tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:07:21 +0000all content copyright 2006-07 by Kevin Schweitzerhttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)Blogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-9180072579330328954Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:52:00 +00002008-02-26T13:59:23.389-06:00In a way, Indiana got exactly what it wanted out of Kelvin Sampson.In fact, it got that in a lot of ways. Hoosier Nation got highly sought-after recruits, such as Eric Gordon. They got a return to national prominence, with a Top 20 ranking throughout the season and a serious chance at a Big Ten championship. They got -- eventually -- the coach many of them really wanted, Dan Dakich, after Sampsonhttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/02/sampson-should-have-called-indiana-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-6039323452370309246Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:25:00 +00002008-02-10T11:27:10.487-06:00-- Pitchers and catchers report on Thursday, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, which is fitting since that's a day that's always been made for -- ahem -- pitchers and catchers.-- But all kidding aside, baseball is huge because we're at a serious lull in the Chicago sports scene. The Blackhawks and Bulls are losing regularly, I'm getting sick of talking about Illinois' lack of senior leadership and http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/02/sports-notes-21008-brief-break-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-8428269975263395623Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:11:00 +00002008-02-04T14:26:13.445-06:00I’m not going to make a point of veering off into politics in the space very often. But the presidential race is more important than any athletic contest, and we do have two Democratic candidates with strong ties to Chicago, and our local teams certainly aren’t giving me anything to write about, and the Illinois primary is on Tuesday, so here goes.My vote goes to Barack Obama, and around here I’mhttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/02/barack-vote.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-6281064589152148206Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:53:00 +00002008-02-04T11:54:34.266-06:00That was the second-awesomest loss by the Patriots in Super Bowl history, because now the all-time greatest team in the NFL is still your beloved 1985 Chicago BEARS!http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/02/super-bowl-xlii-ny-giants-17-new.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-5448054290847870821Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:52:00 +00002008-02-04T12:21:17.122-06:00The Blackhawks may have dodged a bullet last week when they briefly considered -- and wisely rejected -- the slogan “Commit to the Indian”, a reference to an off-the-cuff remark by head coach Dennis Savard during a postgame tirade that followed a lackluster loss.Many Native American mascots and images -- most notably, in these parts, Chief Illiniwek -- are being retired in a wave of cultural http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/02/commit-to-keeping-your-mouth-shut.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-5861776806039333473Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:36:00 +00002008-01-20T10:44:33.193-06:00Short list this week, as Chicago's sports scene is almost as cold as its weather right now ...-- Welcome back, Jon Leiber. Were you really the Cubs’ last 20-game winner?-- I mean, I can believe it’s been since 2001 since they’ve had one, considering that the leader in each of the playoff seasons since then has been 18 (Mark Prior, 2003, and Carlos Zambrano, 2007). It’s just that sometimes I http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/01/sports-notes-12008-im-moving-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-711573036527465685Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:00 +00002008-01-17T11:17:11.409-06:00So this Joakim Noah thing has gotten out of hand to the point that I feel I must somehow acknowledge it, albeit a couple days late. I seriously do not follow the Bulls closely enough to be at all knowledgeable, but with that said …I will take Sam Smith’s word for it that whatever kind of tantrum Noah threw in practice was worth a suspension. From the coach, that is. It may have been worth two http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/01/dont-just-say-no-to-noah.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-358318447940917709Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:46:00 +00002008-01-06T21:46:47.568-06:00-- Y'know, on second thought, Illinois-Hawaii and USC-Georgia would've been more compelling matchups.-- Switching to basketball, Illinois really, really, really, like seriously really needed to pull out that home game against Penn State that they lost 68-64. Five of the Illini's next seven games are on the road against teams better than them.-- Then again, this Illini team was destined to play a http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/01/sports-notes-1608-people-were-at-my.