It seems like every year, there are hockey tragedies. Hockey players are renowned partiers, so fatal automobile accidents (often involving alcohol) seem to occur all the time. Even ex-hockey players are not immune, as we in Chicago know with the death of Keith Magneson in an automobile accident several years ago.
This season, the tragedy of choice seemed to be a rash of deaths to current and former enforcers by suicide or addition issues. Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak all died this offseason apparently from symptoms of depression. Add to that the issues surrounding concussions and head injuries that will already cost the league the services of one of its top starts, Sidney Crosby, the coming NHL season carried the pall of death and serious injury. But the worst was yet to come…
Yesterday, a private jet carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a Kontinental Hockey League team (the league is the chief rival to the NHL for talent) crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 43 people, including several former NHL players.
The chartered Yak-42 jet was carrying the team to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play today in its opening game of the season. Of the 45 people on board, 36 were players, coaches and team officials; eight were crew. Reportedly, the plane never was able to gain altitude, hit a signal tower then broke apart along the Volga River near Yaroslavl, 150 miles northeast of Moscow.
One player, Russian Alexander Galimov, and one crew member were hospitalized in “very grave” condition, said Alexander Degyatryov, chief doctor at Yaroslavl’s Solovyov Hospital.
Among the dead were Lokomotiv coach and NHL veteran Brad McCrimmon, a Canadian; assistant coach Alexander Karpovtsev, one of the first Russians to have his name etched on the Stanley Cup as a member of the New York Rangers; and Pavol Demitra, who played for the St. Louis Blues and the Vancouver Canucks and was the Slovakian national team captain. Other standouts killed were Czech players Josef Vasicek, Karel Rachunek and Jan Marek, Swedish goalie Stefan Liv, Latvian defenseman Karlis Skrastins and defenseman Ruslan Salei of Belarus.
Russia has a very poor flight safety record (and as someone who once flew on a Russian Tupolev airplane and spent most of the 2½ hour flight with his knees presses against his forehead – it’s not fun and it often felt like the plane was put together with duct tape); which of course makes one think that this tragedy was avoidable.
It will be with a large dose of reality that we hockey fans start the coming season. In many ways, however, we will be glad that this offseason comes to an end.

With the NFL season approaching (it starts tonight with the Saints vs. the Packers), all questions were on how well, or poorly, the Chicago Bears would do. Despite winning the NFC North Division, the Bears had huge question marks on the offensive line, with Quarterback Jay Cutler; at wide receiver, and on the defensive line and secondary.
Those were the usual questions, but it was obviously time for some off-the-field controversy. Starting running back Matt Forte is in the last year of his contract and he is extremely underpaid compared with other solid running backs in the league. Even though the Bears have a well-deserved reputation for being cheap, they have acknowledged that by negotiating a new deal for Forte (although the sides remain far apart at this writing). Forte’s frustration is natural.
The surprise was the word from Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs. Briggs complained until he got a 6-year, $36 million contract three years ago, which he is now halfway through. A couple of weeks ago, he went to the press to demand renegotiation of his contract, but that contract issues wouldn’t detract from his effort on the field.. Then, almost before the newsprint even dried, Briggs’ agent Drew Rosenhaus (who put the “slime” in “slimy”) announced that his client was demanding a trade.
Briggs is a Pro Bowl regular, one of the best weak side linebackers, but he isn’t a superstar; he’s not a player that you think of as a marquee name. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher is a popular player; a marquee name; Briggs, not so much. Briggs, and all players, run the risk of having a long term deal that is at the top of the market at the time of signing, get surpassed by deals that come after. This is what happened to Briggs, and let us not forget that he is still set to make millions of dollars under his current contract.
I am completely sympathetic with professional athletes’ need to make as much money as possible in their chief “earning years.” I also understand fully the “career expectancy” of professional football players is very short; contracts are not guaranteed due to injury; and approximately 50% of professional football players file bankruptcy, not to mention the swift deterioration that often occurs while playing, and certainly after retirement.
I also understand that the cheap Bears are some $19 million under the salary cap, which Briggs and Rosenhaus mention often. (I haven’t looked at the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in detail, but I have always believed that a salary floor is as important to a players’ union as a salary cap. The key to me is to keep teams from pocketing money that should be paid to players.)
However, Lance, you’ve pulled this stunt before, and it’s getting old. Played well, a player’s salary demands can get the support of the fans, which makes the owner’s position more difficult. If a player is underpaid in the court of public opinion, the press and people calling in to the sports radio shows will generally support the player. However, Briggs just looks greedy, and in the light of the current economy, many people would be more than happy to play football for the remaining $14 million or so left on Lance Briggs’ contract. Also,, as a local writer pointed out, part of Briggs’ success can be tied to playing for the Bears in Coach Lovie Smith’s system that allows him to succeed. Leaving might make him more money, but he might not be the same player on a different team, with a different system, and different players around him.
In short, you really muffed this one Lance, and the fans won’t forget. It is entirely possible that you may get nothing of what you want – neither the new contract nor the trade. You have no bargaining position; all you can do is whine, and complain, and let that effect you on the field. Then no one will want you.
Suck it up and play.

