It's been a long wait for a 22-year coaching veteran and a loyal Notre Dame aide, but Sean Kearney now has his own program to run. The Notre Dame associate head coach has been hired as Holy Cross'...

First of all, I have HUGE NEWS! Jim acquired Jeff Baker from the Rockies! I guess that’s only huge if you assume the Aaron Miles era is over. I’m not completely convinced that it is. Anyhow, since most of you won’t be working tomorrow (meaning we probably won’t post tomorrow), you [...]

The Iowa Cubs haven't scored since practically before Sam Fuld got married and that was over a week ago here in Des Moines. While Fuld's big league honeymoon continues his ex-mates have been one-upping the C-Cubs in offensive futility. Last night the team dropped its second straight 1-0 tilt, and this one went 14 innings. Post-game fireworks displays scheduled for the next two nights may have to wake up the expected large crowds if the silly between innings sideshows can't keep them alert. Jos

The Cubs countered the Cardinals acquisition of Mark DeRosa with one of their own, acquiring 2B/3B Jeff Baker from the Colorado Rockies. It's like countering a handgun with a slingshot. Seemingly running out of players to put on the disabled list, Baker is already on it with a left hand sprain suffered back in April, so he should fit right in with the Cubs. He did start a rehab assignment in mid-June, so I presume he's ready to play again and the Rockies were just out of roster space. The playe

(Note from Kurt: This morning I created the Game Recap graphic, only to forget to upload it to photobucket before leaving the house.  Whoops.  It will be added tonight)If these Cubs are going to do anything in October, they've gotta be able to take a regular season, three-game series from a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fortunately, they were able to do that today. Aside from Randy Wells continuing to outdo himself, the story from tonight's game has to be the pleasantly surprising performance

Randy Wells threw seven strong innings and the Cubs got home runs from Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome as they beat the Pirates 4-1. Lou Piniella finally showed some emotion out on the field as he was ejected for the first time this year arguing a close play in the sixth inning.

Bears For those who can’t get enough Bears talk (like me) there promises to be an unprecedented degree of Twittering going on this summer. Larry Mayer at chicagobears.com has already promised to start Twittering on July 30 when players start showing up for training camp.  For those who didn’t sign up last year, Brad Biggs at [...]

We have covered it here before but it's worth going over again. One of the reasons the Bears are in such a good position with the salary cap this season (and in prior years) is because they manage to do...

QB Jay Cutler has not played a down yet for the Bears, but the team is convinced that they have their QB of the future in place. The belief is so strong that the Sun-Times reports today that Cutler might be getting a new deal from the team soon: The Bears will look to do [...]

Rockies send Baker to Cubs for prospect

Ramirez to play three games for Peoria

I'm about to head out the door for work here, but late breaking news as I prepare to go. Nikolai Khabibulin has signed with the Edmonton Oilers.Nikolai Khabibulin is the latest big name off the board in free agency, as the veteran netminder has signed a multi-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers. The 36-year-old spent the past four season in Chicago, helping lead the Blackhawks to their first

Once again the Hawks make big news on the first day of free agency (2 years in a row) and sign high scoring forward Marian Hossa for 12, yes 12 years!!!! 62.8 million! While the contract is front loaded for the most part this is about a big a splash as you can [...]

One Notre Dame forward tested the NBA waters, opened a few eyes and then returned to the grind of summer school and unfinished business. Unlike Luke Harangody, Luke Zeller's expired eligibility...

The Bulls announced today that the team will participate in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports in Las Vegas. The Bulls will play a total of five games from July 14-19 at Cox Pavilion and the Thomas...

The Pistons have kept media away from Ben Gordon while he visits with Detroit GM Joe Dumars. Still waiting to see if BG leaves Detroit with a verbal contract offer. Some sources said the Pistons were set to offer as...

Bulls guard Ben Gordon's days with the Bulls are over. Gordon, who became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, verbally agreed to a five-year contract with the Detroit Pistons worth more than $50 million, according to a source close to the...

