MY KIND OF TOWN

April 18, 2009 was quite a day! Chicago is normally known as the second city, but yesterday in the world of sports it was on top of the world! It sill remains to be seen if this day will be remembered, or just a day that gave Chicagoans a reason to be proud to live in this great city!

It all started around 11:30am central time. The Bulls tipped off their opening round game against the defending World Champs, the Boston Celtics. If anyone had caught a bigger break in the playoffs, it might be the Bulls… so much so; they might make me eat my words. I had the Bulls losing in 5 games, as I thought Kevin Garnett, the Celtics vocal and emotional leader would be lost for the first round, if not the entire playoffs. The young Bulls took full advantage of this absence and decided from opening minute they were going to be able to compete with the Celtics and win. Sure it all started last June when the Bulls landed the 1.7% chance of the number pick which ended up being a franchise point guard in Derrick Rose. On this day, this beautiful Saturday in the city of Chicago all the pieces seemed o fall into place for the Bulls. Of course it just wasn’t Rose, who had 36 points in his very first playoff game and was perfect from the free throw line, but Noah was rebounding and running the floor like a gazelle, not a graceful one, but just one who wanted it more than the Celtics did as he grabbed 17 rebounds. Then there was Tyrus Thomas who had me yelling at the TV…”What are you do…ing” as he shot 15-20 foot jump shots that are not part of his game yet. But again, this was the Bulls day, as he knocked down big jump after big jump shot. Then there was Mr. 4^th quarter, aka, Ben Gordon. If he was 2-3 inches taller would be a top 10 player in this league. He once again came up big and knocked down 4^th quarter shots. This was truly the Bulls day as Paul Pierce had a chance to seal the victory for the Celtics at the end of regulation as he missed the game winning free throw. We aren’t certain how the rest of this series will play out, but one thing we do know now… These Bulls believe.

The fun continued here in the city as the Cubs and Cardinals got together for game 3 of a 4 game set. It’s still early but all indications have this heated rivalry fighting for a division title till the end of the season. This almost 4 hour, 11 inning game ended pretty much the only way Cubs/Cardinals games should end, with a walk off homer. 12 pitchers, thirty thousand miller lites later, Aramis Ramirez deposited a ball in the left-center field seats for a 7-5 victory and sending Cub fans home happy… or out to the local bars for some celebratory shots as they continue the party till the wee hours of the morning. The Cubs are still the favorite to win the division but they have some questions that need to be answered. Where has Derek Lee’s power gone? I am not sure if that wrist injury he suffered a few years back is the reason for the lack of power, but Lee was never a true power hitter before his 46 in 2005. As long as he hits 25, drives in 90 and hits close to .300 with solid defense, that’s all the Cubs need. Is this really the best rotation? On paper, yes, hands down. On the field, maybe. Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden need to stay healthy and Ryan Dempster needs to duplicate last years magic. Or at least stay healthy enough to pitching longer than 5 innings as the bullpen already has been used quite a bit. Is Milton Bradley the answer? Again, it’s early, but he’s never plays a full season, and his defense is suspect. Cubs should slug their way to a division title, but what excuses will we hear in October?

Sure White Sox/Rays isn’t Red Sox/Yankees, but after the way the Rays dismantled the White Sox last season (regular and playoffs) with speed, pitching and defense it was a bitter sweet victory on Saturday as the Sox outplayed them in all facets of the game for an 8-3 shellacking! The Sox still don’t have the speed of the Rays, but they at least have speed this year. Ozzie has some more versatility with his line-up and bench players. The power is still there, but with decent speed at the top and bottom of the line-up gives the Sox a chance to be more dangerous each night. The Sox went into Tampa and were not be intimidated as this did last year and early on are showing a swagger that will hopefully carry all season long. Their pitching staff is 4^th in the AL with a 3.99 ERA and with some timely hitting this year, could lead to back to back division titles. Can the Sox pull it off again? This year will truly be interesting. Not one team in the AL Central seems to be a pushover as the Royals (at least early on) are proving to be for real. Can Contreras and Colon get it done? That might be the biggest question if these two can sustain consistency and health for 5 more months. If so, the Sox have a legit staff to compete all year as these two veterans can each win 10 games. What does this win mean? I guess we will find out in the coming weeks. However, to go down to Tampa and play on an artificial surface (last year 4-16) against a team that made the Sox look like chumps last year is a huge step in the right direction.

The biggest game of the night was the Blackhawks coming back from 2-0 and winning 3-2 and now 2 wins away from advancing in the playoffs. I am not going to pretend I know hockey and that I know players on the Hawks and follow them religiously as I do some teams, but I did watch the game and found myself yelling at the TV when they were getting sloppy and found myself cheering/fist pumping as they came from behind as they did in the first game. This team was non-existent just a few years ago. People ask where did all these Hawks fans come from? Well, they have always been here and it took an owner to pass on to another life, a new president to run the show, like-able talented players, a no-nonsense coach, coupled with a winning attitude, and soon enough, winning happens. Again, I am not going to pretend to know anything about the Hawks, but I know the United Center was rocking on Saturday night, and it was long over due to for 22,000 fans to be cheering on the Hawks. I am not sure how this season will end, but every team as story, a tale to tell. I might not be knowledgeable to write it but, if a non-hockey fan can get excited and caught up in a fairy tale, then this story will continue… It definitely has a few more chapters to write before it’s finished.

We will never know if April 18, 2009 will be remembered as day Chicago Sports ruled the sports world. There was an overtime thriller, a come from behind tale, the beat down in St. Pete, and the walk off in Wrigley. The passion and love for our sports teams run deep. It’s in our blood. We carry it on our sleeves (or we are more than likely wearing a piece of clothing reppin’ our team) and in our hearts. Saturday, what a day, 4 victories, it sure felt like the 4^th of July!