself into an offensive force. Only he doesn’t play much defense, and he’s prone to the big turnover. Giddey and Jonest make more sense. With Ayo Dosunmu spelling either of them off the bench? Yes, but Dosunmu will be joining White in the free-agent ranks. It’s all so complicated. Best just to sit back, watch (tomorrow the Celtics come to town), and wait.

Practice What You Preach

Bears’ head-coach Ben Johnson got all Tom Thibodeau-y while addressing the media at Halas Hall yesterday. “We go back to square one,” he informed reporters.” It’s back to the bottom again, and we’ve got to build this thing back up.” Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! [above and following quotes in today’s Tribune] You can’t start next season until the current one ends on February 8. By striking this “let’s get cracking” note, Johnson comes off as Tom Thibodeau 2.0, someone incapable of living in the moment. Thibodeau wore out his players wherever he went, always intent on winning the game at hand, then ignoring the win once it was achieved to focus on the next game on the schedule, November or May, it didn’t matter. Johnson may wear himself down in the same way. Practice what you preach, Coach. Johnson also said he told quarterback Caleb Williams he needed to “get out of football a little bit.” Indeed, Williams has been spotted around town this week at Blackhawks’ and Bulls’ games. Some of that would help Johnson prevent burnout.