Along with billy goat curses, black cats, day baseball, and bespectacled yuppies with a lack of spatial awareness, one of the more compelling arguments behind the lack of Cubs success the past, oh, 75 years or so has been the poor performance of their farm system.  It is true that throughout P. K. Wrigley's ownership, he did not make the farm system a priority.  I have never figured out, though, how the "1969 Cubs" managed to emerge from the cesspool, for except for Fergie Jenkins, that was a hom

Let me preface this entire article with a big old - who cares? With the Cubs playing the way they are, the mercy All-Star that the Cubs will get is of little importance, but I needed an article idea for the day and it's a fun discussion. And dagnabit, baseball is suppose to be fun. So assuming the lemmings that are voting don't get Alfonso Soriano in there (currently 4th behind Carlos Beltran who is on the DL), the Cubs All-Star will be a reserve. In 2003, the All-Star process was changed and t

Welcome to our countdown to training camp. The Bears will report to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., in 29 days. The beginning of the 2009 season and the first training camp practice is 30 days away. We've been away...

Sox get to Lee early in shortened win

No, this is not an argument against Ron Santo’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame. Only a true idiot—or an insecure weirdo like Mike Schmidt—would make such an argument. Santo has long been deserving, and his exclusion is worthy of an absurdist drama. It is, however, this very debate that has wound [...]

Thome sees value in walks

This is exactly why the Chicago Cubs are a .500 team. There is no way you should be getting shut out against the Pittsburgh Pirates but that is exactly what happened Tuesday night in Pittsburgh as the Pirates beat the Cubs 3-0. The Cubs big hitters simply did not get the job done when they were called on as they stunk it up again.

Cubs close disappointing June

Fuld ready to contribute

Stu is skipping town for the Holiday weekend, so he asked me to pinch hit for him. It's pretty exciting, since this is the first time I've had the keys to the Full Court Press car since the end of...

It hasn't been the greatest week for Cubs manager Lou Piniella. Not only is he feeling the heat of the Chicago media with the Cubs scuffling, but he's also gotten into an argument with Milton Bradley in which he called his right fielder a "piece of [expletive]." Regardless of whether the exchange should have ever left the clubhouse or not, it's not exactly the type of thing you want the world to

Dye, Konerko looking for All-Star push

When the St. Louis Cardinals traded for Mark DeRosa over the weekend it was basically the start of teams swapping players before the July 31st trade deadline. Traditionally teams wait for one big domino to fall before they start wheeling and dealing, so it's no surprise that the Yankees and Pirates have now worked out a deal amongst themselves....Continue reading at FanHouse

The Blackhawks have a lot of work to do this offseason if they're going to keep the core of a team that reached the Western Conference Finals intact for next season, and they've completed one important task already.They've locked up center Dave Bolland for the next five years.Chicago re-signed forward Dave Bolland to a five-year deal, locking up one of the team's more consistent performers last

I've been saying for years that Jermaine Dye is the most underrated outfielder, if not player, in baseball today. Year after year since he came to Chicago in 2005 Dye has provided great defense in right field while bashing out 30+ homers and 80+ RBI ever season. Currently he leads the White Sox in home runs with 18, RBI with 46 and OPS at .920.Of course it's because Dye is such a good player

Ramirez hit in head by pitch, but fine

Nothing too exciting last night, Rich Harden worked out of a lot of trouble his last three innings, but did strike out 9 in 7 innings without giving up a home run. Milton Bradley went 2/4 with an RBI, a ricochet short of going 3-4. Soto and Fox continue to hit as well and the Marmol/Gregg combo actually did their job. Then we all remember it's the Pirates. - The Southern League annouced their All-Star rosters and the Tennessee Smokies placed six:  Position players Jim Adduci, Darwin Barney an

It was a good night for the Cubs and their fans on Monday night as the team opened up a three game series on the road in Pittsburgh with a 3-1 victory. Rich Harden threw seven innings to pick up the win and the offense did just enough by scoring single runs in the second, third and fourth innings.

CLEVELAND - Jermaine Dye is well-versed in the trade rumor department. So with a Bay Area newspaper reporting that the White Sox outfielder is on the radar of the San Francisco Giants and their general manager Brian Sabean, Dye continued...

Whilst ATB enjoyed an extended weekend respite on the West Coast, some rapid-fire commitments bolstered the Notre Dame recruiting haul of 2010, bringing the total number of commitments to nine. So...

