The doldrums have passed and hopefully the frigid weather will follow. In a myriad NBA cities (not named Chicago), bold moves at the trade deadline have fans thinking championship thoughts. NFL free agency kicked off with a bang and MLB spring training is underway. Not to mention March Madness right around the corner. I can already feel my boredom melting.
- Bye Bye Big Ben: In an unforgiving season that has given Bulls fans very little to cheer about, a mammoth trade at least caused a collective raising of eyebrows and fostered a bit of hope for a better future.
In case you've found it too painful to follow the Bulls this year, Chicago shipped Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to Cleveland and Adrian Griffin to Seattle in exchange for Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons. The Cavs also received Wally Sczcerbiak and Delonte West from the Sonics and a second round pick from the Bulls, sending Ira Newbie and Donyell Marshall to Seattle. Expect this to be the first of numerous efforts by Bulls GM John Paxson to overhaul a roster that severely underachieved this year and currently stands at 13 games below .500 with 22 left to go. Make no mistake, Paxson is ascribing to the youth movement in Chicago.
Ben Wallace and Drew Gooden fight for a loose ball ten days after swapping teams.I think the move could end up benefiting both teams involved. Hughes can be a shooting force if he can stay consistent and Gooden will hopefully provide a post presence. But the best aspect of the trade is the departure of Wallace's bloated contract. It's amazing how quickly fans soured on Wallace, who was touted as the missing piece to Chicago's championship picture back in 2006. Wallace should find a new stride in Cleveland where he'll be once again playing for a Finals contender alongside Lebron James. I'm sad to see him go, but he never lived up to expectations in Chicago. The new look Cavs got the best of the Bulls 95-86 when they met this afternoon in Cleveland due primarily to James' 37-point heroics. Tied at 83 in the 4th quarter, James went on a 6 point streak including a dominating dunk that took the wind out of the Bulls' sails. Hughes led Chicago with 23 points, but they came on an inadequate 8/20 shooting performance from the field. Despite a change in uniform, Hughes couldn't catch a break from the Cleveland fans who booed him as fiercely as they did during his self-described "unhappy" two-and-a-half year stay. If he doesn't get his field goal percentage up, I'm going to start relating to them.
- Berrian bolts, Briggs is back: The Bears are bereft of receivers.
After releasing Muhsin Muhammad, who was scooped back up by Carolina, the Bears failed to re-sign their top receiver Bernard Berrian who wasted no time accepting a six year $42 million deal with the division rival Vikings.Although the Bears re-signed linebacker Lance Briggs, who was apparently joking when he said he'd never wear a Bears uniform again, the front office should be very concerned about the gaping holes in their offense. Right now their #1 receiver is Mark Bradley. That's right. And unless they plan on playing Devin Hester every snap on offense as well, they will need to address the position. The move to re-sign quarterbacks Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton was not popular in Chicago and letting loose their top two receiving threats hardly seems the way to encourage better production from the underachieving position.
With the exception of Randy Moss, the remainder of the free agent WR crop isn't exactly overflowing with talent. Donte Stallworth signed with the Browns, Ernest Wilford went to the Dolphins and Jerry Porter is now a Jaguar. Cardinals wide receiver Bryant Johnson could be a nice option, but Sirius Radio reported earlier today that the Buffalo Bills have an agreement in place. That leaves D.J. Hackett and Javon Walker, whose numerous injuries make him a question mark. Not exactly a buyer's market. Luckily for the Bears it should be a good draft for receivers, but it's never reassuring to have a position of relative strength become a glaring weakness in the space of a week.
- Soriano Scare: Star Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano will miss up to five days after fracturing his right middle finger while working on fly bat drills in practice. That's right, only five days. Cubs Nation, you're allowed to exhale now.
- Around the World:
Top free agent cornerback Asante Samuel flew from the Patriots to the Eagles on the first day of free agency.
- A lot of huge men made even bigger moves this weekend. The Browns dealt for Packers defensive tackle Corey Williams and Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers (who was originally reported to be heading to Cincinnati) and instantly upgraded their defense at the expense of their first day draft picks. The Bills shipped a third and fifth round pick to the Jaguars for defensive tackle Marcus Stroud, who should give the 30th ranked run defense a gigantic boost. And the Jets made ex-Steelers guard Alan Faneca the highest paid offensive lineman with a whopping 5-year $40 million deal. Faneca is one of the best in the game but he'll turn 32 next season. That's a lot of money to have tied up in one aging veteran.
- The Patriots front has been deathly quiet so far in free agency, watching cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Randall Gay depart to Philadelphia and New Orleans respectively. Donte Stallworth is a Brown now and there's still no progress on the Randy Moss front. Something tells me they are not going 16-0 next season.
- Speaking of Moss, the predominant sentiment is that he will re-sign with New England. But if he doesn't, Brett Favre could get the elite receiver he lobbied hard for a year ago. There's no way he'd retire in that case. Probably not for another five years. The Cowboys have also been mentioned as interested in pairing Moss with current top receiver Terrell Owens. Somehow I doubt there is enough space for both egos on one football field.
- The Giants have also been raided by free agent departures, losing safety Gabril Wilson (Raiders) and linebackers Kawika Mitchell (Bills) and Reggie Torbor (Dolphins). Don't panic New York fans. The Giants have adequate depth to fill those holes and the draft should act as a talent infusion if those positions need to be further addressed.
- The Falcons have signed top free agent running back Michael Turner to a 6-year deal worth $35 million, prompting former starter Warrick Dunn to request his release. Pretty unbelievable that Michael Vick, Dunn and tight end Alge Crumpler are all ex-Falcons now less than one year after they were considered the nucleus of the Atlanta franchise.
- The Dolphins made a quick flurry of free agent moves, as expected under Parcells' watch. But I can't say I was very impressed with the bulk of them. Josh McCown should be a good stopgap at quarterback until the front office figures out what it has in 2007 second round pick John Beck, who had one of the roughest rookie campaigns I can recall. Ernest Wilford could be productive alongside Ted Ginn Jr. but it sounds like they overpaid for linebacker Calvin Pace with over $20 million of guaranteed money. While Torbor was a solid pickup, guard Justin Smiley is coming off shoulder surgery that limited him to 8 games in 2007 and they are paying ex-Titans backup defensive tackle Randy Starks starter's money with a 5-year $25 million deal. He'd better be ready to start if Miami is to improve upon its horrific 1-15 campaign.
- Out of Bounds:
- This Tuesday seems far more Super than the last. Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont go to the polls and could decide the Democratic nomination, especially if Barack Obama can pull off victories in either of the former two big states. Obama leads Clinton slightly in the latest Texas polls while Clinton clings to a narrowing 4 point lead in Ohio. That small a margin of victory won't be enough to erase Obama's delegate lead, nor to quiet the loudening calls for her to drop out of the race.
- Hillary Clinton's "red phone" advertisement showing children asleep in their beds brings back shades of Lyndon Johnson's infamous "Daisy Girl" ad that played upon the public's fear of nuclear war. Obama's camp countered it quickly with an ad of their own that lifted footage straight out of Clinton's, arguing she had already had her "red phone" moment with the Iraq War vote and had made the wrong choice. It's a sign of desperation by the Clinton campaign that they have resorted to trying to scare up votes by appealing to parents through perceived threats to their children.
- Putin's puppet Dmitri Medvedev will be Russia's next president. Dear President Medvedev, I'm still waiting for my cabinet position. Love, Matt Medved.
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