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-2238806134701915854Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:22:00 +00002008-01-01T12:23:26.599-06:00OK, so I've been watching Rose Bowl pregame shows all morning, and I am totally sick of hearing about how Illinois is overmatched against USC.Don't get me wrong. I think that USC will win. I think there's a good chance they will cover the two-touchdown spread, despite my initial prediction of a 31-20 final score.But it's not like it's a foregone conclusion. There ARE ways that Illinois could win http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2008/01/little-love-for-illinois-please.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-5298846120961395168Tue, 01 Jan 2008 01:13:00 +00002008-01-01T12:24:53.112-06:00I'm just full of new SHS traditions! Here's the latest: My first annual end-of-the-year Big Ten basketball predictions. (And yes, I know that it's logistically impossible to be the first annual anything. I'm being whimsical; relax.) Here's my predicted order of finish, just days before the conference season starts.Michigan State: Not only will this team win the Big Ten, but they could go very http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/that-creaking-sound-you-here-is-me.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-8467740445037640754Tue, 01 Jan 2008 01:10:00 +00002007-12-31T19:11:26.275-06:00When two teams combine for five fourth-down conversion attempts, you know you're watching the last game of the season between two sub-.500 teams.And when Adrian Peterson is flinging touchdown passes in the ugliest trick play ever seen (or at least the ugliest successful trick play ever seen), you know you're watching the last game of the season between two sub-.500 teams.And when one team starts http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/bears-33-saints-25-whoop-de-freakin-doo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-7578132002985018760Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:37:00 +00002007-12-30T10:39:36.406-06:00It's always a good time to institute a new tradition. I've arbitrarily decided that the deal for Sweet Home Sports will be to name a Chicago Sports Scene Person Of The Year each year. And because it's on Sunday morning that I finally got around to knocking this out, I hearby declare that the SHSCSSPOTY Award will be given out on the last Sunday morning of every year.First, some ground rules: I http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-tradition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-1602467878895103664Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:35:00 +00002007-12-30T10:37:20.331-06:00OK, this is two years in a row that the holidays have prevented me from writing a recap of a late-season BEARS-Packers game. Looks like now we're even, Tim. Maybe my real end-of-the-year tradition should be to declare this blog on vacation the last two weeks of the year.That said ...* Congrats to Ron Zook on his well-deserved Coach of the Year Award. It won't mean much on Tuesday, but it's alwayshttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/sports-notes-123007-holiday-edition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-7394152014080911158Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:19:00 +00002007-12-23T11:20:18.578-06:00-- So, I like to joke about how the Illini are going to land in the NIT. But seriously, you do have to be above .500 to get in, which is not at all a certainty when you start losing at home to mid-level MAC teams.-- Even if you upset Missouri two nights later.-- In fact, especially if you upset Missouri two nights later, ya inconsistent bastards.-- But things will get better for Illinois. Coach http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/sports-notes-122307-ive-got-cold-and-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-7067206377034593185Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:59:00 +00002007-12-18T16:06:19.274-06:00Some things just transcend the local sports scene.As you’ve probably heard by now, decades of breathlessly screaming into a microphone have taken a physical toll on ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale, who had to undergo surgery for ulcers on his vocal chord.Apparently the surgery was a success, although Dickie V will be in recovery mode until February. Of course, for the hard-working Vitale, who tends http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/shout-out-to-dicke-v.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-4282551939509692477Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:51:00 +00002007-12-18T10:56:13.939-06:00So, here’s the story, sports fans. Seeing as how the BEARS were out of it even before last night’s game, and seeing as how I had some friends celebrating their birthdays, I ended up watching the game in a bar with no sound, instead of in my normal position of prone on my couch, paradoxically in rapt attention. (I did TiVo the game to catch up on the details, but then I thought … nah.)Anyway, herehttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/vikings-20-bears-13-to-best-of-my.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-8282833589938832755Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:51:00 +00002007-12-16T13:51:50.854-06:00-- Say it with me now, Cubs fans: "Aww, Fuk!"-- Or -- hopefully -- "Fukin'-A!"-- Seriously, though, I thought the Fuk-U-Dome was Mayor Daley's, shall we say, creative interpretation of Soldier Field.