It has been an interesting weekend for the Chicago White Sox. A last ditch chance to make a run at the American League Central lead evaporated by getting swept by the division leading Detroit Tigers over the weekend.
The true death knell was when the White Sox blew an 8-1 lead only to lose to the Tigers 9-8. the team then came out Sunday night in front of a national audience and rolled over like a dead fish in the water, losing 18-2. (Of course, the White Sox came back yesterday and swept a day-night doubleheader against the previously rival Minnesota Twins. Injuries have decimated the Twins this year; so of course, the year the Sox beat the Twins consistently, they play poorly against the rest of the division.)
If that wasn’t the end of the season, it might as well have been; except for the controversy, of course. The team’s inconsistent 2011 season has been consistent in one thing: the annual front office controversy. Last week, a baseball executive said that the ongoing rift between Sox GM Ken Williams and combustible Manager Ozzie Guillen had gotten so bad again, that the unnamed executive said that Owner Jerry Reinsdorf was going to fire one or both of the men. Guillen then came out and said that he wanted a contract extension, which may have been the final blow. Guillen, however, has a backup plan – the Marlins want him to come down to Florida and manage their ballclub, and honestly, perhaps a fresh location would be best for Guillen and the White Sox.
But this story is about Williams. On Saturday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Williams had an argument with Hitting Coach Greg Walker about changing Gordon Beckham’s swing. According to the piece, Williams and the soft spoken Walker got into it pretty good – to the point that Williams told the coach to clean out his locker. Walker, however is a former Sox player and loyal Reinsdorf person, so he remains with the team as of this writing.
It sounds like Williams knows that his time is up. Yes, he put the finishing touches on the 2005 World Series Championship team, but two of his biggest gambles in 2011 – Alex Rios and most galling, Adam Dunn have hit around the Mendoza line most of the season and not driven in the runs expected and needed. We know that Williams is a volatile person himself, which has made the Williams-Guillen years entertaining if nothing else.
However, we haven’t heard Williams unloading on the assistant coaches before. We know that Guillen is brutally honest and will say what is on his mind, which would cause problems for Williams, not to mention Reinsdorf and the team’s PR people. Having an argument with quiet Greg Walker makes it sound like the GM is lashing out at everyone else to try and lay blame elsewhere for his own mistakes.
This is not to say that I like Walker as a hitting coach. I have advocated his firing several times on this very page, but he wouldn’t say anything if he had a mouthful, unlike Guillen. To have Williams lashing out at Walker sounds like a desperate man, or one who sees the clock and knows what time it is.

It is funny that at the same time that you can’t read a newspaper or watch a newscast without hearing about some young athlete in trouble with the NCAA or the law, the unbridled greed of the universities is also making news.
Last week, Texas A&M after numerous rumors, announced that it would be leaving the Big 12 Conference, and the stories are out that the school is about to officially request membership in the SEC that would start next summer.
Of course, this causes a ripple effect in the rest of the conference. Oklahoma is weighing it’s options, and let’s be frank – those options are all about money. Will the Big-12 become a “super-conference” or disappear altogether? What would this mean for the Big Ten? Independents like Notre Dame?
I think it’s silly. I barely watch the Big Ten Network (only during football season and only shows involving Northwestern), but they do get part of my DirecTV payment each month. I think I can get some of those other conference networks, but since I don’t care about the teams or conferences, I don’t watch them either; but they’re getting some of my television payment too.
To be honest, I am more of an NFL fan than college football (although it should be said that last weekend was excellent for me – Northwestern won and Notre Dame lost), but I admit that I’m sick of the hypocrisy that is college sports. The universities are selling themselves to get the most income, but the players get scholarships, room and board and nothing else. And the institution that is supposed to police the rules has it’s collective muzzle in the money trough. It seems like the NCAA is around to slap the wrists of the schools while keeping the players from getting paid (and of course, putting out video games with long graduated players’ likenesses that the NCAA “owns” in perpetuity). As you might have surmised, I no longer am going to point fingers at these young men and women who take money – it’s the colleges, universities, and the NCAA who cause that with laughable rules that the coaches break then run to the pros and the boosters who are still out there, giving money under the table,
Honestly, college football smells like dead fish at low tide, but the average college football fan doesn’t seem to care. They deserve each other.