Harden douses win drought

When he first came up to the big leagues on June 4th I tried to temper my excitement over the possible contributions of Gordon Beckham. I knew then as I know now that he's not a savior, but I have to admit, with every passing game I'm getting all hot and bothered with the kid.His start was horrible. Two hits in his first 28 at bats wasn't exactly what I was hoping to see, but that's all we got.

Lilly positioned for rebound

The Cubs were able to pick up a win in the opener of their three-game set in Pittsburgh on Monday night, and wins are always a nice way to cleanse the palate of the bad taste left in your mouth after a horrible weekend. Hell, things went so nicely on Monday night that not only did Rich Harden pick up his first win since May 12th, but Milton Bradley even managed to drive in another run.Still,

Floyd continues to impress

There is more than a $20 bill in Jerry Angelo's pocket. The general manager likes to joke that he doesn't have money burning a hole in his wallet, and often references having an Andy Jackson in his pocket. That may...

Piniella ejected for first time since July 2008

Or something like that. What a day in Chicago sports, huh? For those of us that like what happens off the field as much as what happens on it (guilty), yesterday was pretty crazy. When the dust settled, Ben Gordon...

Cubs look to go on a run at Wrigley Field

CLEVELAND - Mark Buehrle's one and only job is to take the baseball and go to the mound every fifth day. He was thankful on Wednesday about that being his only job description. "We're playing good right now and that's...

Contreras leads White Sox to sweep

The Detroit Pistons made a pair of big moves today to try & rebound from a 1st round playoff sweep. Ben Gordon agreed to a 5 year, $55 million deal & will most likely serve as a 6th man for the Pistons next season, which ends his 5-year run with the Chicago Bulls. The Pistons also signed [...]

Shortstop Alexei Ramirez had to leave the game in the eighth inning with an injured finger on his right hand. According to manager Ozzie Guillen, he will miss at least Thursday's game in Kansas City, and will be re-evaluated based...

Lots going on with the Cubs these days. It seems every day inspires another rant.  I could probably go on for 10 pages on each of these topics, but in the interest of time I'll try to be brief.DeRosa Traded to St. Louis - Jim Hendry had a chance for a do-over but for whatever reason he couldn't get it done.  Instead, DeRosa lands in hated St. Louis and the Cubs are stuck with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum for the foreseeable future.  (Who's tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum?  Pick a name out of a hat.) 

Pitching prevails in Cubs' win over Bucs

Read the post at SPORTSbyBROOKS

The MLB FanHouse has started it's very own podcast, Basecast, and though I'm not on this premiere podcast I will be in the future. Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't head over to FanHouse and give it a listen RIGHT THE EFF NOW.They do talk about the Cubs.

This one is coming up early because I won't be around to publish it tonight.Randy Wells (2-3, 2.57 ERA) vs. Virgil Vasquez (1-0, 3.00 ERA)Story-linesThe Cubs, a team of destiny.  The Pirates of mediocrity.  The pitchers, Ross Olendorf, a mediocre-at-best 5th starter with a near-5 ERA.  The hitters, a Cubs lineup loaded with super expensive superstars.  The results?  A shut-out with the Cubs being the sad participants.The other day Rob criticized the team for having three incredibly expensive corn

Ben Gordon, who was in Detroit Wednesday to talk free-agent contract with the Pistons, is scheduled to appear Saturday (noon until 1 p.m.) at the NBA Nation site of Taste of Chicago. Tyrus Thomas will be at Taste Thursday...

I'm spending my entire day before heading into work tonight with my ears to the ground listening for rumors on Blackhawks and Bulls free agents. Here's what I know so far, and remember nothing is concrete.Ben Gordon is in Detroit, which you already knew, but he could have a deal done with them by the end of the day.There is nothing new on Martin Havlat, just that the deadline for exclusive

It seems that the Marian Hossa deal is complete, and that he's going to be a Blackhawk. The team still hasn't said anything, nor is it being reported, but apparently it's a 12-year deal (!?) worth $5.2 million a year according to Pierre LeBrun. (Darren Dreger is also saying it's done.)In order to give Hossa that much money the Hawks have to shed some payroll, and with the rumors being that their