-- Brace yourselves, BEARS fan, because this is not a pretty thought. If the Patriots are 18-0 going into the Super Bowl, and a win would mean no one could ever again argue that the 1985 BEARS are thehttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/sports-notes-121607-change-in-personnel.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-6537830429894017722Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:40:00 +00002007-12-13T11:41:30.610-06:00This is a short post to slide in a quick prediction before 1 p.m. CST:I'm guessing the Cubs' abrupt release of Mark Prior will make a lot more sense when we see MLB's Mitchell Report on steroid abuse.Check the time stamp! That's all for now.http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/prior-bad-acts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-661866813149024606Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:32:00 +00002008-12-10T22:16:45.273-06:00-- Wow. Michigan can’t possibly be used to getting turned down by one coaching candidate in a week, let alone two. The cosmic revenge for driving out Lloyd Carr has begun.-- Speaking of the Fighting Helmets, Appalachian State will get a chance to beat another team with that nonsensical design on their brain buckets when they play Delaware (at right; photo swiped from Mark Campbell off the http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/sports-notes-12907-what-drag-it-is.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-2957849124623678741Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:23:00 +00002007-12-09T11:25:25.781-06:00Going into Saturday’s game, I wasn’t expecting Illinois to beat Arizona. But to have the game in your back pocket for 39 minutes and give it away is a hell of a way to lose.In a game that will probably turn out to have been a must-win for Illinois’ NCAA tournament hopes, the Illini kept Arizona scoreless for the first five full minutes with stifling defense, then maintained a double-digit lead http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/arizona-78-illinois-72-ot-i-l-l-n-i-t.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-8980111095138060603Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:21:00 +00002007-12-09T11:21:57.849-06:00What more can I say about the BEARS? They played poorly in almost every facet of the game Thursday night.The offense failed to convert deep in the red zone on several occasions. Brian Griese was ineffective in place of the injured Rex Grossman. The running game, despite Adrian Peterson’s heart, managed a mere 60 yards. Bernard Berrian and Greg Olsen made couple of acrobatic catches on one http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/redskins-24-bears-16-bears-suck.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-3320309377103806085Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:03:00 +00002007-12-03T15:04:46.590-06:00The last time Illinois played in the Rose Bowl, Sam and Diane were on the throes of a passionate love/hate affair; early adapters were listening to their music on the new-fangled compact disc; nobody had yet heard of Mikail Gorbachev, who’s since been largely forgotten; nobody had yet heard of the Internet, which has not quite been forgotten; and I was a seventh-grader watching Linda DiBennidettohttp://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/stop-do-i-smell-roses.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-4022777401868880705Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:06:00 +00002007-12-03T11:06:36.729-06:00How do you lose a game like that?No, seriously, I’m asking: How did the BEARS manage to lose a game in which they largely outplayed the Giants and won the turnover battle by four? That’s just not supposed to happen.You can’t blame Rex Grossman for the 21-16 loss to the Giants. He had 296 yards with no interceptions and no fumbles lost.You can’t blame the running game. It was certainly no worse http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/giants-21-bears-16-no-one-ever-is-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-654817189017710204Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:32:00 +00002007-12-02T10:36:30.562-06:00-- First, a shout-out to my favorite Washington Redskins fan, Scott Rowan, after the tragic death of Sean Taylor. Scott’s probably not the only Redskins fan who also graduated from Virginia Tech, making it a double-whammy of senseless gun violence this year for a lot of people.-- Of course, just four days from now I have to turn around and root against him when the BEARS and Redskins meet on http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/12/sports-notes-12207.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36365426.post-4253607450622977457Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:34:00 +00002007-11-28T22:35:37.825-06:00I was right; it could have been worse than my 7-4 ACC prediction. Unfortunately I did not get the chance to watch any of Tuesday’s action in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, but after picking up as much as possible via osmosis and the Internet, here’s what I know after three days of basketball:-- Illinois might not be a tournament team. The Illini are not going to beat Missouri, because Missouri beat http://sweethomesports.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-i-learned-in-acc-big-ten-school.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chicago Kevin)1