I was watching the NFL Network last night as they showed the New York Giants – New York Jets preseason football game when I saw a “Breaking News” banner flash across the bottom of the screen. Michael Vick had reportedly come to terms with the Philadelphia Eagles for a six-year contract extension that could be worth $100 million, with around $40 million guaranteed.
My first thought was that all of those old creditors Vick had when he declared bankruptcy when he went to jail are smiling today and lining up to give him loans (more on that later). My second thought was that it is awfully hard for the owners to cry poverty when, just weeks after coming to a new collective bargaining agreement, one of their ranks goes out and gives this kind of contract.
In fact, it makes me madder than ever that the owners risked the season, holing the players and we fans hostage for two years as they prepared for a lockout to give them even more money. Usually, there is blame enough for both the owners and players, but the players outmaneuvered the owners in the previous CBA negotiations, so the owners have to use the current environment of union blaming to get concessions (a spirit that has moved to the NBA by the way). Now the lockout seems to have been even more uncalled for torture than ever.
The fans have never been privy to the real profit and loss of the NFL teams, and are likely to never ever see them. The players are paid well, but in light of the serious medical issues that they all face, and the fact that many of them will overspend their riches and become bankrupt, I don’t mind them getting every dollar that they can. But for Jeff Lurie, owner of the Eagles to sign a monster contract at this point, is galling.
Now, back to Mr. Vick. Many people will not be happy with his contract – some animal rights people will hate Vick forever for running the dog fighting operation that led him to prison time (the cause of the aforementioned bankruptcy) and murdering dogs. He has paid his debt to society doing his time; has been doing community service including speaking out against cruelty to animals. Most important to fans (and the Eagles, the league and the television networks), he remains an electric presence on the football field – able to run and pass with accuracy. He may never be a choir boy, but he does command your attention if you’re a football fan.
Vick is a player that everyone wants to watch, and he has led teams deep into the playoffs. Which is the football question to this big deal – can Michael Vick lead a team to the Super Bowl and win it? He led the Falcons to the playoffs, only to fall short. The same thing happened in Philly the last couple of years. His game has matured – he is a better pocket passer and makes better calls than he did in Atlanta before he went to jail. The question is – can he take the Eagles to the promised land? That’s the 100 million dollar question.

It’s must be tough to leave the spotlight as an athlete. You go from being a celebrity that everyone wants to be near, to a has-been, almost overnight. It had appeared that former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan had made that transition, having worked for the team since his retirement in a variety of roles, including announcer, which was his current position with the team (it’s also nice to see some loyalty from the team to keep players “members of the family”).
However, we never really know what’s going on with our former sports heroes because the 59-year-old, 1979 Cy Young Award winner reportedly went outside in front of his house and committed suicide with a shotgun. Reportedly, financial concerns were a cause, but he left no note. It is a very sad story when someone decides to end their life.
Then, there is the seedier side of life, and unfortunately, one baseball player who is already in trouble with the law, added more charges to his resume.
Len Dykstra, already under indictment in Los Angeles on 25 different felony counts connected to a scheme to get luxury cars and possession of cocaine, human growth hormone and Ecstasy along with bankruptcy fraud and obstruction of justice in connection with the alleged hiding of more than $40,000 in property that should have gone to his creditors, added two charges of indecent exposure this week.
Prosecutors allege that Dykstra placed ads on Craigslist for housekeepers, then exposed himself to the women when they arrived for work. The 48-year-old Dykstra reportedly told the women that the job required them to give massages and then exposed himself, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said in a statement.
Too many people forget that Dykstra got in trouble first for allegedly exposing himself to a young woman that worked for him at a car wash he owned (the charges were later dropped), but then, he became known as this financial whiz, but that was all a sham and as Dykstra’s financial fortunes deteriorated.
(It should be asked what is it about those mid-to-late 1980s New York Mets? Yes, they won the World Series in 1986, but they were a team disliked outside of the New York area. Keith Hernandez was smoking in the dugout; Dykstra was considered a showboat; and of course, this team also had drug addicts Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.)
It is entirely possible that Dykstra may become a bigger former major league felon than the old poster boy for illegality – Denny McLain.

A brief story – to no knowledgeable NFL fan, it was no surprise that the Oakland Raiders chose former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor in the third round of the NFL Supplemental Draft earlier this week.
Pryor, the center of the Ohio State goods for memorabilia scandal that led to the firing of Head Coach Jim Tressel, signed a four-year contract and even now, he may be participating in his first NFL practice. The Raiders play their third exhibition game on Sunday against New Orleans, but it will be extremely unlikely that Pryor will see any action.
The Raiders then will have three practices before the exhibition finale at Seattle on Sept. 2; after that, Pryor will be ineligible to practice with the Raiders until serving a five-game suspension.
But I said that of course it was the Raiders to sign Pryor. Owner Al Davis has had great success over the years acquiring guys who no one else would take a chance on. Of course, Davis’ style is antiquated, and while he still thinks he is the smartest man in the game, today’s version of the game has passed him by, leading the Raiders to irrelevancy for over a decade.
And this team needs a QB, badly! Former Redskin starter Jason Campbell has been jerked in and out of the lineup so much, he looks like a human yo-yo. Former number one overall pick JaMarcus Russell had no work ethic whatsoever, and is now out of football completely. But Pryor is a reach – most pundits agree that Pryor was at least a year away from being a solid NFL prospect, but the problems at Ohio State stopped him from ever playing again there. His footwork is poor; his arm is suspect; and no one can be sure that he will be able to read NFL defenses.
But Al Davis knows what he’s doing. Just ask him – he’s the only one who thinks so anymore.